Surprise
We surprised a snake and he surprised us as he slithered to the shade. I bowed apologizing for scaring him from the warmth of the morning light.
Whispers of the Divine
As I was cleaning one of my bookshelves, a notecard fell off the bookshelf. It was from a time when I would write quotations on notecards from books I had read to remind myself of the way those words had spoken to me. This one was from Thoreau’s On Walden: The surface of the earth …
Why We Can’t Open Communities of Faith or Schools
This week the stark contrast of what we have valued as a country has become crystal clear. We concentrated our initial reopening efforts not on opening the communities where our children learn and people gather together to be in the community together to gain hope and healing, but instead restaurants, bars, and beaches. Our top …
Why We Can’t Open Communities of Faith or Schools Read More »
Morning Light
When case numbers in SC began to rise, I realized it was going to become more and more difficult to find light and hope. The climbing death rate, the uncertainty about the fall, and the growing unease among people were all causes to be on alert constantly. South Carolina now has higher case numbers than …
Blackout Day
Today July 7th, 2020 is Blackout Day. Today those who are co-labors in the fight to protest racism and preach the gospel that Black Lives Matter are encouraged to only buy from Black-owned businesses and boycott all others. What the leaders who have organized today realize is that in our capitalistic society, things won’t change …
On Feeling Stuck
Yesterday, our seventeen-month-old walked into the kitchen with a slinky stuck on her foot. She was picking up her foot and putting it back down, again and again, trying to loosen her foot from the entanglement but she couldn’t quite get loose. I had to laugh (and maybe take a short video before freeing her) …
On Holidays in a Pandemic
It’s supposed to be a holiday weekend. It’s supposed to be a time and an excuse to take it easy, spend time with family, and rest. Except we are in the midst of a global pandemic. As we watch cases numbers rise, hear about travel bans, and testimonies that the case numbers are only going …
Racial Reckoning
The death of George Floyd took me back to the shooting at Emanuel in Charleston, SC. At the time of the shooting of the Emanuel 9, I was at Emmanuel teaching Bible Study. I was in my first pastorate. The shooter was born and raised just minutes from our church. In the midst of all …
Stepping Into a New Day
One of the routines we quickly implemented in the midst of our quarantine life was a morning walk. For all of us, it helped make the transition between home and school. It helped us breathe in the new day and to look around for signs of Spring and indeed signs of the Divine moving among …
Evening Storms
It’s definitely summer here. As the sun sets, the skies often turn dark me. The darkness is followed by the rolls of thunder and the flash of lightning on the horizon. There’s a mad dash to the porch to pull in the riding toys we’ve been using daily since quarantine, so they don’t rust. Sometimes …