Give Us, Keep Us

Ready to Make Friends with Poetry? ⟶

July 14th, 1973 Nothing says ‘tine machine’ quite like a blurry photo or a guy with a bushy beard and a wearing daisies in her hair on her wedding day. I say ‘time machine’ because my wedding dress was made of cotton eyelet and my bridesmaids wore yellow checked gingham. My cake topper also had…
“My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness. I pour it out in a poem to the king, shaping the river into words:” Psalm 45:1, The Message ~*~*~*~*~* Some people are artists who process their world through paint and pen, fabric, clay, paper. Thoughts become images or design, an expression of what’s inside…
“If everyone valued home above gold, this world would be a merry place.” Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, Battle of the Five Armies Home is where we are welcomed, where laughter flows and prayers are offered around the table, where silly photos are snapped in the kitchen and grown-ups dance to music from The Nutcracker…
I was sitting outside on the deck last week, writing my ‘Sabbath on the Page’ (LL Barkat phrase) and thinking about our family’s recent journey through a very difficult season. Here are the notes from my journal that day: ~~~~~~~~~~~ Sit outside on the deck in the drips of a dreary day and you might…
Idols I know–those man made (me made?) forms–lifeless, a poor rendering of the real. Not-gods I’ve erected to take THE God’s place. Yes, these I know–overeating, too much chocolate, shopping when I don’t need to for clothes I already have. For many, many years in my walk with Jesus I was an expert at…
Jesus and I are on an outing the week before Easter. We pull up to the strip mall unbuckling our seatbelts. As we climb out of the car and walk towards the door He remarks, “Oh, a Christian bookstore; let’s see what they’re selling.” We step inside and nearly run into a banner displaying ‘Resurrection…