This Gift of Life

Blessed at our birth,
embraced by God’s everlasting love at our death,
in between,
our bodies retain every ounce of holiness given by our Creator.

Hands- to carry, hold and serve;
Hearts-to bear the pain of those who hurt;
Lips-to whisper words of comfort and compassion;
Backs- to bend, tending needy and hungry ones;
Feet- to follow your lead, Lord, each and every day
each and every day.


( "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16 )

A Threefold Journey ( a prayer/poem for Trinity Sunday, 2009)

God be the road on which you travel:
God of the mountains on which you are tested
and challenged;
God of the wells at which you find healing and peace.

Christ be the light by which you travel:
Christ the vision which informs and enlarges you;
Christ the lodestar shining in your darkest nights.

The Spirit inspire you as you travel;
Spirit sharing restlessness with you, driving
you onward.
Spirit sharing stillness, leading you toward God’s heart.

The Trinity, the Three, go with you as you travel:
and may your journey
begin
continue and end
in Them.

Pentecost Prayer

It is said that it took fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection
(one more than seven times seven),
for God to generate enough
Spirit-filled flaming wind

to descend upon those
who waited for what Jesus had promised to send them.

They didn’t know what would arrive in Jesus’ name.

Why is this surprising?
Who expected Easter, who knew that the first Christmas was coming, who knows what tomorrow will bring?

So, dear Lord, teach us to open our eyes, every day,
to receive your unexpected appearances;
breathe your Spirit into us,
so we may exhale your life.





“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Acts 2:3

When silence is a sacred as song,
and words carry no more meaning than the wind,

and stream-fed waterfalls rushing by pour out their
endless, rhythmic, drowning cadence,

and knowing that my part in creation, just for now, is to
take in as much as my eyes, ears, breath
and beating heart can withstand,

then I know that I am claimed forever by eternity,
through the One whose creative, boundless energy makes
all things good and bright, and bids me embrace the love
freely given me that I can be
a vessel of sharing to others.




( “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1John 5:13)

By Choice

Not by choosing sides for a pickup game,
drawing straws,
or by secret ballot,
you have been selected from the beginning of time by
the Creator of the Universe,
for a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
made to your personal specifications.
As an ambassador of mercy and salvation, you
have been chosen to share the love of God in the
same way it has been given you.
Freely, without compulsion, generously; as blessings pour
into your living (those you take for granted and those that
surprise) so in your sharing them may you fulfill the cycle of
God’s love.

“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
John 15:16-17

On a good day with the sun shining,
and the soil warmer than the air,
Something More awaits,
rooted in the heart of creation,
planted in the joy of celebrating life
given us as God’s beloved children.
Tomorrow is as rooted in today as a flower
emerges from a seed;
and it does not matter whether that
tomorrow be spent on earth or in heaven.
Memories abide, untarnished,
joys stay close to the heart;
treasured times last always.




Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

shepherd of this flock

Shepherd of this flock,
in the green pastures of
blossoming friendships,
and in the still waters of cherished memories,
our souls are restored.

Good Shepherd,
you have led us on paths
of doing what is right,
for your name’s sake.
Lead us again, when we are sorely tempted to stray.

Faithful Shepherd,
though we know we
will yet go through the dark glens we often fear,
You will lead us out.

You continue to seek us out,
even between the rocks and crevasses
in which we hide ourselves,
reluctant to respond
to your open invitation.
You are our Shepherd.

Thank you.



(The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23:1)