rainbow in the clouds
Many years ago, I had the honor of attending a talk by Dr. Maya Angelou at Mars Hill College near my hometown of Asheville. My …
soul
lessons learned: peaceful goats, peaceful spirit
After a challenging day yesterday, I left work in a flurry. I was too early to meet my friend for dinner and did not want …
lessons learned: bunnies and sacred space
Every spring, the bunnies come to visit the garden and see if by some chance, there’s a hole in the chicken wire big enough to …
wintering
I’ve put the gardens to bed and shored up the chicken coop. I’ve stored the tools and stacked the pots behind the shed. I’ve left …
meditation on silence by Mother Teresa
We cannot find God in noise and agitation. Nature: trees, flowers, and grass grow in silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun move in …
a meditation on silence by Mother Teresa
We cannot find God in noise and agitation. Nature: trees, flowers, and grass grow in silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun move in …
one word
A few weeks ago, I went to lunch with someone who asked me this: “If you could only speak one word for the rest of …
lessons learned: let’s play
As a former early childhood educator, I continue to apply lessons learned from my life with young children (and my own daughter). This week, it …
love is. . .
I’m reposting this one not only for Advent but also because I have been reading several books that remind me of the importance of growing …
lessons learned: on pumpkins and solitude
I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~Henry David Thoreau There are …
a happier life~reflection on a saturday morn
It is a morning of expectation and delight as it is the first Saturday in quite some time that my daughter and I have not …
peace
Peace. Peace She says to me. Peace to your soul. I am the beauty in the leaf. I am the echo in a baby’s laugh. …
mindfulness–one step directions for the soul
As I prepare to go about my work today, may my intention to live in your present moment be the pattern for this day and …
lessons shared with my daughter
Today, my sweet baby girl sheds another year and gracefully takes the next few steps on her life’s journey. There are days when I’m sure …
enter, quiet
Enter, Quiet, enter into this place. Wrap your arms around me like an old friend who reaches out and smiles and says, “I’m happy to …
may the light of your soul guide you~an Irish blessing
May the light of your soul guide you. May the light of your soul bless the work that you do with the secret love and …
Mary Oliver’s Such Singing in the Wild Branches
With warm sun dancing about the farm this morning, the birds lift up their voices to rejoice. With eyes closed, I sit at my kitchen …
lessons learned: preparing the space
This morning as I sat down to write, nothing came to mind. Well, let me reframe that–a lot of words and thoughts competed for my …
the long way ’round
Recently, I have been savoring the book In the Sanctuary of Women by Jan Richardson. If you do not know her work, please visit her …
lessons learned: weathered spirits
Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before. ~William Butler Yeats This cloudy morning, …
lessons learned: giving back to the community that raised me
Recently, I was asked why I returned to my hometown to live as an adult. I responded that I felt compelled to give back to …
lessons learned: lightening the load
In autumn, my daughter came home from a friend’s house and announced she wanted a bedroom downstairs. I have learned with teens that you don’t …
silent snow
I am reposting this one because we are on our third year of cold, wet winters, and I am longing for snow. Today may be …
from Joyce Rupp’s prayer, Listening to My Soul
Guardian of my Deepest Self, I need to be still, to listen not only to falling leaves and the gentle wind; I need to listen …
from John Muir’s The Yosemite
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. …
reflection on a snowy morning
I love snow. It’s as simple as that. Whether it’s a powdered sugar dusting or an up-to-my-knees accumulation, there is something about snow that puts …
prayer card: joy
As a part of my faith journey, I sometimes spend time meditating through art instead of writing. My spiritual director introduced me to the concept …
Wendell Berry’s The Peace of Wild Things
The Peace of Wild Things When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear …
a piece of peace
As I sit with “peace” this week, I thought this one might be appropriate to repost. ~Cameron As I prepare to go about my work …
lessons learned: on pumpkins and solitude
I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~Henry David Thoreau There are …
lessons learned: pullin’ weeds
I am always amazed how words work their way into my life at just the right time. I stumbled upon this one by chance and …
love is. . .
When I was little, my grandparents gave me a book entitled “Love Is. . .” Each page had two little cartoon characters in a scene …
resting as a spiritual act
I rest as a spiritual act. ~Anne Lamott For a night owl, it can be difficult to settle in early and rise with the sun, …
a piece of peace
As I prepare to go about my work today, may my intention to live life in your present moment be the pattern for this day …
deep peace
Deep peace of the running waves to you, Deep peace of the flowing air to you, Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Deep …
an Iroquois Thanksgiving prayer
Thanksgiving Prayer We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with …
a prayer of Thanksgiving
Prayer of Thanksgiving O God, we thank you for this earth, our home; For the wide sky and the blessed sun, For the salt sea …
gratitude for this day
I thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for …
meditation card: welcome to my farm
When I was in my “farm dreaming” stage, I sat at my kitchen table one day trying to determine why it was I felt so …
the beauty of dreaming
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~Eleanor Roosevelt