grand-children sabbatical learning pain Archives

Writing as Education

“I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing…

With God as Our Father

The Bible repeatedly refers to God as father and his followers as his children. Dependent upon our relationships with our earthly parents, this can either be a calming thought or one that leads to tension. Some of us were taught that our heavenly father was mostly a judge who showed his disappointment and anger when…

Job and Retribution Theology

One of the strongest impulses within most of us is the belief that good people are rewarded, and bad people are punished. There is an immediacy to it. When bad things begin to happen to us, we quickly ask, “What did I ever do to deserve this?” When someone else is suffering in life, there…

River Otter Education

I have previously written about how adult Osprey teach their young to fly and said that it is delicate business because they really only get one chance to try and there can be no failures. Recently, I saw some video of a mother river otter teaching her pup to swim. The pups are born without…

A Song for Aubrey Claire

You’ve got the world wrapped around your finger And yes, you can change the world I see you changing my world now As your hand round my finger curls You can already steal my heart You will always inspire my thoughts From your tiny birth, you start Beginning to tie the knots And, you will…

Happy, Blessed, Grace

Poems and songs are always a work-in-progress and never feel quite complete. But then, I guess that is especially appropriate for poems about grandchildren – they are definitely a work-in-progress. This one is for Gwyneth Anna Mitchell born 2016-09-14. Happy, Blessed, Grace She is Blessed to be a Blessing True Happiness guides her ways…

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

A friend of mine is in the hospital right now and is undergoing chemo-therapy and a bone marrow transplant to rescue him from cancer. In the midst of it, they did an MRI of his brain and discovered a tumour outside of the brain but inside of the head. You might ask, “Why would one…

In the World But Not of the World

Thomas Merton’s classic book, The Seven Storey Mountain is a helpful commentary on how one can live a spiritual life despite pressures in the opposite direction. Merton knew how to live in the world without being swallowed up by the world. He has much to show us about the balance between solitude from and solidarity…

Earth Day 2014

Life marches ever onward Thousands of years come and go Constant motion of the tides Beings that ebb and flow Yet, there’s a change this Earth Day Parents and all grandparents Children arrive one-by-one This blue-green fragile planet The jewel of many suns Light begins a new Earth Day Made from nothing but stardust She…

Soul Building

Difficulty, pain, and suffering are things that all of us would like to avoid. We would prefer that God would simply make our lives beautiful and perfect. We would like to have God give us a perfect job, a large salary, abundant health, the ideal spouse, and wonderful kids. Some preachers would have us believe…