thankfulness hymn for the small things: light on water, shaded forest, laughter ringing clear my mind to see your beauty make me thankful, Lord for the moments gone forever, conversations, love so fleeting, give me power to remember, make me thankful, Lord all the gifts declare your kindness, joyful Father, loving Friend, make me long... Continue Reading →
A beggar at Christmas.
If I have calculated correctly, Christmas is 8 days away. (I was an English major; you do the math!) So maybe, like me, you are watching old movies and pulling out favorite Christmas stories for an annual read-through. Last year, we discovered a story new to our family, a beautiful little old-fashioned tale called "The... Continue Reading →
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Ah, books.
“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.” ― Oscar Wilde I was just thinking about bookstores and how I love them so and how I wish I owned one so that I had an excuse for being there all... Continue Reading →
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A carol for Sunday.
It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of gold; “Peace on the earth, good will to men, From Heaven’s all gracious King.” The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels sing. Yet with the woes of sin and strife... Continue Reading →
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Homesick
“No one has yet believed in God and the kingdom of God, no one has yet heard about the realm of the resurrected, and not been homesick from that hour, waiting and looking forward joyfully to being released from bodily existence.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer Well, I wrote a few days ago about the end of... Continue Reading →
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The End is all kinds of nigh.
Well, it's 12/12/12, and I'm still here. I assume you are, too? I wonder what all those people with the one-way tickets to the Riviera are going to do? All of the end-of-the-world hoopla this week reminded me of one of my all-time favorite bathroom reading books, "Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse" by Jason Boyett.... Continue Reading →
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Stacking the odds.
"Best part?" he asks every night at supper. And the kids shout out, especially the happy ones, "Playing with Legos and building a Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/Velociraptor!" "Eating doughnuts for breakfast!" "Being here with you, Dad." That one makes a regular appearance, equal parts delightful and deliberate. But some days the kids are grouchy,... Continue Reading →
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Best Christmas Pageant (Tea) Ever
So tomorrow is the Christmas Tea, our church's annual ladies' event. Guess who's speaking? Tonight we set things up, the miles of garland, enough lights to reach from Colorado to California, plates enough to stack to the moon, all things glittering, all things white, all things shiny. We worked, and worked, and all the while... Continue Reading →
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A prayer for today.
"I want to see beauty. In the ugly, in the sink, in the suffering, in the daily, in all the days before I die, the moments before I sleep." — Ann Voskamp
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Books and Trees
Aspen trees are practically synonymous with Colorado, but I can't for the life of me get one to grow in my backyard. Stubborn trees, they grow where they will, and they flourish in the scarred and broken places. Try and put one in a nice sunny spot with lots of water and specialty garden soil,... Continue Reading →
Catherine's Letters 