One of the interesting responses to the current pandemic has been a turning back to gardening. Plant nurseries and online seed catalogue companies have been inundated with orders for seeds, planting boxes and fertilizers. First time gardeners are crying out for help as they dig their inexperienced hands in the dirt. What concerns me, however, is that many of these …
The Great Pause
Like everyone else around me, I am struggling to make sense of what the new reality facing us in the coming weeks as we return to work and a semblance of normalcy, could look like. This has not been an easy time for any of us, but in the midst some startling and beautiful facts have emerged. My daily walks …
Are You Ready for the Corona Virus?
Last Wednesday, I went to Costco for my usual fortnightly visit, arriving early to avoid the crowds. Or at least, I thought I was. The place was crowded and people were loading carts with what looked like a year’s supply of toilet paper, rice and other staples. Over the weekend, it was even worse and when I went this week …
Enter the Re-Wonderment of the World.
This year has been an amazing awe and wonder springtime on America’s west coast. In California the spectacular blooming of the desert brought thousands of people out to relish the brilliant oranges, yellows and purples of the flowers whose seeds lie dormant, sometimes for years waiting for rain. In Oregon brilliant purple lupines waved their heads across the mountainsides and …
Breaking Down Walls
My Lenten theme this year is Breaking Down Walls. I was not just thinking of the controversy about the wall on the U.S/Mexican border when I chose this topic. All of us have walls in our lives, products of our own brokenness and often too, of our responses to the brokenness of others. These walls separate us from the one …
Discerning the Way Ahead
January is a month of discernment for me. I don’t just make resolutions I spend considerable time discerning God’s path ahead and working out how I will keep myself on track. It is something I think every Christian community should consider. How do we prepare ourselves so that what we intend sticks? Here is a glimpse of what I am …
A Season of Gratitude
This year my husband Tom and I are celebrating Thanksgiving twice. At the beginning of October we had the privilege of sharing Canadian Thanksgiving with friends in British Columbia. We loved not just the enjoyment of rich food and fellowship but also the times of reflecting on the many blessings in our lives. We came home with a warm glow. …
Six Tips for Showing Appreciation
The new year has begun – not the calendar year or even the liturgical year but the year around which many of our lives revolve – the start of school for kids, collegians and graduates and the end of summer for all of us. It is time for most of us to get up to full speed after relaxing vacations, …
The Times They Are A Changing
This morning I turned on the kitchen lights when I got up. It’s the first time since summer began. We still expect warm days and abundant harvests throughout August, but this is my first warning that the seasons are changing and I need to be ready. It reminds me of when I worked in Jamaica. A common road sign read You …
Sustainable Life Rhythm – Learning from Our Children
Can you imagine a God who dances with shouts of joy, laughs, plays, goes to parties, enjoys life and invites us to join the fun? I couldn’t until recently. Like most of us, I grew up with a very serious, workaholic God who chastised me for not keeping busy 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Even though I …