Hymn of Grateful Praise

For the beauty of the earth… For the glory of the skies… For the love which from our birth… Over and around us lies… Lord of all to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise. –Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864 According to Robert Morgan,...

Book Launch PAR-TAY!

I wasn’t going to bother. It just seemed like too much work. Setting a date. Securing a venue. Getting liability insurance (for a two-hour shindig!). Making or buying hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Sending invitations. All this on top of the lame and loathsome...

Waking to Mystery

Hi friends, Since Tuesday (August 6) was the Feast of the Transfiguration, Christine Sine has been kind enough to publish part of the transfiguration essay from my book. If you’ve been hanging out here any length of time, or if you’ve read the book,...

Blokes Who Write Bad Poetry

On July 26, 1875, John Shine clicked the reins to spur his team of four horses up Funk Hill. The California sun shone hot on his ten-gallon hat, and he sweated inside his white shirt and leather vest as the stagecoach rattled along the rutted road. A few minutes...

The Poetree

“I think it needs to be a little higher,” Susan says. She’s looking up into the apple tree on our church lawn, where my son Jack; his friend, also named Jack (we’ll call him Jack Y, to minimize confusion); and my daughter, Jane, are perched on branches of varying...

So Much Depends

On the pipe organ a cobalt vase sprays seafoam leaves and pink sweet peas. Photos by Abbie B. Berry Today, I am grateful for: 2665. My church community. 2666. Abbie, who faithfully arranges flowers each week to remind us that God is creative and beautiful. 2667....