2020
What does it mean for God to be “at the point of my pen”? “God is not remote from us. [God] is at the point of my pen, my (pick) shovel, my paint brush, my (sewing) needle — and my heart and thoughts.” —Teilhard de Chardin
“So when we think of mercy, we should be thinking first and foremost of a bond, an infallible link of love that holds the created and uncreated realms together.” —Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope
“Timing is everything. Just for a moment, in the pause before the earth rotates again into night, the cave is flooded with light. The near-nothingness of Schistostega erupts in a shower of sparkles, like green glitter spilled on the rug at Christmas… And then, within minutes, it’s gone. All its needs are met in an ephemeral moment at the end of the day when the sun aligns with the mouth of the cave… Each shoot is shaped like a feather, flat and delicate. The soft blue green fronds stand up like a glad of translucent ferns, tracking the path of the sun. It is so little. And yet it is enough.”
This, partnered with Carrie Newcomer’s song, “The Brink of Everything” gave wings to my morning. “I never sang ‘cause I knew something. I sang because it was a prayer, the finest one that I could bear.”
2018
“For years in ministry as new Christians come out of the waters of baptism, the churches I have served in take a towel and wash the feet of the new followers of Jesus as we speak these words, ‘No longer with the sword of violence,but with this sign of humble service, you now conquer.’” ~Jarrod McKenna, Keep Watch with Me Lenten Reader
2017
“The pine tree, the leopard, the Platte River, and ourselves — we are at risk together, or we are on our way to a sustainable world together. We are each other’s destiny.” ~Mary Oliver, Upstream
2016
Pastor Emmanuel in his Easter Sunday message at Living Word told a story about his 4-year-old son’s nightmare of a forgotten school lunch. Life sometimes gives us a little bigger perspective, and thanks be to God, new life at Easter gives us a WAY bigger perspective… Wonder and believe in Easter dreams!
2015
Images and words, like palm branches and hosannas, fall so very short. Lord, help us be present at one another’s vulnerable places. Help us be present to our own.
2014
Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green. ~Joel 2:22
2014
This week I tried to use Philippians 2:4-8 as a lens through which to live my life. I glimpsed over and over the love of God for us and for all creation, expressed in both the way Jesus lived and in the way he died.
vonda drees art 