Gardening and the Liturgical Year

 A new post went out from my Substack today, including an invitation to join me at Fieldmoot!

Shape Poem: Wisp

 The Wednesday Poetry Prompt from Writer's Digest this week is to write a shape poem. As it is something I've never tried, I thought I'd give it a shot. Here it is (if the formatting plays nicely...):

            Wisp

       w

    i      s

      p

        o

          f

         s

      m

    o

    k

     e

     .

     .

     .

    it

    is

    a

 small

 thing,

 like a

 whisp

 -ered

 prayer

 rising

from an

      extinguished

       candle after

        my exhale. 

The Posture of Patience

 You can read my new post HERE. 

Joining Substack...

 I've been pretty hit and miss about publishing here, and much more consistent on Instagram. I'm trying something new this year, though, and I've started a substack newsletter if you're interested. It includes the sorts of things I post here, like poetry and musings on the liturgical year, along with some deeper musings. I'll probably still post here occasionally, but I've been on the once-or-twice a year schedule for a couple years now, so if you're looking for something more consistent, substack might be your answer. 

Stepping Painfully into the Day (Published by She is Kindred)

Stepping Painfully Into The Day

"My body hurts today."

First waking thoughts

as I press my weight into arthritic feet

and stand to face the day.

This is my body, broken for you.

I hobble toward the bathroom

each step a reminder 

that I am broken,

that this body bears the effects

of creation, fallen.

"I could just fall back into bed,"

and a sigh,

"but I hurt there, too."

Do this in remembrance of me.

Get out of bed, in remembrance of me.

Face the day, in remembrance of me .

Take each painful step, in remembrance of me .

toward the work He has prepared for me today,

in remembrance of me.

Ora et labora. 

Whatever you do,

in word or deed,

do all to the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ,

giving thanks

to God and the Father

through Him. 

Ora et labora. 

in remembrance of me.

Amen.

 

Poem published at She is Kindred.

Santa Lucia Day

 Another Santa Lucia Day, come and gone. As we have the last several years, we began with saffron buns and our own Lucia, complete with white dress, red sash, and candled wreath upon her head. As we sat at the table eating, I watch the candles burn down and thought over Lucia's life and death, and what her story can teach us. Of course, that means my thoughts came out in poem form. 

Santa Lucia

Lucia’s candle ever shorter grows

Like these twilit waning days

Against the dark it ever glows

‘Till darkness snuffs its golden rays

Of hope she sings unsetting sun

This bread for you and blood poured out

Her self pledged only ever one

True love her light reflects without

Passion alone her candle burns

No torch can make it blaze

Throat silenced for the quiet yearns

These still dark waning days

This bread eat and drink this cup

Borne light upon your brow

Even falling lifted up

Dawn’s light comes swiftly now

On Santa Lucia day 

2020 Reading list - How did I do?

 Back in January I posted a list of 50 books I wanted to read in 2020. As of today, 11 months into the year, I have read 60 books. But how many of those were on my original list? Let's see... 

• The Overstory by Richard Powers
• A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent
• Food Matters by Mark Bittman
• Habits of Grace by David Mathis STARTED
• The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh
• Everybody Always by Bob Goff
• Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
• Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
• Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher
• Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

• A book with an emotion in the title: Awe by Paul David Tripp
• A young adult novel: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle OR The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
• A book translated from another language: The Song of Roland OR Latin: Story of a World Language
• A book that's centered around a holiday: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
• A novel based on a true story: Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen 
• A book with song lyrics in the title: 1984 by George Orwell
• A book that's been on your shelf for more than a year: Norms and Nobility by David Hicks
• A book with a non-human narrator: The Green Ember by S.D. Smith
• A book with a month in the title: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
• A book you heard about on TV / Radio / a podcast: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 
• A book set in the state you live in: Conjugations of the Verb To Be by Glen Chamberlain
• A romance novel: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

• A Shakespeare Play: Winter's Tale
• A Classic Detective Novel: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
• A Contemporary Novel: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
• A Historical Fiction Novel: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
• A Ancient Greek Play: The Bacchae OR Prometheus Bound
• A Collection of Short Stories: The Return of the Light by Carolyn McVicar Edwards STARTED
• A Biography or Memoir: Take This Bread by Sara Mills
• A Devotional Work: The Desert Fathers STARTED
• A Book About Books: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• A Foreign (Non-Western) Book: Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson 
• A "Guilty Pleasure" Book: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
• An Intimidating Book You Have Avoided: Confessions by St. Augustine 
• A Satire: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• A Book of Essays: The Art of the Commonplace by Wendell Berry
• A Book by a Minor Author: A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent
• A Classic Book by a Female Author: Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila STARTED
• A Complete Volume of Poetry by a Single Author: A Timbered Choir by Wendell Berry
• An "Out of Your Comfort Zone" Book: The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
• Reread a Book You Read in High School: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

• Slow Church
• This Organic Life
• Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
• The Prophetic Imagination
• The Nordic Theory of Everything
• Long Live Latin
• The Roman Way
• Making of Latin
• Sabbath
• Reading for the Common Good

SO.... I've read an awful lot that wasn't on this list, and not made too much progress on what is here. But I'm okay with that. And I'll have a couple of these done by the end of the year, since I have started them and am making progress. We'll see what the 2021 lineup is in about a month. In the meantime, I'll keep reading. :)

F(e)ast

One season boxed up

the next on display save the

wadded up tablecloth

awaiting the day

it is washed clean

the last remnant of feasting

for tomorrow we fast

the good news of course is

the fast doesn’t last

like our tears it is wiped away

at the feast of the lamb

in the stable at the head

of the table on the throne I am

the one who is able

we fast the time past as we

wait for the feast with breath bated

we open the first door that is dated and

the door to our hearts opens just a bit more

we step through the season to

make it just right as the steps

of the season guide our hearts

through the night to the light

of the candles that shine on the hall

where the banquet is served

come one and come all

for the bridegroom has come - let us feast!

the night will be broken

the silence undone

every string will be tuned

every song will be sung

when the light of the king

shines beyond every shadow

with darkness consumed

by the glorious Son

and the bride and her groom

at last become one.

Learning to be Still

A month into the quarantine, the hard days are fewer and further between. I'm one who finds ways to keep busy most days, so that I don't fall into the depths of despair on the hard days. In this season of solitude, of downtime, of quiet, though, I am learning to be still. I am learning to be present to the thoughts and feelings of the moment, without letting them carry me away downstream. Today I sat outside with my thoughts, and was blessed, not with sudden happiness or the weight lifted, but with the company of birds and sunshine on my face. It is not that we don't walk through hard things; it is that we don't walk through them alone. And so I sat, reminded that hard is not the same as bad. There ARE bad things, but not all hard things are bad. And so, I tried to make something beautiful with what I have to offer today. The video above is the result. I wish you grace and peace as you learn to be present, and still.