Last week I mused that our political involvement should be as trees planted by living water…so what is living water?  Jesus said to the woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you...

When the psalmist writes in Psalm 146, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” is he saying that we are to take no interest in politics and government?  That we should trust God to mystically and magically work it all out?     ...

Disappointment sits
like a pit in my stomach,
a sucker punch that crumples me
in the dust of dejection.
It feels unanswerable, unalterable,
and in the deep dark hours it is.
The mind whirrs and worries,
a parade of horribles marching by
until my mental gears
are broken by fear and fretting
run amok from...

Is it time to panic yet
when sharks fall out of the sky,
when cars roll backwards up a 
hill and krill eat pizza pies?

Foxes’ heads get stuck in jars,
and robots are writing plays;
castanets click-clack in trees
and bees dance roundelays.

Oh, I have heard of stranger
things than cowboys...

Seeds that fall on rocky ground
still strive and strain to burst forth green
and shed their tight confinement, 

but they might feel the curse of Cain
as spores spill, muting tongues that
parched and exiled go unquenched;

for voice was made to sing His praise
and hands designed to write; all built...

I tried to prune my roses
but the thorns were mean to me.
They jabbed me and they stabbed me;
I had gashes, two or three.

I fought the battle bravely
while with their stems I wrestled,
but among the sprays and vines
small swords and rapiers nestled. 

Some gardeners enjoy the
scent of these fragrant...

He’s a sweet Hawaiian cracker
Filled with gooey pineapple jam,
Nestled with his cracker fellows,
As happy as an island clam.

His future is to be nibbled,
He's tasty and so delicious;
But don't tell your mom or your dad--
He's not so very nutritious.

Just savor your sugary treat
With a crunch, a...

There may always be need for earthquakes,
  the appearance of brawny angels,
a blinding light and voice from heaven,

the upheaval of revolution
  to wrest mercy from the hands of
oppressively devilish death.

Some require signs and wonders,
  and circuses still have their fans,
so do the...

A massive, lazy housefly
sat on my poetry book.
He lingered on the rhyming
words with wistful, longing look

as he browsed with bulbous eyes
and rubbed his legs with relish,
indicating that he'd found
all the metered lines delish.

I couldn’t help admiring
the bravado he displayed,
but the pathogens...

At the Orange County Highland Games in 1994, our eight-year old son participated in a Pillow Fight.  Straddling a caber, he is here seen receiving the rules of engagement for the competition.  He needed to cling to the pole and apply some calm strategies to defeat his opponent, which he...