Yesterday, as I took a break on my porch, I watched more than one robin gathering grasses and small trigs and even some string. It made me smile because I knew what they were up to, I knew they were setting up their home for the season and building their nests. And I thought of myself years ago setting up our house and trying to make it a home. I recalled my hopes and my dreams. Do you think robins have hopes and dreams or is it all instinct?   I remembered the first time my

On Monday night, our former rural parish church was hit by the powerful storms that rolled across southern Wisconsin. The roof was torn off the church. My grandson and his fiancé were devastated not just because their wedding was scheduled there in early July but because of the meaning that church has in their lives and the lives of family. Then, five days later, yesterday, Saturday, we had a wedding shower for my soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law. It was a much more joyful “sh

As a director of faith formation for over two decades, I have so many memories of teaching the children the song “This Little Light of Mine.” They took to the lyrics so easily and when we added motions, the whole room would light up. And from the children I was sent to teach, I learned that the Light that begins with that spark when we encounter and welcome Christ into our lives is meant to illuminate not just us but those around us. I learned that the spark is meant to be sh

I was sitting on my porch, just having written in my journal, all was good, when a movement to my left drew my attention. I turned to find a white butterfly (it could have been a moth, but I prefer to think it was a butterfly). I watched it as it flitted about over the lawn. It was like a dance. I smiled. It was my first butterfly of the season. Then I noticed a slight movement slightly to the right. I took my eyes off the butterfly and shifted them to the brown movement on m

Last night during the last round of storms to come through, I did what I do that they tell us not to do, I went and sat outside to watch and tried to listen and look for signs of perilous weather coming. As I sat in the total darkness, I spotted a light in the neighborhood, four houses down. I honed my sights in on it. It was flickering. My first thought was a fire. But then I watched it and it was too uniform. Finally, I recognized it as a yard solar light that shone like a

Monday evening the storms began in our area and my old parish church, St. Joseph’s in East Bristol, Wisconsin, was severely damaged. My daughter who lives a couple miles away and can see the church and the cemetery where we have our plots texted me with photos. I couldn’t believe the damage. I thought of all the people whose lives have been touched by that church and community. I thought of my grandson and his fiancé whose wedding was to be there in July. I understand the sci

I miss grits and real hush puppies. I miss the twang in voices and the metaphors that fill conversations “hotter than the surface of the sun” or “busy as a rock.” There are so many things I miss about the south now that I’m a Midwesterner, but this time of year, what I miss most are the southern live oaks coming to life when they shed that crusty, brown foliage and their branches bud out. The dead leaves gotta go so the green life can return.   Live southern oaks don’t shed t

Yesterday, as I sat and prayed at the start of my day, I thought the weather might be my greatest danger or at least inconvenience. I checked the forecast and found that while I was due to be out and about for church was supposed to be uneventful, so I felt confident about how the morning would go. And sure enough, no rain on my walk into church or back to my car. I headed to lunch with parish friends after church, but parking was an issue. There was only one spot in the down

If I had to list my favorite thing about being a member of my parish’s women’s group, it would be watching them collaborate. I consider myself blessed to be among them as we come together to serve a free soup supper for the community, to serve a funeral luncheon for a parish family at their most vulnerable moment, to donate food for other parish functions, or to facilitate a summer social on the sidewalks outside church during the summer months.   I learned about blessed coll

The LORD is love. The LORD is goodness personified and all goodness comes from the LORD. And when others are good and loving, we should thank them for their goodness and love. But we should also thank the LORD because it was the LORD that gave them the desire to love and to be good. Yesterday, I was blessed by a special and unexpected gift from a friend. It was a total surprise. It came at the end of a long week with several personal challenges and worry. And then out of the

When my children were small, we’d do neighborhood “walking prayers.” We’d walk down the sidewalk in our small city, and as we’d pass the front walk of a home, we’d name the people who lived there, and we’d say a prayer for them. We got our exercise, we remembered with love our neighbors, and we offered our most powerful gift, prayers.   Recently, I learned of a woman who prays for others when she encounters something that reminds her of them like a gift or a photo. I loved th

This past weekend, my children brought me flowers for my birthday. They also gave me the promise of a bouquet every month for a year on the 6 th . It made me smile so deeply that my heart could feel the upturn. It reminded me of my husband’s gift, the same gesture, years ago. After that year, instead of sending me flowers, he grew flowers for me, but not just any flowers. He grew the flowering weeds I loved.   My favorite flowers actually are wildflowers: chicory, campion, ox

This week, Christ’s gifts abound! This week I celebrate Christ’s gift of freedom won for me through His loving sacrifice, His death, His resurrection. As Paul reminds us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Daily, I remind myself of just how much the LORD desires that I be free.   Jesus set me free. He set you free. He gave His life for us. We can accept His gift a

On Easter Sunday, when several of the family had gathered, I announced that I needed their help with a chore. I explained that the snowplow had hit our rock bed by the drive this past winter and driven several rocks into our yard. I needed help gathering them so the spring mower didn’t launch them at my neighbor’s house and do damage. I was amused by the response to my plea for help.   The grandkids in their twenties just nodded and walked that way. The oldest and middle teen

Today is my birthday, but I celebrated it yesterday with my family as we gathered for Easter. We had our Easter celebration and prayer and meal. Then after the dishes were done, and I was sitting at the table with several of my kids and grandkids, I was surprised with a birthday party of sorts complete with candles in my favorite rice Krispie bar. It just doesn’t get better than that – Easter – Family – Favorite Food – Surprise Party.   As some of my family snuck up behind me

Jesus Christ is risen. Hallelujah. Let our joy be heard and our praise of the LORD rise to fill the earth. Our Lenten journeys have brought us to the empty tomb, and hopefully to a renewed hope, an enhanced faith, and a deeper love. Let us be the disciples we are called to be as apostles who are also called to bring this good news to others through our words and actions. May this day be filled with praise of the LORD and thanksgiving as we gather at church to celebrate and ov

When I was a child, I went to Girl Scout Camp at the Laura S. Walker State Park. That’s where I learned to swim. Actually, to this day, I’m more of a dog paddler than a swimmer, but that is where I was officially instructed in water sports. At first, we spent our lake time in the shallow water where it was safe. Truth is, at any moment, if we tired, we could quit our strokes and simply stand up. In those safe depths, we had fun frolicking in the lake, splashing water at one a

When I was a child, “Good Friday” was good. I was too young to really understand anything about the day except that we had no school. That was good. That was great. By the time I was in middle school, I realized what we were remembering and couldn’t understand for the life of me why we called it “Good.” As a young adult, I finally realized that the “Good” was a reminder of the loving goodness of the LORD and His salvific plan for us. But to this day, I struggle with the “Good

Today begins the Triduum, the holiest days of the year for Christians. Today is Holy Thursday, the day we recall Jesus’ gathering with His disciples for the last time, a special shared meal during which He gave His own body and blood for the life of His beloved in the Eucharist, and the night he spent teaching them and in prayer before his arrest. While Good Friday is held by many as the most holy because of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary, for me Holy Thursday is the most info

My husband and I had an appointment in Madison at the most exquisite building. We went in, located the office on the directory, took the elevator up, and managed to find the right office suite. Our meeting went well. We were feeling accomplished, until we went to leave. At the door of the office suite, my husband reached for the door handle and pulled. It created a bit of a bang. He tried again, as I watched. Then I realized our error. The door read “PULL” but from inside, it