The Plum Was Delicious (And Now the Seed)
I ate the plum! It was delicious! And I saved the seed and placed it in the refrigerator for its six month chilling requirement. In early March, I’ll propagate. I’ll start another glorious plumcot tree to add to my orchard. In four years, you’ll hear about this tree’s plum. And over and over again.
Praying Psalm 90
I loved reading Psalm 90 this morning and praying this for my friends, family, coworkers, and students. It’s such a beautiful blessing if you think about verses 14-17: Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.Make us glad for as many days as you have […]
Live Deep
This morning I read a quote by novelist Henry James that made me smile. He offers this advice to writers: “Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!” I found the original quote from his book, The Art of Fiction, written in 1884. James writes this: The power to guess the […]
Come On In!
Today I filled the candy jar in my office with Hi Chew candies (students love these) and KIND bars. I filled another basket with Emergen-C, water flavors, and scratch art for relaxation in the office. In the past, I’ve offered breakfast bars and bottled water—anything to let a student know they can come in, stay […]
The Lovely and the Blessed
More and more, I love Psalm 84. It offers a new way to see and a fresh way to live. Instead of fretting over our homes, we remember the loveliness of dwelling in God and praising Him. (How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of Hosts!) Instead of relying on our own strength and […]
Lowliness of Spirit
I’m reading Fenelon’s book called Let Go. In the very first recorded letter, he writes about having lowliness of spirit. He writes that lowliness is “essential” and “produces a teachable spirit that makes everything easy.” When something happens to us that destroys our pride, reveals our weakness or insufficiency, and brings us to a low […]
On High
This morning I note the expression “on high” repeated in the psalms. In Psalm 69:29, for example, David writes, “But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!” I look up the translation of “on high,” and I just love the expression. David is asking God to set him […]
Ripening
I venture to the garden to see that my tomatoes finally ripened. I’m always stunned at Pennsylvania’s late growing season. I always feel like red tomatoes arrive too late here when, really, they’re right on time. (Varying ripening timelines across the US provide a good example of not comparing your growth or life’s plan to […]
Back to the Inch
It’s a cool morning here, so I sneak in some weeding between work commitments. I always view the weeding work in front of me and experience that overwhelming feeling that there’s just too much to do here. You might feel that with your own work today. It’s too much! But then I remember to work […]
Prepare for the Rumble
You know how when a plane lands, it’s so jarring for that one second? And you know how the brakes make you feel like you’re going to fly forward? And you know how you’re bracing until all of a sudden, it all feels smooth and right again? Well, transition periods are always like this. My […]