fpc missoula

eastertide

(a ‘post-easter’ reflection…)

the ashes have vanished
the solemness banished
the disciplines finished
the darkness diminished
the palms have adorned him
the leaders have warned him
the soldiers have thorned him
the friends have all scorned him
the rabble awaken
the judges mistaken
the saviour forsaken
the foundations shaken
the creation cursed
the lynch mob dispersed
the body immersed
the blessing reversed
the lifeblood has bled
the tears have been shed
the prayers [...]

contemplation and creativity

If you want a reconciled outer world, reconcile your own inner world.
If you wish to find some outer stillness, find it within yourself.
If you notice other people’s irritability, let go of your own.
– Richard Rohr, The Naked Now.

to me, contemplation and creativity are two sides of the same coin.
each one comes from the other, and [...]

the absence of conflict…or the presence of love?

‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.’
– Jesus (in John 14.27)

he dances and prances, giggles and grins, raves and waves, and wishes them well.

i live on a [...]

the author of authenticity

(rediscovering some older poems that still have a voice, at least to me…)

Driving my body
to God-knows-where
away from the frost-bitten
chill in the air
where greatest intentions
hang still like the daggers
of crystallized ice
all pointed and jaggered
tears dropping along
the sharp edges that slash
away hopes in my flesh
like the snow, like the ash
from the fire that torches
desire and the sun
that [...]

recognition, reflection, remembrance and repentance

‘So whenever you give, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their full reward.’
– Jesus (in Matthew 6.2).

blogging is a strange thing.
you take time to reflect deeply upon the [...]

clouds and witnesses

‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…’
– Hebrews 12.1.

the day started with clear skies and sunshine.
and then the clouds came.
not an unusual occurrence here in missoula. we get plenty of cloudy days. even when the rest of montana in basking in sunshine. not unlike seattle (without as much rain) or [...]

naked and unashamed

‘The two were both naked, and were not ashamed.’
– Genesis 2.25.

yesterday, march 1st, it was 54 degrees and sunny in Missoula.
and i didn’t the leave the house.
why?
i’m not really sure.
i’ve had the creepy crud in my head and chest for a week and a half now, but i wasn’t feeling terribly ill yesterday. i admired [...]

marriage, memories & mixes

‘The making of a good mix tape is a very subtle art. You’re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.’
– Rob Gordon (John Cusack), from the movie High Fidelity.

i’d been trying to make a special mix cd for my wife, kirsten, for months now. even years. you would [...]

silence (a lenten poem)

A bright cloudless day
no breeze or breath
dry, open space before me
windswept from the night before
a silence so deafening
it drowns out the screams
echoing in the empty well
that is my heart and soul
on this day
bright and cloudless
no traces of the explosion
that created among the rubble
this dry, open space before me
void of any remnant
of [...]

be still? or still be?

‘be still, and know that i am God.’ (ps. 46.10)

it’s one of my favourite statements in all of literature. a call to slow down, let go, and simply be in the Presence in the moment. my heart rate automatically reduces ever so slightly whenever i hear or read these words.
and then i try to ‘be [...]