Ancient Words:
Guarding words from Scripture, poets, philosophers, the Book of Common Prayer, and the common man.
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Come, Dance in Joy and Sit with Sorrow
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Sorrow Will Remain Faithful to Itself
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you gets fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence.
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
When the silence of absence deepens.
Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.
It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.
Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And, when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.
____
“For Grief” by John O’Donohue, from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings (Doubleday, 2008).
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Granola, Roots, Reality, and Creeds
Ephesians tells us to dig our roots down deep into the soil of God's love, being filled with the fullness of the Father:
"...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV)
Thursday, March 28, 2024
This Dark Night
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Of Pictures and Pieces
Saturday, January 6, 2024
We Were Meant to Live
It's a new year, a new Church season (Epiphany). It's a new season of life for me, as I'm about to get married. And there is a new recording of Switchfoot's Meant to Live that I wish you could hear. I've known this song for twenty years, but this recording breaks my heart almost every time I hear it. It makes me think of you. It makes me miss you. And it makes me cry.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
December Jamborees
Recapping December in Photos...
Summit's Christmas party at the Peel House was just lovely!
Good thing we looked fabulous in this photo, because we only took two all evening!
Over all, 2023 has held some very big losses and sadness... But it has also been filled with much happiness and excitement, too (there's a sapphire ring on my left hand, since Nick asked me an important question when we were in Wisconsin in October).
The best parts of the year and the hardest parts all involved people we love and support (and who support us). Where would we be if the Lord did not put us into families and tuck us into loving communities? Where would we be without the Lord Himself? HE is our life.
Friday, October 6, 2023
Where is Time?
Does it live on the bottom of a well,
Saturday, September 30, 2023
We Are Once In a Lifetime
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Autumn Apple Spice Cake
Autumn is my favourite time of year... There's a nip in the air, the sunlight is honey-gold, and the flavours are rich, warm, and home. If you need to be transported to an autumn tree-lined lane, this soundtrack never fails to work for me.
Generally I'm not a cake person, but in the autumn and winter I love a good coffee cake or spice cake with a cup of maple black tea with a good book or my favourite fall films.
If you are looking for something cinnamon-spicy and appley-dapply, here is a sour cream apple spice cake recipe for you!
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter*, softened (8 Tablespoons)
- 3/4 – 1 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1-2 tsp vanilla or maple flavouring (or 1 tsp of each)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream/yoghurt*
- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and grated (granny smith are super good!)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 Tbs fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp dry)
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups (270 grams) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 Tbs Butter
1/4 C Oats
3 Tbs Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Flour
Cinnamon (to taste)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9"×9" or 9"x13" glass pan with butter.
- In a medium bowl or sifter, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together/sift flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer or whisk 2-3 minutes, until light, fluffy, and well combined.
- Mix in eggs, one at a time.
- Stir in sour cream and apples.
- Add the dry ingredients mixture and gently mix till all dry ingredients are just mixed together. Don’t over-mix.
- Pour cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with crumble topping, if desired.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack. *
- Make this recipe dairy free by using vegetable oil and apple sauce in place of the butter and sour cream.
Inspired by: https://www.onelovelylife.com/apple-spice-cake/
Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash