tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64409116303769016202024-03-04T21:37:59.262-08:00CANNON BEACH LOGSoul Refreshment from the Oregon CoastDavid Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.comBlogger334125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-58930894270998413012012-02-13T10:48:00.001-08:002012-02-13T10:49:26.312-08:00SEED AMONG CEDAR<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQt0s_4dCvanP3UFRKmnOpkixicR8HsoF784gss0HRCO90WS3QcNJzNewUrJz3dya3dW4s9dB5EkHTD1ZykqcRpRTlXNFzCyFWfY_2Y8lLxIUbYSYITO1TYFbAuskAdIhujFOKwvuMnn8/s1600/Brazilian-Red-Capped-Cardinal-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQt0s_4dCvanP3UFRKmnOpkixicR8HsoF784gss0HRCO90WS3QcNJzNewUrJz3dya3dW4s9dB5EkHTD1ZykqcRpRTlXNFzCyFWfY_2Y8lLxIUbYSYITO1TYFbAuskAdIhujFOKwvuMnn8/s320/Brazilian-Red-Capped-Cardinal-M.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My soul, an empty birdfeeder,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Attracts no winged thing,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Without the seed among cedar,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">The forest seldom sings.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">On Sabbath morn come fill anew</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">This empty heart of mine;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">With suet cakes and seeds to woo,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">The feathered life divine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">“God’s little theologians”* come</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">To teach my soul your story;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">No anxious cares within this home,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">When filled with heaven’s glory. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">*Martin Luther’s affectionate term for birds</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">D. Robinson 3.18.11</span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-11261176270233004412012-02-07T21:22:00.001-08:002012-02-07T21:22:48.098-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Olympic-National-Park/18344983_Hp57pV#%21i=1471566090&k=5FPzJkN&lb=1&s=A"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Olympic-National-Park/i-5FPzJkN/0/S/Land-Art-Stone-Pond-Hoh-Lake-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-38483273234815920142012-02-06T10:12:00.000-08:002012-02-07T21:21:35.136-08:00NATURE & ART<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuisGv5ueb1mBA5zkP1h7z2CD4D6ZdezSGC_bqtDryFHdZRfJu7Tl1JQ_ItmEKtWHNdf9L1mqe1xiOzolquPaYbx9l2FVDgFmtTFYb3TZx0deK-GzM66W5-3z2H-_YuxN03Vk41YXvLk/s1600/photography.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuisGv5ueb1mBA5zkP1h7z2CD4D6ZdezSGC_bqtDryFHdZRfJu7Tl1JQ_ItmEKtWHNdf9L1mqe1xiOzolquPaYbx9l2FVDgFmtTFYb3TZx0deK-GzM66W5-3z2H-_YuxN03Vk41YXvLk/s400/photography.jpg" width="400" /><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Whenever I am out in nature and see a surplus of natural materials, such as stones, leaves, sticks, branches or cones, I think of Andy Goldsworthy. What would Andy do here? If you've never heard of Andy Goldsworthy, he is a British nature sculptor and environmentalist who works with natural materials to create works of art in natural settings. He may be best known for his documentary "River and Tides", as well as his collection of photo art books. Here is a link to his official website: <a href="http://www.ucblueash.edu/artcomm/web/w2005_2006/maria_Goldsworthy/TEST/index.html">Andy Goldsworthy website</a>. The photo collage above is a collection of his work from a variety of locations. Here is an an excerpt from </span><i style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature </i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(NY: Abrams, 1990):</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"For me, looking, touching, material, place and form are all inseparable from the resulting work. It is difficult to say where one stops and another begins. Place is found by walking, direction determined by weather and season. I take opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches.</span></div><div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. I might have walked past or worked there many times. Some places I return to over and over again, going deeper -- a relationship made in layers over a long time. Staying in one place makes me more aware of change. I might give up after a while. My perception of a place is often frustratingly limited. The best of my work, sometimes the result of much struggle when made, appears so obvious that it is incredible I didn't see it before. It was there all the time. </span></div><div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Movement, changes, light, growth and decay are the lifeblood of nature, the energies that I try to tap through my work. I need the shock of touch, the resistance of place, materials and weather, the earth as my source. I want to get under the surface. When I work with a leaf, rock, stick, it is not just that material in itself, it is an opening into the processes of life within and around it. When I leave, these processes continue."</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i></i> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuisGv5ueb1mBA5zkP1h7z2CD4D6ZdezSGC_bqtDryFHdZRfJu7Tl1JQ_ItmEKtWHNdf9L1mqe1xiOzolquPaYbx9l2FVDgFmtTFYb3TZx0deK-GzM66W5-3z2H-_YuxN03Vk41YXvLk/s1600/photography.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-3621142279607036572012-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:002012-01-31T12:27:23.977-08:00Stones at Sunset<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Cannon-Beach/11844019_2BtwSH#%21i=1413105896&k=q5ZBZ8c"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Cannon-Beach/i-q5ZBZ8c/0/S/Rock-Art-Andy-Goldsworthy-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-31552590532800140782012-01-30T10:10:00.000-08:002012-01-30T10:16:47.259-08:00SMOOTH STONES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpMSUYSDupnVUzsfETj43NhHvCZTaPv0HAM4ZSpKP-LgK2mrZ0ZbDBT-ALcJi-tCTWo4nBUcHah7sioy1MwKHOnL1Ms75dwqcog5oqLZfhx0blmcxNqGvFiedTQTF7XcoNFLrNeP58iE/s1600/622219620_j55Ej-M-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpMSUYSDupnVUzsfETj43NhHvCZTaPv0HAM4ZSpKP-LgK2mrZ0ZbDBT-ALcJi-tCTWo4nBUcHah7sioy1MwKHOnL1Ms75dwqcog5oqLZfhx0blmcxNqGvFiedTQTF7XcoNFLrNeP58iE/s320/622219620_j55Ej-M-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SMOOTH STONES</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dark and hardened my soul</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before your presence washed</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With waves of psalms in song*</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dawning grace on grace comes</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As tide turns and returns</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Approaching and receding</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wave on wave of verses</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chanted antiphonally over and again</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As waves run up the beach</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reaching ever higher to dunes</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To smooth and cleanse stones</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Softening hard edges to round</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My stone soul washed and smoothed</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Year upon year, tide upon tide</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As rounded and smoothed</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I may rest in your hand with delight</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the finding</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Found by my beachcomber Christ</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*written on Jan. 10, 2012, at Lauds at Mount Angel Abbey </span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">while listening to Psalm 42, </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: x-small;">"All your waves and breakers have washed over me..."</span></span></span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-59740724850462702822011-11-21T09:53:00.000-08:002011-11-21T09:55:52.146-08:00GRATITUDE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiC4lth2wLSrmN0UZUxnPRS4Vj3dLPJFQm9PkgmmUf-seizNDUbZ2Mrtox4ut9HdpYLNJ0qTqXjxN_7sT-2yIaiVYTskB5tQ2lfCk4Ucb2ODxKf5wOvYfwLufI6cBaYxGVBdw_OrinzRI/s1600/E-5066-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiC4lth2wLSrmN0UZUxnPRS4Vj3dLPJFQm9PkgmmUf-seizNDUbZ2Mrtox4ut9HdpYLNJ0qTqXjxN_7sT-2yIaiVYTskB5tQ2lfCk4Ucb2ODxKf5wOvYfwLufI6cBaYxGVBdw_OrinzRI/s400/E-5066-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Quotations from the writings of Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952</span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude. The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything</i> (<i>Thoughts for Our Times</i> p. 16)."</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"When I look back upon my early days I am stirred by the thought of the number of people whom I have to thank for what they gave me or for that they were to me. At the same time I am haunted by an oppressive consciousness of the little gratitude I really showed them while I was young. How many of them have said farewell to life without my having made clear to them what it meant to me to receive from them so much kindness or so much care! Many a time have I, with a feeling of shame, said quietly to myself over a grave the words which my mouth ought to have spoken to the departed, which he was still in the flesh. For all that, I think I can say with truth that I am not ungrateful, I did occasionally wake up out of that youthful thoughtlessness which accepted as a matter of course all the care and kindness that I experienced from others, and I believe I became sensitive to my duty in this matter just as early as I did to the prevalence of suffering in the world. But down to my twentieth year, and even later still, I did not exert myself sufficiently to express the gratitude which was really in my heart. I valued too low the pleasure felt at receiving real proofs of gratitude. Often, too, shyness prevented me from expressing the gratitude that I really felt. . . . We ought all to make an effort to act on our first thoughts and let our unspoken gratitude find expression. Then there will be more sunshine in the world, and more power to work for what is good. But as concerns ourselves we must all of us take care not to adopt as part of our theory of life all people’s bitter sayings about the ingratitude of the world. A great deal of water is flowing underground which never comes up as a spring. In that thought we may find comfort. But we ourselves must try to be the water which does find its way up; we must become a spring at which men can quench their thirst for gratitude</i> (<i>Memoirs of Childhood and Youth</i>, pp. 87-88)."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Artwork: Vincent van Gogh, <i>Harvest Landscape</i></span> </span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-14971679665020861142011-11-15T21:08:00.000-08:002011-11-15T21:08:10.091-08:00LIVE SIMPLY THAT OTHERS MAY SIMPLY LIVE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIalFDwNQShV_gVAWaj6ZBNSkpE6JAkjix4c6_hT-1kFkt9twM9LxCDw_MZk6WtztWG-pL6l03P1_bpskK29mAh6o74fmocOjLfVVECG-zkEyTRWEqe-CN81ZJmmfP_UdbDviIuAB3Aw0/s1600/St.FrancisPreachingtotheBirds_Giotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIalFDwNQShV_gVAWaj6ZBNSkpE6JAkjix4c6_hT-1kFkt9twM9LxCDw_MZk6WtztWG-pL6l03P1_bpskK29mAh6o74fmocOjLfVVECG-zkEyTRWEqe-CN81ZJmmfP_UdbDviIuAB3Aw0/s400/St.FrancisPreachingtotheBirds_Giotto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #ffe599;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">Questions in Mid-November:</span></span></span><br />
<ul style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>What was a typical pattern in your family growing up at a family meal?<span> </span></span><span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>What has always been one of your favorite meals or a favorite recipe you love to make?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Have you ever grown a garden and eaten the food you've grown with family around?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span><span>If you live with a family, how many family meals do you share each week currently? </span></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>1-4<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>5-8<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>9-12<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>13-16<span> </span><span> </span>17-21</span></span></div></li>
</ul><span style="color: #ffe599;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span></div><span style="color: #ffe599;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Study for Mid-November:</span><span> </span></span></div><ul style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Read Exodus 12:3-11. What does this passage tell us about sacred family mealtimes in the Jewish faith? What stands out for you in this passage?What is unique about Passover in a Jewish home? </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Read Isaiah 58:6-12. What does this passage say about how we are to share our food, our lives, our meals, our resources? How do you fast? What is the relationship between feasting and fasting in your experience? </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Read Luke 22:7-20. What does this passage tell us about sacred family mealtimes in the Christian faith and the roots of the Lord’s Supper in the Jewish faith? What stands out for you in this passage?</span></span></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Read Luke 24:28-31. Describe the setting of this story. What surprises are here?</span></span><br />
</div><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span><span></span></span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Life application for Mid-November</span><span>: </span></span></div><ul style="color: #ffe599;"><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>What have been your experiences of fasting?</span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>When you think of St. Francis, what images come to mind? How might you live a bit more like Francis? </span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>How do you know the difference between a “need” and a “want”, between what is essential and what is a luxury?</span><span> </span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>What world hunger groups have you supported?</span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How are you seeking to “live simply that others may simply live”? (phrase attributed to Ghandi and Mother Teresa)</span></span></li>
</ul>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-59194418006090544332011-11-10T22:55:00.000-08:002011-11-10T22:55:30.857-08:00Sunrise in the Grand Tetons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Trips/Midwest-Photo-Safari/10094488_dnpJcb#758292657_WB7fe"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Trips/Midwest-Photo-Safari/Sunrise-Reflection-Grand/758292657_WB7fe-S-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-78863719068431512372011-11-07T10:52:00.000-08:002011-11-07T10:54:13.576-08:00TO AUTUMN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuq6pZU_mRR4M1WBkk6urs1WaBZzPSHBO3NQvdXyoy2yDzM_JUd9yJHJnizwddNhEKvfwFGbJ3VaUPFLnX72lG47Ed2wOLe25R1KrZ3nclyqsaREpDut4v8rKx7_gkdHpaOJSMefhQXE/s1600/Red-and-Green-Bigtooth-Maple-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuq6pZU_mRR4M1WBkk6urs1WaBZzPSHBO3NQvdXyoy2yDzM_JUd9yJHJnizwddNhEKvfwFGbJ3VaUPFLnX72lG47Ed2wOLe25R1KrZ3nclyqsaREpDut4v8rKx7_gkdHpaOJSMefhQXE/s400/Red-and-Green-Bigtooth-Maple-L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">TO AUTUMN</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">a sonnet</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">A dying orange Maple leaf descends,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Through misty morning stillness in the trees</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Into the canopy my eye ascends</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Among the fiery red and yellow leaves.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">To meditate upon a mystery</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">My anxious soul awakens to the dawn</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">To wrestle with death’s angel suddenly</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alive and just as quickly he is gone.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Deep within the forest stands a door</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">A portal to our everlasting home</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">To know what lies beyond and what’s in store</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Follow in his steps where he did roam.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">An inner voice assures me with a prod</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Be still, be still, and know that I am God.”*</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Psalm 46:10</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Written by David Robinson, 10/26/11</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dedicated to Don Robinson (9/20/1931--11/1/2011)</span></span></span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-7734693966758989862011-10-31T11:34:00.000-07:002011-10-31T12:01:30.293-07:00CONTEMPLATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1dRPCaeEboi-eUG9ORAWa-zahGdbMelQF9Yf_hxdJeJsO9IkSKuNcvvyTxHQ2LOnTbI7SyVW09NjTs4ttnGUsbaFFb_x_6ZQvaP8CBU0MqwLgYuKppNSsUx4wvyttEQzIidxwHnOceU/s1600/7-Minute-Star-Trails-at-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1dRPCaeEboi-eUG9ORAWa-zahGdbMelQF9Yf_hxdJeJsO9IkSKuNcvvyTxHQ2LOnTbI7SyVW09NjTs4ttnGUsbaFFb_x_6ZQvaP8CBU0MqwLgYuKppNSsUx4wvyttEQzIidxwHnOceU/s400/7-Minute-Star-Trails-at-L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">YOU ARE INVITED: </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">3:oopm, Saturday, Nov. 5th, in Cannon Beach, Oregon, at the Coaster Theater, ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF CANNON BEACH: a nature photo slideshow and solo piano concert, created by Thomas Robinson and David Robinson. This show includes 400 Thomas Robinson nature photos from pre-dawn, sunrise, midday, afternoon, sunset, evening and night. During the photo slideshow, David will play original solo piano mediations on grand piano. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Prayers in silence and quiet, of course have their own validity. It is not always necessary to express our prayers out loud. The simplest prayer, perhaps, is that of quiet contemplation. We place ourselves in the presence of the divine. Some pilgrims also find photography an expression of silent contemplation. By looking through the lens and focusing upon some aspect of the landscape or the interior of a grand cathedral, a person comes to new awareness that might be missed by trying to take everything in at a glance. Using a camera, as Thomas Merton discovered on his final pilgrimage to Thailand, can be a form of prayer" <span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: large;">(from "Pilgrimage: Exploring a Great Spiritual Practice", by Edward C. Sellner, Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2004, 145).</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </div><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Photo: 7 minute exposure of star trails over Haystack Rock </span></span>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-56698058237789828972011-10-18T17:04:00.000-07:002011-10-18T17:04:08.296-07:00Aspen Pathway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/keyword/path#613422988_43va3-L-LB"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Photos-of-Colorado/IMG4767/613422988_43va3-S-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-77045532399385434152011-10-17T11:22:00.000-07:002011-10-17T11:32:44.392-07:00PILGRIMAGE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1f9FAiYcmP1Ss8BSZHvCoD3XxPkgUXunbzqZGGemyKYbWGSckf1hQ-zsBE5vW8s0p2_XpUKouVcvuANrft3CDFWtjBTVtIDYiDgFfhkXOJ-Mle0FMj3wI9H1WDKaBbCn3zUzLrkXD0So/s1600/IMG_5720-01a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1f9FAiYcmP1Ss8BSZHvCoD3XxPkgUXunbzqZGGemyKYbWGSckf1hQ-zsBE5vW8s0p2_XpUKouVcvuANrft3CDFWtjBTVtIDYiDgFfhkXOJ-Mle0FMj3wI9H1WDKaBbCn3zUzLrkXD0So/s320/IMG_5720-01a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. (1)</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've been reading a book by Ian Bradley titled, <i>Pilgrimage: a Spiritual and Cultural Journey </i>(Oxford, England: Lion Hudson plc, 2009). Bradley is a professor of Practical Theology and Church History at the University of St Andrews, specializing in Celtic Christianity, and a leader of regular pilgrimages to such sites as St Andrews, Iona and Lindisfarne. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Pilgrimage</i> is still only available in hardcover, and is packed with glossy photos of pilgrimage locations across Europe, including Rome, Santiago, St Andrews, Iona, Nidaros, Assisi, Lourdes, Taize, Medugorje and others. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bradley offers a variety of definitions of pilgrimage, including these:</span></div><ul style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">A departure from daily life on a journey in search of spiritual well-being. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">An individual summons to know God more fully, a spiritual journey to which the pilgrim joyfully responds 'yes' to God's invitation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">A provisional, transitory state, often taken as a metaphor for the journey of life, hastening irrevocably from the cradle to the grave. It is a reminder that all things in this world are temporary and that everything is in motion.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The outer physical journey mirrors the inner spiritual journey; the excitement of setting out on a new adventure is balanced by the joy of coming home. </span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 includes chapters titled <i>The Biblical Roots of Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage in the Early Church, Celtic Pilgrimage, The Golden Age of Pilgrimage, After the Reformation, Pilgrimage Today, </i>and <i>How to be a Pilgrim. </i>Part 2 leads readers chapter by chapter into specific pilgrimage sites in Italy, Scotland, Spain, Ireland, Wales, Norway, Poland, France, Bosnia-Herzegovinia, and England. Historic details are woven together with practical and personal insights into making your own pilgrimage to such a place. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of the sites emphasized by Bradley, I've personally enjoyed spending pilgrimage time in Rome, St Andrews, Iona, Assisi, Taize and Lindisfarne. But one need not get into an airplane and travel across the globe to go on pilgrimage. "Blessed are those whose hearts are set in pilgrimage" the Psalmist tells us. Jesus suffered for us along the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering, "leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps" (2), joining Christ along the way of the cross, day by day, setting our hearts on pilgrimage. Jesus came alongside hurting people along the road to Emmaus, comforting them by opening the Scriptures to them along the way home. Later, these two, reflecting upon their encounter with pilgrim Christ recalled, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" (3)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">May you know the joy of journeying with our Lord along the pilgrim way. If possible, sometime in your life, consider turning travel plans into pilgrim plans, and intentionally step out along the way with Christ as your guide, walking along the way, "in his steps".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Photo credit: Taize Community Church, Taize, France, by Thomas Robinson.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">(1) Psalm 84:5.</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">(2) 1 Peter 2:21.</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">(3) Luke 24:32.</span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-61550879815553857272011-10-10T22:27:00.000-07:002011-10-10T22:27:07.596-07:00PEACE WILL FLOW INTO YOU<div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUcuAiLXjxZSFVzttFi1I3GdaHyK3lvXxbgwrKVXCUbMkCJMfrpEjc7V9mYv027asd09QRPVKfaUI6LQBhHbsYw-p5Uf4UFfuxuxcVQvucQXtY7gGf7-gzNtkOQkiSQ8okFnYt_CIPqw/s1600/630856689_uSoAT-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUcuAiLXjxZSFVzttFi1I3GdaHyK3lvXxbgwrKVXCUbMkCJMfrpEjc7V9mYv027asd09QRPVKfaUI6LQBhHbsYw-p5Uf4UFfuxuxcVQvucQXtY7gGf7-gzNtkOQkiSQ8okFnYt_CIPqw/s400/630856689_uSoAT-L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-size: large;">Three quotations from John Muir (1838-1914) the great Scottish naturalist, mountaineer:</span></div></div><ul style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. (1)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The darkest scriptures of the mountains are illumined with bright passages of love that never fail to make themselves felt when one is alone. (2)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I met cassiope (mountain heather) growing in fringes among the battered rocks . . . . Winter and summer, you may hear her voice, the low, sweet melody of her purple bells. No evangel among all the mountain plants speaks Nature's love more plainly than cassiope. Where she dwells, the redemption of coldest solitude is complete. The very rocks and glaciers seem to feel here presence, and become imbued with her own fountain sweetness.</i></span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In these three selections of Muir's writings, he reveals a spirituality of nature in which creation becomes an evangelist, a proclaimer of the good news of God, in which creation is to be read as scripture, declaring the glory and truth of God. Nature, in her tiniest details, in her flowers, rivers, lakes, mountains and storms, as well as in her grandeur, all Nature declares the good tidings of God and illumines the nature of God, and even moreso, brings us into the very heart of God, bringing us inner peace, spiritual renewal and soul refreshment through our direct encounter with God's creation.</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As Paul declares, <i>"Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made" (Romans 1:20).</i></span> </div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>1) quoted from "Southern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers", p.7.</i></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>2) quoted from John Muir's "Mountaineering Essays</i></span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: #ffe599;">3) quoted from John Muir's "Mountaineering Essays, p. 36-37. </span></i></span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-20568844778344716422011-10-06T21:16:00.001-07:002011-10-06T21:16:41.398-07:00Above the Clouds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Summer-2010/i-7rgmRs2/0/S/St-Helens-Mt-Adams-at-Sunrise-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Summer-2010/i-7rgmRs2/0/S/St-Helens-Mt-Adams-at-Sunrise-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-3547635001530133322011-10-04T20:25:00.000-07:002011-10-04T20:27:18.946-07:00A NEW DAY BECKONS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqOLX9_BMvKBAEfQwBc5jc86MqwVnCyFE6pBr424PiAsIQNbcfImhS1b0HJe2EBM01g9aYDDmwGvbzvmRdiJRvf_JBBHvCkTwWoKdf5UiKUZTQhUiSveLQI9NY4D6w0lWaIWGfUzE8pc/s1600/Sun-Beams-Jan-Saddle-Mountain-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqOLX9_BMvKBAEfQwBc5jc86MqwVnCyFE6pBr424PiAsIQNbcfImhS1b0HJe2EBM01g9aYDDmwGvbzvmRdiJRvf_JBBHvCkTwWoKdf5UiKUZTQhUiSveLQI9NY4D6w0lWaIWGfUzE8pc/s400/Sun-Beams-Jan-Saddle-Mountain-M.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A NEW DAY BECKONS</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A new day beckons hearts awake to sing</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As jeweled dew drops freshen every blade</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A flash of flicker-flight on morning wing</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Through Hemlock boughs renews the forest glade.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Eternity arises with the dawn</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In misty shrouded forests by the sea</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sword fern camouflage the sleeping fawn</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Beneath the soaring Cedar canopy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Awake my soul, your morning anthem raise</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To join the Varied Thrush in Matin’s cry</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Leap up my soul, your Recreator praise</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In silent wonder seek him eye to eye.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The darkness fades, behold the new day breaks</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As all creation in Christ’s light awakes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">~a sonnet by David Robinson</span> </span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-75260796420643969072011-09-26T13:52:00.000-07:002011-09-26T13:52:06.589-07:00Green Caterpillar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Olympic-National-Park/i-QSSvXrm/0/S/Black-Swallowtail-Green-S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Olympic-National-Park/i-QSSvXrm/0/S/Black-Swallowtail-Green-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-27939383058800547532011-09-24T10:02:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:08:37.696-07:00LOVELY IN EYES NOT HIS<div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2lIa2-l-5rLoDvRJdM1P7GpBMXVubyYcAKff60c8jj9BcSZq9IuYvF98I1qthAPUTXQg_ZKYLwmNdRH843SsaPLs9O9pxZgpD1HwlpgOdqA1TXtQ6JVOmWrYqeEp7DiZHMWHSGYmUew/s1600/613422988_43va3-L-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2lIa2-l-5rLoDvRJdM1P7GpBMXVubyYcAKff60c8jj9BcSZq9IuYvF98I1qthAPUTXQg_ZKYLwmNdRH843SsaPLs9O9pxZgpD1HwlpgOdqA1TXtQ6JVOmWrYqeEp7DiZHMWHSGYmUew/s320/613422988_43va3-L-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme; <br />
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells <br />
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s <br />
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; <br />
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: <br />
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; <br />
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells, <br />
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came. <br />
Í say móre: the just man justices; <br />
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces; <br />
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—<br />
Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places, <br />
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his<br />
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.</span></div></div><div style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">~by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)</span></span> </span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-58415686396275099212011-09-13T16:53:00.000-07:002011-09-13T16:53:21.618-07:00Grand Teton's Aspen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Trips/Midwest-Photo-Safari/10094488_dnpJcb#694319496_zxRxo"><img border="0" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Trips/Midwest-Photo-Safari/GrandTetonsFallColorAspen/694319496_zxRxo-S-2.jpg" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-71168485060613375042011-09-12T10:03:00.000-07:002011-09-12T10:06:39.845-07:00ASPEN COMMUNITY<div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7xFwzxVwG-KvzLHzxfcWUg9axk5Lja4DBV1SytKew5y6p7uAkt4H6MrCynu-cnwmgoydirusAF3C1K8I-26tcbGhCEv60mQAnEdrSrUw5YPYMkBTh_Y4F1xMxH6GJq8TnUAHHKIRfSM/s1600/694316278_tDYGa-L-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7xFwzxVwG-KvzLHzxfcWUg9axk5Lja4DBV1SytKew5y6p7uAkt4H6MrCynu-cnwmgoydirusAF3C1K8I-26tcbGhCEv60mQAnEdrSrUw5YPYMkBTh_Y4F1xMxH6GJq8TnUAHHKIRfSM/s320/694316278_tDYGa-L-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: large;">After hiking up into an Aspen forest earlier this month, I've been reflecting upon this tree. Aspen is the common name for a tree species that is part of the Salicaciae family of the Populus genus. The specific Aspen we walked among was the quaking Aspen, known as Populus tremuloides, for the quaking movement of the leaves in the wind. Aspen is a deciduous tree native to cooler climates of North America. We were in Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains, above 8000 feet elevation. Our friend and host told us a unique insight into the Aspen forest. They grow in "clonal colonies", all "cloned" from a single original seedling. The original mother tree sends out root suckers to grow more trees. Over time, a whole forest springs up from that original seedling, making the entire forest of Aspens one organism. </span><br />
<div style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Utah, one singe Aspen forest known as "Pando" (Latin for "I spread") is thought to have originated from a single tree and now spreads across more than 100 acres, thus is thought to be one of the largest living organisms in North America with nearly 50,000 trees (stems) weighing nearly 7000 tons, and thought to be at least 80,000 years old. One of the defensive designs of an Aspen forest is the interwoven root system that lies beneath the danger of forest fires. A fire may decimate an entire Aspen forest but not touch the root system which will spring forth new growth and replenish the trees lost in the fire. Aspen trees live 40-150 years above ground, and seem to me to have a keen sense of being aware and watching. The Aspen forest we hiked among seemed to be looking at us with many "eyes", with the common shape of branch scars on the trunks looking like eyes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">An Aspen forest tells us of the glorious design of God in creation. We too, in the living Organism known as the Church, are "many parts, but one body". Paul clearly understood the Church to be a living Body: "The body is a unit, though it is made of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. . . . Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it"<b> </b>(1 Cor. 12:12,27). The original Seedling*, Christ, has send forth new growth around the world, springing up new life, new growth, which are many parts, many trunks, yet one living organism, and part of the one Body which is the living Body of Christ. </span></div></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*Isaiah 11:1 describes Christ as "A Seedling that comes up from the stump of Jesse, from Jesse's roots, a Branch will bear fruit." </span></span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-65381153817277490742011-09-05T22:42:00.000-07:002011-09-05T22:42:20.337-07:00Caw!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/keyword/bird#1118713927_Ba4r9-A-LB"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Nature/Caw-Top-2/1118713927_Ba4r9-S-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-19858501430582838802011-09-05T22:15:00.000-07:002011-09-05T22:34:52.662-07:00TWO RAVENS FLYING SOUTHWARD<div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4odQgR1AbWLnFXmRZ46Tt3db6dJwBLWWAKckdCTTl0lAhkawm19HjTl3St7rwryd8AsUItQMmwR2XtL18g5TqFbyFQuMvgJhp7OSMbcYkl9LEokcOwVQdWbAuzu47iLMtoMcVabaL_c/s1600/684314627_UX9Y8-M-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4odQgR1AbWLnFXmRZ46Tt3db6dJwBLWWAKckdCTTl0lAhkawm19HjTl3St7rwryd8AsUItQMmwR2XtL18g5TqFbyFQuMvgJhp7OSMbcYkl9LEokcOwVQdWbAuzu47iLMtoMcVabaL_c/s320/684314627_UX9Y8-M-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b> Two Ravens Flying Southward </b></span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>~ a sonnet ~ </b></span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Two ravens flying southward over Vail,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Caught our eye and ears as they passed by,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Conversing on the wing as if to say,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">"How regrettable to walk and never fly."</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Katanoesate! </i>Jesus declares,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">To study with intent to understand!</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our corvid masters of the azure airs</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unveil their secrets to the mind of Man.</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Earthbound without machines, we long to soar,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Beyond the petty pavement 'neath our feet,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Into the mystery of raven lore,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hidden deep within mountain retreat.</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Remove the weights of ignorance and dross,</span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reveal the Way, the Truth, Thy Holy Cross.*</span></span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">These two ravens were spotted flying above the ridge near the Eagle's Nest, above Vail, Colorado, flying towards the Mountain of the Holy Cross on Sept. 5, 2011.This sonnet composed by D. Robinson on 9/5/11. </span></span></span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-34094963541030499462011-08-25T23:00:00.000-07:002011-08-25T23:00:22.074-07:00Cannon Beach Pre-Dawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Seascape/8820497_w4Br2d#826773504_3agRQ-L-LB"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Seascape/Double-Peak-at-Night/826773504_3agRQ-S-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-65370743203698429182011-08-23T10:11:00.000-07:002011-08-23T10:12:16.759-07:00THE HEAVENS DECLARE<div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbjRPAhHpyLJc7Cm7HxPxW89NO5uF8SR5DGJm2W5q1w6z4KMWwl5pu3WZRSBXahk_a1jHzErmrlplmxm0uloMPXhcfn_Lh4mlqmVTJ4yritsGwCg7MvpPMHU7lbS7sX_rs4dyal6sorY/s1600/7-Minute-Star-Trails-at-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbjRPAhHpyLJc7Cm7HxPxW89NO5uF8SR5DGJm2W5q1w6z4KMWwl5pu3WZRSBXahk_a1jHzErmrlplmxm0uloMPXhcfn_Lh4mlqmVTJ4yritsGwCg7MvpPMHU7lbS7sX_rs4dyal6sorY/s320/7-Minute-Star-Trails-at-L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ever since the Hubble Space Telescope was put into place in the Earth's orbit in 1990, humans have drawn closer into the splendor and marvel of the universe. <a href="http://hubblesite.org/gallery/">Click here for Hubble Space Telescope photo gallery.</a> Most of us can only name a few constellations and take very little time each day to pay attention to the wonders above our head in the sky, whether a sunrise, a cloud formation, a masterpiece artwork painting at sunset, or swimming in the Milky Way of stars. The ancient Psalmist told us 3000 years ago truths we all know within our inner spirit when we look with our bare eyes into the star strewn night sky:</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The heavens declare the glory of God; <br />
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. <br />
Day after day they pour forth speech; <br />
night after night they reveal knowledge. <br />
They have no speech, they use no words; <br />
no sound is heard from them. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet their voice<sup> </sup>goes out into all the earth, <br />
their words to the ends of the world. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">~Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV)</span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Perseid meteor showers earlier this month, with up to 60 meteors (or "shooting stars") per hour, were lost in the glow of the full moon. Next show up will be the Draconids on October 8-9, 2011, with up to 10 meteors streaking across the moonless night sky on those nights.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This week, I encourage you to go out at night with a blanket. Lie down in a field or grassy area and simply stare into the night sky. If you have a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, look through the glass and let your mind spin with the vast glory of the heavens above. Even in places where city lights block most of the heavenly glory, a few stars still insist on shining their light, traveling across the vast reaches of space, into our eyes to fill our minds and hearts with the wonder and delight of God's wordless glory being proclaimed by the work of his hands. </span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-73907338760732339232011-08-16T21:59:00.000-07:002011-08-16T21:59:58.224-07:00Watching the Valley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zoomdak.com/Photography/Recent/11680257_EvECW#1413086404_nkC4Vg7-L-LB"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.zoomdak.com/Nature/Glacier-National-Park/i-nkC4Vg7/0/S/Bighorn-Sheep-Logan-Pass-1-S.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Thomas Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02588634157077699940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6440911630376901620.post-81447777121672804192011-08-15T10:53:00.000-07:002011-08-15T10:53:10.477-07:00WATCHING AND WAITING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg00eVQDRJSDAq7IWGdLwXe8_5GZBLyZIYmIrNeYm3uzBSmGN29fuWyUOExJGzA_oLSTKBVMEkvV4QWqlaraoKlCMZUVkI9JR5GS4pKiDq_GrMjuoX9liuSMfc9zNcIQqXgWAIwKTmcrg/s1600/DSC09943c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg00eVQDRJSDAq7IWGdLwXe8_5GZBLyZIYmIrNeYm3uzBSmGN29fuWyUOExJGzA_oLSTKBVMEkvV4QWqlaraoKlCMZUVkI9JR5GS4pKiDq_GrMjuoX9liuSMfc9zNcIQqXgWAIwKTmcrg/s320/DSC09943c.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>On Monday mornings, I typically begin the day with a time of prayer in the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Glenstal-Book-Prayer-Benedictine/dp/0814627676/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313428642&sr=8-1">Glenstal Book of Prayer</a>. This morning, this time was spent outside, on our deck overlooking the forest. I had a cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand. Here is a selection from this morning prayer service.</span><br />
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<span><b><i>Morning Invocation of the Light:</i></b></span></span> </div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Glory be to God who has shown us the light! </i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Lead me from darkness to light,</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Lead me from sadness to joy,</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Lead me from death to immortality.</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Glory be to God who has shown us the light!</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b><i>Psalm 5:1-3</i></b></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>To my words give ear, O Lord,</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>give heed to my groaning.</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Attend to the sound of my cries,</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>my King and my God.</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>It is you whom I invoke, O Lord,</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>in the morning you hear me;</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>in the morning I offer you my prayer,</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>watching and waiting. </i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br />
</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>While praying this prayer, I enjoyed watching the Chickadees fly among the Elderberries, over to our bird feeder, collecting their morning meal. Their merry and modest presence in our yard was a delight to my soul. Over a morning cup of coffee, with God's Word open in our laps, soaking in God's creation, there is deep soul renewal that comes from watching and waiting. </span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br />
</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>These two spiritual habits, active-spiritual watching and waiting do not come naturally to us or easily in a hurried, distracted culture. We are quick to distraction, getting up to answer the next text, respond to the next cell phone ringtone, or change the channel to seek the next best television show. Sitting still even for a few minutes in the morning, attentively "watching and waiting" is a holy and soul refreshing gift you can give to yourself. What are we watching? We watch with the eyes of the heart, looking to Jesus, "the author and perfecter of our faith". </span><span>For whom are we waiting? </span><span>We wait in hope for the Lord, as Psalm 27 reminds us:</span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>I am confident of this: </i></span><br />
<span><i>I will see the goodness of the Lord</i></span></span> </div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>In the land of the living.</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Wait for the LORD;</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>be strong and take heart</i></span></span></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and wait for the LORD. </span></span></i></span></div>David Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14526182508971564981noreply@blogger.com2