Dismay sets in as I look at the picture closer. Just like I had read, the saxaul tree lives in the Central Asia desert. It is indeed dense and thicket-like in its narrow leaves…but it is far shorter than I had imagined. My beginning scene is not going to work. At the beginning of last… Read More Tree Problems
I stare at the phrase again: “Your temples are like a piece of pomegranate.” What does that even mean? Are we talking color? Shape? Texture? I imagine red or pebbled temples, and discard the picture. That sounds diseased, not like a compliment. Maybe the skin has the same soft smoothness as an individual pomegranate seed?… Read More Like a Piece of Pomegranate
This is a selection from John Keble’s psalter, where he rendered the psalms into English verse. It corresponds with Psalm 119:71-72. I wanted to put artwork with the calligraphy, but that was a lot of words for one piece of paper. I could have made the words smaller, but since this was first a piece… Read More Psalm 119:71-72
I always take longer to drive somewhere than online maps estimate, but this was ridiculous. Even with built in time, we were going to be late. My niece and I snacked on what was supposed to be a picnic lunch–no time to stop! We had a camel ride to get to. We had started laying… Read More Camel Ride
The account of Abraham offering up his son Isaac is a rich picture of Jesus’ sacrifice in many ways, but what stood out to me most last time I went through it was the concept, “Son of Promise.” Isaac was both the son who had been promised and the son through whom God’s promises to… Read More Living Promises
“The unwearied sun, from day to day, Does his creator’s powers display, And publishes to every land The work of an almighty hand.” So pens Joseph Addison in his poem “The Spacious Firmament on High”. In the many times I have considered the faithful consistency of the sun’s movement across the sky, I have viewed… Read More Unwearied Sun
I’m working on a story set in Scythian/Saka territory in the times of the ancient Persians. There is an isolated settlement of Jews along the bank of the Amu Darya river. I’ve done some research on possible names, but would love some feedback, either as survey answers or comments.
Today God is runningOr at least striding fast.The trees bow and groanFrom the force of the blastOf the wing-pounding rushHe stirs up going past.Today God is runningOr at least striding fast.
The truck at work finally sold, and I had put some of the money hopefully into savings. I knew we would have to turn around almost immediately and take some out again for long-delayed maintenance projects. Still, until I knew just how much those projects would cost, it could snuggle down in the bank account.… Read More Money Mouths
All alone at work, it was time to turn on something to listen to. I opened a new tab on the computer and found a site broadcasting hymns. Some I knew, others I didn’t, but one rather startled me with its opening line: “I have an excuse”. What? A song about making excuses is a… Read More I Have An Excuse