Happy solstice, everyone!
Sunrise in Bow, Washington (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Let there be light!
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Category Archives: spirituality
Waiting for the Christmas Spirit
Waiting for the Christmas Spirit
The kitsch and spangles and baubles and bangles,
And department store Santa, just really can’ta
Seem to bring me the spirit of Christmas.
And I’ve been waiting to feel it –
the real Christmas spirit
Hoping it’d come by now.
The stockings are stuffed,
the tree is all buffed,
The cookies are baked and frosted and fluffed
But there’s still something missing –
a feeling, a tingling
that’s supposed to come every Christmas.
Except…
Maybe that Christmas feeling,
that energy and tingling
Is something I can have every day –
It doesn’t depend on spangles, or jingly-bell jangles
Or jolly men dressed all in red.
It comes in the sharing
of laughter and caring
And the comfort in words with love said:
To all – Peace! Joy! Hope! Every moment of every day.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell, from The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Christmas Book
Home
Home is the dearest spot on earth, and it should be the centre, though not the boundary, of the affections. – Mary Baker Eddy
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
“Are we going to make it?”
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” – Matthew 6
Trumpeter swan in front of Mount Baker. (Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Know that Love is God
Be still, and know that Love is God…
You Want to Leave the World a Better Place?
Courtesy and kindness are powerful world-changers…
An Unremarkable and Sweet Exchange
Okay, to be honest, I debated whether I should share this moment or not. In a way, it seems almost silly for me to share it – because it SHOULD be just a matter-of-fact thing – a “no big deal” thing, really – but… after some other news I’ve heard tonight, I’m feeling impelled to put this out there…
So I’d helped my dad out of the car, and was helping my mom out, when I heard Dad say, “Thank you!” to someone who was opening the door to the apartment building for him. I looked to see what was going on back there, and saw that these two young black men with Seahawks hoodies were holding the door for Dad so he could maneuver his walker into the building. Dad nodded to the young men, and smiled, and thanked them again as I watched him go through the doors, and the young men smiled back and said, “You’re welcome!” and then went on their way. It was a small, insignificant moment, really. But… and I can’t even explain why… I find myself getting teary-eyed as I sit here recalling that simple, unremarkable, sweet exchange between a 97 year-old white man, and those two young men in the hoodies.
You know, there are a lot of really good people in this world who want to do right by each other. There is hope for us.
“Literary Effort” Might Be A Little Exaggeration
There are far, far better poets in this world – but I’m pretty sure you will find few that are schmaltzier than me… and that’s something, right? Just published a new book on Amazon. Here is my latest literary effort (okay, I might be exaggerating a little when I use the word “literary” in reference to this work):
(It is also available on Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/Poem-Lives-My-Windowsill-ebook/dp/B0185U3X5A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)
Here is the title poem –
A Poem Lives On My Windowsill
There is a poem on my windowsill.
A treasure found, unfolding grace,
a cup full of fruition.
And love.
I see the caramel-colored agate I found
glowing on a beach in Bellingham,
and the tomatoes nurtured
and ripened on our back deck.
The rose blossoms were picked dew-laden
from our front garden this morning
and placed in the vase I bought for myself
in a rare “impractical” purchase
just because it made me happy
to imagine filling it with future buds.
And there are the ruby-red vases
trimmed in gold that my beloved Aunt Junie
gave me before she left this world
and that I will pass on with love
when that time comes.
A poem lives on my windowsill.
Windowsill (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Love Is With Thee
“Fear thou not; for (Love) is with thee: be not dismayed; for (Love) is thy God: (Love) will strengthen thee; yea, (Love) will help thee; yea, (Love) will uphold thee with the right hand of Love’s righteousness.”
– Isaiah 41:10 and I John 4:7
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
A Simple and Unremarkable Perfection
It is a miracle of perfection.
I am warm and fed and I can hear
my loved one tapping the keys on his laptop
and clearing his throat
near me
I have chamomile tea with cream and a chunk of
sourdough bread and the wind is moving
the rain-splattered screen on the window
and making the lights behind it look like they’re dancing
I feel no pain or fear
I know I’m completely safe
and I imagine coming through some terrible danger
and finding myself in this room
and what a miracle that would seem to be
and how much I’d appreciate the simple unremarkable
perfection of it
and I am filled with gratitude
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 