What’s Important

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

The politician said guns don’t kill; people do.

She lay on the hospital bed, and closed her eyes –

She said guns were designed to kill.

battle-weary and drained. She felt

The politician said marriage is a sacred institution.

her father’s 97 year-old hand reach from his wheelchair

She said every citizen should have equal rights.

to stroke her forehead as she drifted between sleep

The politician said global warming is a natural occurrence.

and waking. “I love you,” Dad said.

She said if we continue to use fossil fuels we will destroy our planet..

Love is the one important thing.

-Karen Molenaar Terrell

The One Important Thing

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

Every time I go down to visit with Moz (87) and Dad (97) I come back with one stand-out moment. Here’s today’s: I haven’t slept well the last couple nights and was feeling really drowsy. I laid down on the bed in Dad’s room and closed my eyes and… I didn’t fall asleep, exactly, but I went to that half-way place. And then I felt my dad stroking my forehead and I looked up at him, and he said, “I love you.” And that – right there – that puts everything else in perspective, doesn’t it? Love is the one important thing.

These are my dad’s boots and mine – I think this was taken on our climb of Mount Hood when I was 15.

We Were Made for Nobler Things

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

We are not going to be afraid…

I Still Believe In US

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.
– Mary Baker Eddy

Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.
– Mahatma Gandhi

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
– Anne Frank

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/438490992128188416/j9zV9A1h.jpeg (text by Karen Molenaar Terrell)

Minding My Own Business

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell

A Poem Lives on My Windowsill

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

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.

– Karen Molenaar Terrell

A Poem on the Windowsill

Just who do you think you are?!

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Karen Molenaar Terrell

Just Who Do You Think You Are?

You need not wait for approval, my friend
You need not wait to practice zen
You need not wait to sing and soar
You need not wait – not one second more!
You need no one’s permission to be who you are,
to express and reflect and travel far.
If you want to write and publish a book
or cook up the recipes of a cordon bleu cook
If you want to dance or hop or run
don’t wait for permission – just get ‘er done.
You don’t need permission to love one another –
to be a partner, or friend, or sister or brother.
No, you need no approval to your life live.
You were MADE to express your you-ness,
and your talents to give.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell