Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Collection of Poems

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Hi everyone!
I just published another collection of poems. This one is titled “Since Then” and is a collection of poems I’ve written since my mom’s passing in 2017. The book contains poems about home and our kinship with others; poems from the pandemic; poems praising our connection to earth; and poems that celebrate the joy of being alive.Here’s a quick sample:

Can I Take Your Picture?

“Can I take your picture?” I ask the folks who sit
in a line of rocking chairs in front of a Cracker Barrel
store in Indiana. And they grin for me and I click.
“Can I take your picture?” I ask Joanna and Mitch
in the Anoka Independent Grain and Feed and they
give me broad midwestern smiles and I click.
“Can I take your picture?” I ask the international students
in front of Mount Rushmore and they quickly
line up in rows for me and beam and give me hope
for the world – maybe we’ll survive after all – and I click.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Aaron Rodgers: Here’s Hoping for a Speedy Recovery

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I am vaccinated. Half of my extended family is vaccinated; and half is not.  I don’t love and respect the unvaccinated members of my family any less than I love and respect those who are vaccinated. I don’t think the unvaccinated people in my family are selfish – in fact, given today’s divisive and shaming culture, I think they are very brave for choosing to take an unpopular path. Of those who are vaccinated in my extended family, some identify as Democrats and some as Republicans. Of those who are unvaccinated, some of them identify as Democrats and some as Republicans. The choice to get vaccinated, or not, had nothing to do with political leanings – at least in my family.

I wish Aaron Rodgers hadn’t lied about his vaccination status – but, like the rest of us, he’s human and no human is perfect. To paraphrase Jesus, “Let whoever is perfect among us, cast the first stone.” I’m not going to join in shaming Rodgers because he chose not to get vaccinated. I hope he has a speedy recovery from COVID-19, and I hope he comes back to play football in time to be crushed by the Seattle Seahawks.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

The World Still Needs…

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(Originally posted on Humoristianity.)

My dear Humoristian hooligans –
When Humoristianity was established in 2007, I founded our one true fallacious faith on these tenets:
1) You must be able to laugh at yourself.
2) You must be able to recognize how ludicrous your beliefs might appear to others.
3) You must want nothing but good for everyone, everywhere in the universe.
4) You must have a natural aversion to meetings, committees, and scheduled events (as we will be having none of those).
5) You must enjoy the humor of… (I’m not going to even bother to name names here – what was true in 2007 isn’t necessarily true in 2021 – but I believe Monty Python might ALWAYS be included on the list.)

The last several years have been testing times for our faith. There have been times when I’ve found it very hard to laugh. There have been times when the ludicrous has seemed more sinister than laughable. There have been times when it felt it would have been inappropriate to ask people to laugh at their beliefs. Life took a very dark turn at some point, and what might have seemed laughable in 2007 didn’t seem so funny ten years later.

But this much HASN’T changed: The world still needs you. The world still needs your caring, kindness, and courage. The world still needs your irrepressible joy and irresistible good will to humankind. May the bullies, bigots, and busybodies be transformed by your good-humored, unruffled peace. May the stodgy, stuffy, and stingy be transformed by your generous hearts. May those inclined to shame, blame, and divide, see a better way in the way you live your lives.

You have the power to do incredible good. You are making the world a better place. Go out there and work your magic!
Karen

Celebrating Autumn!

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Some photos from autumn in the northwest corner of Washington State: flooded fields; autumn reflections; piles of golden leaves; and the return of the snow geese…
(Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)

All We Can Be

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all we can be is
what Life-Truth-Love made us for
and wants us to be
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

“Man is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique. He is the compound idea of  God, including all right ideas; the generic term for  all that reflects God’s image and likeness; the conscious identity of being as found in Science, in which man is  the reflection of God, or Mind, and therefore is eternal; that which has no separate mind from God; that which has not a single quality underived from Deity; that which possesses no life, intelligence, nor creative power of his  own, but reflects spiritually all that belongs to his Maker.”
-Mary Baker Eddy

An alpine butterfly flits among the flowers on Table Mountain. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.


Everyone Is a Part of My Humanity

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Everyone is a part of my humanity –
him and her and them and you.
We are connected in our beauty
and flaws; what we feel and what we do;
our mourning and joy; our hopes and fears;
our struggles; our victories;
our laughter and tears.
That’s why we can forgive others
and rejoice with others, too.
We are all one – sisters, brothers,
sons, daughters, fathers, mothers –
family.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell


The Snow Geese Are Back!

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Came upon a snow geese party near Bow, Washington…
Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.

Beyond Grasping

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Sometimes I get the feeling
that all these things we think
are of such import –
all the worries and fears
and petty prejudices we fill
our days with – are just
distractions from something
so big it’s beyond our ability
to grasp.

Just a thought. Alrighty. Carry on then.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Blue Cosmos (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)

Since Then

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It’s been almost five years since then,
but it feels like yesterday that you left,
brushed by me as I slept, on your way
to the other side of infinity.
There are still days when I think I should
pick up the phone and give you a call.
But I know I don’t really need a phone
to talk with you. I feel you with me –
here and now.
The sons are both married now; and Dad
has gone – joined you on the other side
of infinity; I’m retired sort of; and we have
a new president. Everything has changed
and nothing has changed since then.
I feel your love. You must feel mine.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Moz and Einstein.

First Review for Cosmic Connections

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Hey! Check it out! I’ve now got two five-star ratings AND a written review for Cosmic Connections: Sharing the Joy! Thank you to the “Amazon Customer” who took the time to write this review. If you’re an author, you know how much that means…

Amazon Customer writes:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful book!
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
“Cosmic Connections” follows the excursions of an extraverted author and photographer who befriends nearly every person who crosses her path. This uplifting read highlights life’s small moments of connection — with strangers, old friends she meets by chance, the hapless, friendly dogs and former students. The author uses brief anecdotes—one or two pages—to show how much goodness permeates life. One entry describes meeting a stranger, only to find out she is the daughter of the minister who married her and her husband (in another part of the state) 30 years before. Her warm writing style and enthusiasm for life is infectious.
AMAZON.COMDelightful book!