Reflections and Reviews

cleave, a living verb
attach like glue or slice apart
an end to choosing

My son (daughter): May you choose decisively and fill with energy from making that decision instead of second-guessing everything. We are given commands to cleave, to cling to what is good just as we are to hate what is...

peace long sought flies swift
finding enemies hearts when
peacemaker fires

My son (daughter): May you be a peacemaker among men, an equalizing and stabilizing force that enables the weak and strong to see the wisdom in eschewing violence. Let your words be honey and acid, and may your voice...

against ageless foe
immortal and persistent
humility saves

My son (daughter): May you learn to be humble, which requires pride. Humility is lowering yourself, not groveling or self-abasing like a worm; you cannot lower yourself if you are not standing tall and strong where you are. May you...

eyeglasses shatter
eaten by road and battle
steps by faith alone

My son (daughter): May you always walk in faith in all circumstances, attentive to your conscience and the influence of the Holy Spirit. May you become insightful and wise, testing your teachers and the spirits that present...

all day feet pound earth
hauling moving working hard
intimate to touch

My son (daughter): May you be alert to intimacy in your life in all its forms, and neither shy away from it nor give it too freely. Bidding for attention is constant, but worthwhile uses of your time are far more rare....

lion with thorn in paw
shouts joyfully praising mouse
not to be trusted

My son (daughter): May you be cautious about your expectations. Let no one in your life accidentally cause you injury through you expecting good or ill from them implicitly, or from overeagerness for an anticipated...

demons lurk in force
legions of troubles questing
safety in steady heart

My son (daughter): Fear disables us. Just as our ancestors drove mammoths off the cliffs to their doom, our pathetic enemies try daily to use our fears to their advantage instead of fighting our God-given authority and...

rain brings life to all
lungs and roots filling joyful
flooding comes sudden

My son (daughter): Success is not always a grind. May you understand that unprepared, resistant ground cannot thrive in times of success any more than a cracked pot can be filled with water, and that preparation...

peasants chase fast gains
abandoning investments
leaving rich gleanings

My son (daughter): May you become loyal to worthwhile possessions and property, while treating junk and distractions with mercenary aplomb. Whatever you take on—tasks, memberships, ownership—you must maintain...

old friend’s face lights up
despite new wrinkles and pain
two souls familiar

My son (daughter): May you carry a sense of peaceful confidence in the friendships you build, and be found worthy by God to be given loyal and ambitious friends. People will come and go in your life, to...

first to rise sets pace
last to sleep earns the increase
routine makes success

My son (daughter): My son (daughter): May you come to understand that identity is equally internal—who you believe you are—and external. We are what we habitually do, and that means we must watch our...

life unleashed above
would drown plant man beast and bird
raindrops fall like sips

My son (daughter): May you drink in life steadily, moment by moment as it comes in its cycles and forms which change just as the moon: Sometimes life is dark and difficult, other times it is clear and full of...