The Reunion

My Brother, Cousin Marcia, Cousin Hugh. Ca. 1969. [Click here to read the beginning of this story. Click here to read its conclusion.] Walking the Ruins   We pull into the parking lot and panic overwhelms me. I glance at my cousin Hugh in the back seat and see, for the first time, what others […]


The Topknot and the Tackle Box

  A Parable of the Open Hand Once upon a time, a woman kept her cosmetics in a tackle box. A train case seemed boldly self-indulgent. No, a good, sturdy tackle box was just the thing. It had taken seven years of healing for her to dare to dream again of beauty.  The tackle box, somehow, eased […]


Autumn In California: Don’t Blink

In A Land Of Subtle Seasons Autumn happened yesterday. I don’t mean it began yesterday, I mean it happened yesterday. The air that morning was cool and a bit damp. The trees, some of them, anyway, went flamboyant and commenced their annual striptease. It grew dark soon after I returned home from my office. Yes. Fall came–and […]


Whose Church Is It, Anyway?

My Wacky Little Church Fantasy: Jesus Church This nutty idea is running through my head. It started in the fellowship hall at Trabuco Canyon Community Church*. Last Sunday, after service, I stood, sipping coffee from a paper cup and nibbling on a miniature lemon and poppyseed scone, chatting with Grace and Cheryl, two sisters in Christ. The topic […]


Weekend Reflection: Fierce Joy

    7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. 8 I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will […]