The Hidden Gospel

I receive a lot of compliments on my eyes. My response is always the same: "Thanks, I get them from my Dad."  My Dad's eyes are a sparkling, radiant blue; however, somewhat like Lincoln's, they hold both a haunted hollowness & a spirited spark in the same countenance.  Lincoln, I learned, Inherited his grey eyes from his Mother. Nancy was described physically as being tall and slim with dark hair, dark skin, and particularly well-remembered grey eyes.  It makes sense, then, that he got his grey view of the world from her as well.  Lincoln's family had a genetic history of mental illness and scandalous Behavioral Disorders on both his mother and his father's side. While Abraham and his mother, Nancy, seemed to have struggled mostly with a Dark Depression, other family members on his father's side had more extreme Problems, such as violent mood swings and alcoholism; some were even known to have been committed to the Illinois State Hospital for the Insan...

Writing an essay about Abraham Lincoln, who is widely considered to have more books written about him than any other person in History (with the exception of Jesus), feels a bit futile; sort of like reviewing C.S. Lewis on Goodreads. A bold strategy , especially when you didn't start caring one bit about US History until Hamilton was released on Disney+. But for what it's worth...here are my two Cents. Thanks for being here with me today.  A few weeks ago my husband took me on a day trip to our state capitol. Not having grown up in the Land of Lincoln myself, he thought I might enjoy getting to know more about this place we call home at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. I learned so much about our country's 16th president and his profound legacy, from his humble beginnings growing up in blended family of 7 living a one-room log cabin, to becoming the president known to have led the Union to victory in the Civil War and freed the slaves.  But my favorite Lincoln fac...

I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Pando. Pando and I met during one of my family's annual summer camping trips at Fishlake National Forest. He is the oldest and largest living organism in the world, but he won't tell you that up front. In fact, it took scientists comparing DNA from 47,000 individual-looking Aspen trees to discover that Pando was a singular living organism, connected underground by an intricate network of roots originating from one common Ancestor. Pando means, "I spread," and spread it does over 106 acres of land, weighing in at (an estimated, of course) 13 million pounds. Aspens are clonal organisms, meaning they spread by sending  out  their roots and then sending  up  shoots to form new stems, or  ramets.  I find that once something starts to spread, it's hard to stop. Take the morning glory vine, for example; or rumors, laughter, viruses, breaking news stories, gossip, the Gospel Message. These spreading things are powerful...

The prophets weren't liked much. I imagine they felt quite like Bruno at times. (We don't talk about Bruno) . They were often insulted, threatened, and Persecuted  for what they had to say. In the eyes of a society that viewed Success as wealth, favor and prestige, the prophets were complete Failures. But they continued to faithfully and courageously preach the word of God anyway. God warned them in advance that not many would Listen. And they Wept.  As Jeremiah's Lamentations give way to Ezekiel's messages of doom and despair, there is a hopeful promise tucked away in Chapter 17 - a Story about Birds and Trees. Naturally, I was quite drawn to it. Tuck in and Listen:   There was once a great eagle with powerful wings and radiant feathers. One day, he flew to a land known for its great forest of cedar trees. He plucked a branch from the top of one of the trees and carried it away to a land of merchants and traders. The eagle had read about trees, and knew that they ne...

The prophets must have Known there was something special about Trees. They were often found sitting under them, dreaming about them, and using their imagery in both poetry and prose.  Continue exploring Kingdom Trees with me through these words from the prophet Jeremiah:  " But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a Tree planted by the water  that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8) Let's be Rigorously Honest for a moment - how many times have you said, "I trust in the Lord, and my confidence is in Him" yet still experience fear when the heat comes? You trust in the Lord & yet your leaves feel withered. You trust in the Lord & yet you are failing to produce good fruit.  Reading verses like this has sometimes caused me in the past to feel...excluded. Like ...

Getting to Know the Trees in our current Midwest season, branches stripped bare of their leafy vestments, seems a bit intrusive. They are at their most desolate on the cusp of Spring, having weathered the harsh winds of Winter, and yet remain standing tall with arms outstretched in full exposure.  Despite their sullen expressions, early Spring is when Trees have their most potential, preparing for their annual resurrection. If you Pay Attention, they might soon show you the first glimpses of life budding out.  As I write this, I'm facing an open window in my office, staring at my own Window Tree . It's an Oak Tree, and though I claim it as my Window Tree, it's not truly mine. It sits on our neighbor's property. I suppose, even then, it doesn't truly Belong to her. But for now, she's here, gracing us with her steady, constant presence. For the past several days as I've been preparing to write this series of essays, I've had the intention to go meet the Oa...

 Perhaps before we are ready to take to the skies, we need to sink into our Roots.  Consider the life of trees.  Aside from the axe, what trees acquire from man is inconsiderable.  What man may acquire from trees is immeasurable. From their mute forms there flows a poise, in silence, a lovely sound and motion in response to wind. What peace comes to those aware of the voice and bearing of trees!  Trees do not scream for attention. A tree, a rock, has no pretense, only a real growth out of itself, in close communion with the universal spirit. A tree retains a deep serenity. It establishes in the earth not only its root system but also those roots of its beauty and its unknown consciousness. Sometimes one may sense a glisten of that consciousness, and with such perspective, feel that man is not necessarily the highest form of life. Cedric Wright There are two black and white photographs hanging in our Spare Oom, taken by a very dear friend of mine. A few year...

I've always been fond of the word Liberty. And I've always been a lover of the Old Testament books. The Israelites were so... Relatable . I mean, they were a completely miserable people most of the time (check out David or Jeremiah's poetry next time you're feeling sad ), but you can't help but feel sorry for them every time they make a new mess for themselves.    Why were they so miserable if they were God's Chosen People?  They had a bad habit of Self-Sabotage. After their miraculous Freedom from Egyptian slavery, the Israelites continued to live in their Bondage of Fear (despite their Commands not to) and tried to control the outcome instead of Trusting their Handler. A stubborn, prideful, and adulterous nation (in this context, meaning they worshipped other gods) and yet, Yahweh Chose to Love them in their mess. He found them quite Beautiful, in fact.  Ask me to run with a sermon topic, and I will 100% of the time run with a passage from one of the History b...

What an anomaly. But you mustn't cry for them; they are amazing creatures, and they've Learned to Persevere.  Perseverance . Where have we heard that word before? Here's a peek into my brain: I used to feel bad for Flightless Birds. I wondered, "Do Ostriches ever spread their Wings, look up and feel a Longing? Why have Wings if they can't take to the sky?"  Here's what I've Learned: Wings do not guarantee Flight; & Flight is not the exclusive use for Wings. You see, Flightless Birds evolved not to Fly. Flying no longer served them. They had other traits that were more useful for survival given their environmental circumstances, and they embraced it, teaching the generations after them how to adapt.   You've probably heard of some of the members of Ratite & Co. This Company of Flightless Birds was founded due to a common lack of bodily equipment necessary to anchor their Wing muscles to their sternums. Rather than letting this hold them back...