Deep Peace

Glimmers March 21, 2024

Dear Friends,

You’ve been on my mind…

I hope you’ve made the time for staring out the window, watching the birds dance across the sky. Or walking alongside a lake or stream, listening to life in its fullness…. I hope you’ve made the time to Be. That’s where you’ll find me these days, in the land of Be-ing.

You see, the new year began with three significant events and I, who evidently needs time to process things, am discovering new paths and attitudes as my heart stretches and stretches again. Adjustment and change are my “growing edges” in life, maybe for you too? In early January, I met, and fell in love with, our first grandchild in far-away Germany, and watched our eldest son become a Daddy, our daughter-in-law now a Mommy. Later, I received the news that my long time friend had died from pancreatic cancer. Her last, heartbreaking words, to me, “I love you, sweetie.” And as the month ended, we shared the joy, via pictures and Zoom-chat, of our younger son’s magical NYC wedding with his beloved. Just the two of them, their love and finery shone a bright light amid classic city scenes.

For ten years, I’ve crafted these Glimmers, drawn from my personal life and faith-journey to speak of our human stories and our shared desire for Divine presence in our lives. Born from the writer’s adage, “Write what you know,” and combined with my study of theology and the universal themes of grief, I sought to be a voice of hope for you, my companions on this journey. As March moves forward, you remain in my heart and prayer, your own stories unfolding – I pray you receive the wisdom that appears. What can I share today to support your path?

Let Love reveal itself in the rhythm of life. Remain open to complexity, to moments of joy and of sadness, to a single leaf dancing under gentle raindrops. Receive the gifts that appear in people, the natural world, in your own heart – and know that you are, indeed, a most beautiful child of God. I close with the music of my friend and wisdom teacher, Simon de Voil. Listen and receive the gift of Deep Peace…..

With affection, Lisa

Let’s talk about prayer…

Glimmers

Dear Friends, I asked a friend to pray for me. And in the space of time that emails take, I thought about my request more closely. In asking for another’s thoughts/intentions/love, I was admitting my own vulnerability/hurt/need. But more than that, I was opening…

February 13, 2024

A Prayer for the New Year

Glimmers

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The Longest Night

Glimmers

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December 20, 2023

Trust the Thin Places

Glimmers

Dear Friends, On this last day of November, let us prepare to enter the mystery of Advent, a time of holy waiting and surrender. I offer the idea that Advent is a “thin place” in our time on the planet, where wonder exists and…

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Are you still there, God? It’s me, Lisa

Glimmers

Dear Friends, “Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret.” Asked in the quiet of her bedroom or in the panic in her heart, 11 year old Margaret poses a question that many of us have today. Whether we are wandering in the Land of…

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My First Born

Glimmers

Dear Friends, Today, September 21, is the 44th birthday of our first child. This year is special, as he anticipates the arrival of his first child, and we consider the miracle of our first grandchild. My mind returns to the overwhelming experience of childbirth…

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The Sacred Season of Wonder

Glimmers

Dear Friends, I watched a leaf swirl to the ground this morning. Even in the midst of summer-like heat and humidity, the trees know…. the season of “letting go” is coming our way. What sort of whispering inhabits your heart in the quiet mornings,…

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Listening to the Heartbeat of God

Glimmers

  Dear Friends, It has been a wonderful summer at Lake Beseck, I hope your life had space for play and for sunrises, for creativity and for hope. I’ve had a good summer, it’s not over yet, but there’s this invention – they call…

August 17, 2023

The Dance of Life

Glimmers

Petra bobbed her head, dipping her massive body into sturdy legs. She pulled her wings inward, a feathered presence gathering strength to fly. Earlier, we had held our breath as she, a gorgeous Turkmenian Eagle Owl, flew around the seated crowd from post to…

August 3, 2023