Every autumn I get out my trusty rake and begin to clean up the falling leaves. At first the leaves fall slowly and I only need to rake once a week, but as the weather turns chilly and the sun goes farther south, I rake every day or so. Raking is a therapeutic exercise for me. It is a gathering in of all the beauty […]
Connecting as We Lift our Lamp
Last week my neighbor’s daughter sent out a thoughtful email. It was to all of the households on our street and detailed how she was helping with an organization collecting monetary donations to help provide healthy food to those in need. The plan was very hands on, which I liked. The teens would collect the monetary donations and then go shopping to buy ingredients for […]
Comfort in Trying Times
As the USS Comfort pulled into New York Harbor a few weeks ago, this photograph reminded me that Lady Liberty and her beacon of hope can symbolize so much more about America. It can symbolize Americans pulling together to look out for one another. It can symbolize mobilization in turbulent times to take care of one another–to save one another no matter the cost. As […]
Freedom through Food
Food makes us free! I am the great grandson of farmers. These were stout men and women who tirelessly worked dairy farms and grew corn and alfalfa to feed their livestock. They braved harsh winters and sizzling summers hoping and praying that their hard work would literally pay off and feed their families. I am proud of my hard working ancestors. The fact that I […]
Centennial Symbol
The Year 2020 has arrived. A new decade is upon us signaling to some the promise of newness and hope and possibilities that we all can reach for and hold onto if we try. On the morning of New Years Day–January 1, 2020–the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California kicked off at 8:00 am PST. This parade is not just any parade. This parade is watched […]
Journey to Freedom
Minerva Teichert’s Immigrants to New York City (Jewish Refugees) I recently paid a visit to the Brigham Young University Museum of Art. As I wandered through the museum, my eyes were drawn to a large painting at the beginning of an exhibit entitled “Becoming America.” It was a painting by Minerva Teichert, whose style I easily recognized from the plethora of religious artwork I had […]
The Need for Nurture
What does it mean to nurture? In my backyard garden, it sometimes means to start seeds in a tray set near a sunny window inside. Then after weeks of careful encouragement, to move the resulting small plants outside into larger pots filled with rich soil where the plants can continue to grow happily and well. When the plants are bigger and stronger, I move them […]
We Need Love & Kindness
Arthur C. Brooks shared his advice at a recent commencement address concerning how to help make America better– starting today. He suggested that in order to steer away from the contempt that seems to be defining our current political climate, we need to strive to heal with love and kindness. His remarks reminded me of the contrasting images in Emma Lazarus’ famous poem which was […]
Dear America–a Book Review
Is he an Activist with an Agenda? Or an Undocumented Immigrant attempting to Educate? You decide . . . Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pullitzer Prize winning journalist, chose to out himself as an undocumented immigrant in an essay published in the New York Times Magazine on June 22, 2011. Since that day, he has spent much of his time and energy striving to share with […]
Unwavering
You wait in the harbor for them to arrive But few arrive anymore—at least not there Instead they form orderly lines at airplane terminals Present themselves at border crossings Apply for asylum at our embassies across the world And though some still do disembark at your harbor, or others, Many times you are not there, in person Still— Your spirit greets them Your image assails […]
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