Author Bill Johnson
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For a Friend Lying in Intensive Care Waiting for Her White Blood Cells to Rejuvenate After a Bone Marrow Transplant (by Barbara Crooker) The jonquils. They come back. They split the earth with their green swords, bearing cups of light…. Continue Reading →
“All shall be well. For there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.” Julian of Norwich Beautiful words by a mystic from the 14th century. In other words… Continue Reading →
Maybe. A Chinese proverb tells the story is told of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they… Continue Reading →
Love Story (by Wesley McNair) What was opening the door Those years ago to let our four kids One by one followed by the dog Into the backseat of the old compact car We’d parked in the driveway Next to… Continue Reading →
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Pastoral Humor. Some humor, jokes and stories about pastors – that, as a pastor, make me laugh and give me perspective. I think Jesus must laugh at a lot of the things that pastors do too. Going to Heaven The preacher… Continue Reading →
The Avowal (by Denise Levertov) As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn to attain freefall, and float into Creator Spirit’s deep… Continue Reading →
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“My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me.” Sufi Prayer This beautiful prayer reminds me of Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord… Continue Reading →
Mindful (by Mary Oliver) Every day I see or I hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It is what I was born for – to… Continue Reading →
Eustace Scrubb the Dragon Meets Alsan (In the book, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis, Eustace Scrubb comes upon a dragon’s lair and in trying to take the treasure, turns into a dragon himself. He eventually is able… Continue Reading →
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I’d Pick More Daisies (by Nadine Stair) If I had my life to live over, I’d dare to make more mistakes next time. I’d relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I… Continue Reading →
Prime the Pump First. There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance. He made his… Continue Reading →
When a Dog Runs Up (by Hafiz) Start seeing everything as God, but keep it a secret. Become like the man and woman who are awestruck and nourished listening to a golden nightingale sing in a beautiful foreign language while… Continue Reading →
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Just Coincidence? “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Albert Einstein The more I trust God, the more coincidences, synchronicities, serendipities and divine surprises seem to happen in my life. Things that I never could plan or imagine or figure… Continue Reading →
Enough: A Prayer of Abundance (by Janet Conner) Dear God of the universe, creator of all life, hear me. This one prays. In the mirror. In the reflection that bounces from me to the world and back again, there is… Continue Reading →
Miracles (by Walt Whitman) Why, who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know of nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,… Continue Reading →
A Tandem Bike Ride With God I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was… Continue Reading →
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Lighten Up. “Life is too important to be taken seriously.” Oscar Wilde Change me O God, into one who doesn’t take life so seriously. Help me to become like a little child who plays, laughs and enjoys this adventure of… Continue Reading →
Be Kind to Yourself?! We’re pretty good at beating ourselves up, aren’t we? What if you were the one who was most in need of your own kindness and love? What if that was the key to the mending of… Continue Reading →
Ode To Gaiety (by James Broughton) Go gloom Begone glum and grim Off with the drab drear and grumble It’s time its pastime to come undone and come out laughing time to wrap killjoys in wet blankets and feed them… Continue Reading →
The Great Blondin. Can you imagine a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile and spanning the breadth of Niagara Falls? The thundering sound of the pounding water drowning out all other sounds as you watch a man step… Continue Reading →
Jesus Embarrassed by an Easter Service? I attended church on Easter Sunday. And if Jesus went to the church I did, I think he might cringe or weep, just like I wanted to. To my contemporary, consumeristic, American mind this service… Continue Reading →
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I thank you god for this most amazing day (by ee cummings) I thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is… Continue Reading →
Judas and Jesus Meet Again Throughout the centuries, we’ve all been Judas. Betraying God in a multitude and myriad of ways. If there is no grace, forgiveness and hope for him, there is none for any of us. Based on… Continue Reading →
A Facebook Live Video Reflection, a couple of quotes, a poem and a song for a Good Friday meditation. Reflections by Bill: Link to Facebook Live Video Reflection. Quote by Beuchner: MY GOD, MY GOD, why hast thou forsaken me?” As Christ speaks… Continue Reading →
I Have Learned So Much From God (by Hafiz) I Have Learned So much from God That I can no longer Call Myself A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim A Buddhist, a Jew. The Truth has shared so much of… Continue Reading →
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Exhortation of the Dawn (by Kalidasa) Look to this day: For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course Lie all the verities and realities of your existence. The bliss of growth, The glory of action,… Continue Reading →
To Be Ourselves. “May we free ourselves, from ourselves so that we can be ourselves.” Rabbi Brian This week I met Rabbi Brian online through a quirky, divine, surprise syncrhoncity. As we talked he shared this quote off the top… Continue Reading →
“You have loved us first, O God, alas! We speak of it in terms of history as if You have only loved us first but a single time, rather than that without ceasing You have loved us first many times… Continue Reading →
Lazarus Laughed. In a sermon years ago, the great Southern preacher, John Claypool talked about a little known play by Eugene O’Neill entitled, “Lazarus Laughed.” In this play, O’Neill gives us a glimpse of the power of life without fear…. Continue Reading →
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License Plate Message “I remember sitting parked by the roadside once, terribly depressed and afraid about my daughter’s illness and what was going on in our family, when out of nowhere a car came along down the highway with a… Continue Reading →
If You Knew (by Ellen Bass) What if you knew you’d be the last to touch someone? If you were taking tickets, for example, at the theater, tearing them, giving back the ragged stubs, you might take care to touch… Continue Reading →
“How long will grown men and women in this world keep drawing in their coloring books an image of God that makes them sad?” MEISTER ECKHART
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“The good life starts only when you stop wanting a better one.” Bertrand Russell I stumbled upon this quote this week that “hit me like a ton of bricks”. I live a lot of my life in the future. In… Continue Reading →
The Other Seven Wonders A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present “Seven Wonders of the World.” Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: Egypt’s Great Pyramids Taj Mahal Grand… Continue Reading →
Don’t Expect Applause (by Ellen Bass) And yet, wouldn’t it be welcome at the end of each ordinary day? The audience could be small, the theater modest. Folding chairs in a church basement would do. …Just a short earnest burst… Continue Reading →
The Black Dot One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor handed out the question paper, with the… Continue Reading →
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Saint Patrick’s Prayer Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in… Continue Reading →
Tired of Speaking Sweetly (by Hafiz) Love wants to reach out and manhandle us, Break all our teacup talk of God. If you had the courage and Could give the Beloved His choice, some nights, He would just drag you… Continue Reading →