Well God,
given the governments that we now have
  I honestly don’t see them turning swords into plowshares
  or spears into pruning hooks,
  or guns into any kind of useful tool.
And it seems to me that if two women are grinding corn or coffee
  both of them are as likely to get taken
  by the fire or the flood or the famine,
  by the soldiers or the gangs.
I would love to go to your house,
  but my understanding is that the plan is for us to make a home here
  for all of your creatures, for all our relations.
So I pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
  and the peace of Gaza,
  and the peace of Kyiv,
  and the peace of Moscow and Washington,
  and a hundred other towns and villages and reservations,
  and Marquette my home town.
I don’t know what time of the day or night you might come,
I’m trying to be ready.

 (Ok, kind of a depressing picture this week - sorry about that.  I wish we lived in a happier time.)

Walking from downtown -

 Third Street - stores; or Lakeshore - shores.

          Which to take today? 

 

Bonus haiku -

Pumpkin or pecan -

That is the question - really -

      piece of one or both? 

Turkey, potatoes,

pies - pumpkin and/or pecan.

       I'll have another. 

Monday - should get gas;

Tuesday - should fill up gas tank;

       Wednesday - stopped for gas.

 

The point being that Mon and Tues were pleasant and dry - Weds was blizzard! 

Temperatures falling,

snow blowing every which way -

      blizzard beginning? 

 Or "temperatures fall" if you like 4 syllable temps!

 

Snowflake falls on lawn,

lingers briefly, melts, is gone -

    winter's soft first kiss.

 

Although according to the weather forecast, "winter's soft first kiss" is rapidly going to turn into something quite a bit more passionate!  Snuggle in.

And finally a comment on last Sunday's lesson - 

(I don't know which of my heroes I owe this thought to - sounds like Robert Farrar Capon, but could have been Fred Buechner.)  Jesus said "Today you will be with me in Paradise" and the $100,000 question is, "who was he speaking to?"  

 

Now I know we've all learned that he was talking to "The Repentant Thief", which turns the story into a nice kind of Santa Clause-y one - God/Jesus making a list and checking it twice.  I think there was a song in The Cotton Patch Gospel - the guys are taking off on a TV evangelist - "Maybe if you're good enough, you can have a blind date with God".  

 

But -

 

if you want the hard-core, "Free grace and dying love, ring them golden bells" gospel, you have to say that he is saying it to the repentant thief,

AND to the unrepentant thief,

AND to the soldiers,

AND to the passers by

AND to the women

AND to the 12 who are gone into hiding

- the entire assemblage, the whole kit and kaboodle - 

because only then can you also hear him saying it to you and me -

"Today you will be with me in Paradise, because whoever and wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I am and will be there by your side, and I will never, ever leave you alone."

Free grace and dying love.... 

One small candle glows

ghostly light on the clock face -

       shadows all around. 

 Lord Jesus -
thank you for being a good and faithful shepherd
and staying by my side today
and each day, now and in the time to come.
Help me also be a good and faithful friend to those around me today.

(at camp - more about this tomorrow.) 

Leaves on lawns, leaves in

gutters, leaves in piles and bags -

         a few still on trees.

                         or

       still miss burning smell! 

Walk after dinner,

Or settle in for the night?

     Gets dark early now! 

Darkness snuggles in,

no stars twinkle, no moon shines -

       we snuggle in too. 

Thaw, brine (dry?), season,

stuff (?), roast, baste, let rest, carve, plate -

      time to get started? 

 Acorn, butternut,

delicata, spaghetti  -

   squash flavors of fall! 

Sun shines on green lawn, 

blue sky reflects in the pond - 

         a nice afternoon. 

 

Hard to believe it's 2 days into deer season! 

Creator and Creating God -

we hear of wars and insurrections

  and it is hard not to be terrified.

Nations rise against nations,

kingdoms against kingdoms;

famines and floods sweep many away,

  and it is hard not to be terrified.

People are arrested and persecuted,

  and it is hard not to be terrified for ourselves 

  and for the sojourners among us

  and for our country.

We believe you are coming

to judge the world with righteousness

and the people with equity,

  and we long for that day to come.

We build houses and believe that we will live in them.

We plant gardens and expect to eat the vegetables. (1)

We welcome the wolf and the lamb, the lion and the ox,

  as we all feast together at your table 

  with joy and thanksgiving and praise.

Be present at our table, Lord..... 

(1) Isaiah says we will bear children not for calamity but for blessing by the Lord. As I look at the state of the world today – from climate and environmental issues to breakdown in cultural and governmental norms – I’m not sure I’m comfortable going that far. Houses and gardens are one thing, children are something different altogether.

 

Love in the Peaceable Kingdom, Love in the Kingdom of Peace 

                          

 

                                    John August Swanson

                                     

 

                                          Edward Hicks 

11:00 am.........

Stiff breeze after rain,

now sunlight breaking through clouds -

            where will life go next?

 

2:00 pm.....

As a matter of fact, the sky cleared off and it was a beautiful afternoon. Just goes to show - I'm not sure what, but it goes to show! 

Two tamaracks by

the pond - one golden, one bare. 

         That's just how life goes? 

 Blue sky and sunshine,

 can't believe it's November -

      walking the shoreline.

 

Hard to believe it's 2 days before firearm deer season! 

One star through the clouds,

but no sign of northern lights -

      evening "lighthouse walk". 

 PMW,

DCA, ORD to

    MQT - we're home!

 

Yes  we've been traveling - seaway cruise and then several days in Portland, Maine. Yesterday a trip to Freeport, home of LL Bean (rained!)

 

 

L 

 Light rain, red light on

tracks; boarding the Downeaster -

    So long L.L.Bean. 

 

Dear God -

we remember so well our congregations

(and even our lives maybe) in their former glory,

and now in our sight, they seem as nothing.

Is it just that hindsight can make things

seem better than they really were,

or is the splendor we experience today

truly less than in former times?

(We know and affirm that “the good old days”

were not all that good for some.)

We find courage and take heart at your words -

“My Spirit abides among you;

The latter splendor of this house

shall be greater than the former,

says the LORD of hosts.”

As Moses only saw the Promised Land

without actually crossing over into it;

perhaps we will only see (by faith) those latter days

without actually making it to them.

We believe in your words and it is enough.

Praise and Glory to you Lord. Yes.

Gliding by small house

on small island, I wonder -

     what would life be like? 

 

Google Maps Lady (1) :

"At round about, take Second"   -

          Took Third!  Big mistake.

 

A half mile later, 

and a mile farther from goal.

     Time to call for Lyft!

 

(1) We were walking! 

 Past Paul Revere's house,

Old North Church (2 if by sea) -

      Boston's Freedom Trail. 

 

 

Full moon through light clouds

sparkles a path on the sea -

      Where would it take us?

 

The Spirit Realm? Dreamland? Home?

Geezer with coffee

staggering on rocking deck -

      watch out there, Mama! 

Lay down some water,

Dot with paint and let it move -

       Painting autumn leaves.

 

Watercolor technique! I call this "2 leaves and a bear caught in  storm drain".

 

A Prayer for All Saints (yesterday) and the day after (that’s today) -

Persistent God,

the words of Daniel’s vision -

  the four beasts are the four kings

  but the holy ones will receive and posses the kingdom -

ring with troubled relevance for today -

  who are these holy ones,

  and what is the kingdom they will receive?

Thank you for the elders and saints who have touched our lives.

We believe in your kingdom vision

of peace for the poor and health for the hungry.

Though our sins be as scarlet

may we find the strength to write this vision

even on the tablets of our hearts and lives.

Wait a minute – you are coming to stay at our house tonight?

Yikes!

Bonus haiku for today -

   Do to others as…,

   Do not unto others as…,

        Do for others as…...

Carmels, m&ms,

Tootsie Rolls, Snickers, Kit Kats -

    How you feeling now?

 

Frankly, I ate too many peanut butter cookies!