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A Pleasing Aroma
Today would have been my grandmother’s 98th birthday. Her name was Marion Betty Kline Johnson. My mom’s mom. To be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about her life but I have strong memories and impressions of her. She smoked. A lot. When I was in college, I visited her at her apartment in…
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The Wellspring
If you’ve been following my posts, you know that during sabbatical I’ve been visiting various worshiping communities on Sundays. Last week I went to a church near my home, but today I went to the church closest to where we live. Wellspring Church, also known as the First Samoan Congregational Christian Church, happens to be…
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I Am a Gnat
In the fall of 2004, I took my first 3-month sabbatical. Brooke and I were not yet parents. We were living in Colorado Springs and I was serving as the Associate Minister for Children, Youth, and Families. The focus of that sabbatical was to visit other worshiping communities near and far. The primary adventure was…
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Apocalyptic Eucalyptus
Apocalyptic eucalyptusFalcon TalcumMansion MentionBanana ManiaGeronimo DominoEgregious PeachesCream-based Biscayne BayRambunctious Pumpkin UnctionFelonious Melon LotionAffable Laugh AppleFull Cauldron FulcromTim’s Kin’s RamekinsQuality Coiffed CoffeeMalleable Saluble BaubleTorqued Fork CorkTapped Nap ZapPhony Macaroni TestimonySavor Savior FlavorFlossed Mustard GustoSqueeze Teased FleasTasty Paste Flakes
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This Grief Is Not A Tool
This grief is not a tool that accomplishesNot a shovel that digs a deeper holeThis grief just isConstantly is Like the cup fallen from my handWhen I swear I was being carefulIt can’t be put back together, though I’ve triedCan’t hold the drink it once heldCan’t bring back the friendship that presented itself to me…
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Close Proximity
As a pastor on sabbatical, one of my practices has been to visit churches and other spiritual communities. This week I decided to look and see what were the closest churches to my home in Santa Rosa. One of them is a non-denominational Evangelical church and I rode my bike there for the 10:00 a.m.…
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Very Giant Rock
One of my sabbatical goals has been to find a new Sonoma County hike each week. So far so good. I told Carla, my massage therapist, about this goal and she said she knew of a hike in the coastal mountains that only locals could find. She said she’d write down the directions, which she…
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Afraid of Ghosts
I once spent the night alone in a cabinSweet solitudeNo reason to be afraidThe wind softly scraped the branches against the decaying shinglesThe rafters and the floor boards crackled in concertThe bunk bed springs creaked even as I lay perfectly still In the pitch black I could hear scurrying and perhaps heavier footstepsI forced myself…
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Autumn
Below are two versions of a song my friend Danny Johnson and I wrote a good while ago, like in 1995. He composed and played the guitar part and I wrote the lyrics and melody. In both versions, you can hear Danny’s voice echoing the words, “Autumn’s comin’ home.” Recently, I told Danny I was…
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