The Privilege of Adoption

My daughter is in the front row with Ethiopian orphans. We leave in a week for a two-week medical trip to Ethiopia. I certainly have mixed feelings about this trip. In fact, every trip has been hard for me this year. I think a decade plus of mega international traveling has caught up with me. Even…

haiku: about Akiane

“The Prince of Peace” by Akiane at age eight Akiane’s muse is wisdom beyond her years her gifts point to God Take a peek here, for more on Akiane.

Gnarled Tree

I am watching the dawn break slowly across the wide expanse of the sky. Navy blue is turning to slate now, with small streaks of light pink and gold. The black silhouette of three barren trees sit against the morning sky. They look especially gnarled, almost ghoulish, against the early dawn.

Visit Tiny Topaz

If you like haiku and photography and artwork, take a peek at my haiku blog, Tiny Topaz. I post a photogragh and a haiku daily.

haiku: spring

  winter’s spell broken when the cold barren branch bursts  pink life from the dead

Love at First Sight

It was love at first sight. When I saw this gorgeous black and cream fabric, I knew I had to take it home with me. It just happened to be upoholstered to a chair. But I was smitten… I couldn’t breath… I couldn’t think straight… The rest is just a blurr.. and the next thing I knew my husband was…

William F. Buckley and the Jews

William F. Buckley Jr. once said, “In my own experience anti-Semitism is not a communicable disease.” John B. Judis in his biography William F. Buckley Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives states that Buckley grew up with attitudes of Jewish hatred in his home. Later in life, Buckley learned that “anti-Semitism is not a communicable disease” through his own…

What Happened to that Little Girl?

Last evening, we ate dinner with a lovely Italian family from our church. I especially say Italian, because they are proud of their ethnicity; and I am fascinated by it as well. We have known them for many years. They have five bright children; and their parents, in their 80’s, live with them a few months…

Finding the Quiet Center

  I quell many thoughts competing for my attention as I sit in the temple. I have come to worship, not to mull over the mundane of life. The morning sun reflects pink and gold tones upon the white Jerusalem stone, as the rabbis remove the Scroll from the Ark, their prayer tassels sway as they bend and lift with tender…