Every Pathway Led to Joy

“Through her masterful grasp of language, Bonnie imparts unique wisdom that can be learned only through trials, victories, and a life lived with steadfast faith.” —Nic Lesmeister, Executive Pastor, Gateway Church Every page of this book carries both joy and struggle.  I didn’t write from ideology but from living, learning, and trusting God through it…

Preorder available

I’m delighted to share about my new book, “A Roadmap to Joy: Find Your Way in a World of Discontent.”  The book comes from a very tender place in my heart. For years I have wrestled with the tensions that so many of us feel: longing for joy while walking through disappointments, pressure, uncertainty, and…

Choices

Even the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow can’t buy contentment. It is illusive. Culture is abstract yet often dictates our lives in concrete measures. Choice is concrete yet seems abstract as we begin choosing how to live. The secrets of contentment, which transcend the content of our culture, is rooted in…

Language

Lofty thoughts, which become ideals and hopefully–actions like forgiveness, freedom,  liberty, holiness, purity, redemption, atonement, justice, retribution, love, kindness, patience, or equality begin as seeds planted in the souls of mankind by the Spirit of God hovering upon the treasure of the universe. As we mature to grapple–chew and swallow these, they break through concrete barriers with rapid force and power like…

Across the Kitchen Table

I turn 75 tomorrow. I don’t feel old or irrelevant, although my culture may tell me otherwise. Older, more savvy friends and pastoral mentors shared with Wayne and me in our early 40’s that life doesn’t even get really fun and rich until your fifties. That was a bit of experiential advice that I put…

A Road Map to Joy

A ROAD MAP TO JOYPoems and StoriesFind Your Way in a World of Discontent Step into a world where faith and poetry intertwine—where the flicker of hope leads you down a path toward lasting joy. In “A Road Map to Joy,” Bonnie Saul Wilks gathers luminous poems and reflective stories that capture the ache and…

Terror and Beauty

I pause with reverence  on the balcony of my hotel room in the  Holy City. Across  from me stands the  New Gate, and my eyes  follow Jerusalem’s ancient walls as far as I can see.  The golden Dome of the Rock faintly gleams as dawn  peaks its way up and over the horizon  and walls….

Trailing Star Circles

{Star trails are visible due to Earth’s rotation, which causes stars to appear to move across the sky. As Earth spins on its axis, long exposure photographs can capture this motion, showing stars as streaks or arcs in circled image. Wikipedia} Trailing Star Circles Only 4 or 5 times have I felt the earth spin…

Elk Crossing the Lake

Sunrise broke a couple of large marble pots leaning against the walls of heaven and sky. Did you know that the colors of dawn and dusk are stored in these magnificent stone jars? They stand waiting in the wings of aurora and twilight, ready to be broken open and slathered across the horizon.  Freshly released,…

Golden Harvest

I will plant seeds in the barren soil of your heartache and loneliness. I will water the  hard ground  with your tears, shed in the secret  disappointments  of your heart.  My smile will burn through the your weary darkness  and scatter  the storm clouds.  I will grow a harvest  from what you rejected, wasted, and…