A sonnet for All Saints DayIn the apostle’s mind the truth is clear:the atmosphere is charged with holiness.A cloud of faithful saints surrounds us hereawaiting opportunities to blessour daily moments routine and mundanewith memories of happiness and woe,those made of dust now wrapped with holy rainthat baptized them when in the world below.We feel the mist when gathered round a graveand weighty presence pins us … Continue reading Looks Like Rain
Sometimes I wonder what drives people. What gets them out of bed in the morning, motivates them to work or support a cause or just get on with it and serve the needs of their family? What do they want out of life? When I see political ads, I want to clear away all the rhetoric and mud-slinging and ask each candidate what it is … Continue reading What Love Requires
I was driving to the community theater for a rehearsal when I noticed a heavy feeling in my gut. I took a couple of breaths to relax myself, then I focused my attention on the felt-sense in my body. I knew it was telling me something, so I paused after parking. I sat with the sensation with intentional compassion. The reason for the heavy … Continue reading Doing the Inner Work: Bio-Spiritual Focusing
June 30, 2026. Our last full day in France, for now. We had booked a small group guided tour of Versailles along with pickup in the city. Well, “pickup” is generous: we met our guide, who distributed train tickets and chatted with us on the 30-minute train ride. But that was OK. Sometimes you just want somebody else to figure stuff out. And now we … Continue reading Paris, Part II
After more than a month (for me) in Marseille, my husband Dean and I said goodbye to our spacious rental in the Castellane neighborhood , thanks to our wonderful Airbnb host Diane. We took an Uber to La Gare St. Charles and figured out how to watch for the voie, the boarding platform for our SNCF train to Paris. (Travel tip: allow extra time to … Continue reading Paris, Part I
Bonjour! I have been patiently waiting for the opportunity to visit La Bonne Mère (literally “the good mother”), the Marseillaises’ designation for Notre Dame de la Garde, the basilica that oversees the city. It was built in the 19th century on the site of a fort erected to protect the city in the16th century. It is the most visited site in the city and is … Continue reading Les Arts, Old and New
How do you keep a toddler from wigging out when you talk about going to the beach? You speak in code, or in this case, in French. So we prepared to go à la plage on Friday morning (June 19). We boarded the M1 bus to the Old Port, then caught the 83 bus for the remainder of the trip. Prophète is a great beach … Continue reading Plage du Prophète, Le Panier and Paradigms
On Monday, June 15 I joined the Cru group from Marseilles on a day trip to Nice. It was planned as a mid-mission break and time for reflection for the group. I was on my own, since I am not directly involved in the mission project. My role is to support John and Karen as staff. We boarded the train in the morning for the … Continue reading La Côte d’Azur
It has been several days since my last post, since I had two very special experiences, and I needed to take my time curating and adjusting photos. I am happy to share them with you! On Sunday, June 7, I met Christine and David at All Saints Anglican Church here in Marseille. Christine and I had a lovely conversation that I was reluctant to bring … Continue reading Le Luberon
The joys of travel include the unexpected delights of meeting interesting people and accepting their invitations to see and do things that were not in the itinerary. This week I exchanged texts with Christine, a woman I met at All Saints last Sunday. I asked if we might meet for coffee or lunch, while aware that she and her husband live north of the city. … Continue reading Une Petite Galerie
