Current Affairs
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Consider This
Consider this: Gays and lesbiansare less boundto expectationsabout what is masculineand what is feminine,thus freer to be more like God,who is entirely both. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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The Deeper, Truer Reality
At timesthe evil in the world overwhelms me. I stand in awe of thosewho continue to stand in hope. I know hope comes from deeper truth,but that deep truthcan be so obscured,so pressed down,so weightedby greed, fear, alienation and hate,so… Continue reading
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Troubled Hearts
I have days of frustration,wondering how I'll continue,close to giving up. And I'll lay in bedand imagine God in the room,drawing close,putting a stilling hand to my forehead,sayng something needed, like,"I know it's rough,"or "I'm here with you,"or "Open your heart–just a… Continue reading
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You Are Here
Identity is transitory.The labels we useto draw boundariesaround our fragile egos(self-sufficient, faithful, husband, mother,employee, believer, athlete, friend…)can change in an instant.Nothing is fixed; all is in flux. When we wish it to be otherwise–for all to stay the same–we court unhappiness.… Continue reading
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On the Sixth Day of Christmas
If he's just arrived,isn't this when he needs us most–this neonate, this babe,so fragile, so absolutely dependent? Shouldn't we get the place ready,clean things up a bit,replace alienation with reconciliation,suspicion with trust,and greed with grace? He came in 2009,and we… Continue reading
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Aurify the World
This very dayall the forces of heaven and earthalign within youto aurify the world.You are their holy verge, their sacred scepter. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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Pick Four
Pick four spiritual qualities or life attributesthat you highly value, for example:peace, wonder, love and delightor hope, compassion, joy and contentment.Write these down. Now combine these four qualitiesinto a simple prayer/intention for yourself:"May I know peace, wonder, love and delight."Repeat this many times in the… Continue reading
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On the Third Day of Christmas
Now that we've moved beyond the frenetic shopping, wrapping, baking, partying and family obligations–the general holiday hype–we have the opportunity to truly celebrate Christmas. It only began two days ago, on Sunday, the "First Day of Christmas," as the song… Continue reading
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“The Least Conspicuous Miracles”
Photographer Robert Adamsencourages us to walkat "a pace that allows regardfor the least conspicuous miracles."He urges us to develop"a kind of friendship with things." I wish I'd written those lines;I hear the poet within the photographer. And indeed, Adam's photographycaptures those least… Continue reading
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Advent 14
Like Scrooge's trinity of ghosts,the Beloved takes my handand flies me skywardamong dark Winter's stars,beyond my sapped vision,beyond this succession of pea-sized moments,beyond my desk of dust and yellowing paper, endless analysis and digitized disorder…and for one brief momentreveals… Continue reading