Temptations are not independent agents in our souls. They do not gain access, sweep aside all reason, all good desires and hold a hostile take-over. There is no such thing as “the devil made me do it.” “I allowed to the devil to get his way” is much more accurate. Whether temptations come from familiar places within our… Continue reading Temptation and Imagination
Category: Archives
My blogs from the early 2000’s until we moved back to Minnesota in 2017.
The Desert Under Our Feet
In the whole story of our lives, it is good to visit the desert once a year in Lent as a spiritual discipline that cleanses and opens us to receive again the wonder of Christ’s cross and resurrection for us. But sometimes the desert doesn’t wait for the church calendar. Our life circumstances change: I lose a… Continue reading The Desert Under Our Feet
There is No Other Way
We meet Jill Poole in a moment not unlike Martha’s first encounter with Jesus. While controlling Martha encounters an unmoveable Lord, foolish Jill encounters an unmoveable Lion. Her offence? Showing off at the end of a cliff until her friend, Digory, fell over trying to rescue her. A huge, bright coloured animal bounded up and blew with his… Continue reading There is No Other Way
Those Little Beasties: A Theological Reflection on Ticks
Samwise at the beach My rescue puppy, Samwise, is now a year old. His coat has grown into something between a Poodle and a Maltese-very thick and curly. His personality is marked by much creative mischief and an insatiable desire to roll on his back in our backyard. I can deal with the missing slipper… Continue reading Those Little Beasties: A Theological Reflection on Ticks
Thoughts on Regret
In the attempt to make my market-appropriate bland walls inhabitable, I went in search of some cheap, decent art that went with beige. I kept running into posters with the slogan "Live without regret." Live without regret? Everywhere I go, including the recesses of my own heart, I find plenty of regret lurking in the… Continue reading Thoughts on Regret
Tolling Wisdom
A tolling buoy in the Atlantic Ocean. I just spent a week on an island off the coast of Maine, as close to the water as was physically possible without living in it. I saw sea gulls and sunsets, waves and rocks. But what I heard was a bell. A small rocky island just off… Continue reading Tolling Wisdom
Uninvited Solitude
I've had an uninvited visitor in my home for the past several days. She isn't visible to anyone but God and me. Her visit began with a rather unwelcome, but much needed, departure. Nearly two weeks ago my husband dropped everything to be with his ailing mother across the country. My son is here, but… Continue reading Uninvited Solitude
Walking in What Is
This weekend I am leading a retreat based on Psalm 86:11. This verse is the heart of this intense psalm of supplication: “Teach me your ways, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth. Unite my heart to you that I may fear your name.” I’ve spent much time reflecting upon the flow of this small, powerful prayer: first from instruction… Continue reading Walking in What Is
Wisdom’s Sister Susannah
I picked up a compilation of prayers throughout the ages tonight, and found this prayer by Susanna Wesley. It sounds a great deal like my discussion of fantasy lives (p. 112ff), and I had to smile at finding such an articulate description of a similar challenge 250 years ago. Susanna writes,“Save me from leading an imaginary life in the… Continue reading Wisdom’s Sister Susannah
Wisdom’s Words
I am taking on an extended study of practical Christian wisdom this fall with the same trepidation that I experience when I teach on faith, hope and love. Has not everything to say about wisdom already been said…over and over again? There are certain themes that never leave the human conversation for long. Wisdom is… Continue reading Wisdom’s Words
Carla Waterman 