There is something so irresistibly sad, or melancholy, or nostalgic, about Sara Teasdale’s poem “Water Lilies” that I find absolutely haunting. Actually, none of those words – sad, melancholy, nostalgic – is quite right. And maybe that’s what I like about this poem: it evokes a...

Holy Saturday, for all practical purposes, is usually given over to preparing for Sunday. Making sure the ham has been purchased and ready to cook, decorating eggs, readying decorations, cleaning the house. But once in a while – or perhaps even for just a few moments of the day – it might...

I have spent the last week in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, visiting family and friends we haven’t seen for too long. We were eager to escape the clutches of another long and cold Minnesota winter, if even for a few days, but chanced upon just the kind of spring William Carlos Williams...

This Sunday millions of Christians will hear the beloved and well known Parable of the Prodigal Son. Or is it the Parable of the Waiting Father? Or perhaps the Parable of the Lost Elder Brother? Or maybe simply the Parable of the Two Brothers? Parables weren’t actually named in the Bible,...

It was March 1 yesterday and here in Minnesota we still have four to six inches of snow on the ground. But temps have been above zero for a week or so and more importantly – or at least more inspiring – the birds are singing. Which means that while winter isn’t quite done, spring is most...