The Kingdom of God is Within You

--from the MEDITATIONS

of Jacob Trapp

Above all

may we keep our wonder

at great and noble things,

like sunlight and thunder

the rain and the stars,

the wind and the sea,

the growth of trees

and the return of harvests,

and the greatness of heroes.

May we come to learn

in our own experience,

in the ineffable mystery

and wonder of our souls,

who he was

and what he meant,

who said,

"The Kingdom of God

is within you."

I have been away from this blog longer than I wished yet we do what we must do and for me, that has been a lot of travel these past months. Yet there in the midst of my travels I reveled in sunlight and shadows, rain and snow and stars, the return of spring and summer, the wind and falling autumn leaves and Pikes Peak, and other mountains and gardens and gardens of flowers. And above all the hearts and faces of people who held both joy and sorrow. Strong, courageous, seeking people! Individual faces I cannot always remember but the memory of the mosaic of faces is very stirring and poignant within me. In my prayer this morning I saw them again,
faces from:

• Ringwood, New Jersey
• Ashville, North Carolina
• Lake Junaluska, North Carolina
• Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Atchison, Kansas
• Bristow, Virginia
• Colorado Springs, Colorado

Beautiful people who do not always remember that the Reign of God is within them.

So that is why I am reminding you...

The Reign of God

is Within You!

Today I Will Be A Poet

Although September was a wonderful ly creative month, it appears not to have been a very productive month for my blog. I am just fine with that though. My promise to myself is not to make unnecessary rules and demands. It seems important to enjoy what I do, thus I must practice giving myself positive messages. I am getting a little better with this though it is still a practice. ~~~~This summer I took an online creative class from the Abbey of the Arts. If you don't know about this wonderful site just google it and it will appear. Some day I will take the time to learn how to put those wonderful links into my blog where you can just click and BEHOLD! What you click you will see. That day has not yet arrived. I would like to gift you with a poem written during my monk/artist class. Enjoy it as you honor the monk and artist in your own deep soul.

Today I Will Be a Poet

Today I will be a poet

"like a feather on the breath of God,"

I will yield to the untraceable wind

sensing myself being breathed into the mystery.

Today I will gather beauty

I will see with the eye of the Beloved

I will practice adoring every little thing

I will listen to the voice of the moon flower

and kneel at the roots of the Sycamore.

Today I will be obedient

to water, wind, earth and fire,

as they allow the Divine to speak through them

I, too, will allow myself to be spoken through.

Today I will be a poet, a monk and an artist.

When light climbs out of the sweet darkness,

falling down in golden streams

upon my mystic heart,

I will stand in the light fall

and become a vessel of light and darkness.

My Heart Will Overflow

With Eternal Questions!

Poet, monk, artist, mystic:

siblings on our beautiful earth

answers to eternal questions

containers of light and dark

keepers of a 'power' that saves.

~~Macrina Wiederkehr

[written on the altar of daily life]