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Great American Eclipse Paintings
After the Great American Eclipse, I’m reminded once again how great and wide is the love of our God. We say, “Our God,” as if we could own or possess the one who holds us, since God is beyond our knowing or possession. We can own a boat, a house, or a work of art.…
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Total Eclipse of the Heart
In the Bonnie Tyler song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” her rock and roll soul pines for a young man as she sings: “Every now and then I know there’s no one in the universe As magical and wondrous as you.” Love struck teen heart ballads tend to elevate the beloved to a high pedestal,…
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It’s Not Under Control!
All things will renew themselves in good season, yet we have only the present moment before us. We can’t live in the past, nor can we control the future. We have to recognize even our present moments aren’t always in our control, as we witnessed in the big Super Bowl game last Sunday. Who would…
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Lifetime of Learning
“Transfer of Learning” is a concept in which anything learned in one situation or environment can be applied in another. When I taught art, I would have my students use mathematics and fractions when they cut mats to present their work for exhibition. “Why do we have to use math in art?” they whined, “We’re…
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Introducing Watercolor Painting
Our art class has worked in acrylic paint for several years, but toward the end of last year, they expressed an interest in learning about watercolors. I said, “Sure, we’ll do that. It’ll build on the color theory you already know, but you’re going to have to learn to plan ahead and learn not to…
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What’s the Point of Suffering?
I’ve visited the Holy Land twice, and I’m always surprised how small this country is. So much history and events of our faith happened here, yet the land isn’t much bigger than Vermont. This land is a place of great suffering, marked by the historic sites of Masada, Megiddo, and Golgotha. It’s also the place…
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Inspired by Autumn Leaves
I returned from a spiritual retreat at Mount Eagle, at which we studied the Enneagram. This is our United Methodist camp site dedicated to holy listening. Of the nine spiritual personality types, I happen to be a Four: The Creative. I’m “The Sensitive, Introspective Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental.” Fours are self-aware, sensitive, and…
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Megiddo at the Crossroads of History
On a visit to the Holy Land, I walked in the ruins of Tell Megiddo and also climbed the hills above the Jezerell valley. From this vantage point, I could imagine the great battles of nations warring to conquer land and control trading routes. Megiddo lies at the crossroads and therefore in the crosshairs of…

