R.A. Nelson's Blog, page 6

We Need Stories; or, More About Rabbits

My household is a reading household.

The hubs and I devote many evenings – and, occasionally, entire days – to reading.

Even the doggie boy loves it:

"I like my mommy's poetry."

We each have our books – for me, usually a stack – and one book that we are reading out loud together. It started with The Hobbit, on our second official day of dating, and progressed through the Chronicles of Narnia, a few Lord Peter Wimsey books, The Giver, and the entire Harry Potter series,...

Easter: An Encore

In my Holy Saturday post, I said that the Holy Saturday poem would serve as my Easter Sunday poem also, and that it was the last in my 2019 Lenten/Easter series.

I lied.Well, I didn’t lie; I was just misinformed.

So, here I am to set the record straight: I did, indeed, write a poem for Easter Sunday. What’s more, I’m going to share it with you in just a moment.

The timing is not so unusual as you might think. Easter, like Christmas, is not just one day. Christmas lasts 12 days (hence...

Huzzah for Poetry!

Greetings, friends – and Happy Easter!

Thank you, again, for walking the Lenten road with me. I know the blog has been a bit heavy for the past six weeks, so we’re keeping it rather light this week. Besides, we have an extra cause to be merry:

National Poetry Month!

TWO extra causes, actually.

Tomorrow, April 27th, marks the first anniversary of my first poetry collection! Doc is worn out from the excitement.

To celebrate this double header, we are offering a...

Easter Triduum: Holy Saturday

The Easter Triduum culminates in Holy Saturday.

Today is a quiet day, remembering the time that Jesus spent in the grave. Tonight, many believers will gather for the Easter Vigil, which marks the end of Lent. The whole story of scripture will be told in darkness, commemorating the darkness of the tomb – creation, Israel, exodus, exile, prophets, Messiah – all leading up to the resurrection. Then bells will ring, and the lights in the church will come on, and the organ and choir wil...

Easter Triduum Part 2: Good Friday

It is Good Friday, when we commemorate the death of Jesus.

This one’s a bit raw, friends.

On this dark day, when we remember the unimaginable suffering of our Savior, I think I will let the poem speak for itself.

Good Friday

Fine.
Have it your way.
Take me at my silver-plated word
Believe me when I say
I want to share in your sufferings
Break and bleed with you and with my neighbor
Find oneness in pain with a pain-ridden world
That all may rejoice more fully
In the resurrection.
If...

Easter Triduum Part 1: Maundy Thursday

Today is Maundy Thursday. Holy Week is here, friends.

Lent has brought us from a Tolkienian Ash Wednesday meditation through the trickiness of fasting and the importance of being present to praying through a heavy heart, and on to the complicated nature of time and the paradox of giving and receiving found in Palm Sunday.

In the post on time, I mentioned that the conclusion of Lent can produce a sort of panic: have I listened? Have I changed? Am I ready? As I said then, the answer t...

Giving and Receiving: The Paradox of Palm Sunday

Last week, I was bombarded by thoughts about giving and receiving.

Everyone seemed to be talking about it. In church, the children’s sermon included this quote (not sure of the source):

“The greatest good you can do another is not to share your riches, but reveal to them their own.”

THAT got me thinking.

Then, a few days later, my daily Henri Nouwen devotional joined in – three days in a row:

~ “Let’s never give anything without asking ourselves what we are receiving from those to who...

Some Time – ly Musings

Time. Let’s talk about it.

We are over halfway through Lent. (If you’ve missed this blog’s Lenten journey, you can find the previous posts here: Ash Wednesday, fasting, being “present”, and heaviness.)

On the one hand, it feels interminable: how many more weeks/days/hours of this do we have left, exactly? On the other, realizing that Holy Week is less than two weeks away sends me into a sort of panic: Lent was supposed to be this deeply transformative time! Is the transformation hap...

Sonnet-ing Through the “Heavy”

My heart is heavy this week, friends.

I give you fair warning: this post contains much talk of scripture and prayer. If such things are not your scene, I encourage you to read on anyway: there’s a sonnet waiting at the end. Besides, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t wrestled with “heavy” at some point, so this post truly is for everyone. I hope it encourages you.

Our journey through Lent thus far has taken us from the poignant hope of Ash Wednesday to the grace-full invitation of fastin...

Lent: The Invitation

I dedicate this post to my dear Aunt Sara, who finished her race this past week and is now at home with her Savior. She was an amazing lady and would, I hope, have enjoyed today’s thoughts.

Farewell for now, Aunt Sara. She traveled to my wedding, not only to bless it with her presence, but so I could wear her diamond necklace as my "something borrowed". I shall always be grateful for this memory.

Last week’s post recalled young Ruth’s complicated relationship with fast...