Holly Dickson-Ramos's Blog, page 6

Consider the Tulips

Jesus seems far away, sometimes. Heaven is like my yellow tulips: hidden. Winter lasts forever in Canada. It gets dreary. Eventually I reach a point where faith kicks in – a logical commitment to that which I know is true. One day, I know, when I open my bedroom window, I’ll feel warm air out... Continue Reading →

The Spoken Word

I’m not a poetry person, but every now and then I bump into a poem that I understand (rare) and love (even rarer). Here’s one I came across a few days ago – I hope you like it as much as I do!   The spoken word Has always been sanctified here, since The Creator God... Continue Reading →

God’s Reality

Here’s how it works: Lay an onion thin sheet of tracing paper over the image you want to copy, use the tip of a pencil to capture the most important lines, and… watch as a replica emerges. Ooops! You’ve let the paper slip off its mark and now that beautiful ballet dancer has an eyeball... Continue Reading →

The Summons

There was a time in my life when tomorrow tingled with possibility. Have you seen the way children wake up? Alive with energy and expectation. That was me. High expectations. All it took, really, was a toad on a tree or a sparkling stone, to make a moment great. Life met my expectations. Again and... Continue Reading →

Hoarding Citrus

My husband always shares his oranges with me. It’s amazing. Once or twice a year – if we’re lucky – we can get our hands on juicy, fragrant fruit, shipped from the USA. I buy just a few oranges at a time because I’m shopping on a budget and good, in season oranges cost more... Continue Reading →

Painting Bears (and other things…)

When your pain gets bad, or you’re on the verge of a panic attack – when the tide of your day shifts from normal to nasty, what do you do? There are spiritual disciplines, of course, that we could talk about. I can bring to mind the things I know are true,  mentally rehearsing a... Continue Reading →

World in Crisis

What’s your prayer for the Ukraine? How about for Russians who object to what their leader is doing? Have you been praying about the pandemic, or the Canadian trucker convoy, or other world events? What do you say, when you pray? What images fill your mind? Do you feel hopeful or worried? Confident or doubtful?... Continue Reading →

The Real Me

There are beautiful, perfect people and there are flawed specimens of humanity. That’s okay. Don’t try to soften the blow – I know which group I belong to. How about you? I’m guessing you’re in group B too, and I’m glad – you and me can stick together. When I watch TV or shop online... Continue Reading →

A Valentine’s Day Disaster

Breaking from my usual end-of-the-week posting pattern, I thought I’d share with you, today, memories of a personal Valentine’s Day disaster and lessons learned from said disaster. We’d been married less than a year and ranting, for days, about the perils of unfettered capitalism in general and, more specifically, the commercialization of all holidays, including... Continue Reading →

Broken and Open

Last night was difficult. Do you have those nights? You’re supposed to be sleeping, and you kind of are, but each time you wake, instead of rolling into warm sheets and falling back into dreams, you catalogue the scary indicators that suggest there’s trouble ahead. For me these are hard-to-describe sensations in my chest –... Continue Reading →