Nothing too fancy about this blog...just a guy sharing some thoughts about being a husband, father, community member, and an undeservedly saved Christian in small town Minnesota. I love to be outdoors (when it's warm), participate in theatre, read/write, cook/bake (yes, they're different), enjoy good microbrews and wine, and spending time with my gorgeous wife and our offspring, and our excellent friends and family.
I know.I see it.Movement. Clustered tips of arborvitaebend with the breezeand I want to be in that supple exchangeof breath and life. Thick botanic pillarsbound in ruffled spraysof green, fan over fanhand in hand, as one,yet varied as thought. Is this not faith and gracein one fragrant tower, a signand shadow of our shape,from Edenic … More what is it about today?
It’s time for a cover reveal! I couldn’t be prouder and more thrilled for my friend, former college roommate, now pastor and author of several books. I’m so excited to share the cover for John W. Otte’s upcoming book, Drawn in Ash! This is the first book in a science fantasy trilogy loosely based on the … More Cover Reveal: “Drawn In Ash” by John W. Otte
Leave, return, stand, and sitLift and carry, place and pauseHug and hassle, kiss and playLove and protest, fear and pray Press the thought beneath the tongueTrap the words behind the teethSmile to push it all awayLie when nothing left to say Hide in shadowed silence boughtCrouch amid the treasured dustCover head from volleyed hateRefuse to … More Here, a Nicodemus
Usually, after writing a poem, I feel okay about it. It’s rare to think I’ve hit on something good. This one…it leaves me wondering. I wrote, tweaked, paused, tweaked (repeat) and then just wanted to rewrite the whole thing. Then, I realized that pride and vulnerability were duking it out. I believe an artist’s job … More faith is
A dark rockface weepsRiver bubbles under ice –Life is coming
On March 21, 2020, at the start of the COVID times, the last thing and the thing not to be was one and the same. Such a mundane thing to now have so much meaning. I still have the list. The day Mom’s soul departed for heaven, March 22, will always be memorable, but the … More the list
we are all so smartas a whip <crack>cutting at and intospace and spirit any and allwho are simply notas smart <crack>taking cheap shots fromsoap boxesbuilt by self for self <crack>oh, no, you don’tput your feeton my soap box <crack>my soap box is full <crack>we lashto keep at baywe flogto keep atopand shout our shouts <crack>we … More crack
For many of us, having war at our doorstep is quite literally a foreign idea. We can only imagine based off what we see and hear from across the shrinking globe. Although I cannot put myself in a Ukrainian’s shoes, I can will myself to imagine…to grasp even a strip of shadow of what it … More a sunflower dancing
Four months…twenty four months…for many, it’s been a very long winter…a long wait for our own spring…a freeing from home, from limitations, perhaps from others…imposed and self-imposed isolation in a variety of ways. The living Water, God, gives us grace even in our darkest, coldest moments. We’ve all just been trying to hold up our … More Give grace kindly
I tell the story oftenbecause it is my favoriteof how I was not lookinguntil you had me seeing I walked in grayer thoughts thenmucky trail of stunted dreamsthat grabbed at heels for trippingand whetted fears for slipping It was a lesser time whereall I wanted was a lighta lucent path for beingthat led to a … More I was not looking
a tilting of air 