Blessing from Cuba

Blessing from Cuba

(The congregation forms a circle large enough to include everyone.  Each person either places their hand on the head of the person to their right or their right palm on the back of the left hand of the person to the right.) 

                May God prosper you.

                May your days be long and your nights serene.

                May your friendships honor you, and your family love you.

                May you eat at your table, and

                may you be gathered into to God's embrace

                with a smile.

Sept. 2018

Not who we want to be; who we are

Not who we want to be; who we are

The Otomíes of the state of Querétaro are one of the original peoples of México.  The state of Querétaro borders the state of San Luis Potosí.  This doll is crafted by the Otomíes and exemplifies the diversity of women or of humanity.  Each doll is handmade, and even though the dolls look alike, each one is also different and unique.

Just like us.

Doña Severa, an over-90- year-old artisan from the municipality of Amealco, Queretaro, stated in an interview during the Fourth Festival of the Indigenous Doll (2016):

"Our people know that these dolls are not like the plastic ones massively produced in series by machines.  Our dolls are produced with our hands.  This is not who we want to be; it is who we are."

God made you and me with God's hands, and this is not who we want to be; it is who we are: sons and daughters of God by pure grace.

This doll's name is Joy which in Otomí means: Earth.

Written by Nohemí Nidia Bravo P., from the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México.  Translation by Elena Huegel

Haiku

Bike path 

Zipping past

frowns and glares

cheered on by flags of green and gold.

Autumn 

Wind fights with leaves,  

which fall into carpets

of failed resistance.  

Bird Calls

Morning bird chirp 

afternoon song.

At moonlight, owl screech.

How could anyone

How Could Anyone Ever Tell You
by Libby Roderick

How could anyone ever tell you

You were anything less than beautiful

How could anyone ever tell you

You were less than whole

How could any one fail to notice

that your loving is a miracle

How deeply you’re connected to my soul

Blessing by Dag Hammerskold

May God give you a pure heart to see Him, a humble heart to hear Him, a loving heart to serve Him, a faithful heart that He might abide in you.  And may our Gracious God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you and fill your souls, now and always. Amen

The rose that grew from a crack in the concrete

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared. 

Tupac Shakur

I seek you soul

In the midst of the storm

I seek you soul.

Life's companion

hidden in the heartbeat

of daily doings.

I seek you soul

in my roots

past experiences

history, culture, art, faith

inheritance firmly planted

where not even the fiercest storm

can unearth me.

I seek you soul

flying with wings

feathered dreams

reach clarity

in thin air

and twirl among the colors

breath of invention and imagination

Creating life before the hurricane

that cannot defeat me..

29 August 2011

Elena Huegel