Last September my children, a neighbor and I were outside in the front yard when we heard shots fired half a block away. We have always felt very safe in our neighborhood, so at first we didnʼt know what had happened.  Minutes later, police cars careened down our street... [more]

Glow in the dark (Photo by Margaret Kellermann)

The windowsill saint is glowing from inside, at sunset. Her body is giving off light stored from the day.

Glasses halfway down her nose,

Staring me down—

No ruckus allowed! Nagging me.

I repay her with all kinds of grief:

the same currency she grants me.

I cartoon her chin wattle, her saggy arms,

laughing at her wide behind.  Caught,

I’m banished to the Principal—

Corporal re-education—a... [more]

They told me not to look down…yet I felt compelled anyway. I didn’t see a way up the almost sheer, nearly vertical rock face, so I looked down, hoping to see some way to move.  That was a mistake.

I was just learning to rock climb as part... [more]

When I went to visit Prague in 2002, I followed stories instead of streets.  I followed the story of Rabbi Lowe’s golem, the story of King Wenceslas, the story of Tycho Brahe’s silver nose.  I followed all the interwoven histories and legends of Prague.  It made for lots of... [more]

This experience has come through my awareness of a large construction project at my living community, Rose Villa.  Due to begin actively this coming winter and to last perhaps eighteen months intensely, this project will be big (about half of our landscape), disruptive (right in the middle and affecting... [more]

Hard like a rock

Round like a globe

Blood filled

Like you think you're nurturing something

Invaded my world

Just like a parasite

Made of my tissue

Blood filled

Like you think you are part of me

Devoured my energy

You act like a baby

Make my... [more]

This video is an invitation to honor and celebrate the gifts of the human body. 

http://tinyurl.com/cbwjwpk

—Melanie Weidner

In the spring of 1989 I joined a team to run the Hood-to-Coast Relay Race.  I was in my early thirties, and looking for some inspiration and motivation to get into shape and maybe lose some weight.  Running wasn’t fun, but it was aerobic and “good for you.”

There are no... [more]

My body has been one of my greatest teachers.

When I was a teenager, I used to wish I could have a miracle, so I could see 20/20 and no longer need glasses, which I'd worn since I was 10 years old.

Then one day when I was around 18 or 19... [more]

I believe God wants me to be the best steward of my physical body that I can be. I believe taking good care of my body is a responsibility that comes along with the gift of life God has given me.

I haven't always felt this way. When I was in... [more]

Sometimes I feel prayers.   At those times, when someone is praying for me, my right temple becomes very warm.  This has happened both when I knew someone was praying for me and when I didn’t know.  On at least one occasion, I felt much better immediately.

I have no theories about... [more]