"Sign of the Dove" I am a country chapel girl sitting in a magnificent cathedral Waiting for a friend’s glorious ordination in which By some extraordinary grace, I am reading a lectionary Scripture. The service begins with pomp and pageantry all around: Pipe organ and choir, vestments and chalices. It seems so formal that I hope I don’t make a mistake When I ascend to the lectern at my appointed time. Then I see, at the front of the grand processional A sign of divine grace that makes my heart leap: A man in a robe swirling a beribboned pole   With a white fabric dove swoo ..read more

In the resounding Echo of the Grandest Narrative, Hear your own invitation to the Sacred Story. Say along with the saints: “Be it done to me according to your Word!” Imagine and realize what this means: What wonder and honor To be an ambassador of grace and mercy On a mission of redemption in this world! Then be filled with joy in your eager heart, For in this moment, The God of Glory becomes bigger than the world around you You will find your purpose or, shall we say,  Your Purpose will find you As you listen within the quiet and within the noise. Listen for that echo! Enter his ..read more

Dear friends, It's been over a year since I've written here on this blog, except for the poem and road trip photo journal I just posted today. I thought I'd give you an update! Asbury Seminary The biggest thing that has happened in the last year is that I graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Ministry on May 15 at the Orlando campus ceremony! I wish we could have had our guests come in person but at least they could watch the live stream. Seminary took me just three years since this degree is only 48 credits. I also managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA.  I ha ..read more

Road Trip 2021! Last month, my youngest daughter and I embarked on 15 day road trip to Maryland to see my dad and my sister. We drove three days to get there, visiting family and friends and cool stuff along the way. My youngest son flew up halfway through our trip and spent a few days with us in Maryland. Then the three of us spent three days driving home, visiting even more family and fascinating sights. This is my photo journal of the trip which includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland -- and back through the same states again.  On the Road O ..read more

What do I know? I saw a mourning dove yesterday morning hopping along the sidewalk near me. My mother taught me of mourning doves so I knew this one by her shape, color, size --  though then she did not speak.  I crept up quietly, but she knew and flew.  The roof was a safe place; the roof and the sky,  because she has wings and I do not.  I could see only her silhouette there but it still said mourning dove to me. This morning I heard her plaintive call:  Coo ah coo coo coo. And: Coo ah coo coo coo. That was all she ever said, over and over again.  But ..read more

Welcome to Virginia's Life: Springtime & Quarantine edition! It's been six months since I posted here, so it's time for an update! We've been in coronavirus-lockdown-of-sorts for over two months now. What does that look like for me? The main thing is that I am working from home (WFH) for the foreseeable future. My employer sent us all home with laptops and headsets. We don't have a definitive word on when my department (crisis hotline) is going back to the office, but I suspect it won't be anytime soon. I don't miss the hour long round trip commute, I like working at home, and it's no ..read more

Dear Bezalel, May I write to you from many millennia hence? I am in awe as I think of your life: You were a man of exiled Israel, enslaved in Egypt Miraculously rescued in the Exodus through the Red Sea Sojourner in the wilderness with Moses and all your people. It is said that you were filled with the Spirit,  The very first person of whom this was written. And that God himself, the great Creator and Redeemer Called and gifted you as a master artist and craftsman and designer To create a tabernacle with beauty and excellence in the desert. So along with Oholiab and your company of ..read more

Hello! Ready to travel to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Virginia with me - in photos, that is? This post is a bit belated. I'm writing it in September, but it's all about July! My late mother's family has been having Hess reunions in Pennsylvania for several decades. The first I remember was 1976, which is when and where I became a Christian. Other more recent reunions in 2006, 2012, and 2014 have also been important to me. And this time, the older generation, my mother's cousins, decided to pass along the responsibility for organizing it to someone younger. I gladly volunteered ..read more

Hello friends! It's another Simple Woman's Daybook! (Check out my posts from April, June, July, and August 2018 and January 2019.) I guess it's been a while? As always, I'm linking this up to the TSW Daybook blog hop. Maybe you'd like to give it a try too? It's pretty simple!  For Today... Looking out my window... We've just had a mild brush with Hurricane Dorian. Our power went out around 9 last night, so I opened the windows to let the cool breeze in. The power came back on before 7 this morning, while I sat in my van charging my phone and chatting via Messenger with ..read more

Questions for Self-Discovery How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn't know you? What are your core values? What do you feel is your life purpose? If you don't know , what will you do to find out? In what ways have you integrated your core values and life purpose into your daily experience? If you have taken any personality inventories, such as Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram, what were the results, and how have they been helpful (or not) to you? What are you pleased to have accomplished in your life so far? What three goals do you most want to accomplish with your life in the ..read more