Lost and Found Grabbing my two little people by two little hands and walking quickly, we entered our coastal city’s fish market, our faces smacked with fresh Gulf smells and a salty dampness as the glass doors closed behind us.  Joe Patti’s Seafood Market claims to be Pensacola’s second most visited tourist destination, just behind the first place white sand beaches that make us famous. Boisterous, systematic, and efficient, the whole place buzzes with activity any time of day, 7 days a week, and teems with glassy-eyed fish on ice, tubs filled to the brim with fresh-caught bay shrimp, and ..read more

Topic: Mission. Learning how we as disciples who walk with God are led into action to participate in God’s transforming work in the world. God loves us unconditionally. There is no condition in which God will not love us.  Nerd warning: I love logic and find this stuff interesting. You have been warned.  In logic (and grammar), a conditional sentence has two parts: If x, then y. A conditional sentence is always true. If x is true, then y will always be true.  For example, if a shape has three sides, the nit is a triangle. Or if your nose ..read more

Learning the rhythm of following the Good Shepherd and being sent out as servant leaders to form disciples. I have never enjoyed drum solos. That statement probably sounds strange from someone who has been playing drums almost 40 years, but I have never connected with them. I generally go to the concession stand or talk to my friends during a drum solo. They are usually ego-driven displays of speed and agility, often with gimmicks like playing upside down or in flames, rather than real musicianship. I would much rather hear a guitar, piano, horn, or a vocalist featured than a drummer. My dis ..read more

Topic: Relationships. Learning top develop deeper and balanced relationships “up” with God, “in” with our community, and “out” with the world. Our relationships can be transformed or renewed over time, even our relationship with God; this is a great blessing and of course a consequence of human development, though broken relationships can bring us pain. And how we handle and sustain our relationships, whether those that reach “up” to God, “in” to friends and family, or “out” to the wider community, may have long term unknown consequences. That is, how we relate to our world may aff ..read more

Topic: Rhythm – Matthew 11:28-29 – Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. People know me as a positive upbeat person, and to a great extent I am. Every now and then, as in every life, my joy in life shifts into a minor key, and the light seems to go dark. There is no explanation. There are times I blame some mystery of personal chemistry, or a variation in the atmospheric pressures. The darkness can certainly be trig ..read more

Topic: Being Attentive – Acts 17:15-34 – Learning to be attentive to God’s presence in every moment of our lives and the world around us. We live in an immaterial world that scrolls past us– our thumbs habitually swiping and our eyes scanning for meaning amidst a blur of tweets, emojis, and constant contact with a community of “friends” online who might not even be all that friendly. We are left to determine if what we read, see, and experience online is real. In fact, we are learning that a number of stories and posts need verification. We must remind ourselves that on personal social media p ..read more

“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.”(Book of Common Prayer, 265) Growing up, when I would attend Ash Wednesday service, I was always captivated when the priest would stand in front of us and bid us “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent.” My mind would pause to contemplate: an invitation to a holy Lent? What is a “holy Lent”? What should I give up or take on these 40 days? I ..read more

“For every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plan, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down , a time to build up; A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 In nature’s sense of seasons, we are approaching fall.  I am inspired by nature and find her to be a great teacher.  I enjoy that nature is slow and consistent and reliable.  Summer will turn into fall, which will then become winter an ..read more

Today I did the most shocking, discordant, and rebellious act of Episcopal church membership. I changed pews. Now, mind you, I merely migrated north 4 rows– but this changed my experience of the service profoundly. First, I was able to see my children, who had argued all the way to church, but stood cherubic in those blue Canterbury choir robes that match the eyes their daddy gave them. And the singing. Pure and sweet. I know you all think they act like that all the time. They don’t. For just those few minutes, I got to enjoy them the way you do. And it was wonderful. Pure delight. But even be ..read more

I have always felt most at peace outdoors–more alive, more complete—and followed that pursuit into a professional career. As a trained ecologist, I have spent a large portion of my life studying, observing, and teaching others about the life cycles of plants and animals. Whether it is the voyage from veliger to spat to full-grown oyster or the movement from spider-like larvae to adult dragonfly, I am always on the lookout for those little details and take notice when they occur. Most interesting to me is how those life stages interact with one another and the broader world to form the complex ..read more