Category: Spirituality/Inspiration

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Monday Travels~ From Kennebunkport, Maine to Woodstock, Vermont

After the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Convention concluded in Boston on Sunday, my husband and I rented a car and started a loop through New England so that we could see a little more of the northeastern United States. Since we didn’t take a vacation anytime earlier this year, we decided to take a trip this week and enjoy some time away to relax and recharge.

I might be a pain as a travel companion. I’m pretty sure I am, because there was frost on the top of the car and I urged my husband to get up and watch the sunrise with me. On the rooftop of a hotel. When the wind was blowing so hard the seagulls were forced into changing course.

I can’t help it. There’s something exhilarating and soul-renewing about the way the sun casts a glow at the top of the day, as if it’s pouring the world a glass of orange juice to serve up energy for all the day brings.

We woke up in Kennebunkport, Maine this morning and did some exploring in that coastal town before driving across New Hampshire to Woodstock, Vermont to do more adventuring in another state.

A pano my husband took in Kennebunkport
Sunrise picture
Christmas tree being decorated in the middle of the street

We’re enjoying watching places decorate for Christmas. We found some men with a ladder decorating a tree in the middle of the street right in the heart of Kennebunkport. There was another crew hanging garland over the bridge, and still more putting out a reindeer with lights and a sleigh and a Santa and a snowman. Snowflakes with lights were hanging at the tops of buildings, and the festive feeling of Christmas was in the air. Some homes had pumpkins on the front porches and wreaths on the front doors, and I feel like I learned something important from that.

On the bridge in Kennebunport (it was so cold I had to buy a hat for my ears to stay warm)

My favorite stop of the day was the U.S. Post Office. I’d broken my own rules by taking 17 books from NCTE with no plan whatsoever for how to get them home in just the carry-on and personal bag I brought along. So I asked my husband to find a Post Office, and one was right down a side street from the middle-of-the-road Christmas tree. I purchased a box, the kind that you peel the sealing tape off the side, scribbled my address in the TO space, and mailed these signed volumes home to myself at the book rate.

The fun came in the place and people, and I’m convinced that the actual Post Office is a character all by itself, with its very old doors that I wished had a register of all the people who’d ever entered and exited. I felt I’d stepped back in time to the 1940s. My next goal is to research the history of the building with its tiny mailboxes and the feeling of nostalgia here that had me wondering if ten thousand ghosts weren’t waving to me from the ceiling space. I saw live people coming and going, but the feeling of past was powerful here, kind of like mediums must feel when giving a fortune telling.

Then there was the man in line behind me, a gentleman of about 80, who was as kind and curious as humans come. He suggested I sit the box down when he saw me holding it so long, but by that time, I was next. He said it looked heavy, but I told him it was all books – and then he got interested……especially when I told him who’d signed them all. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kate McKinnon, Bryan Stephenson, Ada Limon, Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson, and more.

I kept wondering what was taking so long – – until I got to the window and figured it out. The Postmaster was a character, too – maybe the main one. He was about 70, hilarious with his jokes and fun. His piercing blue eyes and his mannerisms took ahold of me. He had to read the whole script, asking me if I had…..”anything perishable…..any batteries….anything liquid…” even though I kept saying no and had read the screen and pushed the NO button. He smiled a little and peered up over a raised bushy eyebrow atop the rim of his glasses so I would know it was a game. Then, when I asked for elves holiday stamps to mail postcards to the grandchildren, he told me they’d just gotten those in from Graceland, handing me two books. “You know, where all the Elv(i)s live!” I laughed the corny joke laugh, smiled what felt like the realest smile I’d smiled all year long, and wondered why every place couldn’t feel this unhurried and fun. Especially at such a busy time.

Then I stepped back out the doors into 2024.

Look closely for ghosts. I swear they are here somewhere.

My husband’s favorite stop of the day was the Bush compound, and we caught sight of three people walking. We couldn’t tell who they were, but we know someone was home since the flag was up to indicate their presence – plus, we saw several cars including the tell-tale Secret Service black SUV. This was an unplanned stop on the route, but one we both enjoyed. Even though we didn’t get that invitation to come in for a cup of hot chocolate that we stood there hoping for.

When we finally arrived in Woodstock, we went to The Vermont Flannel Company on the suggestion of a friend, who had been during her fall break last year and loved the place.

The bad news: I couldn’t buy a blanket because…… only a carry-on and a personal bag.

The good news: I couldn’t buy a blanket because…….only a carry-on and a personal bag.

I could live in their shirts and wrap up every night in those cozy blankets. And I see why the flannel is such a hit here. It’s freezing. And the Georgians? Yeah, we brought denim jackets and thin nylon windbreakers but no coats……that’s the other bad news. (I awoke early, and below is the forecast for today):

But onward we march, freezing and having a wicked good time.

The Vermont Flannel Company on Elm Street, Woodstock, VT
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A Christmas Carol at the Alliance Theater: Still, Still, Still

A quartet of carolers opens the play with Still, Still, Still

We didn’t come straight home from Halloween festivities and put up our Christmas tree (it still isn’t up), but we have officially begun preparing our hearts for the Christmas season ahead. It began two weekends ago when we took our grandson Aidan to see The Nativity Tour at The Biblical History Center in Lagrange, Georgia. When it comes to Christmas, I do love the charged energy of cold weather, the laughter of shoppers, the gatherings with food and fellowship, and the lights. But Christmas, for me, lives in the quiet moments of deep thought and reflection – about ordinary things and how they connect to a greater concept.

The first reminders of the season came as we stood outside a sheepfold with our firstborn grandson, now a few months away from a driver’s license, learning about the likelihood that the manger may have been made of stone and the surrounding animals predominantly sheep. We discovered the reasons that a family in Biblical times may have turned away a woman expecting a baby for fear it would displace them if birth occurred and rendered their house unclean for 30 days. Having no room in the inn has been a frequent thought recently as I watch families unravel over candidates – brother against brother. Sadness, angst, grief over loss of relationships, and anger have all been the emotions of recent days. It’s hard to escape.

The second reminders of the season came as I watched my favorite Christmas book, A Christmas Carol, come to life on the stage. Is there any wonder that this particular adaptation of the play at this theater opens each year with a quartet of carolers singing Still, Still, Still? It prepares the minds and hearts of the audience to pay attention – to be still and watch for what is most important by looking in our own mirrors – to listen to the characters and the messages they bring. And yes, to sit right next to Charles Dickens himself, whose own story lurks in the shadows, and to wonder: what, dear friend, do I need to see in each of these characters and change in my own life as I seek joy this season?

Is there any greater time to hear this message than right now, today? It is the message of Christmas that beckons us to think not of our own rights and wishes, but the acts of service and giving to those around us to avoid those two hideous children, Ignorance and Want, who huddle under our cloaks. Children we try to hide, who are as clear and present as decaying front teeth behind a selfish smile. Is there any greater time to seek healing in our own hearts than Christmas?

Adults are often asked if we believe in Santa. Whether we do or don’t, the greater question, I think, is whether we believe in Scrooge. Somewhere in the quiet moments, I am reassured that even old Ebenezer himself, and even the Grinch, has hope – as do I, as does this nation. And this year, perhaps more than ever before, I welcome the ghosts to remind me to count my blessings.

Reminders: A Tricube

still, still, still

we listen

our hearts thaw

still, still still

quartet sings

voices lift

still, still, still

their words ring

all year long

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers
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The Biblical History Center: The Nativity Tour

time with our grandson

sharing a Biblical meal

(he teamed up for pranks)

On Saturday, we picked up our oldest grandson, Aidan, and headed over to LaGrange, Georgia to the Biblical History Center. We’d gone a couple years back and enjoyed the regular tour, so we wanted to take Aidan back to share in the Biblical Meal and join us on the Nativity Tour, which begins November 1 and runs through December. Since he plans to enter the ministry, we correctly predicted that this would be a highlight of his Christmas season (which, by the way, now apparently starts the day after Halloween).

You can read my previous 3-part blog posts here, here, and here.

In true grandfather/grandson style, the first thing they did in the midst of the reverence of the meal was prank my blog photographs (I confess – – I do take a lot of pictures since I like to use them when I write). First, my husband diverted his gaze upward. Of course, I showed it to them and playfully scolded Poppy for messing up the picture. I told them we’d have to take another one.

And look at this. Just look at what these clowns did.! They teamed up to keep the prank going. So of course……we had to take another. People around us were holding back laughter, and I felt at once as if I were back in church sitting by that one friend you should never sit with in church, knowing you might not behave.

Finally, they got it just right. Fun at its best with these two!

We started the meal with our guide, blessing first the drinks and then the food. As she offered the prayer first in English and then in Hebrew, we repeated the Hebrew words. Then, we began passing the food – mostly a Mediterranean diet, starting with unleavened bread (a flour tortilla), followed by eggs, hummus, raisins, grilled chicken (substituted for lamb), spinach/artichoke dip, lentil soup, grapes, applesauce, salad, and black and green olives. We did not use forks, since they didn’t in Biblical times. We drank our soup and ate with our fingers or used our flour tortilla to scoop food and eat it. The health department requires the center to provide napkins, but they explained that in Biblical times, we would not have had them. Additionally, in Biblical times we would not have been seated but actually more laid back on our sides to share the meal.

As we made our way along the tour, we learned the truth about the inn which would have normally been an extra room in a home of a family and not an inn as we think of it like a hotel or British pub with rooms upstairs. A family would not have welcomed a pregnant woman about to give birth, because the birthing process would have deemed the house unclean and they would have had to leave for a month. The place where Jesus was born was more likely a sheepfold, and a manger made not of wood but of stone. Not so much a stable as a livestock barn but more of a sheep enclosure.

This was a fabulous day, and we also were blessed to see the archaeological artifacts on loan from Israel. This is the only Biblical History Center in the entire United States Southeast that has these items, including a coin like the one that the woman in the Bible lost from her wedding headdress. It was fascinating to see the pottery pieces, the tools, and the weaving looms from Biblical times. These items remain in a vault that is climate controlled, behind glass, and no photographs can be taken of them. It was a treat to be able to see the items on display and have a guide who explained their significance. I think that of all the artifacts, I was most fascinated with the beads that were found in an Old Testament tomb. The beads were coiled scrolls that contain the Aaronic Blessing with the message The Lord Bless You and Keep You, The Lord Lift His Countenance Upon You and Give You Peace and be Gracious Unto You. These beads held importance for establishing the significance of the cultural context of the tomb and its place in history.

After a three hour tour including a meal and a narrated historical journey through the center’s outdoor replicas of historically accurate structures – and a t-shirt for Aidan to help him think of his trip each time he wears it – we took a moment to stop at Starbucks for a cup of iced coffee and to chat about our time together. Aidan said his favorite part was learning about the true foot position of crucifixion which is more likely pierced through the side of the ankle than the top of the foot. Briar said his favorite part of the visit to the center was the interactive lighted maps of Biblical places, and my favorite part was watching Aidan’s participation in answering questions that demonstrated his knowledge of the Bible and his passion for all it means to him.

Next up when we return to the Biblical History Center in the spring: The Easter Tour.

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Ode to Change: Day 2 of October’s Open Write

Our host for Day 2 of the October Open Write is a group of students at Aquinas College in Michigan, inspiring us today to write odes to change. Stefani Boutelier, an instructor at AC, leads them in their prompt offering today, which you can read in its entirety here.

Ode to Letting Go in Chained Haiku

the leaves show us how
on our morning driveway walks
straight into the sun

how to let things go
bidding the branches goodbye
flitting to forest

floor beneath, seeking,
stirring, gathering in groups
with others who’ve held

onto things for far
too long to know weightlessness
untethered freedom

to roll on gentle
breeze to take to bright blue skies
on blustery gusts

to change their small view
and see the whole world anew. ~
a new perspective

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On Our Walk

on this crisp, cold morn

I take the dogs on a walk

into the sunrise

just the beginning

of the changing of the leaves

brings joy to my heart!

a country sunrise ~

its beauty is breathtaking

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Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens Surprise!

they’re tying the knot!

he proposed – and she said yes!

so many blessings!

The day began like any other, only it wasn’t. A bowl of Raisin Bran with a sliced banana and a cup of coffee, the back-hum of morning news and the coming and going of guests all eating breakfast in a Hampton Inn in Western Kentucky – – and I was among them, looking forward to the big surprise awaiting my daughter at the Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens in the afternoon. No, this day was certainly not like any other I’d ever lived.

On August 20, he’d asked for her hand, and I gave my whole-hearted blessing. He’d been there for her on one of the toughest roads of her life. In those moments that held emotional release as I watched them interact in their early days, I saw something different about this young man and the way he’d interacted with my daughter.

First, the love in his eyes. His mother said the same thing: he’s dated before, but I’ve never seen him look at anyone else with such love. Her observation took the words right out of my mouth. Their love for each other is evident. So real you can see it.

Second, the care. I witnessed her tears as she sat at the table searching for a lost item needing to be found, hearing her sniffles at the sense of hopelessness for only a moment before he got up from his chair, rounded the table, took her in his arms, and comforted her in the gentlest way.

I prayed. Lord, please let us find what we need.

Then, in an obscure envelope in the most unlikely place in the box from the attic, it manifested itself like sunlight rising over a crest.

This journey has been one of prayer, one of power seen in the ordinary moments for this couple. And God winked on them – he knows her tender heart, knew it would take a strong and patient man to win her heart and her trust. And the good Lord sent just the right soul mate.

Third, the lighthearted fun and playful side that keeps them laughing – a quick run and boot-bottom slide down the aisle of the store when no one is looking, teasing each other here and there in all the ways that will get them through life without taking it all too seriously to be enjoyed. He asked her what kind of birthday cake she’d wanted, and she jokingly quipped she’d wanted a cake like Aunt Petunia made in one of the Harry Potter movies.

And he made it for her.

And fourth, the commitment. I saw it before, but I saw it in other ways on my visit here on my fall break- the commitment to family, to God, to each other. This family sits down for cooked meals – – talks about what they want to eat, shops for it, slices carrots and mashes four full heads of cauliflower like mashed potatoes and cooks together. Someone makes shortbread and can talk about the balance of sugars and fats and how that’s the science of baking that he knows so well. Another pulls out a special sauce to marinate the chicken for the grill, while one takes it to the flat top for cooking. There is a throng of family present, and they take turns walking and feeding the rescue dogs that are a part of their family. They all pitch in, then they sit down together and thank God for his many blessings. And one takes the plates when everyone is finished, while his mother thanks him. I believe somewhere in the deepest reaches of my heart that they also thank God for their challenges. The mold issue that forced them to gut their home and rebuild it brought a more spacious kitchen – – one where the table is at the heart, filled with chairs for coming together and talking at the end of the day – a place where conversation keeps them connected like the roots of the strongest trees. It keeps them close.

I knew why I gave my blessing, but it wasn’t until I visited and became part of the fabric of this amazing family that I fully understood what she shared on her Facebook post:

I’m thrilled for these two young adults with their lives ahead of them – ready for the living, with a family who loves them – and them, ready to love their own family when they welcome their son into the fold in January. And I was blessed to be a part of their big moment yesterday. This young man knew her mama’s heart needed to be there to celebrate, and he made it happen, holding tight to the ring he’s had waiting for two months now, buying a new jacket with big enough pockets to hide the ring for just the right moment, just the right place, just the right timing.

Steadfast prayers of so many have brought the most beautiful blessings!

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It all screams fall!

Stone fireplace in the FDRoosevelt State Park Registration Office

crisp feel in the air

decorations, breezes, temps

on the cusp of fall

Even the candles remind us that there is a perfect Autumn Day to be lived.

The candles say it, the decorations declare it, the large stone fireplaces sing out, and it all screams fall. Everywhere I looked, there were signs: wildlife scurrying in a cool-temperature kind of way, people milling about with jackets, and food servers arriving at tables with bowls of soup and chicken pot pie.

There’s nothing like the welcoming in-between seasons of spring and fall for those of us who love the bridges from one phase to the next. The cool-not cold, and the warm-not-hot of the outdoor comforts that allow us to be outdoors in the fresh air, taking in the slight changes that are happening all around ~ these are the best times of all.

The decorations are up in places to welcome the change of seasons.
We like to sit outdoors with coffee and muffins and have a breakfast picnic on the mountain overlooking the valley at F D Roosevelt State Park. Just birdsong and the occasional group of motorcyclists out enjoying the day.

Chicken Pot Pie on the menu at the Country Kitchen at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga.
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Book Talk Continued, an Illustrated Reverse Haibun

I shared, they listened

we engaged in the need for

more writing to heal

My haibun today is in reverse – my haiku is first, my narrative is second, but I’m also adding pictures to make it an illustrated haibun.

The evening kicked off with Craig Logan’s welcome to TUAC and introduction, and then I was honored to share the journey of my writing group’s most recent books after the publication of Bridge the Distance and Rhyme and Rhythm: Sports Poems for Athletes. I printed these notes and placed a copy on the podium to guide me through the evening.

Book Talk Agenda and Talking Points – October 3, 2025 6:30 p.m. TUAC – Thomaston, GA

Agenda Timeline

6:30 – Welcome/introduction/talk

7:00 – Stop talking and take Q and A, Drawing for free books from David’s Bust Vase

7:30 – Reception, Meet and Greet, Book signing

Talking Points

Thank you for coming!

Land Honorarium of Place, Native Tribes, People, Our Stories (keyword for the evening)

In The Beginning: 

Write before Read   – – the photograph of Dad’s stacks of books/me as a baby seated among them/ him studying/ firm roots in books and language

Crayons – writing in the books, or how I to read and write using Crayola names of colors

Childcraft – Harold Monro “Overheard on a Salt Marsh” Poem fixation, and….

a Child’s Garden of Verses – two copies by age 6

Checklist Book:  Memoir, my first book – Father, Forgive Me: Confessions of a Southern Baptist Preacher’s Kid

The Middle: 

Mother’s death, NCTE Convention, and Sarah Donovan with The Groups at www.ethicalela.com that emerged ~

Bridge the Distance (Oral History Project through Oklahoma State University)

                        Rhyme and Rhythm (an invitation to an anthology – read Golden Shovel)

And then……we coded prompts since 2016.  Predominant themes emerged:  Healing, Assessment, Community Spirit, Technology uses, and Teachers’ needs for shorter texts and stories

Who wants to work on which books?  We made groups.  

  • 90 Ways of Community by Sarah Donovan, Maureen Ingram, and Mo Daley (Read poems from here) – Mo Daley’s poem – “She Told Me Many Months Later”
  • Just YA an anthology of over 15 writers
  • Words that Mend: The Transformative Power of Writing Poetry for Students, Teachers, and Community Wellbeing and The Authors
  • ePoetry by Sarah Donovan and Stefani Boutelier was picked up by a a major education publisher and will come out in 2025
  • Assessing Students with Poetry Writing Across Content Areas: Humanizing Formative Assessment for Grades 6-12 by Sarah Donovan, Barb Edler, Kim Johnson, Anna Roseboro, and Gayle Sands is under contract with Routledge and will come out in 2025

The Conclusion:

Keep writing – set a timer – tell your story. Write it down. SHARE it. Your story matters.

Q&A

*Photos shared with me by Bethany Johnson and Briar Johnson, and I am ever appreciative of my sister-in-law and my husband for their outpouring of love and support!

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Open Write September Day 5

Barb Edler of Iowa is our host today at http://www.ethicalela.com for the final day of our September Open Write. She encourages us to celebrate our writing group through poetry of any form today. You can read her full prompt here and read the poems of others. On the heels of a celebration of the Labor Day launch of our books Words that Mend and 90 Ways of Community earlier this week, I can’t think of a better way to write today than in thanksgiving and heartfelt gratitude for a group of writers who make a difference in how we live and how we think.

If you don’t have a writing group, I encourage you to find one ~ and you can use this one as a great model for a face to face group in your own corner of the world after spending a few hours looking back at the prompts and the feedback. Get the books, read them, and feel the deep need to fix places you never knew were broken. Too many of us have lost our footing and found ourselves floundering and then discovered the power of writing and what it can do. Today is a day to celebrate the power of the pen and the ways it connects us with others. Anna Roseboro said it best at our celebration: if poetry can do this for us, imagine what it can do for our students. We all need poetry and writing in our lives.

Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com

Belonging

we step from shadows

into glowing candlelight

from our scars

we discover soothing balm

from mourning and grief

into reassurance there is

reason to go on

we come from loneliness

to take a hand of belonging

from disconnectedness

to welcoming acceptance

we leave our fears

step into the fold of peace

we leave disappointments

find spiritual hope

we feel our hearts

pulled at the words

someone else’s

shadows

scars

mourning

grief

loneliness

disconnectedness

fears

disappointments

are our own moments

our own memories

and we know

we know

we know

this is no ordinary

writing group

these are

our lifelines

our people

our friends

our family