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CONNECTION SPOTLIGHT: Faith And Imagery

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Pentecost: Spirit’s Fire Today, Christian churches celebrate Pentecost as the commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the twelve disciples and other followers of Jesus as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31. How perfect, then, was  my delightful connection experience this week when a dear friend, Jim Wilson, sent me an article about his [...]

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“What You Know Now”

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Thanks to Dr. Brenée Brown’s blog, I have just been introduced to author Katherine Center and to this wonderful reading of her essay “What You Know Now.” A simple question from her eight-year-old daughter—What’s the difference between fashion and style?—sparked Katherine’s poignant reflections on life, love, being yourself, and gratitude. Some memorable quotes from the [...]

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CONNECTION SPOTLIGHT: The Connection Miracle of a Church Reunion

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Our own Esther Miller (pictured at left) has a beautifully written guest post called “A Visit With Mom” on Karen S. Elliott’s WordShark blog today. Head on over there (Click Here) and read Esther’s story about how hometown people she barely knew gave her the gift of connection with her mother, who had died 15 years earlier. [...]

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CONNECTION SPOTLIGHT: Living History Links

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I didn’t believe my eyes when I read the Richmond Times Dispatch headline: “Four children of Civil War Soldiers still live in Virginia” by Bill Lohmann According to heritage groups that track this kind of thing, there are at least 24 children of Confederate soldiers and 30 children of Union soldiers still living in the U.S., the [...]

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For Mothers Everywhere…

In anticipation of Mother’s Day on May 12, my talented friend, Annette Petrick, has recorded a wonderful tribute to mothers as part of her inspiring Consider This radio series. It’s only a minute and a half. Take a break, click this link, and enjoy: Mother’s Day Tribute Annette has put together some of her favorite [...]

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Pollination: Nature’s Miracle of Intersection

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 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth.”  Gen 1:29 We take so much for granted, and the week we celebrate Earth Day—right when spring blossoms are all around us—is the perfect time to stop and realize the miracle of reproduction that’s [...]

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Nature’s Vast And Generous Unremembering

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BOOK REVIEW: Saints at the River by Ron Rash This book review seems the perfect way to celebrate Earth Day! I was deeply moved by Saints at the River, a powerful novel about a wild, scenic river in South Carolina (fictionalized as the Tamassee River but reportedly based on the Chattooga River) that claims lives [...]

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CONNECTION SPOTLIGHT: The Flying Postman

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Backcountry pilot delivers mail to remote Idaho residents That was the headline that caught my eye in a recent issue of American Profile magazine. Almost every week since 1975, pilot Ray Arnold has been the only connection between civilization and central Idaho’s vast Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness area, flying a three-hour route with [...]

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Introducing Connection Spotlight

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I’ve become a connection curator Since the early days of Heartspoken.com, when I first realized that connection was calling me to plumb its depths, I have become a connection curator: someone who studies, explores, collects, organizes, and interprets what they learn about connection. I see connection everywhere now, much the way you start seeing others [...]

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Painting Outdoors: Profound Connection With Nature

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Welcome to guest blogger and plein air impressionist painter Kathleen Robison. I asked her to share the perspective of an artist, because to create her wonderful pieces, she must commune with nature in a unique way. I am trying to learn to be more observant about the natural world around me, and I can imagine [...]

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Words, Words, Words

I’m honored to be a guest this morning on Karen S. Elliott’s The Word Shark blog as part of her “Words, Words, Words Week.” My guest post is called “Words, words, words: tools for touching hearts and lives.” It was wonderful to reflect on letters and notes I’ve received in the past and to be [...]

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You Are Your Words

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It’s not often I read an article/essay and get excited by the pure pleasure of the way the words are put together. That was my happy experience this morning in reading Shawn MacKenzie’s amazing contribution entitled “You Are Your Words” to Karen S. Elliott’s “Words, Words, Words Week” on her Word Shark blog. Every paragraph, [...]

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Accept a Gushing Waterfall of Love!

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Hannah Brencher is, I believe, one of the most talented writers living today. She pierces my heart with words she conjures up and weaves together in potent combinations. To call these combinations of words just sentences is like calling Stonehenge just an interesting arrangement of big rocks. Perhaps it was because I needed to hear [...]

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Wind in the Woods

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How fortunate I am to be surrounded by pine woods on three sides of our Shenandoah Valley home. There is something restless and mysterious about the sound of wind in the pines—its soughing can be almost eerie, especially at night, with a full moon. In a heavy wind, the trees bend and sway, branches creaking [...]

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Desert Canvas by Karen S. Elliott

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A stranger’s first glance at a sandpaper land, To the untrained eye so stark They think our God forgot to wave His generous hand. But go within the seeker’s slow embark:   Touch and venture forth upon the endless expanse And excavate where ancestral cultures fade. Interrogate the cliff mystery’s romance And lose your step [...]

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Reflections on Ash Wednesday

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I’m sharing a link to my reflections and poem at the beginning of this holy season of Lent: Lent’s Mysterious Call of Spirit What does Lent mean to you? What practices help you experience the holiness of Lent more fully? Photo Credit: “Crown of thorns on cross” by Mike Rogal via BigStockPhoto

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Who Am I?

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I’m always honored to have Dr. Cyndi Briggs as a guest blogger. She thinks deeply, shares courageously, and writes beautifully.  ________________________ Be Yourself I grew up in the 1970s, that blissful decade when the expansive thinking of the late 1960s melded gorgeously with the pragmatic sensibility of the 1940s and 50s. Tie-dye tee-shirts and Bob [...]

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Do You Want to Make the World a Better Place?

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I thought so. So do I. And there’s no better place to start than right where we are. Today. Now. Let’s accept the challenge of a young woman in Ireland, Virginia Salas Kastilio, on her new website A Kinder Day. Take just a small step to create a kinder day for someone else and add a bit more [...]

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Can You Have Too Many Connections?

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I was perusing some of the questions on Quora recently, and after searching for the term “Connection,” I came across this interesting question: What would it be like to live in a world of two degrees of separation between any two people? The question references the commonly held theory that everyone in the world is [...]

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Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Close your eyes, lay your soul bare before God, and listening to this break-your-heart beautiful rendition of the beloved hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, sung here by a group called FiddleSticks Celtic and American folk music group. It was penned in 1757 by  English pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson when he was just 22 years old. Thank you [...]

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