One word frees us
of all the weight
and pain of life;

that word is love.

~ Sophocles, Greek Tragedian

What’s the big deal about a name? Everyone has one, right?

When I was old enough to figure out there were meanings behind names, I asked Ah-Ma why she chose “Bonnie” for my name.

I expected some sort of meaningful story or another.

“I didn’t know what to name you when you born, so the nurse handed me a book of names.  Bonnie was the first one I came across that sounded good.  Easy to pronounce.”

Okay…  Thanks, Mom.  read more…

“I have spread my dreams under your feet.
Tread softly
because you tread on my dreams.”
~ W.B. Yeats

Do you remember the first time you made lemonade?

When I was a kid, it never took more than a few minutes.   Before commercials finished flashing on the TV, I was able to whip myself up pink lemonade and hop back in time for Bugs Bunny’s last cartoon.

I’d run to the fridge, open up the freezer and grab myself a can of concentrate lemonade, courtesy of Minute Maid.  It took practice to get that tin cover off. read more…

“Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

It’s black. Smudgy.  If you’re unlucky enough to have it riding in your pocket, you’ll find that it’s also staining.  It can steal your heart and leave you wanting more. 

Despite eyes drooping with sleepy sand, it’s words keep you up into the ungodly hours.  They will call out to you like a lover, pulling you miles away as you stand there putting gas in your car or in between bites of a sandwich.

Ink love.

Have you been captured under it’s spell? read more…

“Take my love,

for love is everlasting.

And remember the truth that once was spoken;

to love another person

is to see the face of God.

~ From Les Miserables

Friendship and love are pretty much identical twins.  You can’t find one without the other.  And it’s very hard to tell the two apart.

A quick glance at this happy pair, you’ll find their features quite striking –

*  You can pick the target of your affection, but the other still has to choose you back.

*  The beginning requires risk and effort.

*   Secrets are shared and the unspoken is protected.

*   Though both hold painful memories and bitter losses, they remain coveted riches for affected hearts.

There was a time I felt finding and keeping friendship was as capricious as dating a dark handsome stranger I had just met. read more…

“I cannot fix the hour,
or the spot,
or the look,
or the words
which laid the foundation.

It is too long ago.

I was in the middle
before I knew I had begun.”
~ Jane Austen

I love taking pictures.  It’s really to my detriment.  If we happen to be perched on our chairs, chatting over a cup of coffee, beware.   Right before you take a bite into your cinnamon twist, I might just ask you to hold it right there.

Falling in love is a lot like taking pictures.  read more…

“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.”  ~ Robert Frost

It’s simply unavoidable.  Maybe it’s the heart shaped boxes that pop in our heads at the mention of Valentine’s Day.  Honestly, who can stay temperate around the thought of chocolates waiting inside, ready to stick to our fingers with the sweet smell of cocoa and sugar?

The month of love has brushed up against our door steps, seeping through the cracks of our closed, practical days.  It threatens to blow the doors of romance open.  Have we left it ajar?

Somewhere deep inside us is the come-hither of desire, and it whispers a little louder this time of year.  We totter towards sunsets and cinnamon hearts, like lemmings walking towards the edge of the sea.  read more…

There are places you go when you need to feel right with yourself again.

Sometimes, I drive to my favorite coffee shop, order my coffee black with a shot of hazelnut.  I’d brush away the crumbs leftover from the last occupant at the table next to the window, plug in my laptop, and let my thoughts flow out into the keys.

Then, there are other times, when even the cafe is too crowded for over-packed thoughts.  I like to go where it chills. I escape to the mountains that make shadows, walk where the ground crunches and the bottom of my jeans get damp from stepping through the grass.

I go to my favorite outdoor retreat.  Just a short drive, with the road rolling beneath me, I’m already halfway there, zoning out.

It is there, from the time I step out of the car, I anticipate. I expect to find and return to an internal Eden.  read more…

While some avoid the risk of hurt and pain, award-winning writer, Holley Gerth, chooses to climb higher in the walk of faith.

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to exude life and joy, even when life’s trials are raining down on them?

I’m talking about those rare moments you hear a story that all at once softens your heart and strengthens it at the same time.  Few writers have this special gift, and Holley Gerth does so courageously.  She opens up the hard places, yet leaves readers hope for new beginnings.
read more…

Every day, the new year calls to me. A blank slate, a fresh page.

Another chapter waits to be written, with the proverbial pen poised in mid-air.

It’s simply unavoidable. I get a little preoccupied these first few weeks, trying to figure out what God wants for me this year.

I know, I know. Everybody who is anybody wants to be more, do better, and get going on it – Now.

I’m no different. Wanna look into my closet of goals and aspirations? Step right up – a pile stands before us. read more…

There is nothing more captivating than news of a rescue.

As Northern California was swathed in sheets of rain this week, I heard a news story come over the radio, through the swish-swipe of wipers on the windshield. read more…