Prudent and Protective Parents

Let me now say in conclusion that this commandment demands also that every one love and esteem the spouse given him by God. For where conjugal chastity is to be maintained, man and wife must by all means live together in love and harmony, that one may cherish the other from the heart and with entire fidelity. For that is one of the principal points which enkindle love and desire of chastity, so that, where this is found, chastity will follow as a matter of course without any command. Therefore also St. Paul so diligently exhorts husband and wife to love and honor one another.

— Martin Luther, The Large Catechism

When a man waits for a wife before sharing his body, he and she will learn together what pleases the other in the marriage bed. Most young people are pushed into sex by people promoting weakness for their own gains. There is little money to be made in temperance, but much to be made from those who have no self-control. It takes a mighty community to hold children back from their animal instincts until they gain authority over their desires. Many communities tire of the struggle and release their children to their animal natures almost as they learn to talk and walk. 

It is a sad truth that those who are weak in their own resolve seek to draw others into their sin in order to "normalize" it. How often we see parents "teaching" their children how to be a "man" or a "real woman" by joining the children in breaking down the boundaries of responsible society. How terrible it is to see parents becoming like children instead of standing as a united force in continuing to protect their children from their animal instincts and those of others. 

Animals are programmed for certain behaviors, which they practice while watching their elders exhibit the behaviors accepted by their society. We are a society of greedy babies crying to be coddled, entertained, and excited at all times. We, in this country, have no real unmet need, so we confuse want with need and demand everything we see as soon as we see it. 

We say we are following the laws of Heaven, but in truth we worship mammon in the form of what money can buy to give us power over others. We've convinced ourselves that we are better people because we've been "blessed" with more than our neighbors. We flaunt our superiority and take pride in creating lust in others.

Some of the most wonderful people I know are those who live the most simple lives, working the land, writing their letters, rocking fussy babies, and cooking. They are grateful for every whit and tittle with which they are blessed, as if they are not working for it. Good work is a gift; it is a partnership with Divine Energy in which we are privileged to give back some of the blessings bestowed on us.

When we treat honest work and temperance with less than honor, we are destroying the sacredness of life. When we exalt those who are cleverly stealing from others and hoarding earthly goods, we are creating a kingdom of Hell here on earth. This is the earth we are handing down to our children and their children. Who is protecting them from the gates of this Hell? Where, Oh "God", are the prudent and protective parents?

Religion and Root Stock

I became like a man, many years ago;
It was the only way to survive.
Any woman who served was seen as a whore,
And her importance was denied.

I was carefully groomed to be a partner
To a protective, righteous man;
I chose someone of the Christian faith,
Knowing this was in God's plan.

His mother, the rock of his religion, died
Before we formed a solid graft.
We became parents of a babe and our siblings
Before my twentieth birthday passed.

The weight of the family was too heavy;
It broke my branch from the roots.
We were only able to produce
Two perfect and powerful fruits.

I fell to rocky ground and developed
A root system of my own,
And from this new tree of life,
Strong, hybrid root stock has grown.

But the feeding of the new fruit,
Without strong extended support,
Has left me an empty husk
Who cares not if this life is short.

Sacred Sexuality

Even dogs do a mating dances before they consummate their affection;
Is it any wonder that those without courting skills face sexual rejection?
Sacred sex should be more than relief of bodily functions;
There are many reasons for the applying of emotional unctions.

Even in long-time marriages, there are certainly ways to date,
Unless we set up our lives where nothing we want can wait.
When sex is not the primary reason for our bond,
There are missions in relationships that go far beyond.

If we want to actually have a meeting of the minds,
We must make our own rituals, away from the daily grind.
When I was young, our parents dropped us at the movies
Perhaps this was then they performed their "marital duties."

Religions don't seem to get the function of physical intimacy;
This is part of our animal natures from which we'll never be free.
We must take the time to taste and touch and smell
This is how all animals can, their own tribe, tell.

Not all of marriage is to create new generations;
Celebration of earthly life is what bonds families and nations.
We seem to finally be realizing that men and women both,
In sharing of the physical, find unity about which to boast.

It is accepted as a way to bond, the sharing of bread,
So should the sharing of our sacred marriage beds.
To welcome another with loving arms and warm embrace
Is one of the great glories of the human race.

Let us celebrate each others bodies in committed security,
That there is always a beloved who knows the real me.
This is a relationship in which we can feel The Divine
And transcends the mundane through all space and time.

The sound of the beloved's voice, the twinkle in one's eyes
Should always be a great miracle and a welcome surprise.
The scent of the beloved's skin, the tenderness of touch
Should give us the sense of safety for which we yearn so much.

We have been taught that yearning for our beloved is weak;
Yet this is the bond, which on a primal level, we seek.
If we weren't meant to celebrate physical love's sacred
Why is it the most physically powerful force with which we are created?

What's a Woman to Do?

One of the craziest things I've ever done, I did when I was about seven years old. I decided that if anybody I loved was going to hell (and I was pretty sure that my big brother was on that path, considering how "bad" he was) that I couldn't be happy in heaven looking down on them suffering. I made the decision that if all my loved ones weren't in heaven with me, I didn't want to go. I was also pretty sure that all the people in heaven were going to be as boring as my big sister who was a "saint."

This started me on my path to perdition, and I'm still stuck in a hell of my own making. I've spent years, frantically trying to "fix" my family so that I could be with them for all eternity. Now I'm not sure how to stay out of the pit that I dug. The friends who have fortified me with their faiths are tired of hauling on the ropes that have kept me from fully failing. It is time that I allow them a rest. After all, my family is not their garden to tend, and neither is it any longer mine.


I have struggled mightily to come to a peaceful path on which we can all take our time getting wherever it is that we are going. I believe that the Bible is full of the same sorts of stories. This is why I write my adventures and want to hear those of others. I only wish that my faithful, faith-filled friends would stop being convinced that those who don't swallow every word spoken or written by the prophets of the past dooms people like me.


I'm comfortable with not "knowing" what "God" looks like or "sounds" like on a universal level. (I used to believe that "He" spoke Latin.) It matters not to me whether the mother of Jesus ever had marital relations with her loving husband. It also matters not to me whether Jesus was simply a very well-behaved man while he walked this earth. I don't care whether it was actually "god" who told Abraham to sacrifice his son. I do believe that it was definitely a "Holy Spirit" (perhaps Abraham's own wife) who turned the course of religion by stopping the flesh sacrifices to the gods.

I believe that we "Chosen" people are to seek justice in this world, and that anyone who has truly loved another with unselfish actions is contributing to "Peace on Earth," and that this is the fulfillment of " No greater love has a (hu)man than that we offer our lives for each other." Communion, for me, has nothing to do with wine and wafers. It has everything to do with celebrating our lives together.

And, I believe that while many of those I love seem like they are living (or lived) hell on earth, they will never be fully in hell as long as there is even one bit of their love left in those who were (are) loved by them.

Go in peace, you are all blessings to me. I only hope I'm strong enough to contain all the celebration I feel when I see those I love. When I let it all out at one time, people are scared, rather than comforted. What's a woman to do?

Tell Us Tales of Your Path

It is not that we destroy one ideation of The Divine and replace it with another as we move through history. It is that we grow away from fear and begin to be more comfortable with what we can't ever comprehend. In the beginning there was Divine Energy, the same Divine Energy that continues to pulse in all of creation.

Somehow, most humans seem to have a bigger capacity to manifest this Divine Energy that other aspects of creation do. We continue to hoard this special light rather than expand it to the ends of the earth with our service and example.

Great prophets have been sent to show us the way, but we turn away from their examples, repeating like parrots words that we don't intend to apply to our own lives. The Bible is a cautionary tale, but we seem not to want to get the message, endlessly repeating the mistakes that are leading us to perish as a people.

It is time for us to write our own stories of the sacred, rather than repeating the platitudes of others. How have you used your understanding of The Divine to lead your life? Who have you affected with your example? Have you been rewarded or punished for singing your own songs of The Sacred? How can we create safe places where we may sing our own songs and dance our own dances without fear of being figuratively burned at the stake? Can we create new rituals that speak to the ways we actually live our lives with family and friends?

Can we give up the belief that we don't shine with the bright light of Divinity, even as we go through the daily drudge of dirty diapers, terrible teens, and surly spouses? Can we stop acting as if there are people put on the earth to serve us, and that we are not meant to equally serve and support their efforts to raise responsible families? Are we ready to spread our actions of justice and compassion without using our words, unless we are asked for what reason we are sharing ourselves and our assets?

There are no saints and sinners; there are only those who choose to work for justice and those who choose arrogance. Even philosophers require food. Let all who want to eat, work side by side, and spread their beliefs by exhibiting justice in action.

The true injustice is in those who continue to take with no sense of responsibility for their actions. These are simply animals, many of whom choose to deny their own humanity, which includes a sense of responsibility to the community. None of us should be forced to continue supporting those who will not work for the betterment of a responsible and just society. The blessing of being human is that we can choose the path we take.

When we hurt any part of creation, we diminish The Divinity in that part of creation.There should be no priests and penitents, preachers and parishioners. We all have sacred stories to tell, gifts of our talents to be given, and forgiveness can only come with compassion for the humans we have hurt. The greatest gift we can give one another is shared labor in which we all honor each other.

 Please, tell us tales of your path.

Fire and Family

I thought I'd float forever on a sea of endless love;

I had long felt the comfort of a Divine rudder.

It was only when my children had no need for me

That I realized my mission had been that of mother.

Now that my motherhood ship has sailed,

The wind is stilled beneath my wings.

Even the grandchildren are outgrowing

Their capacity to freely, joyously sing.

How I miss the magic moments of solidarity

With the pure wonder of the light in their eyes,

And how I long for observing them,

And, by their brilliance, being ever surprised.

How wonderful were the days and years

When I was treated as a rock star

And for celebrations of family life

I never had to go very far.

I am now expected to act like a lady,

Have grandmotherly dignity,

Instead of enjoying with wild abandon,

Having no parental responsibility.

All I want to do is observe their growth,

While I watch their lives' celebrations.

I'd like to be allowed to share with them

The wisdom of my own generation.

Some act as if I'll harm their children,

As though I'm a godless, heathen whore.

Is this because my face of The Divine

Is one of which they aren't sure?

How can they not understand

Where my Divine Energy comes from?

They would know if, from the sound 

Of my words, they didn't continue to run.

It is true that I hold in my heart

Many memories which nobody should see.

My history is what makes me who I am;

I cannot from myself be set free.

This history reads like a Biblical account

Of the perversions of humanity.

It has been my life's lonely work

To keep my children, from these, free.

I am desperate, at times, to protect

The children from potential dangers,

Especially harm coming from family and friends,

More lethal than that from strangers.

I watch other families through my window,

Those that I cannot reach out and touch,

Knowing if I begin to love them,

I will surely love them too much.

I will care too much what happens to them,

Though, their lives, I have no hope of affecting,

And if my prophesies of danger come true,

It's me that they'll be rejecting.

I am so grateful that my husband

Still has wonder like that of a child.

The miracles of creation still excite him;

With him, I'm allowed to be wild.

He is not afraid of the Great Spirit

That abides within my deepest soul.

He says that my fire is the catalyst

That makes his existence whole.

Take My Typing

Holy Spirit, take my heart
Holy Spirit, take my head.
Holy Spirit, take my typing
And make my words yours instead.