A Girl Named Nothing

  I feel like nothing A blob A splatter of ink evaporated Less than a piece of dryer lint Nonexistent Hypnotized by nothing A senseless meme An appendage with a screen No ability to sing Or scream Or cry or pray Or dance Or swear Or see Or hear Or heal No zeal No perspiration... Continue Reading →

Vulnerability and Suffering

I am stepping out of my comfort zone to share with you a personal story concerning my journey with gastroparesis. This is difficult for me as an author who teaches and speaks life, but lives in pain. Part of the recent move to Florida was to revisit the specialists at the Mayo Clinic. We just... Continue Reading →

Widow–9th of AV

One of my mother’s favorite movies was Gone With the Wind. We watched it every year growing up, and I can almost recite the whole four-hour film verbatim. At one point in the movie, Scarlett sees that the one she is smitten with, Ashley, is to marry another. As war breaks out, she marries Mr.... Continue Reading →

Ruth Speaks

  Ruth speaks: Won’t you cover me? Boaz cover your רות with your skirts. Even if it hurts. Heavenly blue. 613 blossoms that bloom. Won’t your Ruth cover you? As your etzer Kenegdo.   Can you spread your garment over me? And clothe me in dignity? Wrap me in your strength, And guard me from... Continue Reading →

The Clocks Were Striking 13

See video at end of blog: The military has many cadences that are sung during marching. When I was a younger girl around five or six years old, we sang a song in my Sunday School class called "I'm in the Lord's Army." Here are the beginning of the lyrics: "I may never march in... Continue Reading →

The Coup and the King

In this blog, we will meet a king who must flee his palace because his own son has planned a coup to overthrow his kingdom. David’s son Absalom has been quite successful in winning over the people with his charm. David and his men are not prepared with food and supplies to withstand such a... Continue Reading →

The Rose of Rhoda

  Do you believe in angels? Have you ever met one? Do you believe in fervent prayer? Miracles? Many times, we say we do, other times, we have witnessed enchanted signs like Pharaoh's magicians performed. In Acts chapter 12, we learn that it was Passover/ the Feast of Unleavened Bread--a week-long festival. Peter, an apostle... Continue Reading →

Leadership and Bare Buttocks, Part IV

Leadership and Bare Buttocks “Hine Ma Tov” What could a disturbing story in II Samuel have to do with a Psalm on unity? One has oil dripping down the beard and covering the skirts of Aaron; the other has skirts cut to bare David's servant's nakedness. The king's servants had their beards shaved half off... Continue Reading →

Leadership and Titles– Part I

The Five-Fold leadership bears great accountability. No man or woman, when called, seemed to feel worthy of the calling. They knew the cost and said, "I can't speak, I am but a child--did I give birth to all these people?" Anarchy is a state of disorder due to the absence or nonrecognition of authority. Do... Continue Reading →

The Photograph

It hung there like a branch on a tree. The color? It was more of a brown, Like shoe leather and cream with orbs of splattered sunlight. The timeworn camera had captured a split second of special. We would call it a black and white photo today, but to suggest it had a quality of... Continue Reading →

Wholly Illuminated

How can we be wholly illuminated on our job, in our marriage, and with our families and friends? This week while scrolling through social media I read a meme (below) that described my week or parts of my whole existence. The meme, along with the raw words written by a friend, pierced me. Her vulnerability... Continue Reading →

Hate is?

Hate is like a piece of yeast. It permeates and puffs up with satisfaction It says, “I am right!” I hold truth! I carry all knowledge! I will rebuke! It wipes its mouth with a napkin And still, the juice runs Hate dripping off chins Spilling over into diaper bins And storefront shelves Magazine covers,... Continue Reading →

The Kidneys and the Ears

“For thou hast possessed my kidneys: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:13 JB. “I shall bless Lord Jehovah who counsels me and my kidneys teach me in the nights.” Psalm 16:7 AB. I’m five or six years old, and it hurts to breathe. I’m feverish. The doctor puts his stethoscope on... Continue Reading →

Strong Drink

Strong drinks lead to drunkeness: "And he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast covered with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,... Continue Reading →

Pink Cotton Candy

"There's always a time to shine," she said, curling her bottom lip."You need to let the light shoot out of your hair like cracked eggshells covered in glistening white yolks." Sparkles. I pictured her hair standing up all over her head, illuminated and glistened like the moon draped over an armchair or a starfish on... Continue Reading →

1,000 Words

I am not sure when I started writing this poem or why or whose kitchen I stood in, but possibly it will help us think more about words. Ironically when I was finished, it had a word count of 1,000. I know with social media and texting, we often take words wrong or quickly respond... Continue Reading →

Lady Bug Charlie

About a month ago, I received a private dream, and one character in the dream-- a small talking reddish-brown hen with a bright red ladybug lit upon her back, captured my attention for various reasons. For one, this timid hen was floundering around and trying to hide under a couch cushion. The other reason was... Continue Reading →

Who Has a Broken Heart?

Who Has a Broken Heart? Memoir Chapter One morning in 2010, I peered into the reflection of the mirror, and I wondered who the person was staring back at me. I had been too depleted financially to get my hair done at a beauty shop and was taken by a friend to a hair design... Continue Reading →

Boot Camp

~Memoir~ Chapter 5 Boot Camp It seemed like it only took months for my sickness to progress into a total meltdown. I felt depleted of every ounce of strength. Like wafting wet paper, I floated along drained. It was a weekday in winter, and the chill was all around me. I could smell death and... Continue Reading →

Leah the Wild Cow

A friend of mine sent me an intriguing podcast the other day about Rachel, Jacob's wife. She was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She said, "I keep seeing Rachel everywhere!" When she said it, I thought, "that's funny" because "I keep seeing Leah." Oh, Leah, you break my heart. What can women learn from... Continue Reading →

My Funeral Plans

  A very peculiar thing began creeping into my brain a few months ago–something a person just shy of 50 years young doesn’t think about much unless they are terminally ill or just received a death sentence. Yes, the big D, and I don’t mean divorce. Death started creeping up on me when I was... Continue Reading →

Comfortable

I thought of a word to describe you. Comfortable Like a much-traveled shoe A blanket worn and soft A tree with old bark A coffee cup stained The coziness of a tattered chair The bare path much traveled upon Openly frank and unpredictable, yet predictable in every way Comfortable A rainy Monday splattered on a... Continue Reading →

Butterflies

  Gratitude. Thankfulness. Usually, neither of these exist without first experiencing heartache, loss, and trying times. You have to go through one to embrace the other in a manner worthy of noticing. Sometimes we miss the gratitude and turn bitter like lemons. This is the month of thankfulness. We try and become more aware of... Continue Reading →

The Servants Heart

  A couple of years ago, my aunt, Eva, who was in her 80's, was not feeling well. A dear cousin went to visit and took her to the doctor. While there, they discovered she had cancer. Our hearts were broken. My aunt never had children. Her neighbors had been checking on her. My cousin... Continue Reading →

Free Chapter, Hope Deferred

What can be learned from situations that seem bleak or hopeless?  Perhaps there is a reason tucked inside the changing tide that is higher than our human understanding? Joy can come from the darkest of places and ignite like a sparkler in the blackest sky. In my early 20s, this suburbia girl found herself living... Continue Reading →

Breathe! Awake and Live:

    When I came out of surgery, I came out fighting. The nurses kept giving me more and more Dilaudid (Oxycodone type drug) until finally, I stopped breathing. Along with my husband and sister, the nurse kept shaking me and repeating, "Breathe Bonnie (Tekoa)! Breathe!" I would jolt and gasp like a person who... Continue Reading →

Son’s of Spirit!

I have three sons of Spirit, Sons of lightning, sons of fame. I have three sons who live in a box on the corner begging for change. They play trashcan drums and acoustic guitars. They sing in the churches, and they sing in the bars. They rise sturdy with strength like Samson. They have arms... Continue Reading →

Finish Your Set!

We must finish our sets. Sometimes we learn life lessons from scholars and authors, teachers and the age. Today I learned valuable lessons from a popular pop star:  This past week, I watched a documentary and learned valuable lessons from a man who sings songs I mostly don't listen to. His name is Justin Timberlake.Master... Continue Reading →

The King’s Table

It's good to dine at the King's Table: Saul's grandson, the son of Jonathan, named Mephibosheth, was crippled as a child. When he was five years old, a report came that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle, and when the boy's nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as... Continue Reading →

Kentucky Book Fair

  It was an honor to be invited to the KY Book Fair. To be seated in a room full of authors like Wendell Berry was surreal.  His poetry has gotten me through many difficult times and caused me to become more aware of the beauty in creation. I had the pleasure of meeting Mary... Continue Reading →