President Trump calls anything a hoax that is too complex to cope with. His willful blindness to the dangers of AI may lead to tragedy. We need leaders who will open their eyes to reality and cooperate with others to solve our problems.

Depiction of Matthew’s story of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman who intercedes for her daughter. The dog reminds us that the woman, in holy humility, asks for the crumbs of mercy that fall from the Master’s table.

Good old Hector, 105 doggie-years-old, teaches us the joy of hospitality when daughter, Rebekah and granddaughter, Rose visit.

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak struck our window. It caused me anxiety because I tell myself stories of life and death, and I worry about life not having meaning. But other living things take us beyond our constricted ideas of meaning to something brighter and BIGGER.

Earth Day is one of the best things to happen in America in my long lifetime. The song of the Brown Thrasher and other birds calls us to stop retreating from America’s best impulses and start celebrating Earth Day for all we’ve got.

Hector told us a year ago he wasn’t ready to die. We rejoiced then, and even more now. He is arthritic, deaf, old, and feeble. But he still barks, wags, and licks, giving us reasons for Easter Alleluias. So too does a story of a dramatic Border Collie rescue in New Zealand

Marco Rubio and the Trump administration want other nations to follow suit and prevent migrants from disruption of social cohesion. But our ancestors were the disruptive migrants. As Christians we must repent of and resist stereotypes that hide our guilt and falsely blame newcomers. There is always cost involved in welcoming others, but the cost is always worth it.

Our dog Max shows how to be honest. He doesn’t cover his weaknesses by taking cheap shots at the sheep. He moves them to clean water and better grazing.

First day of 2025 for grazing sheep at Heatherhope. Max obsesses on retrieving tennis balls, but even more on herding sheep—something we can all learn from to develop a focus on prayer.

Mourning doves know God the way all creatures must, through love. While words fail, love settles peacefully within and among us.

After years away from herding trials, lots of dogs and their people because of life changes and Covid, I returned to find the hugs and sharing of stories to be life-giving.

Butterfly milkweed, now gracing prairie restoration plots at Heatherhope, can poison or heal. They are a sign that to read the “Book of Nature” to learn of God’s blessings takes the eyes of faith.

We need the Spirit to keep the prophetic flame alight. We cannot let disillusionment in the face of MAGA disruption of our institutions stop us from thinking anew and using our imaginations for the common good.