Category: Other Stuff…

An Advent Moon

On By dklinegIn Christmas, Other Stuff..., Unexpected DelightLeave a comment

This morning as I walked, the waning crescent moon winked in and out between spotty predawn clouds.  Maybe you saw it too.  It’s the same moon here as there.  A waning crescent.

The crescents are my favorite.  The flashy full phase is fine, too.  However, the delicate fine features of that tiny, frail sliver of light  make me smile.  That’s what I saw this morning.  I smiled.

That illuminated crescent is slowly going away though.  Each day it’s getting smaller and smaller, until one day, poof it will be gone!  No more moon.  At least that’s what it looks like.  

Yet, the moon is still there.  All of it.  Even during the crescents.  Look closely.  It’s all there, the complete sphere.  It’s just not terribly obvious sometimes. It takes some looking. 

Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent.  Once again, for those who commemorate such things, it began a time of anticipation and preparation for the coming of the Savior, Jesus. The celebration culminates on Christmas Day.  Sadly, for many, after all the hoopla surrounding the holiday passes, our interest in the birth of the Christ Child and even the Christ Child himself wanes until one day, poof, it’s gone.

Here, on these cold, clear, crisp Michigan mornings, the beauty of the crescent moon presents itself.  And even though it’s light dims for a time, the moon is still all there.  The Good News of Christmas is, even though our faith may dim, the One whose birth we celebrate again, is always here.  That’s one of the names we know him by – Immanuel, God with us.

Today’s Gift.

Familiar Paths

On By dklinegIn Other Stuff...Leave a comment

Even though it was a gray day, I decided not to skip my Sunday afternoon walk. I chose to wander in a place I’ve roamed many times before. Even though the wind blew mini-blizzards of snow all around, I was greeted with occasional patches of calm blue sky along with brief, blinding bursts of sunshine.

In spite of the gloominess of the day, I decided to take my camera along and take the ‘Gray Day 5-Shot Challenge.’  Could I come up with five good enough pictures worthy of posting here in the blog?

Since I get to decide, the answer is yes.  Here they are, the five shots, the best of the day.  Oh, and a little haiku to go along with them.

Familiar Paths

Walked familiar paths

Sadly, different today

Fondly remembered 

Yesterday’s gift.

Thanksgiving Day – 2021

On By dklinegIn Other Stuff..., ThanksgivingLeave a comment

It’s Thanksgiving Day. It’s a new day that the Lord has made. There’s certainly a lot for which to be thankful. We all have our own list, I’m sure. Hopefully, we’ve had the opportunity to share it with those we love. No doubt those we love are at the top our list.

And, let’s not forget to whom we owe our thanks and why.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”‘ Lamentations 3:22-24

Today’s gift.

Still Available!

On By dklinegIn Christmas, Other Stuff..., School ThingsLeave a comment

Here it comes again, the 2nd annual shameless self-promotion…  I humbly offer my apologies before I even start.

Here’s some history. Over the last 30 years I’ve written more than a few short stories, a lot of them about Christmas. I wrote them mainly for my students back then. Some of them were even good enough to be published in a few educator’s magazines.

So with that little bit of fleeting success, I decided long ago that I’d like to see them published, put into a book. However the stories remained in my file, on my computer and in my mind … until recently.

After hearing about the whole concept of self-publishing a while back, the idea of putting my stories together in a book started percolating again.  Self-publishing… hmmm … The cool thing about self-publishing a book is that, really, only one person needs to like it.

So about a year ago, I took the plunge and published the stories with Kindle Direct Publishing. Here it is.

Now available at Amazon.com

I want to make it clear that I’m not in this for the money or to make someone’s best seller list.  Although, with this blog readership of about six, who knows what might happen. Things might just take off.

I wrote most of the stories mainly for my students and the people closest to me.  And, I had fun doing it.  Besides, even after all these years, I still think these stories, in their quirky little ways, still belt out a pretty strong message about Christmas and it’s true meaning, which, of course, is that Jesus was born, Immanuel, God with us.  That, my friends, and NOT some flashy book … is today’s Gift.

 *****

If you want to see the blurb and read a sample at Amazon.com, click on this link.  If not, that’s fine, too.

The Mystery Poem

On By dklinegIn Other Stuff..., Unexpected Delight1 Comment

It’s a rainy Saturday here and I’m shuffling through some old things that I’ve written long ago. Tucked away in an old folder, I came across a poem that I had typed out all nice and neat waaaaay back. Who knows when?  Who knows why?

On the bottom of the page there was a note I had handwritten. “Who wrote this?  Did I?”   Apparently, there had been another rainy day when I’d done similar things and had similar thoughts about this particular poem.

I didn’t want to toss this out until I did some research, which of course meant, I Googled it.  So, I searched by title.  I searched by subject.  I even directly quoted the whole poem.  No hits. I found nothing that said that somebody else had written this or even thought about writing such a thing.  So, I’m laying claim to it.

To be sure, there’s nothing notable, earthshaking or life changing about this little ditty.  It’s just that I like it.  It makes me smile. It’s what I needed, a little bit of nonsense to brighten a rainy Saturday. 

Today’s gift.

Emperor Penguin

I am the king of all I see.

I am the monarch of all ice, see.

I am the sovereign of the icy sea.

I am the king of all I see.

Unexpected Delight

On By dklinegIn Other Stuff..., Square InchesLeave a comment

Granted the opossum is probably a long-shot to make anyone’s list for the Michigan Wildlife Hall of Fame.  However, when I passed by this critter perched on the fence next to the path on which I was walking this morning, I was momentarily in awe. A ‘possum, on a fence, just feet away,  posing for me.  Wow! Delightful!

On that same walk I interrupted this group having a drink in the creek.  From the look they gave me, they might have been saying, “Oh, dear!”  or maybe “Oh, human!”   I thought, “Wow! Delightful!”

I guess we never know what may cross our paths in the course of a day.   Maybe a posing possum or drinking deer can bring a smile.  Then again maybe one who is dear will brighten the day and bring unexpected delight. 

Today’s gift.

That Changes Everything

On By dklinegIn Other Stuff...Leave a comment

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:1-5

… and that changes everything.

Happy Easter!