I hope that the writing of Bonnie Wellensiek will challenge and inspire you as much as it does me. She is currently serving in South Asia with International Justice Mission: http://www.ijm.org.
Spiritual journey
The Sky Begins to Dance
mountains ramble into mesas, stepping down to plains, kinked succulents, anchored, release the blinding light of day, reach for pooling pink and orange settle into quiet sleepy soil while the sky begins to dance here, our silvery trail of tears, lament for heavy feet, mooring us to earth there, their finished race - flames the…Read more The Sky Begins to Dance
Risk
After two weeks of frigid winds and temperatures plummeting below zero-degrees Fahrenheit, at last the sun again extended its regal hand of mercy to Colorado. Eagerly I wheeled my bike out of hibernation into crisp, clear, tolerably cold air. Halfway through the ride, my spirit soared in wonder. I stumbled on the route not long before…Read more Risk
Holy Ground
Bushes still burn today without being consumed. I feel the flames in dark corners of the world where people suffer - the Spirit of God brooding, fierce with unquenchable yearning to gather His little ones into His arms. I can only fall to my knees in humble adoration, let the fire overtake my being. And…Read more Holy Ground
Longing for Home
Blue shadows fall on barren fields where once we roamed heart-to-heart. Now clouds hinge on sinister skies. Grass, tattered earth, flaps like threadbare laundry. Cold and exposed, I drift alone. A weathered fence guides me, hand-over-hand. Nothing tied down, everything shifts in ochre waves. How can I feel trapped in a place so vast? Bare…Read more Longing for Home
Why I Paint
I could feel the withering of a parched spirit. Aching to reach into the abstract, into the transcendent. To stretch with all my might and drink of the invisible. As of Sunday afternoon, it was my longest break from painting in more than a year. During the previous few weeks, the tactile world around me…Read more Why I Paint
Scars That Tell of the Good Life
With the kind of radiance that hints at secret knowledge of something very deep and very good, Noyo eagerly describes the privilege he feels in serving his native country, Haiti, as a Young Life staff-worker. “Just because something is easy,” he explains, “doesn’t mean it is the best. If you do something easy, it doesn’t…Read more Scars That Tell of the Good Life
Wherever I am on this Planet
Through all the glitter, tedium, and crush of this life... I’ve seen it in rural Vietnam in the shining eyes of parents who care for eight orphaned boys… ...in the joyful upturned faces of the persecuted church of Nepal, who gather without fear… ...in those who awoke in the desperate poverty of Mathare Valley, the second largest…Read more Wherever I am on this Planet
A Rooftop Crack in Haiti
On Monday, dawn crept over me on a rooftop in Haiti. Just below, massive trucks lumbered over narrow rocky streets, lugging water to and from a water purification facility. Roosters crowed and dogs barked. People walked, sang, laughed, and chattered in every nook and cranny in the streets, balconies and rooftops all around. Palm fronds…Read more A Rooftop Crack in Haiti
Painting a Prayer
I’ll be honest. Prayer is often difficult for me, at least as prayer is traditionally defined – sitting or kneeling and talking to God. A couple main reasons: I am a person of few spoken words, and it’s hard for me to sit still. When I was in my early 20’s, I passed through turbulent waters.…Read more Painting a Prayer
Colleen Briggs Images & Writing 