Author: Heidi Viars
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Good Fruit
She bent back hard when I leaned into her mature branches. For years she had been faithfully producing fruit, each year a little more. This past week, I was worried she wasn’t able to take much more of the intense spring storms. I was concerned she would break when…
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The Rushing of the River
O, that you be quieted, my soul – Not with the words of the wiseNor with the arguments of kingsNot even by the sound of grand symphonies — But that your depth would find its peace In the deafening sound of the rushing river In the persistent call of the…
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Of Billion Dollar Deals and The Cost of Discipleship
What is a good deal for some, might not be for others. It all depends on the side of the table you occupy. When my husband’s employer of 23 years made the announcement last month that the company sold for billions of dollars, not everyone was excited. “This is the…
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Blue-Feathered Thoughts
Like the weathered branches Of the old pineMy thoughts swayHeavy. They bend and stray – Obedient to an unstable atmosphere,To chaos, to storm A blue-feathered thoughtFlits in, takes a rests.Up and down he ridesOn the branch of the pine.Provisions are plenty Down here, where winds are the norm. He calls me through squeaky…
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Spared
I am not sure what spared the tree or why it was still standing. Maybe after a chainsaw had been laid against the trunk, the machine gave up its ghost. Maybe a wannabe tree-feller grew tired, after he whacked his unsharpened ax at the bark of the pine. Either way,…
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Rufmord
“Reputation-Murder” is the literal translation of the German word Rufmord. In German, the word gives a powerful picture of the intentional destruction of a name, the slanderous accusations with the intent to kill a person’s honor. Rufmord happens more often than you think, and when it does, the person’s integrity…
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Humdudgeon
What happened? When did I grow old?My back it aches, my feet are coldMy money, hard-earned, I must sayBecomes my doctor’s monthly payDon’t get me started on the newsOr that I need new winter shoesMy coffee’s cold, my dog it shedsAwake all night I’m in my bedI saw on Facebook…
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Of Pencil Plans and Lasting Letters
She gently ran her index finger along the sharpened point of the pencil I held out to her. She looked at me as if I had brought her a bag of gold. “How did you get this pencil to be so sharp?”She was 81 and my boss. I smiled and…
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Enough!
Be gone, O gloom, from heart and mind!Has your God died, not death defied?Give heed to what you see and hear –The bird on porch, the sky so clear.Hold to the Truth you once proclaimed,When first the Gospel you unchained,When all of you knew deepest joy,When eyes and ears exposed…
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A Tiger in the Nativity
“Cynicism is so pervasive that, at times, it feels like a presence. Behind the spirit of the age lies an unseen, personal evil presence, a spirit. If Satan can’t stop you from praying then he will try to rob the fruit of praying by dulling your soul.” — Paul E.…
Heidi Viars 