So excited to be featured in Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine, Dec 2015 Issue! Click link to see article:

http://www.phgmag.com/digitalEdition/index.html?wv=s%2FPhoenix%2520Home%2520%26%2520Garden%2Ff4be56c204c34b7bbf3cfc5527d37f5a%2FPHG00552%2FTrue%2520SW.html

Styrofoam Bats

Springtime Desert

  Winding past orange-tipped Ocotillos, golden Brittle Bush and Crimson Hedgehogs, I startle a family of quail who scurry across the trail. I gasp, then laugh, continuing my trek along the crown of Sunrise Mountain. A curious sapphire butterfly flutters alongside as my feet find their way over the rocky path... a springtime hike in the foothills of the Sonoran Desert.

   

   Suddenly I am a bystander, watching Christ journey His desert. I ponder those forty days of fasting and prayer amidst the creatures and flora of Judea’s wilderness, marking the beginning of His springtime of suffering. 

   

   We Christians now step into the holiest of times, recalling Jesus’ suffering, death & resurrection. I consider the desert of my own life. I’ve stumbled upon some serious barren spots, hit my share of daunting heights, and met with the relentless heat of the Arizona sun. And yet, I’m reminded of the paradox: beauty and redemption amidst the desolate, grace within the fallow, flowers in the desert.

   Stepping over a lavender blossom poking out from the dust, I recall past murmurs, dismissing this as some dusty, futile emptiness. I smile and inhale the warmth of the sunshine, the sweet fragrance of springtime, the glory of the desert.