The earth beneath your feet has been absorbing the light since the day it was created.
Stop for a moment and soak some of it up...there's enough for all.
Look out the window and gaze at the beauty of the sky and trees.
Lean into the Love around you.
There's enough love, enough light, enough peace, enough joy for all.
These are the gifts that no economy can take away or produce.
These are the gifts that no war can destroy.
These are your gifts!
~ Jules Bonde, December 20, 2014
December 20, 2022
Christmas is almost here, or if you celebrate other holidays, those are here as well!
With Christmas just days away, I offer you all this grace-filled word, "ENOUGH.”
Even
if you don't bake everything or have a tree, just being together with a few
loved ones will be enough. Even if the tinsel is on the floor and the dust
bunnies are sneaking around the corner, it is enough. It's great to get things
cleaned up and have a reason to. It's great to bake some favorite things and
have a reason to. But sharing love and being together (even if only on Zoom) is
the reason, celebrating how a little baby could come to a poor mother and turn
the world upside down, celebrating how a tiny drop of love can make a whole
garden of flowers grow.
I
know we want everything to be just right, that we want to gather to sing and celebrate. I want that too, but I think our desire
for that is more important than actually getting there. This year I’m offering
my heart to this Christmas being enough for me, even in its smallness and to
myself being enough.
Sending
grace and Enough,
Jules
Long, dark nights come. It is true.
There is barely time to catch a ray of sun before the day is over.
Long, dark times come in life too.
There is barely a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Good news is all but eclipsed by the burdens of life.
Sometimes it seems as if the clouds will never move away.
Even so, the light seems to burn brighter in the darkness
the warmth of love seems more determined than ever
The earth keeps turning, hearts keep beating,
Music keeps humming in my dreams
Then one day it is clear we have crossed that threshold
and we're headed back to lighter days
the darkness goes back to its cave
i pray that on this longest night of the year
you can feel the music that connects you
the hearts that love you
the hope that burns on
and a glimpse of the joy
that will grow from this moment
HAPPY SOLSTICE DEAR FRIENDS!
Love, Jules
~ from December 20, 2019
March 17,2022--Sunset/Moonrise--Another photography adventure
We often think of the sun ruling the day and the moon lighting up the night. We think these two celestial bodies are separate, that night and day never meet, that light and darkness are not related, that sun and moon have no reason to talk to one another. But in some ways, they are always doing this dance and almost every tme I take a moment ot be with these two old friends, I am struck by two things: the faithfulness in following their presence and the exquisite beauty when light and dark play together, finding balance in one another.
And so it was March 17th, here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexcio, that the sun set and the moon rose within almost the same minute, as I attempted to capture this experience with my camera.
With all the photos of the sun and moon I’ve taken, I don’t believe I’ve ever done this before…captured the sunset and full moonrise within minutes of each other. But it happened!
Our hotel here in Puerto Vallarta is situated
so that when we walk out the door of our room, we enter an open corridor. From there
we can see the mountains east of us. The full moon rose over that mountain
right on schedule, around 7:30pm on St. Patrick’s Day. At the exact same time
the sun was going down in a fiery orange glow down the beach and off to the
right in front of our hotel, to the West of the bay we are on. Our room is on
the 4th floor. There is a huge swimming pool and several flights of
stairs between the two places but somehow I managed to photograph a beginning
of the sunset and then hustle over to the hotel and up the elevator to the top
floor to catch the moon coming up. Then I hustled back to the beach for the
last part of the orange glow. It was a moment of such satisfaction to both get
to see these events happen at the same time and also to be able to catch a photo
or two or twenty of the event. It was so fun.
I have put that album in a youtube video along with a bit of music, compliments of my son, Luke Bonde. You can watch video here.
To hear more of Luke Bonde's music go to: https://soundcloud.com/lukebonde
SUN & MOON
They've been doing this dance
Through our skies for ages
Each going at their own speed
Yet still dancing with each other
Or so it seems
Sun--Queen for the day
comes in radiance
Burning with firey passion for all of this life
Moon--the King of the Night
Comes cool and calm
Reflecting the light into our darkness.
Both reminding us
Of the light that never goes out
Let's join their dance
Let's share our light
~ Just Jules, 3/17/22
Long,
dark nights come. It is true.
There
is barely time to catch a ray of sun before the day is over.
Long,
dark times come in life too.
There
is barely a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Good
news is all but eclipsed by the burdens of life.
Sometimes
it seems as if the clouds will never move away.
Even
so, the light seems to burn brighter in the darkness
the
warmth of love seems more determined than ever
The
earth keeps turning, hearts keep beating,
Music
keeps humming in my dreams
Then
one day it is clear we have crossed that threshold
and
we're headed back to lighter days
the
darkness goes back to its cave
I pray that on this longest night of the year
you
can feel the music that connects you
the
hearts that love you
the
hope that burns on
and a
glimpse of the joy
that
will grow from this moment
(written
by Jules December 20, 2019)
Happy
Solstice dear friends!
Love,
jules
Two days from now, September 28, 2018, marks the 18th anniversary of Hans Day, otherwise known as Hans' day of transformation, otherwise known as death. Hans is our third son (out of four). He died at the age of 11 1/2 of brain cancer (glioblastoma mulitforme).
On my way home from breakfast with a good friend this morning, I was driving through Karl's neighborhood and couldn't resist stopping by just to see him and his little family. A few minutes and a few hugs was enough to give me that shot of fresh air to fill that huge empty Hans-sized space in the center of me. (How grateful I am, I could live this close)
Maybe it's like the moment when the sun comes through your window. My heart is a prism hanging in the window and the moment I think of my boys, of Hans and his dear brothers, as babes and men, is the moment that the sun hits the prism and all colors of the rainbow explode and spread everywhere in the room. It is a piercing moment. It's a releasing moment. It's a celebration and welcoming of all that has been and that will be, because these boys came into my life.
I do miss Hans. I wish he was here. And some days I miss the old days, making macaroni and cheese, driving car pools, sick days, watching baseball games and playing brain games in the car. But none of us needs to go back. We are all better people for the experience of knowing and having Hans part of our lives. I am a better person for knowing his brothers as well. It is a magical as the moment that light goes through the prism or the light shines through rain. Somehow, God took my love and my grief and made my life into a rainbow of color.
I walked through my neighborhood to the grocery store yesterday. As I walked, I soaked in the activity of late afternoon--School buses dropping kids off, grandparents waiting for the kids, parents and younger siblings walking hand-in-hand, older kids riding bike, people returning from work and mowing lawns and pulling weeds; life gently buzzing around the flowers of the first week of school. 
I LOVE mornings! This is something that I inherited from my parents. I know this because the few times I've had reunions with my siblings, all of us have been awake and drinking tea by 7:30 am. and this is in spite of the fact that they are much older than me so we weren't growing up in the same decade. Of course, with mom and dad it was coffee but the same idea. My dad would often start his day with reading his Bible. Little did I know then, that he too had a contemplative nature. He was a pastor and often preached about the dailiness of the spiritual life. He would say that each day we were born anew to begin again with a fresh and clean slate. So no matter what had passed the day before, it was forgiven and gone. And I felt that. Generally speaking, Mom and Dad did not hold grudges. They held worries but not grudges. We were forgiven and life moved on. I think that's part of why I love mornings so much. Each day is a new beginning. 
