Author Archives: Andrea R Huelsenbeck

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About Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Andrea R Huelsenbeck is a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a former elementary general music teacher. A freelance writer in the 1990s, her nonfiction articles and book reviews appeared in Raising Arizona Kids, Christian Library Journal, and other publications. She is currently working on a middle grades novel and a poetry collection.

St. Anthony’s Monastery, Part III: The Gardens

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

St. Anthony’s Monastery is located in the desert outside Florence, Arizona. The monastery’s water comes from three wells, each a quarter-mile deep, which turn the grounds into an oasis. I’ve never seen bougainvillea this color. Adding to the beauty of … Continue reading →

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St. Anthony’s Monastery, Part II: the Iconography

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

One of the highlights of my trip to St. Anthony’s Monastery last fall was the many icons displayed in the church and the chapels. They were brought over from Greece. Some of them look to me like hand-painted originals, others … Continue reading →

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St. Anthony’s Monastery, Part I: the Architecture

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

In the summer of 1995, six monks traveled from Mount Athos in Greece to the Arizona desert to build a monastery. They acquired 165 acres outside Florence, Arizona, and began construction. Today, St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery houses 65 monks. The monastery … Continue reading →

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Presence

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Presence when I notice my blessings—an intricate weed blossoma double rainbowa check in the mail—my burdens grow lighterthey float away altogether I send up little prayers of gratitudemy heart is freehurt is healedthe day brightens like a kiss my God … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Poetry | 1 Comment

A Non-Traditional Blessing by Sister Ruth Marlene Fox, OSB

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

This prayer, written in 1985, seems especially apt today: May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, … Continue reading →

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Tongue Twister

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

The Tortured Tongue Tongue torturing, tasting, tantilizingSweet and sour, spicy and saucyBitter biter, bracken and brokenHurting, healing, holding, beholden Asparagus artichoke apple appetizerFortified frozen frankfurters fibrillatingWaxen wieners winking wineGasping grapes on vintage vine Jelly jugular jumping jamsPurple plums, plump peppery … Continue reading →

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Portal

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Portal Every time I try something newIt’s like opening a portal.What unfamiliar artifacts will I find?What skills will I learn?How will this new me fit? Enamored with the possibilities,I squeeze through the openingIgnoring possible repercussions:What are you doing here?You don’t … Continue reading →

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Heaven

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

I am a huge Beatles fan and I love almost everything John Lennon ever wrote. Except the lyrics to Imagine. This poem is a rebuttal of the song. believe there is a heaven this world is closer to hell than I ever … Continue reading →

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Pandemic Prayer

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

Dear God, Architect of the Universe and Great Physician, You rule the world with justice and mercy. You are doing a thing now that we don’t understand, but we trust that You are working for our good. Through this trial … Continue reading →

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Pandemic Lament by ARHuelsenbeck

Posted on July 24, 2020 by Andrea R Huelsenbeck

The Bible study group that I am part of is reading God and the Pandemic by N.T. Wright. Part of one assignment was to write a prayer of Lament. Here’s mine: O God, You created our bodies complete with a complex immunity … Continue reading →

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