May 15 was the anniversary of Emily Dickinson's death, 126 years ago. I have this deep friendship with Emily in my head. She laments like no one else. If I could take any class right now, it would be a Dickinson class. My deepest regret from grad school was dropping the Emily Dickinson/Walt Whitman course that would have made me poetry genius. (I was taking too many classes that semester and, alas, it was the responsible thing to do. But I'm still sad about it.) I imagine her as deeply … [Read more...]
Why I didn’t make it to small group last week
May 17, 2012 By 8 Comments
It was a good day, but a long one: the house in disarray. Another week where we planned to go to our small group from church, where I made dinner early and managed to bring the boys in early from outside (one tantrum in the process but I only got bit once). August hates small group. We went for the first time five weeks ago and my oldest boy decided he’d never go back. Since then, Chris has gone alone. Staying up an hour past bedtime is hard enough on the boys, but if August is crying and … [Read more...]
{Practicing Benedict} The Finale: A Beginning
May 16, 2012 By 12 Comments
The purpose for which we have written this rule is to make it clear that by observing it in our monasteries we can at least achieve the first steps in virtue and good monastic practice. Anyone, however, who wished to press on towards the highest standards of monastic life may turn to the teachings of the holy Fathers, which can lead those who follow them to the very heights of perfection. Indeed, what page, what saying from the sacred scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is not given us by … [Read more...]
Thankful Tuesday: A History. And the First Ever Thankful Tuesday Link-Up Partaaaaay!!!
May 15, 2012 By 8 Comments
You might be shocked to hear that Thankful Tuesday did not begin as a somewhat piously disguised platform through which to list my kids’ accomplishments. (“Brooksie loves to sign 'Thank you!' August understands the theory of gravity!" *Insert eye-roll here.* Though, yeah, it’s a good way to talk about them and I can’t seem to stop, can I?) Also, Thankful Tuesday didn’t begin simply because it is cool to be grateful in the Christian women blogging community. (And, by the way, I’m … [Read more...]
On Sweetness and Mother’s Day
May 14, 2012 By 2 Comments
It’s Mother’s Day morning and last night was one of those up and down kinds of sleeps. Chris and I are at the stage where we go to bed in the unknowing: will the boys sleep all night? Will they wake four times? Last night August had to pee, then he couldn’t go back to sleep. Then he still couldn’t go back to sleep. And, then he really couldn’t go back to sleep. Each trip to his room, I found myself accidentally kicking my leg against something: a laundry basket, a couch. By 5:45 when … [Read more...]
Poem-a-Day Friday: W.S. Merwin
May 11, 2012 By 6 Comments
This week I started Lauren F. Winner’s Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis. I love Lauren Winner. Girl Meets God was one of the first books that gave me hope that I could write about Jesus and actually be a good writer at the same time. Every time I see her name on an article in Books and Culture, I open to it first. She’s my girl. That’s why it’s taken me far too long to get my hands on her new book (which was released in January). I finally got my act together and it arrived in the … [Read more...]
Fresh flowers with dew: A Mother’s Day reflection
May 10, 2012 By 2 Comments
Today, because I spent last night exhausted and grumpy--it was one of those loooong days of mothering--I'm reposting what I wrote for Mother's Day last year. As I reread this post, I was surprised that I had been thinking about earnestness vs "snarky emotionlessness" even then. Happy Mother's Day to the mamas out there. Eat some chocolate and go to bed early, okay? * * * Sunday is Mother’s Day. Chris’ step-mom just sent me a Mother’s Day letter her grandfather had written … [Read more...]
{Practicing Benedict} The Good Spirit
May 9, 2012 By 4 Comments
“It is easy to recognize the bitter spirit of wickedness which creates a barrier to God’s grace and opens the way to the evil of hell. But equally there is a good spirit which frees us from evil ways and brings us closer to God and eternal life. It is this latter spirit that all who follow the monastic way of life should strive to cultivate, spurred on by fervent love. By following this path they try to be first to show respect to one another with the greatest patience in tolerating … [Read more...]
Thankful: thunderstorms, parties, and the (lack of) electricity
May 8, 2012 By 4 Comments
Oh, I’ve missed big spring thunderstorms in Texas, how they hit at 7:30 at night, the perfect time for mysteriousness when you’re a kid: Right after bathtime, right as you’ve stepped into pajamas. How, when the power goes out, nothing matters anymore. Dishes can’t be done, chores can’t be completed. There is only the sitting under flashlights and the telling of stories. And Daddy reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by candlelight. The glowing living room lit by candles. Is … [Read more...]
Melancholia: Why I wish I hadn’t seen it and why I’m sort of glad I did.
May 7, 2012 By 10 Comments
Three weeks ago my husband and I watched the movie Melancholia. If you haven’t heard of the film, I’ll say this: That was probably not a good idea. (At least for me.) It’s not a spoiler to explain that the film is about the end of the world. (There’s no suspense about that going into it.) The movie is named for the planet that eventually collides with and destroys earth. But the story of the film is about two sisters and the relationships within a family and, ultimately, about the … [Read more...]
Follow Patheos
Family: