One Good Phrase: Leigh Kramer (Conversation is like…)

May 8, 2013 By 13 Comments
LeighKramerheadshot

Leigh Kramer sees the world in a lovely way. I am always reading her posts and saying, "Oh, I never thought of it like that" and I'm so grateful for her voice. Also, we are TV watching kindreds, especially when it comes to shows I'm a little embarrassed to say I love. Welcome Hopefulleigh! So happy to have you here.   People described me as shy when I was younger but I disagreed. I wasn't scared to talk with folks; I was selectively friendly. I'm the first to admit I'd observe before … [Read more...]

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Introducing Hill Country Hill Tribers (And a giveaway for Mother’s Day!)

April 18, 2013 By 20 Comments
Picture 1--Ra Noe weaving

I'm so excited to have Jessica Goudeau here today sharing about one of my favorite organizations (and Etsy shops!) around. Half of the Christmas presents I gave this past year came from the women of Hill Country Hill Tribers. And I'm thrilled to let Jessica share with you about their story, just in time for Mother's Day. Welcome Jessica! Growing up in my house, it was switching the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer. It was emptying the dishwasher. It was mowing the lawn. It was … [Read more...]

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St. Nicholas Day: Santa, Mystery and Small Family Ritual

December 6, 2012 By 3 Comments
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Friends, I'm going to ask you to jump over with me to another site again today. (This is just one of those lucky weeks for us!) Christine Gough has been hosting a guest series called: "Vision from the Frontlines: Voices, Experiences & Practices of Faith Development" and today, I'm  over there sharing about how our family celebrates St. Nicholas Day. This is as practical as I get, so be excited!     I talk about ritual a lot: Ritual and beauty. Grace. And how I want my … [Read more...]

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Some Spiritual Influences: A Thankful Tuesday Thanksgiving Post

November 20, 2012 By

There was Linda who spoke Jesus with her voice and with the way she stood beside us on the playground. How she whispered words of salvation and forgiveness and life. How she spoke a language saved for seven-year-olds. Then Alan and those years when he was always present, always aware. There were the conversations: The one where he challenged me to read scripture everyday. The one where he said that guy I was dating wasn’t worth it. There was Dawn, then Ana. The leadership of 18-year-old … [Read more...]

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Not the same…

November 12, 2012 By 10 Comments
August and a friend climbing a hill in the middle of the city

When August was four months old, the Phillies won the World Series. The Phils had won once before, in October of 1980, when my husband was four months old. Chris spent his childhood in love with the Philadelphia Phillies. And he went into his adult Philadelphia fandom with great commitment. So, of course, baby August donned his Phillies sweatshirt and hat. And we cheered like crazy. We brought that kid out to the TV so we could say he had been there when the Phils finally did it, when the … [Read more...]

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Walking to Church: Sometimes the Hard Thing Makes the Beauty

October 18, 2012 By 3 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, Christianity Today posted an interview with Eric Jacobson, author of The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment. He spoke in the interview (which is definitely worth a read) about what we’ve lost in the Church by suburbanizing ourselves. He spoke about the power of the parish and the idea that when a church is woven into the life of a neighborhood, it helps create shared living, true fellowship, in the same way that living in a place where … [Read more...]

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The Ministry of Friendship

October 11, 2012 By 13 Comments
Photo courtesy of State Library and Archives of Florida

Saturday morning, Chris took the boys in search of the perfect San Francisco donut and dropped me off at a park so I could run for the first time in four weeks. But first I sat down on a bench and called one of my dearest, a friend I hadn’t caught up in almost the same amount of time I hadn’t been on a run. Our conversation did not go as expected. She’s in an amazing 9-month intensive academy, studying theology and culture. I couldn’t wait to hear what she was reading and … [Read more...]

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Thankful Tuesday: Blessing in the Leaving

September 18, 2012 By 15 Comments
celtic cross

As we walk into the church, I think about the last Sunday in our church in San Francisco: how we sang the hymns and walked away as a family. How we stopped at the farmer’s market and bought ripe cherries. How we sat at Alamo Square Park and stared at the city scape. My then four-month-old slept against me and I took August’s shirt off as the cherry juice poured down his newly three-year-old chest. That’s how we said goodbye. Today, it’s raining. Rain in a parched land feels holy, like a … [Read more...]

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What’s saving my life this week.

July 27, 2012 By 16 Comments
Pawpaw and Memaw, with my aunt Rita in 1947

This week my friend Sarah Bessey asked the question at her blog: What’s saving your life right now? Grief is a strange thing, isn’t it? It’s so deep and wild and untamable. And it wakes up whenever it wants to and leaves you with your face in your hands in the dark bedroom on the side of the bed while your kids in the other room watch a show (again). We all loved my grandfather. He was a special man. And his loss has cut me deeper than I expected it to. I guess that’s usually … [Read more...]

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Thankful Tuesday: Memorial Day Edition

May 29, 2012 By 1 Comment
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Parents who will drive eight hours and spend money on a hotel room on the way, just to stay two days with my family Riding bikes (in the street!) with August and feeling the gift of his growing up My dad and August in the backyard, sticking tiny ants under the microscope Bubbles and a baby pool in the grass, bug spray and sunscreen My mom bringing her own science experiment (baking soda and vinegar and food coloring) to make with August Evening meals with my parents on the deck, even … [Read more...]

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