I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope. Psalm 92:4 I wait alone in my room, my hands open, arms raised. I wait in silence while my husband and boys read books in the other room. “Brooksie, where is August’s nose?" I hear Chris say. "Do you see August’s nose?” I wait as I read my little boy to sleep in his room and look around it in the dusk. How many more nights till he loses his room? 10 nights? I wait. I wait while we search for a place … [Read more...]
Friends! I miss you guys. It’s very weird to go through a week and keep all my deep thoughts to myself. It’s probably a good practice in non-vanity. (No, every thought is not deserving of daily blog posts, fancy-pants Boyett!) I have, however, shared my thoughts with the Mister. And I wrote them down. (Take that, humility/guilt-inducing voice in my head!) I can’t tell you all how grateful I am for your prayers and notes of encouragement this past week. Seriously, am I the luckiest? … [Read more...]
A week and a half ago, prior to my grandfather’s funeral, as I ate a large family meal in the fellowship hall of the Boyett Baptist Church (no, that’s not really its name!), I encountered a third or fourth cousin, someone I hadn’t seen since my high school years when I’m sure we talked at some Oklahoma-located family reunion. She came to greet me, reminded me of her name. Then she said: “Last time I saw you, you were going to be a missionary!” She smiled, as if to say, Wasn’t … [Read more...]
If it shakes you, let it shake you; let love’s heaviness o’ertake you Let it bring you to your knees Let the world outside look on; they will tell you to get on But don’t let ‘em turn it cheap You know how sometimes song lyrics say exactly what you need a friend to whisper to you? Last week, the morning my grandfather died, I listened to Catherine Prewitt’s EP Chanticleer, Certain Hope over and over while I drove August to and from school, while I made preparations to get our … [Read more...]
I'm happy to welcome my brother, Jason Boyett, here to Mama:Monk for the very first time. He's one of my biggest life-heroes. And I'm thrilled to share him with you. PawPaw's Last Painting A week ago today, Micha and I spoke at our grandfather's memorial service, as I'm sure you're aware. From her blog posts to our brother's twitter feed to my compulsive Instagramming of old letters and photos, we all turned to social media to express our grief. We've known for years he would … [Read more...]
Yesterday after lunch, August and Chris were sleeping together in my bedroom while I cleaned up the kitchen and Brooksie snoozed in his crib. Then, I clanged something too loud (as usual) and woke my baby in the next room. There went my hour to write. So, while Brooksie ate his mac n’cheese, I sat at the table to write. Except first I read Rachel Held Evans’ Sunday Superlatives post and got caught up in this video about a little girl’s dream to raise money for Charity: Water. I watched … [Read more...]
I have to leave today. Noon. I’ve packed and planned. It’s been a long visit that coincided with his stroke and I have watched him shrivel. In fact, I’ve watched him shrivel for five years now. Maybe more. Of course, he’s almost 90 years old: A long good life. A life that could have been cut short in 1945—the fiery plane, the parachute crash into enemy hands. His living was always grace. I’ve packed all morning and August wants to come along. I’ve encouraged him these past … [Read more...]
I’m writing from a soup kitchen in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Here there are big rooms packed with rickety bunk beds (some of them piled three high!) on the second and third floors. The soup kitchen is on the first floor. There are around 150 high school students staying here with me and their leaders. And I’m thankful for… The opportunity to see high school kids eating the food put in front of them, without complaint, despite it being some pretty tasteless stuff. The … [Read more...]
Cat and me and a few of the girls we love Two weeks ago, while we were in Philadelphia, my friend Cat picked me up from my mother-in-law’s and we drove through the 5 o’clock traffic to Radnor High School’s graduation. Cat and I were not related to any kid in any graduation robe. But we whooped and hollered and I cried like a baby as I watched a handful of kids I’ve known since they were 7th graders walk across that stage. I met some of these kids back when I was charged … [Read more...]
This past Friday evening, we gathered family and friends in Philadelphia and Brooksie was baptized in his grandmother's backyard. It was the sweetest night, full of kids and laughing friends and a dear former pastor who came into town just to be part of this day with us. We're grateful. These are the words I read for my boy during the service. * * * Here you are, little boy, you who bear so many names I don’t know what to call you today at your baptism: You are T-Rexy, so named in utero by … [Read more...]
Follow Patheos on
Copyright 2008-2013, Patheos. All rights reserved. Terms of Service | Patheos Privacy Policy | Site developed by Avalon Consulting, LLC
Follow Patheos
Family: