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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Thankful Tuesday, from a soup kitchen

July 17, 2012 By 1 Comment

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...]

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Dirty House Thankful

March 27, 2012 By 3 Comments
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  Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me. (Psalm 66:14) For the prayer book I've been following for the past few weeks (The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle) and its collection of scripture that keeps sticking in my head. Like Psalm 66:14. "I will tell you what he has done for me." What a beautiful calling to live into... A house littered with toys and cardboard boxes and missing its kitchen table (the weather was so nice … [Read more...]

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{Practicing Benedict} Receiving Guests, Receiving Christ

March 21, 2012 By 11 Comments

"Any guest who happens to arrive at the monastery should be received as we would receive Christ himself, because he promised that on the last day he will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me... As soon as the arrival of a guest is announced, the superior and members of the community should hurry to offer a welcome with warm-hearted courtesy. First of all, they should pray together so as to seal their encounter in the peace of Christ. Prayer should come first and then the kiss of peace, so … [Read more...]

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{Practicing Benedict} A post about monks and errands and eating

March 14, 2012 By 11 Comments

"Any who are sent on an errand which will allow them to return to the monastery on the same day must not eat outside, in spite of pressing invitations whatever their source, unless the superior has approved this.." (The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 51) Oh, the errands! There are the errands and the falling asleep babies and the boy who wants to walk beside the cart even though you think of a million reasons to convince him that the cart is so much cooler. Oh, to contain him! Especially in … [Read more...]

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{Practicing Benedict} The greatest possible concern

February 1, 2012 By 5 Comments

"As for the abbot or abbess, they must show the greatest possible concern with great wisdom and perseverance to avoid losing any one of the sheep committed to their care. They should be well aware that they have undertaken an office which is more like the care of the sick than the exercise of power over the healthy. They should be anxious to avoid the Lord's rebuke to the shepherds through the Prophet Ezekiel: you made your own those you saw to be fat and healthy and cast out those who were … [Read more...]

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It’s Halloween, y’all!

October 31, 2011 By 6 Comments
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And in honor of Halloween, I'm re-posting what I wrote last year, "Why I believe in Halloween."   Though I was raised evangelical and can speak Christianese with the best of them, I doubt I’m anyone’s Evangelical Mother of the Year, especially when it comes to all the big things on the Christian no-no list. That said, I will now post about why I have celebrated Halloween my entire life, and why I think it’s Christian to do so. First of all, I love the fall. Halloween encompasses … [Read more...]

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How we can help Joplin…

May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

No new thoughts today, friends. But I wanted to point you toward this post at wearethatfamily.com. Over there, Kristen gives a wonderful list of ways we can support those whose lives have been devastated by the tornado this past weekend. Please take a look at her list: http://wearethatfamily.com/2011/05/wfmw-how-you-can-help-joplin/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wearethatfamily%2FGaiB+%28We+are+THAT+Family%29 … [Read more...]

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Community Thankful

May 17, 2011 By 1 Comment

It’s Thankful Tuesday, that lovely day when we all stop to remind ourselves that there are some wonderful things in our lives, even if our kid pooped in his underwear again. (Hypothetically, of course.) I’m been thinking about community a lot lately, about the sweetness of the life we have here in San Francisco and how the relationships we have swell my heart. So, instead of talking about poop, I will focus on all about the community heart-swelling stuff: How many times can I mention the … [Read more...]

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Sisyphus and Motherhood and Coffee

April 28, 2011 By 7 Comments

Yesterday morning I woke to a quiet (and sort of creepy) almost three-year-old standing beside my bed at 6:15, silently staring at me. Good morning, Wednesday. After I got August settled and watching a Thomas show, I moved toward my coffee pot, only to have Brooks begin crying and crying. I bounced him in the kitchen for 15 minutes staring longingly at the empty pot that remained without coffee due to my only having two hands. Finally, Brooks was asleep! I put him down and ran to the coffee … [Read more...]

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