“We rest in order to honor God and his creation, which suggests that not to rest dishonors both.” -Judith Shulevitz, The Sabbath World The thing about Sabbath is that there are still always dishes to do and the kids are still themselves. There are diapers to change and stories to read. And that’s my job all week long, right? Can there really be a day when I rest from the demands of raising children? There is paper all over the counter: bills unpaid and that reminder about the … [Read more...]
The Ashes and the Being Made Whole
February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Last year in Austin, Chris was away for work and I couldn’t get myself together to get the boys to the service and forfeit our baby’s bedtime, knowing I’d spend the whole service nursing and hushing. That afternoon, after August woke from nap time, I took leaves burned them in a pan in the backyard. And I marked myself. I said, “Micha, you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It felt like most of my moments of personal prayer: distracted, not quite complete, the … [Read more...]
Thankful Tuesday: pink flowers, paddle boats at dusk, binoculars in the aquarium
February 19, 2013 By 10 Comments
Back in the olden days, I used to complain a lot about San Francisco's weather. I’m a hot weather, Texas girl, living in a temperate climate. Temperate means on cold days it’s fifty degrees, on warm days it’s 65. And if it gets below or above one of those, every one is Very Bothered. But, I’d like to be thankful today for a week of 65 degrees and sunshine, even though it has dipped back into fifty degrees and gray clouds. I’m sure I’ll be complaining come July, when it’s fifty … [Read more...]
Beautiful: A reflection for the day after Ash Wednesday
February 14, 2013 By 2 Comments
I wrote this post two years ago, when Brooksie was known only as T-Rexy. (These days he's still "T" most of the time at home.) It's a reflection that still feels relevant these two years later. Wednesday night, as I entered the church nursery where August had been playing while I was in the Ash Wednesday service, my son looked up at me, first in joy (I love how the simplicity of my presence brings him happiness) and then in confusion. The ashes on my head were anything but subtle. … [Read more...]
Thankful Tuesday (before Ash Wednesday)
February 12, 2013 By 3 Comments
This, as I head into this “Sabbath Lent”: “Stop for one whole day every week, and you will remember what it means to be created in the image of God, who rested on the seventh day not from weariness but from complete freedom. The clear promise is that those who rest like God find themselves free like God, no longer slaves to the thousand compulsions that send others rushing toward their graves.” -Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church Ash Wednesday is … [Read more...]
{Practicing Benedict} How Lent should be observed in the monastery
February 29, 2012 By 2 Comments
"There can be no doubt that monastic life should always have a Lenten character about it, but there are not many today who have the strength for that. Therefore we urge that all in the monastery during these holy days of Lent should look carefully at the integrity of their lives and get rid in this holy season of any thoughtless compromises which my have crept in at other times. We can achieve this as we should if we retrain ourselves from bad habits of every kind and at the same time turn … [Read more...]
Guest Post: {Family and the Christian Year} Christine Warner on Lent and brushing teeth to candlelight
February 22, 2012 By 16 Comments
I'm so thrilled I have the chance to introduce you to Christine Warner today. She is one of my favorite gems I've discovered here in Austin. Her kindness, wisdom, warmth and bright spirit make her one of those people you can't help but describe as "special." I've mentioned before how she has challenged me by how she invites her children into the Christian Year. So I'm excited to welcome her into our semi-unregular discussions on that very topic as she shares her family's Lenten tradition.I came … [Read more...]
Wednesday: Ashes and Death
February 22, 2012 By 2 Comments
I'm reposting what I wrote for Ash Wednesday last year, when I was nine months pregnant with Brooksie. It still says what I want to say. I love Ash Wednesday because it reminds me that I will die. I am a product of a culture obsessed with youth and beauty. We honor the young and ignore the elderly. We worship comfort at the expense of wisdom. We refuse to consider that each of us are constantly moving closer to our own deaths. And we convince ourselves that we have control over the reality … [Read more...]
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