I’ve recently begun reading A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller. As I read yesterday, I was struck by these words Miller quoted from Thomas Merton: “Prayer is an expression of who we are...We are a living incompleteness. We are a gap, an emptiness that calls for completeness.” What if my failures at prayer—my inability to concentrate, the consistent distractions, my lack of belief—actually made me a better person of prayer? What if the more I … [Read more...]
An Invitation to Believe
May 27, 2010 By 3 Comments
I mentioned briefly last week that I’ve begun meeting with a spiritual director, the concept of which goes back to the fourth century. The idea of the practice is to provide a believer with a more intentional form of spiritual mentoring. A spiritual director is trained theologically and pastorally to do the work of listening, advising, and leading a believer in his or her own spiritual life. Having one is like having your own personal pastor, who knows all your gunk and helps you discover … [Read more...]
My week in bullet points:
May 20, 2010 By 5 Comments
Monday, when I was feeling most content with our housing situation and was prepared to take our time and wait for the perfect apartment (no pressure), my husband sends me a link to a beautiful place that just went on the market the day before. It’s a block away. I say to Chris: If this is as good as it looks, we’ve got to snatch it up before anyone else takes it. He agrees. Tuesday morning, after dropping August off at his first day of “school” ever, I walk to the apartment. … [Read more...]
The Mama’s Boy
May 14, 2010 By 5 Comments
For the past two weeks my husband’s job has kept him pretty busy. He has a demanding profession that he’s very good at, which has recently resulted in the kind of promotion that a woman like me loves (for her husband’s sake) and fears (for her husband’s and child’s sake). I don’t like how careers can chomp on people’s lives like an owl swallowing a mouse whole and vomiting out the skeleton. (Did you ever dissect owl pellets in middle school? Those were awesome.) Chris doesn’t … [Read more...]
Molly Ringwald and “The Pretty”
May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Friends, I sat for two hours last night staring at my computer screen with an utter blankness in my head. What was there to write about today? I wanted to find a meaningful poem to share...nothing. I wanted to tell some powerful story. Plum out. I wish I was funny but actually I think I'm just fake funny and it only comes out once a month. But I'm happy to report that in spite of my failures as your blogging person, I read an article today, an excerpt actually, from Molly Ringwald's (yes, … [Read more...]
Thankful Tuesday: A Weekend Survival Story
May 10, 2010 By 6 Comments
What better way to begin a Thankful Tuesday post than by stating what’s really been a bummer lately. This past weekend was a thing of beauty with some pretty fierce toxins thrown in. Toxins tend to poison everything. Friday night, we rejoiced to host Sarah the super sitter! When I left the house, husband on my arm, decked out in my hippest skinny black pants and heels, August was staring lovingly into Sarah’s babysitter eyes (did I mentions she’s the greatest?) and he shed not a tear. We … [Read more...]
Becoming Mama: A Mother’s Day Reflection
May 7, 2010 By 4 Comments
It’s almost Mother’s Day. It will be my second year as one. And, honestly, I don’t remember much about my first Mother’s Day. It’s completely a blur. Did my husband give me something really sweet and thoughtful? Probably. He’s generous and kind like that. Maybe he gave me flowers or a necklace. I just don’t remember. That’s terrible. I know. August was young then. He would have been eleven months old or so. Maybe I don’t remember because at that point I was the mother of a … [Read more...]
A Small Victory in Hospitality-Land
May 6, 2010 By 6 Comments
Last night we threw a dinner party. For ten people. It was a last minute decision. We’d been wanting to have my husband’s “team” from work over sometime and on Monday he realized that a few were heading back to Europe this weekend (I will not try to explain the complexity and fluidity of Chris’ company and how often people are going back and forth to Europe). So we pulled it together. Chris and I both love having our home filled with people. We loved our lifestyle when I was on staff … [Read more...]
The Oil Spill? I’m Guilty.
May 4, 2010 By 8 Comments
I can’t stop thinking about the oil spill today. Yesterday, I read this blog post by Ed Brown, director of Care of Creation, Inc and author of Our Father's World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation. His post is short and powerful. You should take a second to read it. In it, he asks the question: How should we pray about this oil spill? Should we ask God to miraculously stop the flow of oil into the ocean? Immediately bring healing to the animals and creatures already devastated by the … [Read more...]
Mah Aysay!
May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday, as we drove the hour trip home from a weekend with friends in Napa Valley, our son noticed a small airplane flying past. We watched it seemingly float midair in plain sight of the highway and eventually zoom around and make its way toward the county airport we were passing. It landed. “Mah Aysay, Mama! Mah Aysay!” That was August’s demand after the entertainment of the fly-by was complete. More airplanes. He was not only asking for more, but doing it with deep emotion. This … [Read more...]
Follow Patheos
Family: