Friends, I’m so excited to let you know that I’m doing something new and bright and challenging and a little scary. And it looks like this: That’s my new website/blog. It’s not called Mama:Monk anymore. It’s not at Patheos anymore. I’m going out on my own. There are a lot of reasons for this. I have loved being part of the community of Patheos and I am leaving with nothing but praise for the bloggers and the support here. The... Read more
Several months ago, I emailed my former spiritual director, Debby, and asked her to help me get some perspective. I haven’t met with Debby since I moved to Austin and she moved away from San Francisco. I emailed her because several times during the process of finishing my edits I would feel a panic attack rising up my body. My heart would beat wild, the stream of fear would push up toward my chest. I’d stop and take breaths. Then... Read more
I am living one of the busiest seasons of my life right now. As we speak. I tinkered with my book for four years before I got a book deal. And during the fifteen months since then, I slammed myself into it. My days have been a whirlwind of trying to find the time and the childcare to meet writing deadlines. I wrote it. Revised it. Turned the manuscript in. Edited it. And then as quickly as I celebrated being... Read more
I teach the third graders the way I’ve been learning to teach. “There was once a man who did such wonderful things and said such amazing things, that people just had to follow him,” I say. I sit on my knees and lean over a golden cardboard box. We’ve been talking about the parable inside. “He spoke to the people about a kingdom. But it was not like any kingdom they’d ever lived in. It wasn’t like any kingdom... Read more
This has been an irregular blogging week in my life due to the absence of my Main Squeeze. I’m astounded (and reminded again to be thankful) by how much my writing career is only possible at this stage of life (with young children) because of my husband’s support. I write this blog in the nights and early mornings (and I use my daily time of childcare to work on book promotion). So this week without my husband to do dishes... Read more
My husband’s out of town this week and we’ve now made it through one time change, one school day (we were thirty minutes late, but who’s judging?), six meals, one stopped-up toilet, one new battery on the fire alarm, and two whole days without him. There’s this weird feeling I have when I’m home with the kids by myself. I feel like someone’s going to figure me out, realize that I’m just pretending to be a grownup. Do I... Read more
I missed posting my chalkboard last Friday because I wanted to make sure you saw my interview with Peter Enns over at his place. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d love for you to check it out. I’m loving this from Walter Wangerin’s piece in my Lenten/Easter Devotional Bread and Wine. I love the idea that following Lent all the way through the Cross and into Easter is a rehearsal we participate in each year, a preparation for the Great... Read more
Friends, I’m thrilled to be over at Peter Enns’ blog today talking about my book. Soon I’ll be making the rounds all over Blog Town guest posting and discussing my book. But this is my first interview. If you don’t know Peter Enns, he’s a fellow Patheos blogger, a biblical scholar, and an incredible thinker of theological things. I feel really honored that he wanted to host me over there, since most of the authors he interviews are theologians. (Fact:... Read more
Following the Bible’s teachings on the Sabbath can be exhausting. Seeking the freedom of scripture can lead to bondage. Drawing near to the teachings of scripture can lead us further from God. This is the paradox Jesus faced in the Gospels. It’s a tension that runs throughout the many stories where ordinary people, experts in the law, and religious/political leaders rejected the allegedly “heretical” teachings of Jesus in favor of their take on the Law. They had an... Read more
I’ve mentioned here several times that I’ve been teaching the Godly Play curriculum to third graders at my church. And, just to be honest here, I still don’t know how I feel about Godly Play. Somedays I love it and somedays I worry it’s too vague for the minds of little children. Somedays I wish our lessons would do less wondering and just come out and say some bold, true things about Jesus. But, even as I question its... Read more
Micha Boyett
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