Good Shepherd’s Tuesday Bible Study, which is my favorite hour of the week, has been going through Romans for the last many months. I like to arrange myself in the back row with a thermos of tea and a packet of chocolate and paint my nails bright colors while Matt teases out the text. It’s one of the only moments I can sit, without some jostling interruption, and smooth over the horrible cracks and brokenness of my nails. Sitting down... Read more
Podcast this week is a scintillating discussion of how to get your wife to stop talking and stop crying, and then a little chat about my awesome forthcoming book. Next up, a beautiful article about Louisiana. And then a nice review about Florence Foster Jenkins. And then something funny about homeschooling. And then, because I have to run out the door, some funny funny funny stuff: here and then here. No food today, going to be cooking up a storm.... Read more
One It’s so interesting to feel the weather. Nobody, it appears, slept last night because of the humidity. It’s not that hot, it just has to rain. The air is full of rain that won’t fall. It’s so interesting to walk around in the house and just feel the actual temperature sticking to your actual skin. It’s a sensation I remember having a long time ago, way back in Africa, where there isn’t any choice but to experience the weather, however... Read more
Got to see Florence Foster Jenkins!! Sorry about the exclamation points. I am rarely overcome by the remotest desire to see any movie. But this year I have seen not only Star Wars (which was fine since it’s the same movie over and over again, this time with even the same people), Love and Friendship (which is so good I’m going to buy it when that’s possible), and now Lady Florence. Maybe the apocalypse is nearly upon us. You’ll be... Read more
Not being Roman Catholic, I have no business weighing in on the horrifying (to me) news that Simcha Fisher was this week fired from her job at the National Catholic Register. But hey, this is the Internet, so I will anyway. First, I don’t have anything to say about the firing of Mark Shea because I have never read him and don’t know what the issues are. Second, oh my word! Simcha has been my main stay since the first... Read more
I have a bad feeling that Matt is going to appear in a few minutes and want me to walk with him, even though the temperature has fallen below eighty degrees to something that I’m sure resembles fifty or sixty. It is all one to me–anything below eighty is intolerable. And yet I go on tolerating it anyway. There must be a lesson in there somewhere. So, first order of business–Oh my word! Thank you for all the lovely messages... Read more
Well, yes. It is my birthday, and I am now officially 40. So yay me. Here is me turning 39, and you might as well read it because it’s all the cheer you’re ever going to get out of me on a birthday. I prefer disappointment. It suits me. Still, as I reminded myself yesterday, having a birthday is better than not having one. In our headlong rush to reject all signs of age and maturity, what is the alternative?... Read more
Saturday is the day we desperately get ready for Sunday. When I consider the weekend, I always internally groan when I look at Saturday because it comes with a big long list of things I’d rather not do–like clean and write email. Whatever work you did during the week, thinking you might be ahead of the game, is always shown to be fading and inconsequential by Saturday morning. It all has to be done over again. Since we’ve moved to... Read more
This week’s Podcast is all about parenting, men’s strength, and how to get your husband to do stuff around the house. We had a good time, and I’m pretty sure there’s an offense for everyone and every group buried in there somewhere. Here’s David French’s follow up to his Weak Men post. Here’s something cool for the start of school. Here is something both awesome and funny. Here is something terrifying. Here is a really great food post. Have a... Read more
I’ve just spent the last half hour looking for Friday blogging memes. That’s how desperate I have become. 7 Quick Takes–my usual Friday pleasure–is a mile too far. Seven Whole Takes? Can we narrow it down to three, or one? Has anyone noticed? The sudden and catastrophic descent into writer’s block? The repetition and return to the same old tired themes one more time? The inability to tie any thought up neatly in a clever and satisfying way in the... Read more
Preventing Grace
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