Shockingly, we are coming nigh on the end of lent. Did you know? I was laboriously drawing out a tiny calendar for myself, as I am in the habit of doing, and sat back in a breathless panic, beholding that Easter is like only two weeks away. I’m sure everyone has had a super holy Lent, up to this point. I’m glad I didn’t try to give up swearing, what with all the election craziness swirling round. And I didn’t... Read more
We are in a Zero Tolerance moment with our puppy who came to believe, very wrongly, that the laundry room was the best possible loo. Given that the laundry’s official name is Sheol, you can imagine the practically biblical proportion of teeth gnashing and shrieking that a person, going down to cleanse all our garments from stain and sadness, would give way to. The poor little guy, convinced of the goodness of his ways, would wait and wait until we... Read more
I’ve been trying, slowly by slowly, to deal with the clutter that surrounds me. In the spirit of not having any plan, but just imbibing the cultural air that has made a moral good of having less stuff, I’ve been trying to arrive at a place of having a very slightly apparent less amount of stuff. Also, with a lot of us going and coming over each other, I cannot ever just not attend to the stuff in our lives... Read more
Gosh I love science. Or whatever this is. “Couples may be better off living in a “traditional” household where women do all the housework if they want to stay together, according to a report from the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Science.” What a mercy that someone is trying to figure out what causes men and women to stay together without divorcing. I’m not very science-y minded, having, as I do, so much housework to plough through. Fortunately Matt... Read more
I managed, in listening to the bible on the Internet, to fall asleep and remain that way for most of the minor prophets. I woke up somewhere in the middle of Matthew, startled by the terrifying words of Jesus, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” My task, later, shall be to back track and have another go at Obediah through Malachi, but until I have time... Read more
I neglected to gather links through the week, which is a good thing, because it meant I was doing real stuff, like work or something. Work or something included all the school and the glories of Ham in Coca Cola, Chicken and Dumblings, Roasted Sausages and Potatoes, and another trip to the walk in. So here is the link that will fulfill all your heart’s desire. Also, if you wanted to do Ham in Coca Cola, what you would do... Read more
I’m pretty sure lying there, last night, trying to breathe, watching that horrible debate was the wrong choice, like milk on a hot San Diego day, but one good thing finally happened. After months and months of deep gloom about Our Political Apocalypse, in the first few moments of shouting, some sad place broke open in my dark interior and I laughed with all the breath I had in me. Enough with the tragedy. Here are seven fabulous things about... Read more
Many moons ago I was given the chance to read a new book called Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage. I said a trepidatious yes. I am not, as someone else once said, a great reader. I am a slow reader, covered with distractions and forgetfulness. Moreover, I try, as much as I can, to avoid all things sad and troublesome in my reading. One reason I will probably never be able... Read more
Being obsessed as I am with politics, my children are tragically aware that we are in a practically eternal election cycle. They know the names of the people running, they know my irascible feelings about each of them, and they even have a sketchy understanding of the process. But up until last night, we had managed to leave it there, with only the merest luncheon candidate bashing. However, last night, in a fit of indecency, we actually turned on the... Read more
Yesterday I started writing a bit about the Danvers Statement, which I said can’t be too awful because it seemed to make all the right people mad, but I quibbled over whether such a statement should be made at all. Today I want to look at parts of the statement itself, and probably offend some more people, so here we go. The writers of the statement lay down ten reasons for believing that such a statement is necessary. These include... Read more
Preventing Grace
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