We watched The Prince of Egypt recently in our usual lackadaisical weekly watching of A Family Movie. It’s either Big Trouble in Little China (whoops) or Gnomeo and Juliet (srsly) or well, other hits and misses. So I thought The Prince of Egypt was going to be about Joseph not Moses and I didn’t know it was a musical….but I tried not to feed into the general whining about all the singing. Alouicious finally stopped complaining when he realized the... Read more
Shocked by the horrific cold brought about by dressing up in a huge puffy pink snow suit, boots, hat, mittens and scarf and standing in the true nightmare that is a foot of snow for three and a half minutes, Big Fatty Lumpkin is this moment siting on my lap piercing the otherwise relative quiet with shrieks and trying to shove both her plump fists in her mouth to warm them up. I agree with her. Going out there is... Read more
I wrote this for the church this week and thought it pass it on to all of you. My psalm reading this morning just happened to be Psalm 32 which begins, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” This strikes me as a perfect entrance into a Lenten season of repentance and self examination. The gift of... Read more
My very long time friend and her sister happened to write and illustrate a lovely book recently called Olive’s Balloon Adventure. Marigold received this book from St. Nicholas before Christmas and I would say that she and Gladys and I would highly recommend it for any little person who intends to do everything herself without help or interference from any living person of any kind. I meant to say this very thing here before Christmas on the off chance that... Read more
I’ve been mulling over the Christian concept of Work over the past many weeks, not least because we do so much of it around here, but more really because of our Sunday School program, Catechesis of the Good Sheperd. My own children have all come through Catechesis, Elphine, as in everything, paving the way. Way back then, I didn’t have any expectations and didn’t have time for anything either and was just really grateful for her to meet Jesus, the... Read more
The wind is howling in a bitter, raging way and I am huddled next to the plug in heater in the office at church while the children run crazed and argumentative laps up and down the parish hall. Maybe they are having an actual game but I was promised they were doing ‘laps’ ‘for exercise’. I’ve also been assured by everyone that every scrap of school work is done. And Matt is home cleaning the basement for exercise, not ‘exercise’... Read more
As usual for a Monday morning there are kids crashing around and screaming. We aren’t shoving ourselves into the car to go scavenging for food one, because its sort of snowy and two, because an electrician is coming in a few minutes to see why all the kitchen lights keep shorting out or whatever it’s called. And, three, if we were going to leave the house, I would have to get out of bed. For the last few weeks or... Read more
Looking at the weather forecast, I’m appalled to see that it’s going to be really really tragically cold this week. We’ve been spoiled the last few years in the matter if cold, as in, it’s been reasonable temperatures and we haven’t wanted to commit any desperate act on account of the unspeakable Weather. Whereas now. Well, I’m not going outside. That’s all I can say. Marigold came in just now with her hat and boots and pjs on and told... Read more
We’re all watching football, most of us dubiously, or at least with a deep abiding sense of duty, but, I, at least, am basking in the glorious glow of finally having written on the last page of my journal. I’ve been writing in this journal for the last four years–began just a few days before we lost the lawsuit and had to move out of the old building and house–and have been sorely tempted, over the few weeks, to cheat... Read more
oneWoke up in this last hour worried about my parent’s cat who was horribly injured this week by a big dog. At last report he had a fifty fifty chance of making it. He’s a good Christian cat named after and blessed on the feast day of St Frances and so I hope you’ll all pray for him.twoOur first week back at serious school did, in fact, occur which is a glorious triumph when considered in the whole scope of... Read more
Preventing Grace
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