I didn’t see snow until I was almost 19 years old, which is absolutely the reason I’m so enchanted by it. (Well, that and the fact that it never lasts longer than an afternoon or two before we’re back into the 70s. ) When you grow up in deep South Texas, Southern California, Florida, and the Philippines snow doesn’t really figure into your childhood. It’s a little bit of a mythical thing, like the Easter Bunny. We used to cut... Read more
I heard the world’s loudest crash last night as I was stepping out of the shower – there was only one thing it could be – my platter. I’d had this huge serving platter for almost twelve years now. It was a gift from my mother-in-law, one of those rare gifts when someone gets it exactly right. I’d first seen it in one of her decorating magazines, and sighed over its bright colors and mentioned wistfully that I’d design my... Read more
Back in high school, one of my closest friends was Muslim. I fasted with her through Ramadan, and she fasted with me through Lent. While the years, and raising children on different continents, have caused us to drift apart, we still talk several times a year and I chat with her parents on Facebook whenever they see me on. Last week, I was messaging with her father, and I asked about the turmoil with ISIS. He’s from northern Iraq and... Read more
The great faith of this brother of two of the Coptic 21 astounded me as he spoke of his great joy in their being martyrs. Then he talked of his mother (min 3:18) and I was humbled. Of course such a woman would be the mother of saints. How could she be anything else? If she met her sons’ killer she would embrace him, because it is by his hands that her son is in Heaven. She doesn’t react with... Read more
I can’t believe this day is here! I’ve been sitting on this news for months (which is a little uncomfortable – just FYI,) but AT LAST I get to tell you… Sister Patricia is now at Patheos!!!!!!!!! That’s right, everyone’s favorite post-modern pre-traditional omni-spiritual Domenican sister has finally convinced her blogging cohort, LarryD, to bow to the inevitable pressure and join the Blorg. For those of you who’ve never wandered along the labyrinth with Sr Pat, you’re in for a... Read more
Am I the only person out there wondering why they kneel? I’ve seen the still shots from the ISIS beheadings of westerners and Christians, and the first thing I always ask is why they’re so calm. Why don’t they fight? What has happened to them before that moment that they meekly kneel in front of a man they know intends to steal their life? It’s a mental place that I struggle to imagine. In the easy bravery of my imagination,... Read more
I first heard of Kelly Mantoan last summer at Edel in Austin. I don’t know what rock I’d been living under, but when she stood on the stage and started rapping, I was in complete awe. Where had she been all my life? When I got home that Sunday night, the first thing I did was look up her blog – there she was in all her hilarious glory with two kids in wheelchairs. In the months since then, we’ve... Read more
I was up very early this morning to hit the grocery store before my family was up and about, and already there were men there looking bewildered by the puny last minute options of wilted flowers and picked over chocolates. I could see from their rising panic that they just wanted to not get in trouble for procrastinating/forgetting Valentine’s Day. As the guy in front of me in the check out line debated with himself (out loud) between a stuffed... Read more
The news broke last week that the monsters of ISIS had burned a Jordanian pilot to death, and the King of Jordan responded with airstrikes and a public vow to wipe ISIS from the face of the Earth. Upon hearing this promise, social media exploded with gushing admiration for the badassery of the Jordanian king. “At last there’s some real leadership on this,” people seemed to be saying as they celebrated the fact that someone was standing up to the... Read more
Valentine’s Day is next weekend, and all over Pinterest the moms are looking for cute new ways to celebrate with their kids and out-craft the other moms. While they’re fawning over origami hearts and do-it-yourself glitter chalk, why not go a more traditional route? Glitter gets everywhere and chocolate is gross (I can’t be the only one who thinks so, right?), but ancient bloody martyrs never go out of style. Instead of pasting doilies and shaking on glitter, why not:... Read more
Shoved to Them
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