My mother recently sent me a box filled with photographs from my childhood. Amid the out of focus shots, scary 80’s hair, and pictures with livestock were the pictures from my First Communion. It’s funny how clearly I can remember that day in perfect detail – from my First Confession in the spare bedroom filled with boxes to the Mass said at our coffee table. My father was in the Navy, and we moved two weeks before my 1st grade... Read more
This morning I had an important Skype interview – actually more of a pre-interview interview for something I’ve been working on. (I can’t tell you…yet…) I had bribed all of the children to stay upstairs for the 10 minutes it would take, and they were amazingly quiet. Their jobs were simple – not be heard and make sure that the youngest, who’s potty training, didn’t pee on the floor. We were wrapping things up when she climbed on my... Read more
Our new church building is beautiful. It’s also huge, easily seating 1,000+ for every Mass, and the wealth of the community is apparent everywhere you look. Custom artwork adorns the walls, and beautiful doors welcome you into the space. Unless you happen to be handicapped, and then you might get the feeling that you’re not welcome there at all. Those beautiful hand-scraped doors impress visitors with their obviously-expensive weight. They set the tone for the worship space that lies beyond.... Read more
She raced across the basketball gym’s floor, easily outpacing all but one of her teammates this morning. As she reached the other end and spun around, I saw it. She’s grown. At some point in the past few weeks, she shot up, and I don’t know how much. A single tear ran down my cheek as I turned to the mom next to me and croaked , “Oh my god…She’s grown. She’s had a growth spurt and I don’t know... Read more
My gorgeous friend Calah from Barefoot and Pregnant asked for an easy suggestion for dessert, and I happen to have one. Here’s my great-grandmother’s recipe (or receipt as it says on the hand written note) for Deep-Dish Pie (what most of us would call cobbler.) Crazy easy and super good. Make it with whatever flavor fruit strikes your fancy. Deep Dish Pie 2 cans pie filling any flavor 3/4 stick butter (she wrote oleo, which is margarine, butter is better)... Read more
I’ve really been struggling to find my people since we moved to Texas three years ago. Back in Oklahoma, I had a social niche that I was very comfortable in. When we moved here, I was excited for the opportunity to re-invent myself and find new kinds of people. Then that didn’t happen. Without the familiar framework of family and friends, I spent the first year feeling really lost. It turns out that I had no idea who I wanted... Read more
Imagine, if you will, a heartfelt post about how much I’m missing pregnancy and new babies. A post I’ve labored over all day – full of thoughtful prose and poetic language…a post that brings a tear to the eye at the passage of time, and that this season of my life is closing and I’m sad to see it end. Can you see it? The perfection of the words I looked up in the thesaurus and chose carefully for the... Read more
Once upon a long, long time ago, I sat in religion class at my Catholic high school, looked the good sister square in face, raised my chin, and declared myself an agnostic. I’ll never forget what happened next – there was the collective intake of breath from my classmates as they swiveled around to see what sister would say to me now that I was going to Hell. Sr Philomena cocked her head to the side as a Cheshire cat... Read more
When she was still with us, my sweet and saintly grandmother taught us that the proper way to offer up frustration and suffering to God was with joy in your heart and a smile on your lips. When I add to her wisdom that everything I’ve ever learned about or experienced with God is that He is love, joy, and peace; and that fear and anger are never from Him. Which has me wondering, as I look at the hysteria... Read more
On my way home tonight, I drove past a field filled with goats and few sheep. I don’t know how familiar you are with them, but sheep aren’t all that bright. In fact, they’re pretty stupid and they can smell pretty bad especially if you get them wet. They’re also pretty docile, and tend to go along faithfully to wherever the shepherd leads them. Goats, on the other hand, are clever but destructive. They will chew up and... Read more
Shoved to Them
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In