We have a budding artist in our house. Don’t ask me what genetic mutation occurred for me and Mark to produce a child as artistically gifted as Hayden; he keeps surprising us with the stuff he produces. Although he has been pursuing his drawing habit for some time now, only recently has he been pushed out of his comfort zone (charcoal pencil and paper) into other forms of expression (collage, pastels, markers, paint!). As his high school applications require an... Read more
I should have known our lives were destined to intersect again. It was right on 9th Avenue, I think, one evening when I happened to be in New York City standing in line for a Broadway show. Up pulled a limousine and out jumped the Rev. Al Sharpton. I recognized him, of course (by his limousine) but I should have known it was a sign. It was a sign of . . . well, I’m not sure what, but I... Read more
Riding in the car yesterday my eldest (age 13) began an impassioned case for a family visit to his grandparents’ next spring. I’d like to go, too, I explained, but traveling to Hawaii is expensive and if we do it we should do it for more than a few days. There are no chunks of time we all have free in the Spring, I said. “What about Spring Break?,” he asked. Well, I explained, Spring Break always falls during Holy... Read more
I used to spend a lot of time gardening. You have to spend a lot of time, when you live in New Orleans, because if you don’t tame the yard well, the yard will try to tame you. Here in the Northeast, the change of season helps a little with the task of keeping things in line; just when the weeds seem to be overwhelming the first freeze slows everything down. But I love to garden, and I’ll never forget... Read more
New camera . . . cute kids. I had to share. Read more
It could be that we sang it Sunday. But, confession: holy as I am, I usually am not humming the tunes to Sunday’s hymns on Wednesday. Turns out, humming “For All the Saints” today was just because it was meant to be the soundtrack of the day. I first suspected this when I learned that a friend who has been a member of Calvary since the 1930s (!) had been rushed to the hospital. When I finally found her in... Read more
It was Paul who talked about this human life as “seeing through a glass darkly.” That metaphor has always been a powerful one for me, but lately I’ve been cursing the darkness a lot more than lighting a candle, if you know what I mean. It’s common at Calvary to deal with the homeless population–as it is for any downtown church–but lately we’ve been struggling with a situation in which the person in need has become part of our community.... Read more
Most free moments of this day have been spent eking out any last modicum of creativity left in the aftermath of the aforementioned Cree Indian craft projects. Yes, we’ve dug through closets, rummaged in the backyard shed, visited the attic and consulted the Internet. With ingenuity that would make the US Patent Office proud, we are now awaiting nightfall with two Samurai warriors and one pirate (with accompanying canine pirate). I don’t know how many more years we’ll be living... Read more
This is how I write a blog entry: I go about my generally hectic life, trying desperately to accomplish everything I have to accomplish . . . you know, get the kids to school, remember appointments at work, visit all the people I need to visit, return emails, show up for special events, plan worship, make dinner, help with homework, return emails . . . . While I am doing all of this, I sometimes am jarred from my steady... Read more
1994. New student at the seminary who seems rather shell-shocked. My introduction to the horrors of genocide in Rwanda. Into my life came Frederic . . . and Julianne . . . and Consolee and Felix. 11 years later, they are here in DC. Safe. Thanks be to God. Read more
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