For those of you working on novels: in need of character names? Here are a few choice monikers. These are names of “senders” of spam, mined from the treasure trove that is my junkmail folder:
Marketable V. Prune
Andromeda B. Taunt
Karats J. Steamship
Insecticides B. Indulgently
Betrayer I. Commentaries
Yellow O. Marinade
Deviated A. Boozing
Drinks U. Anguish
Unicyle L. Steer
Fairyland V. Misspells
Flimsier […]

Friday Mom’s lovely meditation on parenthood and truth-telling got me spinning off into thinking about mommy guilt. There’s got to be safe space for good-enough mothers to vent and gripe without being judged or lambasted for whining. Judith Warner’s book Perfect Madness spoke to a lot of women, including me, about the insanity of this […]

We had a staff retreat today to plan the 2005-2006 church calendar. Went to a lovely retreat center that I’d love to visit again on my own, but they’re closing the place next month. Bummer. I felt a little twinge of grief, not for me, but for them, and I had a little emotional deja […]

…time for you to
Rise up! with a sudden sense of wonder
Rise up! as the joy comes to your eyes
Rise up! from the burden you’ve been under
Beloved, it is time for you to rise, time for you to rise!
-David Wilcox, “Rise,” Into the Mystery
I’ve been a little scarce here recently. Of course. When my life is […]

…posted a sermon, that is. Why not.
A Sermon for Maundy Thursday
John 13:1-15, 31b-35
Maundy Thursday is a difficult day to preach. It is often difficult to get the tone just right. On the one hand, Jesus’ last supper with the disciples is a joyful yet reverent Passover meal, a retelling of the story of God’s faithfulness […]

It just came to me; maybe it’s half-baked.
Lots of clergyfolk, seminary students, and all around insightful people read one another’s blogs. How about a scripture circle? One person suggests a biblical text of his/her own choosing (not necessarily from the lectionary; in fact it would be cool if it were off the beaten path). Anyone […]

I have a Palm Tungsten E. I love it dearly.
All pertinent birthdays are input into the calendar, and they are set to repeat every year in perpetuity.
I have a to-do item called “events”. When that item pops up on my to-do list, I scan the next month or so to figure out which birthdays/anniversaries are […]

Fill out an advance directive! Do it! Now!
Here’s a form you might use.

From Love during Wartime:
1. You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451; which book do you want to be?
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time (I sense a theme here)
3. The last book(s) you bought:
Are You My Mother?
Horton Hatches the Egg
There’s a Wocket in […]

how many times had she passed by
that tree
and not seen?
how long had that trinket
winked at her
under withering sun?
how crammed full
did the knot hole have to get
before she realized
those gifts were for her?
it was only when
she became much lighter,
a child, really—
it was only when
she shed something heavy,
flung it over her shoulder
and didn’t look back
(maybe once. okay, […]

when your eyes fall closed
and you sigh into sleep:
your face opens—
ivory pages
of invisible
wordless
poems;
your dimple
disappears into the darkened room,
giggles in a corner,
waits for the dawn; and
your skin ceases to be skin
and becomes something else,
translucent,
a sheer curtain over a lamp of light
by which I can see.

C is sick with a bad cold. Poor baby. Blessed be, she only gets sick like once a year, but when she does, step back. She spent the day sitting on the couch with various fluids dripping down her face, barking out these wet rattling coughs. We went through dozens of tissues, but only two […]

1. If you could build a second house anywhere, where would it be?
Texas Hill Country or north shore of Kauai
2. What are your favorite articles of clothing?
I love the LL Bean merino wool travel wardrobe I bought for Geneva several years ago. Easy care mix and match stuff that I still love and wear.
Another fave […]

The results from the Holter monitor are in… I have another test, but it’s fine so far.
boring, exhaustive detail for the family
I am having premature contractions of the heart very infrequently. The heart misfires and beats sooner than it should, and what one feels is the contraction immediately following the brief pause. The heart has […]

look at this, she said,
and she held up the baby gate
with missing feet
she found leaning against a garbage can
outside a neighbor’s house.
this will be perfect, she said,
for my grandkids:
gorgeous little toddler boys
who visit from time to time.
in fact, they were living with us for a while,
along with our son,
their father.
the thing is, she said,
our son […]

Matthew has an intermittent series of treatises on the virtues of the Big Three trilogy movies… Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and the Matrix. (I know I know, one of these things is not like the other…)
I want to add a category to the debate:
Best Use of Hair in a Trilogy.
The Matrix movies use […]

Took C to the playground the other day. We didn’t take the stroller, so she walked the entire way. Walking with a toddler was initially rather excruciating for my normal pace, which is somewhere between Normal Grown-up and A Tad Hurried. I spent the initial part of the walk in a bit of a […]

Hubby and I went with some clergy friends last night to see David Wilcox in concert. My face hurts from grinning the entire evening. He preached about 35 sermons in those two hours. Deep, good stuff. Filled with hope that’s not cheap and sentimental. If you don’t know him, get to know him!
He seems to […]

…than a Holter.
The good news is, I am finally taking my health into my own hands. I’ve been getting on the treadmill four or five days a week, to try to get in the kind of buff shape I was in while pregnant. (Ironic, isn’t it?)
The really good news is, I feel great about it. […]