Last night was a meeting of National Cranky-pants Presbytery. Pretty uneventful, except we heard from our commissioners to General Assembly, and I asked a question/comment for the first time in almost three years of being a member of this presbytery. I’m pretty sick of talking about the big issues, so I asked how the commissioners […]

This Is My Last Entry:
Why I shut down my blog.
By Sarah Hepola
Posted on Slate, Wednesday, April 19, 2006
One morning last month, I woke early, finished a book I’d been reading, and shut down my blog. I had kept the blog for nearly five years, using it as a repository for personal anecdotes, travelogues, and the […]

Dearest divine miss m,
You are six months old tomorrow. We will be at presbytery for this auspicious occasion, so I thought I’d write you a quick note today.
A snapshot:
Here are some things you do:
–roll over back to front and almost front to back
–sit unassisted for several minutes or more
–expel poop at an astonishing velocity
–rock on […]

Toofie #2 is here.
Put that in the “just when you think you can’t take anymore” category.
I’m not sure we’re totally out of the woods in terms of pain this go-round–she woke up 10 minutes after I put her down tonight–but it’s encouraging.
Remarkable–this morning when I posted that bleary-eyed message, one tiny corner of the tooth […]

Wow, you’re up early for a Saturday, RM!
Yes I am, Contrived Writing Device. I’ve been up since 4:45, in fact. That’s after being up from about midnight to 1 a.m. A new low in the reverendhousehold these days.
Wow! What’s the little angel up to now?
Let’s see, shrieking, whining, flailing, squirming and pursing lips to avoid […]

Summer is here with a vengeance. We took the family out to Baskin-Robbins to celebrate. I have a special affection for B-R because it was my first job during high school. We received two free kid scoops at the end of each shift. People told me I’d get sick of ice cream working there. Puh-leeze. […]

Hello,
Regular readers of this space will notice that I’ve spent more time than usual discussing the machinations of the denomination I serve. Sorry for all the inside baseball. For the sake of variety, and because I have a genuine question I’d like to ask of you, I write this letter.
A USA Today/Gallup poll in January […]

There’s an old episode of the West Wing in which the issue of a flag-burning comes up. A pollster shows Bartlett’s people the numbers, which show that support of a constitutional amendment banning flag-burning would be a big win politically for him. Ideologically they are opposed to it–and as the president says, “People spend […]

This will probably only be of interest to other Presbyterians–and maybe not even many of them!
While in seminary I wrote this paper (major portions removed here) about three major splits/splinters in the Presbyterian Church. In particular the fundamentalist/modernist controversy of the 1920s has striking parallels to today’s situation with the task force report, which passed […]

I’ve had a ball today, watching portions of the General Assembly via QuickTime. I happened to tune in just in time to see Catherine Gonzales, a former professor of mine, receive an award from the Committee on Theological Education. Friends, in the pantheon of greats in the church, Catherine is a goddess.
Yes, I’m a big […]

• After a tough, tough morning of teething that began at 4:45 this morning (thanks R for taking on that duty so I could sleep in, ahh…), miss m got to sleep for a much-needed mid-morning nap. About 30 minutes into it, a helicopter from Nearby Military Base buzzed over our house. Actually it sounded […]

A sermon based on II Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and […]

somewhere between skim milk and applesauce
i remember:
i buy the cards.
i turn stuttering wheels on a cart filled
with groceries and girls
that wilt as they wait for me
to choose.
i hurry, because after four errands,
the clock is ticking on our patience,
the pin pulled from the grenade
and discarded somewhere between the gas pump
and the recycling bin.
i scan the rack, […]

I wrote this one… about sleep!
1. In what kind of environment do you sleep best? Cool room with a fluffy down comforter, dark, no white noise needed. Ideally I like a heavier blanket on top of my lower legs/feet. No extra pillows required unless I’m great with child.
2. How much sleep do you need to […]

It’s 9:30 p.m. and I will be asleep soon. Yes.
The divine miss m plays with her hair while falling asleep–twirling it, running her hands through it. Aww.
She is cutting the second tooth so she’ll have a matched set. Her cries activate my flight reflex. I can’t do anything for her beyond what I’m doing, and […]

Things I might like to do
if/when I have the time
and/or money
and/or kids that are older and less dependent on me:
–go on pilgrimage to Iona next summer with members of the church, rather than just being the staff person doing the legwork at this point
–Spanish-language immersion in Guatemala for 2-3 weeks
–MFA in writing at Seattle Pacific […]

The divine miss m is now baptized and be-toofed!

Dear girls,
The divine miss m was baptized today. It was a joyful occasion.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between C’s and M’s baptisms. C, yours took place in the midst of a year full of milestones—my father’s death, my graduation, ordination, and moving to Suburban Pres. to be their associate pastor. Your baptism […]

To little she-who-is, and the divine miss m,
The divine miss m is going to be baptized on Sunday, and I wanted to write to you two and talk about that, in the hopes that you will read this someday in the future. This is a long letter, and it’s only the first part, but baptism […]

1. Favorite way to spend a rainy day
Hmm, if I’m not at home, then lunch at a restaurant/pub with dark wood and booths, then a movie, then a snack and a book in a coffee shop. I’ve never done exactly this but it sounds good.
2. Favorite song about rain
Carrie Newcomer’s “Another Thunder”–
“Thunder rolling like a […]