Gratitude
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Renew Your Awe – Part 1
Last summer I spent some time with a friend who was going through a time of despondency. She just couldn’t seem to pull herself out of her sadness, although there wasn’t any one thing in particular making her sad. But she also admitted her focus had been on herself, and she hadn’t spent much time in prayer or in the Word. After our conversation, I thought about how easy it is to spiral when we’ve wandered a bit from God. As I do so often when I’m processing something, I started writing down my thoughts. And when I looked at the many pages I ended up with, I realized it…
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On Whiplash, Macaroons and The Sacred Romance
How’s that for a post title? Sometimes, when you’re about to embark on an explanation of a lot of disconnected information, you have to state the obvious. So there you go. Last Thursday, while minding my own business, I was involved in a car accident up on Hwy 9. (For those of you who don’t live in the Puget Sound area, let me just say that Hwy 9 is a two-lane, 50 mph speedway that regularly hosts accidents–many of them fatal). It was a gray, rainy afternoon (my favorite) and I was stopped at an intersection waiting to turn left. A Bronco behind me was doing the same. Behind him,…
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Home
I’m wishing my chicks were still this little. A post from 2005. Just on the other side of my window, beyond the sage curtains I hung recently, past the doubled reflection of gold and green and red and blue lights on our 10-foot tree, I see the black and bony outlines of the leafless maples in our backyard, splayed against a weakening, slate blue sky. Inside, we’re warm. Dave is stuffing the stove with tinder dry logs. The heat from two crock pots (one with a roast for tonight; the other containing a slowly disintegrating roast, chunks of which will fill soft hoagies at tomorrow’s Christmas potluck) keeps the kitchen…
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Lovely Monday
After the hubbub of Sunday, filled with a lot of talking and laughing, hugging and praying, a lot of gearing up and catching up and meeting and greeting, we spend Monday mornings in the quietest ways we can find. Today, we’re keeping an eye on the wood stove. Dave watches from the couch where, at 10:18, he sits still clad in his black and gray plaid robe. I’m in the low-to-the-ground legless rocker scooched right up next to the fire. My robe is green, and I intend to stay in it as long as possible. Fernando Ortega sings in the background, a soothing accompaniment to our laziness. We hum along…
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Flashes
I rushed home from church at 11:00 this morning to get busy on a double-batch of dinner rolls and a crock-pot sized mound of mashed potatoes (the gravy was made last night). Some friends thought it would be nice to have Thanksgiving early this year, and added “How about if we do it before the Seahawks game?” Turkey? Stuffing? Seahawks? You don’t have to ask me twice. While waiting for the rolls to rise, I thought I should use that time to tackle my out-of-control pantry. It was either that, or cut onions for dehydrating. They’ve been sitting on the counter for a week waiting for me to deal with…
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Loved
A post from five years ago, which came to mind last night when I was met at the door of our church by three-year old Eli, a world-class hugger. Oh, how I adore my short friends! 🙂 The Josh in this post was gone for about three years, but he’s back now with his father, brother and sister. I’m so happy to have them back, but having a hard time with how much they’ve grown, and how much I’ve missed. It’s Wednesday night again, and once again, I’m taken with the sight of wiggly, front-row floor inhabiting boys. This time, it’s Corbin and Josh. They shimmy to Peter’s rhythm. They…
