Star Wars Day and the Global Pandemic

Last night, as the rain began to pour, I made a giant pan of oven nachos and we settled in on the couch to watch the balance of Mandalorian episodes as a family. (Side note: In a global pandemic, this is how we roll. Sometimes we sit at our kitchen table in full on dining …

The Vestments of Home

When I was preparing for ordination, my mentor took me shopping for a very special gift – a clerical robe. The one we found is angelic; white with lace trim and it fits me to a T (unless I’m pregnant). She didn’t have to buy me such a gift, but she did. And my clerical …

Good Shepherd

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I loved the movie Good Will Hunting – the dark storyline, the wry wit; plus, the actors were some of my favorites. There’s this great scene where the court appointed therapist (Robin Williams) asks the delinquent Will Hunting (Matt Damon) what he really wants to …

Prayer is a Firewall

Last week I heard a song by Foreigner on the radio. I heard it and I was transported to a time in my life a number of years ago when I spent just about every morning in study and prayer. I would read my One Year Bible and doodle corresponding pictures and pray in circles. …

The Doubting Thomas of Horse O’Clock Lounge

We turned our basement into a bar in 2015 and named it "the Horse O'Clock" Last week I had an unusual Easter. It was my first in fourteen years that I wasn’t serving a church. It’s not to say I haven’t had other abnormal Easters. In 2016 I was getting ready to give birth to …

Self Care & Kenosis

Self care has become a buzzword in recent years and seems to have emerged hand in hand with a culture that has amped up expectations for working professionals, not to mention the “necessities” required to furnish a corresponding home and lifestyle. We’re stressed in North America because we work too much and the very corporate, …

3/11

Me and my son, Joe, on his 6th birthday last year...just before everything shut down. I didn’t know if I’d ever become a mother. It’s strange to write it now; “mother” is so much at the core of my identity. But I think that’s what I feared – and sometimes we fear the things we …

Teach us to care…and not to care

Yesterday I woke up with residual feelings of stupidity for the mistakes I seem to make over and over again. For instance, following possible outcomes to their conclusions and living in a space that is not this current iteration of reality. It’s what makes me a good writer and creative person…but not always the most …

Running to Mass

About a decade ago, when John was finishing up his Ph.D. and we lived in Lawrence, Kansas, I was in a similar season to the one I’m in now. I had left a job before accepting a new one and had some time to spend how I wished. Finances were tight, but we managed, and …

The Work of the Ravens

I’ve always loved the story in 1 Kings where the widow goes to her pantry and finds that her stores of flour and oil never run out. I’ve probably read it dozens of times, but recently, I decided to read it a bit more closely. I read it last week because I wanted to return …