Category Archives: Faith

Anniversary

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It’s my 12th wedding anniversary today (yes, I was a child bride) so I thought I’d list 12 things that I love about my husband Jon.

Jon and I 12 years ago

(And for those who are wondering, the height difference between us is 9 inches. Jon is 5’10” and I’m just a hair below 5’1″.)

01.) He is a totally involved daddy and goes on Daniel’s school field trips with him.

02.) He prays for me daily.

03.) He knows that cleaning the bathroom is the equivalent, in my love language, of getting me a dozen long-stemmed roses. (My house panther Edda eats flowers and my love language is “acts of service”.)

04.) He can (usually) make me laugh when I’m really having a hard time with life.

05.) He can set the Lutheran table grace to just about anything including “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors. (No, I am not kidding.)

06.) He gets Daniel ready for school on days when I haven’t slept well.

07.) He puts up with my neurotic OCD tendencies even when he is tempted to roll his eyes. (OK… he doesn’t roll them too often.)

08.) He is almost always up for an adventure. So far in our marriage, we have had: one pastoral internship, five major moves, three parishes, four cats, and one incredibly cute kid.

09.) He sings/prays with Daniel at bedtime.

10.) He gives me complete control over the remote control and is content to watch DVD’s and stuff on his laptop instead of the big screen TV.

11.) He actually makes an effort to go visit shut-ins and parishioners in the hospital. While it might inconvenience me a little bit, it means the world to them and I’m glad he understands this.

12.) He can talk about just about anything with anyone. I’ve seen him take people who are hostile to Christianity and completely disarm them. He is the reason why I can talk to anyone about faith matters.

Darling, I love you and I can’t wait to see what the next twelve years will be like!

7 Quick Takes: Music That Fits My Mood This Week

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7 Quick Takes

It’s been a really tough week thus far with the latest stress being the 8 hours I spent with Daniel in the pediatric ER at UCD Medical Center today. I was going to do a list of things not to say to a person suffering with severe depression but I decided on music instead.

— 1 —

“Worn” by Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics are so incredibly accurate.

— 2 —

“Hold Me Jesus” by Rich Mullins. This was actually the first song that came on when I turned my mix CD on this morning on the way up to Sacramento. Serious God moment there.

— 3 —

“The Warrior is a Child” by Twila Paris. It’s the song I want to direct people to when they tell me how amazing I am as a mom and how strong I am… because I’m not.

— 4 —

“Where He Leads Me” by Twila Paris. I’m being led through a valley that is getting a bit scary and I’m struggling to trust.

— 5 —

“If I Stand” by Rich Mullins. Because the strength with which I stand is not my own.

— 6 —

“Just Be Held” by Casting Crowns. A reminder that God has my back.

— 7 —

“This Is My Father’s World” by Fernando Ortega. A reminder that this is not all about me and that evil hasn’t won.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

Lenten Music Mondays: Blessed Jesus at Thy Word

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I’m more familiar from this hymn as a Lutheran. It would work well as a processional hymn.

The words are:

Blessed Jesus, at thy word
we are gathered all to hear thee;
let our hearts and souls be stirred
now to seek and love and fear thee,
by thy teachings, true and holy,
drawn from earth to love thee solely.

All our knowledge, sense, and sight
lie in deepest darkness shrouded
till thy Spirit breaks our night
with the beams of truth unclouded.
thou alone to God canst win us;
thou must work all good within us.

Glorious Lord, thyself impart,
Light of Light, from God proceeding;
open thou our ears and heart,
help us by thy Spirit’s pleading;
hear the cry thy church raises,
hear and bless our prayers and praises.

I was able to find a recording of it being sung in worship.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 17, 2014

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 17, 2014

Outside my window… dark. It’s 1:30 a.m. as usual when I’m writing this. You’d think I’d be asleep but I’m needing to get out of my head so I’m blogging.

I am thinking… about the mess that was my experience with worship today.

I am thankful… for the people that stepped in and helped.

In the kitchen… sushi from Trader Joe’s.

I am wearing… my Online Debate team shirt and capri sweats.

I am praying for… so very many things.

I am going… to ponder taking a break from the baby blanket I’m working on to do some quickie projects.

I am wondering… what God is calling me to.

I am reading… Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, S.J. and my Lenten reading is A Season for the Spirit by Fr. Martin Smith.

I am hoping… I get some sleep.

I am looking forward to… getting through my week.

I am hearing Nadia Bolz-Weber on iTunes. I may not agree with her but she is someone that should be listened to.

Around the house… the kitchen needs cleaning.

A favorite quote for today… “Have peace in yourself, and thousands will find salvation around you.” — St. Seraphim of Sarov

One of my favorite things… quiet. I never get it but I love it.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Daniel’s IEP today, ABA therapy every afternoon from Monday to Friday, Morning Prayer on Tuesday, coffee with one of Jon’s colleagues on Thursday, and parent team meeting for Daniel on Friday morning.

A peek into my day… I have a cat who refuses to participate in cat shaming.

Edda being 'cat shamed'.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

What I Wore on Sunday: Crazy Cat Lady Edition

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What I Wore on Sunday

This is how I’m dressed most Sunday mornings because church with Daniel is really difficult:

My normal Sunday attire.
Shirt: Old Navy
Pants: Target
Demonic Cat: All Creatures Animal Hospital (Granville, OH)

When I say that church with Daniel is really difficult, I’m not kidding. Like most 4.5 year olds, he can’t sit still. Unfortunately, I can’t placate him with picture books or crayons — his autistic stimming behavior is opening/closing doors and flicking light switches which, as you can imagine, does not go over well. I usually station us in the back where I can drag a chair to the middle of the doorway and catch the sanctuary doors as he opens/closes them. It’s not the least bit worshipful for me and while almost everyone says they are OK with it, there are people who give me the stink eye. So.. I usually do the lectionary readings and watch Mass on TV.

This morning, my precious sweetling was up at 6:45 (!!!!) and I couldn’t get back to sleep so there was no compelling reason for me not to try to take him. He had done fine the last time I did (January) so I thought it would be OK. Let’s just say that by the end of Jon’s sermon, one of the ushers had taken him for a walk so I could retreat to the bathroom and cry because IT WAS THAT BAD. I pushed through and made it to the end (props to the other usher for taking him for a walk during Communion so I could go up and receive without having to carry my squirrely boy); but after this morning’s debacle, I think I’m off the hook for attending worship until at least… Easter?

So… photographic proof that I do clean up well:

Me and my panther.
Shirt/tank top: Kohl’s
Pants: Kohl’s
Sandals: some discount shoe place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Beautiful House Panther: All Creatures Animal Hospital (Granville, OH)

As for the boy child (who was laughing uproariously as this picture was taken):

Resetting the boy child.
Shirt: Circo (Target)
Pants: Circo (Target)

Go see the other pretty ladies at Fine Linen and Purple.

Five Favorites: Miscellanea (XVII)

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Five Favorites

One

This Guinness commercial. My godmother and her husband have had border collies for about 20 years and said dogs are big on herding people. This totally made me laugh so I had to send it to them.

Two

Fr. James Martin, S.J. His new book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage came out yesterday and there have been some videos put out by his publisher with him talking about it. This is one of them:

Three

Playlist 4 Pontifex The mildly irreverent men at The Jesuit Post created a Spotify playlist in honor of the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ election. It’s 45 songs suggested by their Facebook and Twitter followers. You can find it here.

Four

Lent Madness Think of it as March Madness but between saints and other revered people in the Episcopal Church. The website is incredibly fun and it’s an interesting way to learn about new saints. The website for it is here.

Five

Yoplait Greek yogurt I’ve been living on it for the last few weeks because my stomach has been clenched from stress. I’m a fan of the vanilla-flavored nonfat yogurt.

Go love up Hallie and the others.

Where I Am From

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Shamelessly borrowed from priest’s wife and The Reluctant Widow. 🙂 The template for writing it is here.

I am from orange trees, from Tide detergent, and croissants bought at Our Daily Bread.

I am from small creeks, rolling foothills with mercury mines, and suburbia.

I am from the hyacinth flowers, the mulberry tree, snapdragons, the succulents.

I am from drives up I-5 and reciting poetry while sitting out on the water, from Lloyd and Jerry and James.

I am from roadside geology lessons and the welcoming of new people.

From “into every life a little rain must fall” and “use your imagination”.

I am from agnostic and lapsed Episcopalian. From deism to finding where I fit in the Christian spectrum with aspects of Anglicanism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, and Evangelicalism.

I’m from California, from County Mayo and New Zealand, From Wales and Germany. From Hungarian goulash, homemade pickles, and Guinness stew.

From the Grandfather who put himself through college only to miss graduating because WWII started, the German speakers, and the computer geeks.

I am from gardens that supply vegetables for the year, weeks in the wilds of British Columbia, and summers spent running around the Sierras while learning how to lead. I am from Boy Scout ski trips, TEQUE competitions, and journeys into the redwoods to find peace. From fragrant stalks of basil being made into pesto, bumper crops of tomatoes, and oranges right off the tree.

I am from a distant country and am on my way home.