This morning is one of those mad winter days when the wind blows everything across the sky. The clouds are dark, bringing snow or worse, but every so often they are scattered and the sun breaks through, changing everything. It’s a good day to read about the transfiguration.
… it’s also being able the celebrate their goodness, not just for the pleasure of eating them, but for the pleasure of having crafted them. There’s a messiness and a joy to this hands-on kind of living.
Monday morning and things started well. The Spouse was out of bed early, and there were kitchen noises happening. I sneaked into bed with the […]
You have to wonder what life was like at home. The party is is full swing and social disaster looms. The wine has run out. The family will be dreadfully embarrassed and everyone is sure to remember this as the stingiest feast all year. Mary sees what’s happening and calls for Jesus. She points out the problem, putting it in his hands, as if he could solve everything. How did Mary know?
New year, new start, and news to share. We’re pregnant. Baby #3 is due in July – an astonishingly wonderful bit of announcement and of course I’m grinning as I type this.
This Christmas, the Spouse and I very nearly swapped copies of the same book. Robert MacFarlane has recently published the third book in what he calls a “loose trilogy about landscape and the human heart,” and it seemed like a logical and lovely addition to our library.
Christmas Eve.
There are, of course, still presents to be wrapped. And lists to be checked. Likely cupboards to be checked, too, because I do follow in my mother’s footsteps and file things away in odd places to be forgotten and then remembered never quite too late.
There’s a scene near the end when Juno finally tells Bleeker that she loves him – she says that every time she sees him, her baby starts to kick a lot. She thinks that it’s because her own heart starts to thump.
Which made me think about Elizabeth.
If Advent is a time to review our expectations, then John is the perfect spokesman. He’s loud, direct, and very specific. John’s good news is news of good. He is describing and prescribing a Good way to live.
The Spouse thought I dodged the women bishops question last week, so I wondered aloud on facebook if I should write a mid-week rant. Many said yes, and many contributed their thoughtful two-bits, and I scribbled away, sorting through the mad, the sad, the confusion of church politics and biblical interpretation. I got a lot of words down. But then I didn’t feel like it anymore.
Advent begins on Sunday. The counting up and counting down. It’s a strange season to be a Christian. It’s a time of waiting. In our […]
It’s one of those blustery November mornings around here. The garden gate is crashing open and clamming shut. The sky is empty of birds, but full of leaves, and the trees are madly shaking their branches as if trying to get everything to stop and sit still for just one moment.
I know just how they feel.
The story of Hannah holds Christmas at bay a little. And it also honours our almost-there already impatience about the whole thing.
It was Blue’s birthday on Saturday so he came into our room early. Groggy parents greeted him appropriately, but at first, he flatly denied that it was his birthday. Of course, it probably didn’t seem like it yet. Mum and Dad were still in bed, and the house was definitely lacking in friends and balloons.
Wednesday isn’t just Halloween. It’s Reformation Day, too. 495 years since Luther took his hammer to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. I had a minister in Ottawa who thumbtacked the theses to our church door to celebrate. Quirky but good, I thought. So maybe this might be considered my own form of thumbtacking. Trick or treat…
Thinking about stories this morning. There are library books due back and piles of books needing a shelf and tea in my cup so I took a moment to read before sorting. No news there perhaps.
“When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and the face of the earth is renewed.” Psalm 104 v. 30
This morning was one of the gorgeous October days when the air is crisp and good, and the sky is bright. The kids are on holiday from school this week, and today was a day for outside.
Today, I’m thankful for… Bright light. Isn’t October beautiful? The air is crisp and good, and the sky can be so bright. This is a snapshot of the sky over my church last week. When the sky lights up like this, it is easy to get your eyes off your feet and feel thankful.
Our Genesis-charge is to look after the world. Our own place is that of carer. That feels right. We aren’t just wandering around a gallery. We are tending and caring. Maybe that’s why the Psalm opens with the image of singing children. It focusses our minds on care. And maybe also makes us remember that it care isn’t all about shaping and teaching, but also about listening and celebrating.
I’ve been trying to write about Mark 9 and the stumbling blocks we put before those of little faith. But I keep seeing rubber boots flying and my hands stuffed full of a mad collection of twigs for pooh sticks.