FEBRUARY/TWENTY THIRTEEN.....
Just as Lisa Jo Baker writes about how she records the seemingly small things, I too write down (and often take pictures of) the non events in these monthly emails.
She eloquently explains why: "Else I will forget them. Else I will only remember the blur. ….I write down the rut and the routine and peel back the corners of wonder. This every day worship. This holy wash, rinse and repeat. This so much sameness that no one would think to look twice. We write it so we can look back and fall in love with it all over again.
Slowly. Deliberately. Extraordinarily." http://lisajobaker.com/2012/12/how-fall-love-routine/
Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is your true self. Every other identity is an illusion. –Brennan Manning
Celebrating Bette's 70th Birthday- February 1, 2013
"Our own family life is not exceptional by anyone's standards. Over the years, there have been more rushed breakfasts than I can count, more harsh words at the dinner table than I care to remember. But there have been many more moments in the midst of my ordinary, everyday life with my husband and with my children that have really been exceptional. Moments in which we were bathed with grace, moments when we were astonished by the simple joy of our togetherness, by our delight in each other's remarkable, irreplaceable presence on this earth, under this roof, in this family. So we do hold hands each day, and we give thanks.
-Katrina Kenison Mitten Strings for God pg 135
"It had always seemed to Emily, ever since she could remember, that she was very, very near to a world of wonderful beauty. Between it and herself hung only a thin curtain; she could never draw the curtain aside- but sometimes, just for a moment, a wind fluttered it and then it was as if she caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond—only a glimpse—and heard a note of unearthly music…And always when the flash came to her, Emily felt that life was a wonderful, mysterious thing of persistent beauty." L.M. Montgomery Emily of New Moon
While we cannot force an encounter with mystery, we can be open to receiving one. We can learn to pay attention, especially in the midst of those daily tasks we do so often that they become rote and mindless. Kathleen Norris, in her book The Quotidian Mysteries suggests: "It is in the routine and the everyday that we find the possibilities for the greatest transformation… Times we think we are only "getting through" have the power to change us… What we dread as mindless activity can free us, mind and heart, for the workings of the Holy Spirit."
It is in that quotidian that mystery most unfolds… We live the bulk of our lives in the daily, doing the same tasks again and again—preparing food, showering, dressing, checking voicemail or email, doing dishes or laundry, commuting to work- and it can come to feel like a grind, pointless and redundant. But it is precisely because these tasks are daily that they have such transformative potential. Such work has an intense relation with the present moment, a kind of faith in the present that fosters hope and makes life seem possible in the day to day. And it is only in the present moment that the veil can part. It is in the daily, ordinary moments of our lives where we have the most opportunity to notice mystery, to encounter it and to be encountered by it.
-Kimberly Conway Ireton The Circle of Seasons
'Tis the season of Lent... I have compiled a book of quotes for Lent if you are interested and you can find it here:
Fr. Alexander Schmemman calls Lent the "bright sadness," an expression that attests to the tenor and labor of the season. "As we begin it," he writes, "as we make the first step into the 'bright sadness' of Lent, we see — far, far away — the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom. And it is this vision, the foretaste of Easter, that makes Lent's sadness bright and our lenten effort a 'spiritual spring.'" http://blog.eighthdaybooks.com/?p=433
The night may be dark and long, but all along the way a mysterious and radiant dawn seems to shine on the horizon. "Do not deprive us of our expectation, O Lover of man!"
-Fr. Alexander Schmemann
What is love? Is it a feeling in your heart? The Bible says Love is much more: it is patient and kind, never bears a grudge, doesn't demand its own way, always wants the best for someone else, never puts itself first, never gets jealous, isn't proud, doesn't boast, isn't rude, always hopes, never stops. Oh dear, that's quite a list. Who can love like that? Only one. He left his father and his throne and came to live with us. And showed us what love was really like. Because, you see, Love isn't mostly a list. It's a Person.
-Sally Lloyd Jones Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing
Valentine's Day 2013...
.....sparkling sunshine in Seattle! JOY!!!!!
a sweet visit to Forest Grove, Oregon to visit the Haileys over President's Day weekend
Anna and Taylor helping me log some miles at Seward Park as I train for the Boston marathon coming up in April...
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Romans 12:1 The Message
If through one man's life there is a little more love and kindness, a little more light and truth in the world, then he will not have lived in vain. –Alfred Delp (20th century Jesuit)
unwrapping the extraordinarily sacred ordinary…..giving thanks for crocuses and the hope they sing...
Often we speak about love as if it is a feeling. But if we wait for a feeling of love before loving, we may never learn to love well. The feeling of love is beautiful and life-giving, but our loving cannot be based in that feeling. To love is to think, speak, and act according to the spiritual knowledge that we are infinitely loved by God and called to make that love visible in this world. Mostly we know what the loving thing to do is. When we "do" love, even if others are not able to respond with love, we will discover that our feelings catch up with our acts.
-Henri Nouwen Bread for the Journey
a little love from our house to yours..…..
Mostly I post stuff to give thanks, to journal, and to savor this life that's been given to me. It's also a way to share pictures with our beloved grandparents to keep them a part of our daily lives, but if for some reason, you find some comfort and encouragement here, you are welcome anytime.
You can find me here at this blog most days:
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