Don’t forget free museum day Saturday! Find a participating museum here.
I’ve mentioned this before, but you ought to subscribe to Megan’s great Half-Pint Handouts blog. I have won some cool stuff!
I added another freebie to my post earlier this week, so that’s an opportunity for a $25 wine gc and 100 free moo cards.
What other free stuff is out there right now?
I got 100 Moo cards free for shipping, and I’d love for you to score some too, here’s a link.
I also got a $25 gift certificate to ONEHOPE wine through klout and 5 to share with whomever. Go here to claim one.
Posted in general
BLT Chicken Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing from Bon Appetit via Perry’s Plate: good, but could use something else… feta? will keep at it.
Homemade Coffee Creamer from Deliciously Organic: I made Pumpkin Spice, can’t wait to try others.
Southern Pimento Cheese from allrecipes: basic recipe, but my family likes it (and they are not huge pimento cheese fans.)
Tortellini with Eggplant and Peppers from Real Simple: healthy, easy and good. I served this with Italian Sausage. Only Lexi didn’t love it (and I am the only big eggplant fan in the family.)
Turkey Meatloaf from Ina Garten: really delicious. I made ours 1/2 beef, 1/2 turkey because beef was cheaper than ground turkey.
I had another hymn in mind to share this week, but this one keeps coming to mind. Kate was even singing it to herself the other day.
It was written by a single woman, who devoted her life to ministry, I read she sometimes served as an interim pastor and other times a circuit riding preacher. She married a minister in her late 30s. Quite an unusual life for the 19th century.
SATISFIED
All my life long I had panted
for a drink from some cool spring
That I hoped would quench the burning
of the thirst I felt within
Hallelujah! He has found me,
the One my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies all my longings,
through his blood I now am saved
Feeding on the filth around me,
‘til my strength was almost gone
Longed my soul for something better,
only still to hunger on
Poor I was and sought for riches,
something that would satisfy
But the dust I gathered ‘round me
only mocked my soul’s sad cry
Well of water ever springing,
Bread of Life so rich and free
Untold wealth that never faileth,
my Redeemer is to me
[CLARA T. WILLIAMS, 1875]
Posted in theology
So, I am in my third week of being without my laptop. Somehow, I am blogging lots more. Michael has been kind to let me have at least an hour in the evening, and I have been writing posts with my limited time.
I am trying to find a good rhythm for posting, from days and times to topics. If you have any thoughts about that (more ____, please no ____…) feel free to chime in.
This week I re-read My Name is Asher Lev, which I always tell people is my favorite book. There comes a point where your love for a book is so great that its hard to consider it objectively. Asher is consumed, driven by his gift and I wonder sometimes if my devotion to him is induced in part by envy. I want to be so compelled to create I can’t stop myself.
Still endeavoring to keep spiritual formation in mind while I am in the margins. I am seeing my sin. That’s something.
Posted in general
One of the girls told me on Sunday she hated Memphis and missed Birmingham, especially our old church. She kept repeating, “I just can’t handle it!”
Yesterday she woke up early with a smile on her face, and had a great day.
Life is like that. Feelings that come on with great intensity and fade as quickly as they arrive. Small triumphs, which will surely be followed by more bumps in the road.
I wish I had some great wisdom to share, and I really don’t. I spent a long time praying over her as she slept Sunday night, and I hope she feels the comfort of her savior, who cares for her. One thing I do know that we will survive. Jesus and her momma can handle a little pain-induced anger and grief.
Posted in family life
Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After enjoying her last novel quite a bit, I was excited to get a hold of Marisa de los Santos’ Falling Together. The story of three college friends who experience a rift after graduation, de los Santos covers the familiar ground of loneliness and community as themes.
This story is told primarily from the perspective of Pen, a single mother struggling with the loss of her father and her deepest friendships. I liked this character but I didn’t identify with her as deeply as I did Cornelia in Belong to Me. I found the plot also more forced, and the flashbacks not as powerful as they could have been. I don’t think readers got a full enough picture of the friendship of Cat, Pen and Will. They are told how special it is more than shown.
De los Santos has a background in poetry and her writing is marked with loveliness. All of the description of setting and place were beautiful and I enjoyed her writing of some of the secondary characters in particular.
Overall, Falling Together is a feel-good read that many will enjoy. I just didn’t think it was De Los Santos’ best.
[I received a review copy of the book from its publisher, which in no way influenced my opinion.]
Parenting is often a school of humility.
Just when you’ve found the perfect strategy or product or idea, something changes, and it doesn’t work any more. You have to try something new. Maybe even swallow your pride and do that thing you swore you’d never do.
Mothering in particular can feel like management, as we seek to control daily chaos. The trouble is that children are people, not problems to be solved. And people are dynamic. They change, the problem changes, everything feels askew.
Love, that ever fixed mark, compels us to go beyond. Sometimes it calls us to find another fixed mark, to figure out what we really want for our kids that circumstances cannot change. The sort of lofty idea that is hard to quantify or assess daily, like doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with their God.
Frankly that can be a little bit scary. Having children who eat vegetables is the sort of goal you might really reach and know you have, and there is a sense of accomplishment in that. But I hope to find a much greater joy at the end of this journey.
Posted in parental ponderings, theology
Some delightful happenings of September thus far (in no particular order:)
+ a nice visit with family
+ coffee with a new friend
+ starting to decorate our new place
+ hours with my nose stuck in a book
+ the feeling of control elicited from experimenting with our carpool schedules to see what works best for all of us
+ cool, sunny weather
+ my first run with Kate
+ finding a random Williams-Sonoma outlet in between school and home (and Pottery Barn & West Elm, too.)
+ neighbors throwing a porch party with pizza, popsicles and beverages of all kinds
+ another neighbor renting a giant inflatable slip & slide
+ birthday cards and texts and calls and facebook messages
+ discovering Lexi sleeping like this:
Posted in family life, general
Winter Light: A Christian’s Search for Humility by Bruce Ray Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Winter Light by Bruce Ray Smith is one man’s journey towards humility. In the form of a journal, it exposes deep, honest thoughts about pride and moreover, surrendering fully to God. With poetic prose and bare thoughts, it provides a model for Christians of prayer and meditation.
So few have been exposed to rich and meaningful examples of the spiritual disciplines in this day and age. As we rush around, we neglect listening, waiting and contemplation. Smith’s insights and experiences expose both our lack of practice and the great impact these disciplines can have on our souls.
There is a great amount of wisdom found in Winter Light, lessons born of struggle and hardship. I know that I will be revisiting it again and again to contemplate and continue to digest all that Smith shares in this short work. Its structure lends well to picking up and putting down, brief thoughts that provide the fodder for lengthy meditations.
Obviously, Winter Light is quite unlike what is typically published in mainstream evangelical circles. It was not written by a guru and doesn’t tell readers what to do. But by its example, readers will see how they can lay themselves bare before God and their neighbors, as well. I’d commend it to any Christian. (9/10, I received a review copy from the publisher, but these thoughts are my own.)
