i like today because of...

shrek farts

2012-01-23T10:27:00.002-05:00

hugs from chelsea goss, jr. high humor, acting and dancing and drawing and singing, a night's sleep in the church making it feel official that i belong here, the filter-free conversation of 12 year olds, peace murals, exploring my creepy attic, laughing with the youth group for a couple of hours, quinoa salad (with oranges! and cilantro!), worship happening smoothly even though i was leading, lingering at lunch, sunday afternoon naps, and sharing the examen with a new community.

intergenerational

2012-01-20T11:12:00.003-05:00

liturgy writing, buffet lunching with the retirees, moonshine stories from west virginia, sweet 6th graders, pastoral prayers and caring neighbors, shopping with Mandy and three tiny toddlers (we tried every sample at costco), the unique pleasure of grocery shopping, soup + sleep to fight a cold, and an evening realization that the day's work included conversations with someone in every decade age range from 2-82.

ski trip!

2012-01-17T11:51:00.002-05:00

driving a giant van through VA, a dozen youth singing mutual kumquat hymns in full voice (the same ones I sing loudly by myself in the car), bananagrams, gigantic sleepovers, constant laughter, jigsaw puzzles, this welcome transparency about everything from these youth, screaming our way down the tubing hills under a full moon, s'mores, crackling fires, watching the sun rise over a chilly blue ridge, and a small revelation that this job might just actually be a lot of FUN.

"there is no such thing as false hope. there is only hope."

2012-01-13T09:26:00.002-05:00

discovering the local Caribou coffee and an exciting project at the same time, living where the Post is the local paper, sunshine after a crazy weather week, landing in a congregation filled with committed and faithful people, parking lot rendezvous, and Santos' West Wing redemption.

sundays: full

2012-01-09T13:46:00.003-05:00

spending hours in the church kitchen to get to know this group of youth by washing dishes side by side, jr. high sunday school games, laughter in worship, a continuous welcome, learning peoples' names and faces and starting to put them together, sunday afternoon naps, and joking and praying and talking and loitering with the Manassas CoB youth.

i live in a place where i can do dinner in DC.

2012-01-08T14:54:00.003-05:00

sleep, catching up on the news of the world, new pants!, driving into the city as the sun sets and interstate 66 suddenly being transformed into downtown DC - monuments all aglow and imposing, dinner with Jordan, and the most delicious piece of pie I've ever eaten.

new year, new everything

2012-01-03T16:26:00.003-05:00

a monday morning latte, jess' face here in my town (and the knowledge that her town is just barely down the road, now), cheese on fire, naps on a day off, venison lasagna, the gift of hospitality, epiphany cards, and chats with beth(any).

holy. cow.

2012-01-02T10:22:00.002-05:00

stepping into a new morning routine (coffee in the living room, prayer in the library), a youth room filled with diner tables and old couches and lime green walls, good worship in a gorgeous christmas sanctuary, an unending stream of welcome (words and hugs and beans and candles and lunch and tours and hospitality), BVS alumni and their stories (this church seems filled with them!), a tiny downtown in the middle of pure suburbia, a homecooked family dinner, and walking up my sidewalk - hearing a strange rustling - and being delightfully surprised by a gaggle of youth welcoming me with a spontaneous party in my living room.

"you're just welcoming them into this world you already know...NOT trying to break into theirs."

2011-12-30T10:05:00.003-05:00

the immense mental contentment that comes from unpacking and sorting and shelving all my books together in a single room, a freshly organized kitchen, friendly folks around town, good greek food - taramosalata (google that!), a friend already here, and meredith's advice.

manassas.

2011-12-29T10:24:00.003-05:00

hugs from my grandparents, uncles and cousins moving boxes and packing a truck, parents who are STILL willing to pack and drive and move and clean and build furniture for their 29 year old daughter, a welcome committee greeting me and carrying boxes and making sure I know they're glad I'm here, today's Washington Post on my coffee table, neighbors dropping by to say hello, all my books unpacked and shelved in good order in the library (a room complete with fireplace and french doors), the diversity I've been missing, and this new place.

solidarity, solidarity!

2011-12-23T17:43:00.002-05:00

driving through the Commonwealth, laughing with sara pugh, creamy risotto with winter vegetables, walking city streets and riding city trains, getting transported to another time and place by people willing to sing and dance and act like they're entirely different people on a stage, and standing on the Kennedy Center terrace with the fog settling over the river and monuments and twinkling city lights.

blergh

2011-12-22T11:10:00.002-05:00

bvs stories from sara, trudging through friday night lights, the annual cookie baking extravaganza, and some room to be scrooge-y.

bah humbug

2011-12-21T12:50:00.002-05:00

marc maron's pastoral podcast interviews, letter writing, the scent of holiday baking filling the kitchen, ben bear bursting into the house and transforming a rather gloomy day, and ebenezer scrooge.

plenty of people to love

2011-12-20T08:41:00.002-05:00

mom's crafty nature, rilke for half price, a lovely note in the mail, skype calls from africa, phone calls from Miami and Chicago and DC, slogging through Ulysses, and this photo from 5 years ago - and realizing that I talked to all those boys TODAY.

a weekend

2011-12-19T11:07:00.002-05:00

dad's annual fried oyster birthday dinner, Eva happily decorating JoJo's tree, sunrise over frost-covered mountains, my sister the master, big celebratory meals full of family and friends, watching the sun creep up and into the back porch, and mom's hot chocolate with bailey's and marshmallow creme in the christmas mugs.

on the transition trapeze midpoint

2011-12-14T14:49:00.003-05:00

strains of handel's messiah accompanying a day of writing, remembering each BVSer's face and voice as I write Christmas cards, calls from Ghana and chats from Chicago, climbing this neighborhood's hills to a new view of the mountains at each summit, and falling into something resembling routine.

the marriage plot

2011-12-13T09:21:00.002-05:00

the Jack Black wanna be barista at Mill Mountain singing through his shift, that fresh-shorn feeling after a haircut, tasty kale in peanut sauce over creamy mashed potatoes, catching up with the one and only chelsea goss, a giant full orange moon peering in through restaurant windows, and finally settling into Eugenides after casting around for a week looking for a good book.

my soul, my soul

2011-12-12T09:53:00.003-05:00

the weather finally turning cold enough to force me to scrape ice crystals off the car window at 9am, a lovely version of the magnificat sung in worship, visiting a young and vibrant and thoughtful downtown congregation, laughing at lunch with Trisha and Kenneth and Maggie, discovering pinterest, and the christmas tree's happy glow beside the darkened window.

nothing if not connected

2011-12-11T14:28:00.004-05:00

using Dad as the measuring stick for the Christmas tree, the scent of party mix baking in the oven, ornament stories, my sister's hospitality and strawberry champagne punch, and calls from several far-flung friends at the end of a very weird and spirit-pummeling week.

also, red meat

2011-12-10T18:13:00.002-05:00

talking joyce with the boys, a gall-less dad home and healthy, and sending christmas cards to BVSers (to pass along all the goodness that I got).

christmas trees and Joyce

2011-12-08T09:35:00.002-05:00

kmrod's encouragement to spend the day playing ("go to the coffee shop! and the bookstore!"), getting the prime seat by the christmas tree at mill mountain and working with a cup of coffee inside the warm shop gazing at the rain and fog outside, lunch with my fam, book shopping, the boys and their Ulysses reading group (really, reading that monster together might be the only way to do it), borrowing library books for the kindle and having them magically appear right there on the home screen, phone calls with Jess, catching up with Clara, and this self-imposed year-end reflection.

trees all aglow

2011-12-07T11:12:00.002-05:00

answering the "what have you been up to?" question and realizing it was actually a wildly productive day, the fact that the monthly church calendar has been on the parents' fridge for as long as i can remember, discovering a trove of Anna Mow's writings in the attic, and a walk in the rain and fog through neighborhoods lit up with welcoming christmas lights.

a thrill of hope

2011-12-05T09:32:00.002-05:00

the preferred Sunday morning activities of lattes and book browsing (which will all too soon be impossible), accessing the news of the world right from the couch (aka functional wireless internet), choral carols and harmonies lifting the giant audience up out of their seats, dinner with the fam, and reassurance coming from either the book i finished or the wine i drank (probably the combination).

sweet earth alive under me

2011-12-01T09:58:00.002-05:00

waking up to the realization of a full night's sleep in the cozy attic, making a new space and thanking the old one, finishing the physical labor portion of the week's to-do list, the smell of snow in the air and the sight of it on the mountaintops, and Ruth Moody's bell clear soprano lilting through Kirk Ave.

oh, the times, they keep a'changin'

2011-11-28T09:18:00.002-05:00

everyone's post-wedding early morning weary but satisfied faces, bacon + eggs benedict in the festive boar's head inn, driving down a blissfully empty and gorgeous route 29 (and missing altogether the insanity of I-81 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving), leftover coconut pie, and a family so intent on taking care of me and life's details that they just get things done.

holy matrimony

2011-11-27T08:36:00.006-05:00

sitting in a coffee shop drinking a perfect latte surrounded by people with stacks of books and writing on the screens in front of them, pretty dresses, getting to tag along with the bridal party (um, does the minister count as part of that?), a gigantic tree on the UVA lawn dripping golden leaves to the ground below it, strains of hokie cheers and fight songs drifting over from the stadium, watching a bride and groom walk down the aisle and then getting to witness their eyes all in love take in one another in great big gulps, being a witness to sacred things and wielding (just for a moment) power vested in me by the Commonwealth, shots with the mothers, and the joy of getting to be a part of this Rodriguez family wedding business.

a charlottesville wedding

2011-11-26T11:29:00.002-05:00

the view from Afton mountain, the couple of days between thanksgiving and advent when Christmas music is entirely liturgically appropriate (maybe), a gigantic hotel bed, kmrod and ernie's faces, the UVA chapel's vaulted ceilings and complicated existence, Lara and Ben standing together, and double chocolate bread pudding with a salted caramel bourbon glaze putting yesterday's pies to shame.

chastens and hastens

2011-11-25T10:13:00.003-05:00

the rhyme scheme of "We Gather Together", FCoB's thanksgiving breakfast, roasting peppers with my sister, carving the turkey, lynsey's coconut cream pie, and a sunny day of thanks.

bacon lattice!

2011-11-24T13:11:00.003-05:00

pies baking in the oven and spreading thanksgiving aroma throughout my little apartment, aaron sorkin's sense of occasion, the new bacon lattice tradition, tiny hilarious cousins, and recognizing again the comfort of being surrounded by books and books and books.

sister anna, beauty queen

2011-11-22T17:13:00.002-05:00

the aroma of coffee beans roasting across the street, cal's reminders to get back on the blog train, the combination of jess + wine, making progress on projects, checking things steadily off the exploding to-do list, and 2am revelations from Anna Mow.

jumpstart

2011-11-21T11:08:00.002-05:00

hokie wins, frigid lane stadium night games, weekend brunch, podcasts to calm the traffic jam annoyance, ecstatic welcomes from Luna the dog, Tina Fey, the cathartic smashing of two years' worth of glass recycling into a giant metal dumpster, used books, reading Julia's notes in her Keats from 1897, peanut butter frozen yogurt, the sun rising over a perfectly empty I-66, and the people of Manassas Church of the Brethren.

kale!

2011-11-05T14:50:00.002-05:00

twitter discussions, the cadre of coffee shop regulars whose faces and voices I know, crunching through fallen leaves, island earrings from the caribbean parents, free books, and delectable dinner of creamy mashed red potatoes and crisp kale in spicy peanut sauce inspired by beth(any)'s hospitality.

the last best day

2011-10-28T09:21:00.002-05:00

a morning of window washing in the last best day of autumn, lunch at local roots, a gigantic pile of gorgeous red amaranth freshly cut from the garden and delivered in a heap onto the bar of the restaurant, stories of my great-great-grandma Leah and her cornbread, a botetourt bog donut, taking a spontaneous adventure on the parkway, and being here in this place while the mountains burn and blaze and shed their leaves for the long, cold winter.

intrepid

2011-10-26T12:19:00.002-05:00

waking up to texts from afar and episodes of the west wing, that light-headed post haircut feeling, back porch exegesis, taking myself out, and lucinda williams' indomitable songwriting and raspy tortured voice of hope.

church ladies and sacraments

2011-10-19T09:49:00.004-05:00

a carload of ladies who've known me my whole life gabbing and cackling and saying "lawdamercy" more times than I could count, the drive through tumbling leaves out to beautiful Camp Bethel, sitting in a room full of women who've spent their long lives in service to the Church, Susan's heart-rending stories of brokenness and hope from the desert places of BVS, my name being shouted out with pride in public places twice in one week (thanks Mom! and JoJo!), places to go and people to see, local produce at the farm-to-table Mockingbird Cafe in Staunton, listening to Lara and Ben, and the stories that make up the relationships that lead to weddings that I get the privilege of officiating.

bacon, yo

2011-10-17T10:14:00.002-05:00

exploring underground caverns with a delightfully adorable cheesy college kid tour guide, discovering BACON formations, eating some delicious (local) bacon formations for brunch down the road at the Little Grill, downtown Harrisonburg, absurd bankrobbery indie films, and autumn in the mountains.

allah! allah! ole! ole!

2011-10-13T09:16:00.002-05:00

trees changing green to red to gold from the inside out, driving through the mountains, BVSers blowing bubbles and hugging trees, sharing the Examen again and again and again, food groups and crosswords, laughing with Cal and Don and Jeremy, Jim E.'s irreverent authority, calls and leadings, falling leaves all over the New Windsor campus, Elizabeth Gilbert offering some pastoral care to volunteers laden with guilt and expectations, Don's great love machine theory, stealthy pizza deliveries, and BVS working in and for the Kingdom.

oh, Atlanta

2011-10-09T13:10:00.002-05:00

hours of uninterrupted roadtrip music listening (wilco! j's fall mix!), a quite posh hotel room with a giant king bed and unlimited internet all to myself, the way FTE gathers people from so many corners of the church and smashes them together (in loving and graceful ways), Parker Palmer dropping some mystic knowledge, Sweetwater on a patio, an atlanta latte, the ways that conversation with j gets filled with shared nuggets of profound philosophy and inane cartoon references, candace's graceful agreeable disagreement, complimentary coke products, that moment in every episode of Parenthood that reduces me to tears, good gospel music setting the stage and lifting everyone in the room up onto their toes, some quality preaching, willy's literal dream tacos and queso, and clicking the ATL snugly into the second-place city spot.

liminal

2011-10-04T10:01:00.001-05:00

waking up to an autumn chill, a balcony table at the library overlooking main street, and wilco's whole love.

sabbath rest

2011-10-03T11:06:00.002-05:00

the (very familiar) drive up I-81 between Roanoke and Harrisonburg, climbing mountains and scrambling up geologic formations, almost 360 views, clouds running across the West Virginia sky on one side of the mountain and sun shifting through the Virginia valley on the other, walking into a tiny Woodstock cafe with an acoustic guitar playing and a honey-voiced woman covering Allison Krauss, crashing a Blessing of the Animals service on the street, laughing a lot, and the sunset setting the world afire all the way home.

the hokie pokie

2011-10-03T11:03:00.002-05:00

slow saturday mornings, trees gathering color and losing leaves, a northern breeze bringing autumn to town, bethy132's articulated grace, tailgating inside, multiple marching bands bringing it LOUD, a drizzly night of football, and the Lane Stadium high - even when the score is not.

flutterbys and comic books

2011-09-26T09:53:00.002-05:00

noah and the whale, the strange and lovely surprise of looking out the window to see the tree next door covered in dozens of orange monarch butterflies - all day long, Persepolis - a story of life in revolutionary Iran...in a comic book, the mysterious disappearance of the stray wifi signal making for a truly sabbath-like Sunday, peach wine from Amrhein's, and decompression days.

PDX, otherwise known as Eden

2011-09-24T09:44:00.007-05:00

driving the hills of highway 7, vonnegut on the plane, beth(any)'s face picking us up at the airport, hours spent wandering the city block that is Powell's Books, lunch with the lovely and newly relocated Portland Audrey, fresh local brews everywhere you turn, funny movies in repurposed elementary school auditoriums, an unbeatable Stumptown latte,

Bo and Mogh befriending me...after a while, wandering in the signature Portland rain, gyros on the stoop, the lovely lovely people of Portland Peace CoB, witnessing an anointing and inappropriate flirting, Burgerville's sweet potato fries,

driving through the reforested Tillamook, cheese and wine tastings, getting caught in the Pacific tide, holding Beth's hand while exploring creepy cliffside caves, hot tea and seafood in a window overlooking the rocky coast, artsy neighborhoods, incredible waterfalls,

Oregonian creek stomping, winding highway 30 ending at the unbelievable Vista House view,

fish and beer with the Portland BVSers (oh, what a delightful crowd!), Jen Carter's lovely Vancouver life, driving the Mazda 6 over the mountains and to the coast, Cannon Beach's small town streets and big big ocean, dungenes crab on fresh baked bread, walking the shoreline filled with sand dollars and crab shells and seaweed,

coffee served in an unexpectedly delightful french press at the creperie where a gluten mistake netted me a free nutella crepe, climbing the Astoria column for this view,

coming home to Beth's homemade meal, the deep dark chocolate brownies at New Seasons, lunch from the double decker Grilled Cheese bus, Beth's incredible grace and hospitality, Sara Pugh's perfectly pitched traveling companionship, and a week of what might just be the best vacation yet.

hanging with john j

2011-09-14T11:18:00.002-05:00

early morning bacon with the rotarians, watching the sun burn away the fog from the mountaintops at the country club, a few minutes with jojo and bobby, the gorgeous drive down 460 and back, clara!, reading in the sunshine, dinners of quesadillas and beer and jokes, and a week and a half of this guy doing a lot of this right here in my Virginia living room (so much closer than France or Cambodia or Ghana or even St. Louis!):

climbing mountains and talking theology

2011-09-14T11:13:00.002-05:00

john's rather constant companionship, bacon and eggs for breakfast, strolling over Bent Mountain with thunder rolling in the distance, Emily's quiet grave reminding us that this was - and still is - actually someone's home, mountain wineries with crisp peach wine, and cooking out on craiggers' patio with some of my boys talking church and love and how they intersect.

also, the grandin gargoyles

2011-09-12T07:34:00.001-05:00

the cassell pew at FCoB, traditional wendy's lunch, sunday afternoon naps, isaac's espresso peach lamb barbecue, and movies at the grandin.

saturday in the city

2011-09-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

road trips up I-81 through the Blue Ridge, stepping into sara pugh's familiar house, kline's chocolate-peanut butter milkshakes, DC diners with jukeboxes at every booth, jess' face in driving distance, discovering an entire world of creative and thoughtful people doing what they do and being good at it, craig thompson, and possibilities.

running and korma and vocation

2011-09-09T10:59:00.002-05:00

new running motivation, discovering kind of darling houses in my neighborhood on a new route walk, and eating vegetable korma with Trisha and Kenneth and listening to John J. Rogers get excited again and again about the ridiculous and perfect path he's been thrown into.

westward bound

2011-09-08T12:01:00.003-05:00

coffee shop time, the final beautiful scene in Of Gods and Men, dinner with some of my boys, Ha Ha Tonka's on stage exuberance, and this town's continuous surprising awesomeness.

officially un (or self) employed.

2011-09-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

long walks in the rain, laughing with/at john, and some newness taking shape.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

2011-09-06T10:33:00.003-05:00

intelligentsia coffee in my cupboard, john j rogers' smiling face at the roanoke airport, filling the fridge after weeks away, labor day napping, mom's peach cobbler, and dinner with good people on the back porch in a deluge.

hokie hokie hokie hi

2011-09-04T09:06:00.003-05:00

celebrating airport reunions and gratefulness that my solo arrivals are in their waning days (no more travel = no more lonely luggage carting, car finding, cold and empty house to return to), HOKIE FOOTBALL, tailgating with virginia ham biscuits from the Roanoker, blessed breezes at the top of the west stands in Lane Stadium, crushing tackles, and catching up with long phone conversations with several people I love a lot.

retreat: a treat, once more

2011-09-04T08:59:00.003-05:00

greeting a gaggle of BVSers after six months of service, wily games of werewolf, cooking for a crowd, laughing with cal: the best retreat roommate ever, paddling down the Fox River behind a few canoes full of BVSers in life preservers, hobos on the campfire, s'mores, rambling through the woods crashing through spider webs and flushing out frightened does, the curved trunk of an old old tree and the way it shot out a big ol' branch to correct its own posture, vonnegut's commentary, hearing story after story of transformation in process ("i'm realizing that there's more than one way to live life..." "i want to live in community permanently..." "where are you seeing the Divine?"), and ending several years' worth of work and immersion in the exact same spot that I started it back in March of 2009 - on this canoe dock on the Fox:

everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.

2011-08-29T12:12:00.003-05:00

the thick and full sharing of joys and concerns in Highland Avenue's worship, mexican with Momma Kim, a rare in person conversation with Beth(any) full of hand gestures and eyebrow raises and the inimitable non-verbal presence she carries around her, Vonnegut's epitaphs read on the front porch swing of the Elgin BVS house, and a long-awaited second date on a patio with beer and a fire pit and Anna E.

"Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world."*

2011-08-28T07:36:00.004-05:00

entering Chicago on the Metra through the bowels of Union Station, walking city streets,

people-watching, the Bean spectacle, art institute lions, lime-soaked peaches with basil rice pudding at Rick Bayless' XOCO, random dance concerts in the middle of the city, a bubble blowing mural under an overpass, logan's lakeshore property life, the sun setting behind us and burning gold on the waves, wind whipping through my hair, and a perfect day with some of my favorite people.

*(Frank Lloyd Wright)

volunteers and zinnias

2011-08-25T08:42:00.001-05:00

breakfast with mom, flying over sparkling lake michigan and the lakeshore skyline, vonnegut's swimming ability, don's friendly face in the BVS house van picking me up at the ORD curb, productive cubicle time, anna's verdant garden of melons and corn and squash and incredible tiny yellow tomatoes and giant happy zinnias, jeremy's fragrant indian cooking (naan! chickpeas! curry!), and a few last nights in the sprawling happy Elgin BVS house.

29.

2011-08-23T16:17:00.004-05:00

waking up early for a full day of enjoyment, hiking by little stony creek, splashing in the cascades pool, fish tacos on a patio in the sunshine, successful book shopping splurge, a grand family cookout, eclair cake, hilarious tiny cousins, and a birthday chock full of goodness.

i like this week because of...

2011-08-20T20:05:00.004-05:00

road trips with my sister, walking into a beach house filled with my family, lying prostrate on the sand soaking up as much vitamin D as possible, long walks down the shoreline, cooking for a crowd, Eva's southpark-esque pronunciation of "silly putty,"

coloring and blowing bubbles, rocking on the front porch with the sound of the surf in my ears, minute to win it evening activities, rediscovering the Madonna pandora station and recognizing it to be perfect for a beach vacation, the view underneath the weathered pier,

showering out of doors, securing a cornhole tournament victory, dolphin fins circling out in the ocean, perfectly exfoliated feet from beach walking, watching the sun rise and set and change the world from dark to light and dark again from the same vantage point at dawn and dusk,

frogmore stew poured straight on the table for us all to pick through, cousins from germany and their international cuisine, the green green seagrass on the intercoastal waterway,

pelicans diving for their breakfast, uninterrupted hours of novel reading and daydreaming, lynsey's blueberry poundcake, watching bobby and jojo with their expanding family sprawled out all around them on the beach,

and doing nothing and knowing that nothing is exactly what i'm supposed to be doing.

hemmed in

2011-08-12T12:46:00.002-05:00

that light-headed post haircut feeling, the aroma of party mix baking in my oven, affirmations from Sharon, a long-overdue chat with Clara, and being so well wrapped up in these webs of relationship.

do what you do

2011-08-11T11:31:00.001-05:00

driving across the mountains and the Commonwealth, a delightful catch-up lunch with Sarah Lantz Collier, and the very idea of a public library.

"i've been in worse scrapes than this!"

2011-08-09T08:52:00.002-05:00

the winding parkway drive along the mountaintops to the peaks of otter, 9 year old humor, and picnicking and blowing bubbles and creek stomping and delightfully satisfying summer adventures.

summertime, and the livin' is easy

2011-08-07T18:48:00.002-05:00

paddling down the James in a deluge, a raspberry milkshake at the old-school soda fountain in Buchanan, and adventuring with the fam.

grape!

2011-08-06T10:15:00.001-05:00

peach shortcake, five minutes of fame, and adventuring around the 'noke.

i was born to do it

2011-08-05T07:38:00.004-05:00

an angry run with angry music, eating delicious havarti pimento cheese with bacon in the decidedly urban art museum cafe (trains chugging just outside the window, grafitti art on the overpass wall, big white bubbly chairs, and heavy arty silver), jojo's fresh peach pie, an afternoon with the grandparents, new friends, a letter from death row and a phone call with j to slam all m paltry frustrations right back into their proper place.

i know it leads to life, but i detest change.

2011-08-03T09:06:00.002-05:00

laughing out loud at the first page of a novel, some emerging possibilities, and giving thanks for smirks and smiles and lives lived fully...including kmrod's grandpa joe and sharon's 26 years full of laughing and loving.

clear eyes full hearts can't lose

2011-08-02T11:09:00.003-05:00

tacos with sara pugh's people, a story to get lost in (especially one that involves tim riggins), and constant conversation with far away friends.

kitchen fellowship

2011-08-01T09:32:00.001-05:00

my beloved mother, bruce's stunning detail work (my car is colors it's never been before!), and sara pugh's fam at FCoB.

lattes and reassurance

2011-07-30T16:20:00.002-05:00

a charming barista, fern e.'s voice from far away, and sue's tales of vocational intrigue and adventure and surprise.

i don't know, but this here blog is kinda designed to figure it out

2011-07-29T13:44:00.002-05:00

coffee shop bathroom graffiti, cicadas and butterflies buzzing and floating around the back porch swing - a strangely cool oasis on an over-100 degree day, and falling into the influence of the muses and writing and writing and writing.

what's a girl to do if she can't be a gangsta?

2011-07-28T10:07:00.002-05:00

the friendly big-eared filipino kid at the pool who insisted on playing underwater tea party and learning how to tread water with me, mary jo's poise and encouragement and pastoral presence, and being in a place where I just have a bunch of people.

catharsis

2011-07-26T09:26:00.001-05:00

moving more, checking long overdue things off the to-do list, and thunder rolling in and rain pouring down to snap and break the recent unbearable heat wave.

church ladies

2011-07-25T17:58:00.000-05:00

the voices of FCoB, swimming some aches away, and mason jar mojitos.

2011-07-22T08:52:00.002-05:00

the body's way of healing itself and expelling nasty headcold germs, being well enough to create a delightful fresh breakfast, and listening to live and delicious banjos and fiddles and dobros and harmonies.

sick day

2011-07-20T20:48:00.001-05:00

the entire series of The Cosby Show on Netflix, homemade guacamole, and hopeful angry tunes:

i mean, seriously.

2011-07-18T09:12:00.003-05:00

the town I live in that provides delicious weekend breakfast just steps from my front door (fresh farmer's market blackberries on saturday, a bagel and latte from mill mountain on sunday), baseball and hot dogs in the summer, and Craiggers' newfound status as landowner (and OH, what land he owns, too!):

"remove head from sphincter, then drive!"

2011-07-16T09:53:00.002-05:00

the palpable emotion of the midnight harry potter premiere crowd, friends with humor and compassion and perspective to counterbalance a current lack thereof, and meeting baby Eli.

but still angry.

2011-07-14T09:39:00.001-05:00

eating Indian in a downtown window seat with Becky, Jill McCorkle's way with words, and anger-abatement suggestions from John and my mom (punch walls! scream into pillows! throw plates and break them!).

summa summa tiiiiime

2011-07-13T09:19:00.000-05:00

fresh blueberries, examples of courage, and ice cream on a broiling hot day.

i imagine that owl as wise and wearing glasses.

2011-07-12T09:15:00.001-05:00

the one owl hooting reassuringly by my window every early morning, eating well, and a day of rest.

love without measure

2011-07-11T08:21:00.003-05:00

congregations I love full of people who remind me that the presence of God is full of love and welcome and warmth - and not hateful and nasty and ugly and exclusive and mean (despite recent occurrences that would lead one to believe otherwise), woody allen + owen wilson + paris in the '20s, and falafel at Isaac's.

delicious

2011-07-11T08:19:00.002-05:00

a puppy wake-up call: jingling + panting + face-licking at 6am (thanks, Stella), the farmer's market abundance literally right outside my front door, Jess walking into my kitchen, and an evening on mom + dad's back porch with laughter and stories and mojitos and grilled summer love.

domestic bliss (and puppies)

2011-07-09T06:23:00.002-05:00

empty suitcases + clean clothes + clean house, the scent of bread baking and granola crisping warming my whole house and confirming that I am indeed finally at home, and Stella's puppy smile accompanying Jordan and Robyn for a short visit to the 'Noke.

HOME

2011-07-09T06:21:00.001-05:00

blueberry breakfast in sara pugh's perfectly situated refuge, driving through the Blue Ridge on my way home, and starting the Hunger Games - a true summer reading project.

grand rapids!

2011-07-02T06:42:00.001-05:00

the traditional BVS hug train, ordering family style in the delicious thai restaurant down the street (and extending the table when more friends walked in), and dueling pianos with a delightful group of people.

will you let me be your servant

2011-06-29T21:07:00.004-05:00

hiking maryland hills to rocky waterfalls, sun flickering through branches and bouncing over the trail, and sitting in a commissioning circle washing one another's feet while the sun sets behind us and the candles burn between us and the fireflies flicker all around us.

an orientation day

2011-06-29T21:06:00.002-05:00

blowing bubbles in the wind and coloring with sidewalk chalk, the gorgeous view from the fourth floor of Old Main, and ice cream on the Palsgroves' deck with the sun setting and the train chugging by.

the wild goose

2011-06-27T15:55:00.002-05:00

hobos cooked on a campfire, lightning bugs at nightfall, crowds of shiny happy people, vincent harding's history of the FREEDOM movement (when they were singing, nobody ever sang "woke up this morning with civil rights on my mind!"), Locopops, becca stevens' theology of healing, new ways of peacemaking, the glorious feeling of being sweaty and stinky and bug-eaten and campy, songs of home sweeping over me under a tent on a roasting day with a light breeze running by, butterflies flitting through spirited sessions, chaco tans, and rocks crying out the song of the Spirit moving and healing and testifying and pulling us all along with her.

dad's day

2011-06-20T16:49:00.002-05:00

walking home in a refreshing drip drop drizzle, frisbee in the backyard, a picnic on the porch, and my Dad being my dad - showing up and being around and comforting and protecting and laughing and singing and joking and building and welcoming and generally making sure the world is a good place for me (and lots of other people) to live in - for all these years.

piece by piece

2011-06-20T16:45:00.002-05:00

a phalanx of purple-shirted BVSers, reading texts with jr. highers and getting incredible insight, lunch with cal and don and coffee with dan and dinner with karen and random sidewalk conversations with james and stephanie and worshipping with 400 of my people, and hearing some encouragement from and for the church.

another working weekend

2011-06-20T16:44:00.001-05:00

a mostly silent car ride, friends popping up over and over again across the country, and hearing some good words from good people.

actually, these friends were probably well worth the tens of thousands of dollars

2011-06-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

an early morning latte, sara pugh showing up at my back door, and long laughing conversations with bethy132.

coffee and meatloaf and long-distance communication

2011-06-15T11:25:00.001-05:00

a much needed morning at mill mountain, family dinner, and calls and chats and wall posts all the way from Portland, Oregon.

back to the grind

2011-06-14T10:04:00.001-05:00

lunch from Leah, spending some time with brueggemann, and holing up in my house.

birthdays and BIRTH days

2011-06-13T08:57:00.002-05:00

a classy steak at a strangely situated but still classy place, Bobby's 80 years filled with life, and brand new baby Eli.

seriously, that's a lot o' salsa.

2011-06-11T10:26:00.002-05:00

noticing birdsong in the morning, creating a giant vat of delectable mango salsa, and imposing a bit of rest for a weary soul.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

2011-06-09T07:18:00.002-05:00

cal's thoughtful blueberry cake donuts in the morning, MSS interns greeting everyone entering the chapel with hooting and high-fives, and landing at LYH to a brilliant glowing sun setting over my mountains.

also, aaron sorkin's sportsnight

2011-06-08T08:33:00.001-05:00

mary jo's mentor advice, audrey's clergywoman companionship, and the people of the ELG.

man, this building is filled with good people

2011-06-07T10:42:00.002-05:00

a morning of meetings with the ridiculous BVS team, office coffee from Cal and Anna, Mandy's baby dinosaur shriek of delight, and Don and Jeremy's delicious lasagna.

you're more beautiful than cinderella, you smell like pine needles, and you have a face like sunshine!

2011-06-06T07:28:00.005-05:00

getting to work for a bit with the 13 college ministry interns in Ministry Summer Service, spending a sunday afternoon perched on the BVS house porch swing, and a much belated but definitely delightful date with the lovely Anna E.

weelllll, her aunt's mother was actually his cousin's cousin's daughter.

2011-06-03T06:32:00.003-05:00

long-abandoned rose bushes blooming beautifully anyway, apprenticing to my grandparents in the hollymollydolly school of social relations, and craiggers' calm and rational discernment coaching.