The barred owl was resting on a branch just a stone’s throw from the road. So close. We’ve heard their “whoo-whoo-who-cooks-for-you” call many times in that part of the preserve, but this time the bird was low to the ground and close enough to examine. It was the middle of the day, and the owl…
“Celebrations punctuate our year, and our punctuations define us as a people.” –Malcolm Smith The people of ancient Ireland marked their year with eight solar and lunar celebrations. Every six weeks or so, they gathered, performed religious rites, feasted, danced, and held competitions. If a man committed a crime, he could be excluded from…
It’s the first day of school, and Patricia stands on the front steps of an unfamiliar brick building with a class card in her hand. Two girls, standing tall and confident in their bright poodle skirts and saddle oxfords, give her card a quick perusal. “You’re in Mrs. Peterson’s class,” they say, smirking. “Upstairs. Room…
The first time I saw him, his face was shadowed by the brim of a baseball cap. His shoulders were hunched. His shorts and T-shirt were loose. He lifted my suitcase and garment bag out of his parents’ van, and I thought, “Jock.” That evening we sat across the table from each other at a…
How is it that a person becomes convinced of her inherent worth? How does a child sold for a hundred dollars along with a flock of sheep know that she’s worth more than the sheep, more than a hundred dollars? The girl’s name was Isabella, and what the world told her, what people told her,…
It was tough to choose just one Frances story to review. I almost went with A Baby Sister for Frances, one of the few books I remember owning and reading as a child. It’s a delightful story in which Frances deals with the intrusion of a new baby sister by “running away” to a cozy…
One of my favorite discoveries, on entering the liturgical tradition, was the celebration of Advent. I was delighted to learn that dark December days and the light of a simple candle were heavy with meaning. In Advent, I found not a nebulous season of festivity ending in the anti-climax of Christmas morning, but a sacred…
I grew up outside Tampa, in a world of endless summer (and I mean that in the worst possible sense). The cycle of the year was one of warm to hot to unbearable, and I am not exaggerating when I relate tales of skidding down the Slip-‘N-Slide on Christmas day or buying Duraflame logs to…
It’s family movie night, and Jon is stuck outside, dealing with a troublesome vehicle. The kids and I are sitting on the couch, watching Fantasia 2000. We’re nearing the end. Already, we’ve seen an abstract battle between light and darkness set to the music of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. We’ve watched a humpback whale calf dive…
“Jesus didn’t come to change God’s mind about us. Jesus came to change our minds about God.” –Richard Rohr Someone asked me recently why the Bible always presents God in masculine form. She wondered why God, who is spirit, didn’t appear to mankind as a mother. It’s a fair question, and a good one, though…
January has come and gone, and it looks as if February will do the same, rushing by without a thought for the lists of things I planned to tackle in 2019. Time is heartless that way. I make a month’s lesson plans and bask in the glory for three heartbeats before another month comes along…
Occasionally, in the flood of articles, information, and updates we read online, something comes along that makes a quantifiable difference in our lives. It happened for me some years ago when I read an article about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. According to the author (whose name and information I’ve…
