come to think of it.....

Overheard in New York

Man on a park bench #1: "Betcha never seen a dandelion turn from yellow to white. Even catch one half-way in between."

Man on a park bench #2: "Betcha ain't never seen no baby pigeons. Ain't noboby never seen no baby pigeons. See all them big fat ones? Where's the babies at?"

--Central Park

jesus brings it

So most of you know I have these board meetings I go to once a month. And they are hard. I leave there exhausted and wondering 'Why, why, why do we have them?'

And I ask, "Lord... does it have to be like this? Shouldn't people on my board, whom You have brought (I like to remind Him), understand what we are doing in our ministry? Is that so much to ask?!?!?"

The thing is, I know the answer. He has people on that board who cause me to grow, who need to grow themselves, and He ministers to all of us up in the mix. So usually I just go forward, praying on my way to the meeting, and that's the way it goes.

Last night Jesus pulled a fast one. He decided to use the board meeting, of all things, to encourage me. Yes there were still hard moments and all, but in repeated little ways He spoke to me. He loved on me. He reassured me. And most of all, He reminded me that, believe it or not, it's not all about me.

I know. It's a shocker.

Prayers sent that out very day began to be answered...and the enemy's hold on some things began to break and loosen... and new people showed up and stories were told of miracles God has made and is making in people's lives.

And I sat there with tears making my vision blur, and He reminded me what a good thing that is. Because my vision is tainted. And His is pure.

For just the briefest moment I saw things differently, with a purer heart. And it was beautiful.

funny question of the day

npr guy interviewing Tom Hanks about you know what:

"So... did you work directly with Satan, or did your people get together with his people?"

"why do people use drugs, anyway? don't they know what could happen to them?"

In my job I get asked this question a lot. I have a hard time coming up with an answer that will satisfy anyone.

I just finished a book called Truth and Beauty. It is a memoir of a friendship between two women. In it I found the best explanation I have ever seen. I'm thinking of having it printed up on a business card.

Lucy was having the great love affair she had always dreamed of. It was dangerous and rocky, violently depleting, but in the few minutes that it was sweet it made her feel all the encompassing heat of love.

too terrifying for a saturday morning

Okay on my previous post I had a very cool picture of a llama. Wearing an iPod. This morning there was a picture of Erik Estrada where the llama used to be.

Yeah. Not really an a Erik Estrada fan.

But it was kinda funny. Scary, but funny.

this weekend's movie recommendation

Everything Is Illuminated

iN llove with my iPod

One word: PODCASTS.

Who knew?

For some great ones go to npr.


A few I subscribe to:
Not My Job
Open Mic Music
Religion
Books
Driveway Moments
All Things Considered
The Health Show

others (not on NPR):
The Diner '06
The Catalyst
Imago Dei
Charles Spurgeon--Prince of Preachers

fun with food...brought to you by:

Burnside Writer's Collective and The Gallery of Regrettable Food

Good Lord, good Lord. This looks like . . . like Orson Welles' liver. Like a shaved Horta. Like a cinnamon roll made entirely out of horse fat and brown sugar. Like Jabba the Hutt's prostate. I don't know what the hell this is. Maybe a roast of some sort. If so, it's a good Depression-era diet aid: this is what you would eat if you had more money, so be glad you don't.--James Lileks

fish balls and more

For more fabulous recipes like these, go here.

ends and beginnings

For 21 years I have been driving kids back and forth to school.

This morning I stood on my porch, coffee cup in hand, and waved goodbye to Emily and Nate.

Because Emily has her license now.

I have often complained about being stuck to the schedule and routine of 7:00 and 3:00.

Now it has ended as suddenly as it began so many years ago.

And it feels kinda weird. Good, but weird.

And I'm a little sad.

And a little bit ecstatic.

from my daughter sarie's blog

Bad Day for Jesus on the Upper West Side (May 8th)

Today in Lincoln Center, magic dude, David Blaine is on his 7th day of sitting in a bubble of water. I went to go see, mostly for my sister who is a fan, so I could send her a picture. It wasn't really that cool. He just looked all pruney and white. The line to go up to the bubble and get a closer look was quite long. It wrapped around the Center and was not moving fast, still the crowd was eager to get a close up look at the soggy magician.

Around the corner, it is the first day of Bible Reading Week. This is where people take turns reading passages from scripture over a microphone and speakers. Two people were standing there listening. Sorry God.

poem for the day

When I dream of fire
you're still the one I save
though I've come to think of myself
as the flames, the splintering rafters.

--Lucy Grealy

my grampo

Grampo had an angiogram yesterday. He insisted the doctor give him one, though he is way past the age to have such a procedure. But he'd been slightly out of breath recently, and figured there must be a reason and by God there must be a way to fix it. So yeah. Stubborn old man. Testiduro. (Italian for 'hard headed'). It turns out his heart is fine.... a slight narrowing of the smaller aortas... so now he has to take medicine. The first prescribed daily meds in his life. He is 96.

So I spent the night there last night to help out Grams, and just to be with them, because I love it.

And it was so good for me.

I walked in the vineyards breathing in the familiar dusty smell of the vines, dug up onions and swiss chard in my Grampo's garden, ate ridiculously large meals, and listened to Grampo's wonderful stories I have heard a thousand times.

In the heat of the day I slipped into the old barn where I spent much of my childhood, the old rope swing still there, tied up in the rafters now. It still smells the same... of damp hay, tractor grease, and rotting wood. Such an unlikely combination for a most intoxicating aroma.

My family is trying to talk my grandparents into moving into a facility... a home of sorts, where they would have "their own little place" and be connected to a giant instituion full of old people. I seem to be the only one against the idea.

And Grampo, of course.

He says, "Piccolina, I'd rather die out here where I can breathe. I've had a beautiful life. If the good Lord takes me I'm ready to go. But mama mia, I sure don't want to spend my last days stuck in some home where all they do is sit around and eat food from a can. By God that'll kill me quicker than anything."

Then he takes my hand, patting it gently, looks me in the eye, and says, "But the Lord sure has blessed me. What a good life I've had."

Thank you Jesus for the gift of Grampo. I cherish every moment with him.

Romans 12

"... in Christ we are many who form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

Which explains why it hurts so much when another of us falls.

Or is in pain.



Being one in the body brings both great joy and great heartache.

overheard at Costco

woman with stiff white hair: "You know what my mother's last words were?"

guy wearing Hawaiian shirt: "Tell me."

woman with stiff white hair: "She said, 'Who the f--- brought me those flowers? Don't they know I'm allergic?' She woke up from a coma, said those words, then her head fell to the side and she died."

guy wearing Hawaiian shirt: "Ahhh... that makes me miss Brooklyn."

and The New Yorker calls it again