Circling Faith
Continuing my reflections on the Southern Festival of Books . . . The third panel I went to at the festival was called Circling Faith, which involved the editors and a couple of the writers published in a book called (you guessed it) Circling Faith: Southern Women on Spirituality. I like the term “circling faith.” [...]
I’m the Preacher’s Kid
My soul is so full. I am coming down from the high after hanging out at the Southern Festival of Books for three days. No, not a vacation, not a retreat, but three days that were for me. Poet me, writer me, reader me. There is so much to reflect on, so I’ll have to [...]
Joy Comes In The Morning
Today would have been my brother’s 30th birthday. A year after Will’s death, my mom and I traveled to Sewanee to attend a day conference on Centering Prayer. We learned that Centering Prayer is a meditation-like prayer time in which you let go of conscious thoughts and focus on a word or a phrase that [...]
It Was Life . . . .
I’ve hit a little rut in my spiritual memoir manuscript. I’ve got a lot of stuff about Orthodoxy, but not enough about Thailand, so I decided to drag out all my old journals tonight. The first one I opened began in May of 1996, which was right before I graduated from high school and left [...]
How I Want to Defy Gravity and Touch the Stars
Today I grumped and griped. I do everything around here. No one ever tells me thank you. No one ever offers to help. I wouldn’t have to get on to all of you if you’d pick up your stuff once in a while. Then I sadly sulked. I wish my life were more than dishes [...]
From Snoop Lion to Saint Nonna: A Look at Spiritual Transformations
Have you heard about Snoop Dogg’s spiritual experience and resulting name change? The story goes that he went to Jamaica, studied reggae and Rastafarianism, and was told by a Rastafarian priest, “You are the light. You are the lion.” Must be a pretty tame lion, because Mr. Snoop appears to want to spread peace, harmony, [...]
Chick-Fil-A, A Rights-Based Culture, and Jesus
So, the Chick-Fil-A controversy. Yeah, that. What do we Christians do with that? Many of my friends flocked to Chick-Fil-A yesterday in support of their CEO taking a stand for traditional marriage. Many of my friends didn’t. Don’t think the first sentence was about my Christian friends and the latter was about my non-Christian friends. [...]
Book Month Challenge Day 26: Favorite Non-Fiction Book
To be honest I don’t read a lot of nonfiction because I can’t get into it like I can get into a story. It takes me weeks, sometimes months, to finish a nonfiction book, while I can read a really good novel in a couple of days. A novel takes me out of my world [...]
Book Month Challenge Day 24: Book That Contains Your Favorite Scene
Today’s was really hard for be because 1) I have a lot of favorite scenes and 2) I don’t actually own a lot of the books that my favorite scenes are from, so I can’t rewrite the scenes here for you. Sigh. So I’m going to share one of my many beloved scenes (from a [...]
Swimming in Saltwater Memory
So we’re at the beach this week. And it’s supposed to rain all week. When we got here last night, my plan was to go out and walk on the beach at night and stargaze. Poetic, right? But it was gray and cloudy and raining. Thankfully, this morning there was a break in the rain [...]
