We gathered in the school gym across from the Cathedral as we do every year on this day. The children are giddy as we pick out our palm fronds to wave. Parishioners without the obstruction of pews, are socializing with friends and family. The gym is full of electricity as we look forward to joining the processional across the street and into the church
Read MoreWhen I returned from our vacation to Mexico City everyone asked me, "How was the food?" They asked because they knew the answer: It was amazing.
Read MoreAfter hearing a conversation between her two young sons, Shemaiah Gonzalez was led to reflect on the importance of not saying Alleluia during the Lenten Season
Read MoreEarly Saturday morning, I left the house at dawn for a much-needed walk. I’d been feeling down for a few days,The walk was a proactive measure.
Read MoreWhen my husband suggested a trip to Mexico City, the first thing on my itinerary list was Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul. I knew I wanted to see this magical house.
Read MoreI just got back from an epic vacation with my family to Mexico City.
Read MoreRead my article over at Parent Co about how my husband and I engage our boys at the art museum.
Read MoreUncle Philip knew the on-ramp to the freeway was my favorite. He gave me a wink as he revved the Bug as we waited at the signal to enter, then gunned it as the light turned green. He took the big C curved loop fast. I held on to the door handle tight, then imagined what might happen if the door opened, so I quickly locked it and took hold of the dash grab too. As we entered the freeway and straightened out he laughed and said “Well, Missy, that was our first ride of the day, cause I’m taking you to Disneyland!”
Read MoreHe called me when he read the letter, telling me that after reading my letter, he could have stopped teaching and would have been content.
Read More“How you holding up?”
Holding up? I didn’t know what they were referring to. It was as if someone died. Maybe someone did and I didn’t know.
Read MoreThis Saturday, my priest, Father Michael Ryan, of St James Cathedral in Seattle, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination. Our parishioners were asked to share stories and tributes to be bound in a book for him. This is my tribute:
Read MoreConsider what it means to have faith like a child during Advent. Read my essay at Busted Halo
Read More“It’s my year to put the star on top of the tree!” my oldest squeals as we remove the silver star from its box from the basement. Each year, he and his brother take turns being hoisted up into the air by my husband, stretching to place it a top the tree.
Read MoreI pull out the boxes of Christmas decorations from the basement the day after Thanksgiving. My stomach is still full from the night before. It will be another day before we set up the Christmas decorations yet already I feel stuffed, in my clothes, in my home, in my life. The tree will take up much needed real estate in my already tiny front room. I groan thinking of a full month of feeling claustrophic in my house.
Read MoreOn my grandparent’s shaggy avocado green carpet, I set up the Winnie the Pooh Weeble house they gave me for Christmas. Chubby Christopher Robin and Tigger go for a ride on the teeter totter. Pooh slides down the mini slide, rolling around when he gets to the bottom. “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down!” I sing as I push them on the tiny swings, after I have given them a nice picnic lunch of honey, of course. I tuck Pooh into his little bed and sing him a good night song, “Jesus is coming, coming for me, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.” The song is about the rapture, when Jesus will come for all those who believe in Him. It will happen quickly and without notice, I am to always be ready.
Read MoreMy 6 and 7-year-old sons are obsessed with the hip-hop historical musical about Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton. We know all the lyrics inside and out. We take turns taking the lead on the Hamilton or Aaron Burr lyrics and our goal in life is to rap as fast as Daveed Diggs’ Lafayette. So when we planned a family vacation to NYC we knew there was one stop we couldn’t miss. No, at $500 a ticket, I just couldn’t see taking my family of four to see Hamilton, dropping over 2K on one night. We took the boys to Trinity Church near Wall Street to see the graves of many of the historical figures portrayed in the musical.
Read MoreI see in you, the description of your daddy as a young boy, your Abuelita shared with me years ago, a curious little boy peeking behind the wall at her working in the kitchen. A little stinker of a boy who loved to tease and have fun but fiercely loyal and loving to those he selected as his inner circle.
Read More"I want motherhood to stay in these moments, not the moments where I am yelling like George Costanza"
Read this story over at Tribe Magazine
Read MoreRead my reflection on the Gift of Silence in the Morning over at Busted Halo
Read MoreThrives on moments where storytelling, art and faith collide.
If we keep our eyes on Jesus, small acts of service and love, like those lived out by St. Francis Xavier, will reap more rewards than we could ever imagine.
I must pinch myself that I am part of this collection from Ignatius Press ! It comes out next month but is available for preorder now.
How easily we forget that we are, at every moment, shaped with care by a Creator. Artists, however—who know intimately the blood, sweat, and tears of the creative process—can help us sense how marvelous it is to be created: the patience, the detail, the joy. In this essential collection, thirty-one Christian artists from various disciplines, from music to poetry to film to sculpture, offer personal essays on the strange experience of following God’s lead by making beautiful things.
Goldberg is much more practical than many of the texts that I have read. She gives you much to hold onto.
If you know me, you know I love encounters with strangers. Here is one that left me encouraged.
I always come to this prayer time with auspicious expectations. I know God is going to show up. I just don’t know how. I am always surprised how he does.