“I will send down a shower of roses; I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth.” St. Thérèse’s feast day is October 1st! Here’s what her faith story might mean for yours.
Read MoreGod and the maintenance man: my reflection on finding grace in an unexpected place.
Read MoreWhy I taught my kids to call our homeless neighbors 'Peace Men'
In these women and men I see my sister, myself, my God.
The night I found out my childhood friend, committed suicide, I listened to Iron & Wine’s song The Trapeze Swinger on repeat--for hours.
Read MoreWhen I started attending St. James Cathedral in Seattle 11 years ago, I said to a friend, “St. James? Which one is he again?”
“He’s one of the Sons of Thunder!” she said, a little too loudly with a sort of spirited superhero look on her face.
I nearly spit out the double tall vanilla latte I was sipping, doubling over with laughter. “Sons of Thunder?” I asked.
Read MoreOlivia Laing describes loneliness as “difficult to confess; difficult too to categorize. Like depression, a state with which it often intersects, it can run deep in the fabric of a person, as much a part of one’s being as laughing easily or having red hair.” Laing’s words left me gasping, like a sucker punch to the gut.
Read MoreScripture says that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled the Apostles to speak in other languages, previously unknown to them. Native speakers heard the stories of kindness, peace, love, and redemption in their own languages.
Read MoreWe 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 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 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 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 MoreRead my reflection on the Gift of Silence in the Morning over at Busted Halo
Read MoreThere is a sense of surrender in Joy that is different than its lesser, tamer cousin, happiness. Joy, that next level of happiness, is when we let go
Read MoreSome of us realize that we just aren’t as dazzling or special as we thought we were going to be, myself included. Life gets in the way. There is always someone prettier, smarter, more successful, someone who shines brighter.
Read MoreThrives on moments where storytelling, art and faith collide.
