Last night I dreamt that my cousin, Nancy, and her husband, Greg, were marrying after years together. First of all, in typical dream-like-suspension-of-reality, this is absurd. Nancy and Greg are married, and have been for years. They have…
Personal best, not perfection. ~Bethany Faircloth The best is the enemy of the good. ~Voltaire And God saw that it was good . . . ~ Genesis This is my umpteenth attempt at this blog . . . a blog on perfectionism. In a series on lessons taken from sabbatical….
“We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see.” – Winnie the Pooh I did not marry my best friend. Did you? For many of my couples, yes. They happily say they are marrying their best friend. I love that. I think it is likely more common to…
I knew this day was coming. Of course I did. It’s marked on my calendar, but I often wonder why I bother. It’s not like my mind, my body, my heart need the reminder. Today marks a full decade without my Mom. The motherless decade. I often say that time…
The thick of early-childhood parenting is stressful. At least it was for us. All of a sudden we had this not-so-easy baby/toddler making demands on us while we juggled work and running a house. I know some folks just fly first-class into parenthood….
Everything is hard. That is my mantra these days. I acknowledge that, perhaps, it is not the best mantra. But I am not known among family and friends for being the perpetual ray of sunshine. Instead, I am known for my commitment to speaking the…
I recently led a workshop on rethinking rituals at Phillips Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While planning out the class, I asked my colleague and friend, Professor Allie Utley, what she thought those attending might want to hear. Without hesitation,…
I have spent the past few weeks laser-focused on rituals – what they are, why we have them, the whole nine yards. Why? Well, I am teaching a workshop on “non-churchy” rituals for colleagues at Phillips Seminary in Tulsa next week, and I sure want…
When I was in high school, we had to read “A Tale of Two Cities.” Upon completing the book, I was angry. I mean really, really mad. I’d just spent a week reading an entire book only to have **spoiler alert** the hero die at the end. In fact, I was so upset,…
In the midst of this seemingly never-ending global pandemic, I’ll admit there have been some moments of laughter, lightness, and happiness. I’ll admit to some silver linings and insights. I’ll acknowledge that the slower pace of life has…