The word good is a staple of my vocabulary. I use it frequently, describing my mood, the work others have done, the experiences I have. It comes naturally as a quick and easy response or a casual compliment. As a result, it has lost potency and sharpness, too tired to mean much. When I come, then, to the fruit of the Spirit and find goodness, ambiguity meets me. What is the goodness produced by a life united to Christ and…
I’ve been reading a few art / work process books in the past year, and they all advocate setting aside protected hours, in a designated office or studio space, so you can focus intently on the work before you, where you won’t be interrupted by menial tasks and requests. I’m afraid all of those books are written by men — who don’t do the stay-at-home-dad thing.
A few months ago, while we were back in the States for the holidays, a dear friend asked me how I thought I had changed since moving to Australia. We have been gone almost two years, time enough for change to take place. While I immediately felt gratitude for her thoughtful question, I didn’t have a good answer. How, indeed? Continue reading at Velvet Ashes.
I’ve been spinning my wheels for a couple of months now. A year ago, I would have told you that I was pretty good at parenting, that while far from perfect, I had good theology and good practice and that, given our current path, I was likely to be successful. Today I will tell you that on most days my impatience, anger, discontent, irritation, and laziness eclipse any notions of success and self-confidence. I’m left, at the end of the…
My latest book: Madeleine L’Engle’s Circle of Quiet, book 1 of the Crosswick Journals. When we are self-conscious, we cannot be wholly aware; we must throw ourselves out first. This throwing ourselves away is the act of creativity. So, when we wholly concentrate, like a child in play, or an artist at work, then we share in the act of creation. We not only escape time, we also escape our self-conscious selves. I knew that the moment I started worrying about whether…