One Fine Morning...

Sometime in 2004 I bought a silver Honda CRV. I loved that car from the moment I saw it, and for ten years now it has been my friend. I'm feeling nostalgic about that car because we sold it about three weeks ago and got into a hot mess after that. Is it karma? Not sure. When we went to get the Honda inspected last month, we found out that it could never again pass inspection unless we wanted to put in a new engine. Yes, we are all about driving our cars until they die, and yes, we recognized that this moment of near-death was our sign that we should surrender the old girl. We thought about giving it to the junk yard, but our friend Tyler down the street (his daughter is the one who joined Lillian in the unfortunate squat-and-drop incident a couple of weeks ago) recommended we try selling the car on Craigslist. We were game for that. So, we took some pictures and posted an ad that said the car needed a major overhaul, but anyone who wanted it to fix, or wanted it for parts, was ...

There's a verse in James from which, particularly at certain points in my life, I've derived great comfort. It reads, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Yes have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that The Lord is very pitiful and full of tender mercy." The phrase in that verse that is most meaningful to me is "the end of the Lord." It only appears in the Bible twice. It seems to denote that moment when all is made right, or that moment when the end has come and we see how Divine Choreography played into the design and plan of our lives. Furthermore, James seems to suggest that our part in waiting for "the end of the Lord" is to act with patience and faith. Ah, therein lies the challenge. There, in that thought, lies the agony of overcoming ones fears and learning to trust in a power mightier than oneself. I have found myself in this place before, and I will find myself there again. And learning to place ...

My five year old daughter is fearless--to an extent. Awesome stunts in our hotel room in California She can handle the most gravity-defying roller coasters with a smile and a breathless, "Let's do that again!" whispered through her wind tousled blonde hair. She sizes up most strangers and observes them carefully, and does not quell nor quake from the appearance of the largest to smallest. She got on the school bus and never looked back, as she did the first time she went to preschool or walked into her first gymnastics class. The thought to be nervous or afraid literally never crosses her mind. However, like most of us, Lillian's fearlessness has a limit. An unfortunate accident last year with a small kiddie pool and some broken glass landed her front and center with a large needle and four stitches, administered (for various reasons) without the aid of of any numbing or anesthesia. Not surprisingly, Lillian now lives in utter terror that she will one day have...