a life beyond running shoes.

i finally finished "sacred marriage." it got long but was still a worthy read considering i had never read a book on marriage. it was good to check in and see where i was & what i thought of this gracious gift in my life.... that is sometimes hard to see as god being gracious when it can be so much work. i am still overwhelmed by the reminder that my marriage is not here to make me happy - it is to make me holy. here are some more quotes that struck me: "the opposite of biblical love isn't hate, it's apathy. to stop moving toward our spouse is to stop loving him or her. it's holding back from the very purpose of marriage." marriage is a discipline of fellowship nurtured through three spiritual practices: "learning not to run from conflict, learning how to compromise, and learning to accept others. these practices will serve us well both in the church and in the home." quote from the Whiteheads: "the challenge is n...

i was thinking about my quote from "living on air" that i posted and i had to stop and be extremely grateful because hope has not been like that for me over the last week. we have made it through a full week since the news about the baby and i am most certain that the harder i hold onto hope and faith the more i am reassured - not that everything will be fine but that god is getting bigger and bigger. i am so thankful that i do not live in the paradox that maude did...... my god is so big so strong and so mighty there's nothing my god cannot do!!! i also saw this movie on thursday. i don't get to see movies all that much in a real theater.... you know the popcorn, coke, and sticky floor experience. well, i absolutely loved this movie. i would go and see it again.... before it comes out on netflix. it was fun and thoughtful. i loved the way that it rallies around finding the support you need and the support you need to give. i did find the dialogue about suffer...

i realize i have gone through about twice as many books in the last three months than in the last year combined. what is that? perhaps the choice of not turning on the tv at night, perhaps needing to disengage during nap times, possibly having renewed my love of books while on vacation this summer.... who knows. i am enjoying it though. shapiro's book started slow for me. i could not engage with this 14 year-old living in the paradox of prep school and artist home. she was elusive to me as a character and there was not enough plot... where was this going? what was the point? i was reading to pass the time..... and then something happened. i finished the book and was sad it was over. i felt like it started out simply as a pretentious book about the change that the art world incurred during the 60s and how this impacted yet another coming of age story..... it was that but ended up being so much more. "maude made her was to her room thinking about this paradox: that the...

the author describes it as "a novel that asks you to consider the imperfect lives of people, as distasteful and as glorious as they often are, in a fictional small town in indiana." it was a good read. a variety of narrators revolving around the single evening a nine-year-old girl disappears. it is the story of "who dunit" but not as engaging as a true mystery would be - but it wasn't trying to be that. it was more about what we think of people and the difference between the private and public lives they lead. it raises the question of who is really responsible....can't say that i really saw the glorious aspect the author refers to but perhaps i was not reading close enough. i saw the idealism that people place on what they consider the perfect lives of others.... it was interesting to say the least.

from "my prayer book" copyright 1957 lord god, heavenly father, "whom have i in heaven but thee? and there is nothing upon earth that i desire beside thee. my flesh and my heart may fail, but god is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever." i am deeply grateful that your are god, who has promised never to leave me or forsake me. i trust your word that nothing shall be able to separate me from your love which is in christ jesus, my lord. i am ashamed to confess that sometimes my heart is filled with fear as i look at the trouble and turmoil in the world today. sometimes i am afraid to face a difficult problem in my personal life. forgive my little faith. increase my faith in your loving kindness and in your almighty power that i may overcome my fears and meet every trying experience with confidence. make your strength perfect in my weakness. by your holy spirit enable me confidently to say, "i fear no evil, for thou are with me." in jesus nam...

i just finished sarah dunant's novel about 15th century florence. having been there, it was a fascinating read to learn a bit about the medici family, a serial killer, and the changing times of italy in particular to how it affected on art & religion. it is totally fiction but uses history as the backdrop. i even liked the narrator - even though it was a coming of age story.... sorry mary, but i did enjoy it! one review i read of the novel compared it to chevalier's girl with a pearl earring. while not quite as rich in art & description, dunant's story is much more intricate and engaging. here is botticelli's painting of the same title:

based totally on stef's recommendation, john's cousin & i went to see the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee (broadway show) on saturday night. absolutely hysterical, thoroughly enjoyable, and wonderfully entertaining! this concludes our string of visitors to the big apple - what will we do with ourselves now?!

this is is profile..... ain't he a cutie!!! his sonogram pic looks very similar to micah's. uncanny, actually. here is micah's profile... it is not as clear as dewey's....

what a treat - to get a visit from five former students - and students that i loved no less. they are on a 17 day road trip hitting eleven (maybe more) ball fields for the third year in a row. this year, it brought them to the big apple. we had them over for burgers & watermelon in our "backyard." it is neat to see these guys growing into who they are going to become: men..... it is neat to hear about their majors, their change of majors, etc. it was a treat to be reminded that they were the part of the job that i loved most and miss most dearly. thanks for coming my way, gents!

so, i am in the middle of this book. i have found some interesting & amazing quotes that i thought i would share (all of which are quoted in the book). The main point (that i have gotten so far) is that marriage's sole purpose is not to make us happy; it is to make us holy. this is not the be underscored by the idea that they are mutually exclusive - they are not. "Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate." --W.H. Auden "romantic love crept into the marriage bed, very stealthily, by centuries, bringing its absurd notions about love as eternal springtime and marriage as a personal adventure meant to provide personal happiness." --Katherine Anne Porter "Romantic love has no elasticity to it. It can never be stretched; it simply shatters. Mature love, the kind demanded of a good marria...

this is how was survive 104 heat......in our "backyard." my mother-in-law laughs every time i use that term for the slab of concrete that we fondly refer to as a backyard.... the same goes for the front. it is about 10 degrees cooler out there because of the shade and because i dangle my feet in the kiddy pool. it has been almost unbearable hot. window unit air conditioners almost can't do much about it.... but i think we have survived. it is supposed to be cooler today. it will be a nice reprieve. micah has new friends this week. the church has a new intern - he & his wife have twin two year olds. micah is just a bit smaller than the girl... but the boy is a good challenge for micah to learn how to not give up his toys so easily. they have really helped us manage the heat, for sure. playing with someone's cranky kids helps pass the time with your own cranky kid..... thank you twins!

this is the forth book i have read by author paulo coelho. i have to say that while the alchemist is one of my favorite books, this one has left me without a conclusion. he always deals with the ordinary experiencing profound change. while i like the premise of each book, i struggle with his portrayal of faith....not his faith but what he says about mine. i enjoy his stories but struggle not to be offended by his watered down version of what it means to really believe that there is a god. none of his characters are redeemable, which is more like human nature outside of that god i believe in, than most people would consider. this story is one of a test - a test of courage, change, faith, and the battle between good and evil. i still love his books because they always make me think and that is always a good thing.... i guess i liked the book then!