A Good Day

My heart has been so heavy this week.

However, on Saturday, when my pants would no longer zip, David talked me into shopping for some maternity clothes. We drove to Westminster (halfway to Boulder) and had lunch. The sub shop was crowded and the weather was beautiful so we ate our lunch on a bench outside. Even though "Motherhood" was right next door to an "REI," my patient, loving husband helped me pick out two pairs of maternity pants and a new top.

It was a good day. It had been a LONG time since we had gone out just the two of us and done something.

And, I love my new maternity clothes. They remind me that my belly is swelling with new life. That in the midst of pain and suffering and death all around, there is a spark of new life that is growing inside me. And in some crazy, mysterious, and holy way, knowing this makes me feel better.

Sacred Subversions

I'm so grateful for friends like Anne who post things like this and the one below:

Sacred Subversions

These people have been turning the whole world upside down! Acts 17:6

I heard every siren call -
the skinny ones with their promise of beauty.
The chubby ones and their assurance of success.
The ones in suits and the ones who wear silk.
I was tempted, sure - I was repulsed
each voice, each note
the truth and nothing like the truth.
I tied myself to the journey and sailed into the song-
a passage of good hope;
a pirate with all my teeth

My soul magnifies the Lord
but what of the rest of me?

i went in the closet and closed the door.
i begged to have eyes to see and ears to hear
thy kingdom come

yesterday I managed to oppress no one
the food I ate was grown by my own hands
i wove my clothes out of dog hair and
trash from a Mexican trash heap
i read by the light of the moon - went to
jail to stop a war - cried at the foot of the cross
built a widow a house
taught a child to read
painted a picture using mud, blood,
and guns I had coaxed
out of the hands of
15-year-olds and ground into
a paste.

yesterday i forgave my mother and raised chickens
and then I rode my bike to Palestine
where I listened to bombs drop
and cried while I held a child who asked my why
It was a light day

We are the body -
the hands that serve
the voice that soothes

in every breath
it is an impossible situation
press your finger anywhere on the globe
and it is an impossible situation
organize thousands of women
dressed in white to crush a dictator;
feed every one
inspire everyone
sow your clothes and your food
pick up arms or put them down
and still it is
an impossible situation

luckily we are foolish
enough to show up anyway
today I'll run away with the carnival
and learn to juggle the revolution and quiet adoration

today for the kingdom today for the kingdom
may those who labor give birth
may those who long for life, grow

o jesus
o holy jester
focus our vision

- from the inside cover of Conspire Magazine's
Summer 2009 publication, vol. 1, number 3
conspiremagazine.com

Maybe it's the hormones

I'm not sure what it is.

Maybe it's the hormones.

But I can't stop. I can't stop reading Kim and Patrick's blog. I can't stop reading articles about the history of Haiti and feeling sad about all the shitty U.S. policies that have helped make Haiti the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

And, I can't stop this nagging feeling in my heart that God might be calling me (and by "me" I mean "us") to global ministry. I'm trying to ignore the nagging. Like I tried when I felt like maybe I should go to seminary. And when I felt like maybe I should go to Palestine. It's the same kind of obnoxious nagging.

Maybe it's the hormones...

My heart is sad

I can't stop thinking about the people in Haiti and this morning my heart is sad.

If you are looking for a secure way to donate money, here is the link to the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

If you want to read an AWESOME blog about a former Iliff student and his wife who are serving in Port-Au-Prince, click here.

14 weeks

I'm starting to grow! I can no longer comfortably button my pants and am sporting the "belly band" most days. The lighting on this picture is really bad but you get the idea...

ONE MORE QUARTER!!!

I took David's picture on the first day of his LAST quarter of nursing school. He is 3 days of class, one day of lab, 13 clinical shifts, and 11 weeks away from graduating!!!

Happy New Year!

Well, we have lived in Denver for 2 1/2 years but this was our first new year's here! Matt and Lorissa came over on New Year's Eve and we made cheese and chocolate fondue. It was yummy and WAY cheaper than going out for fondue. Denver does fireworks on New Year's Eve so we went down the street to watch them.

We actually stayed up until 1 (no small miracle for the pregnant lady!) and then went over to their house on New Year's Day for brunch. The guys made us brunch while we put our feet up and drank tea. I LOVE "Man Brunch!" =)