(xaris and shalom)

A brutal stomach bug (okay, calling it "plague" may be an exaggeration, but it was awful) is not the reason that I would have liked to take two days off from work this week, but I didn't get a great deal of option. Now, on the other side of it, I've been thinking about the things that I appreciate about being so suddenly and stunningly (and briefly ) sick. It increased my compassion, at least for a while.  I am disgustingly healthy much of the time, despite the fact that, as Fezzik put it in The Princess Bride , "I don't even exercise."  (I do, however, drink hot water.  Take that as you will.)  I tend therefore to think that if everyone drank more hot water and ate more garlic and walked everywhere, they'd probably be fine too. Needless to say, I am probably drastically more empathetic in the week or so after I've been sick than I am most of the rest of the time. It forced me to rest.  And to stop doing  anything.  And to stop someho

The world is charged with the grandeur of God. (supermoon eclipse) It will flame out, like shining from shook foil. (From God's Grandeur,  by Gerard Manley Hopkins)

"So, Hannah, what should we know about women?" ( Young Girl at an Open Half-Door , Rembrandt.  Image from here. ) I was sitting in the back seat of the car, watching the road slip by on our long trip, and a bit startled by the question from the two guys in the front.  It was a serious question, and I took a few minutes to think about what I wanted to tell them.  I came up with four things.  Obviously, they're all generalities -- but that was sort of what the question was asking for. 1) Once a month or so, women feel less than awesome. I feel like that one's pretty obvious, but worth remembering.  Especially since there isn't anything comparable for most men...  That being said, though, it infuriates me when women play that as an excuse to be a jerk to everyone around them.  You and all other women on earth, sweetie. 2)  We can think about multiple things at once.  And probably have trouble not . Thus, if you ask me what I'm thinking about...

Two songs that I've been listening to lately and wanted to share, nothing profound to say about them, but both make me think of the story of the prodigal son and the more prodigal Father. The first one is Home  by Josh Garrels.  Listen here . Come on home, home to me And I will hold you in my arms And joyful be. There will always, always be A place for you at my table Return to me. The second one is If You Ever Come Back  by The Script.  Listen/watch the music video here . I'll leave the door on the latch If you ever come back, if you ever come back There'll be a light in the hall and the key under the mat If you ever come back There'll be a smile on my face and the kettle on And it will be just like you were never gone There'll be a light in the hall and the key under the mat If you ever come back, if you ever come back now. This is an amazing sort of love, and it amazes me how many places we get to see it -- in God, but also in human relationships.