* not with ink

Folks. This semester has been a bit unreal. I know we talk a lot about whirlwinds and busyness and time flying by, but this has been a new height of chaos for me. Maybe chaos isn't the right word. Stress and fullness and struggle. There have been a lot of those things. There have also been a lot of good things - laughter and someone to hold me when I cry and learning new ways to be. So that's good. There are two huge-life-things in process these days: a condo purchase and a wedding. They require a lot of energy, have near-unending details, and are gateways to goodness. So I'm hoping I come out alive on the other side. (I'm mostly kidding.) But here's something exciting I want to tell you all about! A book that is quite literally changing my life. It's called Difficult Conversations . If you're anything like me (that is, human), there are difficult conversations in your life that you either actively avoid or brashly plow through. This bo...

Earlier this semester, one of my profs gave me a book called Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics by Carol Flinders. It was a perfect gift out of the leftovers of her overflowing bookshelves... Although I'm only two portraits in, I am floored and amazed and encouraged. (I know, I am a weird, weird woman.) It's likely that I'll have many excerpts to share over the summer...here is the first round! My favourite 13th century German mystic, Mechthild of Magdeburg wrote this: "If I am truly to show forth the goodness of God, then I am obliged to speak of myself." A woman who loved God and knew her own self/voice. Boom. --- This poem excerpt runs along the same lines: Fish cannot drown in water, Birds cannot sink in air, Gold cannot perish In the refiner's fire. This has God given to all creatures, To foster and seek their own nature, How then can I withstand mine? --- And here's a statement from the author about g...

It's been a slow start to the extra-curricular reading this year. But hey, school. Actually, if I can admit it, it's been a slow start to the curricular reading too... Eep. Anyway, here's what I've read so far: The Stonecarvers by Jane Urquhart - I liked it quite a bit. I am really digging Canadian lit these days, pieces of my cultural heritage and place names that are familiar to me in reality as well as theory.I like the rhythm of Urquhart's writing, and found this historically enlightening as ell as engaging. Open Secrets by Alice Munro - This collection of short stories was for the book club I'm in, and I love love love my book club. I also quite liked this book, and the overlapping but not-quite-interwoven storylines. Also, as I wrote in an email to the book club ladies, "So many creepy men, so many strong women." Men in the Off Hours by Anne Carson - Meh. I am not familiar enough with classic Greek or 18th century Russia...