All 10 Popes

The AWANA Grand Prix is a big night for the Pope family. Usually the cars are bought weeks in advance, and much like the rest of my life, get put into a box, a drawer, somewhere out of sight and then....well, you understand don't you? If you look my name up in the dictionary, right after limited time management skills would be procrastinator in disguise (because I like to pretend that I am over that and have it all together.) And so, a few days before the race, my Love, he gets together with the 3 bigs, sandpaper in hand and they scrub and scrub. He helps, encourages. The cars are smoothed, primed and painted all by them. Oh, we help when it is necessary. We guide, but they do. And you know what I want for my kids? I want them to be doers and much of this parenting gig is about appearances and the parents, really. It's not really about he kids learning and spending time with their family...it's about winning.  It's not that I don't want to be helpful. It's not...

There are these times when I sit down here at my dusty computer and plunk something out that I think I might have some clue as to what I am talking about. And then I am reminded that perhaps I don't have it all together...not even close. Standing isn't for the faint of heart.  In the movie, Shadowlands , we meet an ageing, and at times, an almost arrogant CS Lewis, author of many and much loved Christian books. Some of these books carry the weight of suffering as the main theme. Written for adults going through trying times in their lives, Lewis' desire, rightly, is to point them to Christ, who suffered for us all. The problem? Lewis himself has never had tragic suffering looming in his life in such a way that has left him broken or despondent. Writing while not really knowing the experience, Lewis meets Joy, a spirited poet who has known a great deal of loss in her own life. Lewis is undone in many a ways. He l...

  Winter Is...       Naps on the couch     Good Reads. With leaves for bookmarkers.     Lots of light saboring.       Snow Forts.       Dogs pulling a sled 200 miles.     And the musher behind them.     Coats zipped up to our eyeballs     Frozen Face. Seriously, his face was frozen.      Skiing   Falling down while skiing     Success! while skiing.       Lot's of yelling, "Do the pizza!!!" at skiing children.     Together.

Not long ago I knew this girl . When asked at a youth group leader meeting to write down what is most important to her she wrote one word: Truth. Not sure what all of that entailed, she then endeavoured to live her life chasing hard after that Truth. Failing, falling, bumping, bruising along sometimes this chase looked more like a scared run or a hide and seek game of the ashamed. This girl, she knew that Truth must be her anchor, but didn't really know what that looked like. She wanted to stand for it, but how to do this was always a challenge that seemed to be the better.  It seemed as if the world had invaded the church...that those wanting to stand for Truth, including this girl looked a whole lot like those who said that you couldn't know it and to claim to was arrogant and self righteous. Wrapping herself tight in her own wisdom was folly. Comparisons always lead to discontent and this girl? She spent almost four years in Germany, just that...dis...

  Dear Winter, You are lovely.   ~all 6 popes