Hope Is Real!

God knows us from the inside out. ( Monica A Coleman , Making A Way Out of No Way: A Womanist Theology, 116) But it is helpful if we start to know ourselves well too. Mindfulness is important. (Myself) I am back from my Christmas vacation and I am glad. Today, as I took a bath to warm myself up, I reflected on how well I took care of myself on my trip. I went on several walks where I noticed how the rainy northwestern weather created lush, green ferns and moss. So beautiful!  I also took some cool pictures of boats:  In one of the marinas, a boat was sunk years ago to provide a break for the water and now there are trees growing out of it!  It is really neat looking, although it was hard to get a good picture because of the cloudy weather. The best thing about the trip was that I finally got to meet my brother's dog, Bee, who is just the cutest! Like Bee, in the picture, I had to take care of my body and mind while on the trip.  Sometime

I write some of the liturgy for my church and one of the things I usually write is called the "confession of need," which is a special kind of confession where we recognize how much we need Godde in our lives and ask how do we invite Her in more and more fully.  I really enjoy writing them!  This is the one for the Christmas season and so I thought I would post it here.  If you are not Christian, then just wait for my next post.  If you are, then I hope the confession inspires you to become more introspective and ponder the story of Christ's birth a little more deeper and to not be afraid if you do not have all the answers or do not know quite what to believe.  Spirituality is a mystery and it is by opening ourselves up to the unknown that we really grow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In this season of Christmas, it can be so hard to make time for what actually matters, which is to be true to you, O God.   We hurry and worry and put on the top of our list the age

Our hopes for the future are implied, and therefore in some way present, in what we have done. (120, Making a Way Out of No Way , Monica A Coleman ) Tomorrow morning I am leaving for Washington state to see my brother and his girlfriend for Christmas and I am excited!  Fortunately, my doctor upped my new medication and I am definitely feeling much better than I was even four days ago, which is a relief. Here are some pictures from the last time I visited: (The column is from the famous Seattle Pike Place Market , which was so cool.) While I was packing today, I made sure to pack my "self-soothing kit"-a coping skill I started practicing last year.  The kit is just a bag of small things that usually help me feel better and calm down when feeling stressed out that I have stored in a bag, so I can just pop it into my suitcase when I'm traveling somewhere.   Mine Currently Holds: -a small bottle of scented lotion -bath salts -packets of tea -lavende

Isn't it odd how you can be with a group of people and feel completely different from how everybody else is feeling-or at least seems to feel?  Last week, I was at a gathering and even though I was surrounded by friends I felt very alone, lonely, and out-of-place.  That is an unusual feeling for me now, but a few years ago I felt that way at gatherings all the time.  Fortunately, I was able to reassure myself by telling myself that I don't usually feel that way, so I knew that the feeling would eventually pass.  I reminded myself that these really were my friends, even if I felt out-of-touch for the moment.  I have been struggling with some depression off and on this holiday season, mainly because of a medication change, I think.  It's annoying to experience my moods go up and down more than usual, but I just try to enjoy the good times as much as I can and self-soothe myself during the bad times.  I have started coloring again, which is very soothing to me.  It lets me be

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou – This was my feminist book club’s selection for November and it is fabulous, of course.  I read it first in seventh grade, but I got so much more out of it during my recent reading.  I really recommend listening to it be read by Maya Angelou herself, which is what I did.  She is the best narrator I have ever heard and at times, it was almost eerie to hear her tell her own story.  Her story touches on many tough issues-racism, sexuality, rape, just to name a few-and we discussed what we each thought were the most disturbing or painful aspects of her early life.  To me, the saddest theme was that children and adults were adversaries in the book.  Maya and her brother do not feel that they can ever trust adults and the adults in the book do not give them any reason to-children are to be tolerated and disciplined and that’s about it.  It’s an us vs. them mentality that I find very disturbing.  In my view, children are to be loved an