Nadia!!!

We've talked about Nadia Bolz-Weber before. 
She wrote the book, Pastrix: The Cranky Faith of a Sinner and Saint. 
Have you read it yet?  Oh my word hurry UP!!

If you don't have time for the book, read her sermons HERE.

I got to go hear her speak on Friday night!  It's been on my calendar for almost a year.  Up close and personal - there were only maybe 200 of us there, and she talked to us as though we were having a conversation for two hours.

 And then...

 

Ahhhhhh!!!!!

She is an ordained priest in the Lutheran church, and a straight-forward, hilarious, depressed, sober alcoholic who is in love with God and serious about grace.  She puts SO much of what I know in my heart to be true about love and the human condition and beauty and God's great bigness into such clear language.  She exposes that Jesus is a rascally one when it comes to loving yourself, saying no to shame, and extending your arms wide for truly one and all.

I've been digesting her words for the last 24 hours and thinking about something she said about how  in the Jesus-business, healing always includes community.  It's made me wonder how much the communities of which I'm a part honor the process of healing.  Big Stuff healing (like death and divorce and all that) and also the Everyday healing it takes to just get vertical every morning.  Healing seems to be a nasty gig.  It includes people who are not at their most tidy and kept.  People who need.  And it means being so real about whatever went down to put us in this spot in the first place.  Hmmmmmmm.  I wonder....do I make room in conversation for people to be real about whatever they are healing from?  Do I name the places I see it?  Do I yammer my mouth about the kids and the details of life instead of paying homage to the big picture which always has been and always will be that life is a mess and thank God that God is so big that this mess of ours is tolerable for today and tomorrow bears hope if for no other reason than Love is free?  Hmmmmmm.  I want to give more space.  I've grown more and more intolerant of small talk every day for the last few years.  This reminds me why that's a good thing.  Let's cut to the chase and not waste breath on the weather.  You know?!

It's a rascally notion alright.  But she makes rascally look and sound OH so good!

laugh stack

Here's the stack...in hopes of taking everything a lot less seriously...

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs...author of Running with Scissors...So far very very funny and highly irreverent, yet still so poignant.  Incidentally, I never noticed that that there are 6 fingers on the hand on the cover til a friend pointed it out.

Adultery by Paulo Coelho....he also wrote The Alchemist.  Speaking of, have you read that yet?  Please please do.  It doesn't matter what the topic is, his insights are incredible. This book won't be funny, it will be heavy, but it will be by Coelho so its truths will feed me.  And I better hurry...the inter-library-loan chipmunks want it back asap.

Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky.....he visited a bunch of hotels and talked to their staff and has the inside scoop on everything.  I already used his trick last weekend to not have to pay for a movie that I bought and only watched part of.  That's $19 more I spent at Ikea later.  Woot-woot!

Shit my Dad Says by Justin Halpern...NY Times bestseller.  Supposed to be hilarious.  I cant identify because my Dad doesn't really say shit (just in case he still reads my blog!!)

Someone Will Be With You Shortly by Lisa Kogan....Another 921, because that's my section and I can't help it.  Also its supposed to be funny.

Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott.....Because, Lamott.

the stack

So here's the current stack...

Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber.  That stud I live with heard about it on NPR and gave it to me for Christmas.  You must read it.  Must must must.  She is a Lutheran pastor, covered in tattoos, drops the f-bomb like a master, is cranky, and in-love with God.  She puts to words much of what I've been thinking about this mixed up thing we call church.

The Book of Flying by Keith Graber.  Its fiction that came from a friend - who called it "'The Alchemist' on crack."  I'm crossing my fingers I will like it as much, although so far not quite.

Seven Thousand Ways to Listen by Mark Nepo.  I need to learn how to do this better.

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron.  It comes highly recommended by my spiritual director and my old soul sister.  Chodron is a buddhist nun who wrote this book while on a year-long spiritual retreat.  She did nothing but eat, sleep, pray, read, meditate, and write for a year.  I cannot identify.  Yet her truths are so basic and so so good.

The Isle of Youth by Laura Van Den Berg.  A collection of short stories that's on many booklists right now.  They are depressing and I really don't think the author is all that.  Yet I can't quite put the book down.

This is why I love the library - especially inter-library loan.  Look where the Chodron book came from.  Its so incredible to think about the journeys and thinking of whoever consumed these pages before me.

18 hour bookstack

When we drove (one-way!) to Michigan for count 'em

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

hours, 

and then back again for all 18, 

River got to watch the Cars movie 7 times and I got to read.  It was exactly like when I was 12.....Dad mostly drove, Mom mostly talked and handed out snacks, and I got to zone out and not know or care what state we were in or where our next meal would be from.  Bliss.

So here's the bookstack...

Bootstrapper by Mardi Jo Link.......A great book about (ahhhhh! Can I make myself say this phrase?!?!) pulling yourself up by your bootstraps (there I did it).  Its light, real, and makes me want to be her friend.

Cooked by Jeff Henderson........He started out as one of the top crack cookers and dealers in CA, and is now the head chef at the Bellagio.  He found his passion in prison kitchens.

The Alchemist by Coelho.........A stretch for me because its a fable.  But its about the power of following your dreams, and hey, I need a dose of that.

Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski...........A guy lived on the streets for 3 months and wrote about it.  It was a skim-it kind of book.  He uses lots of God-talk which was annoying and hard to overlook.

All New People by Anne Lamott............I've read it, but took it along because she always comes along on vacation with me.  A really good novel.  I think of it sometimes when I'm so sick of stupid people and certain that this world is going to shit.  "Just think....in 100 years....all new people."  Its a novel about hope.

Ok - go to your handy-dandy library and get started!

on books and kitty shelters

Ok, previous posts addendums....

Not sure what that word means or if I'm using it right, but it does sound good, doesn't it?

1.  That rain I was thankful for, well it flooded a ton of homes.  Like big time flooded.  Like 9 inches of sewer water in people's carpeted basements flooded.  I'm sorry.  I do love the rain, but I don't love that it did that to you.  I feel badly for riffing on about something that brought people hardship.

2.  Sage McCage and potty training.....Well, the girlie is potty trained, no thanks to me.  I haven't offered a single treat or set a single timer.  I did my infamous Happy Dance after her first poop, for which she waited patiently for me to be done with a puzzled look on her face and then said, "What are you doing are you done?" No kidding.  She just goes pee and poop on the potty when she needs to.  End of story.  Dear God, please let puberty go this easily.

Ok, now to the real deal.  I'll get to this ^ in a minute.

Long story made short....

We found some kitties in our window well that I thought were abandoned so I got a box and made a bed and got my most dramatic self on and googled how to save kitties that don't have their eyes open yet and learned how to make a milk concoction out of eggs and whole milk and oil and fed them through a syringe and cried over them and loved on them for 4 hours and dedicated my life to saving them and set up an Abandoned Kitten Rescue Shelter That Will Save Every Sweet Kitty's Life (AKRSTWSESKL) in my living room only to hear their mama crying outside my door and begging to have her babies back at which point I brought them out to her and she took them and hissed at me and I felt like a horrible kidnapper who steals other mama's babies for my own entertainment.

I had insisted on staying home to woman the AKRSTWSESKL while my family went to spend the evening with grandparents.  Only one hour into it was when the mama cat took me down a few notches and took her babies back.  The silver lining was the remaining three hours in the house by myself with my books.  And a bowl of fresh sliced avacado and garden tomatoes and feta cheese.  Sigh.  Grace.  God even smiles on us kittynappers.  

So the real point is the current booklist....I highly recommend them all...

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris.....nonfiction...his newest.  He does not disappoint!

Plan B by Jonathan Tropper....a novel about 30-somethings with lots of references to the 80's.  I'm eating those 80's up!

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper....like the other one by him, only bettter.

Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle.....I'm reading this one because Anne Lamott told me to.

The Secrets of Leaven by Todd Wynward.....Ryan and I were extremely privileged to meet him and sit down to dinner together at the Menno convention in Phoenix.  He is a total vegabond, a real maverick of a revoluntionary - not to mention a great writer.  Check him out at www.leavenrising.com.

Now if I could just find some other kitties to rescue, maybe I could finish them.

And other pictures that just make me happy...

Maybe she was tucking her baby in and just couldn't last a second longer?  I love this big girlie!

the book stack

Still feeding my reading addiction.  Its like a plate of food....you want more than one thing on your plate.  And you don't want all the food to be the same color.  Or flavor.  And you sometimes don't want your food to touch, but it always ends up mixing together anyway, especially at the end, and your whole experience was better for it.   

This is the way with books.  And they are meant to be consumed.  Consumed, my friends!!!!!  This means nevermind the spines, and read them outside and while you eat, and turn down the corners, and get chocolate and coffee rings on the pages.  I live for finding a corner that was once turned down on a library book.  Or an eyelash, or a finger smudge.  Its like a reminder that someone else consumed it too - read these words and thought about what they were reading.  And they were living lives and going about their business.  Like a shared experience with anonymous strangers over food for thought.  

I'm a book nerd.  I own it.  You should join me....

Wheat Belly by William Davis............holy moly we should not eat wheat.  This is fact.

God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet........a memoir about a doctor's experience at Laguna Honda, a hospital in California, and the slow, patient-centered, creative way they do medicine.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis.......a novel.  Go me.  And Oprah told me to read it.

After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey......another 921 call number.  This is the only book I've read since I can remember that as hard as I try, I can't make sense of it when I don't read it in order.  Its that well-written and clever and intriguing.  A reporter is piecing together the story of his father's mysterious death.  Its about coming of age and coming to self and just plain life.  

And my view when I was reading.  I love this room, and its people and cat.

with or without

Ok, there is much much much to do around here.  Now that the wedding bash is over and reality has struck, we've been up to our knees in the muck of such drama as fevers and picnics and a new van transmission and a totally trashed out house and getting things going on our Wednesday night church program and last details at Ryan's job before he closes the summer work chapter and library storytime and friends and meetings and well, let's just say life is full and its all good.

We are heading soon to God's country, known to some as the great state of Michigan.  I simply cannot wait.  The beach and family and zero loads of laundry or work meetings await us.  The stack is ready...

Have you read any of these?  I thought Mary Karr was supposed to be funny, but she's not.  She's sad.  But I can't stop reading it because she's such an incredible writer.  I've read Plan B twice already, but I thought Anne would like to come along on vacation.  Plenty of Time magazines from the library.  (If you have magazine subscriptions, stop.  Go to the library instead.  Save money and expand your mind.)  

And a magazine I recently started reading called Living Without, because its full of great gluten-free info.  I think the cosmos are playing a sick karmic trick on me in that I'm reading a magazine by that name.  I prefer to live with in absolutely all things.  Salt, pillows, friends, music, information, ingredients, conversation.  Although I claim the simple life and hug trees, this whole living without thing is quite a game changer.  Go ahead and laugh, God.  I know you are.

But let's focus on the with part, shall we?  This is the most incredible corn bread ever.  I solemnly swear that I will never make another recipe as long as we both shall live.  

Corny Cornbread.....modified from Simply in Season cookbook

2 c. cornmeal

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 c. kefir (if you don't know what this is, I'll introduce you later.  Just use plain yogurt.)

3 beaten eggs

1 c. frozen corn or fresh or whatever

some fresh herbs - I used basil, of course

Combine the first 4 dry ingredients.  Then mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Pour into a greased round oven pan or skillet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

It makes for a great picnic - served with gazpacho.  (No recipe on that today.  It needs tweaking.  But if you say it a few times over, its nearly as fun as eating it.) As I look at this photo, I'm struck at how extremely lucky I am to sit in that empty spot as part of that family.  That is living with!!!

Books and Buckeyes

Because this is my awesome reality...

...once in a great while,when the stars align, I get to spend some time on the couch with my favorite blanket and a pile of books.

And there's just not much better than that. 

Last night's stack:

Look me in the Eye... My life with Asperger's by John Elder Robinson

     An autobiography.  I wish John was my friend.

Nevermind the Joneses by Philip Yancey

     I'm trying to get inspired to keep on doing things our own way when it comes to raising our kids and keeping our house standing.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

     Another memoir.  Startling, real, poetic, sad, inspiring....a muslim woman gives descriptions of her daily life as a child in Kenya and Somalia.  She is now a member of the Dutch parliament.  So Fascinating.

Olive Kitteridge by Elisabeth Strout

     Fiction.  Decent.

And a couple of journals for quote collecting, noting inspirations, list making, etc.

If you look closely at the picture, you'll see a little ball that makes it all bliss...A BUCKEYE!

I meant to take a great picture of these chocolate covered peanut butter balls, and post the recipe.  But they are ALL gone.  Thankfully, Eva agrees about their awesomeness though because I found a picture in the camera that she took of them:

I've had them before, but this is the best recipe yet.  (Thankyou, Mariah!)

2 cups creamy peanut butter and 3/4 cup butter melted together.

Poured over and mixed with: 4 cups of powdered sugar and 3 cups of rice crispies.  

Add a little extra melted butter if it seems too crumbly.  I added 2 Tbsp.

Roll into balls and chill.

Melt one pack of chocolate bark and dip them in.

Chill again.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

Ours disappeared in 5 days.  

Buzz kept saying, "They're gonna see the inside of my mouth!" every time he ate one.  I finally figured out why...he thinks they are called "Bug Eyes"!

I'm headed now to make another batch.  

Wouldn't want to miraculously get another couch night and get caught without Bug Eyes!

Soundtrack

My friend Allison sent me a mix cd while I was on bedrest.  

I've been listening to it 24/7 since...it's becoming the soundtrack to Sage's infancy.  

Its full of beautiful songs that are so full of soul and so gloriously free of sap.  

For those of you looking for new music (that's you, Ana!), download some of these songs: 

Stick By You by Andrew Lipke

We Are Okay by Joshua Radin

Rise by Eddie Vedder

Friend Like You by Joshual Radin

Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap

Heavenly Day by Patty Griffin

Sage by Al Jewer

World on a String by Ashley Chambliss

So Are You To Me by Eastmountainsouth

My Couch Potato Book Tour

Remember how I said I love lists?  Here are the books I've read while on bedrest the last 2 months:

Disclaimer:  I do not read books front to back.  I read nearly every word, but I read a little from the front, a little from the back, some in the middle, and depending on the book, just generally piece it all together from the middle outward.  I also read at least 3 books at once.  Its important to have one going to fit whatever mood I'm in when I get time to read!

At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream by Wade Rouse
     A hilarious memoir of Wade and his partner's transition from NYC to rural Michigan.  I laughed so hard I snorted.  And cried.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
     Another witty, off-color, only slightly offensive memoir.  By far his tamest.

Jesus Land by Julia Sheeres
     I couldn't read every word.  This memoir's depiction of a young boy's experience of racism and abuse was too real.

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
    I wonder if this novelist knows her last name is wiener.

Green Mama by Traci Bianchi
     Read this book.  Its kind-of a "how to" for green mamas.  Just read it.

Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer
     A memoir by a polygamist wife.  Better than it sounds.

Committed by Elisabeth Gilbert
    Every bit as good as Eat Pray Love.

Glass Castle by Jeannette Wall

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Wall

The Idle Parent by Tom Hodkinson
     Because Ryan loves this book and really wanted me to read it.  It has good points about how to raise bright, self-sufficient, creative kids if you can get past the frequently naive, irrational statements by the author.

Lift by Kelly Corrigan
      She makes me want to be a better person.

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
     I want to stand on my couch and advertise this novel!  EVERYone should read it.

Rosie by Anne Lamott
    Lamott just never lets me down.  I passed a 3 hour kicking spell (3:30-6:30 am!) by the girlie in my belly by reading this.