Revisiting the Desert

Matt and I went on a little vacation to Las Vegas over the weekend to rest and try snowboarding (my first time).  It was a nice getaway, other than people smoking on the no-smoking floor of our hotel and Matt’s getting altitude sickness from our little snowboarding adventure on Saturday.  As we drove through the [...]

“Yearly” Examine, Elephants, and Psalm 131

Welcome to the year 2012.  Today I decided to begin the new year by reviewing the old one, using the Daily Examination of Consciousness as a guide.  Some of what came up was expected, and some surprised me, but overall it was a fruitful time.  I used a journal my brother brought back for me [...]

Goals for 2012

After some thought, here are my goals for the new year: Writing goals Start a new journal Blog twice a week Make a dent in my reading list Spiritual health goals Try a new spiritual exercise each month Practice the examine every day Find a church community Find a new spiritual director Physical health goals [...]

Revisiting Contemplation

In honor of the anniversary of Thomas Merton‘s death (December 10th, 1968), I have decided to re-read New Seeds of Contemplation. It’s been a while, and I forgot how much I enjoy his writing.  Here’s a bit from the first paragraph of the book: Contemplation is the highest expression of [one's] intellectual and spiritual life.  [...]

Trees: A Vision

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.    – Jeremiah 17:7-8 Has God ever answered a question you didn’t realize you were asking? I was wondering idly what season [...]

Journey Through the Liturgical Year

I’ve decided (albeit belatedly) to follow the liturgical year over the next year and blog about it from time to time.  Since the first Sunday of Advent was this past Sunday, I’d better get a move on. Advent is a period of preparation for Christmas but, unlike Lent, it is not a period of penance.  [...]

Church or Bust

So our church visit tonight was a total bust.  To all church leaders everywhere, please update your websites! Matt and I had planned all day that we would visit a church down in Ventura tonight for their 6pm service, allowing Matt his first chance in a while to really sleep in.  We drove down to [...]

Why Being an Idealist Sucks

Matt and I have been looking for a church ever since we moved to Carpinteria about 3 months ago.  While we haven’t been able to attend church every Sunday due to Matt’s work schedule, we’ve still visited 6 or 7 churches so far and have another new one laid out to visit tonight.  While we [...]

Two Years Later…

I had grand aspirations in January 2010, didn’t I?  Blogging magnificently each week, drawing inspiration and spiritual insight from my walks at the Arboretum.  But life interrupted.  My apologies to anyone who actually read my posts, although this blog never really got off the ground.  If I can excuse myself, I was busy: falling in [...]

Take a Hike: what the princess said to the frog

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”  A friend and I saw the Princess and the Frog last week, taking advantage of the Academy’s $10 date night.  As I watched an unlikely pair fall in love amidst toothless fireflies, trumpet-playing crocodiles, and some surprisingly dark voodoo characters, I was [...]