Positively (Im)perfect

I recently heard a truly stirring reflection on humility. Our priest talked about it following the Sunday readings, which covered the Visitation - when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, traveled to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was expecting John the Baptist. Point after point resonated with me, and I thought, I have to ask him for a copy of this! But (since that would've been weird) I contented myself with scribbling a few notes on the back of a paint swatch from my purse while trying to remember as much as possible. So now I'm writing it down (with some liberal paraphrasing, of course, since my brain doesn't do the verbatim thing) before my memory bank dumps the remainder. First, our priest talked about the two women meeting, specifically Mary's words after her cousin's famous "Hail, full of grace!" greeting. In response to Elizabeth, Mary calls herself a lowly servant, but follows it by saying, "from this day all generations shall call me blesse

It's that time again. Time for my yearly if-I-call-myself-a-bookworm-I-should-be-able-to-back-it-up post. And I must say, though I started out slow, I'm pretty proud of my list this year. Here's the rundown... Couldn't Put Down Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand The only thing that made the storyline of this work of art more incredible is the fact that every event is astonishingly, absurdly, 100% true. It made me think of Forrest Gump--that is, in the way that one single person could experience so many astounding things in one lifetime, from overcoming the odds of a not-so-promising childhood to encountering such famous and infamous events and figures to surviving the unthinkable--and the downright impossible. I think it was a good thing that I'd never heard the name Louis Zamperini before I started the book, because there were very few spoilers for me. I will admit, I did put this book down--quite a bit actually--while wading through the first chapter be

Three weeks ago, as I bent down to tuck in my daughter and give her a good night kiss, she whispered, "I don't want you to go. You won't be here to sing my song at night." I sighed and scooted on to the bed next to her, thinking about the two weeks of training that lay ahead of me. "I'll tell you a secret. I don't really want to go either," I whispered, watching a tear slip down her cheek. "But remember when Daddy was gone for the same reason this summer and the two weeks went so fast?"  She looked me in the eye quizzically and tearfully stated the obvious: "It matters more when you're gone."  I sighed again as a tear slipped down my own cheek. "I know. I agree that in a lot of ways it matters more. But I know we'll both do the best we can, won't we? And Daddy will play your song that I recorded, or if we Skype at bedtime I'll sing it to you myself. Okay?" She nodded woefully and whi

Ah, September. Its air of change sweeps across today lightly but tangibly, with the slight morning chill and the leaves that, too soon, are showing their altered colors. Yet it also settles into place carrying a certain familiarity of the same old same old, of the schedules looming busy and full as ever on the calendar and in the rush of "I can't keep up..." September has always been my favorite month, with birthdays and apples and mums and the fullness of fall fruit after a long summer's growth. There's the presence of the routine that follows transition. There's the not-too-hot-but-not-too-cold comfort of being; the ushering in of fall in a slow-motion rolling out of the carpet, moving ever forward but never too drastic. I'm not one for extremes, I need stability and reliability to temper all the change; so I think my month of in-between with gradual shifts suits me perfectly. But ohhhh the calendar, so full of commitments and non-September-

Source Have you heard the news? Two women graduated from Ranger school today! Isn't it [ insert opinion: great/awful/inspiring/ludicrous/the beginning of a brave new world/the end of the world ]!? I've been keeping up with this news and the progress of these women (along with many other men and women in uniform) long before the interwebs started exploding this past week. And while I was hesitant to add my small little voice to all that loud clashing out there [where it seems everyone's talking and no one's listening], my husband reminded me that some people will still want to ask our opinion on the matter. And they have. So--since the questions have started rolling in, and since this history-in-the-making hits especially close to home for me and many of my peers--air my thoughts I will.  First of all, to the two women and the 94 men who graduated today, I offer my sincerest congratulations and best wishes for a boatload of good food and uninterrupted res

I've always admired people who can say "no." The ones who aren't malicious or selfish about it, but not apologetic either. They know when something needs to be a "no" and they say so. Easy as that. Me, I have a real hard time with no. It seems I've always been on the struggle train with balance and boundaries. Which is funny, because with my time at a rather unconventional school (and career) I was supposed to master that kind of pressure and prioritize in the midst of it; one of my biggest laments from my full-time army days was that everything was always a priority, but nothing was ever prioritized. Yet I am--and always have been--a people pleaser and helper, and sadly I think I've reverted to the EVERYTHINGISAPRIORITY! mentality in my own head as of late. Conceptually, I know that I can't (and shouldn't) do it all--that I can't be everything to everyone. But in the moment, my actions and attitude show a different truth. The messag

I feel like I must say up front that this is not any sort of sponsored post, and I'm a good two years behind the rest of the blogosphere for any sort of Five Favorites link-up or another. But I had a truly beautiful experience with fave #1 not too long ago, and I felt it would be a disservice to the rest of the world if I didn't share it. But a post all about just one thing seemed like it would be sort of short and awkward-ish, so I figured why not pretend I'm like the other cool blogesses and throw in four other things that make me extremely happy? Happy is always good, yes? Indeed. #1 - Chuao Honeycomb Chocolate My husband brought me this nugget of perfection on a night when I had a work call that we both knew would be a total steamroller. I was totally stoked by the idea of a new dairy-free* chocolate bar since my options are so limited--though I admit, when I first saw the honeycomb part, I was like "ehhh...I don't know about this..." But o

We sat idly in the stifling plane as the sky darkened and the minutes ticked by...ten, twenty, an hour delay. Finally the engines whirred to life. I prayed the kids would fall asleep quickly and painlessly as we made our way through the night toward home, but I dared not close my own eyes for fear I would stir and wake the blond little towhead that had eventually come to rest in my lap. It had been a wonderful but physically exhausting trip to see my family--which started with our daughter missing the last two days of school so we could fly across the country for her aunt's graduation--and my brain had been close to implosion as I'd tried to get everything in order for the end of another school year while packing up for the trip out. Now, our return trip was already taking its toll. I'd started out the day feeling awful, but thankfully made it through some sightseeing before our delayed red eye flight, which finally landed in Denver at midnight--or 2am, according t

Another Memorial Day is approaching, and with it, mixed feelings that fill the hearts of many service members and their families.  For a large portion of our nation, Memorial Day is simply the unofficial start of summer and a happy chance to escape work on a Monday. But at its heart, Memorial Day is the singular day each year that honors all the men and women who have died in service to our country (not to be confused with Veteran's Day in November, which honors anyone, living or deceased, who has served in the Armed Forces).  Memorial Day began as a local tradition shortly after the Civil War, when loved ones would decorate the graves of deceased service members. It became known as Decoration Day, and eventually May 30th was reserved for the day of remembrance because flowers across the country would be blooming (although Colorado is making a strong case against that this year).  In 1971, Memorial Day was officially declared a national holiday. It remains the

Crux It looks different from up here the soldiers smaller, their menacing scowls too far away to see or maybe it's just the blood and sweat that fills my eyes, blurring my vision The deafening noise is not as loud up here —shouting, screaming, crying, mocking— but maybe it's just the screaming pain in my body drowning it all out The sun—baking my torn flesh As the flies buzz around my open wounds—feels hotter from up here Or maybe it's just because Their cold hearts are further away The world looks harder from up here Filled with sin, Caesars, and high priests Who only love themselves Who have no need for me Or maybe they are more in need of me now Than ever before My heart feels different from up here Hurting to the point of death Loving more than life itself But maybe... maybe if I can touch even one, single, life— It will all be worth it. —Megan McQuaig (Hjelmstad) Originally published in Dappled Things Literary M

Design by Erik A few weeks ago, my friend Amanda contacted me and asked if I would be willing to help with a little project. She told me about a little boy named Finnegan. He's in kindergarten and has been battling malignant brain tumors since the age of two. He was doing better, but they recently discovered a new tumor in his brain. He is currently receiving bi-weekly chemo treatments. Treatment isn't easy for anyone, but it's especially hard when you're a five-year-old little trooper. And while modern medicine is a powerful thing, we know that it's just as important to have an even more powerful network of love and support during treatment and beyond. So Amanda came up with a beautiful idea to rally that support and show Finnegan how important and loved he is. She asked as many people from as many states (and countries!) as possible to commit to being "Prayer Warriors" for Finnegan. She sent a paper dove to anyone who agreed, on which

This morning, we caught our first glimpse of mountain views from our bedroom since we moved to our new home last week. Hazy clouds and snowstorms, one after another, have covered our sky and hidden our beautiful mountains for the past five days--a little rare for the city that boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year. It was almost starting to feel like our majestic peaks had disappeared. But there they were this morning, solid and sure, beautiful and striking in the early morning light, the sun gracing the peaks as the clouds of another snowstorm loomed behind, just waiting to overtake them. But not before my husband and I stole a few moments next to the window with a bagel and cup of coffee, and a brief but meaningful conversation while soaking up the rosy mountains' majesty. The clouds rolled in just a few minutes later, but the reminder of the mountains was enough to brighten my entire morning. And it reminded me of life these past few chaotic weeks. Sometimes it&

This year (all one and a half months of it, ha) seems to be extremely intent on beating me over the head with a single lesson:  Timing is everything. I'm not talking about my own timing, of course. One by one, my plans this year have been getting handed to me. Not exactly in an I'm-getting-life-handed-to-me way, but more in a "nice try, but your plans just got totally dominated (but you still get to benefit!)" way. I think it's because I tend to get stuck so easily on when and how certain things should happen (are you noticing a recurring theme here?). I'm good at  saying  that I'm trying to trust God's plan and timing, but then I'm all shock and awe every time something happens that goes against the "plan" I envisioned. I'm blown away that it didn't happen in my time and in my way. Even though (surprise, surprise!) the different plan or path always seems to work out--often better than mine would! Anyway, from the