A vid take on MoF’s Sparks:
First up, Stuart Shepard, who I’d not heard of before today but is apparently a member of Focus on the Family’s activism arm, is encouraging everyone to encourage his God to rain on Obama’s acceptance speech. Which seems to me to be incredibly petty: pray for peace? pray for a […]

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During Obama’s recent visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, according to tradition, he wrote a prayer on a piece of paper and left it there. However, since he is under media scrutiny right now, it was stolen by a young seminary student (who should have known better!). While I disagree completely with its theft, […]

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I was happy to receive a link from Rick Heller about the Humanist Contemplatives of Houston, who
focus on self improvement, introspection, and achieving eudaimonia. They gather to meditate or contemplate in a serene setting, offer mutual moral support in meeting personal challenges, experience the profound in the arts, and share new ideas and traditional inspirations […]

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Containing, as it does, both Earth & Arbor days, April is the month when we look to the soil and the earth for inspiration. Earlier this month, I created a new Urb Garden, which is so far doing quite well. My cucumbers are happily strangling my tomatoes and the strawberries & mint are locked in […]

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In general, I think the whole freedom-of-religion clause applies in the sense you can believe whatever you want, as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of another. If my pharmacist decides that she does not believe in antihistamines, I think she should get another job, not sue me for wanting medicine. If […]

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It’s Spring again, time for cleaning. This year, I will be cleaning my home (I want the extra bedroom to be usable as (a) a guest room, (b) an office, and (c) a second living room; I’ve got my work cut out for me) and my soul. I think this is a great meditation/spiritual exercise, […]

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All the news (and blogosphere) seems able to talk about today is the fact that the official number of American soldiers killed in Iraq since we went back to war there has reached 4000. There was not one (un)lucky person who tips the scales to a nice, round, reportable number, but 4. And this morning, […]

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I visited my parents this weekend. Although he’s in a wheelchair whenever he leaves the house, he looks a lot better than the last time I saw him (after the diagnosis). Although that may be attributable to the fact that he’d just gotten off a plane.
After seeing him that time, I had a post that […]

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I have missed the beginning of Lent, hidden as it was this year, on Super Tuesday (followed by Awesome Wednesday and in 30 or so more days, Good Friday). I have a new friend for whom my respect has grown because he becomes vegan for the whole season (including Sundays). It makes me want to […]

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When my husband went to Tibet with his father for his (the father’s) 60th birthday, they each brought me back a priceless gift. My husband brought a jewelry set that is precious to me because it signifies the moment that we both knew we would get married.
My father-in-law brought back a Buddhist mala made of […]

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