March 23: God's Love Numbers Thirty-Three and Thirty-Four, Daughter's Award, "Ives" Dip

So, I'm home.  I've been traveling all day through Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.  The worst weather we encountered was right in Madison.  Last night, as we were leaving the auditorium after the dance competition, it was snowing.  Hard.  By morning, a good five inches of snow was on the ground.  It was as if the U. P. had followed us.

Well, putting bad weather aside, I am happy to announce that my daughter received a Gold award for her solo last night.  She also took first place in her age category.  Of course, my daughter was not happy with her performance.  Immediately after she was done dancing, she came to sit beside me and said, "I made a lot of mistakes."  I gave her a hug, told her she was great.

That's the end of my vacation weekend.  God's love number thirty-three is my daughter's award.  She was nervous, without her dance teacher, and kicked some dance butt.  God's love number thirty-four is safe travel, through bad weather and good.  Traveling mercies were with us.

It is Monday, so I need to do an Ives dip.  My question this evening is:

Will I have a good, quick week?

And the answer from Ives is:

Then [Ives] looked around:  the nine or so people gathered on that floor--service personnel and curious office workers--seemed to be radiating what Ives could only define as goodness, as if they were angels, sent to reassure him during a crucial moment of doubt...

Well, I was dreading my return to work tomorrow.  However, in my moment of doubt and dread, maybe something good is headed my way.

And maybe Saint Marty will have a drink to find a little goodness tonight.

Congratulations to my daughter

November 5: A Friend and Anne Lamott

I have a friend whom I recently introduced to the writer Anne Lamott.  When I say "introduced," I mean that I bought Erin a copy of Lamott's book Traveling Mercies.  It was my friend's birthday, and we were having a small celebration at work.  I wanted to get her something special.  I thought about it for a few days, and I couldn't come up with any idea.  Then, one morning, as I was getting ready for work, I remembered Anne Lamott.

Lamott is an essayist/novelist/teacher.  She lives in California and is probably most famous for her books on spirituality.  Now, when I say spirituality, I'm not talking Billy Graham here.  Lamott came to Christianity the hard way, through alcoholism, drug addiction, and abortions.  She is candid, honest, and unvarnished when she speaks of her journey to Christ, and that's what I love about her.  She has struggled, and, in writing about her struggles, she lets her readers know that struggle is OK.  It's normal.  It's part of being alive.

I don't know why Anne Lamott popped into my head, but I knew my friend would fall in love with her writing, the way I did a few years ago.  I was right.  This morning, I loaned Erin two more books by Lamott.  She just friended Lamott on Facebook.  I could make some sort of disparaging comment about my friend's obsession, but, if I did Facebook, I probably would friend Anne Lamott, as well.  I did advise Erin not to use the words "stalk" or "obsessed" in any communication she sends to Lamott.

Anne Lamott has allowed my friend and me to speak about Jesus and church and being a part of a worshipping community.  It has deepened our friendship, and it's putting Erin more in touch with her spiritual side.

I think it was a God thing, me giving Traveling Mercies to her.  It was one of those moments where God steps in, rolls up His sleeves, and says, "Let Me help you here."

Saint Marty is thankful for God, for Anne Lamott, for his friend.

Getting a little grace from Anne