Eva says HI

sleeping in, cute bakeries, strawberries with goat cheese, long conversations with three lovely lady friends all weathering serious life transitions with strength and grace and humor, jess' fierce insistence on being who she is wherever she is, the image of beth bursting into hysterical laughter as she oversees her new 3-bedroom coral gables kingdom, fern's fast-talking charm and quick wit that keep her safe on the streets of hyde park AND score her intriguing and influential employment opportunities, the deeply comforting rush of the first sip of freshly made coffee, sitting down with a week's worth of NYTimes, beach plans, ricky gervais' laugh, and this greeting in my morning inbox:

learn to touch gunk without flinching

watching the church at work, a cello concerto prying loose tears from somewhere deep, john and margaret's luncheon wisdom, sitting in the sunshine, practicing the seder meal, hearing 100 pieces of matzoh breaking all at once, learning that the cracks in the broken bread are the places where the light gets in, and finding grace sufficient for each day.

don't be afraid

the reminder that perfect love casts out fear, dangling earrings, walking down the pacific coast, avocado, seeing the church at work - even if robert's rules tend to confuse the living daylights out of us the Spirit moves amongst the gathered body nonetheless, book shopping, brand new babies, raspberry lemonade, and a day to breathe.

when you stand on holy ground, you get holy work to do

breakfast in a room full of clergywomen, the relationship of justice and beauty, church after church getting excited about intentional community, bacon, singing a capella, and standing on holy ground.

new earth, heavens new

hanging out with the fam, submarines in the harbor, climbing cliffs and exploring tidepools, sunburn exhaustion, fish tacos, guacamole, recognizing that in the past two years i have gone above and beyond my personal goal of reconnecting to the Brethren world, singing with the gathered church, sermons preached in distinctively virginia accents, and feeling the spirit of god - moving.

california, here we come

the early morning mists burning off the mississippi flatlands, friendly cab drivers, a shuttle ride with Roy, an actual mattress to fall into after 15 hours of cross-country travel, the motley crew that make up the CoB council of district executives, luna bars, fish tacos, christopher's 6 year old joke-telling skills, hugs from Sharon and Beth, soaking up sunshine by a california pool, meeting new people, running into lots of old friends, fresh local avocados, hugs from becky and bekah, the awesome BVS recycled tree, talking to Sara Pugh, big hugs from my mom and my dad and bobby and jojo, and sleeping off some serious jet-lag.

too hot for pants

a tiny girl leading her grandpa in a balance beam routine down the curb, birdsong, working steadily at paper edits, deep discussions of economy and chance, and finding some grace.

to believe in this livin' is just a hard way to go

the quiet sounds of golf lulling me into a sunday afternoon nap, cleaning, our human ability to be alone and our human desire to be together, and my dad being my dad for all these years.