In our house, bedtime prayers follow Anne Lamott’s essentials: “Help. Thanks. Wow.” It’s not because this is the best or only way to pray, but for us it takes a very abstract practice into a lived liturgy. Help. Thanks. Wow. Some days, we can manage that. However, we usually begin with thanks. On a good…
Month: February 2016
For the Birds
Today, we are taking 15 minutes to count birds in our backyard. We are joining thousands of amateur birders in the Great Backyard Bird Count. It is held annually in February as a grand citizen science project. Here are some of the questions that participation in the bird count by folks around the world can…
Wild Worms
In my calendar, it is Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent begins as an explicitly earthy church day. Christians, sometimes after a day of Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday pancakes and doughnuts, launch the season of Lent with a reminder that our stories are intimately connected to the dirt. “Remember you are dust and to dust…
Linnaeus for Lent
Here’s the idea. Take approximately 40 days to get better acquainted with about 40 species in the Chicago-land area. Why do I see robins, the harbingers of spring, in mid-winter? What are the names of the trees that I pass on my walk to work? What is with All. The. Geese? Could I really see…
Wild Sparrows 