7 quick takes: 2 weeks worth!
Clark’s Crush: St-Germain, Falernum, Chartreuse, Rieflé Cremant
+ a slice of lime, rapsberry and blueberries = YUM!
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| Kendra's first day of kindergarten and her first day of senior year & Natalie's in pre-K and sophomore year; the matching color scheme is a happy coincidence |
I homeschooled Kendra her year in kindergarten. She was a joy. The first day she was so excited to get started. You know what the date was? September 11, 2001
And, yes, we did eat pumpkin chip cookies. And, yes, they are still the best part about the first day of school.
Another milestone we recognized this week was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and MLK's infamous "I Have A Dream" speech. We watched the speech in its entirety, thanks to YouTube. My husband very much cares that we hear the most famous part of the speech in context of the entire 17 minutes. And watching the man shift from speaking from notes to proclamation over the crowd, I think there is something beyond just the natural human talent going on here. There is a divine flame being fueled.
And then we cried a bit. Because we got turned around driving through Birmingham this summer and I'm pretty sure that part of the city has not reached even close to what the great civil rights leader dreamed for it.
God, help us.
Martin Luther King speech at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963
In August 2011, on our trip from New York to Texas, we spent a night in Memphis, visiting the National Civil Rights Museum. If you ever have the chance, please go. And take your kids.
Kendra wrote a post about our day in Memphis, Murphys Take Austin: Day 6
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I was reminded of this sweet poem and illustration listening to the podcast this week. Such sweet girlhood memories...
It's the birthday of Eugene Field (books by this author), born in St. Louis, Missouri (1850). He wrote dozens of children's poems, including "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night / Sailed off in a wooden shoe / Sailed off on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew."
He said: "All good and true book-lovers practice the pleasing and improving avocation of reading in bed ... No book can be appreciated until it has been slept with and dreamed over."
- This is for all the lonely writers at The Rabbit Room: "Here is the paradox: You cannot make art except by being alone, and yet you cannot be an artist in isolation." (Thank you, Wendy Wall, for sharing this link with me!)
- 'We Grow Songs': Over the Rhine On Making Untamed Music at NPR: "Detweiler and Bergquist recently spoke with NPR's David Greene about keeping a measured relationship with religion, the cursed blessing of making art with one's life partner and the "untamed music" to be found in the rough edges of the land around their home."
- Album stream: Over the Rhine - Meet Me At the Edge of the World at Paste
- Ashley Cleveland shares struggles, triumphs in new memoir: "Cleveland is unflinching in telling the story of her life, her addictions and her recovery." (Thank you to my friend, Jodi, for introducing me to this book. I'm eager to read it!)
AND, if I may be so bold to add a link that includes one of my own essays...
- Let's Get Together 11 at catapult* magazine: I'm enjoying reading through this community-themed issue. My essay: It does take a village
For the next seven weeks our church is joining up with over 300 other Austin churches to Explore God together. I'm still figuring out what this means, but I'm loving the idea that over 300 churches in one city are joining in on the same conversation. I think each week we'll be talking about the hard questions many people ask: Why does God allow pain and suffering? How can we know if Jesus is God? What is the Bible? Why would a loving God send people to Hell?
Here's hoping for conversations that bring new hope and new peace to our city.
Post by Explore God.
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A beauty and grace-filled weekend for us all, dear ones.
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
