Prayables Team Blog

Into the Light: Resolution Revolution

Into the Light: Resolution Revolution Resolved: I will not be making any New Year's resolutions this year. When you think about it, it makes sense. Why should a tick in the calendar make any difference in our lives? If it wasn't a priority yesterday, what makes it one today? Besides, how many resolutions really get, well, resolved? Not many. After week two, it's back to our old...

Dear Young Girl

Dear Young Girl *Note: I write this week's post with a spirit of gratitude to my parents, who had a gift for preaching the message of pre-marital abstinence as a celebration of intimacy within marriage, rather than a warning against making myself "worthless." Thank God for all parents who raise their girls to know sexuality as a blessing. Dear Young Girl, When I was your age,...

Word Perfect

Word Perfect My sister's university thesis had been about language – specifically, the way it is used as lyrics in pop songs. 'Pop' was used explicitly in its original meaning of popular, rather than what it signifies today – an endless repetition of the same phrase, or syllables that have neither rhyme nor meaning. I'd typed it out for her on our manual typewriter, because lupus made her joints ache. I was so pro...

Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost I have been sunk in a deep blue funk...all because of a dream. Like most dreams, it makes very little sense, especially upon close examination. But the feelings it evoked...those were real. Real enough to bring tears to my eyes at the memory. In the dream, I'd arrived at my alma mater in Indiana, a place I know from its frequent appearances in my dreams symbolizes peace to me. I was...

Lighthouses in Dark Waters

Lighthouses in Dark Waters "I'm a little piece of leather, but I'm well put together."And she was.  My Grandma.  Sassy and sacred in one incredibly charming package.  When she wasn't watching the 700 Club, she snapped fresh string beans, or shucked Grandad-grown corn while watching the Price is Right or Family Feud. 

Following My Own Path

Following My Own Path... After My Mom As Thanksgiving approaches, like many of you, I’ve been giving thought to what I’m thankful for.  I love that I get to work from home.  I’m incredibly grateful that we are able to make ends meets.  I’m also thankful to be able to host my friends and my son’s friends at mealtime. 

Imperfect Parent

On Being an Imperfect Parent "I want to be just like my dad when I grow up - only without the drinking and smoking." One of my son's friends, at only eleven, summed up the downside of those two wonderful/bewildering neighborhoods: adulthood and parenthood. Now somebody's watching what you do. You can't get away with seeming invincible and omniscient once your kids hit puberty. They see you at your worst -...

Peace-Filled Families: Part Two

Peace-Filled Families: Part Two While I mentioned that my daughter and her husband seem to have taken on the positives of one another's personality to present a united parenting team, that's not always the case in families. My own marriage had its ups and downs, and my husband and I were not always on the same page with regard to discipline, allowances, curfews, and the list goes on.

Timbali Crafts

Timbali Crafts The book of James instructs us “to look after widows and orphans in their distress.” In Swaziland, that’s a big, big job. With a population of 1.2 million, this landlocked African country has the highest AIDS rate in the world at 39%;...

The Best Gift

The Best Gift of All For the fourth Sunday of Advent, the couple who lit the Advent wreath read about the birth of Christ.  They discuss how the greatest gift of all came in the form of a tiny baby.  For those who were awaiting a warrior king, it was so far beyond their expectations, that they didn’t even notice.  Not only did the Messiah come as a baby, he was born in l...

Christmas Babies

Christmas Babies Shortly after I was born, my mother wrote the following words: "Dearest Lori: When I look at you, it's like looking into a mirror, only the reflection is pure innocence untainted by the worldliness and all the evils of the world, flesh and devil. How I pray you may always stay this way, spiritually innocent in the sight of God. This is my one...

Builder or Destroyer?

Are You a Builder or Destroyer? “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”Proverbs 14:1This verse has been bouncing around in my head for about a week now.  When I first read it, I thought of a former co-worker.  Divorced with young sons, she never missed a chance to badmouth her ex. 

Paying Homage to My Indiana Roots

Paying Homage to My Indiana Roots Today is Indiana Statehood Day On December 11, 1816, Indiana was admitted to the Union.  I am not a history buff, but I do tip toward nostalgia. So, since Indiana was my birthplace, and because I spent much of my childhood and college years there, I'm inspired to honor the

Glass Works

Glass Works At the corner of our dining room stood a Murano glass lamp-stand. Its intricate glass flowers and leaves were dull and opaque with dust, and its brass base had long lost its lustre. My excuse was that the smell of metal polish gets up my nose and gives me a migraine.  It had been a wedding gift to my parents in the early 1950's; one of those intricate, fragile jigsaw...

Jammed Sliding Doors

Jammed Sliding Doors When I followed Quantum Leap assiduously, my favorite expression was, “Oh, Boy!” Samuel Beckett’s catchphrase just before he felt that he was leaping into the body of his next "host." Throughout the series, we were given piecemeal information about how this partial amnesia happened; the...

Wealth is a Jellyfish

Wealth is a Jellyfish I was a jellyfish for Halloween last year. I built my costume by way of Goodwill and Michael's, hot-gluing long ribbons to the rim of a hat covered in white fabric, and shredding a second-hand skirt for complimentary inner tentacles. It was a simple costume . . . and it was a tremendous success. At parties, strangers would run up to me, pointing and shouting like they were my Pictionary teammates:...

Thankful

Thankful We’re selling our house.  And no one is buying it. I’m not sure if you know what it feels like to deep clean your home at a moment’s notice with a screaming banshee toddler strapped to your calf, but it feels exactly like deep cleaning your home at a moment’s notice.  With a toddler strapped to your calf. I’ve...

New Leaves

New Leaves I was one of the few Maltese babies born in what was at the time a hospital mostly used by the British Forces in Malta – hence named after King George V – in 1959. By the time 1978 had rolled around, much water had flowed under the bridge, and the hospital had had a name change; it was now named after Sir Paul Boffa, a Maltese politician.

The Small Stuff

The Small Stuff I sometimes have this sinking suspicion that God hates me. You know the feeling, you’re at a party, forced to talk to that woman you don’t like and every time she says you look great in that particular shade of vermillion all you really hear is “You look like you’ve gained weight.  And your husband’s a total tool.” Sometimes, I think God and this woman are best hair braiding buddies. This is...

Bedtime Tango: Part One

Bedtime Tango: Part One My daughter doesn't like to go to bed. Well, no, let me revise my previous statement. My daughter loves to go to BED, but hates to go to SLEEP. Laying her down has become a testy tango. I lay her down, she pretends to go to sleep, opens her door, pushes out the bottom of the baby gate, army crawls under it, and begins to create disasters.

How Silently

How Silently, How Silently "What's your favorite Christmas song?" When I am asked this question, I usually over-answer. I break it down into categories. How can I help it? How do you compare "Merry Christmas, Baby" to "

Little Women

Little Women They're all hair, nails, lips slick wet with ripe cherry gloss. They pout and turn on their heels and toes, winking at an audience who are open mouthed, slack jawed. Applauding for more. And they're no older than seven. If you've ever watched a show like Toddlers and Tiaras you've seen the frightful way babies are bred into pint-sized women, shaking their hips...

Building Relationships

Building Relationships Through Food It's been quite some time since I watched Chocolat, a film about community, its entrenchment in tradition, and how one woman shook things up. Before I even saw the movie, I heard about it, from a Catholic priest at a conference for adult initiation into the Catholic Church. It was a week of immersion into the ministry of Christian Initiation, and every day was spent with about 150 other people from the...

Prayer Beads and Me

Prayer Beads and Me Crisis. Crisis. Crisis. That pretty much sums up the past week. Blessedly, they weren't technically my crises, but you know how it goes. Trying to convince the bill collector that, while Kelly's nonpayment is an issue, you are not Kelly . . . let's just call it fruitless and leave it at that. I really needed some...

Forbidden Fruit Makes Good Pie

Forbidden Fruit Makes Good Pie I turned 40 earlier this month, and have been celebrating every weekend... and some weeknights, too! Last weekend, a group of girlfriends whisked me away to Lisle, Illinois for a hiking day at Morton Arboretum. Morton Salt magnate, Joy Morton, founded the 1,700-acre Arboretum in 1922. It's dedicated to the planting and conservation of trees,...

Tribal Rhythm

Tribal Rhythm I have learned that belly dance is all about isolation. My teacher taught me this several weeks ago, explaining that the hypnotizing nature of the dance comes from the way the hips and the torso move independently. I have also learned that the act of learning belly dance is a sort of isolation.

The Results Are In

The Results Are In... You Spoke, And We Listened Thank you to all of our Prayables fans who took our user survey in December. The goal of the survey was to find out who you were, what you cared about and what you wanted to see on the site. The response was overwhelming, and we're excited about the direction you're giving us. What did we learn? You want more articles about faith and prayer. Voila! Check out the

The Truth About Ugly Pumpkins

The Truth About Ugly Pumpkins I love pumpkin: pie, seeds, bread, and soup. Just like the ugly scarecrow and the ugly gargoyle, the ugly jack-o-lantern was designed to "ward off evil spirits." I always thought this was a hilarious approach: ward off evil with an ugly decoy! ...

Planting the Seed of Prayer

Planting the Seed of Prayer I don't remember a whole lot of vocal praying going on in my house growing up, but I knew my mother was a prayerful woman. With seven children, born in a sixteen-year span, you'd have to be, wouldn't you? Then I got married, and we lived with my mother-in-law for 21 years.

Truth in Advertising

Truth in Advertising Politicians and preachers have something in common - besides occasional sex scandals and corruption - and that is, the uncanny ability to always stay "on message." The same holds true in the world of advertising.  I've written some copy for ad campaigns, and one of my favorites this year was for a charitable entity here in New Jersey,

Thanksgiving on My Mind

Thanksgiving on My Mind I will not be spending Thanksgiving with my family this year. In fact, it's been more than 20 years since the whole lot of us got together for the holiday. Still, like most everyone, I vividly recall family Thanksgivings of old. Like most memories, it's mostly sense-based; that is, redolent of food.

Life in a Box

Life in a Box I've grown weary of the phrase "think outside the box." Box? What box? But then, I got to pondering. I live on the east side of a medium-large town. It takes maybe 20 minutes to get as far west as one would want to go. Yet I don't know anything about the west side. It might as well be 1,000 miles away. I'm perfectly happy...

Hat Made of Ham

And a Hat Made of Ham One of the most important characters in my life is my dog, Sheena. She's thirteen, has cataracts, arthritis, and a tumor on her running leg the size of a golf ball, but being part Border Collie, she's still on the job as the canine-keeper of this family – her flock, if you will. Every so often, as I'm walking down the hall, I'll suddenly...

The Sacrifice of Strangers

The Sacrifice of Strangers Great Uncle Vic was married to Ruby only one year when he enlisted as a US soldier during World War II. He was probably younger than me when he came home on furlough and convinced his sister-in-law, Naomi, to go bowling with them. "C'mon," he said. "This may be the last chance you get to bowl with me." Naomi told me this story recently, adding, "I think he already knew somehow."

Dot-to-Dot

Dot-to-Dot The miniscule snail, settle snugly between the tightly-packed folds of a humungous cabbage I'd got at the Farmers' Market, didn't know what had almost hit him. I had just sliced it in two before scooping out the centre for coleslaw and using the outer leaves as a shell for stuffing and baking, after boiling it. I gouged out the gobbet of leaves around him, and transferred him to the garden. Throughout this operation, the creature's...

My Calling

My Calling I don’t have a bountiful womb.  Or maybe I do.  The point is I’m not hell bent on finding out. I’ve wanted to write since I was twelve-years-old.  It’s never been a choice of whether I wanted to or not.  I have to write just like I have to wear a bra with extra padding or pretend I’m not checking myself out in the full-length mirror at the mall when I totally am.  Breathing, eating, taking a peaceful...

The Greater Purpose of Self-Indulgence

The Greater Purpose of Self-Indulgence A few year ago, while working with a touring theatre company, I had a debate with a touring partner of mine regarding the nobility of acting.  He argued that there was nothing noble about his career choice.  I begged to differ. “Theatre is all about empathy,” I said.  “Theatre gets people to sit down and be quiet long enough to imagine what it would be like to be in someone else’s shoes.  I’ve seen and read so many plays that have helped me understand that people I thought were completely...

Sunday's

Sunday's I haven’t seen the inside of a church in over a year. I have good reasons though. I’ve spent the past three hundred and sixty-five days wiping ass and cleaning faces, stacking packs of batteries, my cell phone charger, my tampons and the last minute shreds of my dignity onto our kitchen counter just so tiny toddler hands don’t stuff any of these things down a tiny toddler mouth.

Dark Thoughts

Dark Thoughts Stupid. Ugly. Fat. Words like these, directed at myself, are practically a constant in my life. And those are the nicer ones. I don't even mean the worse ones — some are outright lies — but I repeat them anyway, over and over, like a mantra of doom. It took me forever to realize what my problem really was. I was being too easy on myself.

Creating Your Own Meme

Creating Your Own Meme My son just had a birthday, and as is his custom, he exploited it for all it was worth. "It's a big one, Ma! Have you looked at the calendar? Huh? It's 10-10-10." Pause. "Can I stay up late?" He said he was following an important thread on his favorite forum. "There's a meme in the making!" he exclaimed. Oh, well, if it's a meme in the......

Everybody's a Star

Everybody's a Star Celebrity gossip sites may call them the "Biggest Scandals of 2010," but I read these stories from a different perspective.  This was a tough year for me, and it taught me to view challenges through a "future filter."  That is, what did I learn from this experience that I can use going forward?  When the...

Coffee and Apathy

Coffee and Apathy Commiserate. "Bitch and moan." Kvetch. The English offer each other "tea and sympathy." What we do here in the states could be better described as "coffee and apathy." Most of us have become fairly adept at seeming to care about the travails of our fellow travelers on the road of life. We issue the appropriate...

Follow Through

Follow Through I started a writer’s workshop in my area last night.  It’s actually the same writer’s workshop I had started right before getting pregnant but then life smacked me around a bit and I was too busy changing diapers to worry about changing voice in a novel manuscript.  Sure, I’m a little black and blue but the bruises are healing and I’ve decided to keep life from bullying me once...

Holy Shmoly

Holy Shmoly I was recently explaining my work at Prayables to a friend of mine, and he asked a question that I'm finding is surprisingly common. "You can write prayers?" I assured him that you could. "I thought you were supposed to just read prayers. Like from scripture or whatever."

Hanukkah

Hanukkah and Other Memories In my time working at Temple Beth Israel, I enjoyed three years of High Holy Days, Confirmations, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and Hanukkahs. Even though Hanukkah is not a High Holy Day, it's a special time, and it was one of my favorite seasons there. The Temple gift shop was heavily promoted this time of the year.

Lost Weight?

Have You Lost Weight? It's been said that you can never be too rich or too thin.  But the latest winner of America's Top Model might just prove that cliche wrong.At 6 feet, 2 inches,

Time Out of the Loop

Time Out of the Loop Last Sunday I found out that I didn’t have a meeting after all.  I had miscalculated – our meeting is next Sunday.  Yay!  Afternoons and evenings off are a gift from God.  Sure, my dyslexic inability to read a calendar contributed, but I recognize free time for what it is.  A great-big, wonderful gift.   This particular gift meant...

I Paid the Labyrinth a Visit

When I'm at Sunday service, I join in the Lord's Prayer and the Prayer of Confession. I take specific concerns to God and give thanks now and again throughout my day. But for years I struggled with meditative prayer. I'd get a cup of coffee and sit, determined to meditate and listen for God. Other people do it. I should be able to do it too. Eyes closed, I'd breathe deeply. In. Out. In. Did I remember to get the chicken out to defrost? No, no. Time for that later. Out. In. Out. Is the cat having a hair ball? Focus! In. Out. What on earth is that cat doing?

Time of Waiting

Advent is a Time of Waiting Among other things, Advent is a time of waiting.  This theme was emphasized with the snowfall and frigid temperatures we in the Midwest experienced this weekend.   We live close to our church and my husband was head usher, so we pulled on sweaters and boots.  At church, we waited with our pastor who made the trip over u...

It's All About Me

It's All About Me Confession time ladies. I stand before you all today (metaphorically, of course), and I admit it. I am self-centered. Horribly, terribly, embarrassingly self-centered. I am capable of caring about others' lives. I am also decent at putting things into perspective, at recognizing—at least cognitively—that most things are not about me and that others generally do not suffer a wild need to know what I had for lunch and how I felt...

Meta-tation

Meta-tation "Meta."  When used as a prefix, it connotes a change in the position or state of something. Metamorphosis is a change from one thing into a completely new entity. Once before, the term "meta" came into my life to devastating effect. In 1999, when my father was diagnosed with colon cancer and the doctor told me it had metastasized, so it was...

Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage They say that growing old is compulsory, and growing up is discretionary. Each individual has his own idea of what makes one grow. Each nation and creed has its own method or ceremony of determining when someone has "grown up".

Theway-itis

"Theway-itis" At the end of every night, I try "wind down" by watching the late news. A gang shooting at the Little League field. Thunderstorm tomorrow. I couldn't figure it out then, but it was actually winding me up, not down, and adding to the stockpile of stress in my mind.

Spread the Light this Advent Season

Spread the Light this Advent Season I'm writing this on Monday. Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Advent, it is the Christian celebration in preparation for the Advent of the King, the coming of Christ on Christmas day. Traditionally, it is a time of penitence, preparing yourself to be worthy of such a gift. It is also a...

Spread Life this Advent Season

Spread Life this Advent Season Last Sunday was the second Sunday in Advent.  From the children’s message to the sermon, the theme of Life shone through, especially when Saint Nicholas came up.  You’ve probably heard of him.  After all, his life and legend gave rise to our tradition of Santa Claus. Don’t you see it?  Claus is short for...

How to Really Save Daylight

How to Really Save Daylight So tonight when we go to bed, we've got to set our clocks back one hour.  An adjustment we make twice a year to "save daylight."  This phrase has always baffled me.  Daylight is not saved, it's just moved -- from the beginning of the day to the middle of the day.  The merchants who came up with this time-dance scheme felt the daylight was more valuable during "leisure hours" (translation: hours from which you can...

Serenity Now

Serenity Now I often liken my life to episodes of Seinfeld.  There was “The Summer of Ericka” where I lounged around the house in my underwear and only took to removing my behind from the couch to rifle through the fridge.  Then there was the time when I pulled an

Keeping It Clean

Keeping It Clean I was at school when it was the praxis to give students "study lists" – conjugations; dates; facts; idioms; poems; proverbs; quotations; spellings; theorems. We got out of school just when our brains were in imminent danger of becoming pedagogic data-banks. Yet this tedious method was a one-stop-shop for keeping us occupied, teaching us general knowledge, and encouraging our brains to...

Not so Bad

"Ivan the Not so Bad" After All "True story."  I love that phrase, even though it's something of an oxymoron.  Is it true?  Or a story someone made up?  There are true stories that stay with me through the years, like the one I saw recounted on "20th Century with Mike Wallace," about a man accused of...

Give Me a Hand!

Give Me a Hand! I'm dressed for Halloween: The fingers of my left hand poke pitifully out of their wrappings, my poor thumb a shade I can only describe as "prune." The bandage is so thick, my fingers dangle helplessly over the computer keys, unable to connect, so I tap away one-handed, something I haven't done since pre-high school typing class. From the elbow down, I look like something...

Symbiosis

Symbiosis: Beneficial Friendships In my school days, I had tracing paper and carbon paper to help me draw, but the former set my teeth on edge and the latter made me sneeze. Nowadays, I still can’t draw a creditable amoeba. One homework assignment I remember particularly well involved creating and dividing an exercise book into three, width-wise.

Watch

Watch What You Say! These days, you can't say anything without some forethought. Remember the old paper dolls? My granddaughter received an updated version of the doll in magnetic form, and plays with it on the fridge in their kitchen. She's had it for over a year and still changes the clothes around while Mommy, Daddy or MiMi are preparing her lunch or the family dinner.

Open Door Policy

Open Door Policy One of my foibles is leaving cupboard doors and drawers open. I do have a reason for it, too. When folding clothes, it is much easier to put them away using both hands. When drying dishes, I can put flatware, glassware and pots and pans away as I go along. I do this even when I am helping out someplace else.

Buy This Book

Buy This Book (Please) Here’s what I’m proposing: This Christmas, buy a present for yourself. It’s not a blanket with sleeves. It won’t “clap on” or “clap off” anything. It’s a book, called

Snow White

Snow White Conscience My two year old daughter and I are both major Disney movie junkies. Anything with a tiara and poofy ball gown, and we're spell bound. The more cheesy music, the better. It's mother-daughter bonding at its most obnoxious, and I am more than willing to admit it.

Every Woman

Every Woman Has a Story A few years ago, my mother had breast cancer. She went to an oncologist who suggested she have her lymph nodes removed. Having watched two of her sisters go through this battle, my mom knew that lymph edema (a terribly painful swelling) would be a side effect, and said she preferred to keep her glands. The doctor, a man, looked right at her and said, "When your cancer comes back, don't come crying to...

Peace-Filled Families: Part One

Peace-Filled Families: Part One I had a friend once who said I was a round person. Thanks, I thought. Then, she explained that there are "round" people and "tentacle" people. Round people let things roll off, and tentacle people lash out or are always ready to respond in like form to a hurt or injustice. She described herself as a tentacle person. Yes, I could see that, but she was also the one who would stand up for other people right away, and took things...

Thankfulness

Thankfulness I attended an interfaith women's group meeting on Saturday. The topic was loss – of all types – and how we can move beyond it. As the morning went on, more of the older members of the group discussed the loss they felt about their childhood.

Curiosity Doesn't Kill, Ignorance Does

Curiosity Doesn't Kill, Ignorance Does I was a curious kid.  I grew up to be an even more curious adult.  And you'd think Google and Wikipedia would help matters but no, they just feed my frenzy to explore and discover all that I can about this incredible gift of life.  Exhale.Along those crowded lines of curiosity, I'm going to a lecture at University of Chicago this afternoon titled "

Peace After Loss

Peace After Loss: Part Two "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face...you must do the thing you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt That last line hits me and gives me strength every time I think about it. And even though it wasn't a conscious quote on my mind in those months after Denny...

Thread Carefully

Thread Carefully When I was a kid, I caught the occasional spider and let it loose in my room without telling my sister. But, it wasn't a practical joke. I was being eco-conscious, way before the word was a twinkle in any environmentalist's eye.

Now What?

Now What? You know, it's funny how unaware you are of your surroundings until you have to look beyond yourself for help. While I sort of pride myself on being aware, of others' needs and community involvement, it was this little thing that happened to me that made me more aware of my own neighborhood.

Too Mad to Pray

Too Angry to Pray Last week, the labyrinth simply wasn't working for me. Not like it usually does. I was simply too angry. A friend had called asking for prayers because of a problem in her extended family that put two children at risk. As I walked the winding path, I prayed. I prayed for the children. I prayed for the adults, but these weren't my best prayers. I was too angry. I strode down the...

I Kid You Not

I Kid You Not "Zing with the oy and the hey-o and the nice lady!"  This was my son, quoting a funny line from the latest popular video on YouTube.  "Oh, you discovered Jerry Lewis?" I asked.  He said, "Who's Jerry Lewis?"  I told him it was the comedian he was quoting.  He said, "C'mon, Ma, that was Ray William Johnson." 

My Girls

My Girls As my mother and I sliced cheese and summer sausage at her kitchen counter, my dad lit a fire in the fireplace and asked me, “What time are your girls coming over?” My girls. I felt a stream of giddiness shoot from my gut to my heart—we lived miles apart and our lives had taken very different paths, and yet they were still my girls, my crew, my posse. 

Grammar Rules!

Grammar Rules! I'll admit it; I'm fanatical about being grammatical. Spelling, punctuation, syntax...these things are important to me because they can help (or hinder) communication. Imagine I walk into a room and say, "Apple broomstick waterbug!" to you. You would be mystified, and rightly so, especially if I explained, "That's just how I say hello."

Help of God

With the Help of God My niece's baptism is this weekend, and for a Lutheran, that is a very big deal. In the faith of my family, baptism is the sacrament through which God enters our hearts and binds Himself to us. Although I know God has been with Rylie all this time anyway, baptism is considered the dawn of her spiritual life and the birth of her faith.