Shades On. Windows Down.

What a beautiful day in New England! It was so beautiful, that I decided to venture out and drive my car to work. Some might be confused, thinking that on a nice day one would chose to walk...that is a good conclusion and often my preference;however, today the 50 degree warm air enticed me to get in my station wagon, crank up the radio, roll down the windows and pretend that it's spring time. What a glorious 15 minutes! This, my friends,is why New Englanders persevere 8 months of winter. Spring, summer and fall in Boston compare to no other place in this country!Agghh... This afternoon I went for a run with a friend to the Arnold Arboretum and cooked dinner for my amiga Amy (see photos above for the lamb, brocolli,salad and wine feast). My soul is refreshed,just in time for the ice and sleet heading our way on Friday. Flowers are blooming somewhere in the world, right? This is my hope. For now, the only color I have to gaze upon are the flowers on my kitchen table. They'll do (for now).

The Pain in Love

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it careful round with hobbies and little luxuries: avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable... the only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love...is Hell."

Beautiful Family

Friends in Boston collide with friends from Chicago. We had a great time together talking through what it would truly look like for the church to function as a family.... a healthy family, not the dysfunctional one that we are all too familiar with and want to avoid at all costs! insightful. challenging. did my heart good.