Last Thursday night we made prayer flags for the people impacted by Hurricane Katrina. I had invited a bunch of neighbors and friends at the last minute, but it ended up being just we monkfishy folks. Most of the tribe was pretty engaged with the project, including the kids. These are the results. Paul and Josh hung them up yesterday. I smile — and remember to pray — everytime I see them out the window.

This one is Paul’s and I’m really proud him for making it. I think the words are beautiful.

This is what we hung up on the telephone pole for the folks who walk … {read more…}

I like to to Yoga as embodied prayer. This is a series I’ve been doing to pray for the Gulf Coast as they move through survival after Hurrican Katrina. They also help me deal with my own emotions and questions aroudn this natural disaster. I’m not a certified yoga instructor or anything, so proceed at your own risk. Photos of some of these poses (a.k.a. “asanas’) can be found here if you click around. Hold each pose for 4-6 breaths or as long as you are comfortable.

Namaste!

Mountain Pose

Stand with your feet slightly apart, arms hanging loosely at your sides. Make sure you head, back and hips are in a straight spinal line. If you feel like your … {read more…}

Jim has this thing he calls “ordinary attempts.” To him that term means any little thing a Christian does to extend love and attention to someone. I call this “being human.” Sadly, most evangelical Christians I know — maybe even most Christians straight up — need to re-learn how do do just that.

One of the things I’ve been retraining myself to do is to pay extra careful attention to my kid’s school. It’s a public school and I pay for it with my tax dollars, my donations to the annual auction, sand this year a tutiton fee for full day kindgergarten. So hey, I should be … {read more…}

We’re going to make our prayer flags tonight. But one of our minimonks has already been praying his little heart out. I ran into Ian (age 4.5) and his mom, Jen, in the fabric store earlier this week. Ian and I talked about how the picture’s he’d been drawing about the hurricane were like prayers. This is what Jen sent me on email later that day:

R,

This afternoon when Ian and I came home, he wanted to make more pictures of the Katrina floods. We talked about the pictures being prayers, but then I wanted to let him try making a little prayer shrine with … {read more…}

Hello Friends!

Paul and I would like to invite you to a night of response to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. This Thursday, September 8th from 7pm-10pm we’ll gather to eat, catch up, and hold the hurricane victims in our thoughts, prayers, and best wishes.

This is an inter-faith expression of solidarity and hope. We’ll be providing supplies to make flags, similar to Tibetan Prayer flags which you’ve no doubt seen around town.

We’ll have cloth squares and arts supplies — so you’ll be able to personalize your prayer/hope/wish for the folks down south. Stamp out a one word prayer with alphabet stamps; draw a picture with colored sharpies; copy a poem or a quote to bring hope…anything … {read more…}