Inside the Minds of Valerie and Mike (and Anna)
What is hopefully, and looking like, the end of the pandemic for us on the East Coast, is also as I write this, the middle of the emergence of billions, maybe trillions, of Brood X 17-year cicadas. And the epicenter is here, metro Washington, DC. We are out in the suburbs but not in the... Continue Reading →
I seem to be working from a place of urgency lately. We have had some projects going on at home that I’m suddenly aware of feeling as though I’m nesting. Last month we cut down a maple tree in our front yard and we still have the logs gathered together and to the side. We... Continue Reading →
It’s spring, and the gorgeous Kwanzan cherry trees are at peak bloom here in metro DC. While we’ve had a bit of rain this spring, we’ve also had some spectacularly clear blue skies. The fig tree is putting forth shoots, gifted lilies of the valley plants are finally showing buds this year, and while a... Continue Reading →
Flipping tables and chasing people away. I’ve always liked that story. What story? The Gospel story from this past Sunday, from John 2:13-22. It’s the story of Jesus arriving at the temple in Jerusalem and not liking what he sees, he starts chasing merchants and money changers out with a whip and turning their tables... Continue Reading →
That was the theme for a two conference over the first weekend of February. The sub-themes for the sessions that included everyone were Holding…Beginning, Grief, Space and What’s Next. Last year’s theme, Practice Not Perfect, and this year’s seem to meld into each other. And the year in-between spoke so well to both. Last year... Continue Reading →
Throughout this past fall and up to now, I’ve been hearing and engaging in conversations about the importance and power of stories and storytelling. It’s not that this is new to me as I’ve been part of confirmation classes and retreats using the hero’s story as a launching point, had conversations on the hazards of... Continue Reading →
We tend to think of truth in absolutes, in something being true or not true. Sometimes it doesn’t work that easily. There are different kinds of truth that we live with. Merriam-Webster says truth is the body of real things, events, and facts; the state of being the case. The entry also includes the body... Continue Reading →
What does that mean. We seem to be able to recognize it when we see it, but definitions sometimes seem muddy. Dictionary.com defines integrity as “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” When we say someone has integrity it’s usually because we can attest to their having character traits that we... Continue Reading →
In all reality, VMWishes.com was born August 19, 1989. On that date, Valerie and I married in Champaign, Illinois. The moniker “VMWishes,” did not come around for another year or so... Just married and just out of college, Valerie had just started her first real job and I was in graduate school. Bottom line... we could... Continue Reading →
The past few weeks have provided much to ponder and reflect on. As I have tried to sort through where we’ve been, what has happened, and where we might be heading, I am taking a different approach to just writing a blog piece, and doing a series, a 4-part series. There will be overlap, but... Continue Reading →
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