SortaCrunchy

Meet Katherine Willis Pershey, author of Any Day A Beautiful Change!

2012-02-24T06:00:00-06:00

February's featured sponsor is Any Day a Beautiful Change by Katherine Willis Pershey. I am delighted to host her here today as she shares from her heart a little about what inspired the book and what you'll find in its pages. I know you'll make her feel welcome here today!

So, I have this book coming out next month. My first book. It’s a dream come true.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a writer. When I discerned a call into pastoral ministry – I am an associate minister at a Congregational church – I thought, for a brief interlude, that writing would become a hobby. But I soon learned that writing is a part of my ministry. In addition to writing countless sermons for my faith community, I publish a blog called any day a beautiful change, where I’ve written about everything from bad coffee to my favorite band to working for Jesus.

It was no surprise that I would write about motherhood after my older daughter was born in 2008. However, I discovered that many of my experiences as a new mother were too tender for my blog.

I posted cute pictures but I didn’t let on that I was struggling with crippling anxiety. I told sweet stories but didn’t confess that my family was in a state of crisis. Six months after my daughter was born, it didn’t look like my marriage would survive until her first birthday.

And then, by the grace of God and with a lot of help, we stopped fighting one another long enough to fight for our marriage. We worked so hard. And slowly, painfully, miraculously, we started to change.

Believe me when I say this: I love my husband every bit as fiercely as I love my dear daughters, Juliette and Genevieve. It horrifies me to think for even a moment that we might have missed out on the unexpected and unquenchable joy of a family redeemed.

Even as the beautiful changes were yet unfolding, I started writing the deeper story (to borrow a phrase from that magnificent blog). Not only about our marriage, but about everything: breastfeeding, postpartum depression, returning to work, our desire to move toward a more natural way of living. I had the courage to do this for two reasons.

I believe that stories are transformative.

I believe that being honest about the hard stuff is one way we help one another through it. If St. John of the Cross hadn’t confessed his “dark night of the soul,” would we still be stumbling around blindly, believing we are the only ones to experience a fallow season in the life of faith? And the other reason I knew I could do this was because, before I even committed a single word to the page, my husband said to me one night: “You should write about us.” His trust that I could honor our story and tell it well meant everything to me.

And now, next month, our story will be a book, the title borrowed from my blog: Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family. Like I said, a dream come true, right? But since I’m committed to practicing honesty, here’s the truth: I am terrified. I have rarely felt so vulnerable in my life. Strangers will read my book. Church members will read my book. My mother will read my book. I feel so vulnerable I might have to watch Brene Brown’s amazing TED Talk on vulnerability once a day for the next year. But I have to lean into my vulnerability because just as I am called to be a minister and writer, a wife and mother, I am called to tell this story.

The following is the first paragraph of one of the hardest chapters. I think by posting it here I’m symbolically ripping the bandage off quickly. Though it hurts like the dickens, it’s wonderful to discover that the wound beneath has healed.

I found it while sorting through a box of pictures on a Sunday afternoon. The pictures were disorganized, just the way I like them: a jumble of images that roughly mimics the way memories drift through one’s mind. I snatched it from the pile, a chill creeping down my spine. Who the hell took this? In the picture, I am sitting at the kitchen table in our seminary campus apartment. My shoulders are hunched, my hands partially obscuring my anguished face. Benjamin is standing nearby, his face contorted with anger, his hands raised into the air in a posture of pure fury. I stared at it, stupidly, for a full minute before I remembered. We had not been in the throes of a fight. We were pretending. My best friend from Ohio had taken the photograph. She was visiting for the weekend, and that morning we’d taken her to the J. Paul Getty Museum perched in the hills north of Los Angeles. We were all drawn to the special exhibit, Bill Viola: The Passions. In the digital portraits – some moving, thanks to newfangled flat-screen technology – actors embodied a range of emotions: joy, sadness, grief, anger. After dinner, between bursts of hysterical laughter, we recreated the scenes. There is no better icon for our marriage than the image Lisa captured: the rousing good time all but obscured by the all too familiar anguish and anger. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to tear it up or frame it.

I pray that Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family finds its way onto the nightstands of people who need a true story, a hard story, a hopeful story.

Katherine Willis Pershey is the associate minister of the First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois. A graduate of Claremont School of Theology, Katherine previously served as the solo pastor of South Bay Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Redondo Beach, California. She was one of the founding editorial board members of Fidelia’s Sisters, a publication of The Young Clergy Women Project, and is a contributor to the Christian Century.

Your Green Resource - Week Twenty-Two

2012-02-23T06:00:00-06:00

Wow! Y'all showed up STRONG last week. Fifty fantastic green/frugal/sustainable living links. HIGH FIVES all around!!!

What is Your Green Resource? It's your chance to share all your green ideas, resources and solutions with ALL of our readers! So when you link up on any of our blogs, your idea will be shared with all of the readers here and at:

Andrea at The Greenbacks Gal Stacy at A Delightful Home Emily at Live Renewed

We know that many of you have posts of your own about your green journey that our readers will love. Some examples of Green Resources you can link up:
* Real Food Recipes
* Repurposed Projects
* Upcycled Projects
* Organic Gardening Tips
* DIY Natural or Green
* Thrifty Solutions

Each week, the four hostesses will each choose a favorite post from the week's links and pin it to our Your Green Resource Pinterest board!

The link I chose to pin from last week's list is from Bideshis No More. JM shares a healthier, green-er alternative to standard kitty litter in Hay is for Horses, Horse Bedding is for Cat Litter:

Most of you probably don't know that I have such a soft spot for kitty cats. I love them so. But I do HATE litter box care (it's why we are without cats at the moment). I love that JM and others are helping pet owners transition to safe, healthy, and more natural ways of caring for our pets as well as our families!

So now it's your turn, my friends!

Just a few things to remember as you share your green living links - OLD OR NEW - with us each week:

* Make sure to link to the post with your green/natural/frugal living idea - not your homepage.

* We would love it if you could spread the word about Your Green Resource to YOUR readers by linking back to one of the four hostesses. Posts with a link back to Your Green Resource are the posts eligible to be pinned to our Your Green Resource pinboard each week.

* Your Green Resource is a GREAT way to connect with other like-minded bloggers. Check out the other links shared this week - it's a great way to grow your own blogging community!

Once Upon a Time Tuesday: What Happened to Frederick

2012-02-21T10:40:33-06:00

It's Tuesday! Are you ready to discuss?

Once Upon a Time: Season 1, Episode 13: What Happened to Frederick

I just need to tell you out of the gate that I'm struggling with knowing how to discuss this episode. Prepare your rotten tomatoes for throwing, but I'm saying it anyway: I was a little bored with this one. I think this is mostly because last week's was SO fascinating. I don't know. But there are some things we definitely must cover:

1) Juxtaposition

I think this is the one element of this episode that stood out for me. The Enchanted Forest scenes were actually pretty great and provide some more insights into the Real Lives of our main characters. I loved the conversation at the beginning between James and Abigail when he tells her he won't marry someone he does not love, and she responds "And you're willing to lay down your life? How charming."

And see, that's the thing. In the Enchanted Forest, James IS willing to lay down his life to escape his Fake Father's demand that he marry Abigail. Dying would be a preferable choice, but he nobly offers to help Abigail release her own true love from his curse. And then in the end, we see him gallantly racing off (Red Riding Hood in tow) to find Snow White. He will always find her, he says.

Now.

Compare that Charming to David's actions in Storybrooke: has to be persuaded by Mary Margaret to tell Kathryn the truth, then he doesn't, then he lies to MM about it, and basically just acts like the complete opposite of noble and brave.

I guess, if anything, this stark juxtaposition serves to show us how powerful the curse is on the people it is affecting. Not only are the trapped in time with only fuzzy memories of their own pasts and no true memories of who they are, not only can no one leave Storybrooke, not only are they all destined to unhappy ever after ... they also seem compelled to act in ways that are entirely uncharacteristic.

Well, except for Regina. She's exempt.

2) Returning what was lost

So we have the mythical, mystical Lake Gnostos. (apparently gnostos is a form of the Greek for knowledge, or knowing) It is guarded by a siren-esque creature who woos those who would draw from its waters to death by taking on the form of the thing they want most. But, the magic of the water is that it has the power to return to you what was lost.

Mystery Man/August (we'll get to him in a moment) waxes on to Emma that all water is inherently powerful, and if you think about it, he's right. Most major religions draw upon water in some way, shape, or form.

In the Enchanted Forest, the water from the lake returns Abigail's love - Frederick - to her. It seems to return to Emma Henry's lost book. And so what will it return to August?

3) August Wayne Booth

So, we finally get to know the name of our handsome Mystery Man. What to make of his name? Knowing what I know of these writers from LOST, very few names are randomly chosen. I did a little digging to throw out some theories to you:

August: Latin for majestic, or venerable, it's a name often associated with royalty. I'm not 100% sure there are any noteworthy literary characters named August, but Edgar Allen Poe did have a detective named Auguste Dupin, so that could be interesting.

Perhaps the most fascinating discovery, for me, is the Wayne Booth part. It's just too intentional for me, so a little light Googling and I happened upon Wayne C. Booth. Booth was a notable literary critic who wrote extensively on rhetoric. I though this line from the wikipedia page was quite telling:

Booth claimed that it is impossible to talk about a text without talking about an author, because the existence of the text implies the existence of an author.

Booth argued not only that it does not matter whether an author—as distinct from the narrator—intrudes directly in a work, since readers will always infer the existence of an author behind any text they encounter ... However impersonal he may try to be, his readers will inevitably construct a picture of the official scribe who writes in this manner -- and of course that official scribe will never be neutral toward all values.

So. Think on that a little bit and then let's talk about - what was he doing with the book?

Was he simply restoring the book? (Remember, Henry ripped out a section of the book to hide from Regina)

Was he putting the missing section back in?

Or was he re-writing the book?

Is he the author?

Is he related to the author?

Is he possibly Baelfire (Rumpel's son)?

I need to turn it over in my head a bit more. I feel like I'm on the cusp of a theory, but not quite there.

So tell me - what were YOUR thoughts on What Happened to Frederick? (Because there is OHSOMUCH I didn't even begin to cover here ... the town's treatment of MM, Kathryn trying to leave Storybrooke, only to disappear, Regina burning the letter .... Okay. Maybe it was a better episode than I gave it credit for!)

For those who prefer reflections on real life over dissecting fiction, make sure to check out February's featured sponsor: Any Day a Beautiful Change by Katherine Willis Pershey. Use code SortaFeb for 30% off retail!

The SIMPLE Way to Pamper Yourself: Simple Scrubs to Make and Give

2012-02-20T09:27:49-06:00

One thing I love about preparing for something like an out-of-town conference is that I finally take the time to do some personal care that I usually neglect most of the year. I touch up my hair color, go in for a twice-a-year haircut, paint my nails, and all that other stuff that leaves me feeling pampered and indulged.

Before I leave for BlissDom, I wanted to share with you a fantastic resource that puts everything you need for healthy, natural skin care right at your (soft, exfoliated) fingertips: Simple Scrubs to Make and Give!

Stacy Karen of A Delightful Home is not only one of the fabulous co-hostesses of Your Green Resource, she's also the author of this e-book which tells you everything you need to know to whip up fantastic salt-based and sugar-based skin care scrubs. Inside, you'll find ingredient lists with helpful links on where to find what you'll need to make these scrubs, and the good news is that many of the recipes are made using very easy-to-find materials.

Stacy Karen's instructions are totally approachable; you don't have to be a whiz in the kitchen to be able to prepare these scrubs, in fact, they are so simple that they would make great projects to do with your children.

This is truly an outstanding resource to have on hand. Not only can you pamper yourself with her scrubs, you can also share these in the form of gifts for all kinds of occasions - teacher's gifts, holiday presents, birthday parties, hostess gifts, you could even host a girls night out where everyone gets to pick a recipe and whip up their own scrubs.

And at $4, it's quite a steal considering how much money you'll save yourself by not buying commercially prepared scrubs for yourself or for others. ANDDDDDDDD, from now until 2/29, get use code SortaCrunchy for 15% off!

Stacy Karen is such a sweetheart and I have so enjoyed getting to know her in the past year. She's super generous, too, and so she is giving away five (FIVE!) copies of Simple Scrubs to Make and Give to SortaCrunchy readers! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post:

Tell me - what is your favorite way to pamper yourself?

BONUS ENTRIES (leave a comment for each bonus entry)

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