3BT for epiphany

At CCfB, we're embarking on an "experiment to see the good" for the season of Epiphany...a spiritual discipline, which, unfortunately, I kinda suck at.

But some people are good at it. In fact, this one woman in London is so good at it that she makes practice of blogging three beautiful things for every single day. So I thought it might be interesting to try this at church, and invite everyone to consider what beautiful things they've experiences over the past decade, year, week, and day.

Here's my list (composed in the wee hours of Sunday morning):

3BT for the decade:

1. Living in New Jersey. Yeah, Jersey.
2. Making a baby. With some help. She is THE beautiful thing of the decade.
3. Finding a voice on my blog—and discovering my voice has a personality of her own.

3BT for the year:

1. This fall the red maple in front of Cimi and Mira’s house stayed a beautiful vibrant red long after the trees in our yard were bare—I could see it from the back steps. It is the most beautiful tree.
2. There are two hash marks on the door jamb of the dining room. Clare has grown like three inches since we moved here.
3. My dissertation starts with a cartoon, and I got away with it.

3BT for the past week:

1. Lunch with a friend.
2. Leaving flowers and a note on a doorstep.
3. Lesson plans. Yeah. Plus, I live that all of these ones start with “L.”

3BT for Saturday:

1. Watching other grown-up people befriend my daughter and make her laugh with abandon.
2. Getting a proposal of marriage—from my daughter. And then explaining marriage rather lamely as “two friends who really love each other and decide to live in the same house and be with each other forever.” Clare decided this fit our present arrangement just fine, and was not to be deterred by the excuse that I’m married to her dad.
3. Brent listens to me even when what I’m saying is not particularly nice, or fair, or possibly even coherent.

3BT

1. tight hug round the neck from a crying toddler because you're the mommy who is the source of all comfort, even when you're the mommy who said "no" and made her cry in the first place.
2. arguing with Dad about theological stuff without the tightness in my tummy that usually comes with disagreeing with people I love and admire and want to think well of me. breakthrough! love you Dad! thanks for arguing!
3. Brent making me margaritas while waiting patiently for me to 1) quit talking on the phone and 2) quit the computer.

bonus: breakthrough realization on the dissertation today! yay yay yay!