dripping with passion

  to me, easter is the most important - and most worthy to be heartily celebrated - holiday of the year. i love everything about easter: springtime, cadbury mini eggs and starburst jelly beans, symbolism of new life and fresh starts, dying and decorating and hunting for eggs, and of course the opportunity to commemorate the most important event in human history - the resurrection of jesus christ.  i feel like i’ve had some pretty epic easters in the past, and my efforts over the years to make easter-time really special have brought me real joy. this easter, I was just so tired. my body and brain, now carrying and sustaining a pretty much full-grown baby, are exhausted. and i just couldn’t muster up the energy to do many things to festively observe the holiday. i tried to take time to reflect on the events and meaning of holy week, and to teach moses about the resurrection and what it means for our family, and to gather some celebratory treats … but our easter was very simple this yea...

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- it has taken me many weeks to get to the last batch of questions that were asked by readers about mormonism, but at long last here are my answers.  please remember that anything i've shared here is my personal belief/opinion/experience and does not reflect on the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints as a whole or any specific member of the church. and please remember to be generous and kind in your responses, whether in the comments or in your own head :) i've tried to just run through these quickly while moses is napping or entertained by his toys and books -- so my answers aren't perfectly articulated or perfectly thorough. but i hope they are useful/interesting/clarifying, and i'm happy to continue the discussion. { artwork by caitlin connolly } ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

instead of sharing ten random thoughts this wednesday, i thought i would share ten questions (from blog readers) and answers (from me) on the topic of mormonism. i'm really happy to answer any questions about my faith/religion. i still have a few questions that have been left in comments to respond to and will do so in a future post. please remember that anything i've shared here is my personal belief/opinion/experience and does not reflect on the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints as a whole or any specific member of the church. and please remember to be generous and kind in your responses, whether in the comments or in your own head :) i've tried to just run through these ten questions quickly while moses is napping. he woke up in the middle of the night last night with a fever and so we both are feeling pretty rough, so apologies if my answers here didn't come out of my foggy brain perfectly articulate! i hope we all can continue the respectful conversation...

disclaimer: -i speak only for myself - nothing that i've shared here is speaking for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints as a whole or for any individual member of that church. detailed and accurate information about official doctrine and policy of the church can be found at mormon.org . -i certainly don't have all the answers!! but i am happy to share my perspective and learn from others'. -i hope that readers will not make assumptions beyond what i have written here. i welcome reactions, questions, and further discussion in the comments, but please do not claim i have said something that i actually haven't. i think it can be really easy/natural to "read between the lines" on topics like these (i've certainly done that with thoughts others have shared), so it might be wise to double check that you aren't putting any words into my mouth before formulating a response, wether in your head or in the comments. -i could spend a really long ti...

disclaimer. -i speak only for myself - nothing that i've shared here is speaking for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints as a whole or for any individual member of that church. detailed and accurate information about official doctrine and policy of the church can be found at mormon.org . -i hope that readers will not make assumptions beyond what i have written here. i welcome reactions, questions, and further discussion in the comments, but please do not claim i have said something that i actually haven't. i think it can be really easy/natural to "read between the lines" on topics like these (i've certainly done that with thoughts others have shared), so it might be wise to double check that you aren't putting any words into my mouth before formulating a response, wether in your head or in the comments. -this post is intended to share some high-level, general thoughts on the topic of my faith. i will publish another post tomorrow that delves i...

last year , ian and i attended a sunrise service at the garden tomb on easter morning. it was one of the most transcendent experiences of my life, and just thinking about it makes my heart swell and my fingertips tingle. i was electrified with faith, devotion, gratitude and joy that morning. at the end of the service, all the thousands and thousands of attendees were asked to move towards the exit, rather than attempting to come down the stairs to the tomb. "after all, he's not here!" the person conducting the service said into the microphone, with a hint of humor in his voice but also a lot of serious faith. "he's not here. so instead of trying to get through the crowds to the tomb this morning, go out and tell the world that he's not here , for he is risen!  go out into the world and live for christ." and so, i left that beautiful garden on that morning in jerusalem emboldened with a hope to come closer to jesus christ - whom i truly believe is a...

last thursday, moses and i met up with some friends at the lighting of the christmas tree at trafalgar square. it was a beautiful, clear, chilly but not super cold night. it was crowded in the square, but not too dense back by the lions where we were standing. all the air around us was buzzing with that specific, magical type of excitement that can only be attributed to christmastime. carols were sung (by a lovely choir and also by the crowd!) and speeches were given about the trafalgar square christmas tree. every year since 1947, a tall evergreen is cut down in the forests outside oslo, transported (all fifty or so feet) across the sea and land, and put up in the heart of london as a gift to england - a token of gratitude from the people of norway for british support during world war two. we weren't sure when exactly the lights on the tree would be switched on - i anticipated there would be some type of countdown or loud announcement. as tiny specks in that big crowd, we wa...