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An Ordinary Life

A friend posted this video to Facebook today and it really resonated with me. Growing up in Evangelicalism in my adolescence and young adulthood, we were exhorted to "do great things for God" and to live lives of "significance". Living an ordinary life was seen as a failure. As we developed our life plans, we were to see how we could use our career and/or our hobbies/avocation to share our faith with others. (Sadly, caring for the poor, pursuing justice, and other such explic

Migraine Update 11/29/2019

Migraine Update 11/29/2019

I'm posting an update on how my migraines have been and what is working and not working in hopes of encouraging other people with chronic illness, particularly chronic migraine. Please don't take anything I write here as medical advice. This is just documentation of my own journey. I strongly recommend that you find a medical practitioner with whom you are comfortable working and develop a plan to minimize your symptoms and maximize your enjoyment of life. If you have chronic

Chronic Illness and What We Eat

Chronic Illness and What We Eat

We've all heard that diet and illness are connected. In fact, I worry that we connect the two too much. I've had patients try to avoid medication or surgery by saying that they'll just work on diet and exercise when they clearly needed intervention. We've also become a society that tends to blame people for their illness. I've heard the sentiment expressed that an overweight person with Type 2 diabetes mellitus is responsible for their illness. It's worse with "invisible illn

Chronic Overload

Chronic Overload

My depression and chronic migraine toss my emotions around like they are a toy boat in an Atlantic storm, so I feel overwhelmed by life on a good day. But, in this day and age, it's easy to feel the that we are being run over even if we don't have mental illness issues. Climate change is real and it's happening all around us. Many months, we hear that we have had the warmest month on record. Wildfires are becoming the norm in California. Cities are flooding. Yet, what can we

Catherine's Totally Unofficial Rules for Thanksgiving and Other Holidays

Catherine's Totally Unofficial Rules for Thanksgiving and Other Holidays

We are about to kick off the most stressful season of the year which should actually be the most joyful and calm!! We just finished getting the beejeezus scared out of us at Halloween and then remembering those who have passed from this life on All Saints Day. Then we had a solemn celebration of our country's veterans (which also happens to be my brother's birthday). Now we move on the bigger holidays. And the time of year when there are more events scheduled than you have ti

I'm Part African! Who Knew?

A few years ago, Patrick and I took Ancestry DNA tests as a Christmas gift for Patrick's mom who is really into genealogy. My results were not a surprise at all. They said that I was from the British Isles and western Europe. That matched with all the family stories which said that I'm Irish on my dad's side and English and Scottish on my mom's side. When I was a kid, my cousin (who is my parents' age) did a whole bunch of genealogy on my dad's side. He traced the Cavanaugh f

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

When I was in high school, I was part of the Singing Christmas Tree that our church put on every holiday season and we sang "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". And I truly believed it! I love so much about the holidays - from Halloween to New Years! The food! The gifts! The concerts! The parties! The parades! It's all so much fun! Well, it was fun. When I was a teenager and even into my late 20s and early 30s, I valued the busyness of middle class life. If I was doing

God, Are You Really There?

God, Are You Really There?

Things were really looking up. Thursday night, we went to Stevens Point to do a little shopping and have dinner with Chris and Jenna. I felt well Friday, so I visited a friend, went to the library, and then to the craft shop/artists' studio. The rest of Friday afternoon was spent baking cookies (and, yes, eating carbs), cooking dinner, and helping make sure that Minh had everything she needed for her trip that started today. It was all good till 8pm when the migraine started.

Is God Still Good?

Is God Still Good?

Today's Old Testament lectionary reading was from Habakkuk 3:17-19. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the he

Homeschooling - What it Can and Can't Do

Homeschooling - What it Can and Can't Do

Patrick and I homeschooled our kids and we loved it. And the kids say they loved it. Overall, it was a good experience. Now that a generation of kids has been homeschooled, though, we're starting to see some backlash against the homeschooling movement, particularly the Evangelical Christian homeschooling movement. I'd like to explore that a little here. For some real data, go to the Coalition for Responsible Homeschooling. This organization is made up mostly of the generation

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