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Sunday Gratitude – 5.IV.2026
To those celebrating today – Christ is Risen! – Happy Easter!
And then there are the “weird” ones here who are still waiting another week, among which I count myself. There have been a lot of services already – yesterday, I think I was in church for nearly four hours. I’ve really struggled this Lent; from the beginning, I felt less ready for it than most years and this year… wow. For the greater part of Lent, I believed that the Orthodox were also going to be celebrating Pascha today, and it was only looking at the calendar more carefully a couple of weeks ago when I realized that no, there’s a one-week difference. I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting to spend so much time in church this weekend, but I was at vigil last night, and I certainly had the feeling of moving from the darkness into the light, and by the time the service was over, there was an air of hopefulness and joy there. For that I am grateful. (My brain did fight against this on the way home, though. *sigh*)
I am grateful for the more spring-like weather, and the opportunity to be outside. I’m also grateful for my neighbor who invites me to come walking with her.
I am grateful for friends who take the time to talk even in the rain.
I am grateful for making it home in a storm the other day; I wasn’t expecting it, then all of a sudden, I was driving down this country highway with lightning flashes all around. I don’t think that they were very close, as there was only a tiny bit of thunder, but what a show! The next day, driving down those same roads, I could actually see how high the water is, and I’m grateful that there were no issues with low-lying stretches of road or the bridges.
Time to take the Christmas wreath down! I am thankful to have had a little bit of time to be outside with my kids, and I’m thankful that they have places around that they can enjoy riding their bikes through, and that they’ve been fine with this “exploring”.
I am thankful for the joy of singing.
I am thankful for the things that are showing signs of life (and even blooming) even after a very cold winter and long periods of neglect.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have been in contact with a number of people on this day, in the joy of Easter.
I am grateful for yet another sign that I’m not alone through the hard stuff.
Thank you so much for being here! Christ is Risen!
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Sunday Gratitude – 29.III.2026
I really hate it when it seems like I blink and yet another week has passed. Somehow so much of this time ends up feeling like a blur, and it seems like all that is left is a growing list of things that should have been done long ago, but haven’t been done yet.
In the meantime, though, I’ve been trying not to lose a sense of gratitude, and to also try to make the most of the days at hand. We’ve had a couple of days that have hit 70F, which has been amazing, and especially as the days are getting longer, it would be terrible if we didn’t do something to take advantage of the warmer weather. My younger son had a day off of school a couple of weeks back, and the two of us went out on our bikes and rode ten miles together, and it was amazing. He also started taking pictures with my camera that afternoon, so I’ll be sharing a few of those in this post.
A couple of weeks after the real birthday, my youngest, in kindergarten, had her first real birthday party. It was a bowling alley affair, and, per the terms of the contract, was less than two hours long, but for a group of 5 and 6 year olds, it was fine. I was completely stressed out over this for at least a week for a number of reasons, but it turned out really, really good. Even the weather held out, kind of… It started raining about the time that the party started, and it was still raining as people left. Had we started a couple of hours later, everybody would have been going home in sleet, because we had a blizzard come through the next day. The kids were thrilled to get the day off of school, and despite the crazy wind, we never lost power. The next day, our dear neighbor made a path for our car using a snowblower.
I’m grateful that even though I managed to break a spoke on the one bike (a different one than before), this happened in a place where I could ride to a place where I could leave the bike for a couple of days, and which was very close to the bike shop. On the night that this happened, I was also able to get a ride back home with one of the ladies from church. I’d never talked to her before, and she’s incredibly sweet, and lives just a couple of streets over from where I live.
I’m grateful for the amazing time I had at St. Haralambos in Niles a couple of weeks back. Not only were some very dear “real life” friends there, I finally got to meet Fr. Andrew Damick in person. We have been online acquaintances (friends) for over 20 years, and it seemed like high time to meet him in person. He actually recognized me by sight as well, which is crazy because it’s been a looong time since I posted any photos of myself that he might come across. 🙂 That was a lot of fun, though.
Breezy days and kites! I am grateful, as well, for the opportunity to visit an old friend and just enjoy sitting on the front step, having a conversation in the sunshine.
In many ways, I feel pulled very, very, very thin. There have been a lot of good things, to be sure, but there have been a number of very, very frustrating things as well. I don’t know; at this point, I’m not sure that I’ll ever have things “figured out”, but there’s a path to go forward on, and that’s the way through this all. Forgive me again for the blog silence – I truly am grateful for you.
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Songs of the Season 2025 – St. Clement’s Carol – Saint Clement’s Choir, Philadelphia
In honor of St. Clement’s Day
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Songs of the Season 2025 – Make Room – Casting Crowns
I’m still working on getting my mind around the fact that Christmas is just over a month away… and in between, Thanksgiving, two birthdays, school stuff, and who knows. And so, I was looking for something to help kind of start making that transition.
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Songs of the Season 2025 – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – The Fab Four
Yes, it’s a Beatles’ tribute band. Would you expect anything less from me? 😉
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Sunday Gratitude – 16.XI.2025
Oh, boy, man was this a week that just flew by!
I’m grateful, certainly, that the snow that we got at the beginning of the week was more of an annoyance than anything else – and that it hasn’t lasted long.
The temperatures are definitely chilly, but for November in Wisconsin, there’s not much to complain about. If I remember correctly, even after the day with snow, maybe Saturday, the temperature hit 60F, which is amazing.
Speaking of enjoying the weather, I rode down to Kenosha and back last Friday. It was a beautiful ride, and though my hands got very cold, between rising temperatures and the thermos full of hot tea I had packed, they warmed up nicely. I’m grateful that I didn’t run into any technical difficulties with the bicycle – I thoroughly enjoy riding the recumbent, but if something were to happen with it mechanically, it has the potential to be a much bigger issue due to the fact it is much harder to transport. I also got a little off-track on the way back because of a detour, but thankfully, that didn’t cause me issues… just an extra mile or so.
I am grateful that I got a little bit of good sleep over the weekend. Besides all the crazy stuff that happened last week, I’ve now got a bit of a lingering sore throat, and even though it’s not completely comfortable to sleep with that, it’s better than not having the chance to sleep. Argh. I certainly have to do better on the sleep stuff.
I’m grateful, too, that with all the stuff I had to get done last week, there weren’t any major crazy things or huge setbacks.
I’m going to sign off here for the night – please know that I’m always grateful for you!
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Songs of the Season 2025 – O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Skillet
It’s hard to believe that we’re in Advent already (on the Orthodox Christian calendar, at least). Last year I didn’t do it, but I had a lot of fun in 2022 and 2023 posting a song a day for the “Christmas season”. So here goes for this year – we’ll see how it goes. In any case, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” seems to be the song I traditionally start with, so here is a – um – unique rendition. Enjoy!
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Sunday Gratitude – 9.XI.2025
I know, I know, I’ve neglected writing for too long. It seems like I can never catch a break as far as being able to truly relax, and I feel like that is catching up to me.
I’m really grateful that we’ve had such a beautiful autumn. It’s been warm to the point where I was out in short sleeves up until Friday, and while a bit chilly sometimes, it’s kind of insane because this is Wisconsin after all. The trees are still resplendent, and the waning light shines golden across everything.
I made it to church on my bicycle last week; it was amazing. All in all, I rode thirty miles, and it was a beautiful ride. Apart from straying a little from the route I wanted to take, everything else went well – no accidents or incidents or anything.
Wind Point Lighthouse, from biking one afternoon. I am thankful for medical care, and that even while it is expensive here, it’s available.
I am thankful for friends and connections in so many ways. Even when things got their most crazy this past Wednesday, somehow, there just “happened” to be a good friend who could come out and meet me to chat for 20 minutes simply because I was in the area. And then to receive something incredibly unexpected in the mail from someone else!
I’m grateful to have had two days of decently good sleep. It’s rare, and I think it’s part of where many of my issues begin.
I’m sorry I’m phasing out here; I took cold medicine because my throat is beginning to hurt, You all are amazing!
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Sunday Gratitude – 19.X.2025
I’m really frustrated with myself for a number of things right now, especially that I didn’t get half of what I wanted to get done this weekend accomplished. On the other hand, I always overestimate what I think I can get done, and that gap with the reality is hard to deal with sometimes. I am grateful to have gotten a little done, and to also have a little bit of time still to accomplish the one thing that I seem to be really avoiding. I’m funny like that.
I’m grateful to have heard from a friend I hadn’t heard from in years. It’s really terrible, because I actually do have her number in my phone, so I knew immediately that she was calling me. It was really, really good, and a good reminder that I ought to be better about making the random phone call out of the blue sometimes.
I did, however, call a couple of people this weekend, and I am grateful to have reached them and to have had good conversations. Sometimes the house just gets too quiet and having a real person to talk to makes getting mundane tasks go a lot more quickly.
I am grateful to the priest that I’ve been going to for confession that he does take time to listen to me and not be too harsh when I’m really struggling to muddle through.
I’ve been watching a lot of the YouTube channel – “Midwest Safety” which is a police cam channel, and is put together really, really well. It makes me grateful for the people, like the police, who put up with a lot of crazy stuff in service to our communities.
I am grateful for the nice weather, and to have had the opportunity to enjoy it. I didn’t make it to church on the bike, but I went out earlier in the week for 20+ miles and had a great time.
I don’t know that I have a whole lot to add, except, of course, that I am grateful for you. 🙂
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SOCA Choir Pieces
For those of you who saw my last Sunday Gratitude post, this is kind of a repeat, but I just wanted to repost the three recordings from our choir at the Serbian Orthodox Choral Association’s festival this past Saturday.
(start at 0:55 for the first one)
Otche Nash – Our Father (a couple seconds are missing at the beginning here) These audio files were pulled from video my 8-year-old and 11-year-old took. On one hand, it’s weird because being in the choir, I felt that the voices sounded warmer, and I don’t know that these recordings are great picking up some of the chord sliding because some of it is fairly subtle. On the other hand, I think these sound a lot like some professional recordings from the 1940s, which probably also just put a group of people in a room with one microphone to record. That a professional setup like that could sound similar to outdated technology recorded by children really blows my mind. If you all could see the video – which bounces around enough to make a person seasick – it’s even more impressive how good so much of modern technology is! (I think it was recorded on an iPhone 10.)
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Sunday Gratitude – 12.X.2025
Yesterday, the concert portion of the Serbian Orthodox Choir Association took place in Cudahy, Wisconsin. I was part of one of the choirs, and over the last couple of months, there has been a lot of work that has gone into the musical numbers – lots of extra choir practice, for example – as well as getting the event to happen at all. I’m thankful that despite some glitches, the event took place successfully. Here’s our numbers (apart from the combined choir pieces):
Otche Nash – (These are not the official recordings, but my 9-year-old with an old iPhone. For the first one, please start the slider at about :55 for the beginning of the song.)
– There are a couple of seconds missing from the beginning I will try to remember to link to the official recordings when they become available.
Is it bad to say that I’m also thankful that it’s over? 🙂 Juggling the practices and such with school and sports and what have you was tough. Speaking of, I’m also thankful that the beginning-of-the-year sports are over.
I am grateful again for some of the beautiful weather that we’ve been having, and the opportunity to go out and enjoy some of it, particularly on a bike.
Bikes by Lake Michigan I am grateful that despite a silly mistake, nothing bad came of it, even though it could have been bad.
I am grateful for people who reach out and listen, especially when that is really badly needed, as well as for people who offer help in the practical things.
I am grateful for my kids, especially when they do the unexpected sweet things.
I am grateful for friends who trust me.
I am grateful that I found my purse today. I was so tired by the end of the concert that this morning, when I couldn’t find my purse, I couldn’t remember if I had had it after the concert or not. I couldn’t find it this morning, so I figured I must have left it. But I couldn’t find it there, either, even with other people looking. I finally found it at home – it had fallen behind the kitchen recycle bin and ended up with a small box on top of it, so it wasn’t visible until things started getting moved.
Clown Violets in October And sometimes, I’m simply grateful to get through the day. There have been a couple of days like that in the past couple of weeks.
Before I forget, too, I just want to mention that on the anniversary of the day of his death, I’m grateful for the life of Willi Graf.
Thank you all for your attention and prayers. I am eternally grateful for it.
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Sunday Gratitude – 28.IX.2025
The Touchstone Magazine Conference took place this past Thursday through Saturday, and I am grateful to have been able to attend. This was my third conference, and the line-up of speakers was amazing. The time just flew by, much more than in other years. One of the nicest things about the conference is the receptions, where people get to mingle both with each other and with the conference speakers. I got to meet up with old friends, I got to meet some new people, and I also got to talk to multiple conference speakers. I still sometimes tend to be very shy and awkward, but it’s still a good time. 🙂
Not quite Trinity International University, but I didn’t actually use my camera I also want to mention that I am grateful to the saint who prays for me, that on Thursday afternoon, even before setting out, I was fried. I was so fried that I ended up falling asleep after lunch and not getting out as good season as I would have liked. I then couldn’t find something that I had had on Wednesday and decided to stop at Wal-Mart on the way down. By this time, it was also very warm, and I was frustrated enough that I was questioning what the purpose was even to going. As these thoughts were taking over my brain, I stopped at the gas station for a drink. As I was pulling out of my parking space, I saw a license plate of a car just to the left of me, and it started with this saint’s initials. Coincidence? This has happened a couple times recently, where the thoughts start getting to be too much, and there’s a license plate with those initials. And… it’s happened coming down to Touchstone before as well. The plates were issued in Wisconsin sometime around 2019 or 2020 (they’re part of a series) and while there are times when I simply see them and remember this saint, there are other times – like on Thursday – where the timing is more than a little uncanny. So take it as you will, but I know he’s praying for me.
I’m also grateful to the people at Touchstone for allowing me to purchase a discounted ticket.
I am grateful also for the things that are very hard. I met up with a friend after Touchstone, and, in the course of the afternoon, ended up talking about some very difficult things. I’m still feeling somewhat shaken, and a goodly amount of grief came to the surface, but I’m thankful to be able to be there for it, as weird as that may sound.
I am grateful for the nice weather as of late, and the opportunity to spend time outdoors. I’m grateful for the long walk with a neighbor, and Bible study and quiet friendships. I’m grateful that my youngest seems to be acclimating to kindergarten quite well.
I’m grateful to know the people I’m praying for (well, there are a few exceptions of people I don’t know) and knowing that some are praying for me as well. I’m grateful to have been in contact with a couple of people with whom I had not had contact for years. And I am thankful for all of you reading this, from the bottom of my heart.
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Breath of Hallelujah 