speak less; say more
I have been a bit silent as of late. On purpose. I have given over to a season of reflection. A season replete with a little more silence- around me and from me. I am always drawn to the idea of such a focused time, but something within me seems to fight any figment of actual implementation. Which seems to suggests I like to think of myself as someone I am not- much like a writer with no pages to hand over. Aspiration is not identity. As of late, I noticed some folks full of words, filled with distractions and,…
a breakup letter…
[As I have mentioned, I am currently curating an 8-week writing group (Flywheel) to encourage others. Each week there is a topic to write on. This week’s topic is “letter writing” (fiction or non-fiction). I am posting my own letter below.] (photo credit) Dear Cereal, I want to start off this letter by acknowledging my unabashed love for you. You have been good to me and faithful for so very long. I do not recall our first meeting and I am sorry for that; my memory had not yet formed though I am almost certain you were introduced by my…
a post from the better half.
I’m putting up another post today from the Flywheel group. This one is from my wife, Ginny, and she writes about our daughter Lena. Many of you know that we brought Lena home from Ukraine two years ago. In those two years, life has been in a constant state of seeking rhythm. We have seen friends less. Seen fewer movies. Survived on less sleep than advised. But received more in the way of learning love than we can articulate. We don’t write about Lena often because sometimes silence is the best way to acknowledge the holy. The time…
from the flywheel:: honest (Mallory McCormick)
* the following includes a word that one might use when that same one slams the car door on his or her finger. if such words are offensive to you, I do not want you to be offended and you may consider yourself warned. __________________________ As I have mentioned, I have been curating a group called flywheel– a ragtag online community I accidentally assembled by asking on facebook if any wanted to join me for some encouragement and community built around writing. Somewhere over 50 jumped for an 8-week experiment and and most have held on and it has…
pivot
It’s been 3 weeks since I checked in. Let’s be honest; who cares. I so appreciate those of you who read my thoughts on here (more often my pre-thoughts, which has been dangerous, but fun). After my last post encouraging folks to join me by entering into the discipline of writing this year…I decided to attempt to create a little, online community of folks who would write together for 8 weeks. I seriously hoped for 8 people- which, for reasons unknown, seemed the right number to me. 8 human- 8 weeks. I received positive responses from over 50 folks and…
my New Year's resolution for you
I am a verbal processor. As far as I can tell, this means I need people to sit and listen to my ideas in order for me to actually have any. To be honest, often I don’t need their feedback (though in my adulthood I have learned to pretend as such, cause no one likes a one-sided conversation; that is except for me when I am on the one side). I mean I don’t necessarily like this about myself, folks, but this doesn’t make it any less true. I need another’s ear to have a brain. As one can imagine,…
Feelin' festive:: book giveaway
Goodreads Book Giveaway A Story Unfinished by Matt Mooney Giveaway ends January 15, 2014. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win I’ve teamed up with my publisher to give away 25 books for the new year. Sign up and if the computer says you win, then we’ll ship you a book- for free! Maybe you or someone you know could use an encouraging but raw read as they head into 2014. I wrote our story down for my kids & for others who know hurt- that in some way they would be encouraged by a simple story of…
the stench of Christmas
There are plenty of things that I do not like about Christmas. I know this must come as a surprise to many of you and some of you may be aghast at the news- as though I dropped a Yule log in my britches. I am, after all, one of the Jesus believin’ good guys, and just the thought that I could find fault with the holy merriment sends you reeling- headed back to find more headlines about gay ducks or women bishops or whatever the latest, greatest current hot-topic of the Christian blogosphere might happen to be (can we…
our toddler Christmas wish list:: a letter to the grandparents
Christmas is a time for tradition, so below is the letter to grandparents from last year… After much cussing and discussion on Christmas’ nearness, Gin and I spent some time hashing out how we were going to do Christmas different. Everyone I know wants Christmas to be more meaningful and less hijacked. Turning that desire into action has been another thing altogether. In order to align our thoughts and our own families, we wrote a letter to both of our parents. Now you gotta know some things before the following letter will make sense to you. Gin and I both…
in the midst
I believe one of the hardest realities for me to grasp is this one: To live fully within the moment that I occupy. To me, that last sentence sounds a bit like a weak attempt at eloquence. It is not. I can’t seem to put a good one-liner to it; maybe I need to inquire of some southern pastor who bellows better. They seem to come up with zingers for a living. Since I cannot seem to encapsulate it, I’ll explain it. Over these last two years (read “since we adopted Lena & all sense of rhythm and balance hit…
Matt & Ginny start the second half of season 1 with a seemingly simply question: What is a good life? An entire episode focused on the life of a man known as Bulldog– told through the eyes of his brother, Chris Wheeler. It is a journey of Chris beginning to see a person who was…
In the age of television talent shows galore, our hosts attend one that manages to flip the narrative of what a talent show is & could be. Chelsea, Jordan & Claire want to sing at the bEfriend talent show hosted by 99 Balloons, but to do so they will have to overcome their fear of…
Matthew Lyle & Ginny Mooney continue the discussion of healing and the church by delving into the lives of their friends with disability who do not want to be healed, cured or fixed. When they stumble upon an article, written by Madeleine Ryan, entitled Dear Parents: Your Child with Autism is Perfect it is though…
When the loss of a child becomes a nationwide, prayer movement to #wakeupolive what does it say about the church and its relationship to healing? to suffering? In the first part of a two-part series discussing healing & the church, Matthew Lyle Mooney along with his wife, Ginny Mooney, set out to discuss the awkward…
Summer is here. At 5, 6 and 8 we got rascals riding bikes and swimming at a skill level whereby we are not in constant stress. I told Ginny sometime some summer not long ago that I was done going to pools. With 3 that cannot swim alone, I can only act like I’m listening…
I’ve worked hard to develop a new habit of carving out Monday mornings to sit and think and pray and grasp for some semblance of sanity before I cannonball into the week that will eat my lunch if I let it. It’s a rebellious act of counter-intuition as weekends are supposed to be the very…
We’ve reached that point in these beloved Ozarks where we’re just all waiting around for the good weather. We get all four seasons here; just enough of winter to know we don’t want to move north; which we needed no help knowin’. Being bone-tired of Ole Man Winter being a hanger-on is all you’re allowed…
I often look at my backside in the mirror. I move quickly past the place that you imagined I was seeking and find the splotchy spot just above the bend of my right leg. It’s my biggest scar- remnants of days I spent riding my Honda 80 dirt bike for hours on end along the…
Check it out, Ginny & Lena are in the current edition of National Geographic. A while back, a wonderful photographer followed our family around for a few days in order to capture photos illustrative of an article on brain development…fascinating article and wonderful pictures (we think). _____________________________________ If…
Against my better judgment, Ginny convinced me last Monday to sit beside her and watch the American Music Awards. I begrudgingly complied- mainly due to the fact that I love her and if she invites me to sit close to her, I do it- every time. I’m a sucker that way, but that doesn’t mean…