Cold tangerines : celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life

Cold Tangerines is a collection of stories that celebrate the extraordinary moments hidden in our everyday lives. It is about God, and about life, and about the thousands of daily ways in which an awareness of God changes and infuses everything. It is about spiritual life, and about all the things that we have called nonspiritual life that might be spiritual after all. It is the snapshots of a young woman making peace with herself and her life, and trying to craft a life that captures the energy and exuberance we long for in the midst of the fear and regret and envy we all carry with us. It is both a voice of challenge and song of comfort, calling us upward to the best possible life, and giving us room to breathe, to rest, to break down and break through. Cold Tangerines offers bright and varied glimpses of hope and redemption, in and among the heartbreak And boredom and broken glass. Title Page......Page 5 Copyright Page......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 11 Part I......Page 15 On waiting......Page 17 Spark......Page 21 Becoming family......Page 27 Puppies......Page 33 Old house......Page 39 Island......Page 43 Swimming......Page 49 French class......Page 55 Carrying my own weight......Page 61 These are the days......Page 69 Visions and secrets......Page 77 Part II......Page 81 Baby making......Page 83 The red tree......Page 89 Exodus......Page 93 Eggs and baskets......Page 99 Brothers, sisters, and barbecues......Page 105 Lent and television......Page 111 A funeral and a wedding......Page 115 Mothers and sons......Page 119 The cat’s pajamas......Page 123 Pennies......Page 127 Part III......Page 133 Hide and seek......Page 135 Broken bottles......Page 141 Prayer and yoga......Page 147 Confession......Page 153 Shalom......Page 159 Good causes......Page 163 The hook......Page 167 How sweet it is......Page 171 Blessings and curses......Page 177 Part IV......Page 183 Mother prayers......Page 185 The track star......Page 191 Ladybugs......Page 195 Carrying my own weight redux......Page 199 Writing in pencil......Page 205 Happy thanksgiving......Page 211 Soup from bones......Page 217 Basement......Page 221 Needle and thread......Page 227 Cold tangerines......Page 233 Acknowledgments......Page 239 About the Publisher......Page 242 Share Your Thoughts......Page 243 A collection of stories and ideas about the life of celebration that God gives us, this book offers a vision of life as a collection of bright and varied glimpses of hope and redemption and celebration, in and among the heartbreak and boredom and broken glass.