babybloomr

Sorry I’ve been scarce around here, there’s lots of things going on. Nothing too earthshaking, but as my friend Crescent Dragonwagon used to say (mysteriously), “More will be revealed…”

So anyway, I thought I’d officially designate another one of my willy-nilly “It’s _____ Friday!” day, and share with you some thoughts from one of my favorite writers and speakers, Anne Lamott.

Anne is as bluntly honest and hilarious as C.S. Lewis is thoughtful and esoteric, and she always just delights me. She is a self-described ‘old hippie’, raised in the San Francisco Bay-area to be an atheist by her  left-leaning parents who thought they were too educated and intellectually sophisticated to believe in God.  Anne went through an extended period of addiction before becoming a Christian as a result of discovering a tiny, multi-racial inner-city Presbyterian Church that loved and accepted her just as she was. Her conversion story is one of the best I ever read (it’s in “Traveling Mercies”). She’s just the real deal.

I actually had the pleasure of hearing Anne Lamott speak at the Festival of Faith and Writing conference I attended years ago at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. She was remarkable. If you have never read any of her books, you should run out right this minute and get some. (OK, if not right this minute then first thing in the morning. Promise.) She writes wonderful novels, but I particularly love her nonfiction work– especially “Traveling Mercies,” and also the best book I’ve ever read on writing, “Bird by Bird.”

This is a clip from a recent interview that will give you a little bit of her background story, and also give you a feel for her wonderful mind and quirky spirit. I just love her.

Let me know what you think!