“To Care and Not to Care”

I have an exciting thing to share!

It has nothing to do with Ina, but it does have to do with food and cooking.

Most of you know that I’ve written and spoken for Mockingbird Ministries, which “is a ministry that seeks to connect the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in fresh and down-to-earth ways.” The Mockingbird website does a much better job of describing itself than I ever can:

Behind our entire project lies the conviction that none of us ever move beyond our need to hear the basic good news of God’s Grace. In particular, none of us ever fully escape the gravitational pull of personal control (and anxiety) when it comes to life and how we live it. Hence the name “Mockingbird,” which refers to the curious characteristic of the bird itself: to repeat the message it has heard, over and over again.

Neil and I first began reading the Mockingbird blog several years ago, and then I began writing for them last summer. It has been one of life’s greatest pleasures to write with them and for them, and to spend time in their midst. I am so grateful.

And so, when the Editor of the Mockingbird Magazine asked me to write something for their Food and Drink issue, I was ecstatic. (Incidentally, I’d just thumbed through the last issue of the magazine and saw that the next issue would be about Food & Drink. I turned to Neil and said, “I want to do THAT.”) I’ve never written for a magazine before, and it was so much fun. It stretched me in ways I didn’t know I needed to be stretched, and I loved the process. Their masthead is “To Care and Not to Care,” which I think sums it up. They/we care deeply about the subject matter at hand, but they don’t care so much if you ask a lot of questions and need someone to help steer you in the right direction.

You can order a copy of the Food & Drink issue (or the archived issues) here. Or better yet, subscribe to the magazine and support Mockingbird. The magazines are book-quality, with beautiful artwork. I liked it even before I knew I’d get to write anything for it.

For what it’s worth, that refrigerator on the cover image is not my refrigerator. My refrigerator looks like the inside of my brain: cluttered, full, and oddly stashed things here and there. When you open our refrigerator, things jump out at you and occasionally crash to the floor. That cover fridge is my dream fridge. So tidy!