Monday Whatevers

April 18, 2022

Horace Pippin – Sunday Morning Breakfast (1943)

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Hello, Friends! 

Normally, I spend Sunday afternoons joyously creating the Monday Whatever list for the week. It’s a rather indulgent task that hardly ever feels like real work. But since work is anything that isn’t leisure or rest, I have to admit that when I spend a few hours to creating a Monday Whatever list, I am certainly not resting at ease. So yesterday, in honor of Easter, I took a true Sabbath, even from the work that I love. 

But it’s no matter. I still found a few things to share with you this morning that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise—and without spending time away from my family or breaking Sabbath. Instead of working, I challenged myself to just enjoy the simple gift of being, and ironically ended up actually living out a Monday Whatever list in real time. 

So this week’s Monday Whatever list is truly a “day in the life” of an Easter Sabbath at our home. 

Blessings and Peace,
Marcie

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Horace Pippin – Lilies (1941)

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WHATEVER IS TRUE, HONEST & JUST…

FOR THE LOVE PODCAST:
Is the Church Dead? A Millennial's Perspective on Religion with Casper ter Kuile

As you know, friends, I love a good podcast. I start most days listening to at least a portion of an episode – usually something either wry and funny, or inspiring and thought-provoking. 

Yesterday, after taking our dog Evie for an hour-long, crisp Spring walk in the neighborhood, Simon and I treated ourselves to big mugs of tea and breakfast while we watched Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love podcast on YouTube. 

I met Jen a few years ago, and she is exactly as you would expect her to be – warm, open and as generously hospitable as her wraparound Texas-sized porch. She’s one of the few people in the world who make me wish I were more a country mouse than a city one—she’s that lovingly comforting. So I was delighted that she was interviewing Casper ter Kuile, whom I’ve never met, but whose voice is a familiar one in our home. Casper was a former co-host of one our favorite podcasts, Harry Potter & the Sacred Text.   

Both Jen and Casper are true, honest and justice-seeking people who are also funny, wry, inspiring and thought-provoking. They tick all the boxes, and this podcast episode was a perfect way to begin our Sabbath. They talked about the church, ritual and community, sparking goodhearted, meaningful conversations for my husband and I throughout the day. 

If you’re like us, trying to practice a more authentic faith without dismissing religious practice all together, I implore you to listen in on their outstanding conversation. Plus, Casper has the best laugh in the world. You don’t want to miss it. 

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WHATEVER IS PURE, LOVELY & GRACIOUS…

20TH CENTURY STUDIOS:
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

I love a good musical—actually, I love a bad musical. My favorite ones are from days of old. I love the technicolor ones: My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Singin’ in the Rain, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Beach Blanket Bingo and Fiddler on the Roof. But I also love the black & white romances: Top Hat, Carefree and Stormy Weather. I’ve seen both Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a rather embarrassing number of times. I was thrilled when my kid finally relented and agreed to watch Disney’s High School Musical 1, 2 and 3 with me. I know the songs from Grease 2 just as well as most folks know the songs from its predecessor. And that’s only the live-action musicals. I’m equally besotted with the animated ones. Ask me how many times I’ve seen Frozen II. Six more times than the first one. 

When I was growing up, every Easter evening, The Ten Commandments were a special TV event. But to compete with it, there was always a station who was airing a whirling, twirling technicolor musical, usually The Sound of Music or The Wizard of Oz. To this day, I have never seen The Ten Commandments. 

This year, I decided to return to the tradition of watching a musical on Easter. My family and I  spread out a lunch repast and watched a musical that I think became a new family favorite given that it had something for each of us: a musical for yours truly, a British setting for my husband, and a queer story for our non-binary, gay child. This movie is such a glorious triumph of the human spirit. Though we need everyone’s story in order to be better lovers of humanity, we haven’t been exactly trustworthy with everyone’s story. I’m so grateful that Jamie Campbell shared his in such a unique way with all of us.  

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WHATEVER IS EXCELLENT & WORTHY OF APPLAUSE…

WARNER BROS.: Being There 
ROGER EBERT’S GREAT MOVIES: Being There 
ROGER EBERT – CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Being There 1980 Review 

When my husband and I were dating, we could never make it through a movie. Perhaps it was because we were dating long distance, or perhaps it was because it was a second chance at love for the both of us. But whenever we were together, we couldn’t stop making out (rated PG) or talking about everything under the moon and sun, as you do when you’re in love. So nearly twelve years ago we rented a movie from a Blockbuster that we fully intended to watch but of course never did. The movie got returned, and we eventually got married and immediately grew old, forgetting all about the movie Being There starring Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine. We remembered it last night and watched it together with our passion still evident and thrilling, but comfortably assured and settled like an old house with familiar rooms. After the movie, we happily trotted off to bed where my beloved read out loud to me Roger Ebert’s reviews of our now favorite old-but-new movie. 

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May your week be filled with whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise.

Much Peace,
Marcie, BCWWF