Favorite Baby Hat

When Caroline was an itty bitty baby, we had a go-to hat choice for her.

We got complimented on it every time we took her out.
It was warm and soft and fit her sweet little newborn head perfectly. I'd gotten it as a gift from my cousin Christina at one of my baby showers. She'd just started making them at that point.

And now, wouldn't you know, she sells them. On etsy. Right here! You can get your own, or else purchase one as a baby gift.  And she actually has a bunch of adorable baby clothes for sale.  And you just might see a certain Brown baby used as a model for one of the dresses.

Check it out, y'all.  Adorable handmade baby hats. 

Riley's New Bed

Thank you to the fine folks at All Modern Pet - the new dog bed is great.

First of all, it is surprisingly hard to find an orange dog bed. But OF COURSE I needed one to match my office. And this fits the bill nicely.

Second, he seems to enjoy himself in it. Granted, his BFF is his bed that we used to keep in the office, and now is downstairs. But that one is fuzzy.

And this one is cute. And since it sits under the window, it provides an excellent sunning spot.

MM... the sun is so delicious at naptime.

Mom, seriously, get that camera out of my face so I can go back to sleep.

A Hotel Review

In my sales job, I spend a fair amount of nights in random hotel rooms around the midwest. It isn't my first choice to stay in a hotel by my lonesome, and I'm thankful for opportunities to stay instead with friends and family. But I don't happen to know anyone in, say, Springfield, IL or Cleveland, OH. So hotel rooms often enter the picture for me. Not a huge deal.

I happen to be sitting in one at this very moment.

And, during this past year of frequent hotel stays, I've developed a favorite.

Now let me just say that most of the time, I can't stay in posh places like The Peabody. My expense budget can't handle swank like that. So I'm talking here about the mid-level standard type. No Super 8's thankfully. More like a Hampton Inn.

My favorite, favorite hotel chain in that price range is the Hyatt Place. Why, you ask? Well, let me just tell ya.

-They're new. Now, I can't promise that for all of them. But it is pretty new chain and every time I've stayed in one either the building has been recently built or the room has been completely updated.

-They're always well decorated. I'm totally a visual person, and appreciate the attention to well-chosen colors, materials, and lighting. They really seemed to nail down the details, down to the fashionable throw pillows.

-My room has always been clean. Need I say more?

-The lobby is very welcoming - and even stylish in its design. Functional, innovative spaces. A specialty coffee bar where they serve Starbucks. I must say that it is nice to walk into an inviting space after driving for hours on end. Many hotels of a similar price range sport dated, stained green carpeting and a tunnel-like entry. And a desk I don't want to touch with my bare hands.

-Each room has distinct living and sleeping spaces. But they don't have that seedy Extended Stay feeling to it. I appreciate the ability to sit on a couch (as opposed to a bed) with my laptop and work... er... I mean blog. Apart from sporting a design I could choose for my own living room, it is big, comfortable, and comes complete with an ottoman. There's also a nice desk area, kitchen-ish area, bathroom, etc. The whole room is spacious and designed innovatively. (Is that a word? If not it should be.)

-The beds are comfy.

-Free WiFi. This is pretty standard at this level of hotel. The more expensive ones, on the other hand? $10 per day, easy. Yuck.

-Each room is equipped with a 42" flat screen HD television. This is Josh's favorite part of the Hyatt Place experience.



So there you have it. My reasons for choosing this hotel whenever possible.

And yes, I've written this entire post from a nice tan couch with my feet up and while glancing occasionally at the big TV swiveled in my direction. Thankfully Lombard, IL had a Hyatt Place option for me tonight. It makes life on the road that much more enjoyable.

Josh's Review: Pandora

I'd like to introduce my husband, Josh, in his inaugural blog post!

After 18 months of the Brown Family Blog, the day has finally come. I have been asked to "guest" post on the blog (even though one of those "j's" in the blog banner technically does stand for Josh). I'm not sure that I can live up to the high literary precedent that Jessica has established, but I'll give it my best shot.

The subject of my first post will be none other than a profound review of an internet application that Jess and I have come to enjoy over the past few weeks. Pandora.com is free, streaming, online radio site that is aligned with the Music Genome Project (more on this later) and adapts to personal tastes to deliver a customized radio experience. Pandora has been around since 2005, but for those of us who are not early adopters (or not incredibly perceptive of the world around us), I will provide an introduction. I even hesitated to check it out after my friend Patrick mentioned it, but I'm glad that I finally looked into it.

When I first went to the Pandora website, I was asked to input the name of a band that I liked. I entered Counting Crows (my favorite band) into the box, and the "Counting Crows Radio" station popped up on the screen. I don't remember what the first song was, but I remember that I liked it. I was intrigued. I renamed the station "Josh Mix" and decided to give it more information with which to build my radio station. The first three artists that I added were longtime favorites The Beatles, Pearl Jam, and Jackson Browne. Shortly after that, I added more of my favorite artists (Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Oasis, Damien Rice, The White Stripes, Neil Young, Dire Straits, The Shins, and Joe Purdy among others), and the station changed to reflect those tastes.

While it is fun to enter bands and see the content change, there is another way to personalize the music mix of the station. When songs are played, I have three options for each song. I can give the song either a thumbs up or thumbs down, or I can give no opinion. If I give a thumbs up, Pandora will play more songs like this in the future while a thumbs down will have the opposite result. Over the first 40 or so songs that were chosen, there were songs by artists such as The Wallflowers, Audioslave, Merle Haggard, Ray LaMontagne, The Postal Service, The Eagles, Radiohead, The Doors, Elliot Smith, Joshua Radin, and more. Probably 25% of the songs are from artists that I specified, another 50% are from other artists whose music I am very familiar with, and the rest is pretty new to me. Jessica also has a station of her own, so she isn't stuck with my musical taste when she wants to listen.

One of my favorite things about Pandora is that the music isn't bounded by traditional genres, but it seeks to play music with similar traits (the Music Genome Project rates all songs on a total of 400 dimensions). While some of these traits imply genres (they'd be nearly useless if they didn't), no song is excluded based on genre. As someone who enjoys hearing new music, the chance to hear a wide variety of new music is the biggest advantage over just letting my iPod play on shuffle. Ever since I let my satellite radio subscription lapse a few years ago, I have missed the exposure that I had to new music. Pandora has helped to fill this void somewhat, and I have already heard a few interesting artists. There is also a bookmarking feature on the site that allows me to keep my eye on a certain artist or song.

Although there are a lot of things that I do enjoy about Pandora, there are some limitations to the service. There are only 4 opportunities to skip songs in an hour, so you may have to sit through some songs that you don't want to listen to. While this is better than traditional radio, the advantage does go to the iPod in this regard. A little troubling also is the fact that I have probably only listened to 200 songs or so, and a few have come up 2 or 3 times. While this in itself isn't a problem, I'm hoping that there is a great enough variety that I won't have heard everything there is to hear after a couple months. Pandora does give you a short description of why it plays each song, but, being the nerd that I am, I would love to see it mapped out and get a better idea of how the Music Genome Project groups songs together.

While not a perfect solution, Jessica and I have really enjoyed our "discovery" of Pandora, and we wanted to pass it along. Along with the website, there is also an iPhone application that could be a great way to listen to Pandora on-the-go. I can't give a review for this, as I don't yet have an iPhone, but it seems like it could be fun. Unfortunately, there has been some talk that Pandora may not be able to operate if the music industry ever delivers on their constant threats to raise their royalty rates, and I hope that this doesn't come to pass. The web radio is a very fun diversion (especially for those that are looking for a little variety in their music). All in all, I would give Pandora a pretty strong recommendation, and I'm glad that I signed up.

This wraps up my long-winded review of Pandora, and I'll fade in to the background as Jessica regains command of the blog. Maybe some day I'll pop back up, but I guess we'll have to see.

My Review: Messy Spiritualtiy

I really appreciate this book.

While I don’t think it is the last word on Christian spirituality, I appreciate the author’s raw honesty about his own messy spirituality. Goodness knows I’m a mess, too. But I’m learning that I don’t have to have it all together to seek God and to be used by Him.

One aspect of this book I particularly valued was how important it is to be authentic and transparent when it comes to spirituality. I know from experience how easy it is to put up a chipper façade of “everything is great with me and my walk with God.” This book speaks of truly seeking after and following God, and being honest about where and when things aren’t perfect along the way. Faking spiritual perfection doesn’t get us very far, especially because let’s face it, none of us truly has this spirituality thing nailed down. Isn’t that why Christ came? He knew we’d need saving.

I remember one summer I had a spiritual mentor on a missions project. And we just didn’t click well. I didn’t want to share with her what was really going on with me, nor did I want to hear her words of guidance. After weeks of trying to figure out exactly what was wrong in our relationship, I came to realize that I never got to hear about the areas she struggled with. She wasn’t at all transparent with me, and I didn’t want to be open and honest in return.

One day, in a way that I hope was gentle, I told her about this issue. She was remarkably gracious and not a bit defensive, and even beyond that started to share more of herself me. We both grew and were encouraged those last few weeks of the project. As I think about my own ministry, and the lives God might use me to touch, this story reminds me to admit my own imperfections as a way to encourage those around me.

I think true authenticity with others, and vice-versa, can lead to growth.

I don’t think honesty should stop with relationships. Messy Spirituality reminds us to be honest with ourselves, too. Spiritual imperfection is always going to be a reality this side of heaven, and seeking perfect spirituality only causes us to turn our focus inward. I know personally how easy it is to measure my spiritual life against some arbitrary mile marker, and start to focus on doing things – even good things – and forget to simply seek God. I get into “box-checking” mode, and lose focus of my heavenly father.

I can’t say this is my all-time favorite book, but I liked the author’s somewhat, well… messy writing style. I don’t think I agreed with every single point he made, and felt there were some areas of spirituality that could have been delved into further. But there is a lot that I really appreciated about what Mike Yaconelli had to say about the God who is able to meet me where I am and transform me in the midst of my messy, imperfect life.

Favorites: Websites

I've decided to start a series of blog posts on my favorites. I mean, I have favorites in everything from movies to fruit to nail polish color, so why not share them?

My first thought was to start "Friday Favorites" but that is too organized for me and I'd like the freedom to share some whenever I want to (read: whenever I don't know what else to blog about).

I'd love to hear what your favorites are too, so feel free to comment or post on your own blog!

Today I'm going with websites (not blogs - I'm saving that one for a later date). On a daily basis I like to check:

1. Google Reader - a must-have one-stop-shop for anyone who likes to read blogs!

2. Facebook - Not only has it become an email substitute with some friends, I love finding out what people are up to this summer via pictures, comments, and the like. Besides, how else would I find out that so-and-so from high school is pregnant or that so-and-so from college is moving to California? Facebook "stalking" is the best.

3. Amazon - This one is half work-related, but the book worm within me smiles when I head there. Reviews? Suggestions? Pictures? Ahh... :)

4. Wikipedia - I find myself heading here to find the difference between an ox and a cow (ox is a type of a cow, for the record), movie plots, and information about everything from trashy celebs to John Adams to WW2.

5. Yahoo Mail - Personal email, of course! I need to find out who is coming to the various bachelorette parties I'm hosting in the next month, as well as what my friends were up to this past weekend. There is always Kelley Partners' Club stuff running through there, as well as a few surprises. And then I spend significant time deleting offers from Banana Republic, Golf Galaxy, and someone I don't know selling ED pills.

6. Weight Watchers - No surprise there. I have to check and log in my points several times throughout the day. Unfortunately I've reached a little plateau, weight-wise, but I'm going to power through. And maybe start running again :).

7. HGTV.com - Rate My Space? Spice Up My Kitchen? How about entering to win the dream home? I watch a fair amount of this T.V. station, and that naturally leads to checking out stuff online. Do I even own a home? No. But a girl can dream.

No, there's nothing earth-shattering or unusual about this list. And that is part of the reason I'm super curious where other people head online - I need to spice up this list!

A Bunch of Book Reviews

I've been on a reading kick lately. Or perhaps I'm always on a reading kick! But I've enjoyed some good books over the past month and thought I'd share some thoughts.

The Shack: I wanted to see what all the hoopla was all about with this one, and brought it along for a plane flight. I didn't really want to like it, but did. I cried (on the plane, no less) as Mack, the main character, works through the horror of his daughter's kidnapping and murder, his rocky relationship with his father, and ultimately his own relationship with God. By use of a fictional story, the author does an excellent job of unpacking profound truths about pain (and why God allows it), the Trinity, and God's incredible love for His people. The way the forward and epilogue are written are misleading/gimmicky, in that the author alludes to the book being a true story. Further internet research (on theshackbook.com) revealed that it was, in fact, fiction. That side of things was a little disappointing to me, but overall I'd highly recommend this book.


The Almost True Story Of Ryan Fisher: This was a quick and enjoyable read, but was still able to pack a punch. It tells the story of an average nonreligious realtor who stumbles into Christian subculture and starts to enjoy some of the benefits. This starts to snowball and ends up with "Ryan Fisher" pastoring a large church, although he really has no use for God or Christianity. This is a satirical, sobering, and yet hilarious look at American Christian subculture, and it is written well. I thought the story dragged a bit in the middle, but overall it was an enjoyable, somewhat though-provoking read.

Multiple Blessings: Any Jon & Kate Plus 8 fans out there? I sure am! I'm a sucker for those cute kids and their frazzled parents. Unbeknownst to many fans of the popular TLC show, the Gosselin family are strong Christians - and they have a story to tell about God's work in their lives. This book tells the story of their family - the marriage, the infertility, the twins, and then the sextuplets. It is mostly told from the perspective of Kate (the mom) and how much God has taught her along the way. She talks frankly about the agony of bedrest, their original fears about the health and well-being of the babies, and the difficulty of living with very little privacy. She goes beyond this to point to God's provision and blessing at every turn, for for money (especially when her husband lost his job a couple of months before the sextuplets came around), volunteer help, and just grace to get through the day. This is a quick read, but not overly light. The book does a great job going beyond just the Gosselin's story but reveals a lot about God's faithfulness.

*Update: I forgot to mention this before, but this book won't release until October-ish. Save it for a fall reading list!

Summer At Tiffany: A light, fun, true story about two WW2-era girls who landed summer jobs at the glamorous Tiffany's store in New York City. The first women ever employed there, these two fearless girls from Iowa find themselves living on a tight budget and yet having the time of their lives. This book chronicles their summer adventures, from glimpses of the Judy Garland buying jewelry to meeting handsome soldiers to almost losing priceless pearls. Fun and funny! Thanks for letting me borrow it, Lora!

The Gospel Of Ruth: I saved the best for last! This is my favorite in this bunch. It is a serious, scholarly dig into the Bible's book of Ruth, but reads so easily it was almost novel-like. I've read Ruth, studied Ruth, and even read other books on the topic, but this book brought my understanding of it to a new level altogether. Carolyn Custis James does an amazing job of setting the cultural backdrop, which really puts the story into a different light than I've ever heard before. She challenges "traditional" views regarding submission, the role of women in God's story, and even what the book of Ruth has to offer.

This book tells the tale of Ruth - her pain, her courage, and her dedication to her mother-in-law Naomi - while still demonstrating that God is at the center of the story. Instead of focusing on the love story between Ruth and Boaz, James shows the relationships between them, as well as Naomi, in a completely different light. She reveals how their actions were risky, courageous, and deeply self-sacrificing, done out of love for and trust in God.

James, through examining the well-known story, seeks to answer the question, "Is God good for women?" Even poor, barren, widowed women in a patriarchal society? Can God still have a purpose, and see it through, for women in painful circumstances? Instead of trivializing pain and giving trite answers, the author delves into the sorrows of infertility and losing a husband, and even shares about her own pain. In a very seamless and authentic way, she then leads the reader to examine Ruth's story, where God's purposes prevail against all odds. This book met me at many levels and profoundly affected my trust in and understanding of God's purposes in my life.

Book Review: Sin Boldly

Delicious.

Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace is simply that. Cathleen Falsani’s new book explores the subject of grace in a delightfully personal way. Instead of talking about the topic directly too often, she hints toward it and points at it through stories of her own experiences. Cathleen, through courageous honesty and good humor, explores how grace can (and does) pop up in a variety of different circumstances – some exotic, some painful, some mundane. She shares a wide variety of experiences, from being “mothered” by courageous widows in Africa to falling in love with a tree (named Henry) in her backyard. Each story is different and simple and profound.

This book reminds me a little of Cold Tangerines (which is one of my favorites, so that isn’t a bad thing) because I walk away from it looking closer for grace in my own life.

I love what Lee Strobel, author of The Case For Christ, said about it:

"Here's an utterly original, unflinchingly honest, heart-expanding treatment of my favorite topic: the grace of God. I was so captivated that I missed church while reading it – and Cathleen's lyrical insights refreshed my soul more than any sermon could have. I won't be the same having read it."

This book is like eating a lineup of little delicious treats. I taste one chapter, love it, and can’t wait to see what she has prepared next.

Highly recommended.

It releases in August (mean of me to post the review now, I realize) but in the meantime, Cathleen has a great religion/pop culture blog you can visit. I do, on a daily basis.

Thoughts on Jesus For President

First of all, an excellent book. Scriptural truth woven through excellent storytelling is a great way to read non-fiction, at least for me. I think the questions this book asks are very, very important. Some might be tempted to dismiss this book as liberal (or even hippie), but they would be truly missing out. I love the idea that it doesn’t matter so much how you vote on November 4th, but rather how you live every day of the year.

Shane and Chris, in Jesus for President, do an excellent job unpacking the political framework of the world in which Jesus lived, and how he deliberately chose to do ministry a very different way. While he didn’t operate under standard imperial guidelines, he was still able to spin the political rhetoric of the day on its head. Fascinating to read about. The authors also make it clear that Jesus wasn’t passive toward the needs and frustrations and sorrows of people, but chose a different, creative way of going about his work on the earth.

“All of this is an invitation to join a peculiar people – those with no king but God, who practice jubilee economics and make the world new. This is not the old-time religion of going to heaven; this is about bringing heaven to the world.”

Amish for Homeland Security? An interesting concept. Shane and Chris make no bones about the fact that they are extremely anti-war. They artfully weave stories and quotes and truth about the fallacy of “redemptive violence” and demonstrate that creative non-violence simply works better to achieve life change and good in this world. It is a stronger argument for Christian non-violence than I’ve ever heard, and I love how they wrap anti-voilent/war ideas into their “pro-life” stance. As they view it, life is precious from conception to death. What I’d really like to hear, however, is their perspective on the significant war and violence we see sprinkled throughout the Bible – especially the Old Testament. While I agree, for the most part, with their stance on non- violence, I think leaving this issue out weakens their argument significantly. That said, I still think they’re on the right track. One little idea that sticks with me is this:

“I’ll die for you, but I won’t kill for you.”

A lot of the stories and ideas the authors use when they point toward what Christian political imagination could and does sometimes does look like are incredible – and a little overwhelming to me. They talk about alternative, intentional communities where sharing, debt cancellation, and mutual aid are the name of the game. They give examples of people who have changed their lifestyles to become less dependent on oil and cheap labor in Asia. Others refuse to live in the suburbs so they can live in solidarity with the poor.

“Our individuated lifestyle of single-family dwellings, a car per person, and a house full of “my” stuff purchased cheaply from China makes it harder to follow Jesus, even for those with the best of intentions. When your house is built on sand, you waste energy keeping it from being knocked over.”

“Perhaps there is no more dangerous place for a Christian to be than in safety and comfort, detached from the suffering of others” – Shane’s mom

There is a lot that I buy and eat and wear that has probably passed through the hands of someone that was mistreated. And yet I haven’t stopped doing normal grocery and clothes shopping. I don’t know if I could ever welcome an unrelated homeless woman with Alzheimer’s into my home to live with my family. Am I making lifestyle decisions to cut back on my consumption of oil, knowing that there is a significant connection between oil and war? Not really.

I haven’t yet made these lifestyle changes, and honestly don’t know that I will. But God is big enough to change my heart as He sees fit. Thankfully this book simply suggests some ways others are living out their faith, rather than trying to tell me my life needs to follow a 5 stop plan. Reading this book re-motivated me to serve those around me, walk the extra mile, and turn the other cheek. And to remember that the way of Jesus is always going to look quite different than the ways of this world. After all, my ultimate hope lies not in partisan political options but in Jesus Christ and His kingdom.



For more information, see the book's website or listen to Shane tell you about it himself. Also, I recently listened to a fascinating discussion about some of these topics between Shane, Greg Boyd (author of Myth of a Christian Nation), and Chuck Colson on Krista Tippett's radio program Speaking of Faith. I recommend it.

Book Recommendation

This is one of my favorite books of all time. A book about truth, celebration, not having it all together, learning that your friends have messy basements, too, and hope. It is satisfying. Encouraging. Enjoyable.





And big Z has made it possible for you to read an excerpt online. Here.

But here is a passage that sadly isn't included on Zondervan's website. She is talking about how she has an old house and struggles with jealousy over the new house of a friend. And it is one of my favorites:

On my worst days, I start to believe that what God wants is perfection.
That God is a new-house God. That everything has to work just right, with
no cracks in the plaster and no loose tiles. That I need to be completely
fixed up. I think that God's kind of people are squeaky-clean people whose
garages don't leak, but really a lot of the people God uses to do amazing things
are people who don't necessarily have it all together. A lot of the best
stories in the Bible, the ones where God does sacred, magical things through
people, have a cast of characters with kind of shady pasts, some serious
fixer-uppers.

On my very best days, as an act of solidarity with my house, since we're both
kind of odd, mismatched, screwed-up things, I practice letting it be an old
not-fixed-up house, while I practice being a not-fixed-up person. I wear
my ugly pants, the saggy yellow terry-cloth ones with the permanently dirty
hems, and I walk around my house, looking at all thing things that I should fix
someday, but I don't fix them just yet, and I imagine God noticing all the
things about me that should get fixed up one day, and loving me anyway and being
okay with the mess for the time being.