A friend, my counselor Anne, recently helped me see that growing up I couldn’t really rely on family markers so I have grown to rely on the specific markers of a city to create a sense of self, a sense of place. When I move I lose my markers and, in a sense, myself. So it’s important to stake out my daily routines in Toronto right away.

I have never been so thankful for the necessity of food. When we arrive we’ll have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We’ll also need to go outside so Madeleine and I don’t go stir crazy swimming in a sea of unpacked boxes. So, we’ll walk. We’ll stake out the neighbourhood. Find our coffee shop. Befriend our neighbours. Start looking for a church. We’ll find the fruit and veggie shop. But we’ll do it slowly.

I’ll set small goals: one thing in the house, and one thing outside, a day. And piece by piece we will build a new life.

And yet, our hearts will stay rooted to our loved ones at home. My sweet stepmother who yesterday, on my birthday, stood at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes a swell of tears, as she swung Madeleine in her arms. And my dad, a tower of wisdom, honesty, love. And my mother and stepfather, ever-givers. And my grandmother who, every time she calls, leaves me with a doxology: “May the Lord bless you and keep you.” And my brothers and their lovely wives, and their sweet children who I desperately want to know and be known by. And my amazing sister-in-law Brittany, aka May-May, our housemate who Madeleine runs to as she speeds up on her motorbike at supper hour. And my friends, so many of whom have made the journey to Bowen and rejoiced in this sweet gift of a home, and helped me talk through the fears, and who are never more than a phone call away.

And they still will be. And we have skype. And we have airplanes. And we have a guest room. And we will work at it. And, as my Dad reminded me yesterday (as we swung Madeleine round their gardens – One, two, three, oopsie-daisies — like he did me when I was little) that it will be hard and lonely but that God’s grace is sufficient for us. And I cling to this truth as I type this on a final Pacific morning.

And the things I am looking forward to in Toronto (all tidily tucked away in a file folder I have titled HOPE) are:

• walks along the Humber River
• creating a home in our house
• coffee dates with Annie and Miles
• going to Lil’ Bean and Green Cafe
• exploring U of T
• an incredible retreat/writing assignment in P.E.I. in May
• making new friends
• finding our church
• exploring the St. Lawrence Market
• day trips to the Toronto Islands
• new seasons, new colours
• hanging laundry in our backyard while Madeleine plays in the sandbox
• getting a bike
• the Distillery District
• setting up my space — a room of one’s own — a creative studio/workspace on the main floor
• visitors
• connecting with my Aunt Astrid
• work that keeps me connected to B.C. — www.art-bc.com, sheloves, the light
• flea market /antique store finds
• hanging our art
• voting for Gerard Kennedy
• Toronto Fashion Week, Luminato, IMAGE and Comment journal events, One of a Kind show
• hosting our house-warming party

While this blog has been silent for some time my writing has continued to appear in some wonderful publications. My most recent article for Comment titled “Storytelling Clothes” appeared in December.

Click here to read the article in full. Here is a short excerpt:

Clothing is a topic to which we pay little mind except, perhaps, when the conditions in poorly ventilated sweat shops make the front page news. Like us, God cares about the woman behind the serger; but He also cares what we put on our backs. We seldom remember that the first garments were made by God for Adam and Eve in the Garden.

Teresa Smed, a Vancouver-based jewelry designer shared her thoughts on God’s concern with clothing.  “I definitely think what we wear matters to God. I like to think about where everything comes from. Everything has a price. If your shoes are made by a child in a sweatshop in China — that has a cost. If I can clothe me and my kids with recycled clothing — it matters. I love fashion. I love accessories. People would call me ‘fashion forward.’ It’s about self-expression, and that’s okay. But where your treasure is your heart will be also.”

The story we’ve been telling

God never commanded us to get dressed. When he came looking for us we were crouched in Eden’s thicket hiding. We chose to cover parts of ourselves up, sin revealing impropriety.

“That’s how clothes can be,” comments designer Paul Hardy, a Christian anomaly in the world of high fashion. “It can go either way. In fashion, as in any other creative field, imagination can be used as an expression of edification or can prey on the insecurities of others.”

Veritas. Truth.

In Roman mythology, Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue. It was believed that she hid in the bottom of a holy well because she was so elusive.

Last week I interviewed Ty Clark, a man who only two short years ago launched an ambitious project connecting art, fashion, and film in the name of Truth. I’ve been inspired. Watch the 2011 trailer above. I hope you are too.

How we live matters. What we eat. How we dress. The company we keep. The things we say.

For the past three years I’ve written for Comment Magazine, almost exclusively on the topic of fashion. It’s forced me to think about clothes theologically. My most recent article, appearing in their next print issue, is about just that: a faithful approach to fashion. I struggled with this piece. So much so that I had to rewrite it. My first major rewrite ever. And I am thankful editor Gideon Strauss sent me back to the drawing board. I had to dig into the Bible, asking: What does it say about clothes? What does it say about humanity? I searched for the bigger picture — the story God is telling through humanity and the story he is telling individually through our lives.

I interviewed Teresa Smed, a Vancouver-based jewelry designer (and single mom) whose vintage line, Dotted Loop, has been featured in fashion magazines worldwide.

“I definitely think what we wear matters to God,” says Smed. “I like to think about where everything comes from. Everything has a price. If your shoes are made by a child in a sweatshop in China — that has a cost. If I can clothe me and my kids with recycled clothing — it matters. I love fashion. I love accessories. People would call me ‘fashion forward.’ It’s about self-expression, and that’s okay. But where your treasure is your heart will be also.”

I also spoke with Dr. John Stackhouse, professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College, and designer Paul Hardy, who is currently concentrating his efforts in Africa with the Reversal of Fortune initiative.

“It can go either way. In fashion, as in any other creative field, imagination can be used as an expression of edification or can prey on the insecurities of others.” - Paul Hardy

Thinking deeply about clothing has challenged me to concentrate on other areas of my life as well. Right now I am thinking a lot about food. My new friend Victoria is a vegan. When she takes care of Madeleine she eats the same. Michael and I have been wanting to limit the amount of meat we eat for some time, in an effort to eat only free range, and as local as possible. Bowen Island is affording us this opportunity. I am learning new vegan recipes from Victoria, allowing us to invest in better local meat, raised right down the road. Watching (the fictional, but enormously affecting) Fast Food Nation this fall has also had me rethinking meat.

I am a Christian. That means I follow Jesus. He’s not physically in front of me but His words are written down to help me follow. I’m trying to dig in to the truth. I want it to show in the way I live.

“In the biggest sense, justice is when all God’s creatures receive what is due them and contribute out of their uniqueness to our common existence. We are called to do justice in every sphere of our lives: how I love and educate my daughters, collaborate with my colleagues, interact with neighbors.”

- Gideon Strauss, CEO of the Center for Public Justice (CPJ) in Washington, D.C., and editor of Comment

A few of my words appeared in ‘print’ this past week.

A poem: A Prayer in catapult’s Arms are for Hugging issue

An interview: Wax Poetic in Comment

And my first profile in Sweetmama: Overhaul the Coveralls

Also, I entered a full-length poetry manuscript into a 1st book competition on Monday. Fingers and toes crossed. 

Have a happy weekend, Everyone!

Paris, 2009

Cardus, my favourite Canadian think tank and publisher of Comment magazine, where I frequently contribute, has a new online venture called After Hours. It’s a daily blog interested in ‘issues that affect the architecture of North American public life, including economics, literature, religion, politics, social and scientific innovation (and sundry other things.)’

“Slow for Good,” my first post as a Contributing Editor, went live last Thursday. It’s a bit ‘manifesto-y,’ according to my husband. I get that way sometimes. 

Anyone is welcome to contribute to After Hours. Please, fire off an e-mail if you are interested.

My latest column exploring fashion and theology is up in Comment Magazine. Madeleine was my inspiration as I considered ‘The advent of personal style.’ Enjoy!

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Also, speaking of fashion, the following invite arrived in the ‘ol inbox this morning. Paul Hardy presents at Vancouver Fashion Week tomorrow. I can’t wait! Paul’s shows never disappoint. 

I hope to bring you back pictures…

I remember the day I first encountered dawn, willingly. The slow turning of midnight to charcoal, lavender then cherry red, blood orange and, finally, the blaze of morning’s first light: pineapple gold.

God made dawn, with its flurry of colour, to welcome us. I feel the same way about summer.

Right now, from urban mainstay Anthropologie to the handmade clothing of Adhesif, the radish reds and saltwater turquoise of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s are spilling onto sunny boardwalks and into the streets once again.

Spring/Summer 2009 at Anthropologie

Old is in. This summer, the used and discarded are making a comeback. Call it recession-proofing, call it what you like, but the second-hand clothing scene is booming.

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Read the entire article here. Published today in Comment.