Author: Trish

If the Church Were Like a Counseling Office

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I wish the Church could learn from the counseling world.  Although the body of Christ ought to be the place where we can share our deepest struggles and our most embarrassing weaknesses, too often we show up on Sunday with a smile on our face and a report on God’s blessings, with maybe an obscure reference to “personal sin” thrown in for a few seconds.

I say this with all the love in the world for the universal Church.  In a lot of ways, it’s doing so much right.  I think the Church is excellent at meeting people’s physical and spiritual needs.  Where it often fails, however, is addressing people’s emotional needs.  It is easy for me to fall back into thinking America’s Christian culture’s rhythms and language are normal.  That is, until I talked with a woman who has gone to counseling, and then I pulled her out of the church business meeting so we could keep talking, because it was intoxicating.   Continue reading →

My Cousin’s Sermon Reminded Me That Stories are Powerful

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This is some Norman Rockwell-esque adorable: walking home from church in the sunshine with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and second cousins.

Yesterday I went to Downs, IL (a tiny little town outside of Bloomington) to hear my cousin preach.  I was going out of low-expectation familial support, but WOW, it turns out my family is very talented.  Steve is three months younger than me, but he is already a phenomenal preacher.  He’s laid back, good at working the room, and really great at getting his point across.  So great, in fact, that over 24 hours later, I can still remember what he said.

With Acts 6 and 7 as the backdrop, Steve talked about Stephen, the first Christian martyr.  But the point wasn’t about death, or intensity of faith, or anything like that.  Instead, the point was about story.   Continue reading →

A to Z Travel Meme

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The A to Z Travel Meme was created by Julie Fox.  You can find the original post here.

If you decide to answer these A to Z of Travel questions, all you need to do is:

  • copy the questions into a new post, either on your own blog or on this one
  • write up your answers
  • maybe add a few photos to pretty things up
  • include a link back to this post so others can find all the information
  • tag a fellow travellers (or two, or three) to do the A to Z of Travel
  • paste a link to your A to Z of Travel in the comments of this post
  • post an excerpt so we can share your A to Z

A: Age you started travelling?

I went to International Falls, MN when I was about 6 months old.  I first left the United States when I was 16.

B: Best beer you’ve had and where?

I don’t usually like beer, but I had a really excellent pale ale at the Blind Pelican in New Orleans, LA.

C: Cuisine (favourite)

Ahhh, um.  Mediterannean?  Really any version:  Greek, Turkish, Lebanese.  I love pita bread, lamb, rice, and tzatziki!   Continue reading →

StumbleUpon Sunday (18)

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StumbleUpon is a great way to lose hours of your life.  Luckily, I braved the Internet vortex so you don’t have to.  This week I found these especially interesting websites:

  1. Fully-Customizable Tiny Homes Start at an Affordable $22,000
    Cut to:  Tricia, hyperventilating.  I WANT A TINY HOME SO BAD.  These are adorable.
  2. To the New Culture Cops, Everything is Appropriation
    As a tumblr user, I see the term “cultural appropriation” a lot.  I really liked this article’s balanced view of the subject.
    “At one time, such critiques were leveled against truly offensive art — work that trafficked in demeaning caricatures, such as blackface, 19th-century minstrel shows orethnological expositions, which literally put indigenous people on display, often in cages. But these accusations have become a common attack against any artist or artwork that incorporates ideas from another culture, no matter how thoughtfully or positively.”
  3. 14 Cool Psychology Tricks You Need to Try
    This is basically just manipulation tactics, but…..I still find them extremely interesting.  My favorite (that I hadn’t heard before) was the suggestion that you can end a repetitive mental song by intentionally remembering the end of the song, since closing the loop allows our brain to stop latching onto unfinished things.
  4. 14 Brilliant Re-Imagined Names For Everyday Objects We All Need
    Hahaha!  I like the “people shelf” and “t-rex deer.”
  5. 14 Stories that Prove Animals Have Souls
    I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying.
  6. You May Not Need These 19 Things, But You’ll Definitely Want Them Pretty Badly
    There has never been a more accurately named post.  Give me that divided frying pan immediately!!
  7. A Fast Food Purse
    Um, this is GENIUS.
  8. Here are 20 Animals That You RARELY Get to See as Babies
    The bison!  And reindeer!  And that little chameleon all curled up into itself!!
  9. Witnessing Beautiful Autumn’s Transformations
    Excellent documentation proving that autumn is the most beautiful season.
  10. 10 Fun Movie Facts
    “Because Bruce Lee was so fast, they actually had to run his films slower so you can see his moves.”

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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OH NOOOO I’m losing it!  This book made me feel EVERYTHING, and there’s no way this review will be anything coherent.  I guess I know why The Iliad continues to be read millenia after it was created–no one can create a drama like the Greeks!  The tragedy here is SO STRONG, with characters acting so stupidly human that you want to shake them, but you totally see their point, and then everything falls apart because there are no real “good” guys and “bad” guys, but dumb humans seeking glory, and AHHHH!

Okay, I’ll try again.  Reading The Song of Achilles is like watching Titanic.  I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn’t help but desperately hope things would turn out differently.  Every bit of foreshadowing heightened the horrified anticipation so that when the climax came I was just helplessly awash in emotion.  I mean, I actually thought I was holding it together pretty well, until I read the very last paragraph and surprised myself by bursting into tears.   Continue reading →

Fall TV 2015

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This is the time of year that I panic, unready to dive back into ongoing TV shows when there is still so much on Netflix I need to watch (I only just discovered Scandal!).  However, with the help of Entertainment Weekly‘s fall TV guide, I’ve put together my must-watch list for the new season.  Apparently I’m very committed to my bite-sized half-hour comedies, and I’m only willing to consider committing to some hour-long dramas.

Returning Favs

The Mindy Project (September 15)

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I think The Mindy Project has been getting better and better with each season, so I was super bummed when it was cancelled.  Thank goodness for Hulu’s saving grace!  More Mindy (Kaling AND Lahiri) please!

Doctor Who (September 19)

Even though recent seasons have not elicited the emotional ferocity I felt for seasons 1-4 of New Who, Doctor Who is a forever favorite.  It is, after all, a show about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism (check out Craig Ferguson’s awesomely weird tribute to the show if you didn’t catch that quote).

Continue reading →

Oh Hey, Friday! #2

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It’s another round of the Oh Hey, Friday! link-up from September Farm!  If you want to join in, just:

1 | grab this here snazzy summer-themed button and link back to Sept. Farm.
2 | link up your post at the bottom of this post.
3 | tell all your friends + have a fantastic friday.

Today’s Five:

1. Peoria Tanks and Teesfront (1)

My friend Lindsay (check out her Wild Ginger blog) has designed a whole bunch of t-shirts and tank tops celebrating life in small-town Illinois.  Having lived in big-city Texas for three years, I am hugely proud to be from the land of Lincoln and cornfields.  I love city life, but I want my home to come with acreage, seasons, and homecooked meat and potatoes.  Which is why I bought her Peoria, IL tank top!  Nine more need to be ordered before they’ll go to print, so….buy one so I can have mine!   Continue reading →

I’m on Bloglovin’!

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Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I love organization, so when my friend Lindsay told me about how Bloglovin’ lets me follow all of my favorite blogs in one place – I was sold!  If that sounds appealing to you, sign up for free….and add itistrish.com to your list!

Maybe Traveling Is About More Than Escape

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I saw this quote on Pinterest, and I immediately gagged.  This is, haha, a complete over-reaction, but loving to travel is one of the ways I identify myself (see my header above), so quotes like this feel like a personal attack.  Unfairly so, since I have never met Seth Godin.  BUT.  I hate what this quote implies.

Sure, sometimes traveling is about escape.  And yes, if you are constantly leaving a place because you hate your life, then OBVIOUSLY, do something to change it!

But I would argue that most people aren’t traveling to escape.  Or if they are, that it is a different kind of escape.   Continue reading →

What Are You Reading Wednesday #WAYRW (1)

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What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature started on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog via the link up. You can grab the image above or create your own, just please make sure you link back to IART as the host for this meme.

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How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

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1. What’s the name of your current read?

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.

“No,” I said, through the ache in my chest.  I will not cry in front of him.

He started to say something.  But at that moment the teacher entered, a man of indeterminate middle age.  He had the callused hands of a musician and carried his own lyre, carved of dark walnut.

“Who is this?” he asked.  His voice was harsh and loud.  A musician, but not a singer.

“This is Patroclus,” Achilles said.  “He does not play, but he will learn.”

“Not on that instrument.”  The man’s hand swooped down to pluck the lyre from my hands.  Instinctively, my fingers tightened on it.  It was not as beautiful as my mother’s lyre, but it was still a princely instrument.  I did not want to give it up.

I did not have to.  Achilles had caught him by the wrist, mid-reach.  “Yes, on that instrument if he likes.”

That’s the whole story.  People don’t value Patroclus until Achilles forces them to.  I LOVE IT.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

Hm.  On the one hand, ancient Greece!?  Where the gods and goddesses are subtly real but not in an overly flashy way?  The nerd in me screams YES, but then…ancient Greece!?  Where honor is bound up in your ability to kill someone (haha, just kidding, I’m a woman – I wouldn’t have any honor)?  Practically, no, I wouldn’t want to live in this book.  But I sure do like living in it via Miller’s story.