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Mobile Mission Blogs : 2024
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 A travelling salesman does his rounds through old country roads. The rarity of an unannounced visitor makes each house call that much more memorable to the visiting vendor. At this unforgettable home, an old man sways in his rocker while his faithful hound dog seems to melt into the wood slats […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 When our son was young and learning about the world, we did the verbal things parents do to make learning fun – mostly through invitations to respond. Invitation: “The lion says…?” Response: “Roar.” Invitation: “The cow says…” Response: “Moo.” When it got too easy, I’d go for silly. “If the animal […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 The drudgery of clearing ashes from a fireplace is lost on most warm climate folks. Sweeping them inevitably pushes a powder thin cloud into the air creating a haze that later settles on furniture, sills, curtains and anything moist. Vacuuming makes it worse. Protective gloves and a hazmat suit won’t prevent […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 Often attributed to St. Philip Neri, a sixteenth century Italian priest, the story of a fantastically creative reaction to a confession goes something like this. A woman tells her priest that she has repeated a non-flattering story about another woman. The priest tells her to go home, find a feather pillow, […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 “I love moving,” said no right-minded person ever! Moving is inconvenient. Whether short or long, temporary or permanent, to a better circumstance or away from a harsh one, moving inevitably involves a great deal of discomfort. Packing up a life. Examining your stuff to decide what to keep and what to […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 We’d never really experienced a family like this one. They were different. Completely different. I suppose with any family one would expect to learn the characters over time. Their quirks and habits. Ways and gifts. The unspoken group dynamic. We learned quickly that this collective wasn’t going to give us time. […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 They had this argument fairly often. Argument’s too strong a word. Debate maybe? A point of periodic tension? Anyway, here’s how it usually went down. “I love you Jerry,” she'd say. “I know Sally!" he'd respond. "I know. You said it this morning and when I came up the stairs […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 Writers, by and large, are an insecure lot. Imposter syndrome comes relentlessly like sugar ants marching through razor thin kitchen crevices or mosquitos invading summer’s rest. To write a book-length work is to live 24/7 like Nehemiah; one hand building while the other wields a weapon to ward off forces that […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 You’re little right? And you’re standing in line at an amusement park ride. You know in your head it’s just a ride, but still, you’re little. So your adrenaline is running higher and higher as you draw close to the entry point. To a kid, the track looks like the real […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 It made a crease in my brain. In the space where it decided to take up permanent residence, my neurons flicker with neon brilliance when conflict arises. The surprising frequency with which my synapses link to this singular moment befuddles me; mostly because the exchange was brief and seemed, at the […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2024 We’ve all said it. Under our breath. In our heads. On our knees. To a trusted friend in whispered tones. We’ve heard it come out of our mouths involuntarily as if from some stranger in the cavernous abyss of our unfiltered inner core. “I didn’t sign up for this!” At the […]
by Kat Silverglate ©2023 Some say when we pray for patience God allows challenges and tests. How else would one know the presence of patience if not by circumstances that require it? Most of us have been there, haven’t we? During a challenge, as our agitation builds, we look at the person getting on our […]
Mobile Mission Blogs : 2023
Emergency Pocket Confetti by Kat Silverglate ©2023 It was a random social media repost by a friend. My 8yo in the car today: “Do you want me to throw the confetti in my pocket?”Me: “No not in the car! – why do you have confetti in your pocket?”8yo: “It’s my emergency confetti, I carry it […]
Copyright 2023 Kat Silverglate MEMORIAL DEDICATION: On 11/3/96, Tricia Heng wrote these words in a letter to God: “I hope I am worthy to carry out my mission that you’ve chosen me for. I don’t know what it is yet, but I trust that You will show me the way.” Now, 27 years later, almost […]
Copyright 2023 Kat Silverglate When I repeat her description of the scene that day, it sounds really intense: “We were in an abandoned warehouse downtown. I was screaming my head off. They told me I could struggle as hard as I wanted to; they weren’t going to let me break their grip. I fought so […]
Copyright 2023 Kat Silverglate It was embarrassing. I think because I was oblivious to the fact that it had been happening since I left my hotel room that morning. We were at a legal conference. While packing for the event, I threw an old worn pair of white pants into my bag. They didn’t have […]
by Kat Silverglate Copyright 2023 The phrase mid-life is curious, isn’t it? As if we can know where the middle of life will be for us. Yet, it’s a thing – the division of our projected 100-year lifetime into halves and quarters. In their song 100 Years, the band Five for Fighting absolutely captures this […]
By Kat Silverglate Copyright 2023 Sometimes the truth comes at us in 3D. Whatever it is we need in a particular season; it just seems to come from every angle – in song lyrics, through strangers, scripture, stories, memories, billboards, random comments. It is as if God is palpably going ahead of us to make […]
by Kat Silverglate © 2023 If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.Emily Dickenson Prelude: After hearing yet another riveting story from […]
By Kat Silverglate ©2023 She had irrepressible hope. And then it was tested. “Up until the very moment she drew her last breath, I knew God would heal my mother. I posted healing prayers around the walls of her room and showed up at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day to claim them over […]
A true story in five very brief scenes by Kat Silverglate, Copyright 2023 Act 1, Scene 1: Out of Mind. “You are finished Ma’am. You’ll hear from us in a week or so. You’re good to go.” Did she say a week or so? Did she say good to go? Great! That’s code for it […]
By Kat Silverglate, Copyright 2023 When you’re thirty-something juggling work and family, new to motherhood, full of tricky questions about life and God and desperate to catch glimpses of wisdom that will bring some sense of sanity to the how-do-I-figure-this-out stage of life; finding a role model feels a bit like searching for a Willy […]
February 2023 Ridiculous Hour Foundation Mobile Mission By Kat Silverglate, Copyright 2023 He was the director of an annual trial lawyer’s academy. He had this privilege for exactly one year; the privilege of selecting some of the best and brightest trial lawyers from around the country and preparing them to teach hungry young attorneys essential […]
January 2023 Mobile Monthly Mission Copyright 2023 Kat Silverglate I suppose most childhood homes have their quirky expressions. Verbiage that leads to eye rolls, belly laughs or knowing nods amongst family insiders. Word combinations that make little sense to others, but to you and yours -- they are so naturally stitched into the linguistic fabric […]
Mobile Mission Blogs : 2022
December 2022 Mobile Monthly Mission Copyright 2022 Kat Silverglate Our 18-month-old granddaughter communicates as frequently with sign language as she does with audible words. Not because she has a hearing deficit, but because her parents wanted to open as many avenues to early communication as they could. Walking in the park, she rubs her chest […]
The Ridiculous Hour Foundation’s November 2022 Mobile Monthly Mission Copyright 2022 Kat Silverglate It left him weeping in the living room -- the news image of a little girl clutching a teddy bear while being evacuated from a Ukrainian hospital in the midst of bombs. War scenes haunt veterans. Bring them right back to the […]
by Kat Silverglate Copyright 2022 Our son loves coffee. Hot coffee. Cold coffee. Coffee makers. Pots. Presses. Cold brew units. Burr grinders with precision grind gradients. Grind scales. Goose neck pour over kettles. Cups. Mugs. Demitasses. Filters. Frothers. Frothing pitchers. Tampers. The difference between Flat White, Cortado, and Cappuccino. And why Kinto is the only […]
A Parable and a Monthly Mission, by Kat Silverglate Copyright 2022 He glared at his phone hoping that a steady gaze would will the Uber driver to move faster. When she pulled up, he avoided eye contact while hefting his own suitcase into the trunk. As always, he slid into the seat behind the driver. […]
By Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2022 I didn’t know why they invited me to coffee; but it didn’t matter. I loved these people. We met doing volunteer lawyer stuff and had been doing committee work together for a while now. We’d grown fond of each other. Trusted each other. The mutual respect was strong for […]
By Kat Silverglate, Mission Founder (Copyright 2022) She was the founder of a faith-based middle school. I can’t remember what I was doing there that day, but I do remember one boy. By comparison to the other students, he was smaller… slighter; a fact which didn’t register until the headmaster started to pray. “OK kids, […]
by Kat Silverglate, Mission Founder, Copyright 2022 I think back on that day and I wonder, was I mad? I mean, how could I possibly be angry? By every visible measure, the thing had been dead for ages. And it wasn’t a sudden death either. It was this slow, gradual, painful fade that I fought […]
May 2022 Mobile Monthly Mission Challenge By Kat Silverglate Copyright 2022 When my son and daughter-in-love were expecting our grandchild, they decided to call her “Tuesday” until they landed on the name. For months, “Tuesday” was an uncharacteristically popular word in our family chatter. One that sparked joy, triggered expectation, and summoned delight — even […]
April 2022 Mobile Monthly Mission Challenge By Kat Silverglate Copyright 2022 Eleven months younger than my sister but born in the same calendar year (January and December of 1960-something), my parents raised us as twins. By that I mean, they decided to bump me up to kindergarten a year early. We wore the same outfits. […]
March 2022 Mobile Monthly Mission Challenge By Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2022. I’m sitting on the floor in an Air B&B caring for my granddaughter in the middle of 2022’s now infamous snowmageddon. It’s just the two of us. When we aren’t on the floor mastering the crawl, we’re blasting music and dancing like maniacs […]
The Boundary Protection Program The Ridiculous Hour Foundation’s February 2022 Mobile Mission By Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2022. Cover image by Jon Tyson unsplash.com. We had four weddings and a funeral in 2019. When we tell folks about that year, they inevitably say: “it sounds like a movie.” These milestone events didn’t involve distant relatives […]
January 2022 Mobile Mission by Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2021 My dad was a great storyteller – master level great. Mom used to say that he could take you anywhere on his magic carpet of words. He really could. We thought his gift was awesome - most of the time. Truth be told, neither my […]
Mobile Mission Blogs : 2021
The Ridiculous Hour Foundation December 2021 Mobile Mission By Founder, Kat Silverglate ©2021 He was the “artist in residence” at a resort in the Palm Desert area of California. For anyone with an artistic love, the title conjures visions of one who has reached such a level of recognized proficiency that his or her steady […]
November 2021 Ridiculous Hour Foundation Mobile Mission ©2021 Kat Silverglate, Mission Founder We had a pastor who often reminded our congregation: ”When someone walks into a church, they aren’t kidding.” I kinda knew what he meant from my own experience; but certainly nothing could have imprinted the meaning on me more deeply than the way […]
The Ridiculous Hour Foundation October 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission © 2021 Kat Silverglate, Founder Traveling again post-lock down has been so very different. Not just the things you’d imagine like protocols at airports and care to keep others safe. We expected that. What we didn’t expect was this intense awareness of the presence of others. […]
By Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2021 I don’t remember learning the word “fragile.” Don’t remember learning to spell it or pronounce it or write it. Don’t remember seeing it in that dark blue Word Power vocabulary book that accompanied some of us through high school. Don’t remember pondering what nuance makes it different than delicate, […]
August 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission Copyright 2021 Kat Silverglate, Founder We’d been involved with this international legal organization for many years now. While the size made it impossible to know everybody, we’d spent years travelling to annual conventions and mid-year meetings with our son in tow. Each trip became a combined vacation/networking/continuing legal education adventure. […]
July 2021 Mobile Mission Copyright 2021 Kat Silverglate When we are kids, we have this delicious capacity to be surprised. It comes and we receive. We aren’t trying to control it, or ourselves. We are simply surprised by delight and delighted by surprise. When delight succeeds in catching us completely unaware, it has all of […]
The Ridiculous Hour Foundation’s June 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission By Founder, Kat Silverglate Copyright 2021 Max Lucado wrote a kid’s book called You are Special in the late 1990’s. It’s beautifully illustrated and deeply moving. Without going into spoiler level detail, it was generally about the difference between God’s grace and the world’s judgment. He […]
The Ridiculous Hour Foundation May 2021 Mobile Mission Copyright 2021 Kat Silverglate The first time I attended an event where the ice breaker actually melted the hesitation that holds people apart like cubes of ice in a freezer tray, the leader was anything but coddling or slow to turn up the social temperature. Instead, his […]
The Ridiculous Hour Foundation’s April 2021 Mobile Mission Copyright 2021 Kat Silverglate The first time I heard the phrase, it went straight to that place inside that makes your head nod up and down involuntarily. You’ve experienced that, right? Before your brain cognitively registers any form of agreement, your spirit says “oh yeah, I agree […]
March 2021 Monthly Mobile Mission Pack – Audio Version Copyright Kat Silverglate 2021 Welcome to the Ridiculous Hour Foundation where we exist to inspire lives ridiculously responsive to the promptings of God. My name is Kat Silverglate and this is our March 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission -- Go loved, Go gloved. Here’s the story: Sometimes […]
February 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission By Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2021 Welcome to The Ridiculous Hour Foundation where we exist to inspire lives ridiculously responsive to the promptings of God. My name is Kat Silverglate and THIS is our February 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission: Whatever is Just. Here’s the Story We generally associate the word […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder (Copyright 2021) Welcome to the Ridiculous Hour Foundation where we exist to inspire lives ridiculously responsive to the promptings of God. My name is Kat Silverglate and this is our January 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission: How to Set the Tone. Here’s the story. The man standing at the center of a […]
Mobile Mission Blogs : 2020
We have a friend named Marty. He has a way of turning ordinary conversations into great adventures. His language, his attitude, his approach says in the most genuine way – God loves you and He intends to make sure you know just how valuable you are. Think of the youth leader who makes kids, no […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder, Copyright 2020 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12. We’ve all been there, right? Sick with longing in a hopeless time. Praying. Wondering when the light will bust through the darkness. Someone shows up with a meal when we’re out of […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder Copyright 2020 The Obstacle Crushers. That’s what we called the group who decided to do a race together as a way to help each other work through obstacles in our lives. Most of the participants weren’t runners. Some of them never ran a mile before joining the group. But the goal […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder Copyright 2020 When children are young, too young to really articulate what they need, they come to their parents or to the adult in charge and they reach up their hands and they plead with their cry or their words or their eyes for something. Often they aren’t even sure what […]
By Kat Silverglate, Copyright 2020 We interrupt our normal programming to bring you a Mobile Mission Report, rather than a new mission this month. This report involves a mission we did at the start of summer – Reach Across a Divide. If you didn’t participate in that one, you are so welcome to visit our […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder, Copyright 2020 As a kid, checking a book out of the library felt a bit like putting on a costume and pretending to be something I wanted to be. A reader. Pulling that lined card out of the pocket glued to the back of the library book and filling in the […]
The pain of division and separation is unbearably palpable right now. We’re in the middle of election divide, racial divide, pandemic divide. Divide, divide, divide. We’ve all, no doubt, done a great deal of thinking about the best way to reach across divides. About how to build bridges where a great gulf seems to speak […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder (Copyright 2020) The May Mobile Mission was combined with April – inspiring mask-making during the early days of the pandemic. This report was written months after the mission’s goal date and therefore includes post-May stories about the beautiful masks that you made for us and others. We hope you enjoy the […]
By Kat Silverglate Founder (Copyright 2020) It feels a bit like a scene from a sci-fi movie doesn't it? Daily pandemic life? You go to the grocery store or the post office and the employees are in surgical masks with plexiglass barriers and yellow tape on the floor. Customers, most of them, look like amateur […]
By Kat Silverglate, Founder [Copyright 2020] He’s in college. A junior now. Settled in a place that he loved first through the stories of his father and now through his own experience. His dad had graduated from Washington & Lee, hunting and fishing on a family-owned mountain there, sharing Sunday dinner with the owners. Now […]
By Kat Silverglate, Founder [Copyright 2020] I don’t know how old we were. My older sister and me. Maybe seven and six? Beach girls who went to stay periodically with our grandparents in the foothills of the Georgia mountains, we weren’t too tuned in to country life – not yet. Anyway, we came running into […]
When I interviewed my nephew for my Theology Capstone on Why People of Genuine Faith are Leaving the Organized Church, he said something that summarized a flavor of what others said in various ways during my field research -- only, he said it in a raw way that made me feel safe admitting, “oh gosh, […]