Althea Agape

Simple Friday Five

2011-04-01T13:12:00.000-04:00

kathrynzj over at RevGalBlogPals writes:
We're in the midst of 'it' and I'm hoping that it is not just me who is starting to get a bit overwhelmed. So for today I am asking for five quick picks of things that are good in your life. And as a bonus, 1 pick for a thing you could do without. If you want to describe them? Great. If not? That's fine too.

well, this is my second Easter, and I think it's been more frantic than the first because I was so prepared for last year to be overwhelming!

Things that are good in my life:

Kitties. 3 pound kitties who come and sit in my lap and climb on the keyboard or just sleep in the chairs in my study while I'm working.
Chocolate brownies -- made them for the lenten study last night and am enjoying the leftovers today!
Spring birds at the feeder outside my study window (in the snow, but we'll ignore that bit!)
Sermons that come together on Friday!!!
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot

and things I could do without: feeling puny with way too much to do.

Friday Five: We Who Sing Pray Twice

2010-09-24T10:47:00.004-04:00

MaryBeth at RevGalBlogPals says:

Music is a part of the human experience, and part of religious traditions the world over. It is evocative and stirring, and many forms of worship are incomplete without it.

Our title comes from a quote popularly attributed to St. Augustine: "He who sings prays twice." A little Googling, however, indicates that Augustine didn't say exactly that. In fact, what he said just doesn't fit well onto a t-shirt. So we'll stick with what we have.

"Singing reduces stress and increases healthy breathing and emotional expression. Singing taps into a deep, age-old power available to all of us. When we find our voice, we find ourselves. Today, sing like you mean it." And let's talk about the role music plays in your life and worship.

1) Do you like to sing/listen to others sing? In worship, or on your own (or not at all?)

Absolutely! even when my vocal chords aren't involved, there is almost always a song in my head.

2) Did you grow up with music in worship, or come to it later in life? Tell us about it, and how that has changed in your experience.

Always had it. I know the words to many of the great old hymns and can have great difficulty with some of newly rewordings, especially when they change the meaning. I also love the ones that I know the harmony line for, I love the soaring joy of adding harmony!

3) Some people find worship incomplete without music; others would just as soon not have it. Where do you fall?

Worship is not complete without music. Unfortunately, I currently serve a church with no choir, and not a great deal of love for singing. but I sing enthusiastically, anyway!

4) Do you prefer traditional music in worship, or contemporary? That can mean many different things!

yes. I love the "sung theology" of the old hymns, and I detest the new 7/11 choruses. But some folks play the old songs too slowly; and many new praise songs have great depth and meaning (just try explaining why this song works/won't work to a musician who only cares about the tune!) Frankly, I think we need both.

5) What's your go-to music ... when you need solace or want to express joy? A video/recording will garner bonus points!

It depends on the day. Since we sing mostly hymns, I tend to listen to KLove. When I'm getting contemporary music in church I listen to hymns in the car!

Today, it's a this kind of day:

Friday Five decisions

2010-07-23T07:42:00.003-04:00

SongBird at RevGalBlogPals posits the following Friday Five:
Since I've been in the midst of a discernment process, I've done a lot of reflecting on how we make decisions. But don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to reveal a dark story about a poor decision, or a self-flagellating story about an embarrassing one. Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them.

Here they are:

1) Cake or Pie (Fruity! although neither is gluten-free :( )
2) Train or Airplane -- as much as I flew for business for 15 years, I still don't like to fly. the crowds, the insanity, and the queasy part.
3) Mac or PC -- well, betamax wins again :) I might have to look into a mac once Logos finishes their Mac version, though. I did use a Lisa for a while back in 84...
4) Univocal or Equivocal -- oooh. Equivocal can be more fun, layers of meaning and such, but lately, especially in the church, we're talking past one another when we have different definitions and can no longer understand one another. I use analogies a LOT.
5) Peter or Paul -- or Mary! Sorry, smart aleck got the better of me.

Try not to pull on the big cat's tail when you answer. :-) Mreow!

Summertime Friday five

2010-06-25T08:54:00.002-04:00

Today's Friday Five over at RevGalBlogPals invites us to share five things we love--or don't--about summer.

1. Love: Blackberries -- the edible kind, not the cell phone kind! I used to love to go to the hill behind my great-grandmother's house and pick them! I'd come home with as much on my face as in the bucket (more in my belly!) and Mom would make cobbler. YUM! I also remember one day at the end of school, when I was 6 (?) I was walking home, which included a short stretch of dirt road which had, you guessed it, BLACKBERRIES! I got home around 4:30, Mom was frantic, I was confused. I hadn't gone anywhere but straight home. The fact that it took me an extra hour because I was picking blackberries didn't register on a little mind.

2. Don't Love: heat and humidity. I am a native Floridian, but hey, we Floridians know what AC is. These northerners don't realize that at 85 degrees and 75%+ humidity, one should have AC. Especially in churches and manses (that last bit could be personal prejudice).

3. Love: Vacation in the mountains. I'm headed to Presbyterian Mecca next week over the fourth of July weekend and a few extra days in the NC mountains. I spent several summers of my youth at a summer camp right down the road from PM, so it's kind of a homecoming.

4. Don't Love: Did I mention heat and humidity? We've moved services to 10 instead of 11, but it doesn't really help. I'm not wearing the Geneva gown, but I still wear a blazer, but maybe not this week. 88 predicted for Sunday. But I get more comments about my outfit than the sermon when I'm not wearing the gown... Do men deal with this? don't answer that!

5. Love: Veggies from my garden. OK. I was late planting because of the move, so I'm not yet harvesting, but the zucchini has blossomed and it looks like I have a couple of tiny okra pods, so, soon.

"I'm Late" Friday Five

2010-06-18T09:10:00.003-04:00

Jan over at RevGalBlogPals says: I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!

As I opened up my computer this morning, I directly went to my blog and RevGals to see what the newest Friday Five would be! Nothing was here, which seemed odd. Then I went to look at the calendar and counted the Fridays, and it is the THIRD Friday! How did that happen so quickly? It's my turn, so here's a quickie:

1. Do you tend to be a late person or one who is timely, arriving on time or earlier?
I tend to be a bit early, prevents the late thing.

2. Have you forgotten anything of importance lately?
yes. I'm still getting into the rhythm of a new position and getting settled into the house. Some things are dropping through cracks. Working on getting that solved. not there yet. Luckily I was forgiven by the Ladies whose meeting I missed.

3. Is procrastination your inclination? Why or why not?
For things I don't like to do, yes. sometimes on other things -- the sermon is not yet done, and here I am, playing the Friday five!

4. Do you like schedules or spontaneity? Which works best for you?
mostly spontaneity, but with a structure -- so schedules, but not rigidly so.

5. How do you stay on track with the various things you need to, people you must meet, etc., etc.?
See #2 above. :)

BONUS: Whatever comes to mind about forgetfulness or lateness.
I forgot what I was going to write and now I've gotta run before I'm late.... :)

2010-06-11T11:15:00.005-04:00

MomPriest over at RevGalBlogPals posits the following for this week's Friday five....

For this Friday Five let's ponder the various ways we work out (or not), physically, spiritually, and/or psychologically.

1. Do you work out physically, spiritually, or psychologically? (I'll let you define what that might mean to you)
I do not work out physically -- I'm an Immagunna who never does. Spiritually/psychologically? Daily devotions and weekly sermons put me in contact with the Word which I probe and which probes me in return. I'm in my first call as a pastor, so all the things I have to deal with in the congregation system require me to examine my reactions and motivations and turn them over to God (usually multiple times because I keep taking them back) so, yeah, i think I'm getting a work out here.

2. Are you more inclined to join a gym, or a book club?
Book Club. Definitely. Now that I'm out of seminary I can read for my own pleasure!

3. Are you more inclined to read self-help books like Gail Sheehy's "Passages" or spiritual books like Richard Rohr or Theresa of Avila? And if so, what is your favorite?
Spiritual books. I just re-read Yearning by Craig Barnes (which helps keep all this "not quite good enough" in perspective) and read the Relational WORD.

4. Are you a loyal fan of a sports team? Or do you join the bandwagon when the local team is winning? And, if so, which one?
Gators. 'nuff said. Been a fan since I was in a onesie, back when they could scarcely get a win in a game, much less a season!

5. Or do you lean more toward having a favorite theologian/Spiritual writer or self help author and if so, who? And, why.
I have not settled on a favorite, still reading many.

Bonus: What was the last play-off series you watched and did your team win?
NCAA football and, uh, that would be a no.

travel Friday Five

2010-01-22T09:26:00.003-05:00

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals gives us the following Friday Five: By the time you're reading this, I'll be en route to a Great Big City to see my son in a play. I'll go by car and bus and train and no doubt cab and maybe even subway. Thus, our Friday Five.

1) What was the mode of transit for your last trip?
RV. We've had the RV for about 12 years now, and we took it on a long trip this past summer, with the cats, to visit my presbytery of care and get examined and blessed to look for a call, to Atlanta to shmooze at a national event in search of a call, to visit my family and preach in the church where I was baptized and confirmed, and then back up through Presbyterian Mecca in NC and back to current abode. 5 weeks total, although 2 weeks were a little more spread out in the family's house on the river.

2) Have you ever traveled by train?
Yes, When I was a young lass, my Girl Scout troop took the train to Savannah to visit the Daisy Gordon Low home. As a business person, I took the train several times from DC to NY for business trips. Much more pleasant and efficient that flying for my locations.

3) Do you live in a place with public transit, and if so, do you use it?
yes and no. It doesn't tend to go where I want to without lots of transfers.

4) What's the most unusual vehicle in which you've ever traveled?
hmmmm. Here, I am boring. I don't even have any unusual cars to reference.

5) What's the next trip you're planning to take?
A week from today, over to my church of care (5 hours each way) to be ordained.

If you were a ....

2010-01-15T10:53:00.007-05:00

Jan at RevGalBlogPals offers up the following Friday Five:

In EFM this week, our question was, "If you were a color, what would you be?" So that's where this Friday Five comes from, at least its jumping off place.

1. If you were a color, what would you be?
Deep, amethyst PURPLE

2. If you were a flower (or plant), what would you be?
A mesquite tree. they can grow with little water or nutrients, they're really bent and twisted by their environment, but they are also doggedly strong, long lasting and tenacious. And they make good BBQ!

3. If you were an animal, what kind would you be?
a cat. but what kind? a Florida cougar, smaller cousin to the mountain lions of the west, critically endangered, yet living free in the wilds of Florida (and yes, there are wilds in Florida!)

4. If you were a shoe, what type would you be?
shoes? well, either practical (naot) or better yet, NONE!

5. If you were a typeface, which font would you be?
Well seminary leads me to answer Hebraic, but I think I’ll go with Dauphin. Just enough individuality, but you can still read it! (successfully copying in with the fonts is beyond my blogger know-how)

I have been called

2010-01-12T17:09:00.004-05:00

The church Committee and I have been pretty certain we were meant for each other for 3 months. The Congregational Meeting and vote was this past Sunday. I preached on Isaiah 43 1-7 and told them that God loves them, calls them and considers them precious; then I left the sanctuary while they had the congregational meeting and vote.

It was not unanimous. It might be too much to ask for unanimous, but it would have been nice.

Someone brought up 1 Timothy.

7 of the 48 who stayed voted against the call. I want to say voted against me, but it's not. Not really. It feels very personal, but it's not.

The moderator (a representative of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry) brought me the numbers and asked me if I wanted to accept the call under these conditions. I paused. I felt drenched in the cold shower of disappointment and hurt, but I told him it didn't change my sense of God's call to me to go to this place.

It's bitter sweet.

I have a call.

Time to brush up on my biblical apologetics for women in ministry.

Oh, and I have to go before Presbytery in a week. They'll want to think about a vote that was almost 20% "no" and whether I can successfully serve in that environment.

2010-01-01T19:31:00.003-05:00

Sally from Eternal Echoes, hosts the RevGalblogPals Friday five today, and she says:

As I prepare this post I am aware that it will be posted on New Years Day. We stand at the beginning of 2010 looking not only at a New Year, but at a new decade full of promise and possibilities. For some of us this will be exciting, but others will approach it with trepidation and probably most of us stand on this threshold with a mix of emotions and reactions.

It is at this time of year that many (British) Methodist Churches celebrate their Annual Covenant Service, a service that will include this prayer:

I am no longer my own but yours,
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now glorious and blessed God,
Father , Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
May it be so forever.
Let this covenant now made on earth
be fulfilled in heaven. AMEN

This prayer is said every year, and offers every member an opportunity to renew their covenant with God. This is no soft or easy prayer, it states in the company of others our willingness to worship God come what may, not that we should become doormats, but that we place God above all else. (And every year if we are honest we have to acknowledge that we fail).

With this prayer in mind I bring you this Friday Five:

1. What will you gladly leave behind in 2009?
unemployment :) OK, I graduated from seminary in May, but I have been unemployed for the first time since high school, in 1978. 7 months with no real daily purpose and activities has been mentally draining.

2. What is the biggest challenge of 2010 for you?
Beginning my first call as a Minister of Word and Sacrament. Writing a sermon every week, getting to know the new folks, trying not to step into too many unseen piles of fertilizer. My first wedding, funeral, baptism, etc. I'm coming off a successful career and starting back at the beginning, totally new to the job and expectations so I have to find my voice as a pastor.

3. Is there anything that you simply need to hand to God and say "all will be well, for you are with me"?
see above :) Without God, #2 would be impossible!

4. If you could only achieve one thing in 2010 what would it be?
becoming their pastor in truth, not just in title and paycheck.

5. Post a picture, poem or song that sums up your prayer for the year ahead....

Could it be?

2009-12-26T12:15:00.004-05:00

I haven't posted in a long while. I didn't have much to say, but now I ask prayers of all my RevGalBlogPals -- I preach my candidating sermon on 10 January with the congregational meeting/vote to follow. It's not the first call church I was looking for -- that would have been much closer to my family, with better finances, a building in better condition, and all those other things we would like for our church to have :) -- but it IS where God is calling me.

It's part time (for now at least) because giving and attendance are down in the 18 months since their pastor of 13 years left; but it does include a manse and utilities, so, with care, the money should be sufficient. Membership is around 140, attendance around 70 (not sure how many of those are just no-shows and how many are homebound). They have an interim, but I get the impression from several of the PNC that they just need to be shown that they are still loved and not abandoned, and still worthy of a REAL pastor (they're almost at the point of not being able to afford an ordained Minister).

I'll be preaching on the Isaiah text for the 10th: I have called you by name and you are mine...you are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you.

Friday Five Do Nothing Edition

2009-12-04T19:19:00.003-05:00

Sally at RevGalBlogPals writes:
I am reading a wonderful little book for Advent it's title: "Do nothing Christmas is Coming!"

So this week's Friday Five is simple.

List Five things you won't be doing to prepare for Christmas.

And while you are doing nothing play the bonus, put your feet up and listen to your favorite Advent Carol, and post it or a link to it...

so, what am I NOT doing...

I am not preaching, because, although the PNC and I decided back on 12 October, this is a slow process and the fat lady has not yet sung.
I am not buying a lot of presents because, well, I just finished 3 years of seminary and am not yet employed (and DH is on short term disability). (Although buying an old goat in Dad's name is an attractive option even if he doesn't get the joke)
I am not decorating, because both DH and I are temporarily partially incapable and we're probably going to skip town anyway--to go see the families for Christmas on this last Christmas I'll be free to travel (God willing!).
I am not singing in the choir, reading or otherwise involved in the Christmas service, for the first time in lo, these many years.
I'm not cooking or baking or whatever. I'll go to Mom's house for Dinner! (I'll go to Dad's, too, but Step-Mom doesn't get the gluten thing and can't be bothered, so I won't eat there.)

Christmas carol? I'd like to say "My Christmas" by Brett Williams, but I can't find it on YouTube. it's a hoot, if you can find it!

I like so many carols, and I'm a choir geek, so I sing the tenor line as we walk through stores (and not just to embarrass my husband!). But today, I'll choose a modern carol: "Strange Way to Save the World" by 4Him

wisdom for the call search process

2009-08-31T20:38:00.000-04:00

searching questions

2009-08-19T16:50:00.003-04:00

OK, so I don't post often. I'm an unrepentant introvert which means I'm more lurker than commenter and very rarely Blogger. But I want to lay a question out there in the blogosphere:

What did you wish you had known about the church before you accepted a call?

in other words, what should I be asking these committees? I finally got a nibble (after 3 months and WAY too many rejections). I've checked out the church's basic statistics with the national judicatory, so I know numbers for membership, attendance, giving, etc. But what questions do you ask when you're feeling out a call? and which ones do you ask, but later in the process (could I see a copy of your budget?)

A meditation on Psalm 130

2009-08-10T16:45:00.004-04:00

I had a fun time wrestling with the text this week. It's sinking in that I am unemployed; a couple more rejection letters came; longterm frustrations with DH recurring; some sort of bug dropping my serotonin just to magnify everything else; and then my grandmother (not unexpectedly) died. I think I needed the sermon more than the congregation, but it's not a bad pulpit supply lesson -- although perhaps a bit more teachy than preachy.

When I began seminary three years ago, I didn’t have a very good knowledge of the psalms. I knew snippets from here and there, after all, they in all sort of songs we sing! I had memorized the 23^rd, the 100^th, and the 1^st; but I didn’t have the depth and breadth of understanding of the psalms that I had of much of the rest of the Bible. After all, they’re so…. Different. These are the emotions and prayers and hymns of people from thousands of years ago. This is the age of rational, "just the facts ma’am", study. And they’re Poetry. And poetry loses something in the translation. What can 4000 year old poetry tell me about God? or about me? I was a computer science major. An engineer. I didn’t go for those emotional bits of the Bible.

Then, last summer, while I was doing a chaplaincy internship at UPMC, I encountered a woman in the hospital who was facing a terminal diagnosis. This woman had been taught that to express any uncertainty or fear was a lack of faith. That it was an insult to God to have doubts and fears. So I took her for a walk through the psalms.

The Psalms are a treasure trove of emotion: great joy, great sadness,great anger, great despair, determination, and thanksgiving. The full spectrum of human emotion. Because God made us to have emotions and God created out bodies with adrenaline and serotonin and endorphins and all sorts of hormones that run wild with those emotions. God expects us to have emotions including fear and even despair. Just look at David, a man after God’s own heart. Look at some of the psalms he wrote. OY! That’s emotion. The psalms help us give voice to our emotions and even to express those emotions to God.

I was originally going to use this Psalm as a secondary text, but then, as I spent time with it this week and as I studied it, it really started to resonate deep within me. Now, bear with me a moment, but I came to truly appreciate this psalm when I went through it in Hebrew. Poets like to use words with layers of meaning and words that play off one another. The Psalmist was no exception. I’m not going to turn this into a Hebrew lesson :) but there are some things that the English translation just plain loses.

If you look closely at your Bibles, you’ll notice that verses 1, 3a, 5, and 7 have “the Lord” in small caps while verses 2, 3b, and 6 have “the Lord” in regular text. The poet is using 2 different ways of referring to God. The first one, the one rendered in small caps in your Bible, is the Name Of God. Somewhere along the line, Jewish Rabbis had decided that you couldn’t take the name of God in vain (that’s number 3 on the big list); anyway, you can’t take the name of God in vain if you never say it. To honor this concern, Christian translators have usually followed their example. So name of God, YHWH, is shown in your Bibles as Lord in small caps. You can distinguish it from the regular word for lord if you know what you’re looking for, but as translated, it won’t be spoken and inadvertently taken in vain, and most of the time it doesn’t make a big difference in reading the passage. But in this psalm, it’s important to note that the poet is going back and forth between the personal, intimate name of God and God’s title as Lord.

It’s like being on a first name basis with the Queen: she may be Lizzie, Mom, or Grandmum in private; but never forget that she is “Your Majesty”.

The use of the title of “Lord” for God reminds us that we’re dealing with the great Lord and creator of the universe to whom we owe our very existence. The personal name reminds us that we worship a God who desires relationship, who has granted us the right to come and call Him by name. By alternating between these two forms of address, the Psalmist reminds us of the power and majesty, as well as the love and approachability of God. By holding these extremes in tension, the poet squelches our human tendency to consider God as EITHER forceful and distant OR loving and manageable. So, a little later, when the poet speaks of our sin and God’s forgiveness, it is with a full understanding that it is loving grace that allows us to approach; it is also what allows the poet to tell the rest of the congregation in v7 and 8 that God has the power and will to redeem us from all our iniquities. God’s not going to let our sins keep him away from his children and God has the wherewithal to make that happen.

So, now that we have permission to come before the Holy One of Israel, what is the occasion under which we approach? “Out of the depths I cry to thee”, the depths were chaos, frequently used to refer to the realm of the dead, a metaphor for great distress, even unto death. That’s where the poet is, in distress and chaos, basically in a place he considers like hell. We’ve most of us been in a similar place. You know how that feels. So what does the poet do? Does he throw a pity party? Does he tell God it’s unfair? No. In verse 5 he says “I will wait for YHWH”. That sounds rather bland and boring. Not “send down your angels to rescue me NOW!” not “I will climb out of the pit” just, “I will wait for YHWH”. For this we read the psalm? To watch a man sit at a bus stop? But there is a strong lesson here. The Hebrew word for “wait” and for “hope” are the same. There are 2 different words used in verse 5, the first translated “wait”, and the second “hope” but either Hebrew word could be translated either way. The Hebrew language doesn’t separate Hope in God from Waiting for God. The Hebrew word means to wait with expectation. We know it’s coming, we’re just _waiting_ for it. The big difference in the two words is that the first means more to endure, still with expectation; and the second is used only for faith in God.

So now lets look at that again, the poet’s life is in the pits. But he’s going to endure, to persevere, putting his expectation in the word of God. But what does that mean, God’s “Word”? Well, this side of the reformation, our first thought is scripture, and the Torah would have been part of the poet’s thought, but he certainly didn’t just mean the words on the page. Here again we have a Hebrew word that just doesn’t translate well into English. The word here means word/event/deed. Inseparable. What you say IS what you do, total integrity. After all, this is the God who spoke creation into existence. word/event/deed are all one. The poet is choosing to trust God in the context of everything God has said/promised/done for His people. It wasn’t just “how does my personal life look right now” it was, “How has the Holy One of Israel dealt with his chosen people through history?” In other words, to wait in expectation on the Lord is to quit asking “why?” or “why me?” or “when will it be over?”, and start looking at WHO is in control.

Who is in control? Verse 7 reminds us the primary attribute of God on which the poet was depending. Not omnipotence, omniscience, immutability or any of those other concepts we actually inherited from Greek religions. No, the primary attribute of God to the Jewish people and therefore to the poet was hesed. Hesed – it has been translated here as steadfast love, others translations use loyalty, goodness, kindness; the KJV uses lovingkindness (one word), others use fidelity, or occasionally, mercy. The most important thing in putting our trust in God is God’s love and care for us. And God’s history of care that shows us God is reliable.

The Israelites used to rehearse their history of salvation all the time. Just to say “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” was to recall the stories of each of these men and their interactions with God. Many prophets begin with, “The Lord who brought you out of Egypt” – the Jews are admonished to never forget the history of God’s work with them. And the story of God’s work with the Jews is the story of God’s steadfast love.

Puritans were encouraged to keep a diary to examine the work of God in their lives. Each person examined their spiritual growth and insights, but they also used these diaries to record answers to prayer and the places where they saw God’s hand moving in their life – what they called “the providences of God”. Then, they would go back and read these diaries, some would even underline and dog-ear passages to find them more readily, and these Puritans would use the diaries to bolster their faith when life was rough. As one Puritan woman recorded (in her diary of course!): “My own experience has ever proved to me that thou art the God that has fed me my whole life long, the God that didst never leave me upon the mount of difficulty, but always appeared and wrought deliverance”[i] The diaries served much like a family photo album or memory book and the woman was like a child going through the stories with her father, recalling all the times he’s been there for her. Not abstract stories of someone else’s life, but clear, first hand experiences from her own. She remembers all the times the Father has been there and she knows he will continue to be. She didn’t dwell on the bad things happening in her life, she didn’t look for someone else to blame, she moved forward in life, remembering the God that would see her through. She remembered her personal experience of God’s hesed, God’s steadfast love, and she could trust that it would continue – even if it didn’t make sense now. Let’s look at that psalm again, with what we know now:

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O YHWH.

² Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

³ If you, O YHWH, should account for iniquities;
Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But there is forgiveness with you, thus you may be revered.

⁵ I endure for YHWH, my soul perseveres,
and in his word and deed I will hope.

⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in YHWH!
For with YHWH there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.

⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

There we are. Life isn’t always what we want or what we think it ought to be. We can’t truthfully say we understand why rotten things happen. Some times we don’t like the place we’re in. But we remember WHO is in control; who is the Lord of the universe and of our lives. And we can remember what God has done for us in the past. In the midst of the depths, when life doesn’t make sense, I will endure, trusting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God who gave his son to redeem our iniquities, I will trust God to do what is right in the context of all humanity and all time. That’s not always an easy thing to do. That’s why we remember all of God’s providences like the Puritans did. By remembering the past providences of God we are free to trust our lives to him even when we don’t understand. We’re free to say “I don’t know what’s going on, but I know I can trust God to come through this time, because I remember how God has come through for me before.”

Thanks be to God.

[i] http://books.google.com/books?id=z-MxJ4iFqi8C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=puritan+providence+diary&source=web&ots=tM0LQu8XAF&sig=yM4V1lC1GiykjT38JvmBYN6FmnM&hl=en#PPA32,M1

Sermon on feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-4 with Eph 3:7-21)

2009-07-21T21:46:00.003-04:00

This sermon is not the one I worked on all week. This is the one that rewrote itself Saturday afternoon. It is something they needed to hear, but nothing something I would have planned to say as a pulpit supply; but I am told the Spirit was in it's delivery. I came out thinking it never really came together, but many who heard it say it did. God is good. The Spirit does indeed have our backs in the pulpit. This is also (of course) not exactly as delivered.

Jesus has been performing miracles and teaching to the crowds, but he has pulled away with his disciples to get in a little teaching time with them, away from the crowd. There are still many things they need to know, things he can’t say in front of the crowds, so they go up a mountain to get away. But that isn’t to be. The crowds have had a taste of miracles and they want to see more. They’re intrigued by this teacher, this prophet, and they wonder if he could be the promised one. Remember, Israel is occupied by the Romans, and they want to be free. Civil and religious writings tell us there were many messiah pretenders in the time before and after Jesus; most advocating revolt against the political power of Rome. The crowd wonders if this might be the one. So they follow.

It is also important to know the time of year. Our passage tells us that it was close to Passover. Passover – when the Jews celebrate liberation from Egyptian domination. When God caused the plagues and parted the Red Sea, then cared for them for forty years in the desert feeding them miraculously every day as God rained down bread from heaven. The great Prophet Moses had told them that one day there would come a prophet like him. These people’s imaginations were looking for that promised “prophet like Moses”. Jesus had just said (in verse 5:46 ) “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.”

Maybe this miracle worker was the prophet Moses wrote about. Maybe they’d finally be free of the Romans! So they follow and crowd around. But it’s getting late. And no one has food. And there are no parkway plazas or fast food restaurants to stop in. As a matter of fact, the crowd is bigger than most villages nearby. They wouldn’t have resources to feed that many extra people. So what is Jesus to do? Ah, a prime teaching moment. He turns and asks the disciples.

Jesus has set up the context. It is Passover time. He spoke of the fact that Moses wrote about him. What presumption! And they’ve gone up the mountain to receive teaching – like Moses went up Mt Sinai. Now the hungry masses need to be fed like God fed them at Moses’ request when they were in the wilderness. Jesus is gearing up for the punch line. To see if the disciples have started to understand what he’s been teaching. Jesus turns and asks the disciples. He knows what he’s going to do. And he knows He can do it. but do the disciples get it? Jesus turns and asks the disciples.

In the other gospels, the disciples recommend that Jesus send the people away to find their own food. Now there’s a solution. Punt. Walk away from the entire predicament. “Not my problem. They brought it on themselves when they didn’t pack a lunch. Send them away, Let’s get back to that special teaching you had in mind, Jesus.” They chose to ignore the plan.

Jesus didn’t accept that proposal. That wasn’t His plan. Jesus turns and asks the disciples.

Phillip sees the enormity, the impossibility of the task. It would take more than 6 months’ wages to buy enough bread to give them a little, let alone actually FEED them– and that’s assuming they could even find that much to buy. Phillip sees all the reasons it won’t work and starts listing them. He laughs at the plan.

Jesus didn’t accept that, either. He had a plan, he knew what he was going to do. Jesus turns and asks the disciples.

Andrew doesn’t understand either, but he trusts Jesus to know what’s going on. So, he says, here’s a kid with his lunch. Just enough for the one child. “what is that among so many?” Maybe he was discouraged, maybe he was hopeful, maybe he was daring Jesus; we don’t know. But Andrew chose to give the information Jesus to see what he would do with it.

NOW Jesus acts.

of course, Jesus could have done it without the child’s lunch. In the temptation stories, Satan tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread, so he must have been able to. So Jesus could have taken that route. But he didn’t. God, throughout history has worked primary through people. Even parting the Red Sea, God had Moses hold up his staff. God doesn’t do all the work while we sit back and watch. He expects us to play our part, to make our contribution.

Ah, there’s the rub. We’re supposed to make our contribution and there are some common mistakes we make when God asks for our contribution.

The first mistake we tend to make is when, like Phillip or the other disciples, we try to take over the plan. God asks us to play a role and we try to come in and direct the play. "Lord, you can’t really mean THAT, this would be so much more practical." Or "This is how we do things here, so just move over and I’ll show you." "God, this thing I’m comfortable with would be sooo much better than what you’re planning on doing."

Sounds kinda silly when I put it that way, but come on, be honest. We’ve all done it sometime.

Sometimes we do this here in the church, because, we think the plan is to be and do what we’ve always been and done even though the neighborhood and the world and even we are very different; we’ve quit listening and we’re working on old instructions. Sometimes we think the plan for our church is to be just like that church down the road, as if different churches and different people didn’t have different jobs assigned in the kingdom. In either case, we come to God with a list of what WE think our programs and outreach should be instead of listening for God’s plan. Sometimes instead of listening to God, we listen to what the media and culture tell us church should be. We end up being like the disciples who didn’t want to participate, or like Phillip who just criticized the plan.

God knows what God is going to do: here at [our church], and in each of your lives. Just like Jesus knew. He asked the disciples as a test. And they didn’t do too well. Hopefully we’ll do better; because if [our church] is to be a healthy Body of Christ it won’t get there by following our plan. Not by following [Pastor]’s plan or even session’s plan. We have to follow God’s plan; get our plans in line with his, then we will succeed -- because we got on board with the winning plan.

A second mistake we make when God asks for our contribution is by withholding what we’ve got. Not giving what he asks of us. Maybe that’s from selfishness. After all It’s MINE, I earned it! Sunday Morning is my only time to sleep in, I deserve that.

And what does scripture say about that? In Psalms, God says that “every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” God created this earth and everything in it and on it belongs to Him. You are given the responsibility to watch over some of God’s world (and some of God’s children); but you’re just the steward, the caretaker, not the owner. James tells us “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father”. And Job told us “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” And don’t forget the Parable of the rich man who built extra warehouses to store all his wealth. “God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Everything we have, and everything we are belongs to God. Ever wonder why we use the term, “I gave my life to Christ”? He has a plan to use you, your life, this church, but he asks for your willing contribution.

Sometimes we withhold our contribution because we fear it is so little. Look back at our storey, Barley loaves and fishes – dinner rolls and anchovies (the fish would have been pickled so they didn’t spoil, and little fish like anchovies were common in that area) – a poor boy’s box lunch. And look what Jesus did with that!

Another guy who called himself the least of men, the greatest of sinner, was described by one contemporary writer as “a man little of stature, thin-haired upon the head, crooked in the legs, of good state of body, with eyebrows joining, and nose somewhat hooked.” This man didn’t deserve anything, had little to commend himself, but became the great apostle to the Gentiles, speaking in the great Greek halls of learning, because Paul gave what he had to the Lord.

So, instead of complaining about what we do not have, or using it as an excuse for not following God’s plan, we need to give thanks to God for what we do have, and God will make it go farther; just like those barley loaves and fishes.

I went to a concert on Friday night, and heard a song about this passage by a man who, 13 years ago, was given 6 months to live. After surgery to remove the brain tumor, he says he was reading the parable and thought, “pretty good for 5 loaves and 2 fishes”, so he asked God “what can you do with a brain tumor and a guitar?” the answer: 12 year (so far) recording and concert career; a chance to tell people all over the world about the hope he has in Jesus, even though his cancer has recurred.

But letting go is scary. Letting go of our plans and searching for God’s plan is scary. But we are free to give because Jesus loves us; and perfect love casts out fear. If we know the all-powerful God loves us and wants the best for us, we don’t need to protect our own interests. Sometimes it hard because we don’t understand, because, by human standards, things are NOT going well. But still, as Christians, we place our trust: our lives, our talents and our money in the hands of a God who loves and cares for us.

A God who dwells in our hearts through faith. As Paul says, “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Filled with the Holy Spirit, we can let go of our own agendas and get on board with God’s plan to be the people and the church He wants us to be. All the different gifts and skills needed to accomplish God’s plans for [our church] are here in [our church]. But God leaves it to us whether we will bring them forward. God knows there’s not enough in what we bring to accomplish his plan, but God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, will multiply our gifts to fulfill his plans. Look what he can do with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, or with a guitar and a brain tumor, and who on earth knows what he will do with your gifts.

Graduation

2009-05-28T08:48:00.003-04:00

Today I will graduate from seminary.

Three years ago we sold our house and moved 2 states away so I could go to seminary. I quit my job/career and DH took a part time job at a grocery store to help pay bills.

It's been a long road, with health issues, and the fear of returning to academia alongside kids who were born after I got my undergraduate degree.

Today I graduate. Health issues are (largely) resolved and the job search has begun. Soon (God willing) we will sell this house and pack everything up to move to another state and start life over again. The kitties are now 9 and 11, I'm pretty sure they won't like that part. The humans are 46 and 57, they're not thrilled either.

Next week we head out, for a final (God willing) visit with CPM and then to Atlanta for the face to face at the Big Tent event, so I can convince someone to take the time to see if God is calling this first call, middle aged woman to their church.

But today, I graduate. A master of divinity. Yeah, right. :)

Vacation Friday Five

2009-05-22T13:28:00.003-04:00

Mary Beth over at RevGalBlogPals says: Let's think about VACATIONS! I certainly am!

1) What did your family do for vacations when you were a child? Or did you have stay-cations at home?
I went to summer camp some years and we did family vacations alternate years.

The biggest was Dad deciding we would fly to Vegas, rent a car, and see the west. I think my brother was 13 and I was 11. Yeah. That was fun. not. Although we do have pictures of Dad giving a burro water from a "for radiators only" tank in death valley (which we drove through with AC blazing despite the warning signs).

Then there were the trips to Dad's conferences which he turned into family vacations. It worked for me. I got to go to the Bahamas, to Disney World (the year it opened!), Sanibel Island...

2) Tell us about your favorite vacation ever:
Probably the 10 day trip to Ireland where DH and I just rented a car and drove where we wanted, staying in B&Bs using the coupons that were part of the package. Each evening we would decide what to do for the next day. It was great.

3) What do you do for a one-day or afternoon getaway...is there a place nearby that you escape to on a Saturday afternoon/other day off?
I do not. I need this, I just never found it here.

4) What's your best recommendation for a full-on vacation near you...what would you suggest to someone coming to your area? (Near - may be defined any way you wish!)
I have no idea. I moved here three years ago for seminary, and have seen little. Need to figure out the touristy things for next week with the folks are in town for graduation! (although the amusement park is probably out of the picture with them)

5) What's your DREAM VACATION?
Mountains, River, Kayak, hammock, good books.

Bonus: Any particularly awful (edited to add: or hilarious) vacation stories that you just have to tell? ("We'll laugh about this later..." maybe that time is now!)
Well, on the aforementioned trip out west, my family had our first taste of fresh cherries from a roadside stand in CA. We'd never had fresh cherries because they didn't truck them to our part of the states back then. Well, the whole family enjoyed quite a number of those cherries. We didn't make much mileage the next day, but we found lots of interesting rest areas!

taking a break...

2009-02-20T09:21:00.009-05:00

Songbird, over at RevGalBlogPals offers us the following Friday Five:

Where we live, it's February School Vacation Week!

Yes, that's an odd thing, a vacation extending President's Day. But it's part of our lives here. Some people go South or go skiing, but we always stay home and find more humble amusements.

In that spirit, I offer this Taking a Break Friday Five. Tell us how you would spend:

1. a 15 minute break -- tea, earl grey, hot.

2. an afternoon off -- wandering the mall. Window shopping, just getting out and moving. No money to spend, but at least away from the desk and the papers!

3. an unexpected free day -- Heard a sermon in class on the unexpected blessing of a snow day; but snow days don't allow for much more than maybe -- shocking -- non-class reading! I seem to remember something called "novels." At this point that would be quite novel.

4. a week's vacation -- down to best place on earth! We are going to get to the river in the early summer. Hopefully I'll also be interviewing in the area.

5. a sabbatical -- I think I am just sort of completing a 3-year sabbatical. Some of my seminary friends point out that in another 3 months we'll be done! I, however, point out that in 3 months, we'll be unemployed (at least most of us will be for at least a few months).

Pets

2009-02-13T11:27:00.003-05:00

Sophia at RevGalBlogPalssays: My son's tiny beloved lizard, Elf, is looking and acting strange this week. His skin/scales are quite dark, and he is lethargic. We are adding vitamin drops to his lettuce and spinach and hoping and praying that he is just getting ready to shed his skin--but it's too soon to tell. Others in the ring have also been worried about beloved pets this week. And, in the saddest news of all, Songbird has had to bid farewell to her precious Molly, the amazing dog who is well known to readers of her blog as a constant sacrament of God's unconditional love.

So in memory of Molly, and in honor of all the beloved animal companions who bless our lives: tell us about the five most memorable pets you have known.

1) Creslin -- my love kitty. He would cuddle and purr and climb on your head to do it, especially if you had a towel on your head out of the shower. Problem was he was a 13lb lanky cat. That's a lot of cat to wear as a turban. We lost him at only 6 to congestive heart failure. (named for a character in an LE Modesitt novel)

2) Niniane -- So frightened when I first got her from a "free to good home" ad. Solid grey with a small white clerical tab. I named her after the "not quite" priestess in Mists of Avalon (which I had just read). In the 16 or so years I had her she became really lovey -- on her terms, of course. She was nearly blind and deaf when we had to let her go.

3) Pavarotti -- Mom's cat. You can guess what he did the entire first night they had him home. This was a BIG cat (orange tabby). We called him mountain lion. One day he went out the cat door and came back in and Mom heard a strange noise in the family room. She went in there and Pav had brought in, through the kitty door, .... the neighbor's teacup poodle. I guess Pav thought that thing was too small to be out alone. Mom had to take the little doggie (perfectly safe, Pav had grabbed it by the scruff) back to the neighbor.

4) Mister -- Big white kitty: 1/4 persian; 1/4 manx; and his father was from a nice neighborhood. He had the persian fur and tail, the manx hind legs; He was 36 inches from tip of nose to tip of tail (I measured). He could put his nose on the counter while you were fixing his dinner. I once saw him treed by the neighbor's (dumb) german shepherd who then proceeded to bark treed at him for an hour or so. Until Mister just jumped out of the tree onto him. Dumb dog never chased my cat again. Mister was also known to bring home baby opossums and drop them on your pillow as presents.

5) Dawg -- A big yellow dog that just took up at our house, Mom wouldn't let us name her, because we weren't keeping her. We didn't have pets. (The Vet spelled it this way because they wouldn't just write "dog") Well she stayed, at least until she had her pups and weaned them, and then she left as she had come.

2009-01-23T18:41:00.002-05:00

Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals says: Here in snow country we are settled in to what is a very long stretch of potentially boring days. The holidays are over. It is a very long time till we will get outside on a regular basis. The snow that seemed so beautiful at first is now dirty and the snow banks are piling up. Our vehicles are all the same shade of brownish grey, but if we go to the car wash our doors will freeze shut. People get grumpy. Of course, not everyone lives in a cold climate, but even in warmer places the days till springtime can get long. Help! Please give us five suggestions for combating cabin fever and staying cheerful in our monochromatic world?

I speak as one with a brand new alternator in a 10 year old car. (a special thank you to the unknown longhorn Spiritual Direction student who provided a jump in the seminary parking lot!)

1) well you could join me in ordination exams... Exegesis will take 5 days of my life while life adn classes go on around me.

2) Chili. Not monochromatic or boring. and if you put enough peppers in you get to enjoy it all day! OK, maybe that's not a benefit.

3) looking at the gardening catalogs. Thinking of the flowers that will bloom in spring.

4) reading church information forms (especially for churches in the south) and dreaming of getting permission to start sending out my resume.

5) facebook. nuff said.

gluten free pancakes. Just not the same.

2009-01-09T10:38:00.004-05:00

Sophia at RevGalBlogPals writes:

Last week Sally gave us a beautiful, spiritually reflective Friday Five, so it's time for something light and fluffy (literally). It's inspired by the fact that as I write this my dear spouse TechnoGuy, with the assistance of daughter Ladybug, is making a batch of chocolate chip pancakes with two Christmas presents. One is the Knott's Berry Farm mix which came along with jam, boysenberry syrup, and biscuit mix from my aunt (we ended up with two sets, since my parents passed theirs on to avoid sweet and carb-y temptation). The other is the large size Black and Decker electric skillet he was thrilled that I got him online -- our trusty wedding present normal size one still works at going on 20 years, but the Teflon is getting worn, and he wanted more cooking space. So pull up a chair to the kitchen table and tell us all about your pancake preferences.

1. Scratch or mix? Buttermilk or plain?
Well, this has all become so complicated in the past 4 years since I found out I have celiac. So, now I generally use a gluten free mix, but they all kinda stink. (Trader Joes frozen GF pancakes are an OK substitute) I used to use the krusteaz. it had the best flavor/texture for a mix that I had found. My mom, on the other hand is always from scratch.

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in?
pecans (pe CAHNS not PEE cans) or blueberries when I make them (plain for the boring DH).

3. For breakfast or for dinner?
breakfast, although I remember going out with my grandfather for pancakes for dinner at a local diner out near the interstate.

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish?
Well, either a little peanut butter and syrup (that's sir-rup not sea-rup) or some frozen strawberries that I nuke for a few minutes to go mushy and warm.
The best side dish is thick-sliced, applewood smoked bacon.

5. Favorite pancake restaurant?
IHOP, the ones that had nuts and such in them (back in the day before I knew better. Now, no can do.)

New Year Friday Five

2009-01-02T11:21:00.004-05:00

it's been, well, MONTHS since I wrote anything here, so, just to let you know I'm still alive, I'm doing today's Friday Five.

Sally at RevGalBlogPals says:

As we look back we may come to understand how God has worked in and through us in joy and sadness. how we have grown against what may seem impossible odds. As we look forward we may do so with expectation, and we may do so with fear and trembling. As we look back and forward in New Year's liminality I offer you this simple yet I hope profound Friday Five in two parts:

First list five things that you remember/ treasure from 2008

Recovery from my hysterectomy. It was a longer, slower road than I expected, but I didn't realize how sick and just "not me" I had become until I started to get well after the surgery.
Passing 2 of my ordination exams
CPE. memorable in good and difficult ways.
A year of great classes (mostly, there is one notable exception, but that blight is being addressed by leadership). I am really enjoying seminary. I was afraid to go back to school at my age, but it has been a blast!
Seeing several friends ordained, and, as an elder, participating in the ordination.

Then list five things that you are looking forward to in 2009

Passing the remaining 2 ordination exams. (Not, mind you, taking them. I do NOT look forward to taking them again, just getting them over with)
Graduation. Although the thought of the Father & Step Mother and the Mother & Step Father in one place is a bit scary.
Finding a first call. Hopefully in the part of the country I consider home, as opposed to the part of the country I currently live in.
Getting ordained and beginning life as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.
Moving (Aarrgh)

Traveling Friday Five

2008-10-10T10:41:00.004-04:00

Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals writes:
I spent a good bit of time today registering and making travel arrangements for the American Academy of Religion meeting in Chicago at the beginning of November. (Anyone up for a meetup? Shout out, okay?) I'm not presenting this year, so I'm busy sending out resumes and cover letters, but at least I'm not stressing about getting a paper written.

I'll see friends and teachers from grad school, try to resist temptation in the book hall, attend some presentations if time permits, and, God willing, have some preliminary interviews in the everlasting college-teaching-job-search process--prayers welcome, as always. And, thanks to my dear Mom who agreed to babysit and donated some frequent flyer miles, it will also be a busy-but-happy getaway with my sweetheart.

So for today's Friday Five, you're invited to share your experiences with the exciting, challenging world of business travel....

1. Does your job ever call for travel? Is this a joy or a burden?
My former life was on the road a lot. At least 75 nights a year. Although it can start out fun, it gets old very quickly. I think I'm more homebody than I like to admit.

2. How about that of your spouse or partner?
Nah, he hasn't traveled regularly since we've been married. And he said he didn't like me on the road all the time.

3. What was the best business trip you ever took?
One of the ones where I had to stay over a weekend and DH was able to use some of my Frequent Flyer points to come join me -- once to Disney Land and once to Disney World. He never came if Disney wasn't involved. Hmmmm.

Oh, and the hotel chain did bump me to a suite once. a BIG suite. With a baby grand, a fireplace and a living room the size of 4 or 5 rooms (dining room table to seat 10). Kinda weird to have to myself. The piano had cranberry juice on the keys but was reasonably in tune.

4. ...and the worst, of course?
4 extra days (on a 3 day trip) to Texas in September 2001. Finally got out, transferred in Houston, wouldn't let me take the early flight because my bags wouldn't make the plane so had to sit there for three hours, got into home airport after midnight, waited for bags that never came, went to the office: yep, they had come on the earlier flight. Drove the hour and a half home.

We used to have a contest for the worst trip of the quarter. I rejoice that I never won that one!

of course there were innumerable non-smoking rooms that reeked of old smoke, lost luggage, kids kicking the seat for an entire 5 hour flight. Mustn't forget the early Nov trip where the parents were bribing the 3 kids with sugar (Halloween candy) as we boarded the plane for a 5 hour trip -- "Could I upgrade, please?"

Oh, and one mustn't forget sharing the (very nice) hotel with the dairy goat convention (including goats and odoriferous byproducts of said goats).

Or the one with the traffic accident and bump on the noggin at 6:30 am before starting a 3 day speaking engagement.

5. What would make your next business trip perfect?
No plans anytime soon. Only travel now is back to governing body of care to be evaluated ... Don't know that you can make that one perfect, I believe it's intended to be a nightmare, errr "growing experience".

Autumn Friday Five

2008-09-19T07:09:00.003-04:00

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals writes: It's that time of year, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open, but the darned furnace comes on early in the morning. My husband went out for a walk after an early supper and came home in full darkness.

And yes, where we live, leaves are beginning to turn.

As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance: Pumpkin pie (least favorite was the place I lived that still allowed leaf burning!)

2) A color: I love the fall colors (my wardrobe attests to this), I like the dark orange that moves toward mustard yellow. And my favorite outside is the clear red of the maple.

3) An item of clothing: my suede skirt, midcalf and full. Only drawback: no pockets. But I really like the skirt anyway. And my turtle necks. I have many in different paisleys.

4) An activity: walks in the woods.

5) A special day: My B-Day! It's still a ways off, but it's in fall.

temporarily hijacked by the cats

2008-09-10T09:35:00.006-04:00

Mugsy over at MEOW challenged us kitties:
Mugsy here!!!!! Wanna play?
Here's the rules:
1. Any animal can play, except human beings, cuz they do their own memes! Thank you very much! (Well, we've gotten in on a couple of those friday five things, but this one is JUST FOR US!)
2. If you play be sure and tag another pet pal to play and be sure they know they got tagged.
3. Answer the nine questions (duh, nine lives, nine questions).
4. Be honest
5. Let people know you played too!
Here we go....
1. Favorite place to nap? on the back of a living room chair. in the front window seat in the sun, or in the basket on mama's desk.
2. Favorite past time? napping and chasing each other
3. Favorite treat? Padme: food Delenn: Banana! (I even bite into them on the counter if Mama doesn't give me any)
4. Indoor or outdoor preference? Indoor. But we like to watch the birdies at the feeder, and sometimes we go on the patio.
5. How did you come to live with your peeps? Delenn: I came from the shelter in a southern town. Padme: I came from a kitty rescue at the pet store in a more northerly locale.
6. Litter box, tree or fire hydrant? litter box, but Delenn won't poop in it. I would, too, if you didn't sneak up on me.
7. Best toy you ever got? balls of paper or anything small and light to bat and chase around. I also like paper towel rolls, they're just the right size and texture to shred! (Padme)
8.Sleep in or early riser? the sun is up, why are you still in bed?
9. Wish for all the world? All the kitties have a warm dry place to sleep, a full food bowl, and hoomans to love.

Friday Five -- Weeping behind a mask

2008-09-05T08:30:00.004-04:00

Sally at RevGalBlogPals writes:
I have recently been reading a book entitled Jesus wept, it is all about vulnerability in leadership. The authors speak of how Jesus shared his earthly frustrations and vulnerabilities with a select group of people. To some he was the charismatic leader and teacher, to others words of wisdom were opened and explained and some frustrations shared, to his "inner circle of friends: Peter, James and John, he was most fully himself, and in all of these things he was open to God.

So I bring you this weeks Friday 5:

1. Is vulnerability something that comes easily to you, or are you a private person?
Let me see, can I answer that? hmmm, let's look at previous blog entries, OK, I think it's clear. AA: Not vulnerable. Hiding behind a pseudonym and STILL very private. Yep, that's me. I can reveal that much. I think. (BTW, I did NOT like CPE!)

2.How important is it to keep up a professional persona in work/ ministry?
Very, but it must be consistent with the true persona. A subset, if you will. Not a false front. Walking the line without revealing too much, but still maintaining integrity of the person you are. IOW: I am who I am -- I just don't let it all hang out all the time.

3. Masks, a form of self protection discuss...
Well, Yes. But also sometimes truly detrimental.
For Good:

They can help us get through when we have private pain that would be made worse by being public.
They can help us try on new roles and ways of being that we might not "fit into", at least not just yet.

OTOH:

masks donned to fit in or to create an illusion of something we're not to please/appease someone, especially when worn too often or too long, can cause us to begin to mistake the mask for ourselves.
Masks worn with friends -- there should be someone with whom you're genuine.

4. Who knows you warts and all?
I left most of my good friends when I moved, and I stink at long distance relationships. After 2 years, I'm starting to make friends here, as I also prepare myself to move after seminary. So, not so many folk here, now.

5. Share a book, a prayer, a piece of music, a poem or a person that touches the deep place in your soul, and calls you to be who you are most authentically.
Walking Wounded by Don Francisco. Challenges me to not retreat "alone behind the window curtained with her pride, she'll once again embrace her pain and turn away inside".

I'm not overly fond of the graphics on this, but it is a Don Francisco singing.

Labor Friday Five

2008-08-29T08:39:00.002-04:00

Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals writes: Here in the USA we are celebrating the last fling of the good ol' summertime. It is Labor Day weekend, and families are camping, playing in the park, swimming, grilling hotdogs in the backyard, visiting amusement parks and zoos and historical sites and outdoor concerts and whatever else they can find to help them extend summer's sun and play just a little bit longer.

It is supposed to also be a celebration of the working man and woman, the backbone of the American economy, the "salt-of-the-earth nieces and nephews of Uncle Sam. With apologies to those in other countries, this is a Friday Five about LABOR. All can play. Put down that hammer, that spoon, that rolling pin, that rake, that pen, that commentary, that lexicon, and let's have some fun.

1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.
I was hired as a manager in the consulting branch of a big accounting firm. The two branches (accounting and consulting) divorced over irreconcilable differences a year or so after I left. The culture was so arrogant, they didn't realize there were ways to do things other than the way they did. "We're Absolutely Consummate". And they tried to copyright a process that's been in textbooks for decades becasue they thought they had created it. AARRGGH. They promoted a backstabbing environment in the competition to get promoted to the next level. Everyone was out to get you and if you weren't paranoid, they got you good. I swam with those sharks for a little over a year, and that only because I had a mortgage approved and the house wasn't built yet (bad time to change jobs). I hated every minute.

2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.
working on a military base with the military personnel as a consultant. The guys were great, the work was challenging and rewarding (yeah, there were difficult people, but we had the support of the commander, so it was overcomeable).

3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.
Well, I quit my job, sold my house, and moved to another state to go to seminary. I trust God's providence that being a pastor is the answer to this one.

4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?
What is this "break" of which you speak? I did get to go to my favorite spot on earth for a few days, got to see the parents and have a change of scenery to study for my ordination exams.

5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?
From CPE to ordination exams to Back to School. This is my last year of classes (God willing), only two classes are required, so I get to pick lots of electives!

Bonus question: For the gals who are mothers, do you have an interesting story about labor and delivery (LOL)? If you are a guy pal, not a mom, or you choose not to answer the above, is there a song, a book, a play, that says "workplace" to you?
Well any Dilbert book pretty much summed up my first career!

Prebymeme II

2008-08-20T21:31:00.005-04:00

in about 25 words each, answer the following five questions; It will become obvious I can't count (or that I averaged the answers across questions
tag five presbyterian bloggers and send them a note to let them know they were tagged; nah...I don't do chain mail or chain memes
be sure to link to the orginal post, leave a comment or send a trackback to this post so others can find you;

What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus?
I have to pick 1? let's see, there's Once to Every Man and Nation (361 in the red hymnbook); CPE this summer had me singing Precious Lord, Take My Hand (404 in the blue); I always liked Be Still My Soul (red 374); and O Worship the King [but in the red (#26), I don't know where the "chariots of light" in the blue came from, but it sure wasn't Psalm 104]; Here, O My Lord I See Thee Face to Face [But in the red (#442). The blue had to monkey around with it (making all of it plural and changing the order of the verses and not including the one about the banquet being fellowship with God). You can go with the RCA and get all the verses. It's much more powerful to me in the original first person singular]; My Jesus, I Love Thee (red 405); I Love to Tell The Story (red 383); I am beginning to realize how few of my favorites made it to the blue book.

You call the question? OK, I probably have to go with How Great Thou Art (Blue 467)

Note: Although I listen to and enjoy contemporary songs, they generally don't touch the heart of me in the same way. (although I am partial to the Don Francisco song about Balaam's donkey)
What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?
A fellow seminarian preached in chapel about the totally irrational, yet totally irresistible cross. He used 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.
If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?
I don't blog for them; can't say that I could suggest one.
What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?
Classical Presbyterian, a Church for Starving Artists, Quotidian Grace
If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?
Lion King -- In the beginning things are as they are supposed to be, a balance of divers environments and creatures, governed by Mufassa who understands noblesse oblige and that with power comes accountability and a responsibility to work within the system and created order for the greater welfare of the whole, not the individual desires of a few. Scar overthrows the right powers by deceit and sets up a power structure based on his own desires for satisfaction. He governs by fear and intimidation, and leaves the land scarred and barren. In the end, the rightful King comes to restore the kingdom to its intended state and order is restored amongst all the creatures.

I will remember

2008-08-03T18:19:00.002-04:00

Scripture Lesson From the OT: Lamentations 3:1-26
Scripture Lesson From the NT: Romans 8:31-39

As some of you know, I’ve been serving an internship as a chaplain at Borg Hospital this summer. I visit with patients on several neurological and other surgical units. I visit with patients who request to see me, and I visit with whatever patients and families cross my path as I “round”: walking through the units and sticking my head in rooms. During this time I’ve seen a lot of people who have come to a crisis point in their lives: folks in car crashes, folks with newly delivered terminal diagnoses, and their families. I frequently hear: “I never thought I/my son/my husband/my daughter would be here.” And then they ask the inevitable question, spoken or unspoken, “why?” Of course, that question isn’t limited to people in the hospital. Most of us have had some situation in our lives where we asked the same thing. Why, God? Why me?

Sometimes we can’t see God in our life. At some points, life just doesn’t make sense. We look at the mess that is our life and we do not see the hand of God. We think that if God were at work in our lives then our lives would look … well, better, somehow.

We want what society says is a good life. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that, at some level, most of us want to believe the prosperity gospel preached in so many churches today. Come on, be truthful, we yearn to believe that God wants us all to be rich, in perfect health, and have nice things and have an easy life.
We see Joel Osteen’s book on the best seller list and it promises Your Best Life Now. And we look at our lives as they stand, and we want what he promises. Joel tells us that we can have power and wealth and health if we just think positively. This is not a new message. But it’s not a Biblical one either. Wealth and health are not the primary indicators of God’s presence in our lives.

Look at the Lamentations passage. The picture the poet paints is not pretty. His city has fallen to the conquering army after a protracted siege. He was supposed to be safe because he was in the beloved city of the most high God. Instead he’s thin as a rail, weak, diseased. His home and his livelihood are gone. He has no material position or status. His paths twist around. Everywhere he turns, he runs into a wall. He is in darkness. Mocked and alone.

We look at our lives. We see jobs lost, bills that must be paid. We see families falling apart, children in trouble. We see disease and death. We feel the isolation, the shame of our lives. Where is God? Like the poet, we cry out to God in our prayers and we hear no response. Sometimes it’s just really hard to see God’s hand in our life.

But God has promised us He is always here even when we don’t see him. The most straightforward promise was the one Christ made to the disciples: “lo I am with you always even to the close of the age.” (Matt 28:20) He will be with us always, for all time.

Psalm 139 which we read in the prayer this morning promises, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” So, wherever we go, God is with us. Our home, away at college, in the service in Iraq, in the hospital, the jail, the courtroom: God is there.

One of the seminary professors is fond of “catching” students in a trick question: “when you walk into a hospital room, do you bring Christ into that room?” Most students, aware that a) this is a seminary and b) they are pastors in training, will immediately answer, “yes!” to which the good professor will reply with an emphatic “no! … Christ is already there.”

We’ve seen that God is always with us. Romans ups it a notch. Not only is God there, but there is nothing can undo that. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now, Paul’s not making a big deal out of these things, in fact he seems to just assume these horrible things will happen, but Paul knows God is with us through it all. Just as God is with us in the good things in life, he is with us in the bad. God is always wherever we are.

We remember God’s faithfulness… We remember all the times God has been there when we needed help and strength and encouragement.

The Israelites used to rehearse their history of salvation all the time. Just to say “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” was to recall the stories of each of these men and their interactions with God. Many prophets begin with, “The Lord who brought you out of Egypt” – the Jews are never to forget the history of God’s work with them. And the story of God’s work with the Jews is the story of God’s faithful love.

The Puritans made this more personal. Puritans were encouraged to keep a diary to examine the work of God in their lives. Each person examined their spiritual growth and insights, but they also used these diaries to record answers to prayer and the places where they saw God’s hand moving in their life – what they called “the providences of God”. Then, they would go back and read these diaries, some would even underline and dog-ear passages to find them more readily, and these Puritans would use the diaries to bolster their faith when life was rough. As one Puritan woman recorded (in her diary of course!): “My own experience has ever proved to me that thou art the God that has fed me my whole life long, the God that didst never leave me upon the mount of difficulty, but always appeared and wrought deliverance” The diaries served much like a family photo album or memory book and the woman was like a child going through the stories with her father, recalling all the times he’s been there for her. Not abstract stories of someone else’s life, but clear, first hand experiences from her own. She remembers all the times the Father has been there and she knows he will continue to be. She didn’t dwell on the bad things happening in her life, she didn’t look for someone else to blame, she moved forward in life, remembering the God that would see her through.

We’re not so good at that. We tend to be “what have you done for us lately?” last week is just, so, last week. But we must not forget all that has come before, we have to remember from our lives and through the ages. We must choose to remember God’s faithfulness.

Sometimes remembering can be difficult. We might not have been looking for God in our joys and good times so we may not remember the things the things He did for us. We don’t have those Puritan journals. That makes it hard. Trust is built over time, first in small things then in the big ones. If we haven’t been looking for God and trusting Him in the small things, we are not going to be ready for the big things.

Athletes rely on something they call muscle memory where you practice a move some many times your body almost learns to do it without your brain. For example, you keep swinging that golf club or that bat until your body knows the movement; or when you take a self defense class you go through the moves many times. You build the muscles, and train your body so that, you should ever need to respond, the response will be automatic. It will come from an ingrained pattern of behavior. We need to build up our spiritual muscle memory. How do we do that? Romans 10:17 tells us, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” If you want to know God, know his word.

If a crisis hits, we can only draw on what we have. And I have seen too many people this summer that don’t have anything to draw on. They haven’t done any spiritual training. They don’t know scripture, they don’t have a prayer life – They do not personally know Jesus. Maybe they know they ought to turn to God because their parents were Christians. Or maybe they have friends who are. Maybe they even go to church. But without a working relationship, they have no history to remember. They don’t trust God.

But when you need to remember, Each of us must decide for our self: Will I remember ? Do I trust?

When we chose to remember, God gives us hope. Hope isn’t something we can find or muster up for ourselves. Hope is a gift from God. Hope is a lifeline God gives us to get through the hard times.

Now, I’m not talking about “I hope the local team makes it to the playoffs this year” or “I hope my husband got us reservations for our anniversary.” That’s wishing. That’s the problem with the English word. In the Hebrew, the word for hope is the word for wait, with expectation. We know it’s coming, we’re just _waiting_ for it.

The problem is, it doesn’t always come the way we expect or the way we would choose. God doesn’t follow our scripts. And sometimes we forget that our priorities are not necessarily God’s priorities – after, all, we don’t see the whole picture. We hold to our wishes and try to call them hope.

But part of Hope is the letting go of our wishes. And the willingness to trust God, the loving father, whose compassion never fails, to trust God to do what is right for us in the context of all humanity and all time. To believe as it says in V28 “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”

Trusting is not an easy thing to do. That’s why we remember all of God’s providences like the Puritans did. Their remembering didn’t mean they were without doubt, as a matter of fact, they might have been relying on their “habit of faith”. You know, that point where you’re beyond actually hoping or trusting; but you make a decision to continue to remember God’s faithfulness. To believe that if God is for us none can successfully be against us.

All our answers, all our theology is an just attempt to confess what we believe, not to explain how it works. So we wait on the Lord. And the Lord is good to those who wait, his compassions are new every day. Because we need help everyday. God gives us the faith to wait. God gives us hope.

Life isn’t always what we want or what we think it ought to be. We can’t truthfully say we understand why rotten things happen. Some times we don’t like the place we’re in. But we remember who is in control. Who is the Lord of the universe and of our lives. And we can remember what that God has done for us in the past. By remembering the past providences of God we are free to trust our lives to him even when we don’t understand. We’re free to say “I don’t know what’s going on, but I know I can trust God to come through this time, because I remember how God has come through for me before.” In all things we are conquerors – not because it turns out the way we want, but because we are in Christ Jesus.

Road Block Friday Five

2008-08-01T07:52:00.005-04:00

After a little "blogger" trouble over at RevGalBlogPals yesterday, Songbird writes:
This turned out to be a very small barricade in our blogging community life, but it seemed appropriate to explore locks and blocks and other barriers this week. Also, I liked the picture of the security team above! Could they be Blogger's Spam Prevention Robots, working overtime?

In honor of their efforts, I bring you the "Lock Me Out, Lock Me In" Friday Five.

1) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?
Well, generally I just turn on the radio and sing along. Although, I do tend to check my routes and avoid where I know they're doing work, but they don't always tell you. If I'm in a hurry, I am somewhat less patient. But generally I figure I can't do anything about it, might as well just sing along.

2) Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? (And do you keep an extra key somewhere, just in case?)
on occasion, but not in recent years. I used to keep a key outside when I was worse. now I have a garage door with a code punch thingy.

3) Have you ever cleared a hurdle? (And if you haven't flown over a material hurdle, feel free to take this one metaphorically.)
no material hurtles bigger than mud puddles, but metaphorical? oh yea. I can do those ... eventually.

4) What's your approach to a mental block?
Well, scrabulous is gone. there's always pop and drop ! Something that uses a different sort of mental activity can frequently help me refocus and get back to the paper/sermon/whatever where I had the block. Walking will also frequently help, even if it's just around the room.

5) Suggest a caption for the picture above; there will be a prize for the funniest answer!
"No, we said I get to wear the hard hat. You were supposed to be the Indian and the policeman!" (OK, I'm old)

on the road again....

2008-07-26T19:03:00.003-04:00

I used to travel a bit

visited 35 states (70%)

but mostly in the US of A

visited 10 states (4.44%)

Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president
this is not getting my sermon written....

Summer Camp friday Five

2008-07-11T18:40:00.003-04:00

Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals writes: We're settling into our new new apartment, and after a lifetime at Montessori Katie is having a fantastic summer at YMCA day camp. Meanwhile, Nicholas is packing up for a week at Camp Julian, shared by the Episcopal dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego. His lists of supplies and rules--except for the ropes course available to the teenagers and the ban on IPODs and cell phones--bring back memories of my own happy times weeks at Y camp Ta Ta Pochon, funded by selling countless cases of butter toffee peanuts. So, in celebration of summer, please share your own memories and preferences about camp.

1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
Starting at age 9, I went away to camp in the Blue Ridge Mtns, just down the road from Presby Mecca, at a place called Merri-Mac. It was for a whole month, and I didn't even write to my mom once the entire time I was there. One summer I did Girl Scout camp (Kateri) instead, but I liked Merri-Mac better. At that point Merri-Mac was all girl with the boys at a brother camp across town. According to the website, it's now a boys' and a girls' camp on the same site.

2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
nice for a few days, as long as either a) it doesn't rain or b) the tent is actually still waterproof.

3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
I went to a Presby camp when I was 6 -- as a Jr counselor. OK. Mom was a counselor and I was a tag-along. I did do canoe camp as a camper and a counselor. It was based out of the local church.

4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
Creation Fest 1989. I went as a counselor with a youth group. I'm not sure whether Ground level or the water table won the race. I gave up on shoes, because the knee-deep mud kept sucking them off. We put 9 bales of straw on our campsite and the water oozed up through, but at least it kept you out of the mud. Many of the girls slept on the bus, tent pegs wouldn't stick in the ground. When we got back to the church the sexton looked at the bus and then just hosed it out. (this was before they added the back area, the front loop was the only camping area). I believe it was Steven Curtis Chapman that made the crack about creation -- or primordial ooze?
Most dramatic, however, was, during yet another afternoon downpour, watching a small dome tent go floating down the road.

5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
In chapel at MerriMac I learned a version of Psalm 121 that I still sing. We did a lot of singing. as a matter of fact, I think I still have a song book from the camp (that I purchased, thank you very much).

Today I weep

2008-06-28T13:22:00.006-04:00

Today I weep most for the children we have betrayed, those who will not know the power of the grace of Christ to overcome in their lives because we have chosen to tell them they don't need it. How can they hear without someone preaching to them?

Today I weep for those who have abdicated their responsibilities as teachers and guides and have chosen to let the sheep find their own path, one not of the shepherd's making. Yet we have chosen not just to remain silent, but to affirm error as truth. I weep for them, for we know the teachers will be judged more strictly.

Today I weep for those who choose the wisdom of the world over the revelation of God, who are driven by their own desires instead of the Word of God, who place sexual satisfaction over obedience, and chose instead to listen to what tickles their ears.

Today I weep.

Tomorrow I will once again resume my post as watchman, commanded to proclaim what I see, regardless of the consequences.

but I continue to weep, and to pray.

Taking in the View Friday Five

2008-06-06T17:27:00.003-04:00

Sally at RevGalBlogPals asks:
This week I took some time out to stop and walk and take in the view; my son Chris is studying in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, too often we simply drive up there, turn around and come home! This time Tim and I took time out to take in the view. It occurs to me that we need to do that more in life....

With that in mind I offer you this weeks Friday Five:

1. How important is the "big picture" to you, do you need a glimpse of the possibilities or are you a details person?

I am a big picture person. I see the patterns sometimes to the exclusion of the details.

2. If the big picture is important to you how do you hold onto it in the nitty gritty details of life?

what details? Oh, I've already put them in a mosaic. Nice picture, don't you think? the shadows help bring out the bright bits.

3. Name a book, poem, psalm, piece of music that transports you to another dimension (one....what am I thinking....)
I read a lot of Science fiction -- you know: good guys, bad guys, and the good guys win even if it does take the whole trilogy or quadrilogy.

4.Thinking of physical views, is there somewhere that inspires you, somewhere that you breathe more easily?

see below. And I get to go after CPE, before ordination exams and before classes start back!!!

5. A picture opportunity... post one if you can ( or a link to one!)

It's Friday

2008-05-30T10:42:00.006-04:00

OK. I'm a sad fringe player/lurker, and nobody tagged me. But I didn't like todays RGBP Friday five so I chose a meme instead.

Ten years ago:
1998. I was working as a Software Engineer at my worst. ever. job. I stayed at the job because we had a house being built, the mortgage was approved, and they don't like it if you move jobs in the middle of that. I was working for a big name "firm" that was ALL SHARK. I am not. I hated going to work everyday. As soon as the house closed, I changed jobs to a place I stayed for 6 years.

Five things on today's "to do" list:
1. Pre-reading for CPE
2. Pay Bills
3. Go explore local park with walking trails
4. Work on sermon for next week (not preaching this week, and I'm still pretty slow)
5. Laundry

Three bad habits:
1. Stress eating
2. Procrastination
3. Piles. On my desk, on the floor. But they are organized piles (until the cat gets to them!)

Five places I've lived:
1. Alexandria, VA
2. Tampa, FL
3. Belleville, IL
4. York County, VA
5. Gaithersburg, MD

Things I'd do if I were a billionaire:
Pay to have my house cleaned.
I'd start a foundation to protect the money and make it last longer and work harder. I'd love to be the Klingenshoen foundation* to an area left behind by progress.

Five jobs I've had:
1. Busch Gardens games hostess
2. Bank front area (new accounts, switchboard, etc)
3. Framing shop
4. Programmer
5. Software consultant

*fictional foundation in Lilian Jackson Braun's "Cat who ..." novels

Holiday Friday Five

2008-05-23T16:31:00.006-04:00

Sally challenges us: It is a holiday weekend here in the UK, and the weather forecast for much of the country is not good!!! But we can still dream and so with that in mind I bring you this Friday Five.
Well, it's a holiday weekend here too, except that final papers are due Tuesday. So, as beautiful as it is, I took an exam this morning and afternoon and will spend the gorgeous weekend writing about my theology of preaching!

1. Getting ready for summer, do you use the gradual tanning moisturisers ( yes gentlemen you too can answer this!!!), or are you happy to show your winter skin to the world?
I am ghastly white and, well, there just anything much to do about it. I'm at an age when I don't show that much skin anyway.

2.Beach, mountains or chilling by the pool, what/ where is your favourite getaway?
Mountains or river. See my blog picture! and this one my husband took of a visiting friend.

3.Are you a summer lover or does the long break become wearing?
What break? I got my ID badge for the CPE hospital this afternoon.

4.Active holidays; hiking swimming sailing, or lazy days?
what I can fit of both, but leaning toward reading on the back porch.

5.Now to the important subject of food, if you are abroad do you try the local cuisine, or do you prefer to play it safe?
Ahhh, this is where the spoiled middle class child comes out. Local cuisine only if I recognize it! nothing really funky. And with celiac, it's even more fun. Either Wheat, rye or barley is common in almost any diet that meets the first criteria.

No bonus this week unless you can think one up!!!

I am alive....

2008-05-17T17:09:00.004-04:00

I'm in the midst of end of term fun, so there' s even less blogging than normal.

However, I did find a lovely reason to say that I blog anonymously:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Now this was with my real name, not Althea N Agape which the more astute of you have figured out is "truth n love". (Hey, I was taking summer intensive Greek when I had to name the blog)

I just want to know if that 0 is supposed to include me?!?!

well, almost 1300 exist with my maiden name, so I guess it's my husband's fault that I don't exist in the US.

Wait and Pray -- Friday Five

2008-05-02T10:33:00.003-04:00

Sally writes: Part of the Ascension Day Scripture from Acts 11 contains this promise from Jesus;

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Then he was taken from their sight into the clouds, two angels appeared and instructed the probably bewildered disciples to go back to Jerusalem, where they began to wait and to pray for the gift Jesus had promised.

Prayer is a joy to some of us, and a chore to others, waiting likewise can be filled with anticipation or anxiety....

So how do you wait and pray?

1. How do you pray best, alone or with others?
Alone. Although I participate in a weekly prayer group, alone is better for this introvert.

2. Do you enjoy the discipline of waiting, is it a time of anticipation or anxiety?
I can deal with waiting. I wouldn't say it was a joy, but it isn't anxiety. "I have learned to be content..."

3. Is there a time when you have waited upon God for a specific promise?
yes. And sometimes He says "no". Sometimes He just says "later".

4. Do you prefer stillness or action?
Stillness, I may be lazy.

5. If ( and this is slightly tongue in cheek) you were promised one gift spiritual or otherwise what would you choose to receive?
Discernment so when someone does something stupid, or mean, or out of the blue, I could know what the daylights they were thinking when they did it and how to most appropriately deal with this oddity. Rebuke, ignore, hug? sometimes it just really isn't clear.

and, to Answer GannetGirl's additional question: My favorite book on prayer would have to be Brother Lawrence, Practicing the Presence of God.

Modern Friday Five

2008-04-25T08:58:00.003-04:00

In today's Friday Five, Singing Owl writes: Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.

As for the questions!

1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live without?
The interesting thing about this is what we consider "modern". So, I'll go with things mainstreamed in my lifetime. (So I won't answer "washing machine" here!) Computer. I couldn't do all these papers for seminary with a typewriter! and Logos is my salvation for exegesis.

2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day? Why?
Cell phone. Because it makes people think we should be available to them 24x7.

3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If so, do you use it (them)?
I do own a boom box with CD and cassette, and there's a cassette player in my car. yes, I still use them, although the cassettes are dying. And of, course, I still listen to radio.
My husband on the other hand, still owns a turntable and reel to reel (he had two R2Rs when we married, He got rid of one, the other is in storage in the garage...at least until I find it and sell it on ebay!)

4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something else?
I don't find it either, it just is. I don't always keep up., but I'm not afraid or intimidated, just can't be bothered with the stuff I don't see as useful.

5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain? Bonus points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process.
conversation times without the TV or interruptions. Time sitting out on the back porch with friends in actual communion. Maybe I'll invite someone over. Next week of course, there's too much to do tonight!

Moving out!

2008-04-11T09:43:00.004-04:00

Mother Laura writes:
We are right in the middle of a move--only twenty minutes away, but we're still a mix of busy, excited, nervous and surprisingly full of grief about what we're leaving, for me at least. So this week's Friday Five asks about your experience of the marvels and madness of moving...

1. How many times have you moved? When was the last time?
as a child (that I remember) 1. at least 3 before my awareness (from Dad's undergraduate in GA, to graduate school in FL, and to home of ancestors in small town)
I moved to boarding school, then to college (with something like 7 moves to dorm/summer apt in college; but then, in those days I didn't own much).
As an adult, OK post college anyway, I have moved 9 times (not counting 3 or 4 temporary living quarters during said moves). I have owned 5 houses.
The most recent of course was to come to seminary.

2. What do you love and hate about moving?
Love -- very little. Maybe the persistent hope that THIS time I will be organized.
Hate -- fighting with DH about why more stuff can't just go away (really, we don't own a turntable, do we need 4 boxes of LPs?). Not being able to find ANYTHING, in the recent move, downsizing house by half, stuff by a smidgen, tripping over boxes and having boxes in the way 2 years later and NOT PARKING IN THE GARAGE because of all the junk that's in there AAAARGHHH!!!

3. Do you do it yourself or hire movers?
We hired movers, my company paid for movers for previous moves. Wouldn't want to do without, but we may because we need to divest and it's too easy just to let someone pack it all up without really going through it.

4. Advice for surviving and thriving during a move?
We have a small RV, so the kitties go in there. They don't like it, but it's less bad than being in the house for the actual move. other than that, no. It's a survive thing for me.

5. Are you in the middle of any inner moves, if not outer ones?
just seminary.... that's enough! Although CPE starts right after memorial day.

Presbyterian Meme

2008-04-06T17:18:00.005-04:00

I was tagged by a non-blogger, but commenter, to do the presbyblog thing... The rules are pretty basic

In about 25 words each, answer the following five questions:

1. What is your earliest memory of being distinctly Presbyterian?
My earliest memory would be as a child trying to spell Presbyterian on something and thinking that Methodist or Baptist would be a lot easier!

2. On what issue/question should the PC(USA) spend LESS energy and time?
How to control one another, mislead one another, and get our individual ways.

3. On what issue/question should the PC(USA) spend MORE energy and time?
How can we be Christ in the world? and prerequisite: what does it MEAN to be Christ in the world?

4. If you could have the PC(USA) focus on one passage of scripture for a entire year,
Josh 22:5 "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."

or 2 tim 2: "22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

5. If the PC(USA) were an animal what would it be and why?
platypus.

Extra Credit: Jesus shows up at General Assembly this year, what does he say to the Presbyterian Church (USA)?
OK. Let me explain this again, since you've botched it so thoroughly: It's not about you and it's not about the buildings. Go feed my sheep and keep my commandments.

Most presbys I know on-line have done this, so... If you are reading this and you wish to be tagged - consider yourself so tagged.

Kitty Friday Five

2008-02-29T10:04:00.007-05:00

We want to play too! because we leap much better than that silly two-legged who-man-bean.

It's Leap Day!! Whether you're one of the special few who have a birthday only once every four years, or simply confused by the extra day on the calendar, everyone is welcome to join in and play our Leap Year Friday Five.

Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked
Yesterday. I leapt up onto the chair and the who-man male had put newspapers on there. What are newspapers doing in MY chair? so I sent them all onto the floor and out of MY chair.

2. Leapt to a conclusion
This isn't a kitty weakness. We already know everything.

3. Took a Leap of Faith
Jumping on top of the big shelves that hold the moving picture box. I had to use the claws to get a bit of purchase, but I got up there, near the ceiling and I can watch everything! -- Delenn (Padme can't get me up there!)

4. Took a literal Leap
Daily. This is one of the joys of kittydom. what a silly question.

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?
On beds, on shelves, on counters when the 2leggers aren't watching, there are just so many options, I need to nap just thinking about them. Oh, and definitely on Mommy's desk, preferably in such a way as to send all the books and papers flying!

Delenn and Padme

Leap Day Friday Five

2008-02-29T09:10:00.002-05:00

Songbird and Will Smama invite us to contemplate that day that comes only once every four years.

It's Leap Day!! Whether you're one of the special few who have a birthday only once every four years, or simply confused by the extra day on the calendar, everyone is welcome to join in and play our Leap Year Friday Five.

Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked
This is not something I do often, or on anything major. I'm a bit more deliberate. But since there aren't any coming to mind, I'm guessing they either weren't too traumatic -- or they were so traumatic I've blocked them...

2. Leapt to a conclusion
ummm, on the advise of my attorney, I'd like to invoke my fifth amendment rights...

3. Took a Leap of Faith
Well, that would be quitting my job, selling my house and coming to seminary. We're still mid-leap; but so far, so good.

4. Took a literal Leap
I grew up near swimming rivers, and we had a church canoe camp that would canoe various rivers in the area. We'd stop at several places where there was a rope tied to a tree on a high riverbank, and you could grab the rope, swing out over the river and drop. It's not quite a leap, but darn close. and it is definitely a bit of faith. An actual leap would be the time I climbed onto the railroad trestle with a friend who was planning to jump in, I was planning to climb down -- but then the train came. I leapt from the trestle into the river.

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?
Candidacy, CPE, Ordination exams... Hopefully they will all be glorious leaps with no faceplants.

The Kingdom of God

2008-02-06T09:56:00.000-05:00

What is the Kingdom of God?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as The Kingdom is mystical communion

The Kingdom is mostly mystical communion. You place a strong emphasis on continuity with those who have gone before you in the faith, and you might see the Kingdom of God as primarily a matter of spirituality.

The Kingdom as a counter-system

100%

The Kingdom is mystical communion

100%

The Kingdom is a Future Hope

92%

Kingdom as a Christianised Society

83%

Inner spiritual experience

58%

The Kingdom as Earthly Utopia

58%

The Kingdom as a political state

42%

The Kingdom as Institutional Church

33%

My interesting life

2008-01-28T08:43:00.000-05:00

my life related to blogging, and the cats' unfortunate result.

(thanks to Pat Brady, picture is on Comics.com)

Snowy Friday five

2008-01-25T14:05:00.000-05:00

in between system crashes, Singing Owl asks us:

Brrrr! Baby, it’s COLD outside! At least that is the case where I am this morning. We are in a January deep freeze. Have a cup of hot tea and tackle five easy seasonal questions.
I have my Jasmine Green tea and here it goes....

1. What is the thermometer reading at your house this morning?
17F at 2:00 pm

2. Snow—love it or hate it?
Love it if I don't have to be somewhere. I remember a friend's slumber party in Feb where we stayed up till 3 and one of the girls' mother called when she got up at 5 to tell us that there was snow outside, so we all got dressed and ran out -- there was enough an a couple of cars to make 1 or 2 snowballs. It was exciting. It's not that exciting anymore. We also used to do road trips in high school where we'd load up the kids on the church bus and drive north until we found snow. (it required an overnight stay, so I'm guessing the parents were doing more planning than we knew.)

3. What is winter like where you are?
Pot holes. It's cold, the snow comes and goes. the roads are old.

4. Do you like winter sports? Any good stories?
Is sitting by a the fire a sport? I used to ski a little, but I was never any good.

5. What is your favorite season, and why?
Spring -- the hope and renewal implicit in the new foliage and all, of course, the riot of colorful flowers. Fall -- the beautiful, flaming colors. both of these because they're neither too hot nor too cold. I'm becoming a wimp in my old age. I lived a bit in an area that went from frozen to sweltering in "spring" and from sweltering to icy in "fall" I hated it.

A life worthy of the calling

2008-01-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

(Isa 49:1-7 and Eph 4:1-16)

Did you ever play a recreational team sport where the teams are selected by captains? Remember how exhilarating it felt to be called first? Or do you remember fantasizing about how great it would be to be called first?

We are called

This morning’s passage in Isaiah tells us:

“Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.”

And it goes on:

“the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Psalm 139 takes it even further:

“you knit me together in my mother’s womb … All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Now THAT is being called first. Before we were born, before we did anything to earn it, God called us for His team. The God of the universe, the Holy One of Israel, has made mention of your name, He knows you, He chose you. He knows everything about you, and he loves you anyway. If you really stop to think about that, instead of just taking it for granted as something we say in church, it really blows the mind. Listen again: The God of the universe, the Holy One of Israel, has made mention of your name, He knows you, He Chose you. He knows everything about you, and he loves you anyway.

Last week as we celebrated the baptism of Jesus, we remembered our own baptisms. Real Minister spoke of how the water marks us members of God’s family. This week I want to look at what that means in how we live our lives, or as Paul puts it in Ephesians, as we “lead a life worthy of the calling”.

To be a team

To fulfill our calling, we need to first understand what the Bible says about WHY we are called. I hate to burst any bubbles, but we weren’t called so that we would have wealth, or power, or even so that our lives would be easy. Instead, Isaiah tells us we were called to be God’s servants.

Earlier in his letter, before the passage we read, Paul has told the Ephesians the same good news we just heard when he said ^“it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” But he goes on in that same paragraph to say “we are .. created … to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So we are chosen totally by God’s grace, but he did chose us to DO something.

Now I can’t sit here and tell you exactly what God has called YOU to do, because I don’t know. There are certain types of behavior we are all told to exhibit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control), but as for the actual works God has planned for you, you’ll have to ask God. But I can tell you that the answer is NOT the same for everyone. It’s not even the same for everyone here. The Ephesians passage tells us that we were each given grace and gifts to “equip us for ministry” and goes on to list a few, even more are listed in Corinthians. However, there are whole sermon series or multi-week Sunday school lessons on discerning your spiritual gifts: Don’t worry, I won’t try to cover it all now. I’d rather look at a different aspect: Teamwork. Paul speaks in this passage of building up the body of Christ and growing into the head which is Christ. In other words: We are to be the body of Christ. Arms reaching out, mouths proclaiming his love, those are the attractive things. But every body also has the less appealing functions: the spinal cord that carries messages throughout the body; the ligaments that hold things together, the bones that give us structure: without these things the body could not function.

Lets go back to that team for a minute: When we put together a team, we chose different skills for different positions. What kind of a team would have all goalies, all quarterbacks, or all receivers; certainly not a very good one! Even if everyone on the team could throw better than , we’d never win without receivers and blockers. There have to be those players whose job it is to facilitate the heroes (and there are a lot more of them than the heroes!)

Paul tells us that “each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift … to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”. Everything we need is here—if we can get the parts working together.

But God didn’t say it was easy

Now Paul was not unwise to the ways of the world. He knew that folks don’t always get along. That’s why he spends so much time telling us HOW. Let’s take a look at Paul’s Rules for spiritual unity:

1. First HUMILITY. Humility is the opposite of pride. Now I don ‘t mean “pride in a job done well” which is really gratification. Humility is the opposite of smugness or arrogance. In Philippians, Paul tells us to “in humility, consider others better than yourselves.” I saw a T-shirt the other day that says “Jesus loves you, but I’m His favorite.” That is NOT humility. We should NEVER think of ourselves as better than any of God’s other children.

2. We are also to handle one another with GENTLENESS. That is not a common trait in the public arena today. When someone cuts you off on the highway, would you characterize your response as “gentleness”?

3. With PATIENCE. Not of us reach the same conclusions at the same time. Some just move more slowly. Some of us need to try things to find out they won’t work. We tend to think of patience as waiting passively. The Greek is actually “long-fused”, contrast that with “short-fused”! the King James translated it better as: “long-suffering”.

4. in LOVE. The word here is not brotherly love or affectionate love. Its Agape love – The kind that comes from God; the kind we can’t manage on our own. An undeserved, sometimes even unreciprocated love. This kind of love is not a just a feeling, it is a decision to act for the true best interest of the other party.

5. making EVERY EFFORT to maintain the unity of the Spirit – This is an ongoing activity: It’s a present participle, not a past tense verb. This isn’t something you do once. It’s a decision you have to make everyday, every encounter, and every conflict.

These rules are simple, but they are not easy. Paul says “we must no longer be tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming”. These principles are not intended to make us into doormats who put up with everything. We’re supposed to be mature in our faith, but humble, gentle, patient and loving with one another. We have a goal: to serve God, to grow into our roles. As Paul says “speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, [That’s us!] as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” If we can pull this off, we could make a radical change in our relationships!

Closing

Paul tells us that “each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift … to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”. I believe that within each community: each church, each presbytery, each synod – God provides the grace, the gifts, that are needed within that community to accomplish God’s purposes. But it’s up to us to make use of them and function as a body. God allows us to make the decision to sit quietly and let our gifts atrophy. He also allows us to argue and bicker instead of being one body. But it breaks his heart.

As we start a new year and as we ordain and install new elders at the congregational meeting next week, take some time to reflect on your role in this body. Ask yourself: Am I contributing as I have been gifted? But also ask: Am I making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? Am I helping and building up my partners in the ministry we call country church Presbyterian? Beyond that, Am I leading a life worthy of my calling?

Let us pray:

Lord open our hearts and minds to the possibilities you have in store for us. Give us grace, compassion, humility and gentleness in our dealings with one another, building us in to a fit body worthy of your headship. Amen.

Mreow

2008-01-18T09:47:00.001-05:00

You Would Be a Pet Cat

Independent and aloof, you don't like to be dependent on anyone.
And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don't care.
You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands.

Why you would make a great pet: You're not needy or greedy... unlike other four legged friends.

Why you would make a bad pet: You're not exactly running down to greet people at the door

What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom

What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

Padme and Delenn are so proud of me!

Friday Five: Books

2008-01-18T08:55:00.000-05:00

REVHROD says: Well, pish posh! I think that some books ARE better than others! How about you?

What book have you read in the last six months that has really stayed with you? Why?
Well, all reading at this point is for school. Going back to seminary and having the presbyopia kick in at the same time is a challenge!
That said, "Pastoral Theology" by Thomas Oden has been remarkable, he deals with pastoral care from a theological point of view but is clearly written and easy to understand.
Going back a little further (more like 8 months), "Holiness" by John Webster. This one is one to chew on. It goes into the theology of theology, and the holiness of God, the church and the Christian. This was a MUCH better book than what we used in systematic theology.

What is one of your favorite childhood books?
Brighty of the Grand Canyon, probably because I remember Mom reading it to us.

Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? Do tell!
The one I've studied most recently.... So Ezekiel at the moment. I love the fact that when the time was come for Ezekiel to begin service to God in the temple, but he couldn't get there, God came to him. Extravagantly.

What is one book you could read again and again?
I am not a big re-reader. never have been. But I think I'd like to go back and reread Anne McCaffery's Pern novels. I read those in college many years ago. Maybe this summer as I decompress evenings after CPE.

Is there a book you would suggest for Lenten reading? What is it and why?
Perhaps the Holiness book mentioned above. It helps to recenter our thinking about all of life on God.

And because we all love bonus questions, if you were going to publish a book what would it be? Who would you want to write the jacket cover blurb expounding on your talent?
I have enough trouble writing all these papers. I'm not sure that I have enough compost to write a WHOLE book. last paper, had 3 pages of data had to stretch to 5. I'm way to terse to write a book.

Plans

2008-01-12T10:38:00.000-05:00

At two weeks post-op I'm finding out what I can and cannot do yet. Classes are draining. I mean, you don't do anything but sit there, How can I be so tired? I'm not even driving to and fro, I have drafted DH for that.

Now I have to set a schedule for next term. Will I have recovered energy? will I be able to do 10 hour days? And CPE this summer, is it worth finishing the essays? I won't submit them until after the Dr's appointment because I haven't gotten the pathology report back from surgery. I might have other things on my mind this summer. But I have to turn in my course registration BEFORE the Dr, because I need to get into the right practicum sections. I don't even know what course load I'll be able to handle, but I have to register.

stepping on faith. God brought me here for a reason. I've made it through half of the program. I have to believe he wants me to finish.

Deep breaths and focus on the paper due Tuesday. Ignore the laundry that I'm not allowed to touch and the dishwasher that needs unloading -- off limits. but the catbox I might have to break the rules for. I don't think that can wait till DH gets home. Delenn and Padme deserve better.

Focus.
yeah, right.
Scrabulous anyone?

silliness and amusement

2008-01-04T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Recipe For Althea

3 parts Humor
2 parts Warmth
1 part Mischief

Splash of Flirtation

Shake vigorously

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

and perhaps a bit true?

New Year's Friday Five

2008-01-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

Sally at RevGalBlogPals writes: Well it had to be didn't it, love them or hate them I bet you've been asked about New Year resolutions. So with no more fuss here is this weeks Friday Five;

1. Do you make New Year resolutions?
no. Although I make resolutions throughout the year as the spirit leads (read: Hits me up side the head) I don't go for the artificial imposition of the calendar year as a time frame.

2. Is this something you take seriously, or is it a bit of fun?
New year's: non sequiter
Spirit with 2x4: very seriously

3. Share one goal for 2008.
gain candidacy status -- lots of essays and long drives with examinations. (while continuing studies and doing CPE)
I also want to reestablish my health. This year has been rough, surgery last week hopefully resolved most of it, but I want to not have to spend half (or more) of my energy on what ought to be normal.

4. Money is no barrier, share one wild/ impossible dream for 2008
a time of solitude, rest, peace and recuperation at the river (requires airfare and time)

5. Someone wants to publish a story of your year in 2008, what will the title of that book be?
A middle aged woman [finally] answers God's call: The journey continues

2007-12-25T13:14:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Friday Five -- Preparation

2007-12-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Sally writes: This has been a difficult week for me, the death of a little six year old has overshadowed our advent preparations, and made many of us here in Downham Market look differently at Christmas. With that in mind I ask whether you are the kind of person that likes everything prepared well in advance, are you a last minute crammer, or a bit of a mixture.....

Here then is this weeks Friday 5:

1. You have a busy week, pushing out all time for preparing worship/ Sunday School lessons/ being ready for an important meeting ( or whatever equivalent your profession demands)- how do you cope?
Scrabulous! no (OK, sometimes). I tend to outline what needs to be done -- then fill in as time permits. That way I can jot notes into appropriate sections as time permits and I can wing what I have to if I run out of time at the end. The things that have to be done (bulletin or agenda or handouts) I do before deadline, but only after I have enough data from the other prep.

2. You have unexpected visitors, and need to provide them with a meal- what do you do?
Pile them into the car. There may or may not be something in my frig/freezer but I doubt they want Mrs Leepers (Gluten free hamburger helper) which is my basic fall-back dinner. (Hey, at least I add frozen green beans to soak up some of the salt.)

Three discussion topics:
3. Thinking along the lines of this week's advent theme; repentance is an important but often neglected aspect of advent preparations.....
no. I want a sterile manger and Mary with perfect hair and baby that doesn't cry or need changing and... OK. Reality. My metaphorical house needs cleaning before the advent guests show up. But that's an unpleasant though with all the holly and candy canes and presents.
I think repentence and preparation are crucial, but so frequently overlooked because we ditch Advent for Christmas too quickly. Some of us even change the purple to blue so it's even less like Lent when it ought to be more like it. In many ways I can even see the whole clean up and prepare for the incarnation more than the preparation for Holy Week.

4. Some of the best experiences in life occur when you simply go with the flow.....
I am with you here. I have often heard the quote "to make God laugh, tell Him your plans" There was a wonderful seen in Evan Almighty where Evan is laying out his life plans to change the world and Morgan Freeman (God) just starts laughing. I could never have dreamed where He would take me. so, quit kicking and enjoy!

5. Details are everything, attention to the small things enables a plan to roll forward smoothly...
This is NOT generally my strong suit. I tend toward the big picture, ask certain people to handle their parts and expect it to happen. I do no micro manage and I resent people who make me do it. I know, I need to get over it. But I'd rather something not be perfect than to do everyone else's job. (That said, I do have mitigation plans for the critical elements).

Bonus if you dare- how well prepared are you for Christmas this year?
Christmas? Well... I've had a few other things on my mind, but the tests have just come back negative. So now I can think about maybe putting up the tree. But sometimes all I can think about is all the work of taking it back down again. Does that make me a Scrooge? I haven't even pulled out the advent wreath this year. And I had the nerve to preach on being ready last week!

Are you ready?

2007-12-01T19:21:00.000-05:00

In a sentence: As we prepare our homes for the coming of the Christ Child, let’s remember Christ the King who is to come and prepare our lives for him.

Well, here we are, the first Sunday in Advent. Many people will have out of town guests coming to stay, others will just have local guests stopping by. Are you ready? Is the frig stocked? House tidied, dusted and vacuumed – plenty of clean sheets and towels? Then there’s the hustle and bustle of the shopping, the decorating, the baking… so much to do before they get here… the wrapping, did we forget uncle George’s gift? They’ll be here tomorrow… have we gotten the cat hair off the guest bed? I thought YOU were buying his favorite soda. AAAARGH. Welcome to the Season of Peace.

Our society -- the endless advertising and store decorations (which have been up since before Halloween) are designed to make you buy, Buy, BUY! That is what Christmas is all about, right? It’s my job to answer that with a resounding NO!

As a matter of fact, if you want to get picky (and I do), it’s not even Christmas time. It’s Advent. Christmas time is historically the time between Christmas day and epiphany – The 12 days between the church celebration of the birth and the celebration of the arrival of the wise men. That was the time for gift-giving and parties. Advent is about contemplation, preparation, examining ourselves and our lives to see if we’re ready to receive the Lord of the Universe who is also our savior. But…it’s hard to market that.

But it is what I’m going to challenge you to do today, to look at advent as a time of preparation. We lit a candle today to remind us of the waiting. but, Today is only the first Sunday in advent. We’re not at Christmas yet – there are 4 more candles in that wreath. We have begun to look forward to the celebration of the incarnation of Christ, but for Christians, Advent is also tied to the expectation of Christ’s second coming. As a matter of fact the passage we read today is about the return of Christ.

In the Christian Calendar, we celebrate the two together – the time leading up to the celebration of the incarnation – Christmas, is also the time of deliberate reflection and preparation for the second coming. 2000 years ago. Christ came as Jesus of Nazareth; one day, Christ will come in glory. The passage challenges us: Are we ready? not just for the little baby safely ensconced in the manger, but also for the King of kings? In order to answer that question we have to ask another -- What does it mean to be ready? I propose that we need to prepare our lives, our hearts, and our souls.

Lives lived in readiness:
The people in this morning’s Gospel reading were going about their everyday lives: farming, cooking, marrying and giving in marriage (which implies generations) when suddenly it happened: “two [were] in the field; one [was] taken and one [was] left”. So we’re not expected to stop our daily living. But there ought to be something different about us. What is a life lived in readiness?

The epistle reading for today gives us more information: Romans 13:11-14 says:
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
We are to live our lives in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our lives are like our houses. All too often life just overwhelms us and the dust and “works of darkness” creep into the corners. In preparation for the coming of Christ, our lives should be swept clean. We can even add the ornamentation of Christ-like behaviors. Now, something out of place in a clean house stands out, just as a bit of sin stands out in an upright life; However, if we don’t keep things cleaned up, it’s far too easy to miss when they start piling up. What’s one more bit of clutter? One more time succumbing to temptation?

Now on a normal, day to day basis, many of us keep our lives like we (well, like I) keep house. We keep the front room clean and tidy and presentable, but don’t dare let anyone look in the junk room! Or under the beds, or in the hall closet -- that’s where I hide all my secret messes! WAKE UP! THE DAY IS NEAR! As Paul said, live honorably as if Christ were coming any minute!

Heart of Anticipation
Over the past several weeks, Martha was awaiting George's return home from Iraq – first to the States, then to Smalltown. She wasn’t sure when he would come. She finally have a date for his return to the States, but for a few weeks she was in constant anticipation of the phone call saying he was here, or even for him to walk in the door. Martha had a heart of anticipation. (For those who don’t know, George was here last week.)

We should all feel like Martha, or like parents anticipating the birth or adoption of a baby – you can’t contain them. Especially for adoptive parents, it’s very much like the church, you don’t know when it will happen. We want it to happen and we’re ready at any moment, but, especially with overseas adoption, it could be months or years. Like this morning’s scripture tells us: no one knows when except the Father.

But if our lives aren’t ready, if we’re too caught up in the things about us, we can’t really be sure we want him to come. Just like those houseguests. If we have soccer games, and business meetings and the house isn’t in order, we’re not REALLY sure we want them to come. On the other hand, when the house is ready, we’re happy to see guests. When are lives are ready, we can joyfully anticipate Christ’s return because there is nothing to stand between us and God. So, if you’re caught in the nightmare of December busy-ness, WAKE UP! for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Soul of Peace
Finally, We know the peace of the holiday season comes when all the chores are done, the house is ready, and you can welcome your guests in the peace of knowing that all is ready and in order. The Soul of Peace comes from prioritizing the things of Christ, NOT the things of this world. As we’re told in Philippians 4:
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
I don’t know about what you’ve seen, but what I’ve seen at the mall is NOT what is noble, pure, lovely, or admirable. WAKE UP! December mall madness is hustle and bustle, Jesus is peace.

Conclusion:
We need to slow down and wait. There are 4 more candles before Christmas. This is Advent, a time of preparation, a time to examine our lives and prepare for the return of the King. The season is not about being so busy we that can’t hear the baby crying for us.

I challenge you to take time this advent to examine your life: where do you need some house cleaning or a thorough remodel? Do you live a life that’s ready, a heart filled with anticipation for Christ’s return, and soul full of God’s peace?

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Are you ready?

Friday Five, pre-advent edition

2007-11-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

Will Smama asks us:
Parishioners pushing for carols before you digested your turkey?
Organist refusing to play Advent hymns because he/she already has them planned for Lessons & Carols?
Find yourself reading Luke and thinking of a variety of ways to tell Linus where to stick it? (Lights please.)

Then this quick and easy Friday Five is for you! And for those of you with a more positive attitude, have no fear. I am sure more sacred and reverent Friday Fives will follow.
Please tell us your least favorite/most annoying seasonal....
1) dessert/cookie/family food
candy canes. Does anybody really eat all those things or do they all just end up slimy victims of humidity all over the place? OK, maybe 1 a season, but those things are like coat hangers, they just keep multiplying....

2) beverage (seasonal beer, eggnog w/ way too much egg and not enough nog, etc...)
I never did understand eggnog. YUCK!

3) tradition (church, family, other)
my previous church's (music director's) penchant for cantatas that were nothing but the classics done to new new music. Do the old songs or do new ones, but don't do the classic songs to lousy new music.

4) decoration
I just saw Santa bungee strapped to someone's chimney. That about does it.

5) gift (received or given)
anything from the step mother. They pretty much go straight to the shelter.

BONUS: SONG/CD that makes you want to tell the elves where to stick it.
DH has satellite radio and listens to the Christmas alternative channel. ANYTHING from there, definitely.

I know, I know.... pretty grumpy for November but why not get it out of our systems now so we are free to enjoy the rest of the festivities.
OK, I vented, now back to my sermon with "breathless anticipation"

2007-11-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

Ah, the day after Thanksgiving--groan! Fortunately, I love Thanksgiving leftovers.Thanksgiving is the American holiday when the greatest number of people travel somewhere else to celebrate. Singing Owl was posting this from her son’s home in Minnesota where they were recovering from the food shopping and the preparations and the meal and the clean up. She says it is difficult to think of anything requiring much energy today, and is enjoying her sweet baby granddaughter, so she kept it simple.

1. Did you go elsewhere for the day, or did you have visitors at your place instead? How was it?
We stayed home, just DH and myself. It was quiet.

2. Main course: If it was the turkey, the whole turkey, and nothing but the turkey, was it prepared in an unusual way? Or did you throw tradition to the winds and do something different?
It was the turkey -- an Amish one, so no added ickiness (or gluten) in the meat. But ours was quadriplegic. With just the two of us, the breast was enough. It was roasted in a traditional manner stuffed with apple and celery for flavor, the stuffing is on the side (still haven't gotten the gluten-free stuffing right). But I tried apples and walnuts in my cranberry sauce this year. That was a big success. It also means I'll probably eat the rest rather than having it go to waste. Pumpkin pie with a (gluten-free) gingersnap crust was great!

3. Other than the meal, do you have any Thanksgiving customs that you observe every year?
no. When I was little it was off to my great aunt's to see my great-grandmother;'s extended family and all the second cousins. These days we're boring.

4. The day after Thanksgiving is considered a major Christmas shopping day by most US retailers. Do you go out bargain hunting and shop ‘till you drop, or do you stay indoors with the blinds closed? Or something in between?
shopping requires money. besides, it's snowing here. Although Target on-line is offering free shipping on toys for all the nieces and nephews. hmmmmm. I think I'll stay home and work on candidacy essays.

5. Let the HOLIDAY SEASON commence! When will your Christmas decorations go up?
See previous note about SNOW. Besides, I won't let DH turn them on until it's actually advent. It's my way of showing a little sanity in this perversion that has become more Commerce day than Christmas. The decorations will probably go up mid-week when it's dry and less cold.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

2007-11-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8, NRSV)

Friends, it's nearly Thanksgiving in the U.S. and it's the time of year when we are pressed to name things for which we are thankful. Songbird challenges us to offer a twist on the usual lists and use Paul's letter to the church at Philippi as a model.

Name five things that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent or worthy of praise. These could be people, organizations, acts, ideas, works of art, pieces of music--whatever comes to mind for you.

1. The Ichetucknee river -- the bestest and most pleasant place on this earth (IMHO)

2. Worship, especially singing, especially unmessed-up classic hymns.

3. The folks who work in the service industry, especially the thankless jobs that we take for granted but rely on. The folks who do those things that can make day good or bad for all the rest of us.
4. Chocolate -- 'nuff said
5. My kitties and their little warm bodies on cold nights.

2007-11-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

Eucharistic Theology

You scored as a Calvin

You are John Calvin. You seek to be faithful to Scripture, and to harmonize difficult sayings. You believe that in the Lord's Supper those who have faith are united to Christ, who is present spiritually, yet in a real way.

Calvin --------------------------------100%
Orthodox ---------------------------- 75%
Luther ------------------------------- 63%
Zwingli ------------------------------- 50%
Catholic ------------------------------ 13%
Unitarian ---------------------------- 6%

2007-11-02T17:04:00.000-04:00

Gannet Girl's friend Tipper agreed to interview us, so we sneaked onto the food giver's computer!

And here's one for the kitties!
Dear Delenn and Padme,

1. Those are unusual names! How/where did you get them?
Delenn: I am named after Delenn in Babylon 5. She was a hero of the Grey council and I'm grey.
Padme: I was named after Padme Amidala. Cause Mom thought I was just a handmaiden, but found out I was really the princess!

2. I am the only four-legged creature left in my house. Do you have others in yours?
D: Mommy keeps trying but Daddy won't let her near the adoption cages in PetsMart. I for one am glad.
P: I want someone else to chase up and down the stairs!

3. I have noticed that cats don't have much interest in me. What are your feelings about dogs?
D: will you feed me or pet me?
P: Can we play?

4. We had a found cat here for a few weeks last summer. He made himself at home rather quickly. Too quickly, in my estimation. Where are yuor favorite parts of the house?
D: on the foot of the bed, especially if there are nice clean clothes that haven't been put away yet. Second favorite is on Mommy's desk in front of the monitor. I cannot imagine why that flat light is more interesting than I am!
P: in the sun in the front window where the whole neighborhood can see me! Otherwise on anything dark so I can show off my beautiful white fur, And on top Mommy's books when she's studying.

5. My human noticed that your human's blog name is Greek. She is very proud of her quite limited vocabulary, but I am sick of it, because there are Greek worksheets and notes all over my bed. Would you describe yourselves as more Greek, more Egyptian, or more American types of the feline persuasion?
D: Daddy tells me I'm Russian Blue, but the lady at the pound place called me a DSH. That doesn't sound nearly as exciting.
P: I came from a very nice neighborhood, thank you very much. hmph.

Looking forward to learning more about you,Your new friend,Tipper the Dog
We enjoyed the interview! Delenn and Padme

2007-11-02T13:03:00.000-04:00

With lots of interviewing going on, Mother Laura invites the RevGalBlogPals to comment on "the wonderful world of interviews":

1. What was the most memorable interview you ever had?

An interview with a prestigious consulting firm. I had flown in the night before and woke up with the worst sore throat ever and had very little voice, and it hurt to talk, and did I mention that part of the interview was to do a presentation? The main thing I remember about the day was that at lunch I ordered tomato soup and felt it burn alll the way down my throat was so raw. I called the doctor that night when I got home and got on drugs. It was HORRIBLE.

2. Have you ever been the interviewer rather than the interviewee? If so, are you a tiger, a creampuff, or somewhere in between?

Yes. I'm somewhere in between. I've done enought interviewing to know that you HAVE to find out if they're qualified, but also if they'll fit. I don't think it works to anyone's advantage, on either side of the table to obscure truth or avoid issues.

3. Do phone interviews make you more or less nervous than in-person ones?

More. I rely too much on non-verbal feedback.

4. What was the best advice you ever got to prepare for an interview? How about the worst?

Be yourself.

5. Do you have any pre-interview rituals that give you confidence?

nah. Just: know the position, know yourself. (eat a mint).

2007-10-19T07:10:00.000-04:00

This Friday Five is in homage to Top Chef.

If you were a food, what would you be?
BBQ - smoked slowly, but worth waiting for; saucy when appropriate; basic, unfancy, down to earth.

What is one of the most memorable meals you ever had? And where?
If I can't think of one, what does that say about me?

What is your favorite comfort food from childhood?
beanie weanies.
And, of course, BBQ.

When going to a church potluck, what one recipe from your kitchen is sure to be a hit?
Pound cake: plain and with variations from Southern Living; but I can't bake anymore because of the celiac -- inhaling the flour dust makes me sick.

What’s the strangest thing you ever willingly ate?
OK. I admit it. I'm a middle class American and I do NOT like funky foods. That said, I was with a student group in Florence and they fed us seafood salad. We american kids were thinking "tuna" -- but tuna doesn't have little suckers on it. I don 't think any of us ate more than a bite or two.

Bonus question: What’s your favorite drink to order when looking forward to a great meal?
A nice glass of Zinfindel. (Not the pink stuff.)

2007-09-15T12:06:00.001-04:00

Bureaucracy and checking boxes

OK. I know there's a reason for the process. I recognize most of what the forms codify, but if they really wanted to know where I need to grow and where I've grown and who I am and whom I'm becoming, then wouldn't they have called, or emailed, or snail-mailed, or otherwise communicated in some way over the past 12 months? So it's really hard to take this seriously.

I must fill out the form because it's a required part of the process. But there's no trust, no relationship with these people so I won't be "real" with them. After all, it goes in my permanent folder. So I check off the boxes and say enough to get through, but not enough to give a foothold to questions. And we'll meet, and they'll give me additional "once size fits no one" goals to work on for the next year, and we'll go our separate ways for another 12 months.

What is this process teaching me? Oh, yeah, How to survive in a church bureaucracy. We can save authentic nurturing community for the webring.

2007-09-14T12:52:00.000-04:00

Reverendmother asks us: In honor of a couple of marathon meetings she attended this week:

1. What's your view of meetings?
a) When they're good, they're good. I love the feeling of people working well together on a common goal.
b) I don't seek them out, but I recognize them as a necessary part of life.
c) The only good meeting is a canceled meeting.
Having spent several years in the business world where meetings the necessary means of working, I have to go with A, but B is there, too. It depends who is running the meeting and the particular culture of the group you're working with.

2. Do you like some amount of community building or conversation, or are you all business?
It depends on the time alotted, the work to be done and the context of the meeting.

If the group meeting is not to be a long-standing group, but just meeting for a few times with a specific agenda, I'm all work.
If it is a long-standing group it's sometimes great to do a meal or refreshments before (also cuts down on late arrivals).
Ice-breakers are also great when forming new groups... in a work environment these are different, but still quite appropriate.
For session, I think a devotion time should be part of the agenda, but should usually be managed within a time slot.

3. How do you feel about leading meetings? Share any particular strengths or weaknesses you have in this area.
No problem. I've moderated many meetings in my past life.

the trick is recognizing when people NEED to discuss something and when they're grandstanding. Reflective listening to restate the ramblers also helps dramatically. It's really understanding the people in the meeting, the sensitivity of the topics and knowing when to keep rigidly to the schedule, when to allow flexibility, when to take a break, to table something; to silence someone or to prompt someone for an opinion; the time for humor [or not], and, with session, when to call a break for prayer. Oh, and when to cancel the meeting or topic because people didn't prepare.

The moderation will make or break a meeting and that will make or break the cooperative climate of the group.

4. Have you ever participated in a virtual meeting? (conference call, IM, chat, etc.) What do you think of this format?
I don't like them. All of the non-vocal communication is removed and many of us rely on that non-vocal communication to really understand. There is also a problem with hearing everyone, people who are loud tend to dominate, and it's easy to run roughshod over anyone who is quietly trying to understand.

5. Share a story of a memorable meeting you attended.
2 hour business meetin with 6 team leaders (1 new), we discussed all the issues from all the angles and were all ready to leave when the newbie slammed her hand on the table and said she wasn't leaving until she had a decision. At this point, we realized we had 5 "P"s and 1 "J".

2007-09-07T11:46:00.000-04:00

From the RevGalPals, the Friday five:

1.Have you experienced God's faithfulness at a difficult time? Tell as much or as little as you like...
yes. Husband didn't get basic concept of monogamy. Church community came around me. God worked in so many ways that I can't even remember them all, but he was always there.

2. Have you experienced a dark night of the soul, if so what brought you through?
When someone first asked me how I was getting through, I had to reply that it was my habit of faith. It wasn't even my faith at the darkest time, it was the fact that I had relied on God for so many years that I continued.

3. Share a Bible verse, song, poem that has brought you comfort.
Well, the one that got me through some of that was Twila Paris (it was a while ago...):

Sometimes my little heart can't understand
What's in Your will, what's in Your plan.
So many times I'm tempted to ask You why,
But I can never forget it for long.
Lord, what You do could not be wrong.
So I believe You, even when I must cry.
Do I trust You, Lord?Does the river flow?
Do I trust You, Lord?Does the north wind blow?
You can see my heart,You can read my mind,
And You got to knowThat I would rather die
Than to lose my faithIn the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?Do I trust You?

I know the answers, I've given them all.
But suddenly now, I feel so small.
Shaken down to the cavity in my soul.
I know the doctrine and theology,
But right now they don't mean much to me.
This time there's only one thing I've got to know.
Do I trust You, Lord?Does the robin sing?
Do I trust You, Lord?Does it rain in spring?
You can see my heart,You can read my mind,
And You got to knowThat I would rather die
Than to lose my faithIn the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?Do I trust You?

I will trust You, Lord, when I don't know why.
I will trust You, Lord, till the day I die.
I will trust You, Lord, when I'm blind with pain!
You were God before, and You'll never change.
I will trust You.I will trust You.
I will trust You, Lord.I will trust You.

4. Is "why suffering" a valid question?
Ah, this would be why I'm taking a Theodicy course this fall....

5. And on a lighter note- you have reached the end of a dark and difficult time- how are you going to celebrate?
I'm going to Disney World! no, just kidding. I 'm not for the celebrating type of thing, I'm more the "heave a sigh of relief and get back to life" type.

Visionary...

2007-07-31T21:13:00.001-04:00

2007-07-29T14:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I've entered the blogosphere.