Somewhere South of Somewhere

Friday Five: Love the One You're With

2010-07-30T08:06:00.009-04:00

Kathryn writes...This Friday Five will post while I'm at the beach which for me is more than a vacation destination, it is a trip home. I have found it quite easy to wax nostalgic about the places I used to live (well, except for one) and have begun to wonder what it is I like about the place I'm living now? For instance I sure do love the beach, but this picture was taken about 30 minutes away from my house - not too shabby!
And so I ask you to please name five things you like about where you are living now... and as your bonus - 1 thing you don't like.

I have been living in the Toledo, Ohio area for 25 years next month. What do I love about it?

1. Although the metropolitan area population tops 300,000, there are many distinctive ethnic neighborhoods who invite the whole region to celebrate their food and culture.

2. We have an AMAZING art museum, symphony orchestra, and one of the best zoos in the nation.

3. You can be on Lake Erie or the Maumee River in 30 minutes or less, on a boat or at a waterside restaurant.

4. We're the home town of Corporal Klinger and the Mud Hens! Jamie Farr is here a lot, and hosts an outstanding LPGA golf tourney that has raised millions of dollars for local charities.

5. The Metropark system and other area parks are like emeralds encircling our fair city.

And the dislike: Many, many who have lived most or all of their lives here are really "down" on this city and region. They refuse to believe that anything good can come from Toledo. Hmmm...where have I heard that before?!?

Friday Five: Decisions, Decisions

2010-07-23T07:55:00.006-04:00

RevSongbird writes:

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
2) Train or Airplane
3) Mac or PC
4) Univocal or Equivocal
5) Peter or Paul

Well, it's been awhile, but I think I remember how this works...

1. Cake

2. Train

3. PC

4. Equivocal

5. Peter

For me, the cake - pie choice is the hardest, because I really eat very little of either any more. I am going to lean toward cake today, because I am more likely to find dark, rich chocolate in a cake, than in a pie. However, my favorite desserts are fresh fruit and, if I want to be indulgent, creme brulee.

2010-01-25T17:15:00.003-05:00

Cross posted here from my stint as the Book Discussion host at RevGalBlogPals

Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices

by Julie Clawson

First off, a word of thanks to Songbird, who, when I noticed this book in her vast collection, said, "Here, it's yours. Would you be willing to lead a review of it at the RevGals blog in January?"

It seemed like a great idea in October, and today, while it's still early enough in the new year to consider some new ways of thinking and doing, I am very glad that I read this book. So, thank you, Songbird!

Everyday Justice is Julie Clawson's first book, but she also writes at her blog www.julieclawson.com and at www.everydayjustice.net. You may also recognize her name from the Emerging Women or Emerging Parents blogs. She has been a church planter, pastored parishes in Illinois, and now lives with her husband and children in Austin, TX.

Julie opens her text with the words "Warning! Read Before Proceeding. Don't panic." In this pre-introduction section, she gives the reader the opportunity to take a deep breath as we look a at the vastness of the challenge of living more justly. She notes on page 15, "To change the world, we must start somewhere." Julie's goal is to help her readers discover that a total life makeover isn't the only way to step into a more just way of living. "All of us can discern where God is leading us to alter our lives - to change one thing at a time, taking the time to really understand and get behind our actions." (p. 15)

In the introduction, Clawson grounds her text theologically in Jesus' memorable first public sermon as recorded in Luke 4:18-21, which is incidentally the Gospel text of which some among us may have preached yesterday. Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated a way of justice and a call to his followers to live justly.

She proceeds to define justice as "the practical outworking of loving God and others." (p. 21) She follows this with one of my favorite Dr. Cornel West quotes: "Justice is what love looks like in public." She also draws an important, thoughtful distinction between justice as punishment and justice as restoration. On page 23, she writes:

"Justice then becomes much more than simply a punishment for wrongdoing.

Instead of only punishing wrongdoers in the hope that they will live rightly,

biblical justice involves healing the brokenness that marred our relationships

with each other in the first place."

Noting that "every decision has a price tag" and "that price is often paid by the people whose lives are affected by our actions" (p. 25), Clawson then offers "a resource and a guide to acting justly" (p. 29) in regard to the purchase of coffee, chocolate, food, and clothing. She explores how one might live justly in their consumption of oil, disposal of waste, and management of money.

Through all of it, she offers information, insight, and specific suggestions for action without becoming preachy or sounding judgmental.

As I think about my own life, I need and want to move more seriously in the direction of restoration. This text has offered me so much help in thinking through the daily choices I make and the price that others and I pay for those choices.

Questions for discussion:

1. How is Everyday Justice alike or different than other books you have read on the topic of living justly?

2. If you have read the book, is there one area of concern over which you feel particularly led to '"tweak" your actions and choices?

3. How do you imagine Everyday Justice would be received in a parish setting, especially your context? Do you plan to use it in some way?

4. Finally, what did you like best or least about Clawson's text?

I look forward to your insights, and will be around throughout the day to read your comments and share conversation with you.

Looking ahead, Songbird will be discussing Salvation on the Small Screen by Nadia Bolz-Weber on February 22nd.

May you live in God's amazing grace+

revhoney

Friday Five - Do Nothing Edition

2009-12-04T09:30:00.003-05:00

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Sally writes...

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

So this weeks Friday Five is simple.

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

1. I will not be buying presents for as many people this year; we have decided mutually to reduce gift buying and instead give goats and chickens, and a micro-loan or two.

2. I will not be responsible for all of the Advent and Christmas services in our congregation this year; we are blessed with a full staff again! This is a big issue since we have 4 services on Christmas Eve at 5, 7, 9, and 11 PM.

3. I will not be hosting anyone at our house on Christmas Day. Dear friends have invited us to their home for the afternoon!

4. I will not be driving further than 10 miles to celebrate Christmas Day. We will drive to my parents' home for Christmas celebrating on Saturday, December 26th.

5. I will not be sending Christmas cards, but will send an Epiphany letter to family and friends in early January.

Bonus: I really enjoy Marty Haugen's hymns of the season; for Advent, my favorite would be Awake, Awake, and Greet the New Morn. Unfortunately, I cannot find a video of it.

Thankful

2009-11-25T10:08:00.007-05:00

I borrowed this Thanksgiving-themed Random Dozen Meme from "Lidna" at 2nd Cup of Coffee. If you want to participate just go to Linda's site to link up.

1. Are you sticking to traditional Thanksgiving foods this year, or are you being culinarily adventurous? We’re going to my Mom and Dad’s for thanksgiving & it will be traditional. We are bringing the wine, salad and pumpkin pies. Mom always has enough food for an army - & there is always room at the table for friends as well as family. Because my brother and his family are not going to be able to be there on Thursday, we will do it all over again on a somewhat smaller scale with them at lunch on Friday.

2. Tell me something concrete that you're thankful for. (Something you can literally touch, see, etc., not a concept like "hope.") I'm thankful for our boys and how thoughtful and engaged they are with us.

3. You knew the flip side was coming: Share about something intangible that you're thankful for. For faith, hope, and love - all gifts of our gracious God.

4. Share one vivid Thanksgiving memory. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful, just something that remains etched in your memory. That would be the Thanksgiving when Matt - just a year old - would not fall asleep. Craig and I knew the answer - to take him for a ride in the car. It was snowing lightly, but the roads were not in bad shape. My mom was very opposed to our intention - it was pretty ugly for an hour or so. But peace was made, and family boundaries more clearly defined - a good thing!

5. What is one thing that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt is going to happen this Thanksgiving because it always does, year after year?
We will eat, drink, and play cards!

6. Do your pets get any left-overs?
This year Maverick the younger managed to get his mouch into one of the four pumpkin pies! But other than that, no, they probably won't.

7. Does your family pray before the big meal? If so, do you join hands while seated, stand, repeat a formal prayer or offer a spontaneous prayer? Who does the praying?
Yes, we are seated, we join hands and one of the two of us who are ordained ministers offers a spontaneous prayer.

8. Will you be watching football in the afternoon? If not, what will you be doing?
It will be on, but I really won't be watching it.

9. There are two distinct camps of people on this issue: How do you feel about oysters in the dressing/stuffing? NO WAY!

10. Do you consider yourself informed about the first Thanksgiving? Yes I do – just got a refresher from some blog recently… hmmm… who was it? Oh yeah – Mark Roberts. www.markdroberts.com

11. Which variety of pie will you be enjoying? It's got to be pumpkin!

12. Do you feel for the turkey??
Yes, I do - if I have any hand in preparing meat or poultry, my mind usually goes at least once to twice to thoughts of when this flesh moved and breathed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Bye Bye Birdie Meme

2009-10-14T07:50:00.002-04:00

Revsongbird writes

"I caught up on a Fresh Air podcast from last week and heard the exciting news. The Roundabout Theatre Company is staging the first ever Broadway Revival of Bye Bye Birdie!!!

If you're anywhere close to my age, you've seen it and maybe even been *in* it, so please chime in via the comments and tell us:

1) When you first saw Bye Bye Birdie and where;

Although our school system had outstanding music and speech departments, we did not have a drama program. As as result, I did not see a live production of Bye Bye Birdie until our sons' high school performed it last Spring.

2) If you performed in it, who you played; and

I didn't ever get to perform in it, but our son Music Man snagged and nailed the lead role of Albert Peterson! The Captain and I sat in the darkened theater with tears in our eyes as we watched him singing and dancing. "Is this really our son?!? WOW!"

3) What's your favorite song?

It's got to be "Put On a Happy Face."

Friday Five - It's All About the Look

2009-07-03T08:05:00.005-04:00

Sally from RevGals writes: In readiness for my move in 6 weeks time I spent almost all of yesterday morning sorting through my wardrobe ( closet, I am so British :-) marvelling at how I had accumulated so much stuff! The result is three large sacks full of clothes to be given away. Some came into the category of " what was I thinking", some too big now ( at last), and others I will never shrink into again. Some are going simply because I want to streamline my wardrobe. So how about you: 1. Are you a hoarder, or are you good at sorting and clearing?

I am a hoarder. I am a sucker for sales. And because of some issues with weight gain and loss, I have three different sizes of clothing in my closet. I have recently discovered that I have hypothyroidism, and with treatment, it should be possible for me to reverse this weight gain. So maybe I can get the contents of my closet down to two different sizes ?!?

Right now, with the closet doors removed for painting, I am TOTALLY EMBARRASSED by what is going on in my closet. We have a rummage sale coming up at our church soon, and lots of clothing will be going there.

2. What is the oddest garment you possess and why?
It would be a silk kimono, given to me when I was an exchange student in Japan.

3. Do you have a favourite look/ colour?
Favorite look depends on the occasion, but I tend toward darker pants and skirts punctuated with shades of teal and turquoise, lilac and lavender, lime and lemon, and red.

4. Thrift/ Charity shops, love them or hate them?
I gladly and regularly donate to them, but don't often shop at them.

5. Money is no object, what one item would you buy?
Wow...I'm trying not to buy, so this one is hard! Maybe a long stylish sweater? But I could be gravitating toward that because it's still cloudy and cold here somewhere north of somewhere!

The Best-Laid Plans

2009-06-28T12:47:00.004-04:00

Well, I had planned to worship with a local congregation today. I had made up my mind where I would go, and then...we lost power at about 1:30 am during a series of storms. In the cottage, that means no lights, which isn't a deal-killer. But it also means no water, because we depend on a pump for it.

So, unable to get cleaned up, I worshiped by singing Morning Prayer quietly alongside the lapping waves of the lake's shore at about 7:30 am. It was peaceful, yet truly invigorating. I prayed and meditated with joy, and knew a deep and satisfying communion with God this morning.

I recently read a post by the lead pastor from Granger Community Church in Indiana, that noted that we pastors place a lot of guilt on our people about worshiping weekly as a spiritual discipline. He noted that people today find many different ways of experiencing God's presence, and that we pastors need to discover ways to help people grow in faith that aren't dependent on having their butts in the pew each week.

I love corporate worship, but after this morning's experience, I'm giving his post more thought.

What I Am Reading/Doing on Vacation

2009-06-27T16:19:00.005-04:00

When I go on vacation up north, I take lots of books...mindless as well as meaningful...
I've finished Abide With Me, by Elizabeth Strout, and Miracle, by Danielle Steele.
I have Olive Kitteridge, by Strout, Starting Over by Robin Pilcher, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, a Dorothea Benton Frank Low Country novel, and lots of other stuff.

Have some mags too...and a pair of socks I will finish on rainy days. Seems only right to do so, as I learned to knit here...

I baked a fresh peach pie today, and made some caprese salad this afternoon. Blogger is not being good about uploading pix, so I'll just leave it to your imagination

Oh, and as I was leaving for vacation came the news that the call that we at "Suburban Church near the Stateline" extended to an assistant pastor has been accepted!!! I will have a co-worker in the Gospel beginning August 1st.

Feeling quite creative and contented, thanks be to God.

RevGals Friday Five - Talkin 'Bout Pop Music

2009-06-27T07:22:00.002-04:00

Mary Beth over at RevGalBlogPals, writes…The sad news of Michael Jackson's untimely death has me thinking about music and its effects on us - individually, as cultures, as generations. Let's think about the soundtracks of our lives...

1) What sort of music did you listen to as a child - this would likely have been determined or influenced by your parents? Or perhaps your family wasn't musical...was the news the background? the radio? Singing around the piano?

Our family listened to many different types of music, but one I remember with great fondness is Harry Belafonte’s Live album. The Captain and I picked up the cd a few years ago, and our teens enjoy it with us sometimes.

We sang a lot too. My mom sang with a Sweet Adelaines Chorus for awhile. My dad has a wonderful baritone voice. One of my most precious childhood memories is listening to him sing “O Holy Night” as we drove home from Christmas Eve services on a snowy night. The wind was blowing white around our little black VW bug and the car was just filled with his soulful singing.

2) Going ahead to teenage years, is there a song that says "high school" (or whatever it might've been called where you lived) to you?

Paradise by the Dashboard Light, by Meatloaf

3) What is your favorite music for a lift on a down day? (hint: go to www.pandora.com and type in a performer/composer...see what you come up with!)

We have a compilation of island music that perks me up and gets me moving. It’s titled Thongs in the Key of Life 2

Another "pick me up" is Mr. Blue Sky by ELO

4) Who is your favorite performer of all time?

Wow, can’t pick just one! Harry Chapin, Dan Fogelberg, Jimmy Buffett

5) What is your favorite style of music for worship?

I enjoy the ancient hymns as well as new music. I can worship God with all of it. I do get particular about too many “me and Jesus” songs. I like worshipful singing that is expressive of the Body of Christ.

Bonus if you include a video of any of the above!

Harry Belafonte singing Matilda!

Friday Five - Trader Joe's Edition

2009-06-12T10:01:00.005-04:00

RevGal Sophia is pumped! There's a new Trader Joe's gourmet grocery opening right across the street from her home. So in honor of the new Trader Joe's, this week's Friday Five is all about food shopping.

1. Grocery shopping--love it or hate it?
I like grocery shopping as a rule; I only find it annoying when I have to rush through it.

2. Who is the primary food shopper in your household?
That would be me.

3. Do you have a beloved store like TJ's which is unique to your location or family?
I enjoy shopping at our relatively new Costco, and at a couple of regional grocery stores. We also have a terrific meat shop that we frequent, especially during grilling season. We have to drive about an hour north to find a Whole Food or TJ's, and that doesn't happen very often. I was so happy to find a TJ's across from Peachtree UMC while at the Festival of Homies last month! I was a very happy camper with peanut-butter stuffed pretzel bits and greek yogurt.

4. How about a farmer's market, or CSA share, as we move into summer? Or do you grow your own fruits/veggies/herbs?
We do have many farmers' markets in our area, but only a couple of CSA's. I wanted to contract with a CSA this year, but the closest site available was too far away to justify the drive.

I grow tomatoes and basil for caprese salad, as well as rosemary, cilantro, and thyme.

5. What's the favorite thing you buy at the grocery store?
Hmmm...pasta and cheese for Italian cooking.

Friday Five - The Big To-Do

2009-05-29T08:43:00.005-04:00

Kathryn from Revgals writes:
Greetings from the land of the Big To-Do!

It seems like every year I enter into the summer with a growing list of HUGE projects/events/trips that seem to have a permanent place on the 'to do' list.
This year I have a huge move pending so that takes up an entire list all on its own, but it doesn't take a big event like that for me to make plans bigger than my summer can hold!
How about you?

Is this the third summer in a row you have made a pledge involving your garage and actually getting a car into it?
Did you once again miss the registration deadline for the continuing education event of your dreams ?
Are you starting to think you couldn't even find the tents, let alone get it together to pull off a camping trip?

Here is your chance to get it out into the open and OWN your Big To-Do! Who knows? Maybe making the list will help you move the Big To-Do to the Big Ta-Da!

1) What home fix-it project is on your Big To-Do?
Well, considering that we are hosting Music Man's graduation party in exactly 22 days, the project is spruce up, clean-up the house, the deck and the yard.

2) What event (fun or work) is on your Big To-Do?
Calling a second pastor to our staff is a momentous to-do on the work front. I have been soloing it with the help of a one-day-a-week visitation pastor and some preaching back-up since August. It's time, Lord....it's time!

3) What trip is on your Big To-Do?
Our every-summer trip Up North, which is actually coming a whole month early this year for several reasons. 4 weeks from today - YEAH!

4) What do you wish was on someone ELSE's (partner, family member, celebrity, etc...) Big To-Do?
Oh...I think that would be Music Man and Game-boy getting the upstairs rooms they occupy cleaned-up and de-cluttered.

5) Getting inspired? What may end this summer having moved from the Big To-Do to the Big Ta-da?
The remodeling of both upstairs bathrooms really needs to be a Big Ta-da by the end of the summer, or someone's gonna be in some deep doo doo here.

Friday Five - Celebrating the Seasons of Life

2009-05-01T06:44:00.005-04:00

Sally writes:

It is the first of May, or as I have been concentrating on dialogue with folk interested in the new spirituality movement this last week, it is Beltane, a time to celebrate the beginning of summer. The BBC web-site tells us that:

Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of Bel' (Bel was a Celtic deity). It is a fire festival that celebrates of the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year.

Celtic festivals often tied in with the needs of the community. In spring time, at the beginning of the farming calendar, everybody would be hoping for a fruitful year for their families and fields.
Beltane rituals would often include courting: for example, young men and women collecting blossoms in the woods and lighting fires in the evening. These rituals would often lead to matches and marriages, either immediately in the coming summer or autumn.

Another advert for a TV programme that has caught my eye on the UK's Channel 4 this weekend is called Love, Life and leaving; and is a look at the importance of celebrating the seasons of life through ritual and in the public eye, hence marriages, baptisms and funerals.

I believe that we live in a ritually impoverished culture, where we have few reasons for real celebration, and marking the passages of life;

1. Are ritual markings of birth, marriage, and death important to you?
Yes, I believe that ritual serves to connect us to the larger community and, in Christian tradition, to the promises of God that offer consolation, hope, and purpose.

2. Share a favourite liturgy/ practice.
We have our own liturgy/rite connected to the baptismal journey for those who are graduating from high school. It is not a baccalaureate so much; more of a celebration of this milestone. As we affirm our baptism, we also have the seniors and their parents gather at the communion rail for prayer. Firs, the students kneel, with the parents placing their hands on their son or daughter's shoulders. The presider offers a prayer tries to express the parents' feelings at this moment: awe at the years that have passed, hope for the future, gratitude for the privilege of being entrusted with this young person's life, confession for the times they've fallen short. Then the parents kneel, the students place their hands on their parents' shoulders, and a prayer from the students' perspective is spoken. We share the Eucharist, and then we have a dinner together and present gifts to the students.

This year, I need to find someone to help lead this liturgy...because our older son Music Man and we will be among those participating.

3. If you could invent ( or have invented) a ritual what is it for?
I will have to think about this one...

4. What do you think of making connections with neo-pagan / ancient festivals? Have you done this and how?
I think the closest connection we sometimes make around our neck of the woods is with the neo-pagan celebration of Super Bowl Sunday (tongue firmly implanted in cheek.) Here in the US, at least where I live, there isn't a great deal of awareness or interest in the ancients. But sometimes the nationalistic overtones present a challenge for us.

5. Celebrating is important; what and where would your ideal celebration be?
Word and Sacrament, followed by a great meal, music, and dancing. It could be anywhere, but I am especially fond of anything that happens near the water.

Friday Five - Bucket List Edition

2009-04-24T07:58:00.006-04:00

Singing Owl writes: ... do you have a "Bucket List"? In other words, from the movie of the same name, five things you want to see, do, accomplish, etc. before you kick the bucket?

Sure, don't we all? Here's mine:

1. I want to live in Northern Lower Michigan for at least a few years.

2. I am beginning to think in a more focused way about pursuing an advanced degree - discerning this now and would cherish your prayers.

3. I want to go back to Japan once more - was there for a year as an exchange student, and will not feel as though that chapter has ended without another visit there.

4. I want the Captain and I to live aboard our beloved "Retreat" and cruise at least part of the ICW (intercoastal waterway).

5. And before I hit the big "5-0" next Spring, I want to be a Parrot-head at a live Jimmy Buffet concert! I think the Captain is clear on this - I hope he is working on it!

Friday Five- time out edition

2009-04-03T08:50:00.005-04:00

Our sister Sally writes...

Holy Week is almost upon us, I suspect that ordained or not, other revgal/pals calendars look a bit like mine, FULL, FULL, FULL.....

Jesus was great at teaching us to take time out, even in that last week, right up to Maundy Thursday he withdrew, John's gospel tells us he hid! He hid not because he was afraid, but because he knew that he needed physical, mental and spiritual strength to get through...

So faced with a busy week:

1. What restores you physically?
I am restored by time outdoors...walking, riding my bike, etc. Yesterday I played my first round of golf in 2009 with a good friend. It was exactly what I needed to provide some balance to a week filled with worship planning and pastoral care.

2. What strengthens you emotionally/ mentally?
Adequate sleep and exercise.

3. What encourages you spiritually?
Praying the hours and time in the Word...beautiful, meaningful liturgies. Lately I have been quite grateful for Unfailin Lighta liturgy written for evening communion by Susan Briehl and Marty Haugen. We used this for our Lenten midweek services.

4. Share a favorite poem or piece of music from the coming week.
What Wondrous Love is This

5.There may be many services for you to attend/ lead over the next week, which one are you most looking forward to and why? If there aren't do you have a favorite day in Holy week if so which one is it?
By far, it would be Vigil of Easter. This year our Director of Spiritual Formation is working with several members to creatively share the narrative of salvation history. I can't wait...but I will!

Friday Five - Five Signs of Hope

2009-03-20T07:29:00.003-04:00

Songbird writes...
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 2:10-13

In the late, late winter, as the snow begins to recede here in Maine, we begin to look almost desperately for signs of spring, signs of hope that the weather has turned and a new day is on the horizon. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter and Spring twine inextricably, the crocuses and daffodils peeking through the Earth as we await the risen Christ.

Share with us five signs of hope that you can see today or have experienced in the past.

1. The lengthening of the days is a sign of hope for me. Sunlight is a sign of hope for me. I can easily wake and make my way around in morning darkness, but evenings that bid farewell to sunlight even before we eat dinner are draining for me. We had a sign of hope this week as we could walk the dogs and watch the sunset well past 7:30 pm.

2. The pink buds forming on the branches of our dogwood trees and and the green tips of crocuses pushing through the soil are a delightful sign of hope for me.

3. Personally, fitting into a smaller size pant this week was a very hopeful sign for me!

4. Visiting with a member whose husband of 59 years died a week ago, I was gifted with a sign of hope through the healing tears we shed and the comfort she found as we prayed the Lord's Prayer together.

5. And perhaps the most beautiful sign of hope these past few weeks has been the children whom we now welcome to the Lord's Supper at whatever age their parents feel they are ready. The sight of preschoolers reaching for the bread and being guided by their parents to the cup gives me hope for the faith journey of this new generation of God's sons and daughters!

Slow Cooking Thursday March 5th Edition

2009-03-05T07:16:00.006-05:00

What has happened this week so far: Many pastoral care issues, sandwiched between sermons (Sunday and midweek) and parish classes; 2 funerals in 10 days, another pending.

What's up for the weekend:
I'll be working at the Band Contest hosted by our high school Friday afternoon and evening and hearing Peter Cetera in concert with our local symphony Saturday evening. Guest preacher Saturday evening -Thanks Eric! Teen Choir Musical Sunday.

Song In My Head:
"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel

Progeny Story of the Week
Music Man landed the lead in local high school spring musical "Bye, Bye Birdie!"

I am procrastinating about:
the taxes STILL!

Scripture I am trying to wrap my head (and heart) around:
^{Mark 5:36}Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

Favorite TV minute this week:
2 Hours of 24 Monday night

Unfavorite moment: didn't really watch enough TV to have one of these

What I am serving for dinner tonight (that I never got around to last week):

Chicken and White Bean Stew

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 10-oz. pkgs. refrigerated light Alfredo sauce
1 15-oz. can Great Northern or white kidney beans (cannellini beans), rinsed and drained
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped red onion (1 medium)
1 4-oz. can diced green chile peppers
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (1 ounce) (optional)
Fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Directions

1. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Sprinkle chicken with cumin and pepper. In a large skillet, cook chicken, half at a time, in hot oil over medium heat until brown. Place chicken in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Stir in alfredo sauce, beans, broth, onion, chile peppers, and garlic.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. If desired, sprinkle each serving with cheese and parsley. Makes 8 servings.

Friday Five - The Fork in the Road

2009-02-27T10:22:00.005-05:00

Singing Owl writes: I am at a life-changing juncture. I do not know which way I will go, but I have been thinking about the times, people and events that changed my life (for good or ill) in significant ways. For today's Friday Five, share with us five "fork-in-the-road" events, or persons, or choices. And how did life change after these forks in the road?

1. The first significant fork in the road in my life was born out of tragedy. As a child of 8, I was molested by a 16 year-old neighbor boy in the woods behind our house. After raping me, he told me that if I told my parents, they would blame me, and I believed him. So I buried the clothing that bore signs of the attack in the ashes of our burn barrel and tried to bury my pain there as well. But as many of you know, it is not that easy. Looking back, my relationship with my parents began to became tenuous from that point on, and my trust in people, especially male people was nil. Our family moved to another community later that summer and I was relieved to not have to look at the place of my attack or the home of my attacker on a daily basis anymore. But it was not until I sought counseling in college, that I truly began to heal from this experience.

2. The second fork in the road was the choice I made to be an exchange student and spend my junior year of high school overseas. It was a year of wonder and amazing growth for me. It bolstered my increasing sense of independence and served to deepen my sense of God's presence with me apart from a community of faith, since there was no Christian faith community with which I could connect meaningfully in the area where I lived.

3. The third fork was surely the choice I made of where I would go to college. My experiences at my alma mater, including the faith community there, clarified the direction of my life journey. I gained friends that I still count among my dearest, and I heard and answered the call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament there, though I did not fully understand that at the time.

4. The next fork in the road came when I was in the call process for the first time, and the prospect of a call to a team and a solo position loomed before me. Although our bishop had his own opinion of the choice that would best suit me, it was not until I leaned toward the solo position and discussed this with him that he confirmed that as his recommendation as well. It was not easy, and the crucible of this inwardly focused congregation nearly pushed me away from pastoral ministry. But in the end, I know that I would have had a far more difficult time discerning my own pastoral identity if I had accepted the call to team ministry at that point in my life.

5. Although there are many more I could reference, the choice to explore the possibility of a relationship with a recently-divorced man from the congregation I served was a very difficult, but clearly God-ordained choice. In him, God granted me a man with whom I could truly trust everything about myself. In time, we joined our lives as one and he has been and continues to be a precious gift of God to me. It is a joy and a blessing to walk the road of life with him, forks and all.

Slow Cooking Thursday February 26th Edition

2009-02-23T21:51:00.010-05:00

What has happened this week so far: Lots of time with people in the congregation; not enough time with family at home

What's up for the weekend:

Music Man has his second round of auditions; euchre with friends; maybe a visit from a college friend

Song In My Head:
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

Progeny Story of the Week
a GREAT pre-contest concert tonight for both sons!

I am procrastinating about:
sorting out my closet

Scripture I am trying to wrap my head (and heart) around:
^{Mark 5:36}Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

Favorite TV minute this week:
Seeing the Tribe on TV again...baseball season is here!

Unfavorite moment: didn't really watch enough TV to have one of these

What I intended to served for dinner tonight (but got too far behind this week to lay the ingredients in for): Chicken and White Bean Stew

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 10-oz. pkgs. refrigerated light Alfredo sauce
1 15-oz. can Great Northern or white kidney beans (cannellini beans), rinsed and drained
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped red onion (1 medium)
1 4-oz. can diced green chile peppers
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (1 ounce) (optional)
Fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Directions

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. If desired, sprinkle each serving with cheese and parsley. Makes 8 servings.

Slow Cooking Thursday

2009-02-20T11:58:00.006-05:00

Molly over at Waiting for the Moment has begun a new weekly post called Slow Cooking Thursday. I've asked if I might adopt the theme too, as a blogging prompt.

So here is my first Slow Cooking Thursday (on Friday).

What has happened this week so far:
Music Man had his auditions at the Alma Mater Monday; now we wait. Got to catch up with college friends while there - so good to see them again! Congregation Council elected officers - new leadership team for the year. Local high school's student-written and produced musical opened last night. Got to see Music Man sing and play a knight in tights!

What's up for the weekend:
Friday is dinner with friends, and maybe some live music somewhere. Saturday will be boat show and Ikea. Visitation Pastor is preaching this weekend. I teach catechism Sunday afternoon - Hallowed Be Your Name - and then there is a funeral to conduct.

Song In My Head:
Coldplay's "Viva la Vida"

Progeny Story of the Week
Would have to be GameBoy's tremendous performance at his (and my) Taekwon-Do Black Belt Test last Saturday.

I am procrastinating about:
Doing our taxes.

Scripture I am trying to wrap my head (and heart) around:
Mark 1:12-13

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Favorite TV minute this week:
See Dr. John Carter return to the ER

Unfavorite moment: Seeing Dr. John Carter receiving a chemo treatment

Dinner for tonight (didn't think early enough to put something in the crock pot today) :
Ham Casserole

8 oz. pasta (bite-size), cooked and drained
2 C cubed ham
1 oz can mushrooms, drained
3 T butter
4 T flour
1 C chicken broth
1 C milk
dash of hot sauce
pepper and salt to taste
1 C shredded cheddar or swiss

Place pasta, ham, and mushrooms in greased casserole dish. Melt butter, whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly add broth and milk, stirring over medium low heat until thick and smooth. Add seasonings. Pour over ham and pasta mixture. Add cheese and stir together. Top with crushed saltines, if desired. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.

Friday Five - Take a Break Edition

2009-02-20T08:08:00.003-05:00

Songbird writes: 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
2. an afternoon off
3. an unexpected free day
4. a week's vacation
5. a sabbatical

Songbird, what a great question!

1. The 15-minute break is the perfect length for a brisk walk. It's cold, but clear here...and there is no snow on the walks...yet. So, I would slip on my walking shoes (which I keep in the car) and get my heart rate pumping!

2. An afternoon off would give me time to tackle some work at home - purging my closet, or getting our taxes finished.

3. With an unexpected free day, I would probably head east to visit my parents and see a new exhibit of Japanese kimonos at a nearby museum.

4. There is no question as to what I would do with a week - I'd go north to Leelanau County. I haven't skied in awhile and I am nursing an injury to my shin and instep, so I am not sure that I would try that this week. But there are so many other great things to do there. In truth, it is enough just to "be" there.

5. Interesting that you should ask; I am due for one, and hope to take it in 2010. I would like to travel to Europe, specifically Germany and Great Britain. I am growing very interested in the LifeShapes way of being church that Saint Thomas Parish in Sheffield, England has been pioneering. I have been rereading The Passionate Church by Mike Breen and Wally Kallestad. But I think this emergent model needs to be seen and experienced first-hand. And I have a few friends across the pond that I'd love to see as well.

Now...I need a day off to start working on a grant application.

Friday Five - Pets Edition

2009-02-13T08:31:00.005-05:00

Sophia writes: 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. The first pet I can vaguely remember is Inky - a small, jet black terrier mix that my parents had when I was born. Bits and pieces of time on the floor with Inky are imprinted on my memory. My parents tell me that it was Inky's wagging tail that coaxed out my first bit of laughter.

2. We had a cat named Kitzer when I was in junior high and high school - a stray we found and homed who turned out to be a full-breed Maine Coon cat. Of all the cats we ever had, Kitzer by far had the most personality. She was affectionate - when she wanted to be of course. She loved to walk along the keys of our old player piano, and to climb inside and sleep where the player mechanism had once been housed. She also had a funny habit of tearing up and down the stairs of our home in the wee hours of the morning, complete with a low gutteral moan. We nicknamed her "Thunderpaws" for that. She epitomized the saying I saw recently - "Dogs have owners; cats have staff."

3. My first dog as an independent adult was a black cockapoo I found wandering without tags in the Wendy's parking lot near my first parish. I named her Muffin; she was my burnt muffin!
She was a wonderful companion, who often accompanied me to the church. She was also the first pet that I personally had to give over to God's care when she became ill with cancer. She lived long enough to see me marry and to lovingly welcome our firstborn. I have a non-digitized picture of her nosing Matt - making him laugh, the way Inky had coaxed laughter out of me 30 years before.

4. Mitchell was our next dog - a cock-a-poo whom we rescued. Mitchie loved to run, and we often found ourselves chasing him through the neighborhood. Neutering didn't diminish his wonderlust in the least; he would dig a way out under the fence, and bolt. Angels must have protected him as he bolted across busy streets on a few occasions; he always ended up in some kind person's yard, and, through their kindness, back home with us. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge when my boys were 7 and 5. Both boys still remember him and the tears we shed when we gave him over to God.

5. Position number five is shared by our two Portuguese Water Dogs - Mystic (age 8) and Maverick (age 5). These two are by far the brightest, sneakiest, and most endearing dogs with whom I have ever shared life! They are also the first full-breed dogs we chose, primarily for their non-allergenic properties. Rumor has it that the First Family may be making a similar choice!

I think we have found our favorite breed of dog in PWD's - we hope to retire on a lake someday, where they will be right at home in the water. Mystic is on the left; Maverick on the right.

Friday Five - My Favorite Things

2009-02-06T08:56:00.011-05:00

Songbird writes...In a week of wondering how various things in our family life will unfold, I found myself thinking of the way Maria comforted the Von Trapp children in one of my favorite movies. Frightened by a thunder storm, the children descend upon her, and she sings to them about her favorite things, taking their minds off the storm. So, let's encourage ourselves. Share with us five of your favorite things. Use words or pictures, whatever expresses it best.

1. Water - lake, river, ocean...I feel most alive when I am near the water. We live just 15 minutes away from a river and one of the Great Lakes, so we spend a lot of time there. Here is a picture from Red, White, and Boom 2008.

2. Books - I probably own more books than anything else. I like the feel of them in my hand, but am beginning to learn to enjoy audiobooks too.

3. Patent-leather shoes - I caught this itch from my friend, Sandy. My favorite is a pair of Aigner black PL loafers.

4. Coffee - just love the flavor of a good cup of java. Don't do frappes or lattes - just lay it on me hot and black! And then sit me down with a game of Word Scrimmage or Sudoku, or my friends' blogs. My favorite brand is Leelanau Coffee Roasters.

5. Boat - I am really a** over teakettle for the 33" 1969 Chris Craft Cruiser that the Captain and I are reconditioning! We picked this boat up for $3900. It sleeps six, has a small galley and a head with shower. The refrigerator opens to the galley and the deck...great for entertaining! One of those absolutely amazing opportunities. Our goal is to restore it to its original 1969 sales guide look, with better fuel economy! Our son Music Man is in on it now too - working on the electrical system and the sound system, so this is really getting to be a family's labor of love. And boating season is just around the corner.

Friday Five - HGTV Edition

2009-01-30T07:50:00.005-05:00

Will smama writes: As some of you may know I am in the midst of my first home purchase. It is a new-build and so some of the fun was picking out upgrades and major decor items to my taste rather than walking into a previously owned home that needed to be upgraded room by room (pink and teal tiles in the bathroom, anyone?). As much as decorating is not my thing, I did try to embrace the moment because just how many times do you get to have a do-over on kitchen cabinets/floors/countertops?

And so, my questions to you this fine Friday involve your home past, present or future...

1) If you could, what room in the place you are currently living would you redo first?
I would redesign our master bedroom and bathroom, if I may count them as one room - you walk through one door to get to both - and they both really need it!

2) What is the most hideous feature/color/decor item you have ever seen in a home?
The kitchen of my second home had dirty pine green carpet, maroon linoleum countertops and yellow walls - by far the worst combination I had ever seen!

3) What feature do you most covet? Do you have it? If not, is it within reach?
A full bath and walk-in closet in our master bedroom. I actually sketched out the idea several years ago. We have a bonus room, across from our bedroom, and we could claim it to expand the master and create a real master bath with the removal of just one wall. I would move the laundry upstairs too, so that the Captain could have the whole basement as his workbench.

Alas, we do not have it, and it will not be within reach for a very long time...college costs come first.

4) Your kitchen - love it or hate it? Why?
I don't love it because it is a small galley-style kitchen. But I don't hate it, because we have done alot to make the best possible use of the space.

5) Here is $10,000 and you HAVE to spend it on the place you are living now. What do you do?
See number 3! Since the Captain is very handy in matters of remodeling, we could probably make a pretty good dent in the plan with $10 K.

BONUS: Why do you think there was such a surplus of ugly bathroom tile colors showcased in all homes built from the 1950's right through the early 80's?
I wonder if psychotropic drugs had anything to do with it!

A RevGals' Cabin Fever Friday Five

2009-01-23T12:27:00.004-05:00

Singing Owl has been having a time of it...her daughter's car wouldn't start, so she had to drive her to work. Which got her to thinking...
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?

1. We like to put a fire in the fireplace in the evenings.

2. I cook more comfort food in the crock-pot in the winter. And on my day off each week, I usually make homemade soup and serve it with crusty french bread.

3. It helps me when I have a trip to which I can look forward. We booked a quick trip to Florida to watch our sons march at Disney World. And of course, we've got the RevGals BE 2.0 coming in April.

4. I keep the candles in the windows until Spring - there's just something about driving home down our unlit street and seeing the light glowing in each window!

5. And yes, I snuggle up with the Captain!

Friday Five - Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me

2009-01-16T15:02:00.006-05:00

Songbird writes...Although written by a young man, the song Take Me, Baby, or Leave Me from "Rent" became an anthem for women of a certain age ready to be taken on their own terms. Maureen and Joanne love each other, but they are *very* different.

Whether it's new friends or new loves or new employers, what are five things people should know about you?

1. I love coffee. I don't usually "love" inanimate objects, but there is something about the taste of coffee, hot and black, that makes my day. It's not the caffeine either...I just enjoy the taste of a great cup of coffee. My favorite beans come from the Leelanau Coffee guys in Northern MI.

2. I was born to worship. Leading worship is what I love most about being a pastor. And it doesn't matter whether we are using a full liturgy or a more praise-oriented service. I enjoy leading it all. I especially cherish presiding over the sacraments of baptism and holy communion.

3. I am at home on or near the water. Inland lake or river, or ocean. I relax, sleep better, and as a rule thrive when I am on the water. In retirement, I want to live aboard our 33' cruiser and cruise the Intercoastal, but my husband says he won't live where he can't have a tool shed. Rats!

4. I enjoy cooking as an expression of creativity. I like to try new recipes, rather than repeat the "old faithfuls". This week I tried my hand at Beef Bolognese sauce for calzones and lasagna. The fam says its a "keeper". And it will be, 'til I find a recipe that intrigues me even more!

5. I have more clothes than I need. In part, because I spent awhile (and a few dollars) trying to find my own personal style, and trying in vain to fit into one size. Oh well, if we ever live on the boat, I'll get rid of a lot of my clothes and the Captain can divest himself of a lot of tools :)

Friday Five - Pancake Edition

2009-01-09T07:00:00.008-05:00

Sophia 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?
I have never been a real pancake fan, but I will eat them when we make them at home. The Captain usually makes them at our house. He uses Bisquick, as a rule. SO...mix and buttermilk. I also eat them when my mom serves them at my parents' bed and breakfast. She makes them from scratch.

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in?
I do like pumpkin pancakes and blueberry pancakes...mmmm!

3. For breakfast or for dinner?
We usually have pancakes for Sunday lunch after all of us are home from church. Not too often for breakfast or for dinner.

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish?
We usually eat them plain and simple - topped with syrup and butter. I prefer some fresh fruit and a very light sprinkle of powdered sugar best of all. The syrup route is far too sweet for my tastes. Sausage links and chunky applesauce are the best side dishes at our house.

5. Favorite pancake restaurant?
Locally - IHOP. Favorite place overall is Art's Tavern in Glen Arbor, MI and its sibling location the Friendly Tavern in Empire.

Bonus: Any tasty recipes out there, for pancakes or other special breakfast dishes? Bring 'em on!

Pumpkin Pancakes are my favorite:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons cooking oil

In medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice. And in another bowl, beat the egg, canned pumpkin, milk and oil. Add flour mixture to the milk mixture and stir just till blended, but still lumpy. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto a hot griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat till browned, turning to cook second side of pancakes. Makes about 10 pancakes.

Image courtesy of recipeland.com

Beginnings and Endings Friday Five

2009-01-02T07:41:00.007-05:00

Sally writes: This Celtic Mandala represents life, noting how days and years turn from one to another. As we have stepped from 2008 into 2009 some of us look back with joy and others with sadness; probably most of us with a mixture of the two.

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 Years 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 (not in any specific order)
1. The birth of Cindy, our second grandchild
2. The Rev Gals BE 1.0 that joined me to this community of Christ in a deeper way
3. The trip that Game Boy and I got to take with Meemah to Colorado in June
4. The opportunity to witness our sons really come into their own in high school this year
5. The opportunity to see "our German daughter" Nora again in August 2008

Then list five things that you are looking forward to in 2009
1. The opportunity to see our grandchildren (and their parents :p ) two weeks from today
2. The opportunity to welcome Nora back for a two-month stay this summer as she completes a clinical rotation
3. Witnessing Music Man graduate from high school and get established in college (this one is bittersweet)
3. The opportunity to see a vision that God has given for our congregation and community come to fruition
4. Our congregation calling a colleague in ministry

As we read one another's blogs today Sally invites us to leave a word of encouragement and to pause to pray for each member of Revgals as we step into a New Year. And she offers this New Year Blessing from the Iona Community:

We stand to face the future:
God behind us in the past
Christ before us; the way ahead;
Christ beside us in this moment;
Christ beneath us in our weakness;
Christ above to shield us-
beneath the shadow of his wings we are safe;
Christ between us to bind us in the unity of his love;
Christ in us equipping us with his all sufficient grace.
Thus armed and guided, and protected we face the new year.
Now we arise and go forth on the journey before us,
knowing that, where Christ leads, life is a journey home.
Therefore we travel in faith, in hope, and in love,
in the name of the Father/ Mother, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
May the blessing of God
be upon us
all this year
and into eternity. Amen.

Boxing Day Friday Five

2008-12-26T16:16:00.003-05:00

Mary Beth writes: It's Boxing Day!

Whatever that may mean to you, I invite you on this day to simply share five things that today, December 26th, will bring for you.

1. Leisure time - for reading, a nap
2. Writing thank-you notes
3. Shopping for, and finding (!) a new refrigerator
4. Laundry
5. Sparring practice this evening.

Friday Five: Countdown to Christmas Edition

2008-12-19T06:26:00.002-05:00

Songbird writes...It's true.

There are only five full days before Christmas Day, and whether you use them for shopping, wrapping, preaching, worshiping, singing or traveling or even wishing the whole darn thing were over last Tuesday, there's a good chance they will be busy ones.

So let's make this easy, if we can: tell us five things you need to accomplish before Christmas Eve.

I need to bake cookies with my friend Sandy - we will do that most of today and tomorrow.
I need to finish decorating our trees.
I need to wrap presents.
I need to give one last look at the worship bulletins before they are run.
I need to take some time just to be with all the wonder of this holy season+

FRIDAY FIVE - Windows of the Soul

2008-12-13T07:42:00.003-05:00

This Friday Five is inspired by Sophia's husband's Lasik surgery yesterday....we are praying for his safe recovery and sharing our thoughts on eyes and vision.

1. What color are your beautiful eyes? Did you inherit them from or pass them on to anyone in your family? My eyes are hazel, but contact lenses make them look more green than hazel. My mom's eyes are blue, and my dad's are brown, so mine are the result of some recessive gene stuff going on, I guess!

2. What color eyes would you choose if you could change them?
I would not change my eye color - sticking with green.

3. Do you wear glasses or contacts? What kind? Like 'em or hate 'em?
I have worn some kind of corrective lenses since I was a small child, mostly contacts. I have tried both hard and soft; the gas-permeable lenses work best for me. I don't like or hate them; they are simply a part of life. I am legally blind without correction, so I am just grateful to have the technology to see so well with relative comfort too.

4. Ever had, or contemplated, laser surgery? Happy with the results?
I have been told that I am not a candidate, at least not yet.

5. Do you like to look people in the eye, or are you more eye-shy?
I like to look people in the eye - most intentionally when I offer them the Eucharist. I believel that this is such powerful way to communicate God's "for you" promise in the meal.

Bonus question: Share a poem, song, or prayer that relates to eyes and seeing.
I will work on this one...I Can See Clearly Now is running through my head, but I want to find something else too...

Friday Five: Positive Potpourri

2008-10-31T08:40:00.003-04:00

Will smama writes: As I zip around the webring it is quite clear that we are getting BUSY. "Tis the season" when clergy and laypeople alike walk the highwire from Fall programming to Christmas carrying their balancing pole with family/rest on the one side and turkey shelters/advent wreaths on the other.

And so I offer this Friday Five with 5 quick hit questions... and a bonus:

1) Your work day is done and the brain is fried, what do you do?
I go to Taekwon-Do - then brain and body can both be fried!

2) Your work week is done and the brain is fried (for some Friday, others Sunday afternoon), what do you do?
I engage in Holy Nappage on Sunday afternoon.

3) Like most of us, I often keep myself busy even while programs are on the tv. I stop to watch The Office and 30 Rock on Thursday nights. Do you have 'stop everything' tv programming or books or events or projects that are totally 'for you' moments?
Cleveland Indians baseball

4) When was the last time you laughed, really laughed? What was so funny?
I laughed good and hard Tuesday at a political joke my husband sent me.

5) What is a fairly common item that some people are willing to go cheap on, but you are not.
Coffee - we drink Leelanau Coffee, which magically appears on our doorstep once a month. Of course the bill for it magically appears on our credit card too - but it is soooo worth it!

Bonus: It's become trite but is also true that we often benefit the most when we give. Go ahead, toot your own horn. When was the last time you gave until it felt good?
Last Monday evening at our local March of Dimes fundraiser and a week or so before that as Spiritual Director of our area Via de Cristo weekend.

Friday Five: Location, Location, Location

2008-10-24T07:56:00.005-04:00

Singing Owl is anticipating her daughter and family moving to stay with her for awhile. SO... this post, appropriately, is about locations. She invites us to tell us about the five favorite places we have lived in our lifetime...

I have lived in more than a dozen places, but I will comment on the most memorable ones here:

1. Louisville, Ohio
Our family moved to this northeastern Ohio town of 8,000 or so in the late '60's and I lived there through graduation from high school in 1978. L-ville is still a small town with some beautiful old Victorian and Georgian-style homes, and a "Friday-Night Lights"-style obsession with high school football. We lived in two homes while I was there, the second being a wonderful home my father built for us. I loved my room; it had a wonderful window seat dormer and my first and only walk-in closet!

2. Numazu, Japan
I spent my junior year of high school as an exchange student, living in this seaside city at the foot of Mount Fuji. I absolutely loved my year there - I lived with four host families over the year, accommodations ranging from an apartment above a pharmacy and a penthouse above a private orthopedic hospital, to a sprawling country home with a separate bath house fed by a hot spring.

3. Columbus, Ohio
University and seminary study led me to this capital city, which in the seven years I was there was speedily morphing into a sophisticated artsy metropolis. From cozy dorm rooms to a half-double on 16th Ave that deserved to be condemned, to more dorm rooms, to the "white house" on Parkview and finally another half-double in Clintonville, my homes in Columbus were places where my worldview and my vocation were shaped and confirmed.

4. Toledo, Ohio
First call led me to this city of 250,000 over 23 years ago. I rented a small bungalow, and then purchased my first home, a ranch-style. But the Toledo home that I hold most dearly is the 1916 Dutch Colonial that I purchased as I began my second call. I dreamed of the distinctive two-directional oak staircase before I ever saw it. The house had been held in a trust for nearly a dozen years, and looked like the Money Pit when I first saw it: oriental metallic wall paper in the foyer, and a kitchen whose colors made you want to run screaming out of the house (avocado, grey, yellow, and scarlet). But the man who would become my husband and my parents convinced me that we "could do this" and we did - turning this house into a showcase. Our marriage was begun here, our children nurtured here.

5. Sylvania, Ohio
14 years ago I was called to this community, a suburb of Toledo. We wanted to live in the community I would serve, and so we began looking for a home. Most of the housing cost far more than we wanted to spend, but we found a great home, and have slowly steadily made this two-story our own. We've opened the kitchen into the family room, added a front porch, and decorated some of it to reflect our love for Northern Michigan. The wall paper in the half bath makes you feel as though you are in the middle of a birch grove!

Bonus: In "retirement", we want to live in Northern Michigan in the Leelanau Peninsula. Here's a picture of the fall colors I took on a visit there last week.

Friday Five: Saint Francis of Assisi Day

2008-10-03T08:12:00.007-04:00

This week's host, Sally, dedicates our Friday Five to St Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 3rd.

1. Saint Francis experienced a life changing call, has anything in your journey so far challenged you to alter your lifestyle?
My year as an exchange student in Japan challenged me to think of myself as a citizen of the world, rather than merely of my homeland, the United States. Studying Taewkon-Do for the past three years has reinforced that mindset.

2. Francis experienced mocking and persecution, quite often in the comfortable west this is far from our experience. If you have experienced something like this how do you deal with it, if not how does it challenge you to pray for those whose experience is daily persecution?
Learning about our forebearers in faith who have stood in the gap with those who suffer inspires me to become more aware of God's call for me to go and do likewise. I have begun to meditate on Mother Teresa's Simple Path:
The fruit of silence is PRAYER
The fruit of prayer is FAITH
The fruit of faith is LOVE
The fruit of love is SERVICE
The fruit of service is PEACE

3 St Francis had a female counterpart in St Clare, she was influenced by St Francis' sermon and went on to found the Poor Clares. Like the Franciscans they depended on alms this was unheard of for women in that time, but she persisted and gained permission to found the order. How important are role models like St Clare to you? Do you have a particular female role model whose courage and dedication inspires you? If so share their story....
Svetlana Cholvadova Ottney is a skilled artist who emigrated to our area in the face of persecution for her faith. She works with clay to create murals that tell the faith stories of many worshiping communities in our area. This is a mural of St. Clare that she and her supervising instructor, Sr. Jane Mary Sorosiak, created for Lourdes College.

4. Francis loved nature and animals, how important is an expressed love of the created world to the Christian message today?
Love for the world God has created and entrusted to our care is central to my theology. Our place in God's story begins with creation in Genesis 1, not with sin in Genesis 3.

5. On a lighter note; have you ever led a service of blessing for animals, or a pet service, was it a success, did you enjoy it, and would you do it again?
Yes, we have led services of blessing for animals. They have been only sparsely attended, but those who have participated have really enjoyed them. I would do it again.

Friday Five: Johnny Appleseed Day

2008-09-26T08:17:00.007-04:00

Singing Owl is hosting the RevGals Friday Five today...
Raise your hand if you know that today is Johnny Appleseed Day!
September 26, 1774 was his birthday. Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman) is one of America's great legends. He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania, but he was among those who were captivated by the movement west across the continent.

As Johnny traveled west (at that time, the "West" was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois) he planted apple trees and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew. A devout Christian, he was known to preach during his travels. According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received to churches or charities. He planted hundereds of orchards, considering it his service to humankind. There is some link between Johny Appleseed and very early Arbor Day celebrations.

So, in honor of this interesting fellow, let's get on with the questions!
1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)
Here's a favorite - great for an autumn breakfast:
Apple French Toast Cobbler
1 8-oz. loaf French Bread
4 eggs
1 C milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp melted butter
Slice the bread into 1-inch slices, lay in cake or pie plate. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, baking powder and vanilla. Pour over the bread, turning to coat completely. Cover and let the bread stand until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Grease a 13 X 9 pan. Place the sliced apples in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the apples. Arrange the soaked bread over the top. Brush with the melted butter. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes. Serves 8

2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?
We have planted many trees for many reasons, but probably the most precious was the tree we planted in loving memory of the child we lost to miscarriage.

3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?
I look forward to roaming, but not so much around the countryside. I look forward to the day when the Captain and I will cruise around the mitten of Michigan, stopping at the port towns along the way. Don't think I'll be preaching, but maybe writing, who knows?

4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?
Wow...hate to copy, but the "West Wing" President Bartlett and his staff rank pretty high with me.

5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he traveled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?
I often sing or hum when I am cheerful. This is the song that has been running through my head lately...

Oh, and the answer to the bonus question LutheranChik asks - favorite variety is Honey Crisp!

Vulnerability Friday Five

2008-09-05T14:41:00.010-04:00

As all of us RevGals hold our dear Gannet Girl and her family in prayer at the death of her son, Sally writes... I hope that folk will take this in the spirit with which it is offered; that of continuing prayer and concern tempered by the knowledge that we are called both to weep and to rejoice with our communities. 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 week's Friday 5:
1. Is vulnerability something that comes easily to you, or are you a private person?

As a child, vulnerability (and gullibility) came quite easily to me. As a result, I endured a lot of emotional bullying and more - all of which led me to surmise that vulnerability was a dangerous and undesirable thing. I built a wall around my heart then, and even now some of the bricks still remain. As the community I serve and I have been transitioning over the last month or so, I have discovered that a few of those bricks no longer served their purpose. These questions come at a time when I have been discovering that I can be more open and honest, at least with some whom I trust.

2.How important is it to keep up a professional persona in work/ ministry?
I confess that I have been pretty good at keeping up a professional persona in the past. I am actively discerning what it means for me to act with professionalism without maintaining a persona. I think it's a lifelong day-by-day process of learning to function with openness and integrity.

3. Masks, a form of self-protection discuss...
Yes! See #s 1 & 2 above.

4. Who knows you warts and all?
God, my husband, my boys, a few close friends, my spiritual director.

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.
A prayer attributed to Thomas Merton… My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Friday Five: Fall Transformations

2008-08-15T15:59:00.010-04:00

RevGalsBlogPal Mary Beth writes:

For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.

Fall 2008 will mark the beginning of our older son Music Man's senior year of high school. It seems as though we were just walking him into his kindergarten class...and now, we are scheduling senior pictures and college visits. It is an amazing and bittersweet time in our lives!
In late September, our younger son Gamer and I will be testing for our black stripe in Taekwon-Do. Provided that we pass, we will be some six months away from testing for black belt. We have been working toward this goal for nearly three years!
In October my mom and dad will mark 50 years of marriage - WOW!!! We are planning a weekend away together with them, once our high school finishes its game against our cross-town rivals. Go Cougars! Go Mom and Dad!
It's coming a bit early to be counted as a fall transformation, but our pastoral staff has been reduced by one, due to the departure of our associate pastor after 9 years of good shared ministry. We will be entering the call process, and I will be working to maintain healthy boundaries as two pastors' worth of workload stretches out before me.
I am beginning to get serious about the transformation of my physical health through increased exercise and healthier diet. I have joined SPARK PEOPLE.com and am tracking nutrition, exercise, and other goals for the sake of a healthier life. Goal is to lose 50 lbs by next March, when I begin my 50th year and test for black belt.

Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.

The Captain and I love to watch the leaves changing color. We often try to sneak to Northern Michigan for a few days to celebrate our anniversary and witness the masterpieces that God paints there.

Friday Five: God Days of Summer

2008-08-08T06:57:00.008-04:00

Presbyterian Gal writes: It’s August. An oppressively hot and humid month where many of us live.

I remember the Al Pacino movie though not much about the plot. Just that it was very, very hot. And he had giant sweat stains on his shirt.

As I pass through this year’s dog days in my felon ridden neighborhood (OK, just two housefuls. But isn’t that enough?), I am trying to focus on the blessings apparent around me, past and present, that I might not notice, necessarily. In that spirit, this week’s Friday Five goes thusly:

1. What is your sweetest summer memory from childhood? Did it involve watermelon or hand cranked ice cream? Or perhaps a teen summer romance. Which stands out for you?
My sweetest summer memory from childhood involves strawberries - a field with clusters of wild strawberries behind the home where we lived during my pre-school years. We lived out in the country at that time, without neighbors close by. The field was my playground, where I met my imaginary friends, and a sweet daily snack was waiting.

2. Describe your all time favorite piece of summer clothing. The one thing you could put on in the summer that would seem to insure a cooler, more excellent day.
Shorts and a sleeveless tank or polo shirt - I think this has been true all my life!

3. What summer food fills your mouth with delight and whose flavor stays happily with you long after eaten?
Caprese salad - Tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, basil and EVOO...S'mores prepared at a lakeside campfire...a Tanqueray and tonic with lime as "Captain" and I sit looking at the stars.

4. Tell us about the summer vacation or holiday that holds your dearest memory.
Wow...it's so hard to identify just one! Every family vacation has its cherished moments. Probably one of the most memorable was our family trip to the Canadian Rockies in a truck camper when I was 13. We were driving through the Beartooth Mountains in Montana - my parents in the truck cab, and my younger brother and I in the overcab of the camper. With each hairpin turn we approached, our position in the camper made it look as though we were going right over the side of the mountain. At first it was terribly frightening, but then as we realized we were at the edge but not going over, it felt like a great rollercoaster ride. In the end, our screams became too much for my dad's concentration, so we had to climb down from the overcab and sit at the table!

5. Have you had any experience(s) this summer that has drawn you closer to God or perhaps shown you His wonder in a new way?
For me, sunset views on the bay from aft on our cruiser have been holy moments. There is a time each sunset when the water takes on an opalescent hue - I can't find quite find the words to describe the color. But my heart feels especially close to God in those moments.

Bonus question: When it is really hot, humid and uncomfortable, what do you do to refresh and renew body and spirit?
We have air conditioning, so there is always a ready escape indoors. If I've got some free time or time with our family, we go to a local theatre and see a movie!

(All pictures from Google Images)

Friday Five: What You Absolutely, Postively, Can't Leave Home Without

2008-07-25T08:39:00.004-04:00

Singing Owl writes...We will be at a chaplain's convention when you all are answering the Friday Five Questions. I'll look forward to reading your answers next week when I get home. At the moment we are trying to get the car loaded so we can hit the road, so this will be a simple F.F. This running around madly in order to leave has me wondering: what are the five things you simply must have when you are away from home? And why? Any history or goofy things, or stories?

Such a timely Friday Five, as we are on vacation in Northern Michigan, beginning our second wonderful week here. We come to the same summer cottage each year; we know its supplies and deficiencies so well now that we have a packing list on the computer that we update at the end of each vacation for the next year.

But when I travel, these are the things that I always take along...
1. My slippers - navy blue scuffs that, when I put them on, make anywhere feel comfy and a little more like home. Don't know how long ago I got into this habit, but my year as an exchange student in Japan made me very comfortable with a scuff slipper, because that is what you slip into when you slip out of your shoes at the entrance of a home. Still tend to leave my shoes at the door if allowed to do so...after 32 years!

2. A good book and a magazine or two. Leisure eading is a getaway activity for me. On this trip I brought Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Oprah, and Southern Living magazines, and Fearless Fourteen, Miracle at Speedy Motors, Whitethorne Woods, Amazing Grace, Write Yourself Right Size, and Starting Over.

3. A corkscrew - we've bought a few along the way, and so there are enough floating around our toiletry bags to never go without.

4. Make-up, or at least lipstick and contact lens comfort drops. Need I say more?

5. Blackberry Pearl - a few months ago I would have said my laptop. I used to take it everywhere. But last month our son and I took a trip to Denver, CO to see the Rockies with my mom. And because the Pearl allows me to view e-mails and scan the web, I just didn't need my laptop along. It felt good! But here for two weeks, I have the LT - it would have been too hard to do a Friday Five on the Pearl!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, safe journeys and joyful homecomings to any and all who are traveling, and the wisdom to receive and enjoy this day for the gift that it is.

A Summer Reading Friday Five

2008-06-27T20:31:00.005-04:00

Rev Gals Blog Pal Songbird writes: Back in the day, before I went to seminary, I worked in the Children's Room at the Public Library, and every year we geared up for Summer Reading. Children would come in and record the books read over the summer, and the season included numerous special and celebratory events. As a lifelong book lover and enthusiastic summer reader, I find I still accumulate a pile of books for the summer.

This week, then, a Summer Reading Friday Five.

1) Do you think of summer as a particularly good season for reading? Why or why not?
For the past dozen years or more, I have done most of my reading for enjoyment during the summer. I do so in part because our family vacations at a very restful place along a lake in Northern Michigan, and reading has always been central to our time there. I began reading the Harry Potter series to our family there years ago, and the reading tradition has continued.

2) Have you ever fallen asleep reading on the beach?
Yes, a few years ago when I was reading through a slow part of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Thankfully, I had lots of sunscreen on!

3) Can you recall a favorite childhood book read in the summertime?
Nancy Drew mysteries - started reading them when I was about 8 or so. Now as I look back at my sons' childhood, the evenings we spent reading the Harry Potter books aloud, sometimes with extended family there as well, will be cherished memories.

4) Do you have a favorite genre for light or relaxing reading?
I enjoy the First Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. My guilty pleasures include the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanonich, anything by Janet Cruisie, Maeve Binchy, or Nicholas Sparks.

5) What is the next book on your reading list?
I have several ready to read when we head up north- including the latest from the First Ladies Detective Agency series, Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich, as well as several others that friends have loaned to me. 21 days and counting!

A Garage-Saler's Friday Five May 30

2008-05-30T08:25:00.004-04:00

Since will smama is preparing for a joint garage sale with her parents, and Songbird's church had a Yard and Plant Sale last Saturday, they have five enormously important questions for all of us Friday Five players:

1) Are you a garage saler?
No, I have never really been a garage sale host or buyer. I don't know why...it just has never been something to which I have gravitated. I have tended to donate things that could be sold to Goodwill and other organizations like them.
That being said, I am going to try to sell a few items next week at a neighbor's garage sale...so there's always a first time!

2) If so, are you an immediate buyer or a risk taker who comes back later when prices are lower?
I am neither, but our younger son is an immediate buyer and a regular shopper at local garage sales.

3) Seriously, if you're not a garage saler, you are probably not going to want to play this one.
(That wasn't really #3.)
3) This is the real #3: What's the best treasure you've found at a yard or garage sale?
My husband and I found an old (circa 1930's) gas stove at a garage sale in our old neighborhood. It was not anything we wanted, but just a few weeks before, my mother had said that she was looking for one for use in the bed and breakfast they run. Now mind you, all the while that my mother was going on about wanting this stove, my father was standing behind her, silently but furiously waving her idea off.
Which left us with a dilemma...do we get this stove for them or not?
We decided that we would call them, and if mom answered the phone, we would tell her about it. If dad answered the phone (which he usually does), we would know to pass the stove by.
Wouldn't you know it...Mom answered the phone. She wanted the stove, and so we proceeded.
My dad had no problem retrofitting it into their kitchen with its tin ceiling and 100+ year old wood cabinets and trim.
That was over 15 years ago...and it still works beautifully for them!

4)If you've done one yourself, at church or at home, was it worth the effort?
Members of our congregation hold a garage sale most every year, and it does net a lot of money, at least half of which we forward on to other ministries. It is definitely worth the effort...and it has built some new friendships through the years
5) Can you bring yourself to haggle?
I can, in certain settings...in the old city in Jerusalem's West Bank, in the street markets in the Caribbean, and on big ticket items!

FRIDAY FIVE - Gifts of the Spirit

2008-05-09T14:32:00.018-04:00

FROM ACTS CHAPTER 2: 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:17 " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

Presbyterian Girl of RevGals writes...(My personal favorite in this passage is how Peter insists the men cannot be drunk because it's only 9:00 a.m.)

Anyway, it's Pentecost and my very first Friday Five! Thinking about all the gifts of the spirit and what Peter said of the "last days"......

Have you or anyone you know

1. ...ever experienced a prophesy (vision or dream) that came true?
I had an amazing dream about a home that I ended up buying before I had even seen it. The dream was of a house whose main staircase split and went in two directions halfway up the stairs. When I walked into the house and saw the staircase of my dream there, I knew this house would be my home. I waited over 9 months to take possession because of title issues, but it was well worth it.

2. ...dreamed of a stranger, then actually met them later?
I am not sure that I have every had a dream like this..but then I don't remember very many of my dreams as a rule.

3. ...seen a wonder in heaven? (including UFO's) I count the Northern Lights and the Southern Cross as two of the many wonders in the heavens I have been blessed to see.

4. ...seen a "sign" on the earth?
I guess I'd point to some amazing communities of faith who've truly and profoundly lived the Gospel...signs on earth pointing to the reign of God.

5. ...experienced knowledge of another language without ever having studied it?
I wouldn't say "knowledge" of - but I am easily able to pick up accents and dialects. I've fooled a few people along the way - they thought I'd grown up in Japan and in Greece because my speaking in those languages sounded so authentic. It's a gift...

Bonus Question: What would a modern day news coverage of the first Pentecost have sounded like?
I think RevDrKate said it best - not sure the press would have caught the Spirit of the event!

Wait and Pray Friday Five

2008-05-02T07:50:00.005-04:00

Sally from RevGalBlogPals 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?
I like to pray together with others, but I pray most deeply by myself. I have been intentionally growing into more of a contemplative prayer over the last year or so.

2. Do you enjoy the discipline of waiting, is it a time of anticipation or anxiety?
I don't really enjoy waiting as a rule, but the waiting that is a part of prayer is becoming more comfortable. It's more a time of anticipation than anxiety.

3. Is there a time when you have waited upon God for a specific promise?
Yes, and I can remember it as if it were yesterday. The first parish and community in which I served had a culture was clearly shaped by marriage - that is to say, you reached maturity and respectability in the community when you were married. It was a difficult place to be a single female pastor.

So I prayed long and hard for a life partner. Not just to fit into the community, but also because I believed that God had promised that I would have one...someday. Sometimes I cried as I prayed. I just couldn't believe that I would have to carry out this ministry entrusted to me without someone to share my life. Though I knew God was close, I needed someone with skin on!

I met the man who would become my husband as I began the process of accepting a new call. And because he was a member of the congregation, my initial response was "Oh no, God, this isn't supposed to happen this way!" Finally an insightful colleague and mentor told me to stop questioning how God seemed to be answering my prayer. We were married late the next year, and have shared 18 precious years together.

4. Do you prefer stillness or action?
Because there is so much noise and activity in my life, I crave stillness.

5. If ( and this is slightly tongue in cheek) you were promised one gift spiritual or otherwise what would you choose to receive?
I would welcome the gift of hospitality. I feel as though this is something I have to work at, and I wish instead that it just flowed from me.

An Old Versus Modern Friday Five...

2008-04-25T09:02:00.009-04:00

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?
Well, I would have thought it was the computer, but I have discovered that I can do well without it...at least for awhile! I think it would be the car. There are so many wonderful places I would never have seen if it were not for the automobile that enabled me to get there.

2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day? Why?
I think we could do without cell phones...I certainly could do without them ringing in the middle of worship. Because we don't seem to know how to turn them off or to vibrate, they interrupt our efforts to have meaningful face-to-face conversation.

3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If so, do you use it (them)?
I still have a cassette player here in our den, and I can't remember when we last used it. I think it may be "out of there" by the end of the weekend! Our turntable went out with the unlimited pickup last year after sitting in a closet for a few years.

4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something else?
I am mostly excited by it, but when I wonder what is ahead for our children and grandchildren, I get a little nervous that our ethics are not keeping pace with the rapid change.

5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain?
Since I wasn't there, I can't be sure. After all, just about anything that my forebears have told me about the "good old days" has been filtered through their experience.

I think I'd like to regain the sense of community that people once had in their neighborhoods. I live in a neighborhood that has more private decks than front porches. We added a front porch to our home several years ago, and we enjoy visiting there with neighbors who are walking their dogs...or watching a summer storm pass over.

We are in the infancy stages of a vision for reclaiming community in our neighborhoods in our congregation. Our hope is that teams of 3-4 households in each geographical area will be salt and light where they live...coordinating help for people who need little things done around their homes, and sponsoring some kind of community-building event like a block party or holiday open house. We call it "Neighborhood Care-ring".

A 24-Hour Friday Five

2008-04-18T08:19:00.002-04:00

RevHRod wrote...Yesterday I had the 24 hour flu. I had been told by the people who had it first that it really was a twenty-four hour bug. And so while I dealt with all the blech of the flu, I kept reminding myself that morning would come and I would feel a lot better.

This is certainly a strange way to start out a Friday Five but it made me think about what I might like to do if I knew it would only last for 24 hours. There are no reality boundaries to these imaginings. So here are the five things for you to consider...

If you could dramatically change your physical appearance for 24 hours, what would you do? I would get rid of 50 pounds of extra weight and enjoy being more physically active for the day.

If you could live in another place for 24 hours where would you go? I would go back to Japan, where I spent a year as an exchange student. I'd try to find some of the people I knew there and share lots of sushi and sake with them.

You get to do somebody else's job for a day...I've always thought I might pursue a career in licensed massage therapy later on in life. I think I'd try it for a day and see how I'd like it.

Spend the day with another person from anywhere in time and space...A day with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, working by her side.

A magical power is yours. Which one would you pick? Any power that would enable me to alleviate human suffering by addressing its root causes...perhaps the powers of insight or persuasion, on a global level.

Movin' Out

2008-04-11T07:39:00.001-04:00

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?
I personally have moved 16 times in 48 years. Our family moved to our current home nearly 14 years ago. This is by far the longest I have ever lived in one place.

2. What do you love and hate about moving?
I love the possibility of a new start - and a really clean house! I hate packing!

3. Do you do it yourself or hire movers?
I have never had the experience of using professional movers...but have been blessed with many helpful friends. What's a professional move like?

4. Advice for surviving and thriving during a move?
Accept friends' offers of help...be ruthless about throwing away the stuff that you haven't used for 2 years or more.

5. Are you in the middle of any inner moves, if not outer ones?
Yes...an inner move toward calling our faith community to stand with our brothers and sisters who are caring for the poor and homeless in our area.

Bonus: Share a piece of music/poetry/film/book that expresses something about what moving means to you.
Movin' Out by Billy Joel comes to mind and is staying there...so I'll go with that.

Emmaus

2008-04-05T14:17:00.000-04:00

Supper at Emmaus by He Qi

EASTER is the “Jesus” part of the "Joys – Junk – Jesus" focus we have been sharing at our congregation since Christmas

The Easter Gospels reveal what Jesus died and was raised from death to accomplish according to God’s will and purpose for creation…

1. Jesus the New Life for those ensnared by sin, death and the devil - we are delivered from their power.

2. Jesus the Peace-giver for the Doubting and Dejected – We are restored.

3. Jesus the Promise Keeper for the brokenhearted - We have hope.

4. Jesus the Caretaker - We journey through life in safety.

5. Jesus the Spiritual Guide to the Father - We trust.

6. Jesus the Full Revelation of God – We see God and believe.

7. Jesus the One in whom all creation is unified before God– We are community.

The Easter evening story of the Road to Emmaus is such a powerful story of transformation. When the un-recognized Jesus asks, "What are you discussing as you walk along?” the travelers STOP and stand still, looking sad, frozen in the moment by the over-powering loss they feel.

Pastor N. F. writes (and I paraphrase)...Theirs is the kind of pain that catches your breath in your throat. We've felt it at the death of a friend, parent, spouse, or child. Even the death of a dream can trigger the frozen response when it tears the future or a relationship away.

Luke doesn't tell us how Jesus unfreezes these travelers but they continue telling their story to him. And when the travelers have told the story and acknowledged their loss of hope, the walking and talking continue, and the dialog gains energy as Jesus starts telling God’s story. Beginning with Moses and the prophets, the still unrecognized Jesus tells them the story of God’s intention for humanity – for all creation.

Once they reach Emmaus, the travelers stop once more, but this time it is to stop Jesus from leaving them. They compel him to stay with them at their home. And as Jesus gives thanks to God, breaks bread and gives it to them - in the breaking of bread he is known. God’s story and theirs is joined forever in the revelation that Jesus is God’s Son, crucified and raised.

So, as one sister preacher notes, Emmaus gives us a pattern for worship. We journey along, worried by our world, our hearts often broken with loss. We read from Scripture and our hearts burn as Jesus opens it up to us, and then we recognize him in the breaking of the bread, and then we journey forth in joy.

When we come to know Jesus, it is a moment frozen in time. When we experience Jesus as One who has died and been raised for us, it is a moment of transformation after which nothing is the same. It may be a dramatic reversal of direction …or a moment of enlightened awareness when our hearts are touched, opened, and transformed.

And when we come to know Jesus and are known by him, the joyful response to this new reality and new direction is to jump up and run to tell everyone we know. Isn't it? And if so, we never tire of telling the story of Jesus and us.

Pat Richardson, formerly a senior VP for Motorola, would often find himself in the elevator with CEO Bob Galvin. Bob would say, "Pat, what are you working on?" Pat says that he would have about 40 seconds to tell a clear, concise, compelling story. He called it his "Elevator Speech." If Bob liked it, you got to ride all the way up to the top floor with him. If he didn't, pushed the button for the next floor and told you to have a nice day.

You and I need to develop and be able to tell our “elevator speech” about Jesus, at all times, in all places, to all people.We need to be able to identify and flesh out one of more of the many ways Jesus has transformed our lives:
1. Jesus the New Life for those ensnared by sin, death and the devil - we are delivered from their power.
2. Jesus the Peace-giver for the Doubting and Dejected – We are restored.
3. Jesus the Promise Keeper for the Broken-hearted - We have hope.
4. Jesus the Caretaker - We journey through life in safety.
5. Jesus the Spiritual Guide to the Father - We trust.
6. Jesus the Full Revelation of God – We see God and believe.
7. Jesus the One in whom all creation is unified before God– We are community.

But maybe you are sitting here still frozen… Because …Yes…I am talking about evangelism.The big scary “E” word. I was on a transformational journey with 20 other women last weekend which happened to take place on a cruise ship. At one point when several of them were sitting in a hot tub along with another individual just talking , the word "evangelism" crept out, and so did the other individual in the hot-tub! He made a beeline out of there.

Perhaps we make evangelism scary and hard because we see it as a heavy duty rather than how we live, and live joyfully. Evangelism can scare the Jesus out of people if it’s all about 'rules'. Evangelism can scare the Jesus out of people if we are so forceful that we chase people away.

So whether we can identify our “elevator speech” about Jesus yet or not, we can, as God has created us to do, live and love each other...as a joy, rather than a chore…

Let me close with a story that a brother in Christ shared with me this week…

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.

ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.

He was glad he did. The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time, helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, 'Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?' She nodded through her tears... He continued on with, 'I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly.'

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister...' He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, 'Are you Jesus?'

He stopped mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with the question burning in his heart: 'Are you Jesus?' Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, what we were created for… to be so much like Jesus, that people see him as we live in and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.

If we have come to know Him and be known by Him, then ours is the call to live, walk, listen and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church, or even sharing in this life-giving meal. It's actually living the living Word as life unfolds before us day to day.

Friday Five April 4, 2008

2008-04-04T08:45:00.000-04:00

Sally asked...

With this Sunday's gospel reading in mind, that wonderful revelation of Christ to the companions on the Emmaus road. I wonder where you might have been surprised by God's revelation recently.

So with no further waffle I offer you this weeks Friday 5:

How has God revealed him/herself to you in a:

1. Book
I am in love with Alexander McCall Smith's series "The First Ladies Detective Agency". The protagonist is a strong wise African woman named Precious Ramotswe. As I read each volume (there are 7 or 8 now), I delight in a woman who is filled with a spirit of grace, wisdom and wit. She points me to an image of the woman of God God wants me to be.

2.Film
This one is harder - my memory about films is very short - so I can enjoy them again and again as if for the first time. The Green Mile jumped to the tip of my tongue as I read the question, so I will leave it at that.

3. Song
WOW...so many, but I'll say psalm 141 as it is sung in the ELW hymnal evening prayer and Marty Haugen's Holden Evening Prayer settings

4. Another person
My husband...never have I known someone so filled with grace toward me. I do not deserve him, but he is mine and I am his.

5. Creation
Mornings at Glen Lake, in northern lower Michigan - think of your left hand - palm out- as lower Michigan. Look to the left side of your ring finger - that's where Glen Lake is. The waters are almost as blue as parts of the Caribbean, and sunrise and for 2 weeks each summer I get to spend my devotional time in the early morning there. Above picture is of the moon rising over said lake...beautiful!

Bonus answer: your choice- share something encouraging/ amazing/ humbling that has happened to you recently!
Without a doubt - the warm welcome and time shared with 21 amazing women at the RGBP Big Event

A Million Dollar Friday Five

2008-04-01T13:27:00.000-04:00

1. Tithe it to some ministries I want to support

2. Start on our family's dream to secure a place on Glen Lake, near the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Northern Lower Michigan

$1 million would not be enough for #2 :(

So...

2008-04-01T11:18:00.000-04:00

I've just returned last evening from one of the most joyous, worthwhile, transformational experiences I've ever had. Thanks to all the RGPBs whose welcome was warm...grace abounded 24-7!

I've gone dark (no, not with a suntan!!!) into anonymous blogging so that I can be real without fear.

The word I walked with over the past few days was Integrity. Not the first time this word has sat in my craw...and certainly not the last. But when I drew this word this time, I saw a period at the end of it - rather than a question mark, as had been the case awhile back when this word first started sitting on my shoulder. I am grateful, deeply grateful for the journey toward deeper integrity...and i look to this blog as a touchstone for the journey as it continues.

...I have procrastinated enough, and now I must face laundry and all the other stuff that calls my name back here somewhere south of somewhere.

Hugs and kisses and chocolate ice cream cones Lido Deck Aft to my RGBP sisters