Friday Five: Love the One You're With

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 - Do Nothing Edition

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.

Friday Five - It's All About the Look

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!

RevGals Friday Five - Talkin 'Bout Pop Music

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

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

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

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;

So

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

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

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

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!

Friday Five - The Fork in the Road

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.

Friday Five - Pancake Edition

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

Friday Five: Countdown to Christmas Edition

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.

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

FRIDAY FIVE - Windows of the Soul

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: Location, Location, Location

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.

Vulnerability Friday Five

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

RevGalsBlogPal Mary Beth writes:

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

1. 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!
2. 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!
3. 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!
4. 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.
5. 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: What You Absolutely, Postively, Can't Leave Home Without

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.

FRIDAY FIVE - Gifts of the Spirit

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

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.