Today

Wee hours of morning: Woke up too early - practiced sermon.

Morning: Led worship and preached for two services. Both went smoothly including Girl Scout Sunday, Hospitality Moment, Orchestra Sunday, and the pianist didn't set her clock forward. Fortunately, music director was there for 8:45 service and stepped in to play the piano. I preached with much fewer notes so as to not need a stand for them - one page front and back in booklet form folded into Bible. It worked, but I had to do it in publisher to get the pages right.

Afternoon: Typed outline for evening presentation - already handwritten in journal - just needed typing. Helped manBoy track down items for medieval king costume needed for tomorrow. Consequence for waiting to last minute - he paid for items that had to be purchased and he owes me two weeks of positive attitude and pleasant tone of voice.

Evening: Spoke to parent support group for parents of children with disabilities about theology of disability - God did not do this to your child as punishment or so you would grow to face the challenge or so there could be a miracle... and much more.

Later in the evening: Made royal robe for medieval king out of sheet. Two small breaks in seam of top hem. Shoelace inserted. One cut across bottom for hem. One seam for hem. Voila! manBoy threaded the shoelace, ironed, fetched, and cleaned up mess. He still owes me.

Now.I'm.going.to.bed.

The Challenge

So far, I have done well with not playing Turbo Solitaire during Lent. While this may seem to be a trivial or not especially spiritual fast, it drastically changes how I spend my time - how much goes to spiritual life, family life...

The challenge for today is I am working at home. Lot's more temptation. I have a sermon to write - really easy to take "just a short break" that turns into an hour before I know it. Posting this increases my accountability. I've told the world I'm not going to do this, so I'm not.

How are your Lenten disciplines going? Do you have any?

Friday Five: Fork in the Road

One of my favorite movie lines is in the original Muppet Movie. Fozzie Bear is driving and Kermit is navigating. They come to a fork in the road looking somewhat like this picture only the road actually splits. Dialogue goes like this:
Kermit: Bear left.
Fozzie: Right frog.



This memory was stirred by Singing Owl's Friday Five Post at RevGalBlogPals. She 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?

Some of the paths I have taken have been directed by others and/or God. Some have been my own choice.

1. When I was 11, my parents signed me up to help at a daycamp for children with special needs. I fell in love. This became my calling and career path. I taught special education for 20 years until.... see number 4.

2. Chasing Gifted and Talented until he caught me. I was just 16 when we started dating. 2/3rds of my life has been spent with him. This is a very good thing.

3. Adoption: After 5 years of struggling with infertility and no firm diagnosis we made the decision to adopt. ManBoy came into our lives just 3 weeks after we finished the last of our paperwork. It's been a blessed 16 years. He's out in on the town in the car right now. Feel free to pray for safety.

4. Leaving teaching to attend seminary and work toward ordination - after 3 years of arguing with God. Probably the biggest change in my life, in our family life.

5. Staying in the conference office rather than going to serve in a local church after seminary - NOT what I expected. This is one of those God things, I fell into. For the latest on how this is unfolding click here and scroll down to Epiphany.

Day Off

Hey! Tomorrow, I'm actually taking one of those days off we talked about in the Friday Five. It's kind of cool to have identified what I want to do with it. The time outside thing is a little iffy. Today the high temp was 86 degrees. Tomorrow 30 degrees cooler. Whether I go to the park will depend on how much wind there is to go with the cooler temps. Now I know many of you are thinking highs in the 50's would be a breath of spring - but I'm a cold (cool) weather wimp. For now, I'm off to read a novel - because I can!

Lent

For accountability purposes, I am posting that I am giving up Turbo Solitaire for Lent. It eats up time and energy that could be better used in my family and spiritual life. I'll go into more detail later about other plans for Lent, but I must get ready to go to the office now.

Not as Tired as I Thought I'd Be

Well the big event that the commitee I co-chair has been planning since August has come and gone. We offered awareness information and training for Disabilities Ministries. All in all it was a success. I wish we had better attendance, but this was the first one and lots of people don't get why this is important. We had wonderful worship with band from home church including G&T and Dogblogger, liturgical dance choreographed and danced by a teenager with Downs Syndrome, and a sign choir. I delivered the message which was well received. We followed worship with breakout sessions on accessiblity, evangelism, and starting ministries. Our keynote speaker after lunch was someone who suddenly lost her sight just a few years ago. Feedback from the participants was very good. The committee was awesome at taking responsibility for their various parts and being really helpful in general. I want to feel exhilarated, but I don't. I'm working on figuring out why.

I am however, not nearly as tired as I thought I would be. This event fell in the middle of 10 weeks of go, go, go with lots of travel, projects, and deadlines. I have next weekend basically off from work/church events, but the two following will be hectic on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Hospitality Team at church (which I lead) is planning a church-wide focus on prayer, welcoming, and invitation for Lent. This means we are working hard to get several things in place this week. One of those is a prayer/action guide inviting church members to add some disciplines around hospitality rather than giving something up for Lent. Another is a "hospitality moment" for each Sunday worship during Lent. One thing that did happen today is our "Information Station" was up and running. Our hospitality team member who is also on the furnishings committee for our new building found a great portable bar that works great as long as we don't put the foot rails on it. Good height, storage for brochures, gift bags... We started our big hospitality push with a Saturday morning training on Radical Hospitality just after the first of the year. It was exciting to see one of the ideas that came from that session come to fruition. More are on the way...

Well, bedtime has come and I'm perhaps more tired than I thought I was at the beginning of this post. I hope your week brings you joy.

Friday Five: Taking a Break

Songbird writes at RevGalBlogPals: 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: Power nap if I can find a place. Hint: If you are going to sneak a power nap in the back seat of your car in the office parking lot, be sure you know where the Bishop is.
2. an afternoon off: Read a novel that has nothing to do with church or work. I've actually done this on a couple of Sunday afternoons lately. Survival technique in a time when Saturdays have been full of work and church stuff.
3. an unexpected free day: Bubble Bath and other girl stuff I never have time for, good music, lunch with friend, time at the park or in the backyard, read. Sounds good. I need one of these!
4. a week's vacation: Beach, hammock, books, music, time with hubby.
5. a sabbatical: Gee, I've never even considered this. Travel in Europe then explore and visit around to learn what young folks are looking for in church today.

Friday Five: Pets

Sophia at RevGalBlogPals 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.

Well, I haven't had five pets in my lifetime, but a few weeks ago, I started to tell the story of Jake the Dog and got side tracked. This seems like a good place to do that.

It starts in my childhood when a couple of scary events involving being knocked down by hunting puppies who were as big as I was and a dog running through the slats in my playpen left me terrified of dogs. I don't just mean scared, I mean climbing on the furniture or nearest car terrified. Our family had a couple of small outside dogs but it was understood that I didn't want to have anything to do with their care. I didn't run from them like I did with other dogs, but I certainly wasn't going to pet them.

Now fast forward thirty plus years when manBoy comes into our lives. His first word was "dog." I kid you not. His sitter had a dog in her back yard. When I would release him from his carseat, he would crawl or walk to the backdoor, look out and ask "dog?" Okay it sounded like "gog," but it was his first real word. Go figure.

As manBoy grew older, the pleas for a dog grew more frequent and backed with increasingly complex arguments for his case. At first we put him off saying we didn't have a fence around the yard. Then one summer, Gifted and Talented finished the fence. Now we were out of excuses. manBoy was 9 going on 10, and I began to feel I could perhaps tolerate an outside dog in the name of love for my son. I knew it would take more than my own strength to do this.

So, one Saturday morning in November, I went to the local SPCA website just to look. Just to see what might be there... and of course on the front page was a picture of a beautiful blond dog. His name was Jake and he was the dog of the week - on special! manBoy came in while I was looking and fell in love. I told him I wasn't sure if we could do this right now. I told him Jake was probably already gone since he had been dog of the week. I told him not to get his hopes up. Yeah. Right.

All day long, manBoy and I thought about Jake. Finally just before closing time, I called the SPCA. Yes, Jake was still there. So, the next afternoon we went down into the big city to the SPCA shelter. All the way down, manBoy kept saying, "You are the greatest parents ever!" And I kept saying, "We are just going to look. We are not getting a dog today." We walked in and manBoy presented the picture we had printed saying, "We want to see Jake, and my mom is scared of dogs." Needless to say, Jake went home with us that day.

Just like when manBoy came home with us, we had not one dog anything at our house. So we stopped at big box store. manBoy and G&T went in to shop leaving me with Jake in the van together! Lots of prayers and deep breathing, and we did okay. The guys came back with one of everything from the dog aisle!

Fast forward one week. We come home from church to find Jake awake but not getting up from his favorite place in the sun. He hadn't eaten. One of the toys we had purchased had disappeared and the doggy bed had been chewed to shreds. So, off we went to the emergency vet. In the next few hours exploratory surgery revealed that Jake had not swallowed anything undigestable. He did however have guy type problems that had been overlooked at the shelter. He also had a malformed kidney that was not functioning, and bad hips. So now, instead of an outside dog, we had a post-surgery dog that required wound care, and medications by mouth. Not.what.I.had.signed.up.for.

With the help of our vet and friends who were more dog lovers than me, we made it through. Through it all, Jake and I became fast friends. I still don't get my hands too close to his mouth and I'm not fond of licking. But, I brush him and he loves that. He listens to me better than to the males in the house. By our best estimate, Jake is 7 years old this month. His kidney function has never been an issue. He only shows signs of hip problems if he's been inside where he can't run for extended periods of time. He prefers to be outside unless it is thundering or below 25 degrees.

I was reminded of this story when Gifted and Talented was building him a new dog house. The one he built six years ago was falling apart. They both have wind breaks built into them, but the new one is insulated too. He puts cedar mulch in the bottom of it since Jake likes to lay in the mulch in the flower beds. Not that G&T likes this dog or anything.

All in all we are glad Jake came into our family. I'll post pics when I get home this evening. I don't have them on this computer.

Lots of stuff to blog - no time to blog it

Okay, this may be long so just read as far as you have time. Life has been very, very busy since Christmas, but should slow down to a trot for the next few weeks. I've spent every Saturday since Christmas except one doing something church or work related. I have one more Saturday that doesn't have church/work stuff between now and March 20. However, most of that stuff has/is/will result in exciting events. The Disabilities Ministry Symposium for the confernece is falling into place and my home church hospitality team has great plans cooking.

MY LIFE AS AN HYPOTENUSE.
I try to avoid triangling, but some how the rest of the world just doesn't seem to get it. I keep finding myself in triangles. I try to set boundaries and extract myself as often as possible. Not always possible or perhaps my boundaries are not always strong enough. Today I've been proofing a print job that is not for me. Proofing fell to me because I happen to have the original file on my computer and because the person wanting the print job is using his blackberry to check emails and can't look at the proof. arghhhh. Some how the fact that I'm working from home today because of the migraine meds doesn't seem to make a difference. This really is a triangle I need to do something about. I know I have big girl panties around here somewhere.

FITNESS ASSESSMENT
A couple of weeks ago I went for a fitness assessment at the Y. I could hardly move for the next three days. I haven't done a push up in years, much less 8! I learned pretty much what I already knew and a couple of good things too. My flexibility and strength are in the basement. However, I did pretty well on the cardio part. A whole year of cardio work has paid off! Now I have a new workout plan that includes strength and flexibility.

Meanwhile as I walked a mile to see how fast I could do it, I had time (more than 16 minutes) to think about this assessment in a theological way. The assessment measured cardio fitness, flexibility, strength, and how fast I could walk a mile. It seemed to me these might work for the spiritual discipline of self examination. How are my heart, flexibility, and strength of faith? I'm not sure how to work in the timed mile, but surely it will preach somehow.

MY ADVENTURE WITH THE BISHOP
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in Jacksonville, Florida riding in a car with our new bishop, his wife, and another conference staff person. We were headed for a specific seafood restaurant. We had the instructions, a printed google map and a GPS gadget. The bishop was driving and the other staffer was in the front seat navigating. When it came to deciding east or west on a particular street, we turned east as directed. However we were looking for a street number in the 1000 range and I was watching the numbers go up from 5000 to 6000. We started to turn around, but changed our minds. We went a little further east and still the numbers went up. We pulled into a parking lot and called the restaurant. Yes, they told us we needed to go east. When we asked about the numbers, they told us the restaurant is actually in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and the numbers start over at the city limit change. Aha. We had directions. We knew the restaurant was near the beach and the beach was to the east, but we let the signs distract us. I know this will preach sometime, somewhere.

EPIPHANY
While I was in Florida, I gained some real insight into my current appointment. I had trouble picking which breakout sessions to attend because my job description is rather nebulous. Basically for the last year, I have been bringing to fruition the events my boss envisioned in his efforts increase our support of local churches. We have offered a variety of trainings and one retreat. Some of what I attended was helpful to me, but some wasn't. Then on Sunday morning, a session I had wanted to skip so as to have more than 15 minutes at home before the next trip (another story), I had an "aha moment." The topic was helping churches create discipleship systems - something I've been interested in since I was on staff at my home church 5 years ago. I felt like I had come home. This is what my position is about - helping churches be more effective at making disciples! Finally, a clearer definition.

But wait there's more! If you have read my blog (here and here and here) you know that my ministry path has not gone at all the way I expected. I like being in the conference office, but I still struggle with wanting to pastor in a local church. As I listened to someone very high up in the General Board of Discipleship make his presentation, he said, "Folks, you know I love the local church. I know I'm called to be where I am, but if I was told to go back to the local church, I would run there." I felt like he was speaking my heart. At the next small group discussion time, I excused myself from the group and went to talk to the presenter. When I told him how his words spoke to me and for me he answered, "It is your love of the local church that makes you valuable in the conference office." Music to my ears, soothing to my soul. Exactly what I needed to hear and to be able to articulate when I go before the Board of Ordained Ministry for my annual check in April.

Well you know a lot more about my life than you did when you started reading this, and probably much more than you wanted to know. Thanks for letting me get all that out. That is if anyone actually read this far... Anyone.... out.....there???

Friday Five: Take Me or Leave Me

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals poses the question: Whether it's new friends or new loves or new employers, what are five things people should know about you?

Not in any particular order -

*I tend to /try to look for the good in people, situations...
When I was growing up, "Pollyanna" was one of my favorite movies. If that means nothing to you, I suggest you find a copy and watch it - the 1960 Walt Disney version with Haley Mills. I had the soundtrack (dialogue and all) on a record. I listened to it until it was no longer playable. I think that is where it all started. Then this became a survival technique in teaching children with severe disabilities. We focused on the positive - what could be learned, not what couldn't.

*I am not nice -
a. When I'm hungry. (My cousin's ex says this runs in the family.)
b. After my bedtime.

*I am goal oriented rather than process oriented.
This means crafts like knitting and other needle work aren't so good for me. I get so caught up in getting finished, I forget to enjoy the process. It also means I get lots of stuff done!

*I am genuinely interested in finding the spiritual in my many tasks (see#3), but I have to be intentional about it.
This doesn't come naturally. Life is so much better when I live this way, but it's an ongoing effort. Prayer helps.

*Family is important to me.
I love being ManBoy's mom and Gifted & Talented's wife. I don't show them enough.

Full Circle

My boss is a history buff and has a small collection of books from Methodism past. A few weeks ago, I was invited to a church to see if I could use any of the material that was being discarded in the Conference Resource Center. Among the videos and books, I found a Handbook for Methodist Youth Fellowship from the 40's. I asked if I could take it for my boss.

Today, I finally caught up with him long enough to give it to him and explain how I came to have it. He was excited to have it for its historical value. Then he opened to the front page. The name inside was the pastor who first hired my boss as a youth director many years ago. He had been an important mentor in my boss' life even to the point that my boss spoke at his funeral a couple of years ago.

After checking the publication dates, we figured the book must have belonged to the mentor pastor when he was a teenager in MYF, long before he was a pastor. The book, it seems, has made a full circle or maybe two!

Reflections???

We'll I've been reading a few of my favorite blogs and several have good-bye 2008 or hello 2009 posts. I've been too busy living 2009 to reflect on it! I have four big projects, three trips, and residency paper work all in the next two months. So my resolution or goal or whatever you want to call it is to stay out of panic mode, out of dread mode and just do the next thing.

When I manage to stay in the moment and not "dread ahead," I do pretty well. It worked while I was at Mom's. When I start dreading, I get overwhelmed and discouraged. I haven't spent much time in the apocrypha or deuterocanonical books, but twice in the last couple of weeks I have found myself reading Sirach 11:10 My child, do not busy yourself with many matters; if you multiply activities, you will not be held blameless. If you pursue, you will not overtake, and by fleeing you will not escape. I'm listening Lord!

Now for a couple of mini-notes:

• This was the first New Year's Eve G&T and I spent apart from each other in 30+ years. It was wierd. Maybe that's part of why I'm not so into this "new start" stuff.
• I'll be at the Congress on Evangelism this week. Anyone else???
• The temperature when I got up this morning was 46 degrees lower than yesterday's high of 84!
• I'm using this blog entry to stall from stuff I don't want to do, so time's up.

The Story of Jake the Dog or NOT.

Well that story will have to wait until another day. Just as I typed the title of an old story that would make a good blog entry, my sister called to say Mom took a tumble in a parking lot in another big city. No serious injuries, but hairline fractures and the end of New Years plans with her cousin at a spa resort. All relatively minor inconveniences but extremely frustrating for my mom. Sister who is hours closer than I am will take her daughter down and pick Mom up tomorrow, making orthopedic appointments as she drives. Prayers appreciated.

UPDATE: Good news - no surgery required. I spent a few days helping get Mom's house set up for her to be as independent as possible in the next few weeks. Current prayer - she sees the orthopedic doctor again on Monday. We are all praying she'll be able to get the short arm cast he mentioned at the last appt. It's amazing what a difference movement of one's elbow can make in one's life.

Can't think of a snappy title

Well, I've been out reading a few blogs on this cold morning - 24 on my patio thermometer which for some of you isn't all that cold, but for this place it is. Broke out some of manBoy's stocking stuffers - hand warmers for running - before he left for school this morning. Figured giving him what he needed now was more important than a surprise he might not need in a few days.

I'm teaching the Disciple I Bible study on The Book of Job tonight. That.will.be.interesting. All those questions about innocent suffering... Lord, help me. No, really - I'm trusting you Spirit to give me what I need for this.

ManBoy has been driving himself around for about 10 days now. So far, so good. G&T and I attended the neighborhood progressive party (3 houses) on Sunday evening. For the first time in 4 years, we didn't have to leave in the middle to pick him up from youth.

It was wonderful to go to that party and not be in the middle of a crisis (as the last two years have been). I was even asked to offer the blessing. In the past that has always fallen to a man. This year someone said, "Hey, we have our own pastor on the street." There may be a time when I wish that wasn't so acknowledged, but since I taught school in the neigborhood elementary school before I went to seminary, this was a cool acknowledgement of my career transition being complete.

The other cool thing about this annual party is that it also involves collecting gifts and funds to provide Christmas gifts and food for two families who would not otherwise have them. These families have children attending above mentioned elementary school which serves two lower income areas as well as our fortunate neighborhood. We don't know their names. The school nurse provides us with age, gender, size information, but keeps the names private. I live in a great neighborhood!

I have many things to do at the office this week, and to prepare for the kind of Christmas celebration I'm hoping to have (fun, relaxed...), and my January calendar is absolutely nuts - chock full. So, my current spiritual discipline is to catch myself when I fall into "dread mode", and pause to enjoy the here and now. Today my goal is to live that out in relationship to tonight's class.

I should be ready for work by now, but I'm sitting here in my flannel bathrobe and jammies and slipper socks. So, this is the end of this blog entry.

Update: Disciple class went really well. Lots of good discussion participation. Now on to the next thing.

Everything I can blog in 10 minutes

Okay, it's been weeks and weeks since I blogged. I've had blog block, plus a busy schedule so this entry is everything I can get down in 10 minutes. Then I have to go back to doing stuff on my to do list. Limiting to 10 minutes seems to help the blog block.

Item #1 - It is done. This morning manBoy or should it be ManBoy obtained his driver's license and has driven himself solo to school. This won't happen often as he doesn't have his own car. He's got mine today. He'll be able to drive to school when I travel on business which is more and more often it seems.

Item #2 - I did a baptism (or most of it) last Sunday. I was scheduled to preach and lead worship at my home church. I was wrestling with my sermon on Saturday evening and had just typed "we know that we can expect the unexpected," when the phone rang. It was our pastor, letting me know that one of our members had called asking to move his grandson's baptism from another church to ours (long story). The whole family was in town including great grandfather who is a retired UM pastor and arrangements had fallen through at the other church. So, of course we had a baptism. Technically, I didn't baptize the baby, Great Grandpa did that part, but I did all the rest. I've done baptisms before, but always in the hospital, so not with a healthy baby that looks at you and grabs your cross chain, and is just utterly adorable.

Item #3 - I am coming to terms with God regarding my anger over my friend's death. She trusted God to take care of her and her husband and her almost 5 year old son, so I can too. I'm still grieving, but less mad.

Time's up.

Wow, where did the time go?

Things have been nice around here of late. G&T and I celebrated 28 years of marriage a few days ago. We tried to get out of town, but had several obligations and couldn't. So... we pretended we were out of town on Sunday and had a family day instead of church which usually has many obligations.

The weather has been nice here - highs only in the low 80's, somedays even in the 70's. It's nice to leave the office and not feel like I'm in a furnace.

What doesn't kill you will make you stronger - we hope.... manBoy's school experience has improved, but he still runs into issues that come up when you are working in groups. For those of you who don't know - he's at a school that has project based learning. Everything is group project based. They get the project first then learn what they need for it. Amazingly like real life. He's learning so much more than academic content, but man these lessons are not easy. I just keep thinking he'll be way ahead of the game in the real world. I know lots of adults that don't have the time management and interpersonal relationship skills he's learning.

Gifted and Talented is spending lots of time playing his guitars (yes plural). He's getting ready for the big gig on Nov. 1. The church worship band which includes Dogblogger and several other really talented musicians is doing a concert of folk, country, pop, and classic rock. G&T is looking forward to showing his stuff with leads on his newish Les Paul.

I have two big projects going at work. The Disability Concerns Committee wants to produce an awareness video while we still have money in this year's budget. Not much this year left to do that. I'm meeting with the videographer on Wednesday.

I have also been charged with updating the Conference Resource Center and moving it out of it's way underused status. The first thing I'm doing is adding a heading to each item. There was a system for shelving items, but no one who is on staff now understands it. The computer catalog system has provision for headings that can be included in the item number. Deciding the heading category of each item has been an interesting study in theology and logic. Does this study on Christian Living based on the book of Ecclesiastes go in Bible Old Testament or in Christian Living. I'm on page 104 of 151 of the entire catalog list.

Spookyrach did a meme and talked about fearing parents of other kids. This isn't usually an issue for me, but last week I found myself in a small group of parents from manBoy's school. I found myself wondering if I really live on the same planet as a couple of the other moms. It just seems like my values and world view are soooooo different from theirs. We just seem to have very different ideas about what's important. I'm so middle of the road, middle-class, and middle America that I rarely feel like I'm an outsider. I did at this meeting. No one there knew I'm clergy, so I don't think that's it. We are in the bottom half (more likely third) of the income range for this place, and that may have something to do with differeing priorities, but it's more than that. As I type this and think about it, I think the difference is that I don't have my life centered in Suburbia, USA. There's a bigger world out there that makes most local issues seem trivial. 4 years at somewhat liberal seminary and one year at big public hospital that serves the poor and uninsured have changed the way I see the world. At the same time, I have been reminded that people who live small lives often still have big pain. I must not discount the concerns of those other parents.

I asked manBoy if he feels the same way around his peers. This led to a wonderful loooooong conversation. Now its late and the alarm will go off early. Good Night Gracie.

Odds and Ends and Maybe Beginnings

Yesterday was one year since I went to the conference office for one month. Ya just never know. Yesterday I had a call from a pastor wanting to know how his church can address the "no's" on the accessibility survey they just did. One year ago, there wasn't anyone to tell them they needed an accessibility survey, much less a committee with an Occupational Therapist, a builder, an architect, and a pastor who uses a wheelchair to help this church. God is good.

In the Disciple Bible Study I'm facilitating, someone commented on the lack of awe and respect Moses shows for God in the whole burning bush - call story passages. I've been thinking how Moses wasn't exactly raised to have respect for God - not for the one true God anyway. Makes me wonder how we judge people who come to our churches but have never learned "how folks act in church." It makes me wonder if their coming before God isn't a little more authentic than those of us who know "how folks act in church."

Sunday our church will worship in our new building for the first time. This has been more than a decade in coming. Please pray for us that we will remember who it is we are worshiping and that the building is simply an instrument for our work as the body of Christ.

For those who have been praying for manBoy, the new school is getting better or he's feeling better about it. The teachers are learning that the students need direct instruction on how to manage their time. The students are learning they need to get their acts together and manage their time. Still a few kinks to work out, but progress is being made. He's in two groups he really enjoys right now. One member of one group is the daughter of a couple we met 16 years ago at adoption seminar. We kept in touch during our short waiting period. They went to meet a birthmother the same week manBoy came to us. Their baby came 4 months later. We lived in different suburbs at the time, but have both moved since then. If the kids were at mega high school, they might never meet. Now they are working on projects together. As the other mom put it, it just feels like coming full circle.

I went to the Y four mornings this week! Tomorrow we get an extra hour of sleep, manBoy doesn't have to be at school until 7:30! I get a break from (as my sister puts it) the cr*p of dawn carpool and from the Y on Fridays.

As I tell my mom when we're all talked out on the phone, "That's all the news I knows."

Fall Equinox Friday Five

It's actually been cooler here the last few days (highs in the 80's instead of low 100's), so todays meme from Revgalblogpals seems appropriate.

Songbird writes:

It's that time of year, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open, but the darned furnace comes on early in the morning. My husband went out for a walk after an early supper and came home in full darkness.And yes, where we live, leaves are beginning to turn.As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance: Cinnamon candles and wet leaves

2) A color: Peach (see special day)

3) An item of clothing: Fuzzy slipper socks needed for walking on cool tile floors. I have stripes and solids. I put them on when I put on my pajamas and take them off after I'm in bed. They stay right there beside the bed until I need them the next morning.

4) An activity: Sitting in big chair reading in above slipper socks.

5) A special day: Our anniversary - it will be 28 years next month. Our bridesmaids wore peach, and the groomsmen wore dark brown. Very fallish.

Family Hurricane Update

Sister who lives between Houston and Galveston directly in path of Ike -safe with her daughters in our hometown with our mother -out of the storm's path. Her husband sat out storm in basement of large corporation building in downtown Houston where he was required to be at work - they have power from some source. He has since been able to get back to their home. They have no structural damage to the home they are selling and only minor damage to the one they are buying. Power is out and limbs cover the ground, but they are quite relieved.

Dad & Wife - further north on I-45 in direct path of Ike - no power, but have generator. Power company recording says it may take weeks to restore power. One big tree down, didn't hit house, cars.... All safe.

Step Sister & family living south of Houma, LA- returned home from Gustav evacuation with all their worldly possessions on Thursday - all was well with house. On Friday, levees broken by Ike storm surge forcing sudden evacuation - She was at work and the police wouldn't let her get to her house. She only has the clothes she had on. They are at a hotel somewhere and cell phone service not working well. No report. This family made it through Katrina only to be flooded out in Rita. This whole Gustav - Ike thing is feeling too familiar.

Please continue your prayers.

Latest Good News: All are safe. Home south of Houma is fine. This new one was built 6 feet off the ground and didn't flood! Conroe and League City still with out power. Prayers for all those working to restore services and for all those who suffered much loss.

More Good News: Power back on in League City. Sister, girls, dog, and cat headed home.


Lord show us how we can be your servants in these circumstances. Amen.

Feminism and Motherhood

Please Note: This is not a political commentary or opinion. It is simply a reflection on my own values as I responded internally to political events of the last several days.

I have been convicted by my own judgement of others recently. I must admit that when I learned that Sarah Palin has a child who is only a few months old and another dealing with teenage pregnancy, I wondered if this is really the time for her to run for Vice-President. This was not a reflection on her capabilities, electability, or even if she's the best candidate. I simply wondered if it is in her family's best interest for her to be involved in this campaign and possibly to serve as Vice-President of the United States at this time.

Here's the rub. I left my well established teaching career and changed my family's financial and life situation in order to attend seminary and pursue ordained ministry. I won't go into whether or not Sarah Palin feels called by God in her government service. That's not the issue. The question for me is how do I balance my understanding that women (specifically myself as a woman) can do anything we chose and shouldn't be limited by our gender with the fact that we have chosen to have families. At our son's adoption placement ceremony, G&T and I made vows to raise manBoy in a loving home and to know God's love. I take those vows as seriously as I do my wedding vows and those I took at my commissioning for ministry. It was those vows that led me to take my current position which is less demanding of my evening and weekend time during these last few years manBoy is at home than if I was pastoring a church.

One question I ask myself is would I have wondered about the timing of this candidacy if the candidate had been a man with the same family circumstances. I must say probably not. Indeed, you could say I'm pretty hipocritical or old fashioned about some of this.

In the end, I think I can't consider this only from a feminist vs. motherhood view. For my current situation, it boils down to love. I love God and want to be in ministry for God. I also love my family whom I believe are gifts from God. In The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck's definition of love includes “The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.” I believe that sometimes love also means limiting one's self for the purpose of nuturing another.

Whether or not my questions about Governor Palin's decisions are fair or gender biased, I believe I have made the best decision for myself and my family. The only fair thing I can do is believe that Sarah Palin is capable of making her own decision as well.