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.

Gustav

My stepsister and her family live between Houma, LA and the coast. In case you haven't heard, that's directly in the expected path of the eye. They evacuated Saturday evening with everything they could pack in their cars including the two belonging to the teenagers. They lost almost everything in Rita. They fully expect to come back to nothing. These people I know and care about. Thousands more are fleeing with the same expectations. St. Casserole is waiting it out at her home further to the east. Keep praying for them all!

Lord be with them. Amen.

Un-update: No news as yet how their home faired. We know they arrived safely at their evacuation destination, but no news on damage. Thanks for praying

Competitive Homiletics

Yesterday, in a casual conversation with our pastor and a few others, we discussed the latest Olympic news. Then it was brought up that the pastor would never make it to the Olympics as preaching is not a competitive sport. What followed was some fun speculation as to what competitive homiletics might involve. Here are a few of the ideas:

1. Two types of events - endurance and speed
-Endurance - how long can you preach - last one standing wins.
-Speed - who can get the most points made in the shortest time

2. Degree of difficulty -
-Higher difficulty points awarded for preaching from a difficult scripture passage. Most of Romans would count as higher difficulty.

3. Deductions would be given for ers and ums.

What are your ideas? This could be fun. I was reminded last week of the importance of fun in our ministries, so let the games begin!

Friday Five: Fall Transitions

Mary Beth posted a great Friday Five with pics of horse apples over at RevGalBlogPals. I don't have time to copy the whole thing here, but here's the meme.

For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.
Well, where I live fall and spring last about one day. As a teacher, I used to joke that we had to be prepared to teach about the season of fall on the day it happened. Still there are transformations happening.

1. For the first time if 40+ years, I am not preparing to start a new year of school, internship, job at this time of year. School years were followed by teaching years were followed by seminary years were followed by CPE and then last year at this time expectations of a new appointment. That didn't actually happen until March, but that's another story.

2. manBoy and I will not be shopping for school supplies or clothes this year. This just seems wierd! His new school is computer and project based, so the usual binders and spiral notebooks are not needed. He only has to have a carrying case for the laptop they will assign to him. His growth has slowed down (he's 5'11") and his wardrobe preferences run to t-shirts purchased at cross country and track meets, so he's not buying new school clothes.

3. I'm still defining myself in my position at the conference office.

4. I'll be facilitating a Disciple Bible Study for the first time this fall. We start August 26th, and I'm loving the preparation work.

5. We will be moving into our new church building sometime this fall, but not before Aug. 31 which is when I'm next scheduled to preach. I had hoped to be preaching from the new pulpit, but alas, not yet.

Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.
When the weather gets to where the high temperatures are below 80 (late October to November) I get to enjoy hot drinks again - tea, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, choffee (Hot Chocolate with a spoon of instant coffee and Readi-whip).

Reflection on Life

Yesterday, I served as facilitator for a seminar. I didn't present, but did all the background work. This was the 6th time we've held this seminar. In it, the presenter tells the story of Elisha's followers building a new place to gather. (2 Kings 6:1-7) In the process, the iron axe head falls off the axe and into the water. The man cries out, "Oh, my Lord." The presenter encouraged each pastor to think seriously about what in their ministry would cause them to cry out "Oh, my Lord" if it was lost or missing from their church. Later in the day, the presenter invited 3 people to come forward and help with an example of hospitality. One of the men who came forward was cutting up and being funny behind the presenter's back (these two know each other from years in the same conference). When the presenter stopped and looked back at the man, his comment as he grinned was, "One of my iron axe head words is Fun."

This morning, I received an email saying that the man who thought fun is an important aspect of life and ministry died suddenly last night. I didn't know this man. I heard the band he plays in several times, but other than meeting him yesterday, I didn't know him. What I do know about him is his last day on earth included fun and learning how to better lead his church because those things were important to him.

If today was my last day, would it include what is important to me? It will now!


Added later: I posted a comment about this on the band's blog. His wife responded with the following:

"You are so right. On his study door he once had a sign that read "Playground Director" because that way everyone there would know that he was in charge of all the fun."

Dealing with Disappointment

Exodus 17:1-6 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5 The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Last week, manBoy called on the first full day of running camp to say he had sprained his ankle. I could tell that he was mad at himself and disappointed. I did not hear from him again until the last day. I fretted all week that he was probably having a miserable time not being able to run at running camp. When we picked him up at the airport, his ankle was wrapped, and no he had not been able to run for the rest of the week. He, however, was not in a bad mood. He had still managed to have fun at running camp while he learned about running technique and injury care... He had dealt with his disappointment far better than I had.

Yesterday, manBoy learned that one of his Cross Country teammates has broken his femur. He will miss the entire Cross Country and Band Marching seasons during his senior year. In addition, this may affect his post graduation plans which include an institute of higher learning that requires excellent physical condition. (I'll let you figure that one out.)

As I consider the deep disappointment this young man must be facing, I now see the value in manBoy's experience. We need to live through these small disappointments so we know we can make it through the big ones. While I hope manBoy never has to face a life plan changing disappointment, odds are he will.

The above passage shows us that even when we are cranky about life not going the way we planned, God is with us. Thank heaven for that!

Loving God, help us know that you are with us in life's ups and downs. Amen.

Sigh of Comfort

AC replaced. House cool and quiet! Nice!

No word from manBoy since Tuesday, but I'm not stressin' They will call if he's seriously hurt. Otherwise, hope he's having fun - if you can do that at a camp for running.

Worry Update

manBoy called. He doesn't have cell service out at camp but they had come into town. I had managed to get more peaceful until his call. The sad news is he has hurt his ankle. Please pray for speedy recovery so he can get a little running in at running camp! Thanks to all of you.

NEWER UPDATE:
I got to talk to him again while they were still in town. He says when he first hurt it, he could only walk on his toes. Now he can walk on his whole foot with some pain. I think getting better is a good sign. If it was serious, it would be getting worse. He says the terrain is much rougher than he's used to running on. He actually hurt it going across camp, not on a run. I told him to ask if they could stop at a pharmacy so he can buy ankle braces.
Thanks for holding my hand even if it is in cyberspace.

Worry Wart

I could use some prayer. My worry button is being overworked this week and I need you to pray that I will be able to pray the prayer of relinquishment.

The last I heard from manBoy he was in town of flight destination in the vehicle with one of the coaches going from the airport to the universtiy they were meeting up with all the runners. I've had no word that he got to neigboring state with mountains where high altitude running camp takes place. I worry about several issues, but mostly I just want to know he got there okay.

I know that my worries are exacerbated by the gazillion of dollars we are about to spend to replace our entire AC unit ducts and all, and by the fact that we are living in a small part of our house and in a lot of noise (Window units are loud). Being an auditory learner, constant noise is exhausting for me.

In the meantime, my sister who lives just 25 miles north of Galveston has evacuated with her two daughters and her dog to my Mom's house. I haven't checked the trajectory on Edouard this morning. Her husband is still down there. We also need to keep Quotidian Grace and Zorro in our prayers for this event.

My prayers have been of the frantic nature, not the faithful trusting kind. So if you guys could send up some prayers for peace for me and for safety for my family, I would really appreciate it.

Up Up and Away

Well, I had hoped for something deeper and more inspiring than potty humor for my 150th post, but that is not to be. Perhaps I'll be 12 today.
manBoy flew out to running camp this morning. It's the first time he's flown alone and I was nervous, more about the fact that he was being met at the other end by someone we've never met.

The announcements for his flight went like this.
Boarding for flight xxxx will be delayed. We have maintenance crew aboard the aircraft. (Not comforting).

15 minutes later: Boarding for flight xxxx has be moved to gate y and will be delayed. We have maintenance aboard this aircraft. Please listen for further anouncements. (Inconvenient and still not comforting.)

15 minutes later: Attention passengers on flight xxxx, the lavatory on this aircraft is not functioning. Please use airport facilities before you board.(Well at least we hope that's the only maintenace issue.)

Finally: Boarding for xxxx at gate y has begun. We will board all groups at once due to the delay. Flight left 40 minutes after scheduled departure.

Fortunately, it's only a 1 hour flight. He met the right person and camp adventure has begun.

Checking in with statistics

-Number of totally dead air conditioner units - 1.
-Number of people sleeping in oven like temps last night - 3
-High temperature on back patio thermometer 111.
-High temperature on interior thermostat 94.
-Number of window AC units purchased and installed so we can live in 1/3 of our house for the next 5 days until new AC unit installed - 2.
-Degrees cooler in cooled rooms - many but not measurable at this time.
-Number of musical instruments hauled to neighbor's house for cool keeping - 8
-Record time for sprinting through hot section between cooled areas - 2 seconds
-Number of prayers of gratitude that we have the ability to find a temporary solution - many but probably not enough.
-Prayers lifted for those suffering in heat without AC many. Window units will be donated as soon as new AC is installed.
-Number of posts to get to 150 - 1
-

Friday Five: Lock Me Out, Lock Me In

Songbird posts the following Friday Five at RevGalBlogPals.

For some reason, Blogger declared this blog possible SPAM and locked us down yesterday. This morning, we're free to post again, but there was a fair amount of excitement last night among our contributors, who found a dire notice on their Blogger dashboards threatening that this blog might be deleted in 20 days!We requested a blog review, and I posted a request at the Blogger Help group, where I found we were not alone. Many other perfectly nourishing and cromulent blogs got the same notice last night.This turned out to be a very small barricade in our blogging community life, but it seemed appropriate to explore locks and blocks and other barriers this week. Also, I liked the picture of the security team above! Could they be Blogger's Spam Prevention Robots, working overtime?In honor of their efforts, I bring you the "Lock Me Out, Lock Me In" Friday Five.

1) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?
I make use of my bluetooth earpiece and cellphone to catch up with friends or family. Here in big city one often doesn't see what has caused the traffic delay because usually it's cleared up by the time you get up to the source. I think that's a metaphor that might preach, or at least have practical application in life.

2) Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? (And do you keep an extra key somewhere, just in case?)
We don't use the key to our house much as we go through the garage. We have an external entry method if the remote dies, but if the electricity goes out, we're in a mell of a hess.
Once a long time ago, we arrived home late one night to find the door between the garage and house locked and G&T had not brought the "big set of keys"- you know the ones with the house key. As I was musing whether it would be cheaper to get a hotel room and call a locksmith in the morning, G&T busted through the door. Replacing the door and bits of frame cost more than a hotel room and lock smith would have. I'm just sayin.

3) Have you ever cleared a hurdle? (And if you haven't flown over a material hurdle, feel free to take this one metaphorically.)
I haven't ever run hurdles, but manBoy does. I always watch with my eyes half closed. I figure if he's still on his feet at the finish line all is good. He of course is always pushing for faster time, better stride...

I've lived not quite a half century so yes, I've cleared many metaphorical hurdles. I can't think of a specific one to discuss right now. In fact, much of the way I function is to figure out ways over, under, around hurdles. I also can anticipate many hurdles and plan ahead for them. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is that of Abigail (I Samuel 25) a great problem solver. The problem with my liking that story is God isn't mentioned. I tend to try to find ways over, under, around hurdles on my own power. Not a good idea.

4) What's your approach to a mental block?
I read blogs or play word games or solitaire on the computer. Synapses firing while other stuff works in the background. The problem comes when I play toooooooo long.

5) Suggest a caption for the picture above; there will be a prize for the funniest answer!
Secretly in the night, she quietly placed the warning men in front of the chocolate factory. Not because of the inherent danger of chocolate, but so she could have it all to herself.
Or
Stop! Do. Not. Take. One. More. Step. Stop! We mean it! If you come any closer we will shuffle over and headbutt you with out little plastic hardhats.

Getting to Know You

Psalm 139:1-10
O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.

John 10:14-15 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 14:6-9 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

I commented in my last post that our reunion didn't really give us a chance to get to know each other beyond a surface level. So for my message at the office Communion Service this morning, I did a Bible Software search for the word "know." The above passages are the one's I chose for today's message. I asked myself what does it take to really know and be known by someone - by God?

In the workshops I've been hosting, I've been learning that one way to build connections is to share stories. I believe there are two elements to sharing our stories that help us connect. The first being willing to be vulnerable - to open ourselves to the other or to God. It takes courage to share our inner selves with our closest friends much less with mere acquaintances. Our social standards have a continuum of intimacy and we are uncomfortable when someone is open and vulnerable to a degree beyond what the social situation calls for. At the same time, I think we can carry about us an demeanor of openess without actually making others uncomfortable. They can know we are willing to look at and expose our weaknesses without us having to do so in great detail and scaring people off.

As we consider our relationship with God, there comes a time when we must also be willing to be vulnerable. Psalm 139 tells us that God knows us inside and out, so why is it important that we be willing to share our failures, fears, and joys with God? Because as long as we keep a wall of pretense up between us and God, we are missing out on the greatest intimate relationship available. We open our hearts to God not for God's sake, but for our own sake.

The second part of sharing our stories comes in deep listening. Hearing what is said and what is not said. We only know other people when we truly listen to their stories, taking them into ourselves. I love the wonderful hymn, "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus." I'll admit, I'm a Bible nerd. I love to feel the weight in my hand, to read even one or two verses and just sit with them hearing God's word to me, feeling it seep in to my pores. There is wisdom in "Be still and know that I am God."

God of Love, Let me know you and be known by you. Use me as you will to make yourself known to others. Amen.

Reunion Ramblings

While I have lots of things on my to do list today, these thoughts keep walking around in my head clamoring to be released.

MY LIFE IS GOOD
This weekend reminded me of the many, many blessings I live in daily. I visited with people whose financial success far exceeds ours, people whose life experiences have been broader, people who have traveled far and wide, people who have avoided big city influences and found peace in their hometown - in other words people whose lives for one reason or another might appear better than mine. But, when I consider it all, I wouldn't trade my life for any of them. Life is good and I have much for which to be grateful. Just to list a few, my loving husband who supports me in countless ways, our son who is all in all a great kid and a pleasure to be around most of the time (which is more than one can ask of a teeenager), my big, soft bed, my pillows (which I forgot to pack), and greatest of all knowledge of God's steadfast love for me.

LIVING ON THE SURFACE - WADING INTO THE DEEP
This weekend I had conversations with people I hadn't seen in 10, 20, or 30 years. We all exchanged the basic information - where we live, are we married, do we have kids, what we do with our time. All very surface interactions. A few were genuinely intrigued or interested by my new role as clergywoman, but no one there had time to get any inkling of who I really am now. And by the same measure, I learned little about the real people under the surface. I'm wondering if that's all that much different than 30 years ago. I imagine that few of my classmates were aware that my home was filled with conflict and strife through out my high school years. My parents separated (a good thing) the week I left for college. I wonder if even my closest group of friends knew how much pain I carried within me at all times or why.

As I looked across the room at the dinner dance on Saturday night, I wondered how much pain was hidden beneath the surface of all those conversations that went, "How are you doing? Oh, I'm great!"' Who was struggling with illness, damaged marriages, troubled teens? It just didn't seem to be the time or the place to share one's struggles or even one's deeper feelings. In most conversations, the fact that I had anwered the call to ministry was discussed in light of career change rather than in terms of call and spirituality. I admit I contributed to that. It felt like words like "call" and "God" might give people the creeps. So, I am guilty of keeping all my conversations strictly at surface level. I don't know how I could have done otherwise, but I know I didn't listen deep enough.

CONNECTIONS
In spite of the surface nature of our interactions, I truely believe many of us felt genuinely connected to the others. It seems our class had a bond beyond common experience. Perhaps that bond has continued because several of the natural leaders have maintained contact with each over the years.

WHAT YOU DO MATTERS
One conversation was with a woman who like me wasn't part of the "in" group back in high school. As she introduced me to her signficant other, her comment about me was, "She was one of the ones who would talk to me." Now I have to tell you, I didn't make a conscious effort to make sure everyone felt included back then. It's something I do now, but not as a teenager. I talked to her because she was there to talk to. Who knew that something like that would matter? Be aware. What you do makes a difference.

I'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY - but I've still got a way to go.
While my understanding of my own and everyone else's value as a human being has grown and changed over time, it was really easy to fall back into expecting the same social strata to be in effect with me near the bottom. It's amazing how ingrained old patterns of thinking and reacting can be.

Lord, Thank you for the blessings you have poured on my life and for this reminder of them. Show me Lord how and what I can learn from this experience. Forgive me for opportunities missed and show me the blessings I overlooked from this weekend. Amen.

Tomorrow...

I leave to go to my 30 year high school reunion. On the class website where quite a few of us have posted our "Where are they now?" info, we all keep asking, "How the h -e- hockey sticks did we get this old?" It's been interesting to read other's stories. Somehow I expected all those pretty, popular kids to get through life without changing and without facing difficulties. I'm not surprised by my life and changes (well the Rev. in front of my name still is a little surprising), but I expect them to have stayed the same - same personalities, same looks. It's an interesting phenomenon. We'll see how it goes at the reunion. I saw quite a few of them 10 years ago, but somehow this one makes us all more on an even keel. Lots of them have grown children and grandchildren. Again, it should be interesting.

On another note, I will be one of three clergypersons leading a memorial service for our classmates who have died (43 of 500 that we know of). I've been debating what to wear - men clergy never have this issue. The other two clergy persons are Catholic priests. What to wear isn't an issue for them. Today at Dogblogger's suggestion, I looked for a dark suit. I found a black one that fits for only $20!!!! It will be perfect. Not high quality, but not planning for it to fit for too long. My mom hates me to wear black as it's not my best color. Mom, it's a memorial service and the other two clergy will be wearing collars. This is what I need to wear.

Gifted and Talented is as I type working on "Friends are Friends Forever" by Michael W. Smith. He will play it during the powerpoint showing the yearbook pics of our classmates who have died.

Well, I'll post next week and let you know how this meeting up with my past goes.

More of the Journey

This morning, I went to the consecration service for the three new bishops in our jurisdiction. One of them was my District Superintendent when I first answered my call to ordained ministry. Another will be our bishop come September. I met him and his wife at the reception following. His wife is blind and leaders in the conference have already told her about the newly (6 months ago) formed Disability Concerns Committee I started and now co-chair. She and I will have lunch after they get here to learn how we can incorporate some of the programs she's done elsewhere into our conference. Tell me again why I wonder about whether I'm supposed to be where I am and doing what I'm doing????

Friday Five: What's In A Name?

REVHROD posts at RevGalBlogPals:

If you are a regular reader of Songbird's blog, you know that "The Princess" has requested a new name. Her older brother changed his "secret identity" a while back and now this lovely young lady is searching for a new name on her mother's blog. This got me to thinking. How do we come up with all of these names? There must be at least a few good stories out there.

In honor of the Princess I have posted a picture of one of my favorite members of fictional royalty, Robert Munch's "Paperbag Princess." She is a brave young woman who doesn't need anyone else to fight her battles. And she knows that what is most important isn't tiaras and finery but what's on the inside. If you haven't read this little fairy tale, I highly recommend it.

But I digress.
1. So how did you come up with your blogging name? And/or the name of your blog?

My blogging name comes from the fact that after teaching for 20 years and being comfortable in what I did, I left to start seminary in my early forties. Since then I have done many new things and find myself in the rookie position often. It is a very different feeling being new to something at mid-life after years of being the expert. It is humbling and scary and exciting.

2. Are there any code names or secret identities in your blog? Any stories there?

Gifted & Talented (G&T) is my husband of almost 28 years. He plays guitar and other stringed instruments and sings very well. He is also incredibly handy around the house. He has an amazing knack for knowing how to fix stuff. Since his personality is much quieter than mine, his talents are often sleepers that people only discover when they get close to him or get hear his music in church. His family of origin often doesn't realize how gifted he is, so I try to tell him, but not often enough.

manBoy or perhaps soon to be ManBoy is our son. He grew early and has been taller than 5'10" since the summer before 8th grade. He has been a boy in a man's body. This summer I see him growing and maturing in new ways and becoming a wonderful young man (who still aggravates me to no end on occasion). There are lots of stories about how manBoy came into our lives at two days old through adoption with less than 24 hours notice. We are blessed to have him with us.

3. What are some blog titles that you just love? For their cleverness, drama, or sheer, crazy fun?
There are so many creative ones. A couple that I read are Skewed View and Bits and Odd Pieces of Mindy's Kingdom . I came across this one on RevGals but haven't had a chance to read it: Clever Titles Need Not Apply I liked that one because I couldn't think of a clever title for my blog.

4. What three blogs are you devoted to? Other than the RevGalBlogPals of course!

See my sidebar. Can't pick just three.

5. Who introduced you to the world of blogging and why?

The Typist over at Dog and God suggested I read reverendmommy because she was doing a CPE just before I started a year long CPE. The Typist also pointed me to RevGalBlogPals!

Bonus question: Have you ever met any of your blogging friends? Where are some of the places you've met these fun folks?

I met all the lovely ladies listed under BE Blog Friends in my sidebar. The original Big Event was great fun and spiritually renewing. I hope you will make plans to attend BE 2.0 next Spring. Details coming soon!

I have heard

not. one. word from manBoy while he's been on mission trip this week. No text, no calls, nothin. Dogblogger says The Alpha who is chaperoning and leading the work crews hasn't mentioned manBoy at all when he calls. This morning is their last work day, then they do some fun things. He'll be home late Saturday afternoon. I'm assuming no news is good news. I do miss him though.