The Redskins beat Dallas!
There's something any 'Skins fan can be proud of!
(the irony that the indians have beat the cowboys is not lost on me...those long-ago childhood games)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Hot off the press...a fresh sermon
Matthew 20:1-16
“Stuff I’m Not in Charge of”
If I were in charge of stuff, things would be different. Chocolate would be a dietary requirement. And everyone would like it. And it wouldn’t have fat or calories, only antioxidants and yummy goodness.
If I were in charge of stuff, everyone would get a day a month (at least) off for mental health days, and our health insurance would pay for us to do something therapeutic on that day. Like kayaking. Or shopping. Or puttering in the workshop.
If I were in charge, it would be acceptable to end a sentence or a phrase with a preposition. I wonder how many teachers and writers and grammatically-careful folks are sitting out in the congregation right now, looking at the bulletin, and thinking today’s sermon title is poorly phrased.
Well, it is, and it isn’t. If I were in charge, it would be fine to publish a phrase like, “Stuff I’m Not in Charge of,” because saying, “Stuff of which I am not in charge” sounds more than a little silly. But that’s something I’m not in charge of. And there’s an awful lot of that.
We have a saying in our family that we use often when there seems to have been some decision made by some beaurocracy somewhere that doesn’t make sense to us, or benefit us the way we think it should. Why do they do it that way? I don’t know, they didn’t ask me. I’m not in charge of that.
I believe the last time I said this I was in the coffee shop with a church member…and she agreed. Life would make a lot more sense if they just asked us first. Sit us down in a room with the power to make some real changes and unlimited coffee, and we could fix everything, right?
Or maybe not.
The problem with the power to change the world is that we are human and we are finite. I can’t know everything, and I can’t foresee all the consequences of all the decisions I might make. If I were in charge of all that stuff, I bet I’d make some pretty big mistakes.
And in this election season, part of what we’re seeing and hearing on TV is one candidate capitalizing on another’s mistakes…even mistakes they haven’t made yet. As we’re deciding whom to elect to be in charge of an awful lot of stuff, we might want to remember that whomever we elect will be human, and finite, and can’t know everything, and can’t foresee every possible consequence of every potential decision they’ll ever have a hand in. We just count on them to have better resources than we do, and to be able to make those decisions in a more educated manner than we do.
So there’s my moment in politics. You can relax. It’s over now.
Today’s parable is a story about being in charge of stuff. A landowner went out to choose some day laborers to work in his vineyards. He went out first thing in the morning and hired a crew, promising them the usual daily wage. A few hours later, he noticed that he could use a few more workers, so he went out and hired some more, promising to pay them what was right. Twice more he went out and hired more workers, and finally, late in the day, close to quitting time, he went out once more, found some men who still hadn’t found other work that day, and hired them too.
When the workday ended an hour later, the landowner sent his manager to pay all the workers, starting with the last hired and ending with the first. When he paid those who had only worked an hour the entire amount of the usual daily wage, those who were hired first began to get excited, thinking they might receive some bonus for working all day in the sun and heat. When they too received the exact pay they’d contracted for, they began to grumble and complain.
The landowner replied gently, “You received the wage you were entitled to, and that you contracted for. Have I done you wrong? Take what you have earned; it’s my privilege to do what I want with what I have. Or does my generosity make you jealous of others who receive it?”
We know this is a parable because of the way Jesus starts the story: “The kingdom of Heaven is like…” Now, because this is a parable, we know a few things about it. First, this never happened. Jesus was not recounting an event he’d witnessed—this was not news. Second, this is not really about earning wages, nor is it about money, although generosity is certainly a factor here. Instead, it is about who is in charge of stuff like mercy and justice and salvation, and why we should be grateful that it’s not us.
This parable has a lot in common with that of the Prodigal Son, the one I call simply the parable of the prodigals, which is about generosity and our wrong expectations of who is entitled to what. In that story, a younger son claims his inheritance early, runs off and spends it on transitory things, and comes home in disgrace, hoping that perhaps he might be hired by his father as a common laborer. Instead he is received by his father with open arms and generosity of spirit, and by his older brother with some resentment for the father’s generosity.
We tend to empathize with the younger brother. Many of us can tell stories of when we ourselves have been prodigal children, and have been met by others with love and generosity and grace we did not deserve. It’s become commonplace among some Christians to tell those stories with pride…as if God somehow loves us more if God forgives us of more sin…which is dangerously close to thinking of God as rewarding our bad behavior. It’s somehow easier for us to see in the younger brother a reflection of ourselves, to see him more sympathetically than we see the older brother, in whom we see a sort of stinginess of the spirit.
Our reaction to today’s parable is somewhat different. It is again a story about generosity and wrong expectations about who is entitled to what, yet our first response tends to be to sympathize with the workers who were hired earliest in the day, to grumble to ourselves that it’s all well and good to be generous with forgiveness, but that “a laborer is worthy of his hire.” We can’t mess with the money!
And yet, to say this misses the point. The laborer is indeed worthy of his hire…but no one was shortchanged by the landowner in this story Jesus has given. No one is hurt, no one misses out. Everyone gets at least what they deserved, and some are fortunate, even blessed, to receive more than they might have. And remember, this is not about money, although we could have a fine sermon here on the need for living wages and an end to poverty. With the market doing the roller-coaster ride it’s done the last few weeks, we might even need that sermon, and a soothing talk about Jesus being with us always to ride out these storms. But I’m not preaching stewardship today—not of money, anyway.
Instead, today’s story is about mercy and grace, and about what God wants to do for us. It is not so much about what we can do for God. It is not about what we can do for God, it is about what God wants to do for us. It is about envy versus generosity, about what it means to be human and what it means to be God, and it is mostly about a loving and generous God who seeks us out—again and again—so that everyone can be included in the kingdom. It’s never too late with God, never too late to receive the mercy and salvation God offers, never too late to claim a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, because the reward is the same: God is love, and God offers perfect love to us—all of us, all the time.
And that’s just not fair, is it? We who were raised as children from birth to know God, to have a relationship with Jesus, we got there first, didn’t we? Don’t we deserve something more than the one who lives his own life his way until the very end, who squeaks in at the last minute? Shouldn’t there be some kind of sliding scale, some way to prorate God’s grace, some rewards system so that those of us who welcome Christ into our lives first get some kind of preference? Wouldn’t that be fair?
Isn’t that absurd?
One of the purposes behind Jesus’ practice of teaching in parables must have been to lead us gently to the places where we are most broken, where our sin peeks through, where the gulf between people and God is deepest…and to show us that often, that’s where we live…where our logic meets God’s mercy, and we see how small we really are sometimes.
How can we ask God to subdivide grace? How could we ask Jesus to take the redemptive gift wrought at the cross, and only give a little to certain people? And, most frightening of all, how can we know that our smallness, our foolishness, our selfishness doesn’t put us right back at the end of the line? Isn’t it good that we are not the ones in charge?
It is good. Because often we’re wrong. Because we can be, sometimes, small and foolish and selfish. And because God is categorically NOT any of those things.
Parables help us understand these hard truths about ourselves without having to be confronted with them head-on—and thanks be to God for that! It’s no fun to hear that we’re sometimes wrong, but at least we can know that God is always right. With that in mind, let’s look again at the story—this time at the landowner’s responses to the grumbling.
I think we can safely assume that the landowner in this parable is Jesus, speaking to us as the laborers. We do sometimes find God a little hard to understand, find ourselves questioning the grace of God, wondering at how it all works out. Here are Jesus’ answers, as the landowner, to us:
Verses 13 and 14 say, “He replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.” The workers were asking, in essence, for more than they were entitled to—or for an extra blessing. Instead they received the pay for which they had contracted, the just wage for their days work. When we question God’s grace to another as these workers questioned the landowner’s generosity to the other workers, we’re crossing a line we perhaps don’t want to cross. We’re putting ourselves in the position of deciding who deserves what in the Kingdom of God…we’re acting as if we are in charge of some stuff I don’t want to be in charge of.
It’s the last part of the landowner’s response, though, that makes me nervous. “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” On the one hand, it’s simplest just to say, “Who are we to question God?” but that doesn’t get at the real issue: it’s best that God is in charge of stuff and we are not, because God can handle it and we just can’t. Sometimes we do respond to God’s generosity with envy…we wish for ourselves the gifts we see in others, and fail to recognize our own. Worse, we seem to judge for ourselves who is worthy of God’s love and the gift of salvation…that truly is envy, and a kind that does not become us. It is better for God to be in charge of stuff than for us, because God can handle it, and we cannot, because God’s heart is big enough and ours is not, because God can see everything, knows everything, and we do not.
As chaotic as our world has been lately, I find great comfort in knowing that there’s a lot that I’m not in charge of, but that God’s in charge of my future. I’ve watched the stock market fall and rise this week, and I’m glad that someone else is responsible for agonizing over my pension. I don’t know enough to manage that money very closely, and so I’m not in charge of that. I’ve watched the news and the weather…storms and mudslides and terror and death. I’m really relieved that I’m not in charge of that!
What I am in charge of, what you are in charge of, is how we live our lives, how we place our confidence in God, and how we manage to avoid taking charge of stuff we’re not in charge of. We’re in charge of watching for envy to crop up in our lives, and of remembering in those moments that in our salvation, Jesus Christ has already given us the best he has. We are in charge of learning to look at others and seeing them as God sees them, of not worrying about who is last and who is first, but simply rejoicing that we all have a share in God’s inexhaustible mercy and grace. These are the things that we’re in charge of, and you’ll notice that they apply to our own lives and no one else’s, because we are in charge of living our own lives only, and no one else’s.
In a sense, Jesus through the story of the landowner was telling us gently and lovingly to mind our own business, and our business is this: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. Our business is to share the love and relationship God offers to us with others, but not to decide which others or how they respond. Our business is to give generously in response to what God has done for us, but not to decide how others must spend every nickel. Our business is to worship God with our hearts and our lives, and not to speculate on what our neighbor is doing. Our business is, simply put, to love with all that we are and all that we have, and to let God worry about the rest. To do otherwise is to behave as if God is not in charge of stuff, and we are…and we’re not good enough to be in charge of that kind of stuff. Thanks be to God, God is.
“Stuff I’m Not in Charge of”
If I were in charge of stuff, things would be different. Chocolate would be a dietary requirement. And everyone would like it. And it wouldn’t have fat or calories, only antioxidants and yummy goodness.
If I were in charge of stuff, everyone would get a day a month (at least) off for mental health days, and our health insurance would pay for us to do something therapeutic on that day. Like kayaking. Or shopping. Or puttering in the workshop.
If I were in charge, it would be acceptable to end a sentence or a phrase with a preposition. I wonder how many teachers and writers and grammatically-careful folks are sitting out in the congregation right now, looking at the bulletin, and thinking today’s sermon title is poorly phrased.
Well, it is, and it isn’t. If I were in charge, it would be fine to publish a phrase like, “Stuff I’m Not in Charge of,” because saying, “Stuff of which I am not in charge” sounds more than a little silly. But that’s something I’m not in charge of. And there’s an awful lot of that.
We have a saying in our family that we use often when there seems to have been some decision made by some beaurocracy somewhere that doesn’t make sense to us, or benefit us the way we think it should. Why do they do it that way? I don’t know, they didn’t ask me. I’m not in charge of that.
I believe the last time I said this I was in the coffee shop with a church member…and she agreed. Life would make a lot more sense if they just asked us first. Sit us down in a room with the power to make some real changes and unlimited coffee, and we could fix everything, right?
Or maybe not.
The problem with the power to change the world is that we are human and we are finite. I can’t know everything, and I can’t foresee all the consequences of all the decisions I might make. If I were in charge of all that stuff, I bet I’d make some pretty big mistakes.
And in this election season, part of what we’re seeing and hearing on TV is one candidate capitalizing on another’s mistakes…even mistakes they haven’t made yet. As we’re deciding whom to elect to be in charge of an awful lot of stuff, we might want to remember that whomever we elect will be human, and finite, and can’t know everything, and can’t foresee every possible consequence of every potential decision they’ll ever have a hand in. We just count on them to have better resources than we do, and to be able to make those decisions in a more educated manner than we do.
So there’s my moment in politics. You can relax. It’s over now.
Today’s parable is a story about being in charge of stuff. A landowner went out to choose some day laborers to work in his vineyards. He went out first thing in the morning and hired a crew, promising them the usual daily wage. A few hours later, he noticed that he could use a few more workers, so he went out and hired some more, promising to pay them what was right. Twice more he went out and hired more workers, and finally, late in the day, close to quitting time, he went out once more, found some men who still hadn’t found other work that day, and hired them too.
When the workday ended an hour later, the landowner sent his manager to pay all the workers, starting with the last hired and ending with the first. When he paid those who had only worked an hour the entire amount of the usual daily wage, those who were hired first began to get excited, thinking they might receive some bonus for working all day in the sun and heat. When they too received the exact pay they’d contracted for, they began to grumble and complain.
The landowner replied gently, “You received the wage you were entitled to, and that you contracted for. Have I done you wrong? Take what you have earned; it’s my privilege to do what I want with what I have. Or does my generosity make you jealous of others who receive it?”
We know this is a parable because of the way Jesus starts the story: “The kingdom of Heaven is like…” Now, because this is a parable, we know a few things about it. First, this never happened. Jesus was not recounting an event he’d witnessed—this was not news. Second, this is not really about earning wages, nor is it about money, although generosity is certainly a factor here. Instead, it is about who is in charge of stuff like mercy and justice and salvation, and why we should be grateful that it’s not us.
This parable has a lot in common with that of the Prodigal Son, the one I call simply the parable of the prodigals, which is about generosity and our wrong expectations of who is entitled to what. In that story, a younger son claims his inheritance early, runs off and spends it on transitory things, and comes home in disgrace, hoping that perhaps he might be hired by his father as a common laborer. Instead he is received by his father with open arms and generosity of spirit, and by his older brother with some resentment for the father’s generosity.
We tend to empathize with the younger brother. Many of us can tell stories of when we ourselves have been prodigal children, and have been met by others with love and generosity and grace we did not deserve. It’s become commonplace among some Christians to tell those stories with pride…as if God somehow loves us more if God forgives us of more sin…which is dangerously close to thinking of God as rewarding our bad behavior. It’s somehow easier for us to see in the younger brother a reflection of ourselves, to see him more sympathetically than we see the older brother, in whom we see a sort of stinginess of the spirit.
Our reaction to today’s parable is somewhat different. It is again a story about generosity and wrong expectations about who is entitled to what, yet our first response tends to be to sympathize with the workers who were hired earliest in the day, to grumble to ourselves that it’s all well and good to be generous with forgiveness, but that “a laborer is worthy of his hire.” We can’t mess with the money!
And yet, to say this misses the point. The laborer is indeed worthy of his hire…but no one was shortchanged by the landowner in this story Jesus has given. No one is hurt, no one misses out. Everyone gets at least what they deserved, and some are fortunate, even blessed, to receive more than they might have. And remember, this is not about money, although we could have a fine sermon here on the need for living wages and an end to poverty. With the market doing the roller-coaster ride it’s done the last few weeks, we might even need that sermon, and a soothing talk about Jesus being with us always to ride out these storms. But I’m not preaching stewardship today—not of money, anyway.
Instead, today’s story is about mercy and grace, and about what God wants to do for us. It is not so much about what we can do for God. It is not about what we can do for God, it is about what God wants to do for us. It is about envy versus generosity, about what it means to be human and what it means to be God, and it is mostly about a loving and generous God who seeks us out—again and again—so that everyone can be included in the kingdom. It’s never too late with God, never too late to receive the mercy and salvation God offers, never too late to claim a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, because the reward is the same: God is love, and God offers perfect love to us—all of us, all the time.
And that’s just not fair, is it? We who were raised as children from birth to know God, to have a relationship with Jesus, we got there first, didn’t we? Don’t we deserve something more than the one who lives his own life his way until the very end, who squeaks in at the last minute? Shouldn’t there be some kind of sliding scale, some way to prorate God’s grace, some rewards system so that those of us who welcome Christ into our lives first get some kind of preference? Wouldn’t that be fair?
Isn’t that absurd?
One of the purposes behind Jesus’ practice of teaching in parables must have been to lead us gently to the places where we are most broken, where our sin peeks through, where the gulf between people and God is deepest…and to show us that often, that’s where we live…where our logic meets God’s mercy, and we see how small we really are sometimes.
How can we ask God to subdivide grace? How could we ask Jesus to take the redemptive gift wrought at the cross, and only give a little to certain people? And, most frightening of all, how can we know that our smallness, our foolishness, our selfishness doesn’t put us right back at the end of the line? Isn’t it good that we are not the ones in charge?
It is good. Because often we’re wrong. Because we can be, sometimes, small and foolish and selfish. And because God is categorically NOT any of those things.
Parables help us understand these hard truths about ourselves without having to be confronted with them head-on—and thanks be to God for that! It’s no fun to hear that we’re sometimes wrong, but at least we can know that God is always right. With that in mind, let’s look again at the story—this time at the landowner’s responses to the grumbling.
I think we can safely assume that the landowner in this parable is Jesus, speaking to us as the laborers. We do sometimes find God a little hard to understand, find ourselves questioning the grace of God, wondering at how it all works out. Here are Jesus’ answers, as the landowner, to us:
Verses 13 and 14 say, “He replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.” The workers were asking, in essence, for more than they were entitled to—or for an extra blessing. Instead they received the pay for which they had contracted, the just wage for their days work. When we question God’s grace to another as these workers questioned the landowner’s generosity to the other workers, we’re crossing a line we perhaps don’t want to cross. We’re putting ourselves in the position of deciding who deserves what in the Kingdom of God…we’re acting as if we are in charge of some stuff I don’t want to be in charge of.
It’s the last part of the landowner’s response, though, that makes me nervous. “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” On the one hand, it’s simplest just to say, “Who are we to question God?” but that doesn’t get at the real issue: it’s best that God is in charge of stuff and we are not, because God can handle it and we just can’t. Sometimes we do respond to God’s generosity with envy…we wish for ourselves the gifts we see in others, and fail to recognize our own. Worse, we seem to judge for ourselves who is worthy of God’s love and the gift of salvation…that truly is envy, and a kind that does not become us. It is better for God to be in charge of stuff than for us, because God can handle it, and we cannot, because God’s heart is big enough and ours is not, because God can see everything, knows everything, and we do not.
As chaotic as our world has been lately, I find great comfort in knowing that there’s a lot that I’m not in charge of, but that God’s in charge of my future. I’ve watched the stock market fall and rise this week, and I’m glad that someone else is responsible for agonizing over my pension. I don’t know enough to manage that money very closely, and so I’m not in charge of that. I’ve watched the news and the weather…storms and mudslides and terror and death. I’m really relieved that I’m not in charge of that!
What I am in charge of, what you are in charge of, is how we live our lives, how we place our confidence in God, and how we manage to avoid taking charge of stuff we’re not in charge of. We’re in charge of watching for envy to crop up in our lives, and of remembering in those moments that in our salvation, Jesus Christ has already given us the best he has. We are in charge of learning to look at others and seeing them as God sees them, of not worrying about who is last and who is first, but simply rejoicing that we all have a share in God’s inexhaustible mercy and grace. These are the things that we’re in charge of, and you’ll notice that they apply to our own lives and no one else’s, because we are in charge of living our own lives only, and no one else’s.
In a sense, Jesus through the story of the landowner was telling us gently and lovingly to mind our own business, and our business is this: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. Our business is to share the love and relationship God offers to us with others, but not to decide which others or how they respond. Our business is to give generously in response to what God has done for us, but not to decide how others must spend every nickel. Our business is to worship God with our hearts and our lives, and not to speculate on what our neighbor is doing. Our business is, simply put, to love with all that we are and all that we have, and to let God worry about the rest. To do otherwise is to behave as if God is not in charge of stuff, and we are…and we’re not good enough to be in charge of that kind of stuff. Thanks be to God, God is.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
What's up with the world?
Duke won.
Seriously.
Against UVa.
That makes me very happy, although it seriously interfered with my sermon-writing, even though I had to watch the "live stats" on the Duke website because I don't get the right channel, and I couldn't even get it on the radio.
Tauiliili is now my new favorite word.
Seriously.
Just say it.
It's fun.
Tauiliili.
Tauiliili.
Tauiliili.
Oh, the simple things that amuse my simple mind.
Seriously.
Against UVa.
That makes me very happy, although it seriously interfered with my sermon-writing, even though I had to watch the "live stats" on the Duke website because I don't get the right channel, and I couldn't even get it on the radio.
Tauiliili is now my new favorite word.
Seriously.
Just say it.
It's fun.
Tauiliili.
Tauiliili.
Tauiliili.
Oh, the simple things that amuse my simple mind.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Johnny Appleseed Friday Five
From Songbird:
So, in honor of this interesting fellow, let's get on with the questions!
1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)
2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?
3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?
4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?
5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he traveled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?
Raise your hand if you know that today is Johnny Appleseed Day!
September 26, 1774 was his birthday. "Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman) is one of America's great legends. He was a nurseryman who started out planting trees in western New York and Pennsylvania, but he was among those who were captivated by the movement west across the continent.
As Johnny traveled west (at that time, the "West" was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois) he planted apple trees and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew. A devout Christian, he was known to preach during his travels. According to legend, Johny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little. He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received to churches or charities. He planted hundreds of orchards, considering it his service to humankind. There is some link between Johny Appleseed and very early Arbor Day celebrations.
So, in honor of this interesting fellow, let's get on with the questions!
1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)
I generally don't like cooked fruit BUT I love our version of baked apples: peel, core and slice apples (as many as you want--I prefer a firm apple: Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, etc.) and place in a skillet, baking dish, or microwave safe bowl. Speinkle with sugar or Splenda to taste (depends on how sweet the apple is). Dust with cinnamon to taste (I use a lot) and dot with butter or margarine. Cook (on stovetop, in oven or microwave), stirring occasionally, until apples are tender. Serve as a side dish or as dessert with a good vanilla ice cream.
2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?
I remember planting loblolly pines as part of an arbor day celebration when I was in elementary school. And at my last church, we planted a dogwood in memory of a very special member who died.
3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?
Yes and no. I think forming relationships are so important that it would be difficult for me to itinerate on that scale. But I can see the appeal. Ben's retirement plan is to get an RV, wire it for sound, and travel the country as BBQ missionaries...going from restaurant to restaurant preaching until they feed us. :)
4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?
Paul Bunyan's blue ox Babe, for some reason. Maybe doesn't quite fit the category, but I've always been charmed by the story.
5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he traveled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?
Oh, we have the song of the day in our family...there's usually something running through my head. I hesitate to call them favorites, but perennial selections include They Might Be Giants' "James K. Polk" and "I Palindrome I", the Smiths' "Unhappy Birthday", the "Jeopardy" theme, various hymns, and whatever we sang at last Sunday's contemporary worship service. Also James Taylor makes frequent appearances. The secular stuff tends to be music from when I was in college. Go figure.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Fall Equinox Friday Five
It's actually acting like fall where Songbird is!
1) A fragrance
2) A color
3) An item of clothing
4) An activity
5) A special day
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
The sort of cinnamon-y scent of burning leaves--a memory from childhood.
2) A color
The great russets, golds, and auburns of turning leaves and fall decorations.
3) An item of clothing
Sweaters and jeans, no doubt. I'm ready!
4) An activity
Walking the dog along Front Street. In the summer it's too hot/humid to enjoy the stroll.
5) A special day
Thanksgiving is just about the only time I get to be with all of my mother's family. As a child, I remember them at every family event from birthdays to graduations to major and minor holidays. The need to have Christmas Eve worship, and to keep some semblance of a schedule for my niece, the Exceptional One, keeps me from getting home in time to share their Christmas Eve festivities and from joining them Christmas morning.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I'm never entirely happy...
Except sometimes I am.
I have a friend in crisis coming to spend the weekend--she wants to go kayaking. I can do that!
My bff Tonya's parents' home in Houston was badly damaged by Ike, but they're okay, and ready to start repairs.
I'm still not losing weight but I'm going to see the nutritionist a little more often and work on that.
I still have to take that injectable medication (twice a stinkin' day, no less), but I'm actally beginning to feel okay about that. Who knew hypnosis would work?
I have an awful lot of work to do, but not quite as much as I thought, not quite as alone as I thought, and I feel pretty positive about that too.
Who knew I could be moderately well-adjusted?
Here's my little secret:
Those of you who know me in real life know that I can be more than a little cynical, and more than a lot a control freak. People like me are lousy candidates for hypnosis, because we are rarely able to surrender to the process (or silence our inner snark). I think it's working for me because my therapist is a genius who explained to me that I would always be in control of myself and aware of my surroundings, and because I was ready to really deal with my phobia. I've been becoming progressively worse with each passing year, and last year's 2 hour fastng glucose test, where I had to have 3 separate blood draws in one morning, just sent me over the edge...and that was after taking a little valium to take the edge off. To be honest, I decided to try hypnosis because I didn't want to do traditional therapy (not sure at all that I could afford the money or the time). To my surprise, it's working. I shut the snark up and in my second session had a little breakthrough that shed some light both on my need to control things and on my ability to manage the phobia. Since then, I've been happier and less stressed.
Who knew?
I didn't.
I have a friend in crisis coming to spend the weekend--she wants to go kayaking. I can do that!
My bff Tonya's parents' home in Houston was badly damaged by Ike, but they're okay, and ready to start repairs.
I'm still not losing weight but I'm going to see the nutritionist a little more often and work on that.
I still have to take that injectable medication (twice a stinkin' day, no less), but I'm actally beginning to feel okay about that. Who knew hypnosis would work?
I have an awful lot of work to do, but not quite as much as I thought, not quite as alone as I thought, and I feel pretty positive about that too.
Who knew I could be moderately well-adjusted?
Here's my little secret:
Those of you who know me in real life know that I can be more than a little cynical, and more than a lot a control freak. People like me are lousy candidates for hypnosis, because we are rarely able to surrender to the process (or silence our inner snark). I think it's working for me because my therapist is a genius who explained to me that I would always be in control of myself and aware of my surroundings, and because I was ready to really deal with my phobia. I've been becoming progressively worse with each passing year, and last year's 2 hour fastng glucose test, where I had to have 3 separate blood draws in one morning, just sent me over the edge...and that was after taking a little valium to take the edge off. To be honest, I decided to try hypnosis because I didn't want to do traditional therapy (not sure at all that I could afford the money or the time). To my surprise, it's working. I shut the snark up and in my second session had a little breakthrough that shed some light both on my need to control things and on my ability to manage the phobia. Since then, I've been happier and less stressed.
Who knew?
I didn't.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Back to School Friday Five
Mother Laura's posed this week's Back-To-School Friday Five!
1. Is anyone going back to school, as a student or teacher, at your house? How's it going so far?
2. Were you glad or sad when back-to-school time came as a kid?
3. Did your family of origin have any rituals to mark this time of year? How about now?
4. Favorite memories of back-to-school outfits, lunchboxes, etc?
5. What was your best year of school?
1. Is anyone going back to school, as a student or teacher, at your house? How's it going so far?
Oh yeah, I'm in a DMin program. I'm having a little difficulty getting motivated this fall. Anyone want to do research for me?
2. Were you glad or sad when back-to-school time came as a kid?
Sad to lose the long days of freedom, but I love school. Always have.
3. Did your family of origin have any rituals to mark this time of year? How about now?
There was the ceremonial buying of the school supplies, but that was about it.
4. Favorite memories of back-to-school outfits, lunchboxes, etc?
I remember cute little metal lunchboxes with thermoses in them. My sandwich always got smushed. Eventually, I switched to paper bags, then finally became to cool to pack my lunch.
5. What was your best year of school?
There were lots of things going on in my life as a child that made it difficult. I think my best years of school were in college...I finally had peers who were more like me, and got involved with a coed service fraternity that became my new family.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Q: When is a 20% chance a sure thing?
A: When it's a 20% chance of a thunderstorm and I'm out on the water!
Dad and I took my "new" (to me) kayak out yesterday for my first real kayak trip. We watch the weather report, and they said there was a slight chance of rain, but we saw only a few clouds, and the wind was very mild, so we went ahead with our plans.
We put in under the drawbridge, because I'd been that way before, and we paddled under the drawbridge and around to Taylor's Creek. We hadn't got very far when we heard the horn announcing that the bridge was going to open, so we stopped and turned around and watched a shrimp boat come in. As we watched, we saw a big black cloud coming our way, and began to hear the first rumbles of thunder. We continued into Taylor's creek and saw the Beaufort waterfront from the water; the Maritime Museum's watercraft center is made to be seen that way. The cloud become more and more ominous, and so our trip began with a little hard paddling.
I knew we could stop at a dock, even a private one, if we needed to. No one would begrudge a kayak a little dock space in a thunderstom. But I didn't know how to get in or out of the boat on a dock, and it's not a skill I wanted to develop in a hurry. I'm pretty sure I would have been swimming. So we paddled on, and got down to a little local park where there's a little sandy area for kayakers, canoes, and small boats. We pulled they kayaks up, grabbed our phones, camera, and keys, and decided to go get some coffee. Fortunately, since we didn't have our wallets, I have a running tab at the local coffee shop.
It rained on us on the way, and so we waited probably 45 minutes for it to fair off, and then walked back down the couple of blocks to the park. There were still some pretty impressive clouds, a stalled frontal boundary that was supposed to do nothing, but we listened to Dad's weather radio and it said that there would be no cloud-to-ground lightning, and we were already going to get wet, so we forged ahead.
We went across Taylor's Creek to Carrot Island, and followed the island back up to the mouth of the creek, and went around. This time of year, the horses are usually way down in the marshy end of the island or on the back side, and we wanted to try to see them. We did get sprinkled on several times, and heard a fair bit of thumder in the distance.
The backside of the island has some little beaches, and then it opens up into some marshy areas and also a big sandy spur on the seaward side. We wandered as far as we could into the marshes, made a 10 foot portage across some of them, and found a big area of open water, with the beachy spur to our right. We paddled basically to the end of the open water, irritating green, white, and lesser herons, oyster catchers, the occasional egret, and white ibis. And we found the horses! They were much further down than we were, but I had my camera and Dad had binoculars. There were about 15 of them, which is more than I've seen at any one time.
There is a cut through the island at high tide, and we had planned to look for it, but my arms were getting tired and I was afraid I'd be worn out before I could get somewhere to take out. I think it would have taken a portage across the sand, and then some poking around, and we might not have found it. I'll be looking next time I go out, though!
The paddle back was very easy. The tide and the breeze were with us, and the marshes had been flooded, so we didn't have to repeat our portage. We crossed the channel, and went by the Duke Marine Lab docks at Piver Island (and saw the first cloud to ground lightning strike, but the front stayed north of us). We passed by a fairly low dock, and Dad showed me the proper technique for getting out at a dock, so now I at least know the mechanics of it, and then we were back under the bridge, stowing the kayaks and headed for home.
Last night when I went to bed, my arms and hands ached so much I had a hard time getting to sleep. Today, I still feel tired, but I had a great time. I'm ready to go again. With practice, I'll develop some more stamina and be able to see even more great stuff!
Dad and I took my "new" (to me) kayak out yesterday for my first real kayak trip. We watch the weather report, and they said there was a slight chance of rain, but we saw only a few clouds, and the wind was very mild, so we went ahead with our plans.
We put in under the drawbridge, because I'd been that way before, and we paddled under the drawbridge and around to Taylor's Creek. We hadn't got very far when we heard the horn announcing that the bridge was going to open, so we stopped and turned around and watched a shrimp boat come in. As we watched, we saw a big black cloud coming our way, and began to hear the first rumbles of thunder. We continued into Taylor's creek and saw the Beaufort waterfront from the water; the Maritime Museum's watercraft center is made to be seen that way. The cloud become more and more ominous, and so our trip began with a little hard paddling.
I knew we could stop at a dock, even a private one, if we needed to. No one would begrudge a kayak a little dock space in a thunderstom. But I didn't know how to get in or out of the boat on a dock, and it's not a skill I wanted to develop in a hurry. I'm pretty sure I would have been swimming. So we paddled on, and got down to a little local park where there's a little sandy area for kayakers, canoes, and small boats. We pulled they kayaks up, grabbed our phones, camera, and keys, and decided to go get some coffee. Fortunately, since we didn't have our wallets, I have a running tab at the local coffee shop.
It rained on us on the way, and so we waited probably 45 minutes for it to fair off, and then walked back down the couple of blocks to the park. There were still some pretty impressive clouds, a stalled frontal boundary that was supposed to do nothing, but we listened to Dad's weather radio and it said that there would be no cloud-to-ground lightning, and we were already going to get wet, so we forged ahead.
We went across Taylor's Creek to Carrot Island, and followed the island back up to the mouth of the creek, and went around. This time of year, the horses are usually way down in the marshy end of the island or on the back side, and we wanted to try to see them. We did get sprinkled on several times, and heard a fair bit of thumder in the distance.
The backside of the island has some little beaches, and then it opens up into some marshy areas and also a big sandy spur on the seaward side. We wandered as far as we could into the marshes, made a 10 foot portage across some of them, and found a big area of open water, with the beachy spur to our right. We paddled basically to the end of the open water, irritating green, white, and lesser herons, oyster catchers, the occasional egret, and white ibis. And we found the horses! They were much further down than we were, but I had my camera and Dad had binoculars. There were about 15 of them, which is more than I've seen at any one time.
There is a cut through the island at high tide, and we had planned to look for it, but my arms were getting tired and I was afraid I'd be worn out before I could get somewhere to take out. I think it would have taken a portage across the sand, and then some poking around, and we might not have found it. I'll be looking next time I go out, though!
The paddle back was very easy. The tide and the breeze were with us, and the marshes had been flooded, so we didn't have to repeat our portage. We crossed the channel, and went by the Duke Marine Lab docks at Piver Island (and saw the first cloud to ground lightning strike, but the front stayed north of us). We passed by a fairly low dock, and Dad showed me the proper technique for getting out at a dock, so now I at least know the mechanics of it, and then we were back under the bridge, stowing the kayaks and headed for home.
Last night when I went to bed, my arms and hands ached so much I had a hard time getting to sleep. Today, I still feel tired, but I had a great time. I'm ready to go again. With practice, I'll develop some more stamina and be able to see even more great stuff!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Not with a bang but a whimper
Well, Tropical Storm Hanna turned out to be sort of a washout, at least here on the Crystal Coast. She went inland of us, and while we had a few minor tornadoes (and no serious damage that I've heard of) spawned by a storm band on Friday morning, the storm itself was a bit of a disappointment. It was windy but not too bad, the power went out but only for a little while, and all it really did was disrupt my sleep.
Still and all, I'm glad it was fairly minor. I know there has been some localized flooding inland, and that's less than great, but we needed the rain.
Still watching Ike, but tonight's models suggest it will not make a devastating turn to the northeast. Perhaps we'll be spared. Prayers for Cuba and the Gulf, though--looks bad there.
Still and all, I'm glad it was fairly minor. I know there has been some localized flooding inland, and that's less than great, but we needed the rain.
Still watching Ike, but tonight's models suggest it will not make a devastating turn to the northeast. Perhaps we'll be spared. Prayers for Cuba and the Gulf, though--looks bad there.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Vulnerability Friday 5
Sally brings us this somber F5:
1. Is vulnerability something that comes easily to you, or are you a private person?
2.How important is it to keep up a professional persona in work/ ministry?
3. Masks, a form of self protection discuss...
4. Who knows you warts and all?
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.
Hmmm...this is tough one. There are many, and I've mentioned To Kill A Mockingbird and the music of Chris Rice and Rich Mullins before. St. Patrick's Breastplate, perhaps?
It seems almost crass to post a Friday 5 after Mary-Beth's last post and prayer request for our dear Gannet Girl and her family. So 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 weeks Friday 5:
1. Is vulnerability something that comes easily to you, or are you a private person?
I'm not a terribly private person, most of the time, but I do have some strong self-protective instincts. I share pretty freely up to a point, and then keep things to myself.
2.How important is it to keep up a professional persona in work/ ministry?
In the sense of meeting expectations, it's important to be perceived as professional in certain settings. But it's always served me well to become close to parishioners and to be more "human" with them. Well, not always, but few people have taken advantage of that. Perhaps it's because I am very empathetic--I've been working over the years to develop a balance between professional distance and empathy.
3. Masks, a form of self protection discuss...
Very much so, but like a mischievous child, I tend to peek out from behind it from time to time. I don't really know how to be anyone but myself.
4. Who knows you warts and all?
My bestest friend in the world, Tonya, who lives in Germany. She knows everything and she loves me anyway.
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.
Hmmm...this is tough one. There are many, and I've mentioned To Kill A Mockingbird and the music of Chris Rice and Rich Mullins before. St. Patrick's Breastplate, perhaps?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I haz a kayak! and a tropical storm
More to come on this later, but received a gift today when the kayak people I took the class with offered me a deal (half price or a little less) on a used kayak, one that I knew I liked. It's mine now!
And they even delivered!
And Hanna's coming. At least we won't get a direct hit...bet I lose power, though.
And they even delivered!
And Hanna's coming. At least we won't get a direct hit...bet I lose power, though.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Still watching the weather
Model tracks for Hanna keep moving around, and Josephine's starting to look interesting, so I'm watching the weather carefully. Not because I'm feeling altruistic, but because I have my first real kayak trip planned for next Monday, and if the weather's bad, I won't be able to go.
Last night I took a short kayaking course offered by a local shop (Pirate Queen Paddling, I love them) and got a chance to try out another brand of kayak, and talked to the owner a bit. She recommends a third that she thinks I would love, which of course they are out of stock of. And they're all expensive, but I really think I want one. Need one. I had the best time last night. One of my friends (and church members) took the class too, so I wasn't by myself, not that that should have mattered, but of course it's always nicer to have someone you know there.
I went mostly to try out another sit-on-top kayak, so that I could get a better sense of what features I'd want. I knew Pirate Queen had 2 in their rentals, so my chances were good. I honestly partly hoped that I would not like the second, so my choice would be clear, but instead I have options...including not buying one at all, which I'm trying not to think about.
Gee, I'm not being obsessive at all.
I am anxious to get some news about the damage from Gustav and mobilize our disaster response troops. They've trained hard and only "deployed" for crowd control to assist the local police; while I'd never wish a hurricane or any storm damage on anyone, I'm ready for them to get out and get to work. They're watching the weather, too, wondering if it's "safe" for them to leave, or if they should stick close to home, in case the next storm comes here.
Last night I took a short kayaking course offered by a local shop (Pirate Queen Paddling, I love them) and got a chance to try out another brand of kayak, and talked to the owner a bit. She recommends a third that she thinks I would love, which of course they are out of stock of. And they're all expensive, but I really think I want one. Need one. I had the best time last night. One of my friends (and church members) took the class too, so I wasn't by myself, not that that should have mattered, but of course it's always nicer to have someone you know there.
I went mostly to try out another sit-on-top kayak, so that I could get a better sense of what features I'd want. I knew Pirate Queen had 2 in their rentals, so my chances were good. I honestly partly hoped that I would not like the second, so my choice would be clear, but instead I have options...including not buying one at all, which I'm trying not to think about.
Gee, I'm not being obsessive at all.
I am anxious to get some news about the damage from Gustav and mobilize our disaster response troops. They've trained hard and only "deployed" for crowd control to assist the local police; while I'd never wish a hurricane or any storm damage on anyone, I'm ready for them to get out and get to work. They're watching the weather, too, wondering if it's "safe" for them to leave, or if they should stick close to home, in case the next storm comes here.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Keeping a weather eye on the weather
This week's newsletter article:
As I write this, I’m also watching the weather news. Those of you who’ve spent time in the office during hurricane season know that Eric and I watch these storms very closely. The Internet, for better or worse, gives us access to good information about potential hurricanes and tropical storms, and we’ve both got our favorite places to watch.
Today the news is mixed. Gustav has made landfall on the Louisiana coast as a strong category 2 hurricane. The good news is that it is weaker than previously feared. The bad news is that the wind field is as large as Katrina’s was, three years ago, and the storm surge will seriously challenge the levee system. Hanna is expected to become a hurricane in a few days and make landfall somewhere in Georgia or South Carolina, although it could come as far north as Beaufort, according to this morning’s forecast.
Don’t panic, though. There is so much uncertainty about predicting these tropical weather systems that this week I’ve had a great lesson in vocabulary. I’ve been tempted to count the uses of words like maybe, possible, uncertain, conservative, tricky, suggest, and difficult as the forecasters attempt to figure out what these storms are up to. We just don’t know enough.
What we can do is to be cautious, to pay attention to the weather news, and to think about how we might respond, both to a local hurricane strike, and also to those in other places, like Gustav. In the coming days we’ll be hearing from our disaster response teams and the Outreach committee on ways we can prepare ourselves in the event a storm comes to our part of the coast and ways to help others who have already been through a storm. In the meantime, we watch, and pray, and find peace in the sure and certain knowledge that God is with us, whatever we face.
As I write this, I’m also watching the weather news. Those of you who’ve spent time in the office during hurricane season know that Eric and I watch these storms very closely. The Internet, for better or worse, gives us access to good information about potential hurricanes and tropical storms, and we’ve both got our favorite places to watch.
Today the news is mixed. Gustav has made landfall on the Louisiana coast as a strong category 2 hurricane. The good news is that it is weaker than previously feared. The bad news is that the wind field is as large as Katrina’s was, three years ago, and the storm surge will seriously challenge the levee system. Hanna is expected to become a hurricane in a few days and make landfall somewhere in Georgia or South Carolina, although it could come as far north as Beaufort, according to this morning’s forecast.
Don’t panic, though. There is so much uncertainty about predicting these tropical weather systems that this week I’ve had a great lesson in vocabulary. I’ve been tempted to count the uses of words like maybe, possible, uncertain, conservative, tricky, suggest, and difficult as the forecasters attempt to figure out what these storms are up to. We just don’t know enough.
What we can do is to be cautious, to pay attention to the weather news, and to think about how we might respond, both to a local hurricane strike, and also to those in other places, like Gustav. In the coming days we’ll be hearing from our disaster response teams and the Outreach committee on ways we can prepare ourselves in the event a storm comes to our part of the coast and ways to help others who have already been through a storm. In the meantime, we watch, and pray, and find peace in the sure and certain knowledge that God is with us, whatever we face.
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