Friday Five: Blogging of yesteryears

I... like quite a few other folks who read the prompt this morning on RevGalBlogPals.blogspot.com have decided to get back into the game.  here are the questions, and here are my responses...

1) Have your blogging (writing/reading) habits shifted since the days of yore?

Photo By: Kriss Szkurlatowski

Absolutely.  There were days that I was posting something every single day. I'd get home from work and the thoughts would be reeling and I'd hop on my computer and post something.  Or I'd wake up in the middle of the night and run to my computer and post something.  They were sometimes funny, sometimes simple, sometimes deep, but I was doing it regularly. My reading was definately more sporadic... usually whatever popped up at the top of my google reader page... so the more you posted, the more I read you. 

Lately, my blogging has NOT been a habit at all.  It's something I do when I have nothing else to do and it's still "work time."  At home, I have to cook, clean, garden, and sometimes I'm just exhausted.  I miss the processing time that more regular blogging gave me.  

2) Do you have some favorites that you miss?

The bloggers I miss most are my food bloggers... Bread and Honey was an absolute favorite for me and the posts are more sporadic. I also haven't done the best at staying in touch with others that aren't listed here. 

3) Are there some blogs you still put in the 'must read' category?

I think most of my favorite theology/ecclesiology writers are still regular bloggers. John Munier @ An Arrow Through the Air, Jay Voorhees @ Only Wonder Understands, Dan Dick @ United Methodeviations, Jessica Kelley @ the Parsonage Family, Matthew Kelley @ The Truth as Best I Know It, Kristin @ Halfway to Normal

 4) If we gathered at your knee, what would you tell us about those early days of blogging?

I started with things like livejournal, and I'm not sure that I ever cared very much about comments.  But then I began to see that blogging can be a conversation and a relationship with other people over the things that we write about.  And I have been a very bad friend lately.

5) Do you have a clip or a remembrance of a previous post of yours or someone else's that you remember, you know an oldie but goodie?

for your perusing pleasure, a link to an early post, and the first post after my introduction to RevGals... I think I chose this one because it brings up the kinds of questions that I try to ask on my blog, and also because it was one of those moments when I knew I had found something special with the community at RevGals... It is also a reminder for me that I really do need to start doing this more regularly. 

Baby Showers?

This week's Friday Five from RevGals almost has me down in the dumps.  You see, my husband and I are undecided about whether or not to have kids.  Or rather, we are each decided, just in different directions.  And it seems like EVERYONE I know is having a baby or has just had a baby and it's making me a little bit crazy. I see pregnant people everywhere and I keep having dreams about pregnancy and babies and I'm not quite sure what to do about it, except to sit back and wait.

So, while I'm waiting, I'm going to do the Friday Five...

I hope you'll participate in telling about your likes and dislikes about baby showers for you and for others.

1. What were baby showers like for you and your friends in the past?

None of my best friends have had babies yet!  Which is kind of interesting.  All six of us graduated high school in 2000 and none of us have kids.  Although many of us want them and are secretly dying inside.  I have however been to many baby showers for family members.  They usually consist of cute little games, cute little things to eat, lots of pastel colors everywhere, and gifts - lots of gifts.

2. Did you play games? What kinds?

Most of them consist of guessing the date and time of birth, guessing the weight, giving advice to moms, etc.  I have thrown a baby shower - and we played this awesome game where we melted candy bars inside of diapers and then you had to go around and taste each one and guess what kind of treat it was.  It was really gross - and a lot of fun.  We had a co-ed party for that one and the guys kind of liked the game. 

We also played a version of "apples to apples" where we used only the adjective cards.  We wrote down things you have around babies, like cribs, spit-up, diapers, crying and then everyone had to put in an adjective card.  The new mom got to pick the best one each time.  Which worked really well - except you might want to sort through your adjectives first... some of them are NOT appropriate when thinking about healthy little bundles of joy.

3. In your job, especially if you are a pastor, do you get invited to a lot of baby showers? What do you do about them?

Haven't been invited to any yet =(  I think that is a hard thing to say yes to, because often they are on weekends - which is sabbath and family time for me.  I might send a card or something.

4. Are baby showers different for our daughters (or younger friends) than they were for us?

Not quite there yet... I think something that has changed a little bit, however, is that showers get thrown for second and third kids now, too.  My sister-in-law just had her third and we threw her a big party.  In part, it was because for her first two kids, they were far away and so we just didn't do anything from the family.  There was also a bit of a gap between her other kids and this one and there are so many new and exciting products out there now.  They needed some new things that they just hadn't kept from the first round of kids.  I heard that for the first baby, you can throw a "shower" and that for the other ones you can have a "sprinkle" - but we just had fun and went all out.

5. Do you like hosting baby showers or do you avoid that responsibility?

I think that it is a lot of fun to host baby showers.  We did a frog theme for the last shower I hosted and it was kind of cute and fun.  I can't wait for my siblings and my friends to start having kids =)

Bonus: Any silliness about baby showers you wish to contribute.

What?  The dirty diaper game wasn't enough? =) 

Sleeping Habits

It has been a LONG time since I have played the RevGals Friday Five, but here goes!

...our Friday Five today will focus on sleep, or the lack there of.


1. Are you prone to sleep challenges? Insomnia, snoring, allergies? Other sleep challenges?

hmm... my husband claims I snore - but I am about 10,000x quieter than other members of my family.  After spending a weekend with our inlaws, I think my husband was actually grateful for how quiet I am.

2. When you can't sleep what do you do? Toss and turn? Get up and read? Play computer games?

I usually just lay there.  I'm still pretty young and I haven't quite experienced sleepless nights yet.  Although the worst is when you don't feel good and can't sleep.  I just roll over and pray that I drift off.  Mostly I let my mind wander and think of all the things I need to do (I get a lot of sermons revised during these moments... as long as I remember my thoughts when I get up the next morning)

3. When you do sleep do you remember your dreams? Or just snipets of them?

There are some dreams I remember vividly... and if I was smart I'd write them down and write them into short stories.  I've come up with some amazing dramatic little tales in my dreams.

4. Can you share a funny or confusing dream you've had? Or a dream you have over and over?

I used to have this dream that I was at the Living History Farms in Des Moines, IA and we were wandering through various centuries of farm life and there was a tornado.  We had to run away from this monstrosity that was coming towards us.  I think I've had that dream at least five or six times. Tornados are supposed to be symbols of change and warning in our dreams, so I wish that I had paid more attention to what was going on in my life when I have had those dreams. 

5. When you don't sleep how do you get through the day? Lots of coffee? or a nap later in the day?

Coffee tends to give me a headache when I've had too much.  I try to nap, but mostly I just push through it and crash at the end of the day.  As a person who pulled all-nighters in school, it was a badge of honor to push through it without any kind of stimulant help.  The NEXT day was always hell - but there isn't much besides sleep that can help me.

FF: Give Thanks

The Cure

Lying around all day

with some strange new deep blue

weekend funk, I'm not really asleep

when my sister calls

to say she's just hung up

from talking with Aunt Bertha

who is 89 and ill but managing

to take care of Uncle Frank

who is completely bed ridden.

Aunt Bert says

it's snowing there in Arkansas,

on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been

able to walk out to their mailbox.

She's been suffering

from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.

The cure for the mulleygrubs,

she tells my sister,

is to get up and bake a cake.

If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress.

--Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

--What is your cure for the "mulleygrubs"?--

My first instinct was to respond how I wallow when I have the "mulleygrubs."  I put on pj's and light some candles and curl up in a blanket in front of the television. Then I wait for them to go away.  But the cure... probably putting some upbeat piano and vocals (like the Gabe Dixon Band) or some funky beats (like Black Eyed Peas) and getting my groove on while I clean. There is nothing like getting my house in order to shake me out of the mulleygrubs.

--Where will you be for Thanksgiving?--

Thanksgiving Eve: out to dinner and a friends house.  Thanksgiving: hosting hubby's mom's side at our house (I don't even have to do anything in the kitchen!).  Thanksgiving Friday: my brother's house with my side of the family. Thanksgiving Saturday: my father-in-law's for that side of the family. 

--What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?--

We do pretty simple traditional things.  Turkey, canned cranberry jelly =), stuffing (my mom always makes Rachel Ray's stuffin' muffins), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmellows, green bean casserole, sweet corn (that was frozen at the end of summer), pumpkin pie.  But there are also some not so traditional things:  sauerkraut and a wild rice/mushroom dish.

--How do you feel about Thanksgiving as a holiday?--

I think its a terrific holiday.  It's a great chance to get together with your family and celebrate one another and the blessings of another year. My church doesn't really do a thanksgiving service - although we did move Laity Sunday to last week and our theme was creation and abundance and thanskgiving... we sang lots of great old hymns and it was a nice way to kind of bring Thanksgiving in.  I don't like that all of our secular holidays make it into the church year. So we are sticking with Reign of Christ this Sunday.

--In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?--

I'm grateful for my church which has always given me the opportunity to try new things, even if we fail miserably at them.  I'm grateful for people across the world who are living out their faith in creative and authentic ways.  I'm grateful for my close family and that we are finding new ways to support one another.  I'm grateful for my husband and the ways that we keep muddling through this crazy thing called marriage.

--Bonus: What is Aunt Bertha's Thanksgiving like?--

I'm not entirely sure, but I found that picture of a cake up above and I think that's the kind of cake pan she would have and the kind of cake she would make.  Nothing fancy - just sweet and warm and delicious.  I picture her red dress being a little worn and faded, because it's her favorite and she wears it over and over again.  I picture a table heaping full of food from the garden, things that were canned and saved away over the summer and fall.  I picture a turkey perfectly cooked - maybe a little overdone - that is far to big for her and Uncle Frank to eat.  And I hope that someone shows up at their house to eat with them.

FF: Five Songs

When I was a very little girl growing up in Virginia, I never missed a Sunday going to Court Street Baptist Church. But there was something else that made Sundays special, and that was "Davey and Goliath." Every week the opening strains of the theme song would find me lying on the floor, chin on hands, looking up expectantly to watch the adventures of a clay boy and his big dog.


What I didn't realize was who wrote that music, the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."

It was the same Martin Luther who said:

"I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor."

On this Friday before Reformation Sunday, let's talk about music. Share with us five pieces of music that draw you closer to the Divine, that elevate your mood or take you to your happy place. They might be sung or instrumental, ancient or modern, sacred or popular...whatever touches you.

1) All Will Be Well - the Gabe Dixon Band... I fell in love with this song in Nashville - it pretty much sums up my theology (and may be the reason I love Moltmann so much)

2) Here I Am Lord - the song that represents my call - I love singing the harmony on the chorus when you get a big group of people together.

3) I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness - this song gets me up on my feet and moving.  at a time when I was taking better care of myself and exercising regularly - this was the number one song on my playlist.

4) Hey Ya - Outkast - my dad and I danced to this song at my wedding - not for our father/daughter dance... but because he liked the song and we requested it. It still makes me giggle thinking about us out there busting a move

5) Shelter - Ray Lamontagne - another artist I fell in love with during seminary.  If my husband hadn't had a song already - I would have lobbied hard for this one for our first dance.

FF: Recharging

A few weeks ago my lap-top battery died, suddenly I found myself looking at a blank screen and was rather relieved to find that it was only the battery and not the whole computer that had failed. This morning a new battery arrived in the post, and suddenly I am mobile again!

After a week with what feels like wall to wall meetings, and Synod looming on the horizon for tomorrow I find myself pondering my own need to recharge my batteries. This afternoon Tim and I are setting off to explore the countryside around our new home, I always find that walking in the fresh air away from phones and e-mails recharges me. But that is not the only thing that restores my soul, so do some people, books, pieces of music etc....

So I wonder what/ who gives you energy?

1. Is there a person who encourages and uplifts you, whose company you seek when you are feeling low? I think family does this for me - especially my husband's family. I can go there without having to be "on" or really do anything, and I know I'll find good food and conversation and I can let it all out.

2. How about a piece of music that either invigorates or relaxes you? "I believe in a thing called love" by the Darkness - it gets me moving and pumped up

3. Which book of the Bible do you most readily turn to for refreshment and encouragement? Is there a particular story that brings you hope? I've always liked the story of Jeremiah planting a tree even though he was going into exile - it's that symbol of hope in the midst of whatever we are going through and its a reminder that we will be back where we are supposed to be eventually.

4. A bracing walk or a cosy fireside? Hard choice!!!! I think a strong walk lets me work off some of my frustrations, however the fireside just melts them away!!! I'm trying to convince my husband to build a firepit in our backyard - because currently the walking is my only option. I could sit in front of a fire every single night.

5. Are you feeling refreshed and restored at the moment or in need of recharging, write a prayer or a prayer request to finish this weeks Friday Five....

Gracious God, on mornings when we don't seem to want to get moving, help us to see the sun rising. Help us to hear the birds. Help us to know that your creation is alive and awaiting. May the wind gently push us. May the rays of light gently awaken us. May the colors of your creation open our eyes to the possibilities that this day holds. Remind us to sit - even for just a minute - to rejoice in the splendor of the morning. Help us to find even just five minutes of Sabbath with a cup of coffee, or tea, or juice, or a cat curled up on our lap, or a newspaper, or a blog entry and help us to listen for your Word in the midst of it all. Help us to be still and then send us forth to your task. Amen.

FF: Ritual

From Rev Gals: I believe that we live in a ritually impoverished culture, where
we have few reasons for real celebration, and marking the passages of life.
So...

1. Are ritual markings of birth marriage and death important to you?

Absolutely! They are how we make meaning out of these very difficult and beautiful transitions in our lifes. Even when we think that we are bypassing rituals, we are usually creating our own practices for coping and celebrating what has happened. Even something as simple as placing your baby into the crib for the first time is filled with significance and meaning and how you do it that first time will shape how you do it from then on. As a pastor, I see my role as to speak to where and how God is present in the rituals that I help a family perform.

2. Share a favourite liturgy/ practice.

In my wedding ceremony, we wanted to acknowledge that we had already been on a long journey together. We got married on our seven and a half year anniversary. So this was one more step in a relationship that we committed to long ago. I found this piece of liturgy and we used it at the beginning of the service:

President: We have come together in the presence of God to witness the marriage of Brandon and Katie, to celebrate their love for each other, and to ask God’s blessing upon them.

2nd Voice: Through the ages, people on great journeys have stopped at important places, and at decisive moments, to build cairns at the roadside – to make the spot, to measure progress, and to leave reminders of their arrivals and leavings to which they and others can always return.

3rd Voice: Katie and Brandon’s relationship is a great journey that, in different ways, we have traveled and will continue to travel with them. Nothing will ever be the same: for Brandon and Katie; for us who know them; or for the community in which they will live and move. They are to be married.

President: God’s Word reveals to us that the very nature of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, along with all human experience, for we are made in the image of God, is to be understood as relationship. In the great stories of God’s people and in the coming of Jesus we are shown how God binds himself to us, in a relationship that we can only call love. Jesus himself gave us a new commandment, “that you love one another as I have loved you.”

2nd Voice: We grow through relationships, for they give human life its purpose and direction. This is why we reach out to others. Our live consists not only in being but in becoming. Loving relationships are always on the move. They cannot stand still. They are a journey.

3rd Voice: Let us mark this decisive moment in Katie and Brandon’s journey now, adding to the cairn the stones of our love, our support and our prayers for them as they make their promises.

President: Creating and Redeeming God,
It is your love which draws us together.
Through the love which we have for one another,
May we also grow in love for you.
Walking with Christ as our companion on the way,
May we come to share the joy
Which you have prepared for all who love you;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[New Zealand, p. 802, adapted]

The two other voices besides our pastor were members of each of our families. The only thing that I wish we had done that we didn't have the foresight to think about was to actually have family members bring a stone and to build a cairn... then we could have taken those stones with us to our new home.

3. If you could invent ( or have invented) a ritual what is it for?

wow, I guess see above! Something else that we kind of invented was at my grandpa's funeral. He was a farmer and was always outside in the fields or in his gardens. He died in October and we couldn't not make the fall harvest part of his funeral. We brought it tall stalks of corn from the field and placed it around the casket. And each of the grandchildren picked a pumpkin and we placed them at the base of the casket - one for each of us. We also had a number of significant others among us grandchildren - three of us were engaged... and the "SO's" picked out squashes to represent themselves. We created meaning and remembrance out of that moment... we still call our "so's" squashes. And everytime we do so, we remember Deda's funeral.

4. What do you think of making connections with neo-pagan / ancient festivals? Have you done this and how?

I haven't really thought to do it explicitly, but I'm also very aware that Easter and Christmas fall when they do, in large part because of pagan/ancient festivals.

I think that there is a very fine line to balance when incorporating those traditions and rituals into your life. You don't want to impose your own values on beliefs on something you don't completely understand and in doing so possibly undo the meaning of the original ritual. There was an awful lot of imperialism and conquest involved in our original appropriation of some rituals.

But at the same time, we always bring to any rituals we encounter our own meaning. We adapt the rituals we encounter to fit our lives and our circumstances. And so if we encounter a new ritual, I think the best thing is to learn as much as you can about it and practice it with (if you feel that is appropriate and not denying the God you follow) others who know it well, and then make it your own.

5. Celebrating is important, what and where would your ideal celebration be?

In my back yard with good friends and family... with a roaring fire =) Conversation, laughter, music, some wine and some good food off of the grill.

FF: Bucket List

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

I actually don't have a "bucket list"! I have a friend who I know has all of these lists of things that she wants to accomplish in her lifetime, but I have never ever sat down to make a list of those kind of hopes and dreams. I am actually having a really hard time coming up with a list, but here goes (these things are subject to change!)

1. visit the Czech Republic with my Babi.
2. Visit NYC and see a show on Broadway.
3. learn to play guitar ( I know... this is one I'm working on already - but it's going to take me a while!) and lead worship at my church with the guitar.
4. plant and grow all of my fruits and veggies for a year in my own garden.
5. be a mom. (we are hoping to have two kids, but right now my hubby's totally not ready for them)

FF: Fork in the Road

For today's Friday Five, share with us five "fork-in-the-road" events, or persons, or choices. And how did life change after these forks in the road?

1. the first that comes to mind is a choice in high school. I agreed with the decision of a teacher instead of sticking up for one of my best friends in the whole wide world. It was a choice that caused lots of heartache and distance for a while, but I'm thankful that God and our other friends kept us together so that we came through on the other end.

2. The second is where I chose to go to college. I had a lot of places I could have gone - lots of places where I was accepted and who were offering scholarships. I didn't feel called to go to the small liberal arts college only an hour away (where communication would have been my focus). I really wanted to go to the large private university four hours away (where science would have been my focus). I ended up applying after graduation to a small Methodist college where a bunch of youth ministry friends were headed, got in, and God told me that's where I was supposed to be.... which led me through science to religion as a major and the rest is history.

3. The beginning of the war in Iraq. This was a major fork in the road for me, because I had strong feelings about it, both personally and spiritually. And I knew there were lots and lots of people who disagreed with me. I was in college at the time and in community with a group of people however who helped me to use my voice and my hands and my feet to make a statement about the war publicly. We created a memorial of crosses on the lawn in front of the chapel - in honor of those who had died, both soldiers and civilians since the conflict had begun in the week before. Overnight, the crosses were torn down and the broken pieces used to spell "God Bless the USA." As a Christian, I was heartbroken and ashamed of my neighbors. As someone who always though that there was a way to find agreement, I lost a piece of that in myself.

4. Exploration in 200something - The speaker for the day was Hispanic and she recounted the story of Samuel's calling in the temple. For the first time, I felt called into ministry and it was because Samuel kept thinking the voice of God was just his master. I thought before that time that the voice of God speaking to me was just the voice of my youth pastor, or pastor, or a friend, never did I think it was actually GOD speaking to me. Until she spoke those words, "Samuel, Samuel" with the hispanic pronunciation. It stays with me until this day.

5. My friend Nicole - in the airport in Nashville - convincing me to go to Vanderbilt. I was kind of torn at that point and I really wasn't sure what I was going to do until I sat down in the airport at that silly little food stand with Nicole. By the time I got on the plane (and I was almost late!) I was convinced that I needed to go to seminary there. And I haven't regretted it for a millisecond. It was where I needed to be to grow and thrive and find my place. It brought me into contact with tons of amazing people at my church there... I am so grateful for that conversation in the airport!

FF: Taking a Break

I offer this Taking a Break Friday Five. Tell us how you would spend:

1. a 15 minute break
Nowadays, a 15 minute break is spent checking email or hopping on the internet to browse facebook or the grey's anatomy message boards.

2. an afternoon off
This happens kind of frequently because I tend to use my home office hours to relax and then end up catching up on work on Saturdays - my day off. I tend to sit in front of the tv watching food network or movies... or playing computer games

3. an unexpected free day
see above. Although I really want to spend more of my free days visiting my grandma

4. a week's vacation
somewhere warm. where I can swim. and relax with a novel or three

5. a sabbatical
a cabin by the river. with lots of books for reading and thinking and trails to hike nearby

FF: My Favorite Things

From Rev Gals:

In a week of wondering how various things in our family life will unfold, I found myself thinking of the way Maria comforted the Von Trapp children in one of my favorite movies. Frightened by a thunder storm, the children descend upon her, and she sings to them about her favorite things, taking their minds off the storm.

So, let's encourage ourselves. Share with us five of your favorite things. Use words or pictures, whatever expresses it best.

1. A cat curled up in the crook of my knee. There is nothing better in the world than Tiki or Turbo curled up next to me. The warmth of their bodies, the love and affection, that sense that they just want to be close to you - even though there are countless other places to rest. It is amazing.

2. Fire. Doesn't matter if its a campfire in the summer or a blazing fireplace in the winter or the flicker of a candle in a dark room. Fire is so alive and powerful and passionate and it dances and warms you to the core.

3. Girl's Night. In Nashville, Girl's Night was every Tuesday evening. Drinks, dinner, bitching, joys, loves lost, school stresses, family troubles, new opportunities - there is nothing better than sharing that with people who you feel completely safe with over really really good food and drinks. I especially miss the lemon martinis at cabana and their sweet potato sliders.

4. Wi-Fi. It lets you carry the world with you. Free from wires, you can sit with a hazelnut latte at a coffee shop (or McDonald's these days) and talk with friends around the world, read some of the greatest thoughts of our generation, know what's going on in our political and economic landscape, and watch the funniest crap in the world on youtube.

5. Sit-Down Meals. We don't eat this way very often in my house, but I want to do it more. With no distractions, sit down meals are about family and people and relationships and about the food. They are where we talk about our days and catch up and reflect upon it all. When I have kids, it will be where they have a voice, they have the floor and where we all pay attention and listen to one another.

FF: HGTV

From Rev Gals:

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

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

1) If you could, what room in the place you are currently living would you redo first?

I think the first room I would want to play with would be our family room downstairs. It is kind of empty and needs some love. We currently have a sectional couch from my parents basement, a microwave cart, a college tv stand, a dvd bookshelf and a small kitchen table with my husbands computer on it down there. It's sad.

I would start by painting the walls (I'm thinking red) and getting some great black and white posters to hang. I also have a number of black and white photos the we have taken and of family to put up. (right now the walls are bare)

I'd buy a larger game table for playing cards and board games and I would get a larger corner unit for the television. And then some storage items - like one of those great big square coffee tables with all the storage underneath.

2) What is the most hideous feature/color/decor item you have ever seen in a home?

I actually haven't lived in that many hideous houses... but the pastel, 80's era, geometric designed curtains in my in-laws dining room is probably the most hideous I can think of.

3) What feature do you most covet? Do you have it? If not, is it within reach?

A fireplace. Hands down. I was actually thinking about wanting a fireplace a few days ago, and then this week, we were looking through the history book that our church historian just completed, and in the article on the opening of this parsonage - there was a FIREPLACE in the living room. WHY was that taken out?

4) Your kitchen - love it or hate it? Why?

I really like my kitchen in the parsonage. All the cabinetry was done by a former pastor. It is HUGE and has lots of storage space. I might update the appliances a bit, but they are really just fine.

I think the only thing I would add would be shelves or a counter top in one corner. It is a dividing wall between the dining room/living room and an odd little corner. A breakfast nook wouldn't quite fit. We had a small kitchen table there for a while (see #1) but we really need a place to put recycling items and hide the litter box underneath. We never ate at the table while it was there, because the dining room is literally two steps away.

5) Here is $10,000 and you HAVE to spend it on the place you are living now. What do you do?

First, buy a bedroom suite. We currently have no headboard, and a scrappily put together suite a an endtable, a twin size headboard/shelving unit, and a dresser we got off of a curb at one point. I would love to have a matching set and two dressers - my husband just has too many t-shirts and could fill up our current one on his own.

Second, buy a game table for the basement. And a nice entertainment center/stereo system.

Third, redo the countertops in the kitchen to something that isn't white. I think that we have already stained at least one section from kool-aid. They look just fine, but soak up stains like you wouldn't believe.

Fourth, put new tile down in the basement laundry/bath room. It's like a 1970's orangish tan that really isn't that cheery.

BONUS: Why do you think there was such a surplus of ugly bathroom tile colors showcased in all homes built from the 1950's right through the early 80's?

lol... I forgot this was the bonus when I listed my final $10,000 makeover wish. Of course the bathroom tile is ugly... it had to match the advacado green toilets and sinks they were putting in.

Ironically, I really like advacado green. I painted my church office that color when I moved into it. And all the older women looked at me like I was crazy - but it looks really nice!

FF: Cabin Fever

Here in snow country we are settled in to what is a very long stretch of potentially boring days. The holidays are over. It is a very long time till we will get outside on a regular basis. The snow that seemed so beautiful at first is now dirty and the snow banks are piling up. Our vehicles are all the same shade of brownish grey, but if we go to the car wash our doors will freeze shut. People get grumpy. Of course, not everyone lives in a cold climate, but even in warmer places the days till springtime can get long. Help! Please give us five suggestions for combating cabin fever and staying cheerful in our monochromatic world?

1) Lots of movies. I love to catch up on all of the great movies that I missed in the last year, as well as old classics. This week, I'm really looking forward to watching both the Golden Compass and Juno.

2) Cooking and baking. Yesterday I made homemade chicken and dumplings for the first time in my life. And I made homemade chocolate chip cookies the night before.

3) Chopping vegetables. sweet yellow peppers, bright orange carrots, crisp green celery.

4) Playing games. My family's favorite game right now is "Carcassone" - in which you create your own kingdom and have cities and farms and roads. But we also play a lot of cards. Pinochle, Hearts, 500...

5) I'm thinking of taking knitting back up. If I can remember how to cast on the stitches. I have some friends that are having babies and I'm thinking about making them booties.

FF: Pancakes

Fridays are my days off, but I got up at a reasonable time to draft a letter of support from our ministerial alliance for a grant the city is trying to recieve. Somehow I became president of our ministerial alliance, even though I'm the youngest one and I've only been here for a year. Or rather, because I'm the youngest and I've only been here a year. The new kid on the block gets all of the responsibility, because no one else wants it =)

For a little fun, here is the RevGals Friday Five: It's time for something light and fluffy (literally). Pull up a chair to the kitchen table and tell us all about your pancake preferences.

1. Scratch or mix? Buttermilk or plain?

I almost always use pancake mix. It's just easier to add water to a complete mix and be done. And they taste just fine. We normally buy buttermilk.

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in?

I love plain and simple pancakes. Just some butter and some maple syrup. That's all you really need. If I'm going to add something, usually it's blueberries or chocolate chips, but it is very rare that we do so.

3. For breakfast or for dinner?

Both! We have breakfast for dinner quite often. And don't forget about brunch!

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish?

Again, I like to keep them simple. Butter and Maple Syrup. On the side, nothing is better than chewy bacon.

5. Favorite pancake restaurant?

Of course, there is the Pancake Pantry in Nashville... they have Sweet Potato Pancakes that are to DIE for.
Back here in Iowa, our local cafe has pretty decent pancakes - they are my Wednesday morning ritual.

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

I have a friend in college who always added a table spoon of sugar and a dash of lime juice to her pancakes. They made them pretty tasty!

FF: Looking Back, Looking Forward

As we look back we may come to understand how God has worked in and through us in joy and saddness. how we have grown against what may seem impossible odds. As we look forward we may do so with expectation, and we may do so with fear and trembling. As we look back and forward in New Years liminality I offer you this simple yet I hope profound Friday Fivein two parts:

First list five things that you remember/treasure from 2008

1. My very first church
2. Adding Turbo and Tiki to our family
3. Worshipping with my new congregation - especially Maundy Thursday and Christmas Eve
4. Wednesday Night dinners with the family
5. Learning how to disc golf with some great friends

Then list five things that you are looking forward to in 2009

1. Becoming healthier (exercising in particular)
2. Learning to play the guitar
3. More time spent with my immediate family
4. Finding my rhythm as a pastor... less trial and error, more consistency
5. Building stronger ties with other young adult pastors.
   
   

Friday Five

I've been a HUGE slacker and haven't played with the RevGals for like a month or so.

Here's this week's Friday Five - and feel free to play along in the comments if you want!

The Nativity shown here is the Willow Creek one that I got last Christmas from my mom and dad =)

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

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

1. Christmas Shopping with my hubby. We are going on Monday morning and I pray the roads are good. We have done a little bit of shopping, but have a lot left to buy. We are doing little gifts, and joint gifts (all the siblings going in together) type of things and probably also some homemade goodies.

2. Revising the Family Christmas Program script & finding someone to read the second part. I got very inspired by Kathrine Hawker's "outside the box" liturgies for Christmas Eve - one is a retelling of the Christmas story that includes and vocalizes some of the inconsistencies in how we put together our naitivity scene, but it does so in a way that can be funny and involves kids in costumes. It works nearly perfectly for our "informal pageant" but will need some tweaking for our context and to take a little bit of the skeptical edge off.

3. Scripting our Lessons and Carols Communion service (probably again using some of Hawker's materials with more traditional readings and some of our bishop's Christmas prayer.

4. An unexpected (well, they are always unexpected) funeral tomorrow. It will be a small gathering and prayers for the family who loved her dearly.

5. Wrapping up presents for our many family celebrations. We have gatherings on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Saturday and Sunday next week - PLUS an Epiphany Christmas gathering with my immediate family.

Friday Five @ RevGalsBlogPals

Remembrance

1. Did your church have any special celebrations for All Saints/All Soul's Day?

We remembered the names of those had passed with a moment of silence for each and the lighting of candles. Our whole worship service however was geared towards a remembrance of the saints and talking about what it takes to become a saint of God... which in the Methodist tradition is simply opening yourself up and letting God work through you with sanctifying grace.

2. How about Veterans' Day?

We didn't do anything specifically at the church, but had the day off from normal bible studies and fellowship groups so that our people could attend the local Veteran's Day ceremonies at the school.

3. Did you and your family have a holiday for Veterans' Day/Remembrance Day? If so, how did you take advantage of the break?

I don't really remember having the day off growing up. Perhaps we did, but since it is a Tuesday, there is no three day, or four day weekend to really take advantage of. If we had the day off, we probably spent it with my grandparents, who lived nearby and who took care of us while our parents worked.

4. Is there a veteran in your life, living or dead, whose dedication you remember and celebrate? Or perhaps a loved one presently serving in the armed forces?

My grandpa is now deceased, but he served in the Korean War. I also have connections through a cousin, Jenna, who has served in Iraq. And there are countless people I know through my church family who have served or are currently serving.

5. Do you have any personal rituals which help you remember and connect with loved ones who have passed on?

I've never been big on visiting the graves of loved ones. I'm not quite sure why, either. I remember growing up that my mom and her family would often visit the grave of their sister, but the kids always stayed home. And now that I am grown, I haven't taken my own personal time to visit the graves of my grandparents. But I do remember them. I remember my grandpa whenever I peel potatoes - because I remember stories that he would tell about KP duty in the army. I remember my grandma whenever I see a turtle - she had a fantastic collection of figurines. I remember my great-grandma whenever I see a kolache - she made the best kolaches I have ever had.

Lectionary Leanings

I am SO excited for this week's texts. I play a MMORPG (Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game) and I so love the idea of Kenosis that I named my first character that.

Kenosis you ask? Check out the scriptures especially the Christ Hymn for Philippians.

Kenosis translated into English means emptying... self-giving... humility... pouring out

It is the embodiment of Christ into our human form - giving up his power, giving up his seat at the right hand of God, giving up his divinity in some respects in order to become one of us.

It is also the actions of Christ over and over again in his life and in his death. Giving up his power and status over and over to reach out to those who were hurting and sick and were chained by their sin. It is the action of Christ giving up his very life on the cross.

I'm really intrigued by how kenosis affects our views of leadership. A distant family member knew I was in ministry and he and his father are both pastors. We got to talking and they came to learn that I was THE pastor of my church. And not only were they amazed, but they also wanted to know if I called myself the "senior pastor." Senior pastor? I'm the only pastor was my response. It's not a question of being the one in charge, of being above everyone else - for me, leadership has always been about servanthood, about humility, about kenosis.

In Powers and Submissions, Sarah Coakley argues that we should come to see the incarnation and the cross as acts of “power-in-vulnerability.” These narratives remind us of our ultimate dependence upon one another and upon God while at the same time reminding us that letting go and opening up to the divine is what enables divine power to work in our midst. This power comes through dependence and relationship, through communion rather than a do-it-alone mentality. The practice of discernment exemplifies this power. Or, as Coakley describes it, “we can only be properly ‘empowered’ here if we cease to set the agenda, if we ‘make space’ for God to be God.”

In his article on postmodern leadership, Leonard Hjalmarson writes:

The leadership style that once dominated our culture is becoming passé. Instead of the Lone Ranger, we have Frodo: the Clint Eastwoods and Sylvester Stallones are replaced by ordinary men. Frodo, Aragorn and Neo (the Matrix) are self-questioning types who rely on those around them for strength, clarity and purpose. Indeed, while they have a sense of the need and a willingness to sacrifice themselves, they may not even know the first step on the journey.

He is describing a form of leadership that takes seriously both the interdependence of the Christian community as well as the idea of kenosis. Authority is shared and the agenda of the formal or ordained pastor is not the sole determinant of the direction of the congregation. At various times, Hjalmarson returns to the metaphor of storytelling and describes the pastor’s role as the narrator who weaves all of the various stories together, much like the mediating interpreter for Nicholas Lash. This vision of leadership is crucial if we are to emphasize the ways in which the Holy Spirit dwells in the community of believers – the body of Christ.

In many ways, I believe that is what kenosis is all about in the church... emptying ourselves so that the Holy Spirit can work through us. Embodying the mind of Christ means to set aside what we are entitled to, what we deserve, what is owed to us, and instead discerning the will of God and living our lives in obedience to it. And it is about coming together as the church - not a pastor leading as a lone ranger, but as the priesthood of all believers.

p.s. i wish i knew who did this watercolor - another blogger had it on their site, with no credits.

Friday Five - Equinox

(first of all, I can't believe September is over halfway through and we are staring straight in the face of the equinox... eek!)

From RevGals: 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
I think I would have to go with the smell of pies baking... apple, pumpkin, etc... or maybe even just the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon that seems to flavor everything - hot chai tea, spiced cider... all of it just warms up the whole house.





2) A color
As you can tell by my new color scheme, I'm thinking of fall already! I would have to say a deep vibrant firey orange is probably my favorite.





3) An item of clothing
My tweed pants and my brown pointy toe boots. They are just too warm to wear in the summer and really are too cozy to wear in the spring.

4) An activity
carving pumpkins! My husband and I go all out and make fantastic creations. One year we actually carved GW and then some of our roommates threw the pumpkin head off of the roof of our house (it was college, silly college kids)





5) A special day
I really do love Thanksgiving. I am a food person, and we normally have about 4 meals to attend in a day. I love all of the flavors - especially cranberry sauce and stuffing.

FF: Vulnerable

From Rev Gals: "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 find myself in situations where I am the person who listens, rather than talks. But there is also always this desire within me to share my story - our stories are really all that we have to share... but I hesitate to share, however much I want to because of a fear of being pitied. My grandfather passed away when I was in seminary, and because it happened to be over fall break and because of my schedule that semester, I was home for 6 days, and missed no classes. I got back and such a monumental hole was in my life, but no one at school knew what had happened. I didn't have to ask for class time off, so no professors knew. I had a really hard time sharing that with people because in a sense, it was easier to focus on school.

2.How important is it to keep up a professional persona in work/ ministry?

This is a hard question for me. Mostly because I believe a professional persona in ministry is overrated. And yet I do it anyways. I guess the professional persona I embody is a sense of neutrality, which comes naturally to me because I can see all sides of an issue/problem. If I were more vulnerable, my own positions and horror at the things people say would be much more evident. That may or may not be a good thing.

3. Masks, a form of self protection discuss...

Oh - absolutely self protection. But self-protection isn't always in our best interest. I think that omission is also a mask. I meet with a local group of clergy and I know that I am by far the most liberal among them and there are often sideways remarks that I usually disagree with, but I let them go, rather than become the target. I go to that group to have colleagues and to be around people who understand what it is to be a minister in our town... it is relaxing and not the place where I want to constantly have to defend myself.

4. Who knows you warts and all?

My husband - hands down. And maybe my very bestest friend. The more I think about these questions the more I think about how much I do keep my guard up, even with the people I love the most. The other person who knows many of my warts is my youngest brother.

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.

Manifesto:
The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Listen to carrion -- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go.

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

"Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright ® 1973 by Wendell Berry,