Big Girl Pants

I'm wearing them.

Can't blog about it, but I'm living it.

Friday Five: Countdown to Christmas Edition

Fellow Revgalpal Songbird writes:

"It's true.There are only five full days before Christmas Day, and whether you use them for shopping, wrapping, preaching, worshiping, singing or traveling or even wishing the whole darn thing were over last Tuesday, there's a good chance they will be busy ones.So let's make this easy, if we can: tell us five things you need to accomplish before Christmas Eve."

Only five things? I have so many more but here it goes.

1. Open an emergency shelter for homeless families in my city. We've been planning this for months and finally got the site yesterday.

2. Plan liturgy for and write a sermon for the Family Christmas Eve service.

3. Get over this cold that I just got this morning. uuuggghh.

4. Clean the house. We are having company on Christmas day.

5. Thank God for coming to us to bring hope and peace in this world.

Friday Five: Windows of the Soul.

Inspired by her husbands Lasik surgery Sophia writes:

This Friday Five is inspired by my husband's Lasik surgery yesterday....He'd been contemplating it for a while and was pushed over the edge by the fact that we put too much money in our healthcare spending account this year and it would have been gone anyway. (There was only enough for one eye, but the kind people at the eye clinic figured out a way to divvy up the charges between surgery and followup in January=next year's spending account). So please say a little prayer for his safe recovery and share with us your thoughts on eyes and vision.

1. What color are your beautiful eyes? Did you inherit them from or pass them on to anyone in your family?

I've got hazel eyes. Unique color and I don't know who I got them from. I can't remember what color my parents eyes are. Kind of weird huh.

2. What color eyes would you choose if you could change them? I like my eye color, I wouldn't change a thing.

3. Do you wear glasses or contacts? What kind? Like 'em or hate 'em? I wear glasses and really I like them a lot. They protect my eyes from flying objects. They make me look smart and I don't have to worry about wearing eye make up because my glasses brighten up my face. I wore contacts in college and I really didn't like them. They were way to high maintanence.

4. Ever had, or contemplated, laser surgery? Happy with the results? I'm waiting for the 80 year results. But then again, I'll be too old to care 80 years from now.

5. Do you like to look people in the eye, or are you more eye-shy? I've been told that I have this intense stare when I look at people and it makes them nervous, so I'm eye-shy on purpose to that people feel comfortable talking to me.

Bonus question: Share a poem, song, or prayer that relates to eyes and seeing. My favorite song about eyes is Debbie Gibson's "I Get Lost in Your Eyes." Yes this dates me to the eighties.

Virtual Advent

I wasn't going to participate in the virtual Advent of the RevGals given the recent events in my life, however todays reflection was about Mary, Jesus' mother and I couldn't resist.

She is my hero. My ordination ceremony was crafted around the Magnificat. I can relate to her in so many ways because like her I was surprised by my call to ministry and like her I made the choice to follow that calling. I emphasise choice because she could have said no, but when she heard from the angel Gabriel that nothing is impossible with God, she said "Here I am, a servant of the Lord; let it be according to your word."

Mary had everything going against her, she was a young woman, only betrothed - not married and poor. When I first realized that my call to ministry I felt like I had so much going against me as well. I was a woman, a lesbian, didn't have a lot of patience or diplomacy skills, and I thought it wasn't possible for me to be a pastor because of these things. But little annunciations kept happening in my life that told me that God wanted me to be a Pastor and so like Mary I said, "Let it be."

Now I didn't handle the journey with the same calmness that Mary did. I pretty much fought it kicking and scratching all the way. However I made it! I am an ordained Pastor! And this work is something that I love and cherish as I am sure Mary loved and cherished being Jesus' mother. It is painful sometimes, but it is also very meaningful. What's really cool is that God uses all my gifts in my work, what I have lacked, God has given me. What I think as a deficiency God has used towards the greater good. Blessed Be!

In Memoriam

The Queen of Absolutely Everything

May 1990 - November 29, 2008

Today my wonderful cat the queen of absolutely everything has passed from this life to the next. I was the last person she saw as she took her last breath. I sang her "You are my Sunshine" as the vet gave her drugs to go to sleep softly.

I miss her so much, she has made me so happy. She's been through everything with me, marriage, divorce, coming out, girlfriends, finding a partner, a career in finance, a career in ministry, chaplaincy (she hated it when I'd leave in the middle of the night, her ears would flip down every time the beeper went off), parish ministry (she's helped me with all my sermons and was eager to critique). A move across the country etc. etc.

I like to imagine her in heaven now, trying to tell God what to do and then hunkering down on his lap and letting him scratch her ears. She's in a better place now where there is no pain, she is whole and running in her happy scamper towards a beautiful garden.

It doesn't get much better than this!

Today I taught Sunday school. We played a game that taught children about the things that people who are homeless have to deal with everyday. It was so much fun and after class we all got candy prayer beads!

During service today I couldn't help smiling from ear to ear. I love my job as a pastor and most days I can't believe I actually get paid to do what I do. Blessed be for the ability to live out my call.

Well gotta go use those beads now.

Hail Mary full of grace...crunch crunch.

Things that make me smile.

I could watch this over and over again. Enjoy!



Miss Tara Ligament sings Mickey

A Barack Sock

Last night to ease my jumpiness as I was watching the election results I knit a baby sock. I hope the baby that wears this sock knows that while I was making it, that our country was making history! I am so excited about our future president. Great day in the morning!

Oh yes we did....

Great day in the morning everybody. For the first time in eight years I am proud to be an American. For the first time in eight years I have hope for my country. For the first time in eight years I believe in the goodness of my fellow citizens.

Four years ago when Bush was re-elected I was ready to move to Canada. The media reported that Americans voted on family values, immigration and the war on terror. As a woman who is a lesbian and whose parents are immigrants, I felt that my kind was no longer welcome in America. Thank God I didn't leave.

Last night I prayed thanksgiving to God for the continual in breaking of God's kingdom on Earth. Yes God was always working in our history to make things right for all of God's creation, even during the Bush administration (bleh). But now the work will be greater, stronger and far reaching. Justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream!

I thought about Martin Luther King Jr's. last sermon. Like Moses, he didn't make it to the promised land but he had seen it from the Mountain top. I can't help thinking that Barack is our Joshua, ready to lead us into the promised land.

A night at Chez Songbird's.

In-between a meeting and a conference I got to spend the night at Chez Songbird's on Halloween night. At first I suggested to my fellow Revgalblogpal that we dress up as nuns and go trick or treating in her neighborhood but she didn't think it would a good idea. So her daughter Light Princess and her best friend Manga Fangirl did the honors instead.

When they got back, I got to eat all the malted milk balls, the milk duds, the left over snicker bars that Songbird passed out and various other asundries. I don't think I've eaten as much candy in one year as I did last night. Needless to say I was flying high on a sugar buzz well into the wee hours of the night. The sugar finally wore out the next morning as I was presenting a workshop.



Songbird's zoo was a delight to spend the evening with. Doggies Sam and Molly were quite friendly and gave me and abundance of paws of love and kisses. Kitty Puss Puss allowed me to pet her and Baby Kitty kept her disdain for me down to a haughty glare from the hall.

A good time was had by all sailing on the Good Ship Lollipop at Songbird's. Now if only I could get those traumatic dreams of Shirley Temple chasing me up and down the decks out of my head.

A fun little meme

I found a fun little meme at Mindy's blog. So I'd thought I'd play

I am: getting gray hair before my time.

I want: a beer right now.

I wish: the USA would get its priorities straight.

I hate: watching election commercials. I want it to be done now.

I miss: my former neighbor cat. He was such a good listener.

I fear: Shirley Temple. There's just something not right about that girl.

I hear: The hum of my computer.

I wonder: if my conspiracy theories are really true.

I regret: being such a whiner sometimes.

I am not: perfect.

I dance: not as much as I used too.

I sing: not well.

I cry: when my heart breaks, it's been a lot lately.

I am not always: happy go lucky.

I make with my hands: knitting, cross stitch, and good food.

I write: sermons, newsletter articles and presentations.

I confuse: myself.

I need: an ear to bend and a shoulder to cry on.

I should: eat supper.

I start: lots of books at the same time.

I finish: only a few of the books that I start.

I tag: everyone who reads this blog. Have fun and leave a comment if you played.

Friday Five: Coin Toss Version

Fellow RevGalPal Songbird writes,

Well, Gals and Pals, this weekend we'll be rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and that has me thinking about coinage.

1) When was the last time you flipped a coin or even saw one flipped in person?

A therapist once suggested to me that if I have a tough decision to make to flip a coin. Then evaluate my reaction. It will be that reaction that will determine my decision. So every so often I will use that method.

2) Do you have any foreign coins in your house? If so, where are they from?

I have a tin box full of coins from my European trip in 2000. This was before Europe converted to Euros. I think they are really neat, they come from England (Pounds, Pence, Shillings), France (Francs) and Amsterdam (I forgot what they are called). It's cool to take them out and show to kids.

3) A penny saved is a penny earned, they say. But let's get serious. Is there a special place in heaven for pennies, or do you think they'll find a special place in, well, the other place?

I thought pennies came from heaven. Seriously, I don't think pennies have a place in heaven or hell. These are different realms altogether where I hope commerce will not have a place.

4.) How much did you get from the tooth fairy when you were a child? and if you have children of your own, do they get coins, or paper money? (I hear there may be some inflation.)

I got a dollar for every tooth. It was really sweet. When I first heard about the tooth fairy I was so excited, however my mom didn't know I knew about the tooth fairy. The morning after I put my tooth under the pillow, I awoke to nothing but the tooth. I was so disappointed as I told my mom that the tooth fairy forgot about me. She then said that maybe I didn't look hard enough and went to my bedroom with me and "found" a dollar under my pillow. I was so amazed. Since then I always got dollars.

5) Did anyone in your household collect the state quarters? And did anyone in your household manage to sustain the interest required to stick with it?

The only thing that collects quarters in my household are the washing machines in the basement. Growing up my parents were avid coin collectors. They collected all kinds of currency from around the world. I never picked up their passion for currency although I have fond memories of pouring over their coin books as I was growing up.

Oh Sarah....

The girl just doesn't get it. This morning I heard her say "I have, one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay and I love her dearly. And she is not my gay friend. She is one of my best friends who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I would have made."

Sarah, it is not a choice...it is the way God created your friend.

sigh...

Fall Equinox: Friday Five

Fellow RevGalPal Songbird writes

It's that time of year, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open, but the darned furnace comes on early in the morning. My husband went out for a walk after an early supper and came home in full darkness.

And yes, where we live, leaves are beginning to turn.

As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance: The crispness in the air has a certain scent to it. I can't describe it but I know it as soon as it hits my nose.

2) A color: Orange, like in pumpkins and leaves, and my font today!

3) An item of clothing: My big woolie sweaters from Bolivia. They make great jackets and I love the way the feel on me. It's like I'm getting a bear hug all day.

4) An activity: Playing king of the mountain on a big old pile of leaves.

5) A special day: My Commitment ceremony anniversary and my birthday which are only two days apart. At my commitment ceremony my family joked around about me picking the date so I wouldn't forget my anniversary. However I'm the type of person to forget my own birthday.

Funny II

Ok let's try this link.

This is funny

I'm beginning to wonder if Sarah Palin and Tina Fey were separated at birth.

Monday Morning Garden Blogging - Flower Edition

The Gnome sees all and knows all.

Petunias

Impatiens

Gladiolas



My kitty in deep contemplation. Probably thinking about tuna.

Friday Five

This week's Friday Five was so intriguing, I just have to participate.

Sally writes:

"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 used to be a let it all hang out, let everyone know my business kind of person but as I grow older I am a lot more private. I've found that sharing too much can be harmful but I wonder if I've gone to the other extreme in being too private.

I find that I can be most vulnerable with animals. Anything on four legs is my best friend. However my housecat has problems being fully present with me. I try to talk to my cat but she is not good with intense emotions so if I'm crying or very angry I have to find support from another four legged friend. While I was in seminary there was a neighbor cat who would hang out in my yard and was always available to listen to me when I was troubled. I know it's weird to share all my secrets with a neighbor cat but he was a good listener and great at keeping confidences. When I moved out of state, it was tough to say goodbye to him.

My Former Confessor

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

In my professional life as a minister I am very very private. I feel that I am there to care for them, they are not called to take care of me. I find my sources of support outside of my congregation. In my preaching I will share a struggle that I've wrestled with in the past and have resolved.

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

Yes, I do believe that we need masks in order to protect ourselves and to be effective in our ministries. As a minister I have to be careful about how I treat people and what I say. If I am having a bad day I will not take it out on the people I am working with. Working as a chaplain at a trauma one hospital (just like the show ER) I learned how to appear calm in stressful situations and process after these situations. Neighbor Kitty was especially helpful in the processing because when I'd come home in the morning (I was overnight on-call) he'd always be in my yard waiting for me to talk to him.

Keeping a calm persona has worked well in the parish in that when I encounter a situation that frustrates me or makes me anxious, I am able to remain calm and not be reactive. I do my venting with poeple outside my parish, usually with a friend who lives out of state, my mentor or my partner. Then when I address the issues directly , I am able to do so in a calm manner so as to not blast the other person out of the water as we discuss the issue.


4. Who knows you warts and all?


My partner, my cat, my best friend of 25 + years, my mentor, my spiritual director, my old next door neighbor cat, my revgal pals on the Internet.


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.

I would have to say my partner of 14 years. I am so blessed to have her in my life and I thank God for everyday we are together. She is the one person that I can share everything with.

It's good to be home.

I've noticed something on my vacation. The place that I consider home is different than it was two years ago. When I first moved to the East coast from the Midwest I was homesick a lot. I longed for the place that I left. Now I consider the East coast my home and when I was on vacation in the Midwest, I realized that the hole that I left behind was filled and that my new place is where God has called me to be as a church pastor where I am at now.

Yesterday was my first day back from vacation. It was challenging to transition to work mode in the public forum of worship but it was good. As I looked out into the congregation I knew I was home.

Gone fishing.

I'll be on vacation for a week. Blog ya later!

Monday Garden Blogging: The Fruits of My Labor

And we ate it all over the weekend. Yum Yum! I got to make cucumber salad just like my mama makes it.

Revgalblogpal Meetup

It's a Revgal Meetup!

I had the best time meeting up with Mary Beth and Songbird in Portland Maine. St. Casserole joined our meet up via phone, don't cha' just love modern technology. It was so good to see them again. It was as if we never got off the boat, the conversation was lively and the love was overflowing.I got to meet Molly the famous blogging dog of the Northeast. She was so sweet, constantly giving me paws of love and lots of attention.

And of course no RevGalBlogPal meet up blog would be complete without the traditional foot shot.

I'm voting for Paris

Finally a candidate we can all stand behind. She's planning on painting the White House pink, how hot is that!!!!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Monday Garden Blogging in Bloom

Blooming....
Blooming...

Bloomed!!!!

Friday Five: Lock Me Out, Lock Me In.

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

1) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?

I live in a tee-tiny town so we rarely get blocks in our streets so I didn't get a lot of time to amuse myself, but on those rare occasions (which usually involves snow) I will call someone on my cell phone or update my task list on my PDA. If I am traveling I will put on a good CD and sing my heart away.

2) Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? (And do you keep an extra key somewhere, just in case?)

Oh my goodness yes, I am the queen of locking myself out. Thank goodness I have a partner I can call to get her key. Last summer during a really bad rainstorm, the fire alarm went off in our building and I ran out of my apartment with no shoes and no keys and realized that my door to my apartment locks on it's own. A very kind neighbor drove me to my partner's place of employment so I get use her keys to get back in.

3) Have you ever cleared a hurdle? (And if you haven't flown over a material hurdle, feel free to take this one metaphorically.)

I'm not much of a jumper. In her blog Songbird talks about her love of the movie Chariots of Fire and the scene where this guy who does hurdles puts glasses of champagne on the practice hurdles, his goal is to leap them without spilling a drop. If that was me, I'd drink the champagne and crawl under the hurdle's but still I would not spill a drop of champagne :).

There are so many metaphorical hurdles that I have cleared. It would be hard to pick one for this blog.

4) What's your approach to a mental block?

I use the Vicar of Hogsmeade's method of approaching mental blocks.

5) Suggest a caption for the picture above; there will be a prize for the funniest answer!

“Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together try to love one another right now.“

These are just a few of my favorite things...

Raindrops on roses and warm winter mittens, brown paper packages and whiskers on kittens, bees flying 'round on my balcony pollinating...these are a few of my favorite things!

The Friday Five: What's in a name?

RevHRod writes:

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

There must be at least a few good stories out there. "
1. So how did you come up with your blogging name? And/or the name of your blog?

My name God_guurrlll came to me while I was doing CPE as a chaplain at a hospital. There was one doctor who did not like me and avoided me like the plague. I guess she thought that I was the angel of death or something like that. One of the nurses on the unit noticed the tension and commented on it and I glibly said, "oh she probably doesn't like religious people, I imagine she calls me 'God Girl' behind my back." and thus a nick name was born.

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

My cat is the queen of absolutely everything. My spouse is referred to as "my partner in crime."

3. What are some blog titles that you just love? For their cleverness, drama, or sheer, crazy fun?

Bit's and Odd Pieces of of Mindy's Kingdom.
Justice Desserts.
St. Casserole.
You don't have to listen. I just like to talk.
The Vicar of Hogsmeade.
Cheesehead in Paradise.
Knit one, Purl one, Preach one.
Inner Dorothy.

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

The Ayatollah's Teachings. The pug. The Myth. The Legend. - It is a cute blog written by a pug named Mugsy who fancies himself to be a religious leader in the Muslim tradition.

CrazyAuntPurl - The woman who writes this blog is one strong lady. Her marriage ends unexpectantly and initially she was devastated. However, she got through it by learning how to knit and building a new life for herself. Her blog is hilarious and inspirational all at the same time. She has also written a book about her life called Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-something Who Learned to Knit After he Split.

You Knit What - This is a snarky website that makes fun of some of the knitting that is out there. The comments are the funnest part of this blog.

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

I used to be a personal care attendant of an author who kept a blog. She had lots of fun writing on it and it did improve her writing. She encouraged me to start a blog but I was hesitant because I didn't want to put my private life out on the Internet to see.

A year later I stumbled upon the RevGalBlogPal webring and I was impressed by what I saw. I also learned from these women how write powerful blogs and yet remain discreet.

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

In March I went the RevGal big event which happened on a cruise ship from New Orleans to Cozumel Mexico. It was a transformative retreat for me. These wonderful women formed a community that was loving and accepting. It refreshed and renewed me. I'm still empowered by this important trip. Love and peace to my BE pals!!!!

Monday Morning Garden Blogging: Rainy Day Edition

"Rainy days and Monday's always get me down." - Karen Carpenter

Didn't get to do much gardening today because it was wet and humid. However the growth of my garden is going terrific. Here is the play by play, or as I like to say the plot by plot.

See how the plots thicken :)

My tomatoes are growing!

My bean's are blooming.

Because it rained I was able to work on my knitting.

Alas, the queen of absolutely everything could care less, she's too busy napping.

Monday Morning Garden Blogging: Hot edition

It was super hot today. I think it was 90 degrees and humid. I spent two hours in the garden this morning and nearly fainted from the heat. I get so engrossed in my gardening I forget to give myself breaks to sit in the shade and drink water. Eventually I do get a reminder to take a break and rest.

The garden. Things are growing well. We've had a week of rain and now we have the sunshine!

I put plastic over the bean plot. One side is flourishing where the other is faltering. Interesting.
My tomato has some company. Those little tomatoes are so cuuute! Say hello to the finger.

My kitty, touched by an angel.

Umm...I think I already knew that.

But it is nice to be affirmed.

I took the Spiritual Gifts test here: http://www.christianet.com/bible/spiritualgiftstest.htm ,



89% Teacher
89% Pastor
89% Leadership

These gifts exceed the normal ability level of an individual that may come through life experience or knowledge. In fact many refer to these gifts as a "supernatural ability" vs. "natural ability" that a person may posses.Everyone has God-given talents, but He also bestows supernatural abilities to those believers who will give themselves over to His Spirit. These individuals are used for ministry in His Kingdom to help members of the body of Christ. They are also used to extend the church’s witness and ministry into the world.

Monday Morning Garden Blogging

I've decided to add what I hope to be a weekly feature on my blog of the progress of my garden. I live in an apartment building and they have plots in the back of our complex that we can plant our gardens in. It is a challenge to say the least. The soil is depleted of all its nutrients and is acidic because of the pine trees surrounding the plots. Last year was a dud as far as my gardening went, a couple of cucumbers, a few tomatoes and a bumper crop of beans. This year I did raised beds of miracle grow soil and placed plastic around some of the crops to keep the water in and the weeds out. I amended the soil with lyme in the late spring and am using a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen. I also fertilize sparingly to protect the environment.

My Garden Plot, my sanctuary, my comfort and my joy.

The tomato plants I started from seeds. I have a plastic milk carton irrigation system but I haven't had to use it because we've been blessed with so much rain. We don't use hoses in our plots, just a sprinkling can and lots of walking back and forth to the spigot.

This is the store bought tomato plant. Most of my tomatoes are grown from seeds but I wanted fresh tomato plants 10 minutes ago yesterday, so I bought a plant with blooms already on it.

Welcome to the world little tomato, I am so glad you are here!!! Can't wait to eat you, yum yum!


Here's the cucumber plants. Last year the cucumbers got a fungus that ruined the crop. Hopefully with special care and a watchful eye I can prevent the same problem this year.


A little pepper plant growing protected by black mulch. This is my first year using a wooden chip mulch in the vegetable garden. When I owned a house I used my grass clippings for mulch in the vegetable garden, however living in an apartment complex that uses way too much chemical in its grass, I am changing my ways.



Here's the bean plants, they don't appear to be doing too well. I have not put mulch around them yet. Wondering if I should put down the plastic or the black wood chips?



Here's the lettuce and the gladiolas. I ran out of lettuce seeds mid planting and a parishioner of mine gave me some bulbs so I decided to plant them in the same plot. Perhaps I'll get some sort of creepy flowering salad hybrid.


My garden blog is not complete without a picture of my cat. She likes to think she is the queen of absolutely everything.

Friday five - Word association

Think summer......are you there? Below you will find five words or phrases. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem, a memory, a recipe, or a story. You get the idea:

1. rooftop - There was a helipad on the roof of a hospital that I was a chaplain at, they changed it to a "healing pad" when they decided to change the landing place for their helicopter. It was a sanctuary, although it did get hot in the summer.

2. gritty - my sandals, especially after I've been in the garden.

3. hot town (yeah, I know, it's two words) - any town thanks to global warming.

4. night - comes later now that it is summer.

5. dance - don't ever dance at a reception of a wedding that you have officiated. My tee-tiny town is still talking about it and they have pictures. :)

I wish that was me.

No matter what life throws at me...

No matter what life throws at me, no matter what weighs heavy on my heart, no matter who thinks I'm whiney (even if they are a parishioner), as long as my garden grows, life is good. Please God help me to keep my eyes on the things that matter.

A Favorite Image of God

There is an musician whom I just adore. Her name is Carrie Newcomer and I was introduced to her music when she held a concert at my seminary several years ago. Her soulful music catches the essence of spirituality and Christianity in its purist form, before all the politics, before all the doctrine and before all the dogma. There is a simple joy that comes through in her music that shares her appreciation for all that God has created. In her song "Geodes" from her album "Geography of Light" she sings about the wonder of geodes, those rocks that are rough and gray on the outside but when you split them they reveal a kaleidoscope of colors. In her song is the following verse:


All these things that we call familiar,
Are just miracles clothed in the commonplace.
You’ll see it if you try in the next stranger's eyes,
God walks around in muddy boots, sometimes rags and that's the truth,
You can't always tell, but sometimes you just know.

This image of God walking around in muddy boots resonates with me because I am a gardener and the happiest moments in my life have been walking around my garden in muddy boots tending to the plants that I have grown from seeds. I imagine that God feels the same way about all of God's great creation.

Summer Meme

I was invited to participate in the meme through Songbird's Blog

So here it goes!

1.) What first tells you that Summer is here?

When I can start taking my tomato plants outside to get used to the elements and when I get my garden plot assignment at my apartment complex.

2.) Name five of your favorite distinctively Summer habits or customs.

Gardening and watering my plants

Grilling

Walking

Day trips

Going to the ocean

3.) What is your favorite smell of Summer?

The smell of dirt as I am gardening.

4.) What is your favorite taste of Summer?

Tomatoes from the garden and fresh rhubarb pie.

5.) Favorite Summer memory?

Walking along the Marginal Way of Oqunquit, Maine. The flowers along that pathway are breathtaking. There's a couple of fancy resorts along the way and my partner and I joke around about sneaking into the resort and pretending we belong there, but one look at us and you can tell we are not part of the rich and famous.

6.) Extreme heat or extreme cold? Which would you choose and why?

I'd rather have extreme heat. I don't do well in the cold where as I thrive in the heat.

7.) What books do you plan to read for the season?

-The Friday Night Knitting Club

-Unbinding Your Church

-The Practicing Congregation

-The Icarus Girl

Anything else that catches my fancy this summer at the library.

8.) How does the Summer affect your faith?

Summer increases my faith because of my gardening. I feel so unabashedly in the present moment as I am working on my garden. All my thoughts, worries and concerns drift away as I am concentrating on tending a piece of God's creation. My best praying happens in the garden and my best sermon writing. There are times I'll start singing a hymn I am so happy in the garden. However my fellow garden plot farmers think I'm a bit weird, especially when they see me talking to the vegetables.

If you read this post...consider yourself tagged!