Friday Five: Time with Friends Edition

Kathyrynzj brings us a great idea for a Friday Five today.  She asks:  What are five things you like to do with friends?  The question itself makes me realize that I don't spend enough time with my friends.  

Be that as it may, when I do get to spend time with friends, here are five ways we spend our time:

1.  Dinner and conversation.  Every once in awhile I'll cook a nice meal, but more often than not it's an evening out at a fun restaurant, like the evening my husband and I spent with blogger and friend Jan at the Dakota Restaurant when she was visiting Minneapolis.

2.  Taking a walk.  Because of where I live, often the walk will be around a lake.  But, not necessarily.  Sometimes it's just a nice walk and a talk through a shady neighborhood.

3.   Going to church.  Admittedly, this is a rare occurrence.  But, last summer, on one of my Sundays off, I had fun visiting the church of one of my friends here in Minneapolis.  I like to worship with friends, when I can.

4.  Going out for coffee.  Or chai. Or, a glass of wine.

5.  Laughing.

In the past, my list might have included:  1) going to the Festival of Animation, 2) renting a lot of movies and making popcorn, 3) trying out a new recipe, 4) writing stories and reading them to each other, 5) singing (I had a couple of friends I used to sing with).

Friday Five: The Things We Do For Love

Songbird, over at the Revgalsblogpals site, has this fascinating Friday Five for us.  She writes:

I have a friend who, when she has to be away from her child, goes to the trouble of planning a present for each of the days they will be apart. (This is not one of those stories where "a friend" means the person who is telling the story.) I'm impressed by her organizational skills and her creativity and her thoughtfulness.


She does these things for love.

And although love looks different depending on how we best express it, there are definitely things we do for love. So for today's Friday Five, please share the following five things:

1) Something you did for love that was a hit
Well, I got my husband an iPad for his birthday, even though I really wanted one myself.  It's a hit because he uses it all the time now, and we bring it everywhere we go.  We even brought it to the nursing home last weekend when we went to visit my dad.  We showed him old video clips of movie stars and radio personalities.  His eyes lit up and he said, "get me one of those for my birthday."  So, I guess this was a hit, on many levels.

2) Something you did for love that was more of a miss
Though there are lots of those (and why am I thinking about presents, mostly?)(I don't know) I bought a game for my husband that I thought he would REALLY LIKE.  I had this great dream of how he would sit around and play it all day on Christmas.  It's downstairs, collecting dust.

3) Something someone did for love of you
My mother sewed almost all my clothes when I was growing up.  Though there were also financial considerations, I think she sewed well and with care for love of us.  I remember wearing a plaid pants suit to high school and having a teacher remark that the plaids matched, and say, "There's a lot of love in that outfit."

4) Something you *wish* someone would do for love of you
Buy me an iPad

5) Something you've done for love of God
Go to Japan for three years as a missionary. 
Sing my guts out.
Stand up in front of people and talk.
Write.

Friday Five: Seeking What?

I haven't done the RevGals "Friday Five" for a long time.  This one, from Jan, seemed like a good place to start:

I was struck in our weekly Lectio Divina group by a few verses from Psalm 105: 3-4

. . let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually.

Seeking is rejoicing. Rejoicing comes from the seeking, NOT the end of glory, heaven, enlightenment, or whatever. Seeking is the journey--RIGHT NOW!

So for this Friday Five, list what you are seeking, whether it is trivial, profound, or ordinary--whatever you would like to share.  List 5 and add a  bonus if you feel like it.

Here are my five:

I am seeking:

1.  Community.  Not perfect community, but a community that both wants to work together for a larger purpose, and a community that supports and and encourages one another, and especially those who are most vulnerable.

2.  An Outlet for Creativity.  Some space and some self-discipline for writing.  A know friends who regularly get prayers and worship materials published, and I find myself a little jealous, both thinking about having the venue and also finding the time.

3. Beauty.  I do find myself drawn to beauty, in all its forms.  I just learned that the St. John's Bible is finished, for example.  I bought a little piece of folk art and a storyteller doll when we were in New Mexico/Colorado.  I buy yarn sometimes, even before I know what it's for, just because it looks so beautiful, and full of possibility to me.

4.  Light.  Our church's fall theme (which is actually a stewardship theme, but that's another post) is "Shine!"  so everywhere I go, I'm seeking out light, from flashlights to candles to a video of the northern lights in Iceland.  And mirrors.  And a child's eyes.  The light of a smile, and the way tears glisten.  Help me find some more light, will you?

5.  Laughter.  I just found this great quote, "Laughter is an instant vacation."  So I am seeking opportunities to laugh, sometimes, even when I'm close to tears.

BONUS:  Wisdom.  that's all I'm going to say about that. 

P.S.  the four things that I was missing last week:  a small pen, my watch, a gift card and a knitting pattern -- have all been found, as of yesterday.

Friday Five: Lenten Edition

Kathrynzj at Revgalsblogpals shares this thoughtful and timely Friday Five idea.

She writes that during Lent, "My calendar taunts me with the schedule I'm supposedly going to keep. There are extra Bible studies, evening gatherings and worship services all crammed into a six week period of reflection and contemplation (ha!). But there are some things I truly love about the season of Lent even if I don't get in as much reflection and contemplation as I would like.


What about you? What are some things you appreciate about the season of Lent? Perhaps you would share 5 of them with us. And for your bonus question feel free to share one thing you could do without."

Here goes:

1.  Any excuse to sing, even though some of the songs during Lent are kind of sad.  And of course, there's nothing like singing Holden Evening Prayer, if that's part of your Lenten worship.

2.  A deliberate attempt to reflect, to be monk-ish, perhaps, reading, and writing and thinking deep thoughts.  I do all the time, but I feel like I have permission to do this during Lent.

3.  Special Holy Week Services, especially Passion Sunday, especially when it includes a real live donkey, and Good Friday Services.  I like how worship during this time often becomes more dramatic.

4.  Not so many cultural add-ons (like Santa Claus, the candy cane, shopping for presents, going to parties).  No Lenten Parties yet, that I have heard of. 

5.  Fasting in order to pay attention to other things:  feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, discovering what really feeds me, and the world, coming face to face with my illusions.

oh, and I like it when there's an extra Bible study, or discussion group, actually.  I had a great discussion group one Lent.  We had a study of the Lord's prayer every week, and closed the study by going into the sanctuary and singing Holden Evening Prayer.   Very simple.  No sermon to prepare.  But a lot of work putting together the discussion each week.

And, what I don't like?
1.  How busy it gets, sometimes.  It seems like there is often more pastoral care during Lent. So I've had all the services and then maybe two funerals in one week, sometimes.
2.  Fasting to Become A Better Person.  Doesn't work for me.

Friday Five: Words

htt;Jan over at Revgalblogpals offers us this Friday Five:

There is a dramatic and surprising venue for Spiritual Formation/Sunday School classes at my church: Each week a different person teaches about a "word" that expresses his/her passion or interest. The first week someone spoke about "hospitality" with abundant treats on her mother and grandmother's china arrayed on tables. Other words have been "connectivity," "Trinity," "money," and "dreams." No one knows which person will be teaching until the class convenes. I am teaching this Sunday and plan to talk about "stirrings."



For this Friday Five, please list five words that identify your passions, spirituality, and/or life. Describe as much or as little as you wish.

1.  Words.  Seems funny to say "words", but there you have it.  I've loved words, listening to words knocking up against each other, hearing how they sound, what they mean, ever since I was old enough to read and write, I think.  I wrote my first story in the first grade.  I remember reading Robert Frost (I think) say that if her heard someone say, "I want to be a writer because I have something to say," but if he heard someone say "I want to be a writer because I like hanging around words and listening to them talk to each other", he knew that person would be a writer.

2.  Mercy.  Love in action. 

3.  Creativity.  For me, it's words for the most part. (Yarn, a little, lately.)  For others, it's the notes of music, or paint and canvas or a potter's wheel and clay.  It's the spark that connects us with God, our desire to make things.

4.  Community.  I really think that we experience God most fully in community, as we are in relationship with one another.  I come by this honestly as a Christian, as I find in the doctrine of the Trinity that community is in the heart of God.  There's a quote somewhere in G.K. Chesterton's book, Orthodoxy, "To us, God is a society."   So it's possible that God will give some people a special mystical experience, but all of us experience God, however imperfectly, in one another.

5.  Jesus. I tried to get to the bottom of the historical Jesus when I was in high school.  Never did.  There are always more questions.

Friday Five: Perks of Ministry Edition

Kathrynzj at Revgalblogpals brings us this terrific Friday Five:

Thanks to #snOMG this week has had a different rhythm to it for me. Fortunately, one of the perks of ministry is a fairly flexible schedule and quite often the ability to work from home. Another perk of ministry is that I will be part of a worship service that celebrates my friend's gifts in ministry and the ministry she will do with the church she has been Called to lead.


These two things have me reflecting on the gifts and perks of ministry and what else I would put on that list.


What about you? What are 5 perks/gifts of ministry for you?

This is a terrific Friday Five because I've always thought there were som unique advantages to being a pastor (as long as some downsides, but lets save those for another day, 'kay?)

1.  I get paid to think, to study and to read.  Not all the time, but some of the time.  Reading books, thinking about things:  it's part of my job.  How cool is that?

2.  I get paid to talk to people, to listen to people, to hear their stories.  In other words, not only do I get to read books, I get to read people, too. 

3.  Two words:  "all ages."  One of the wonderful things about ministry is the ability to work with all ages, babies, children, old people, young couples.  I once, fleetingly, considered being a 1st grade teacher, because I do love children and I do love teaching.  But, it's good that I didn't.  It's better for me to be around all ages. 

4. Ministry is like a box of chocolates:  you never know what you are going to get.  This week I gave a Bible study for 80-100 seniors on the subject "Seven Women from Genesis"; I prayed with giggly seventh grade boys; I was involved in a fascinating conversation about Passionate Spirituality and how Lutherans can learn to speak more confidently about their faith. 

5.  I do love the view sometimes when I stand in the sanctuary, facing the congregation.  I marvel at how a congregation can look small when they are sitting, and suddenly look large and powerful when they stand to sing, or pray.  I like to see the parents returning to worship after delivering their children to Sunday School, families singing together, a child jumping up and down.  I still remember a great view from my first little church:  two little girls who decided to sit in the front row together, with the hymnal open between them, and singing at the top of their lungs. 

P.S.  I like the flexibility of the schedule too, but I know a lot of people mentioned that one.  We pastors do work a lot, but we aside from a few things which are set (confirmation classes and Sunday worship), we have a lot of say in when we do what we do.

Fave Verses Friday Five (on Saturday)

Songbird over at Revgalblogpals had a great idea Friday Five yesterday; she asked us to share our five favorite Bible verses. 

It's Saturday night, but I liked her idea so much I thought I'd go ahead and play, even really really really late.

Here are mine (sort of), with some backstory:

1.  "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17.  Whenever someone asks me, "what is your favorite Bible verse?", this is what I say.  The first time my dad asked me, I recited this verse, and he said, "Wow."  (He always quipped that his favorite Bible verse is, "Jesus wept.")  I think this verse comes from my fervant college days, when I was involved in one of those raise-your-hands-in-the-air, sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, pray-with-laying-on-of-hands sort of groups.  This verse reminds me that Christianity is not some sort of spiritual -self-improvement project.  It's a new life in a new creation. 

2.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."  (Luke's version, in 10:27.)  The longer I am a pastor, the more I like this verse, and think it would make a terrific motto for a congregation (i.e. First Church, loving God and loving our neighbors since 1947...)  Then see if we are really doing it.  I once heard an explanation of "loving neighbor as self" -- in Biblical terms, "loving yourself" is not about self-esteem, but about how you treat yourself; for example, do you want enough to eat?  Do you want warm clothes and meaningful work?  Do you want a roof over your head?  Then want those things for your neighbor too. 

3.  "Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."  Proverbs 25:25.
A friend of mine put this verse citation at the end of every letter she sent me while I was living in Japan.  ah, letters.  that brings back memories.

4.  For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness" who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  2 Corinthians 4:6, 7.  So, what is it about 2 Corinthians?  This was part of my ordination passage.  The "earthen vessels" is the way the old RSV translates it.   

Finally, yes,

5.  What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.  Micah 6:8.  One year our social justice committee had a ministry booth where they gave out Bible verses on a stick.  This was the verse.  A friend recently had this insight:  usually we get the two parts of the verse backwards, instead of doing justice and loving mercy, we love justice and do kindness.  Because doing justice is much harder.  It makes us feel good to work at the food shelf, and house homeless families in our church.  It's certainly necessary, too.  But "doing justice" is the hard work of trying to decrease the inequities so that there will not be hungry homeless people. 

I'm aware that in naming five, I've thought of at least as many more that I didn't mention.  Are these really my top five?  Who knows?

Maybe a new blog feature should be "Bible verse of the week."

Friday Five: Books!

Jan over at Revgalblogpals has this Friday Five game for us:

I hope some of you received books for Christmas presents; I did and have been reading ever since. Then I discovered a new author from those recommendations that pop up on Amazon.com. Instead of buying those books, I've been checking them out at the library, which will not help Amazon's future recommendations for me at all.



So tell us what you're reading, what you would and would not recommend--five books or authors! And if you don't want to do that freestyle, here are some questions:


1. What books have you recently read? Tell us your opinion of them.
I did not receive books for Christmas, but I did receive gift cards, and am making use of them (both for real and ebooks).
I recently read a children's book called "Forge," the second in a series by Laurie Anderson, about two African-american young people seeking their own freedom at the time of the U.S. Revoluationary War.  The first book is "Chains," and features a young girl, Isabelle, who was supposed to be set free in her master's will, but was not.  The second book follows more closely her friend, "Curzon," who ends up fighting with the troops at Valley Forge."  (I also read the third Chet and Bernie mystery, "To Fetch a Thief"; very fun, and told from the dog's point of view.)  I just finished re-reading A Wrinkle in Time as well...

2. What books are awaiting your available time to be read?
I have an e-wish list that includes "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress," "Room," "The Grace of Silence," among others....

3. Have any books been recently recommended?
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by a new member of my book group.
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (just recommended at Saturday Bible Study)
Eat, Pray, Love (no, I haven't read it yet, or, seen the movie.)

4. What genre of books are your favorite, along with some titles and/or authors you like best?
For fun, I love a good mystery.  I also love young adult novels these days and memoirs.  I'm fascinated by memoirs:  is everyone writing a memoir, or what?  I always love a good novel.  I've been re-reading some of the "Little House" books lately.

5. What have you read lately that you have a strong urge to recommend? (or to condemn)
I really liked "Forge", as you can tell.  I also read "The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay".  Though it wasn't perfect, I thought it was beautifully written.

Friday Five: Time to Get Up Edition

Singing Owl over at Revgalblogpals has this Friday Five for us:

Where I am it is dark, and it is cold, and it is snowing. I really wanted to stay in bed with the electric blanket cranked this morning. Share five things that made getting out of bed worthwhile for you today.


Where I am sounds very familiar to where Singing Owl is!  In fact, I've forgotten to set my alarm this week several times, and overslept, because it is dark until so late in the morning.

Without further ado, here are the five things I could come up with that made it worthwhile to get out of bed:

1.  Coffee.  In particular the flavored coffee that my husband makes every morning.   He is partial to flavors such as Amaretto, Chocolate Caramel, and Gingerbread.  The smell is as wonderful as the taste!

2.  Oatmeal.  With blueberries.  And bananas.  Nothing like a hot meal on a cold morning.  I grew up believing that oatmeal in the winter is a sign that your mother loves you.

3.  Stopping on the way to church to deposit my check in the bank.  I don't work for the money, but it does help pay for the oatmeal, blueberries and bananas (and flavored coffee).

4.  Wearing my new hat (the one I just learned how to knit).  Getting to wear my new hat makes it almost bearable to go out in 10 degree weather, and shovel snow, and clear off windshields.

5.  Letting the dog out.  She very rarely wakes me up early any more (when she does she just puts her head on the side of the bed and sighs).  But it's fun to watch her run through the deep snow; she loves the season more than we do.

Friday Five: Christmases Past

Jan at Revgalblogpals gives us this simple Friday Five:

Share five Christmas memories.

Here goes:

1.  When I was very little, we went to spend Christmas on my grandparents' farm in Southwestern Minnesota.  I was so little then that my mother's younger sister was still living at home, in the big upstairs bedroom that all of the girls shared.  I was also very worried that Santa Claus would not find me way out there.  I remember that I slept in the bed with my aunt, who told me scary stories and warned me that I'd better not try to get out of bed and check on Santa Claus. 

2.  One year, my sister and I got a joint present from my grandparents on Christmas Eve:  the game Twister.  When it was time to go to bed and wait for Santa Claus, we of course had the hardest time going to sleep.  We counted to 100 a few times and told a few stories, and then decided it must be close to morning.  So we quietly got out the game, turned on the light and started playing.  We thought that we were being pretty quiet, but pretty soon my mother appeared in the doorway, looking bleary-eyed, and she proclaimed:  "Santa Claus has NOT come yet.  And he won't come if you don't GO TO BED."

3.  When I was in 9th grade, my father's business failed, and the next year at Christmas, he worked stocking merchandise at the Big Store with the Red Circles.  (He eventually got a sales job at a big department store.)  I remember being very happy that I got a Supermax Blow Dryer as a Christmas present that year.  It's not bad to have simple tastes.

4.  When I was living in Tokyo (where I didn't have a car, and I didn't know about any Christmas Tree lots), I bought a little potted fir and made little paper decorations to go on it.  I played all of my Christmas music on our boom box.  All of us missionary-teachers-in-training went to our churches for a Christmas program, meal and later a Christmas eve service.  I looked around at the rest of the people in my church, and realized that this was their Christmas:  no huge family reunions, no turkey, no big stacks of presents under the tree.  When we came home, we opened presents with the family who lived next door to us.  It made me realize that "Christmas is all about spending time with you family" is nice, but not really what Christmas is about.  Christmas is about Jesus coming into our world. 

5.  My first Christmas in my little churches in South Dakota, I told the story about my Christmas in Japan on Christmas Eve.  I was invited over to a parish member's house.  Their traditional Christmas Eve dinner was soup:  oyster soup, chicken noodle soup and chili.  I had brought presents for them, but it turned out that they didn't exchange presents on Christmas eve.  I remember going home, wrapping packages and finishing my Christmas Day sermon, and packing the car so that I could leave straight from church and get home in time for some Christmas with my mom and dad, and my brother and his two children.

Friday Five: December Survival Edition

Kathrynzj over at Revgalblogpals offers us this Friday Five:

Whether a RevGal or a Pal most of us in this cyber community have enhanced responsibilities during this time of year. We also have traditions - religious and secular - that mark the season for us in a more personal way.


For this Friday Five please let us know five of the things that mark the season for you.


And the bonus? Tell us one thing that does absolutely nothing for you.

Five things that mark the season for me:

1.  Music.  Especially good choral music.  True, they play the Christmas songs a little too early, and a lot of the renditions you hear are especially schmaltzy elevator arrangements, but I live for hearing some good choral music in Advent.  It does get me through the season.  And though I love "O Come O Come Emmanuel," there are sooo many good Advent songs that I wish were well-known:  "Fling Wide the Door," "Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers," "Savior of the Nations, Come," "Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus", "Hark the Glad Sound."  Well, you get the idea.

2.  Getting Christmas Cards.  I'd say sending them, too, but I haven't sent them in a long time.  I do miss sending them, but I love getting Christmas cards, still.  I used to like to write letters, and I miss the absence of any form of personal mail.  Except at Christmas. 

3.   The annual Christmas program -- given by the children.

4    Decorating the Christmas tree.  with all of the different ornaments accumulated over the years and in many different places.  (putting it up is a big hassle, but decorating -- calms my heart.)  I don't need to have lights up on the house, but I do like to have a lighted tree in the window.

5.   Snow.  My relationship with snow is complicated, and it doesn't make my life easier, but truthfully, it would not be Christmastime, at least around here, without it.

6.   Having family around.  I feel especially peaceful if I know my husband's stepsons are going to be with us, and I enjoy finding one small, but unique gift for each of them.

And I can live without....

.... most of the baking.  Unless it's a team effort.  Then, we'll talk.

Friday Five: Unexpected Thanks Edition

Jan over at Revgalblogpals has this Friday Five for us:

With the American holiday of Thanksgiving being less than a week away, I tried to think of some questions for Friday Five that could be connected to this, but in a new way. So here is my one try:

Name five things that were unexpected in your life that you are now grateful for.
1.  My husband.  After 41 (or so, but who's counting) years of singlehood, I got married.  Very unexpected.  But very good. 

2.  Our Dog Scout.  Before Scout, I was a cat person.  I was the kind of cat person who let my cat sleep on the bed at night.  And I had a cat who loved to curl up in my lap.  But, the first thing that happened was that my husband was allergic to cats.  The second thing that happened was that we met Scout.  Now, we are Totally Bonded.  And I am Very Grateful.

3.  Being a Pastor.  When I was a little girl, women could not be pastors.  I am surprised and grateful that women can be pastors, that God called me, and that a congregation also called me to be their pastor.

4.  New friends.  I am grateful for Fran, Terri, Lindy, Marsha, Stephanie, Jan, Amy (Dogblogger), Robin, etc. etc.  Some of you I have met.  Some of you I still hope to meet someday.  I never imagined that I could be good friends with people I have never met (or met just once).  (sorry no links right now, maybe a little later....)

5.  Knitting.   I've known how to knit since the 7th grade, but I've never made any progress - until the past year.  I'm surprised at myself, and grateful, because my progress is due to patient people willing to work backwards with a left-hander.

Winter's On the Way Friday Five

Singing Owl over at Revgalblogpals gives us this Friday Five:

The picture is of my back deck after the first heavy snow last winter. I am looking at the weather forecast with a sigh of resignation. You see, our glorious unseasonable stretch of sunny days is ending and rain mixed with snow is in the forecast. The weather guy actually said, "This is probably the last nice day till spring, folks..." So, I am trying to plan ahead. Help me out, please. When it is cold outside.


1. What is your favorite movie for watching when curled up under a wooly blanket?
I'm curled up right now, and for some reason I'm thinking of the movie "Roman Holiday."  Don't ask me why.
2. Likewise, what book?
Any GOOD mystery.  I'm liking the Chet and Bernie (Dog On it) mysteries right now, as well as Maisie Dobbs and Clare Ferguson.  Always looking for a new series.

3. What foods do you tend to cook/eat when it gets cold?
Soups and stews.  I love to make Tortellini Soup and Chicken Chili when it gets cold. 
4. What do you like to do if you get a "snow day" (or if you don't get snow days, what if you did)?
We don't get snow days here (we're so used to snow), but when I did, out in rural South Dakota, I liked to watch movies, eat popcorn and pizza, and read.  I didn't like to, but I also used the time to catch up on paperwork.

5. Do you like winter sports or outdoor activities, or are you more likely to be inside playing a board game? Do you have a favorite (indoors or out)?
My favorite sport is really swimming, which is not a great cold-weather sport.  I skate a little, but I'm not a great cold-weather sports person.  Too bad, because this is a great cold-weather sport state.  My favorite board game is Scrabble.  I like to work puzzles.  That would be a great "snow day" activity, I think.

.

Revgalblogpals Friday Five: It is Well With My Soul Edition

Kathrynzj at Revgalblogpals has this great Friday Five for us:

We lead privileged lives.

True, some are more privileged than others but the fact that we are communicating right now via technological devices puts us in the privileged category.


There are many perks in my life for which I give thanks and then there are some that make everything right in the world during the moment I am enjoying them. I'm wondering what a few of those things - five to be specific - are for you.


To help you along here are just three of mine that I will write more about on my blog: drinking coffee out of a real mug, walking into my home after the domestic goddess has been there, participating in the RevGalBlogPals Big Events.

Here are five "perks" that I can think of, though I'm not sure they make everything right with the world. 

1.  Knitting.  There is so much in my life and in my work that never seems finished.  I preach, and then I preach again.  I visit a shut-in and then I visit again.  I go to the hospital.  And when I think about the justice work I do in my congregation, this is even more true.  We are never "there."  We're always "on the way."  So it does my soul good to see a pair of socks, or a scarf, or a pair of mittens that I made.  Something, at least, is finished.  And, even if it is not perfect, it is beautiful, to me.

2.  Wearing my Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services T-shirt.  It has a small Statue of Liberty flame on the front, and on the back, all of the countries that refugees have come from, starting in 1939 and continuing today.  I love this t-shirt, and feel proud whenever I wear it.

3.  Though I love my computer, writing with one of my good pens, real cursive writing, makes me feel grounded and sastisfied.  Even if it is just a grocery list.  Or a list of names.  Or the hope of a poem.

4.  Having a dog, even a neurotic dog with golden retriever big brown eyes and a curly husky tail and an independent streak, makes me feel grateful beyond measure. 

And this one is just one week old, but:
5.  Our membership at the "Y", which means that now we can go swimming a few times a week.  I have noticed that I already feel calmer.

Finally (and I know, this is more than 5), I feel grateful for all the ways I can connect with friends, so that we can keep each other going.  That means email, facebook, blogging, as well as going out for coffee, lunches, and those essential meetings with co-conspirators/friends who have not given up on trying to make the world a better, more godly, more compassionate, and just place.

Friiday Five: Comfort Media Edition

Kathrynzj over at Revgalblogpals offers us this Friday Five:

I don't get to watch that much tv anymore, but I actually wrote today's Oprah show down on my calendar. Why? Because she is hosting a Sound of Music cast reunion!!! Those of you who know me may be surprised that I would care so much about such a stereotypically girly flick, but I love it (although admittedly fast forward through the Reverend Mother's rendition of Climb Every Mountain). I can watch this movie over and over and over again.

It seems no matter how many new movies, tv shows or books come down the pike I still have my ol' stand by favorites that I can watch/read over and over and when I do they actually bring me comfort - like an old sweatshirt or a favorite food.

Today's Friday Five is an opportunity for you to list five of your favorite 'go-to' movies/tv shows/books. You can use images, links, explanations or netflix.

When I lived in rural South Dakota, I picked one movie that I would watch over and over in the winter, particularly when I was snowed in.  Three of these comforting movies that I watched over and over were:

1.  Gigi

2.  Strictly Ballroom (a great Australian movie, by the way)

3.  My Fair Lady.  In the interests of full disclosure, I need to let you know that I actually played Eliza in a church production of My Fair Lady, and used to put the Sound Track on while I was driving in the car and sing at the top of my lungs. 

  
As I reflect on my choices for "comfort media", it seems to me that an "Ugly Duckling to Swan" theme seems to emerge.  This may explain as well my favorite of the Little House books:

Finally, (though it is hard to choose), I have another favorite movie discovered in the last few years.  It's called The Major and the Minor, directed by Billy Wilder, and with two of my favorite actors:  Ray Milland and Ginger Rogers (why do I like Ray Milland so much?) 

Friday Five: Insomnia Edition

Mompriest over at Revgalblogpals has this Friday Five for us:

Last night was a restless night in my home. We are dog and cat sitting for our daughter, which means we have a combined household of three adult humans, four large dogs, two cats, and one kitten. And for some reason the dogs, cats, and kitten, all wanted to sleep in OUR bed. Did I mention that it's just a double bed? Did I mention that it was warm in our room - too cool to turn the air conditioning on but no breeze to blow the cool night air in....add to that my general age-related tendency toward insomnia, and it was a difficult night for sleeping.


A number of my facebook friends seem to have similar challenges sleeping....


So, on that note 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?
I usually sleep well, but the last few months, since the Senior Pastor retired, I have had some bouts of insomnia.  I can't seem to turn my brain off some nights, and I just keep thinking...

2. When you can't sleep what do you do? Toss and turn? Get up and read? Play computer games?
I should get up and read, but I do sometimes instead get up and play computer games.  Or knit.


3. When you do sleep do you remember your dreams? Or just snipets of them?
Just snippets.  Once in a while I get a whole dramatic dream.  In the last one that I remember, a young woman close to me died.  I woke up a number of times, and had to keep reminding myself it wasn't true.

4. Can you share a funny or confusing dream you've had? Or a dream you have over and over?
I have had a recurring dream where I am back in college and I keep forgetting to go to the classes, and just keep getting further and further behind.  (wonder what that one is about?)

5. When you don't sleep how do you get through the day? Lots of coffee? or a nap later in the day?
Coffee.  (although often coffee turns out to be a bad idea, later on.)  Usually can't get a nap in.

P.S. I have been having a hard time copying and pasting the Friday Five to my blog lately (mostly copying).  Any ideas?

Sweet dreams!

Friday five: I Want to Belong to a Church that...

I haven't done the Revgals Friday Five for awhile, but this is a great way to get back into it. Thanks Sally!

Her inspiration is this address from the Eunice Attwood, Vice President of the British Methodist Church.

I want to be part of a church that is prayer-filled -
A church that is resourced and sustained by the Bible,
A church that can offer hope even in a credit crunch,
A church that can live well with difference and diversity.

I want to be part of a church that welcomes the wealthy, those who have power and influence -
A church that knows how to party and celebrate life,
A church that acknowledges death and speaks boldly of resurrection,
A church that doesn’t pretend to have all the answers but encourages all the questions.

I want to be part of a church that throws parties for prostitutes -
A church that welcomes those who seek asylum,
A church that longs and yearns for justice,
A church that listens to those no-one else wants to listen to.

I want to be part of a church that believes in transformation not preservation -
A church where all who are lost can be found,
A church where people can discover friendship,
A church where every person takes responsibility in sharing the good news.

I want to be part of a church whose hope is placed securely and confidently in the transforming love of God -
A church that engages faith in its communities,
A church that makes and nurtures disciples of Jesus.

A church where the story of God’s love is at the centre.
I want to be part of a church that offers outrageous grace, reckless generosity, transforming love and engaging faith.
This is God’s story Transforming Love: Engaging Faith.

My prayer is that by the power of the Spirit of God at work amongst us, it will increasingly be our story.


Here are my Five:

I want to be a church that practices generosity -- that listens to other ideas, that welcomes people who are different, that gives itself away, that lives abundantly, even when there is much to fear from scarcity.

I want to be a part of a church that welcomes and values children -- that takes seriously the mission to guide children and to listen to them, that welcomes children, and never talks down to them, and that loves the beauty and diversity of all children, that believes "all children are our children"

I want to be a part of a church that matters in the lives of its members, in the lives of the community where it dwells, in the world. I want to be a part of a church that seeks ways to make the gospel real by implementing justice and mercy for others.

I want to be a part of a church that loves and celebrates beauty -- where artists paint, draw and sculpt to the glory of God, where poets dream dreams to the glory of God, where storytellers weave stories, where musicians sing -- to the Glory of God who walked among us, who does not abandon us in our darkest hour, but goes before us through the valley of the shadow of death.

I want to be a part of a church which dares to fail, practices forgiveness, gets up and tries again to be God's people in the world. I want to be a part of a church that dares, remembering to rejoice not in success, but in the fact that "our names are written in heaven."

What about you? What kind of church do you want to be a part of?

I'm longing to know.

"What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God?" Micah 6:8

Friday Five: What's new?

Songbird over at Revgalblogpals writes:

There's a new baby on my street, a double PK whose Mom and Dad are Methodist pastors and church planters. I'm hoping to go over and meet her today. I love new babies, the way they smell and their sweet little fingers and toes. Little K has me thinking about all the new things that please us with their shiny freshness.

Please share with us five things you like *especially* when they are new.

1. New cars. I've only ever had ONE, but I loved the new car smell. (It's long-past-new now, and there is no new car on the horizon, but I do have fond memories of that rare experience.)

2. Puppies. Just a few days ago, a parish member brought in their NEW 8 week old boxer puppy. I loved everything about her, including the puppy smell, the way she just keeled over and fell asleep, and her loose, wrinkly skin and fur.

3. Clothes, and especially a new sweater. Don't know why, but there's something about a new sweater that is comforting and comfortable. (Shoes count if they are Haflinger clogs, or comfortable Borns or sneakers).

4. Freshly baked (or new) bread or other bakery products. It's the smell, the feel, the taste.

5. Newly-baptized people. At any age: whether they are babies I can hold, toddlers, children or adults, I love the water, the words, and the people with water running down their foreheads. I still remember when my nephew was baptized (at 9 months) and he stuck out his touch to drink the water. Ah! It's so wonderful being new.

Bonus: There's a plastic or vinyl new smell that I like, but didn't include because I can't think what specific object to attach it to. If anyone has an idea about that particular smell of newness, let me know.

A Very Late Friday Five: GAMES!

Jan over at Revgalblogpals writes:

In less than three weeks, my family, including children and their partners, will be gathering in Seattle, WA for 12 days. After various days in Seattle sightseeing and in Bellingham seeing family, we will travel to the coast of Washington State to spend three nights in a large rented house. With nine adults (from almost 20 years old and up), I am thinking that we need to have some activities pre-planned--like GAMES! (Any ideas will be appreciated.)

So this Friday Five is about games, so play on ahead. . . .

1. Childhood games?

Among our childhood neighborhood games were Kick-it-and-run, (enough kids if the Catholic family down the street played), "Twelve o'clock midnight/Hope to see the Ghost tonight" (great for summer evenings, Red Light/Green Light, and Simon Says. My sister and I also made up a game called "Flood", which consisted of pretending that our house was in a flood and taking all of the books off the bookshelf and putting them on the floor as stepping stones to various rooms in the house. My mother LOVED that game. not.

2. Favorite and/or most hated board games?

We played a lot of Monopoly (though very rarely finished a game), Yahtzee, and Rook, and Parchesi. As a college student I also learned to love Pit. I loved Trivial Pursuit, when that was popular, but hated the one where you have to draw. My grandmother and I liked to play Scrabble together (but she cheated). Any game which can be construed as embarrassing in any way -- I hate. But I like the ones where everyone laughs until their sides hurt.

3. Card games?

The aforementioned Rook was very popular, as my grandparents did not think it appropriate to use regular face cards. I learned to play Gin Rummy in college, and the predecessor to the card game Uno.

4. Travel/car games?

We played Twenty questions a lot, as well as one which started with my dad intoning.... "I spy with my little eye something that begins with.... (letter of the alphabet)". We also sang songs in the car, particularly songs from musicals, and rounds like "Frere Jacques" and "Row, Row, Row your Boat."

5. Adult pastimes that are not video games?

My husband and I enjoy doing Crossword Puzzles, Acrostics and Cryptic Crosswords together (well, actually he enjoys Cryptics much more than I do).

Bonus question about family vacations:

I'm bad at this; I mostly want to eat a lot.

Friday Five: Talkin' About ... Pop Music

Mary Beth over at Revgalblogpals writes:

The sad news of Michael Jackson's untimely death has me thinking about music and its effects on us - individually, as cultures, as generations. Let's think about the soundtracks of our lives...

1) What sort of music did you listen to as a child - this would likely have been determined or influenced by your parents? Or perhaps your family wasn't musical...was the news the background? the radio? Singing around the piano?
My family is very musical, in an amateur sort of way. My uncle played classical music by ear, my dad had a natural "Bing Crosby" type voice, and my mom liked to play "standards" on the piano. We listened to a lot of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals on the phonograph (this was my mom's favorite music to clean by), and they liked to sing and play together songs like: "Tennesee Waltz," "Sentimental Journey," and "Always."


2) Going ahead to teenage years, is there a song that says "high school" (or whatever it might've been called where you lived") to you?
I'm going to go with my knee-jerk first response and say Simon and Garfunkel, "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
3) What is your favorite music for a lift on a down day? (hint: go to www.pandora.com and type in a performer/composer...see what you come up with!)


4) Who is your favorite performer of all time?
James Taylor. I like Bing Crosby too, but that's more from my upbringing.
5) What is your favorite style of music for worship? Bonus if you include a video of any of the above!
I'm eclectic and like all sorts of styles, from folk songs and contemporary to high-church hymns. I just don't get some of the worship wars, particularly the people who like praise choruses but not old hymns. Right now, I just can't stop listening to "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling." But I also enjoy singing "The Summons", and Marty Haugen's "All Are Welcome," and "Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service."

I'll leave you with the last verse of "Love Divine"

Finish then thy new creation, pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee!
Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love and praise.