everything reminds me of my dog

I looked for a video on youtube with this song by Jane Siberry, but there wasn't really one. In any case, the song got me through the last few minutes of my jog this morning. The song makes me sooooooo happy!

thinking about progressive youth ministry...

..and what the heck to do with our TWEENS next year for Sunday School. I am not going to waste money on buying the Sunday School curriculum, because, as one volunteer noted, she was "underwhelmed" with it.

Found some good blogs out there through a very good site for progressive Christian educators called Different Voice

It has some great links, and I resonate with the core values.

What about you? What do you use for Sunday a.m. resources with your 6-7-8 graders?

no sun in boston today....

and I am so hungry for sun these days,
I guess I will just look at places where I was in the SUN this summer!
This is Haifa, in Israel

Cheesehead in Paradise: Who am I kidding?

Cheesehead in Paradise: Who am I kidding? here's the thing. don't have children...can't believe I haven'...but not gonna happen...but still
the mommy in me
her heart is breaking
with you.
xoxoxo

luv me some meffa

o.k., so, yeah,
I live in a neighborhood where the elder italionos slash someone's tires because they don't agree with interracial dating (Rephrehensible)

I live in a neighborhood where people don't pay their water fees


I live in a neighborhood where people think "r" is pronounced "ahhhhhh"

I live in a neighborhood where people who grew up here don't wear bras....

I live in a neighborhood where dogs bahhhhk incessently, fried hair abounds, and watching out for your neighbors is blood. serious. evem if there is no blood in common.

Tonight,

my dear NEENIE aka VEnus, aka grossy sidewalk surfing for smelly and indescribably non-edible but tasty garbage animal remains/refuse treats searching amazing canine took herself on a walk down a very busy street.....

was recovered by young women (16 ish?)plumpish native ( as in oh sweetie, please, bras are good for you...) sweet teenagers who had a sense of...the least of these....

and all I can say is,

oh my. I love Meffa...you mafia accepting, sweet doggie loving community of Boston.


Thank you. yes, thank you, and bless you.
amen.

on the lam

While I was gone, I got a letter from the local library that said...pay your overdue fines or risk legal action.
I knew the library police would catch up with me!

So, $23 dollars later, and my record is clear. whew!

Thing is, what I ended paying for is long overdue book on my shelf. Literally, I live six blocks from the library. I don't want the book. I didn't even get beyond the first chapter.

Sometimes, I just confuse myself.

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth...

I just haven't slowed down enough this week to blog much. Well, I was miserably sick until Wednesday...but have returned to the living. Since then, I have been living double time.

I leave for Israel-Palestine on Sunday afternoon for a week. I am not taking my laptop, but will have my tiny iphone wireless capability. I will post pix on facebook...and write about everything in my journal.

Mostly though, I just wanted to say Hi ya! to everyone out there...it seems that so many of us are dealing with deep and vulnerable issues, situations, wonderings, hopes, and fears....
and my prayer for all
is that
the One we know as dear and loving
would reveal
that tender love and care
to all in tangible, real, and simple ways.

More later.....

why I might need a spiritual director.

earlier this week:

me: (at three in the morning, while on vacation)
I can't get A out of my mind. She has been on my heart and in my thoughts incessantly. I can't sleep, because I am thinking of her and her family constantly, and wanting to pray always for her.

God: (at least, I think it was God) Why don't you give her up to me...let me care for her in my arms and constant care and love....

me: You???

God: Well, I am the ONE to cast all your cares on....

me: I don't know....

God: You know I Am.

me: well, o.k., but don't mess up again. A has been through a lot.


Later, about 5 in the morning. I think to myself, did I really tell God not to mess up again???
Oh my.

sightings...

mama and baby moose
young bull moose and deer (on hike)
elk and more elk...no elk babies, though....
grizzly bear (huge guy!)
grizzly mama and two cubs (very far away, but oh so adorable)
bison, bison mamas and many bison babies
pronghorns
black bear (another big boy)
mountain goats and babies
big horn sheep (with big curled horns!!)
osprey nest and family
bald eagle (in tree, looking very, very wild and proud)
many chipmunks
and squirrels
countless hawks
and beautiful birds
still holding out for
wolf and coyotes...
xoxoxo

insomnia...

on vacation.
sigh. what's with that?
beloved and I are having a ridiculously wonderful time just unwinding from a very busy program year...

but even so, a beautiful earth mother woman friend of mine lies in the hospital...in recovery from a hip disarticulation (removal of her entire leg at the hip--like how you used to take off your barbie doll legs?) due to a giant recurrence of cancer.

going in, she and her beloved were happy that they wouldn't need to take any of her pelvis, which meant that she would be able to sit straight rather than slump...
but during surgery, the doctor needed to take that important pelvis bone because the tumour in her prosethetic femur was so high up and close to the pelvis that....well, the whole point was to get rid of the damn cancer.

hasn't she been through enough?

taking her pelvis means that some of her other organs will be compromised in the long run...I don't need to whine about that....because she sure isn't.

her mantra is, I can't be a mother from the grave, but I can be a mother with one leg.

she has a lot of recovery and rehab in front of her. I can't get her out of my prayers and my mind...even while I relax...

prayers for dear A..
for her husband, her children, her doggie companions...
oh sweet Jesus,
you know the pain of suffering,
of physical anguish,
and you bore it with grace and hope...
you have already given A unbelievable grace and determinedness (is that a word?) and relentless hope.
be with her on this journey...
surround her with strength...
please, please, please,
bless her with an uneventful recovery and rehab...
she has been dished so many blows...
and yet she keeps getting back up with fierce resolve
because that is who you made her to be.
please...grace her with an army of healing angels to take care of her....
amen, amen, amen.

MY HAIR IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!

The transitional style between bob and something else my style-guy did last week
IS. NOT. WORKING.
Since the receptionist can't work me in...
I think an ambush at the salon is in order.

Seriously. My dearly Beloved who adores me even admitted reluctantly that it
LOOKS. LIKE. SH...I mean CRA...TERRIBLE.

just tuesday.

I have a routine for my weekdays.
I get up, brush teeth, and then walk doggies.
Then, when I get home, I turn the coffee on...
and clean the kitchen--
washing pet food bowls, loading the dishwasher if needed,
wiping down the counters,
and sweeping and mopping the floor. Mopping as in wet-jet swiffering.
I actually love this routine...
especially time in the kitchen...
I clean not in a rush, but at a slower pace...
and it creates for me a space for meditation and prayer.
I get some good prayin' God time in that space.

And then, I am ready for my day. Or not. But at least I have had some quiet slow time within it.

Friday Five: Change!

Sally, over at RGBP, talks about all of the change happening in their family across the pond--interviews, new positions, oh my! Prayers for Sally! With that in mind, she offers the following Friday Five:
Changing location also means packing, so next month will be a month of clearing and sorting, deciding what comes and what gets left behind...

So with change in mind I offer you this Friday five; ( if you've never moved here's a chance to use your imagination)


1. A big move is looming, name one thing that you could not possibly part with, it must be packed ? My mother's jewelry box that her brothers gave her when she was 16. As a child I loved picking through all of the costume jewelry she had in it, and I just love it. Even though I don't really use it for my stuff...it's precious to me.

2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind...
uhhhh...so much. for starters, everything that is in our attic that isn't used or isn't luggage.

3. How do you prepare for a move

a. practically? I have moved alot. So, the packing thing is very organized for me, and I cull as I go.

b. spiritually/ emotionally? That is harder. De-nesting is difficult for me. When it is time to say goodbye, I walk through the house, or the office, or whatever is involved in the move. Saying thank you and goodbye is something really important for me.

4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place? The grocery store and a place to walk on a trail, or at least a wooded park.

5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location? IF it is a new location totally (e.g. different town, new job, etc.) it takes me at least two years, plus. Jus' sayin.


The bonus for today; a new opportunity has come up for you to spend 5 years in a new area, where would you go and why?

Five years is a long time. Maybe living on a farm, living closer to nature. Whimsically, I could say....Ireland or the Galapagos Islands...

Books I ordered.....

"Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers"
Christian Smith

"Thank You Prayer"
Josephine Page

Life Of Jesus For Children (The Light Of The World)"
Katherine Paterson;

"Because Nothing Looks Like God"
Lawrence Kushner

"Joan of Arcadia - The Second Season"
Amber Tamblyn;

"The Holy Twins"
Kathleen Norris


"Journey to the Heart: Centering Prayer for Children"
Frank Jelenek;

"The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow"
Sanjay Patel;

"Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story (Festival Time)"
Jonny Zucker;


"Hideandseek With God: A Collection of Stories for Children"
Mary Ann Moore;


"Meet Jesus: The Life and Lessons of a Beloved Teacher"
Lynn Tuttle Gunney

"After the Beginning"
Carolyn Pogue

"This Is What I Pray Today: Divine Hours Prayers For Children"
Phyllis Tickle; Hardcover

"God's Dream"
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"Psalms for Young Children"
Marie-helen Delval

"Book, Bath, Table, and Time: Christian Worship As Source and Resource for Youth Ministry (Youth Ministry Alternatives)"
Fred P. Edie

"Seasons Growing Faith Board Book Set"
Donna Scorer

"Daybook for New Voices: A Calendar of Reflections and Prayers By and for Youth"
Maren C. Tirabassi

"Where Does God Live?"
Holly Bea

I just ordered....

a slew of books for our CE library to honor our amazing teachers and volunteers of our Sunday School program.

ahhhhhh, love Amazon.

ahhhhh, love picking out books.

ahhhhh, how fun is that?


p.s. makes the administrivia worth it.

Pentecost morning

Look what is blooming in my backyard.

May the gorgeous beauty of Spirit wisdom and the deep fire of her passion
roar and dance through all of the revgals today..
and in our congregations...
and in our world.

Come, Holy Spirit,Come
amen.

uninSPIRITed

so.
tomorrow.
Pentecost.
tomorrow.
me preach.

about my favorite girl, Holy Spirit.

'cept right now I am not feeling it.

don't have any words for a sermon entitled "unleashed".

is this what that passage means in Romans, "the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray (or preach?) as we ought, but that very Sprit intercedes with sighs too deep for words....

need some interceding...
or some unleashed writing....

HELP.
Amen.

Grace and Plenty

I wanted to play FF today, but just have been too busy to sit down.
However, look what came out of the kiln this week. (picture with Iphone, so not a great photo) It's a largish platter that would be good to serve a small turkey on or roast beef. But since I don't eat meat...hmmmm....cookies?

really heavy heart.....

my heart is so heavy the last two days...
at first, I just thought it was the wind that got knocked out of me yesterday morning when I very clumsily tripped and fell, skinning knees and hands and bruising legs while walking the dogs...
but I think it is more.

I am feel restless. so, so, restless and disconnected.

and then there are the dearest ones of congregation...
five week old baby girl facing heart surgery,
saint of the church facing third brain surgery in two months...
and of course
dear mother one, facing amputation of leg but still not clear if cancer is other places....

my heart, my energy, my God-spirit-love is with them....

so maybe that is my heavy heart. along with a couple of other things, unbloggable.

Maybe these are boundary issues, but I do love my peeps so much. I don't really care if it is "professional" or not to carry them with me in my heart and thoughts wherever I go...

I still live life. We are hanging pictures and planting and walking dogs and all else...

but my heart is heavy.
as it should be, or even shouldn't be, but the reality is, is that it just is heavy...
and prayers ascending, as some revgals say,
prayers ascending....
amen.

glorious evening...

tonight is one of those evenings in New England
that makes worth living here in January.
it is glorious, gorgeous, and humbling in its stunning beauty and grace.
everything is blooming--rhodendrons, azaleas, lilacs, irises, snowflake and snowball bushes, dogwoods, star jasmines...
there is a slight cool breeze, birds chirping....
it is a perfect evening to walk dogs slowly in the neighborhood
with your flip flops, sweatshirt and shorts...
breathing in the tasty fragrance,
spying a robin with a worm flying to her nest to share with her babies,
feeling a little lightheaded from the beer you shared with your beloved,
your flushed cheeks, happy eyes,
gorgeous sunset kissed tops of buildings...
and of course,
finally, one settled displaced kitty basking in the window...
ahhh...
it is clearly a perfect juicy moment in time...
in spite of your heart
with someone dear to you
who is facing amputation of her entire leg, possibly pelvis,
in order to enjoy more evenings like this,
with her beloved,
children,
and two new puppies...
because three months ago,
and three months before that,
and three months before those,
and more,
there was no more cancer...
until last Friday.

she will be fine, she says,
and she will--there is no doubt...
but you hate what is ahead for her and her family,
in spite of it..
but as she says, what choice?
"I can keep two legs, and get my affairs in order..
or...I can have one leg, and dream and hope of a longer future with those I love"
She says,
"Things don't happen for a reason. This is no reason. How vindictive would that be? Sometimes there is just shit."

God's strong spirit be with you, you say to her.
She says, "God is always with me. I am so blessed."

As I said,
it is a glorious, gorgeous, unbelievably humbling beautiful evening in new england.
And I pray for the
openess to really get it.

Amen.