Friday Five: Bugs

From RevGalBlogPals:

As I was walking the beach today, I was surprised and delighted to find it swarming with ladybugs. The sweet little red beetles are one of my favorite insects and also my daughter's blogname--though as of this morning she was thinking of changing it to Butterfly. I'll keep you posted.

This got me thinking about spiritual insect trivia: Did you know that medieval mystics and theologians esteemed the bee for its dedicated work and transformation of ordinary ingredients into sweetness? That Spider Woman is an important creator Goddess to many Native American tribes? Or that Francis of Assisi was reminded of Jesus not only by lambs being led to slaughter, but also by worms (think "I am a worm and no man" from the Psalms)-- so he picked them up and took them out of stomping-vulnerable spots?!

In that spirit, this week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!

1. Ladybugs or ladybirds? Pillbugs or roly-polys? Jesus bugs or water skeeters? Any other interesting regional or familial name variations?
Ladybugs and water skeeters. There aren't any pillbugs or roly-polys where I grew up, so I don't know what to call them!

2. Stomp on spiders, carry them outside, or peacefully co-exist?

Depends... but usually stomp on them. Though I once had one living on my window sill that I didn't mind--but I knew where it lived, and it didn't wander around the house scaring me.

3. Favorite insect?

I'm not a big insect fan. But maybe a ladybug or a butterfly. We had a ladybug wandering around the choir at church one Sunday. We kept putting her to the side, and she kept coming back to hang out on our clothes. We were all a bit amused.

4. Least favorite?
Almost anything else! I have to say spiders and cockroaches top the list.

5. Got any good bug stories to share?
One very weird one. I was at an odd Catholic celebration of Mary--I don't remember exactly what it was (it wasn't a holy day or anything), but there was a speaker, and the church was really packed. I was there alone, sandwiched in a pew between people I didn't know. And I was tired and feeling a little sick. At one point, I think I fell asleep, which I never do--so I was really exhausted. But the buggy part freaked me out. I felt something on my head, and so I scratched it, and found a bug on the very top of my head! I didn't know what it was--not huge, and sort of like a beetle. So, I grabbed it and flung it away, somewhere under the pews. But then, it happened again, another bug, same spot! It was very surreal, and made the whole experience very uncomfortable for me. I left as soon as I could, but I had to wait for whatever it was to finish because I couldn't easily get out. And another strange thing (not buggy) happened on the way out--a lady handed me a pin of Our Lady of Guadalupe and said that she just knew I was the one to give it to. Huh.

Bonus question: share a poem, song, quotation, etc. about insects.
I got nothing! It could be the early hour...

Friday Five: Taking a Break

From RevGalBlogPals:

Where we live, it's February School Vacation Week!

Yes, that's an odd thing, a vacation extending President's Day. But it's part of our lives here. Some people go South or go skiing, but we always stay home and find more humble amusements.

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

1. a 15 minute break
Probably walking down the hall to talk to a friend, and grabbing a cup of coffee.

2. an afternoon off
Now, that really depends on how ambitious I am feeling. Often, I will spend a couple of hours reading in the cafe of a bookstore. Sometimes I get the energy to go for a walk through the botanical gardens (it's about a 40 minute drive from home) or to work out. And then I would plan a nice dinner, since I'm often eating on the run.

3. an unexpected free day
Sleep In! Probably much like my afternoon off, but with some putzing around the house. And a matinee movie. There always seems to be something good in the theaters lately.

4. a week's vacation
I've been trying to plan one of these, and the possibilities are competing for attention! I like to visit family or friends for vacations, mostly because I don't see them much throughout the year. So I would probably go to see my brother and his wife in Maryland, or my best friend and her family in New Orleans. At other times of the year, I visit my mom in Oregon or my dad in Montana.... Even that conveys the sense that my loved ones are all over the map!

5. a sabbatical
What an intriguing question. At this stage in my career, I would probably want to go to France to do some research. I mean, if you have the excuse to go to Paris (such as research), why resist?

Beginnings and Endings Friday Five

The following comes from RevGalBlogPals. Conveniently, the questions are things I was reflecting on yesterday:


This Celtic Mandala represents life, noting how days and years turn from one to another. As we have stepped from 2008 into 2009 some of us look back with joy and others with sadness; probably most of us with a mixture of the two.

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

First list five things that you remember/ treasure from 2008

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

As you read one anothers blogs today I challenge you to leave a word of encouragement and pause to pray for each member of Revgals as we step into a New Year. I leave you this New Year Blessing from the Iona Community:

We stand to face the future:

God behind us in the past

Christ before us; the way ahead;

Christ beside us in this moment;

Christ beneath us in our weakness;

Christ above to shield us-

beneath the shadow of his wings we are safe;

Christ between us to bind us in the unity of his love;

Christ in us equipping us with his all sufficient grace.

Thus armed and guided, and protected we face the new year.

Now we arise and go forth on the journey before us,

knowing that, where Christ leads, life is a journey home.

Therefore we travel in faith, in hope, and in love,

in the name of the Father/ Mother, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

May the blessing of God

be upon us

all this year

and into eternity. Amen.

Five things I remember and treasure from 2008:

1. Beginning and going through the application process for the RSCJ. It's been a long road that's not over yet, but I have learned so much about myself. I think also that in the process I am becoming a stronger person and more confident in who I am.
2. Spending time with my best friend as she prepared to have her first baby. I will meet the baby next week!
3. Becoming more at ease in a new place. I moved here in 2007, and 2008 has been a year of greater comfort, more friends, and finding a place in this community. It is good even though I will be leaving this community over the summer.
4. Spending time with the sisters at the retirement facility in California. I spoke with one sister for awhile and she said some things about religious life that I will never forget. She said that you have to "date God" and never stop. That this is a beautiful thing, and one that brings great joy. She also has the gift of tears, and she simply radiated joy and love. It was a very special conversation, as were others with those sisters.
   
5. I am thankful for the many weeks I have been able to spend with the sisters. Each time I am with them, no matter where it is (New Orleans, St. Louis, San Francisco, Chicago....) it feels more and more like the place I want to be for the rest of my life. I am grateful that I have had the many opportunities to stay with them and to become a part of their lives as they become a part of mine.
   

Things I look forward to in 2009:

I'm ignoring the whole "five" thing just to explain what I look forward to. I'm hoping this year will be one of profound life changes, as I become more and more who I am and who God wants me to be. It's exciting and a bit scary at the same time, but for today at least, I am up for the adventure!

The year of new adventures begins (I hope) with acceptance into the Society of the Sacred Heart. I should hear the final word in February, and so then I can begin to think more about the next year, as we discern together where I will go and what I will be doing. The possibilities are pretty open, though I hope to continue teaching at the college level for the next year as well.

I'm looking forward to living in a house, in community with the sisters, even though I know it will be a challenge.

I'm looking forward to a new city, a new job, a new form of life. Again, these things are challenging, but they are also (I hope) full of blessings.

So, this year will be one of blessings, one of friendship, one of growing relationships. And one of hope. May each of you have a year full of God's love as well.

Friday Five: Window to the Soul

From RevGalBlogPals:

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?
My eyes are blue. From my mom's side of the family--though most of them have lighter blue eyes than mine. Mine are pretty dark blue. No passing them on--the whole nun thing gets in the way of that! But my brother and sister in law have a good chance at blue-eyed babies.

2. What color eyes would you choose if you could change them?
I love the color of my eyes! I would not change them if I could!

3. Do you wear glasses or contacts? What kind? Like 'em or hate 'em?
I wear Rigid Gas Permeable Contacts. Capitalized because they feel like that on the eyes. I wear them and I like them because they let me see a lot better than glasses do, but they are not terribly pleasant or convenient, though I can usually wear them for most of the day without complaint. Really, it's worth it for the better vision.

4. Ever had, or contemplated, laser surgery? Happy with the results?
Contemplated it. It's a no. But a couple of friends have had it with great results.

5. Do you like to look people in the eye, or are you more eye-shy?
In the eye! But not always.

Bonus question: Share a poem, song, or prayer that relates to eyes and seeing.
"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way." There's so much about sight that is a part of faith--Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe! Yet we also say that those who understand (even by faith), "see." It's just such a useful image.

Much of my dissertation had to do with the image of light as knowledge, knowing things because Light has touched you--that too is about "sight."

I wonder what implications that has when we talk about looking people in the eye, and the eye being the window to the soul.


Thank you, Sophia!

Advent Friday Five--Simplicity, Light, and Beauty

There is a lovely reflection on Advent at the source for this Friday Five, RevGalBlogPals. I'll quote part of it here:

Advent calls us into the darkness, a time of quiet preparation, a time of waiting, and re-discovering the wonder of the knowledge that God is with us. Advent's call is to simplicity and not abundance, a time when we wait for glorious light of God to come again...

Christ is with us at this time of advent, in the darkness, and Christ is coming with his light- not the light of the shopping centre, but the light of love and truth and beauty.

What do you long for this advent? What are your hopes and dreams for the future? What is your prayer today?

In the vein of simplicity I ask you to list five advent longings....

My five advent longings:
1. Peace. Above all peace. Peace in our churches, among our churches, in our nation, in every nation on earth. Peace in each person's heart. Peace given to our environment, as we take what we need from the earth. Peace in our dealings with everyone that we meet and in every action that we take. I keep dreaming of a day when peace will reign on earth, and I hope that this dream will continue to unfold in the world.

2. Along with peace goes Love. I am drawn to the phrase from a movie from a few years ago, "Love Actually Is All Around." So it is! God our Creator is Love! And God is with us always and everywhere, loving us into being, creating us constantly and lovingly. It's such a beautiful image of God--that never-stopping love and creation.

I've been thinking lately too, that we see much violence and hatred. But I think if we each consider our everyday encounters with others, we will discover that most people in this world run on love, are ruled by love. Only a few are ruled by hate, and unfortunately they get the attention of the news.

3. An End to Fear. (Yes, I know these are all theological idealisms... but what else can a theologian do??) Would it not be beautiful if each of us could live our lives detached from our possessions and concerns in such a way that we no longer act out of fear? What do we have to be afraid of? In the end, even our greatest fears have been conquered by the Risen Christ. [I say all that knowing that fear is one of those things that haunts my world just as it does everyone else's.]

4. Reducing Materialism. There is a beautiful program to that effect called JustLiving. I can't find the website right now, but I'll figure it out and put it up later today. There are additional benefits to reducing our materialistic tendencies as well: it reduces our usage of the earth's resources, and it reduces our trash.

Update: I found it! Check out the website for Just Living!

5. HOPE! Hope in all the goodness within us and within our world, created by Love. Hope that Christ is coming again to draw us to himself. Hope that love and peace will prevail over fear.

Friday Five Locked In / Out

From RevGalBlogPals:

The "Lock Me Out, Lock Me In" Friday Five.

1) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?
Well, lately my travels have been by myself, so my amusement is in the audiobooks that are my companions. By the way, I mentioned last week that I had five with me--I listened to two. In keeping with the theme, one of them was on when I hit construction (fortunately, there was little of that this trip). The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier was great. I love historical fiction, and this one imagines the creation of those lovely French tapestries that illustrate the story of the lady and the unicorn. It's imaginative, has some historical data (though actually very little) and doesn't go too far in the direction of historical smut, like some of those novels do. I really enjoyed it.

2) Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? (And do you keep an extra key somewhere, just in case?)
Not really. I mean, I've been locked out before, but it wasn't my fault. I lived in a small apartment building, and someone broke their key off in the front door lock. So I had to buzz someone else to let me in. When I called the landlord to tell him that someone else had done it, he didn't believe me! He said, sure, it was someone else. How rude! It really was not me!

3) Have you ever cleared a hurdle? (And if you haven't flown over a material hurdle, feel free to take this one metaphorically.)
Hmm... dissertation takes the cake. And, no, I have never actually cleared a material track-and-field hurdle. Not even one of the little ones. Though in high school I carried them around a lot--I helped with set-up for track meets.

4) What's your approach to a mental block?
It seems that the best way to deal with it is to do something else, to take your mind off it completely. Of course, usually when one has a mental block, that's all one can think about. So this is more theory than actual practice!

5) Suggest a caption for the picture above; there will be a prize for the funniest answer!
"News flash! Three men escape from high-security inflexible men's prison. They are wearing yellow plastic, and they may be linked together. If you see any persons fitting this description, call the police."

Friday Five Road Trip

From RevGalBlogPals:
We will be at a chaplain's convention when you all are answering the Friday Five Questions. I'll look forward to reading your answers next week when I get home. At the moment we are trying to get the car loaded so we can hit the road, so this will be a simple F.F. This running around madly in order to leave has me wondering: what are the five things you simply must have when you are away from home? And why? Any history or goofy things, or stories?

Oddly enough, I'm leaving on a road trip this morning too!
So this will be a practical answer version--the things that I have to remember to pack:

1. The gift for my friend's baby shower. I crocheted her a blanket--it's very pretty! And I put that here trusting that she won't have time to look at my blog between now and tomorrow morning. (Her in-laws are at her house--I think I'm safe!)
2. Water. Lots of water. It's too d--- hot to forget things to drink.
3. Traditionally, I forget to pack socks and pajamas. Socks are unnecessary this summer, but I must remember pajamas...
4. Books on CD. I only have time for two or three, but I always have lots of extras just in case. Today's variety includes two Agatha Christie mysteries (Hallowe'en Party and another that I can't remember), Steve Martin's novel The Pleasure of My Company, The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, and The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. The Agatha Christie ones are always fun. And Steve Martin is reading his own work, so I'm sure that will be fun too. I'll try to remember to post comments on the books when I get back.
5. Cell phone. I'm driving by myself through rural Louisiana. It's nice to have a little security.

Everyone, enjoy your weekend!

Pictures of the baby blanket:

Friday Five: Summer Camp

From Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals:

We're settling into our new new apartment, and after a lifetime at Montessori Katie is having a fantastic summer at YMCA day camp. Meanwhile, Nicholas is packing up for a week at Camp Julian, shared by the Episcopal dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego. His lists of supplies and rules--except for the ropes course available to the teenagers and the ban on IPODs and cell phones--bring back memories of my own happy times weeks at Y camp Ta Ta Pochon, funded by selling countless cases of butter toffee peanuts. So, in celebration of summer, please share your own memories and preferences about camp.

1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
I went to Legendary Lodge, by the Catholic diocese of Helena, Montana. It is a lovely place--on a peninsula in the lake, surrounded on three sides by water, with a mountain at the back. You have to take a boat to get there. Wish I could find a picture.


2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
I like camping, but it's been a long time. Camping in my family always meant a tent, sleeping bags, and hard ground. And, of course, campfires and smores. Nom nom nom.


3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
I was a "volunteer" camp counselor at Legendary Lodge while in high school. It was a lovely way to escape the long (boring) summer!

4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
Two things. The best memory of camp is climbing the mountain at sunrise. So lovely. And of camping: seeing a bear. Fortunately, it was as we were driving away (otherwise camping would have been a little uncomfortable).

5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
Hmmmm... I think I have to say the girl scout song:

Make new friends
But keep the old,
One is silver
And the other gold.
A circle's round
It has no end
That's how long
I want to be your friend.

Sappy, huh?

Friday Five - Words

From Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals:

This post is loosely based on previous "wordy" Friday Fives from Reverend Mother and Songbird. I liked the results, and so we are doing another word association . Theirs were based on words from a lectionary text. Mine comes from the Lovin' Spoonful song, "Summer in the City."

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
Over my head. Lots of things are over my head lately--my work (too much to do!), my discernment (ack!), and a very powerful summer sun.
(my own picture--rooftops in Paris, from Sacre Coeur)


2. gritty
Nitty Gritty (My mom's phrase). That phrase always makes me think of scrubbing floors on my hands and knees. Not that I ever really did that (at least not more than once or twice). Or of rolling up my sleeves to do a particularly dirty job.


3. hot town (yeah, I know, it's two words)
Yes, it is a hot town... hot, sticky, sweaty in the summer town! Yet in the song, I always thought the phrase was something else...
(Dallas, one hot summer city)
4. night
Stars. I haven't taken time to look at the stars for way too long. I just planned a trip to northern Montana in July, where I'll be camping with my dad. That should be a great opportunity to see more stars than can be seen in the city anyhow.
(Gotta love Van Gogh)

5. dance
in the rain!
(picture shamelessly borrowed from someone else's blog)

Pentecost Friday Five

Great questions from Presbyterian Gal at RevGalBlogPals:

FOR PENTECOST THIS WEEKEND:

FROM ACTS CHAPTER 2: 14-21 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

(My personal favorite in this passage is how Peter insists the men cannot be drunk because it's only 9:00 a.m.) Hey! Me Too!

Anyway, it's Pentecost and my very first Friday Five! Thinking about all the gifts of the spirit and what Peter said of the "last days"......

Have you or anyone you know

1. ...ever experienced a prophesy (vision or dream) that came true?

No, but I've had some weird dreams. And some moments when I just knew the phone would ring, or I would win in a drawing. I've also had dreams where I had some control over what was happening in them.. but that's probably another story for another time.

2. ...dreamed of a stranger, then actually met them later?

Nope.

3. ...seen a wonder in heaven? (including UFO's)

Mmmm... The greatest wonder I've ever seen in heaven was the plentitude of stars on a dark night in the country. I think the best place to see stars is in Montana during the winter (when nights are really really long). With no clouds and little disturbance from city lights, the skies are absolutely stunning. It's so amazingly vast, and yet imminently close--definitely one of God's greatest wonders.

4. ...seen a "sign" on the earth?

To stretch the question a little... when I was on a retreat a couple of years ago, a vocations retreat, a friend of mine kept saying "it's a sign" about everything. We slept in the old convent dormitory (it's a sign!) over Palm Sunday (it's a sign!). It snowed that night (it's a sign!) and we had to share keys to the front door (it's a sign!). It was pretty funny--anything can be a "sign" if you put your mind to it.
To stretch the question in another direction... I think I have seen signs along the path of discernment that indicate to me that I am moving in the right direction. Two come to mind. Several months into discernment for religious life, I found a short story that I had written in middle school. The heroine was a princess who basically rescued herself from calamity and rejected the prince. She remained single and lived happily ever after with her dog. (I still can't believe that I wrote it--but in retrospect, I never really dreamed about marriage at all as a kid. Though I also never dreamed of becoming a nun.)
The second sign is more recent. This week, I emailed a friend and told him that I was applying to become a sister with the Society of the Sacred Heart. He's a Franciscan friar, and his exact words in response were: "I'm so happy that you have discovered what many already suspected. . . that you have a calling to "religious" life." It made me laugh and cry at the same time. I do wonder who the "many" are.

5. ...experienced knowledge of another language without ever having studied it?

You know, once you've studied a few languages, you can pick up words here and there from many others. But that's really the only experience of language-knowing that I have ever had! It does seem like there are other ways of communicating, such as knowing what someone else needs, even if they won't say. I know that more than once I have called my mom at just the right moment, when she really needed some love and support. Once, she was actually following the ambulance with my grandmother in it to the hospital. Little events like that must be nudgings of the Holy Spirit.

Bonus Question: What would a modern day news coverage of the first Pentecost have sounded like?

Oh, I can't imagine that it would be good. It would probably look a lot like the coverage of cult activity (without the illegal nature of many cults).... lots of sensation and very little substance to the report.

Friday Five, just for Fun

From RevGalBlogPals:

Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.

As for the questions!


1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live
without?
I have to admit that it is hard to live without email. It is so nice to have a message from a friend when you least expect it, at any moment of the day that you happen to check. The disadvantage is that messages you don't want to see are there at any moment of the day as well, and those are often the ones that have to be answered even when I don't want to!


2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day?
Why?
My inclination is to say cell phone, but there are too many conveniences included with the annoyances. I might have to say cable television. What a supreme waste of time, and an incredible influence on our society's thoughts and desires. There are certain things that I would rather not be so easily accessible.


3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If
so, do you use it (them)?
Well, my stereo has both a CD player and a cassette player, but I don't really use either of them. Thank you, mp3 player!


4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something
else?
A little bit of everything. There are definitely exciting things happening--like the end of certain diseases (though there are new ones that take their place) and the instant communication we have. But I think it also places a great deal of pressure on each of us to know what is going on and how to use the latest technology (which will, of course, be obsolete in about 30 seconds).


5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain? Bonus
points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process.
I think we've lost time and silence. I teach college students: they simply do not know how to be silent, at least not without their ipods and cell phones in their ears. That makes things like prayer, studying, self-reflection really hard. We each need a little more space to figure out who we are, and what will make us happy. How do we begin the process? I'm happy to say that I have given away my tv...that's a start. (Though I still can watch dvds on my computer.). And I think making time each day for silent prayer -- even if it's only 10 minutes at a time. I think everyone also needs to make sure they spend time with other people, in person, every day, not just on the phone or over facebook.


Those are my thoughts. What do you think?

A Moving Five

From Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals:

We are right in the middle of a move--only twenty minutes away, but we're still a mix of busy, excited, nervous and surprisingly full of grief about what we're leaving, for me at least. So this week's Friday Five asks about your experience of the marvels and madness of moving...

1. How many times have you moved? When was the last time?
How many times....That's sort of hard to tell. During college alone, I lived in 7 different houses/apartments/dorms...but I just won't count each of those. I think besides those moves, I've moved 9 times. Hard to tell, really--does it count if you only live in that place for a few months?? Among those many moves, I've lived in 4 different states and 6 different cities. Latest move was last summer. Before that, I had lived 7 years in the same place.

Seems like a lot for a 29-year-old!

2. What do you love and hate about moving?
I love finding new places, getting "lost" in new cities as I find my way around. I hate the actual process, and the lack of community support that always happens at the beginning. In fact, I'm still working on that from my latest move.

3. Do you do it yourself or hire movers?
Last time: movers. All other times: myself. Fortunately, I have great friends and family.

4. Advice for surviving and thriving during a move?
That's a hard one. I think, be easy on yourself. It's hard to move because you always end up leaving things behind (metaphorically and literally). Don't stress it if you lose your way on the road, or if something breaks. Something is going to break--at least one thing always does.

5. Are you in the middle of any inner moves, if not outer ones?
No outer ones. Inner movement is constantly at work, though.

Bonus: Share a piece of music/poetry/film/book that expresses something about what moving means to you.
You know, I have the reading from Acts for today in my head--the conversion of Paul. What a huge move--and it's both inner and outer!

Revelation Friday Five

From RevGalBlogPals:

With this Sunday's gospel reading in mind, that wonderful revelation of Christ to the companions on the Emmaus road. I wonder where you might have been surprised by God's revelation recently.

So with no further waffle I offer you this weeks Friday 5:

How has God revealed him/herself to you in a:

1. Book
I am reading a very inspiring little book right now--Anthony de Mello's The Way to Love. I am constantly finding new understandings of the world and how I relate to it and God. It's challenging, asking me to rethink some of the concerns that I have always had.

2.Film
I'm a big fan of classic films.... most recently I rented Imitation of Life from 1959. It's a beautiful film about people and relationships, and also racism in the U.S.

Lots of films come to mind... One of my favorites for revealing truth is Finding Neverland. I love how life and death become intermingled at the end. There's also a great foreign film, Children of Heaven, and then Everything Is Illuminated.

I think I better stop at four...

3. Song
I just wrote about this.... check out my post on Natasha Bedingfield's Wild Horses below here.

4. Another person
That's a tough one... I have a lot of support! I'll have to point to my recent stay with the Sisters, who accept all as they are and offer them love and respect. In answer to the "bonus" below, their way of opening their home to me was humbling--I felt so welcome and loved.

5. Creation
With God, all things are possible, right? The other day, it was about 80 degrees, the wind was howling, and there was a tornado watch and warning issued in the area. I looked out my office window--where the sun was shining. And it was raining. At the same time. God makes me laugh.

Bonus answer: your choice- share something encouraging/ amazing/ humbling that has happened to you recently! See above, question 4.

RevGalBlogPals' Friday Five: Happy Leap Day!

A lovely Friday tradition...and my first time on the playing board! Here's RevGalBlogPals' original post.


Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked
I have to admit, this doesn't happen often--I'm too much of a planner.

2. Leapt to a conclusion
Now this, on the other hand, happens to me far too often. And sometimes to great embarrassment. Most recently: I leapt to the conclusion that one of my students was not doing his reading, and I asked him about it. My students are adults...so he was offended, of course. In my defense, his homework assignments did not reflect having completed the assigned reading...

3. Took a Leap of Faith
I went to graduate school--moved halfway across the country to the midwest, and had no idea whether I would make it. I don't think I believed then that I would. But I don't think I was the only one who made a leap of faith--the graduate director who let me in the program and gave me a scholarship also placed a great amount of trust in me (I was certainly less qualified than my peers, if only because I was the only one coming straight out of college). It seems to be a successful leap of faith--no net needed. I did complete the program, after all, and now I'm using my PhD in the world of theology.

4. Took a literal Leap
I'm not one for heights or for leaping. I can tell you about a few trips down the stairs, head or bottom first, if you wish...

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?
Ah. This one is easy, though I'm changing it to the next year and a half. Entering religious life--without a dime to my name, leaving behind my worldly possessions, and trusting that my friend and comfort Jesus will be beside me along the way. He's always there, but sometimes I don't see him clearly (my fault, not his). This move is both exciting and a bit terrifying--but all is good as long as I remember that God has a safety net is available in case I have an emergency.

Divine safety nets are the best, aren't they? They seem to be the only ones that never fail to appear on time.