Hi there~~ Happy Friday to all of you. Today's Friday Five has no theme, other than randomness. That's o.k., right? So, just to get to know each other a little bit (even more) here is the meme:
1. What is the first thing that comes to your mind (right now) that you want to share about yourself. I just made an appointment for spiritual direction for the first time ever. It feels very right.
2. What is your favorite piece of jewelry or accessory? Why? I wear a silver chain with my Daughters of the King cross and a little turtle sitting on half the Mayan calendar. Have not been able to determine the significance of that, but it reached out and grabbed me in Cozumel in January. I always wear these. Today I am also wearing some of my favorite earrings, little silver dragonflies:
3. If you could have a starring role in a T.V. show/movie/series, which one would it be, and what would your character be like? I'd like to be a hospital chaplain. Note that I'm not a chaplain and I've never worked in a hospital. Go figure. But I'd like to portray the experiences that I've heard about from so many RevGal sisters.
4. What is one thing you will eat this weekend? Ummm...salad. Because, I always eat salad. Also, pinto beans, because I've got some a-soakin'.
5. How do you waste time? (If you do, that is...) Facebook. Read. Sleep.
Jan says at RevGals: I have looked repeatedly at RevGals to see where today's Friday Five is. . . . AND only right now, at 2 pm in Texas, do I realize I am the one in charge! I am sorry I am so late and forgetful.
That brings forth all the times I've been late or forgot something. How about you?
When have you been late or a no-show? When have you forgotten something or someone?
1. at church: One time I signed up to keep watch with the blessed sacrament between the end of the Maundy Thursday service and the beginning of Good Friday. My watch time was something like 2 am, and I totally slept through it. AUGH! I was horrified when I woke up and realized what I had done! "Can you not watch with me for one hour?" Apparently not. Well, anyway, it was a good lesson in humility, and the world didn't end. Nowadays I don't even sign up for that, because my current church puts all the ready-to-burst Easter lilies in the chapel with the sacrament, and it's a giant allergy attack in the making. :P
2. at home: Hmm. We used to have a cat and her favorite thing EVER to do was to sneak up into the attic when we had the door open and weren't looking, and then she'd get stuck in there. It was sometimes a few days before we'd realize it and go let her out...I always felt terrible, but she wasn't a stupid cat, and she could pretty much guess what would happen if she went up there.
3. at work: Here is what I forget: Attachments to emails. Important emails, that are going out to lots and lots of people I don't know. Gosh, I just did it this morning.
4. with friends: I meet my BFF Valerie for early morning coffee once a week. Some days...I remember to set the alarm...and some days I don't. And sometimes even though the alarm is going off, I still don't remember why it's going off so early and I axe it. Now, we meet for the coffee and for dinner once a week too. Easier to remember and we can have a drink!
5. ? where else?: On my schedule. I am absolutely terrible about double scheduling myself. Nowadays I keep my whole life calendar on my Outlook, and it's available on my phone. Theoretically I don't have any reason to do this anymore, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still happen. Oy.
I'm heading from unseasonably warm temperatures and no snow to a place of GREAT SNOW. Sadly, for reasons that don't need to be boringly laid out here, I am sans decent winter boots at the moment so I need to find some... NOW!
In the meantime I am shaking my head at myself. How could I possibly be without one of the key essentials for living in my environment?
Every area is different. What are the 5 key essentials needed for where you live? And bonus - what have folks looked twice at you for because you wore it out of place.
Hmm.
1. Sunglasses, shorts, T-shirts - for when it is HOTTTTT.
2. Air conditioning in your house and car! ditto.
3. Snuggie, for when it is unseasonably cold and the old house I live in is not sufficiently insulated for it. (That has not happened this year...yet. But one year it snowed on my husband's birthday, March 8).
4. A car, or a really intrepid streak. Unlike places with good public transportation, life is really hard without a vehicle, preferably one with air conditioning. We don't even have good bike lanes.
5. Claritin, nasal irrigator, etc. for the pollen that's starting to fall in this lovely lovely springtime.
Jan says at RevGals: After spending the past six weeks with my right arm tightly bound to my body with a "shoulder immobilizing" sling due to shoulder surgery, I was able to discard that restrictive device three days ago. Such freedom in movement is to be savored! This brought to mind how we experience freedom in many different ways in our lives.
For today's Friday Five, tell us about your times of release or detachment (freedom!) in such areas as:
1. physical: At different times in the past I have been free from excess weight on my body, and I want to be so again. Don't misunderstand; I am fortunate to have a body on which most everything works just right, and I am grateful for it. But I am carrying extra avoirdupois and it is weighing me down...in several ways. It's bad for my health, and that gets worse the longer I keep it. It's bad for my comfort. Child's pose and tying shoes...tough with the current physique. I could go on, but you get the idea. So here goes, again.
2. spiritual: Spiritual freedom has come when I have seen God at work in my life, usually in the words or actions of others. And the more time I spend listening quietly, the more freedom I experience.
3. emotional: Lots and lots of therapy over the years has caused me to approach life and relationships in much healthier ways. I do less of assuming people can read my mind (and getting upset when they don't act accordingly!!) I work hard to keep my side of the street clean and not worry about others'. The word here is ACCEPTANCE.
4. vocational: I'm still working on what I want to be when I grow up, and taking some small steps in that direction. When I figure it out I'll let you know.
5. relationships: Hmm. I have a few very close relationships which is generally the case. I am working on letting people be who they are, and resisting frustration sometimes. The life lesson on this, that I have to learn again and again, is: "I can't change other people." Moments of clarity on that have been the most freeing feelings of my life.
So, it's the time of year I get inundated with requests for recommendations for students that are looking to be camp counselors. So in honor of camp counselors everywhere, today's Friday Five is the Recommendation edition (which has nothing to do with camp or summer or anything--work with me, it's late....)
1. Recommend a favorite worship resource or devotional book. Right now I am loving Common Prayer by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Eunuma Okoro.
I see that it now comes in pocket, Kindle, and Audible editions...I must say it's a LARGE book and when I have been travelling I've photocopied the pages for the days I'd be away, rather than carrying the large book. I may need to get that Kindle version! From the Amazon listing: "...the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. The book also includes a unique songbook composed of music and classic lyrics to over fifty songs from various traditions, including African spirituals, traditional hymns, Mennonite gathering songs, and Taize chants." As someone intimately familiar with liturgy, but only of one flavor...I love this book's variety of traditions and resources.
2. Recommend a blog that you like to read that you think others might find enjoyable. How to choose only one!? I think one of the funniest writers around is Janel at 649.133: Girls: The Care and Maintenance Of. She is a librarian and mom of three small girls whose spouse works the night shift. She is insanely funny and occasionally profane and, oh, did I mention that she's a librarian? Thus the name of the blog. Feel that you need to be enticed just a bit? One of her children is named Bellatrix. Go, read, laugh!
3. Recommend a fiction book that you think people might like. I want everyone I know to read Someday this Pain Will Be Useful To You. I thought enough of it to put it on Goodreads, which I never take the time to do. It's an amazing book. Saith Amazon.com:
It’s time for eighteen-year-old James Sveck to begin his freshman year at Brown. Instead, he’s surfing the real estate listings, searching for a sanctuary—a nice farmhouse in Kansas, perhaps. Although James lives in twenty-first-century Manhattan, he’s more at home in the faraway worlds of Eric Rohmer or Anthony Trollope—or his favorite writer, the obscure and tragic Denton Welch. James’s sense of dislocation is exacerbated by his willfully self-absorbed parents, a disdainful sister, his Teutonically cryptic shrink, and an increasingly vague, D-list celebrity grandmother. Compounding matters is James’s growing infatuation with a handsome male colleague at the art gallery his mother owns, where James supposedly works at his summer job but where he actually plots his escape to the prairie.
In the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Booklist has hailed Cameron as “one of the best writers about middle-class youth since Salinger”), Peter Cameron paints an indelible portrait of a teenage hero holding out for a better grownup world.
Do yourself a favor: read it. Then share it with a young person you love. Hey! in Googling for the bookcover photo, I learned this is also a movie, released in 2011. On the track of that now...
4. Recommend a favorite recipe website. O.k., if you aren't into cooking or food, then just recommend a random website that you find useful, hilarious, mind numbing or thought provoking. Okay, it's not a recipe website, but here's my guilty fascination: Shawni's blog "Life" at 71toes.com. I love her photography and descriptions of her family's activities. I can't remember how I found it, but I was initially fascinated and moved by her account of her youngest daughter's condition, which is where the name originated. Check it out. Maybe you'll be a groupie with me. :)
5. And for the last recommendation--it's bloggers' choice! Make a recommendation for anything! Hmm. I "like" Lifehacker.com's Facebook page and always learn lots of interesting ideas from them. The most recent is the one on how to make a stand for a tablet computer from an old DVD case. I'm going to try it....will let you know how it works out.
This past holiday season is not one I will soon forget, but not for the reason some may think. Certainly, it was a busy one for those involved in the life of the church. The 1-2 punch of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on a Sunday brought more than a few of us to our knees (or hopefully to a more comfortable napping position).
In the midst of the holiday season I had one of those moments where a path suddenly was made clear - A-ha! This experience has prompted me to wonder what some of your A-ha moments may be.
They can be mundane - a realization that you like/don't like a certain food or that you really look good in that color you never had the guts to try. They can be sacred - a way to better pace your day clicks into place or finally a devotion or meditation practice that really works for you. They can be profound - the moment you realized he/she was the one (or wasn't)or the moment you realized where your deepest passion could meet the world's greatest need.
Please tell us - what are five (more or less) of your 'A-ha' moments. Where have you had a moment of clarity?
Be sure to let us know in the comments when you play so that we can learn about your moments of clarity! Can't remember how? Here's a reminder on making that pesky link.
Happy New Year!
1) At some point(s) when a child I realized that a) if people got shot, they weren't automatically dead & 2) if someone broke an arm (for instance) it didn't break OFF.
2) Leaving my grandparents' Florida house at about 8 and realizing that I might not see them again, and crying because of that. We only saw them once a year and every year after that, I cried when we left. (As it turns out, they lived until I was 26 and I was with my grandfather when he died...just goes to show you that worrying about things doesn't get you anywhere.)
3) in grad school, I stood by a copier and asked desperately, "Oh, God, what I am going to DO with her!?"
and God said, "I'll grant you the serenity to accept the thing you cannot change." Understanding FLOODED me and I laughed!
The person next to me said, "what are you laughing about?"
"I can't CHANGE people!" I laughed.
"Well, of course not!" she said, practically. "Why would you want to try?"
"Oh," I said, "you have no idea."
That was the conversation that allowed me to experience and believe in God in a new way, too. That was big.
4) Realizing in energy work therapy that my body holds old (and new) memories, angers, fears, regrets, and that I need to clean those things out periodically. And also work on not holding them as much, if possble, through some specific daily practices.
5) Realizing that there were different theories of the Atonement and that I didn't have to accept the one I was brought up with. This was good, because otherwise I was thinking I was going to have to leave the church.
Bonus: Realizing that I had to let someone I loved, go, to make his own mistakes and that furthermore, there was no point in worrying about it. Before that happened, I also realized that I had to exert my power and anger and fight back against him on something. It was a difficult situation for this Enneagram 9, but truth was spoken.
I've been home from Russia for less than a week, and in less than a week it is Thanksgiving Day in the USA (Nov. 24). So for this Friday Five, answer these questions (and if they don't apply to you, list five things you are grateful for):
1. Where will you be on Thanksgiving Day? With whom? I will be at home with my sweet husband. Because he is still taking all nourishment through a tube, attending an event where it's all about eating would be unkind to him, to say the least. Also he's not feeling great a lot of the time, so going somewhere seems like a bad plan. We are just going to chill. I hope to get at least a little deep cleaning done (don't want to go overboard) and maybe start decorating for Christmas. I have vacation on Thursday and Friday.
2. Are there any family traditions or memories associated with Thanksgiving? Oh my, yes. We always (in my memory) had all the Butler family over to our house. I remember many Thanksgiving mornings helping chop celery & onions for dressing, or setting many many card tables with various sets of china and silverware, or raking leaves in the yard to get ready. There would be 30 or 40 people there. That same group would gather for Christmas at my Gramma Beth's house and later Aunt Emily & Uncle Oliver's home on Lake Jackson. What a wonderful gift: a solid feeling of belonging to a solid family full of love. (Really. That group really did get along. No joking.)
3. What will be on your Thanksgiving menu? Well, we are eating a lot of dressing (my personal favorite part of Thanksgiving) with giblet gravy (made by Ken). We each eat it as we are able. :)
4. Are you trying anything new this Thanksgiving? Staying home and not entertaining.
5. What is the weather forecast for this day (next Thursday)? Sunny. High 62, low 47. Can't beat that! Looks like I may be doing some lawn cutting, too.
Bonus: Prayer, poem, song, or whatever you choose to exemplify your image of Thanksgiving (giving thanks).
At Butler gatherings we say grace before meals by standing in a circle, holding hands, and singing this:
(While I like this inclusive version of the words, using only the word "God" to represent God, know well that the Doxology as the Butlers sing it refers to God as Him. And we have a Father, Son and Holy GHOST. No newfangled wording for us, thanks.) (That's TRADITION for you.)
It's 11/11/11, a date you can read forwards and backwards, American-style and European-style.
It's Veteran's Day/Armistice Day, which seems to be celebrated more someplace than others. The kids here are out of school and some communities have ceremonies of remembrance scheduled.
My denomination (UCC) is finishing up a drive called Mission 1, which ran from 11.1.11 to 11.11.11.
But mostly, it's a big day for Nigel Tufnel, in celebration of "maximum elevenness."
For today's Friday Five, share five ways you or someone you know likes to turn it up to 11. How have you gone beyond the usual expected limits? Feel free to interpret this as eccentrically as possible.
As always, let us know in the comments if you play and you'll probably get some visitors to your blog. Be sure to go say hi to others! It makes things easier if you post a link in the comments. There are instructions on how to make that happen here.
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Gosh, it's over 20 years since I saw Spinal Tap. I had forgotten about old Nigel. That's a funny movie, I should rent it again.
1) I've decided to stop worrying and love the bomb. No, not really. I've decided to stop worrying and not worry anymore. Radical non-worrying, turned up to 11.
My employer announced this week that they are "considering" moving all non-contract employees to "at-will status," meaning that we can be dismissed at any time for no cause. It came as a rude shock. I've worked in Texas higher education for my entire career, and I have to say that knowing that I could only be terminated "for cause" has been a comforting foil to the relatively low pay etc. There is a comment period, etc., but I'm sure they are going to do it. So, I was fretting about it, feeling angry and bitter. And then it came to me: I can either let this poison me, or I can believe that God loves me and the Universe wants good things for me. And I choose the latter.
2) Library Use. I go to the library at least once a week and take away as many books as I can carry.
I make extremely liberal use of the online catalog and request for hold, online renewals, interlibrary loan, and other programs of my local library. I am DEVOTED to my library. It allows me to read broadly in a tremendous variety of areas, and I've developed several small subject-based personal libraries (temporary ones) as the need has arisen. Most recently they have been on cancer care and cancer recovery nutrition, and also on massage.
3) Laughing
Have you heard me laugh? Then, enough said. If not, I'll say that it tends to be very loud. LOUD.
4) Piles
I wish this were not true of me, but it is. It just is. I'm a piler. At home, at work, wherever I may be. No matter how often I clean off my desk, the normal state for my things tends to be like this.
Sigh. One day maybe I will change. But for now, piles turned up to 13.
Here's my desk:
5) Manic fascination with certain things, EX: Vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Hello, have you heard that HPV is the leading cause of head & neck cancer in men? And a major cause of cervical cancer in women? Did you know kids ages 9-26 can be vaccinated? Well, then, what are you WAITING for! Call for an appointment NOW!
At RevGals, Kathrynzj says, I'm wrapping up a two week vacation that has taken me from beach to basement. WHAT?
It's true, I took a week off of work to clean out the basement. Sadly, to look at a before/after photo would not make it look like my time had been used wisely. Just about everything is still down there, it's just in a different pile. BUT... our church rummage sale this year is going to be very, very blessed.
I'm wondering if anyone else out there takes a week off of work to do a different kind of work:
1) Have you ever 'staycationed' in order to work on a project? If no, would you? Well, I mentioned in yesterday's post that this summer has been our Staycation to Beat The Hell Outta Cancer. But I think I'll choose something else for this play. So....one time on Spring Break I painted the kitchen. It was just part of it, but instead of unrelieved white, I got a nice little yellow wash on the walls above the stove and counters. It was very satisfying.
2) What project did you or would you tackle first? What I'd REALLY like to do is remove all the ugly, dark 1970's kitchen cabinets and strip them, and apply a much lighter finish and some different hardware, and remount. But gosh: I'm pretty certain that'd be more than a week's worth. And I can't bear to have it go on for 2 years...ugh.
3) Any other projects? Need to remove the storm windows and wash all the windows. Repair 2 porch lights. So, so many things. But here's one that really happened: My sister in law Gail repaired my kitchen drawer yesterday...we have lived in this house for 11 years and it's been broken since we moved in. Yeah. She has the tenacity of a bulldog, in a very gentle way. I love her insanely (and not just because she fixed the dang drawer!!)
4) What are the pitfalls of a staycation for you? I end up napping and reading instead of the project!
5) Never mind this staying at home business, where do you want to go and what do you want to do there? I want to take my hubby to Galveston for a week in our motor home. Just hanging out and resting, and he can go wade-fishing past the third bar when the blue water comes in. We can eat out on patios at seafood restaurants with our dogs, and watch the city we love as it comes back from Ike. And, I need to get to my beach in Florida soon, too.
I have a little story to tell. Earlier this spring, my husband won three tickets to a concert presented by the symphony orchestra of a nearby city--featuring Mozart's Requiem. We debated for a few days about taking Trinity, our four-year old granddaughter, to such an adult event. In the end we decided to give it a try. After all, the tickets were free, so we didn't have a great deal to lose if we had to leave. (There she is in the picture, all dressed up and ready to go hear, "my Mozart!") You may wonder why we would consider taking a preschooler to the symphony, but this child loves Mozart and listens to a CD nearly every night at bedtime. Once I tried to sneak a CD of Bach in, and she cried, saying, "Grandma, that is NOT Mozart."
She was hopping with excitement, but we gave her lots of coaching, and when we arrived she gazed about with wonder at the lovely venue, and when the orchestra began to tune up she sat up straight and gazed, enraptured, with her mouth literally open. It was pure delight to watch her enjoying brand-new sights, sounds and surroundings.
This experience led me to remembering times of discovery, of new experiences. Some were my own experiences and some were remembered from my children, or those of others. Share with us today about five memorable moments of insight, discovery, awareness--from childhood or later, something you experienced or something you shared with someone else.
First, I LOVE this story and this picture of the amazing Trinity. So gorgeous.
The most fun event ever, and the best part was when Brave Combo (our home grown, Grammy-winning, nuclear polka band) came out and started to play. Everyone, all ages, started jumping up and down, and I thought..."HEY! I can live HERE!" A little video for you:
2) In our old house I had a tomato bed (too much shade in the one now, unfortunately). Brandon came home one day and I out in the yard with a salt shaker eating tomatoes out of hand. I said, "Hey, come have a tomato!" "Oh, I don't like them," he said. Knowing he'd never had a REAL tomato, I finally convinced him to try one. He RAN off and got all his friends, saying, "you have to try this great thing my stepmom has!" :)
3) another Brandon discovery: he came home one day and saw me sewing something on my grandmother's Singer Featherweight machine:
Because my mother has the same machine, I grew up thinking that was what sewing machines looked like. But I don't think Brandon had ever seen any sewing maching before. He acted like I was churning butter or something. He was SO IMPRESSED. It was great.
4) Okay, this one is about Brandon too: I took him to my beach where I grew up one year. It's a private beach and there are friends and cousins all up and down it. He fell in with my cousin's boys and spent the day boogie boarding. That night he came and asked me if it was ok for him to go out on the beach with him. He was amazed that I just said, "Sure." Restrictions aren't really necessary there; there's no one on the beach that doesn't have a house there, and all kids do is run up and down in the moonlight (or its absence). It's what I did, and my mom before me, and her dad before her, etc....
5) The first time I went to a professional meeting of international educators and realized it was an actual field I could go into, and not just the part time job I had while in graduate school. It was an enormous relief, and my career fell into place from that.
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