Sunday, March 29, 2009

Give me some sugar and a phone call

We went sugaring this weekend. It was very neat seeing sap get boiled down into maple syrup...and eating the end result didn't hurt either. The Audobon Society has a sugar house so we went there to eat more syrup products and to take a short hike and we got to see a beaver dam and a weasal - too cool.

There is something magical about driving in/through Vermont no matter the time of year. It's just a really hard place to live.

My Adult Ed reflection on Lent and Forgiveness went well I think. I'm getting better at leading/facilitating these with each reflection I lead.

It's hard to believe that April is nearly upon us...March went so quickly for which I'm thankful because I just can't wait for consistently warmer weather.

The wife and I, and the kids, and one of our dogs, and one of our friends went with us as we canvased a neighborhood to ask people to contact their House Rep to support Civil Marriage. That was an interesting experience - I'd never done that before. We lasted about an hour and a half. The first half we got rained on the second half we were very damp. Plus the kiddos were starting to hit their limits as well.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Two Messages



Vermont's Govenor issued a press release yesterday stating he will veto S.115 (Civil Marriage legislation). Here's the link to the press release: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=59501923996&h=k7Ny-&u=CZwtc&ref=mf.

Here's a link to email Vermont's Govenor: http://governor.vermont.gov/contact.html, do tell him what you think. Around 101 pro votes are needed in the House for S.115 to be veto proof...something that could have been joyous has become rather saddening.

Even with the blatant inequality and discrimination that most GLBT still face; we, as Americans, still have an enormous amount of freedom. I would ask that, as Americans, we remember the power of our voice, our vote, our stories, and where you see injustice - please exercise your freedom of speech.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Upcoming Events

In a couple of weeks we're going to go "sugaring" someplace in VT with one of my wife's friends. It'll be nice to see more of VT, eat sweet stuff, and maybe even learn a thing or two. I'm hoping the weather will be nice and hot - you know a raging 55 or something. But, if we can't have heat, hopefully no rain.

My day of adult ed sharing will be the day after "sugaring". Still looking forward to this, but I need to start looking back over my notes.

I've been slowly starting to explore anglimergent - there's energy in this for me, not sure where it'll lead...but, I'm following rather slowly but will hopefully begin to pick up speed.

April 3rd is my next get together with my Pastor. I need to go over some of my notes...need to start sending off for some things, and begin filling out a form. Need to get my one page articulation of call done to the point where I can sit with it, and see if there's anything missing...and if anything is missing then something has to get cut; I've run out of real estate. I could perhaps widen the margins, but I can't shrink the font as I'm at 10pt as it is.

Happy Spring!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Tomorrow is the a big day

So, tomorrow is the official start of Step 1: Discerning your call with your Pastor. I didn't notice feeling nervous until this morning. I'm worried I won't know what to say, what if, what if, what if...and yet, I remind myself it will be what it will be. Yes, yes, I do know myself...I'll be digesting that meeting the whole weekend.

He and I in some way are completely different. He's much more introverted then I, which tends to bring the shyness out in me, which always leaves me feeling awkward cause that's not my normal mode in the world. I'm not a flaming extrovert, but I'm not a complete introvert either - somewhere in the middle.

I worry a little that we/I won't know how to relate to him/each other...but, then I have to let that go and let God be present between us. When I go on Pastoral Care visits on my way there I ask the Holy Spirit to be present and for 'right words'. So, I need to remember to ask of these things for myself.

I have to have a certain number of visits with my Pastor, which can take up to but not over 6 months. So, one visit at a time, and it will be what it will be. Even if it's not what I'm hoping for, which is amazingly hard to write.

I would ask for a simple prayer tomorrow for quiet confidence.