Halloween Randomness

Ain't love a paltry affair
So blue so incandescent
In the end it burned out his eyes

The mornings are cool here in SA land, the afternoons flush with warmth, the evenings hint at the chill to come.

Halloween today...my kiddos quite excited Tinker Bell and Scream, punk rock Mimi, zoot scootin' mama. The dogs and cat cast as themselves. Mounds of joy ready to plunder my waist and thighs, unless of course self-control over the little pearls of sugary glooy sweetness is maintained.

Have a safe and Spookaliuos Night mi amigos.

A Prayer

This prayer was given to me by my Spiritual Director...I don't know the source of the prayer, but I want to share it, especially for Lee.

Lord,
it is night.

The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been dome has not been done;
let it be.

The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.

The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.

In your name we pray.
Amen.

Closing Date and Moving

Well, things are still looking good for the closing on our house - yea! We weren't able to find a rental house - boo. But I suppose apartment living won't be so bad when it's only for 8 months. And it really is a very nice apartment complex.

I just want November 5th to hurry up and get here so that I can honestly let go of the stress. I keep giving it to God and taking it back...I really wish She'd quit obliging me.

I've been reading Borg's book about meeting Jesus for the first time. And one of the chapters talks about the femininity of God/Jesus. And that's been really good for me, as well as the interesting thoughts about Sophia a.k.a. Wisdom was a lady.

So we've got tons of little things to do and tons of big things to do and many phone calls to make - moving is a major pain in the butt. And I'm ready to get started. I'm ready for the big move - but I need the transitional move I guess - I know my children do. We're working through having to let go. I am so excited about Vermont, and very sad to leave a place where the potential for some awesome growth is being given room to incubate and then possibly blosom but I suppose where and how the blosom goes depends on the congregation.

Type B Love

I read ALT's "Type A Love" and this I let go - nowhere near as good as hers but fun none-the-less.

Type B Love

If only I had some,
You see everything's a mess
Boxes scattered and stacked,
Some even half open unable to close.

If only I could make my orderly list
But there's a conspiracy of this must flow first,
then you may plan
But my fingers itch and my heart palpitates.

The uneasiness of just let it be
What if something gets forgotten
Or is left undone,
the consequences of not getting it just right.

Jazz

Went to a jazz concert with my wife this Saturday. We saw, Brandford Marsalis and his quintet. Now, I'm not much of a jazz fan - so I went to this out of love, and it wasn't bad. My problem with jazz is that my ears and brain translate the music as noise. What I liked about this jazz was that it sounded smooth even if nearly everything sounded the same to me. I asked my wife if she could hear the difference and she said yes. Then I said that I liked classical music alot more then jazz, and she said it was the opposite for her.

Watching the drummer was fascinating - seeing his hands fly across the drums and cymbols, feet bouncing. The bassist with his odd head shoulder body movements.

But 2 hours had me at my limits even when the jazz was good. What's odd to me, is that I enjoy music that doesn't have "words" per say, but not jazz. And I guess it bothers me that I don't like jazz, cause I keep thinking I should, but I don't.

Riffing

Riff-Raff Tag-about

Original: Vineyard, Root, Rescue, Perseverance, Divided

Vineyard: Matthew 20 - So the first will be last and the last shall be first

Root: of it all, casual effect, sand blasted fever dried, pummeling the ground for the gord

Rescue: run-away, only you and God can work it out

Perserverance: a fancy word for it was hard as hell and I really didn't want to do it (or maybe I did), and the whole time it sucked but I was bull-headed enough not to quit

Divided: split among many, fragmented, incapable of making a decision

Ben and Jerry's Pics Just for Murat

Apparently pictures of Vermont are not complete without mentioning Ben & Jerry's, so the next time I go to the grocery store, I'll have to pick up a pint of VT goodness.

Pictures of Vermont

My friend Lee has been sending me pictures of Vermont, and with each image I find myself catching my breath, and my heart feels weird, and my tummy tightens - but not with anxiety, but with a longing towards and for something that I know is awaiting me.


So here's some of the picture's Lee has sent me from various websites:

So It's Been Awhile

Well, let's see...I've been really sick, though I'm beginning to recover - I just can't seem to get rid of the stuffy congestion (ugh).

My wife and I have sold our house, but we're both nervous until we get past the option date. So, we've started looking for rental places within our children's school boundary. We've made our list of call all these people to change address, turn this off, turn this on, oh my. We'll start packing this weekend.

I've gotten elected to my church's vestry; that's really exciting. We've started having celebrations blessed so that all couples can go to the altar rail to have their particular celebration blessed.

And that's me in a nutshell.

HoB - So Lame

Instead of being a shining example for the Anglican Communion and the rest of the christian community - the HoB cowers under the threat of the bullies. I don't think Jesus would be proud.

Not only that - the bullies weren't even satisified; they left early to return to based camp PA. To re-stradegize how to bring about their ultimate goal of schism.

Going Adrift

I've lifted anchor
Though my voyage is upon a raft
The waters out to sea are calm and slow moving
I float slowly from the shore
The water not yet deep enough that I couldn't just leap
and walk back to shore
Heartened and scared, thankful for the calm sea moving me slowly
Still tied to what is behind me yet ready to go

San Diego Mayor Decides Instead to Support Gay Marriage

The Mayor of San Diego speaks of how he had planned to veto the city council's decision to support gay marriage and why in the end he instead passed the council's resolution. Click hear to hear his heartfelt speech: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=26888@kpix.dayport.com

Randomness

Finding God

In the Woodwork

I looked into the cracks on my hands and knees

Finding God

In the Mirror

I looked at the bark my nose nearly touching

Finding and articulating God...

Images of God

I've been thinking about the images I have of God. As I've gotten older I've become more aware that his image is fluid for me but that some aspects that I impute upon him stay the same.

Like, God is always a he for me...one day he may become a visual she for me but not yet. He is always white-haired. His Holy Spirit is always wispy. Jesus is always kind and righteous.

God right now is white-haired and lean, kind, loving, compassionate, weary-eyed, and he's waiting for me patiently with a smile. God is not naked though I don't know what he's wearing except that the clothing is simple and worn, his feet are sandaled.

Oh Holy Spirit, you yes are still this wispy loving energy that is my breath.

Jesus, doomed by those bibilical stories, my long-haired Messiah with the travel worn feet and deep but raspy voice with the callused though gentle hands. Your eyes say too much, that gaze is hard to hold, you died for us and knew that the door you opened too many would be afraid to follow.

Random

Vision of a priest walking in the desert sand
Robe swept westard by the wind at her feet
Back to me she is, staff in hand
Just her and the desert and the setting sun

Too Emotional

Recently at my church we held 3 Communion Matters (CM) discussions. I only participated in the first 2. During the second CM I was told I was being emotional.

Here's a snippet of why I get emotional about these things:
The Anglican Bishop of Uyo, Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama condemned homosexauls as "insane people" and "satanic" and "are not fit to live". Here's the link: Africa Monitoring

I felt hurt by being told I was too being emotional, but I've come to realize that my reaction was not wrong nor inappropriate. It was inappropriate of those around me to expect me to not show any emotions about something so very personal.

What Color Crayon Are You?

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Undermining the Episcopal Church Series

The Episcopal Majority blog is putting together a series on the undermining of the Episcopal Church, and I've found it to be quite informative.

Here's the links to Part 1 and Part 2:

Undermining the Episcopal Church, Part 1

Undermining The Episcopal Church, Part 2

Happy reading.

Makes Me Happy

Thought I'd share something that made me smile and jump up and down on the inside...

August 28, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Integrity Responds to List of Candidates for Bishop of Chicago

"The big news today is that discernment has trumped discrimination in the Diocese of Chicago," said Integrity President Susan Russell. "The inclusion of the Very Rev. Tracey Lind on the list of five extraordinarily qualified candidates for Bishop of Chicago is a bold step forward and a sign of hope and encouragement not only to LGBT Episcopalians but to the whole church. Her experience and leadership make her an excellent candidate and Integrity applauds the Diocese of Chicago for not allowing the forces advocating bigotry over ability to dominate their nomination process.

It is long past time for the Episcopal Church to acknowledge that B033 -- the 2006 resolution designed to prevent the election of a gay or lesbian bishop -- has failed in its attempt to balance the unity of the Anglican Communion on the backs of the LGBT faithful. There is no turning back on the full inclusion of the baptized into the Body of Christ -- only moving forward into God's future as an Episcopal Church committed to mission and ministry, to unity in diversity.

Integrity extends congratulations to all the candidates, any one of whom will make a fine bishop for the Episcopal Church. The Diocese of Chicago's diverse list of qualified candidates is a sign of the end the 'season of fasting' at the expense of the vocations of gays and lesbians in the Episcopal Church and the whole church should rejoice and be glad in that!

(The Reverend) Susan Russell, President
president@integrityusa.org

Random

Disappointed, that's how I should have replied to my wife this morning when she asked if I was doing ok. I am profoundly disappointed. She is deeply disgusted; Trying really hard to not have me take ownership of blame that is not mine to take...but, well, it does take two to tango...

A friend sent me a wonderful story about a bear and community...and there's the rub, that thing that hasn't worked itself out yet, that disappointment.