Compulsive Scarves

I love scarves. I might have a problem. I do not now know how many I posses. How did this happen?

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Like a Prom Dress

I was attempting to go through my clothes to find some to give away. Unfortunately I did not get rid of many things. They fit. What? How did this happen? How is it that I have clothes that I have had for 10 years, and they fit better now than they did then? What is going on? This is interesting…

Liturgical Yearnings

This summer I attended church regularly, but I basically church hopped all summer. For some odd reason, I did not have Eucharist or a communal confession all summer long. I missed this. On Sunday I went to the church that I attended all last year. I missed it so terribly much. Though I said…

Tunaenda Wapi?

“We’re gong on a Wal-Mart run. Is that okay with you?”

Sure. Why not?

So we drove. And drove. And drove.

“Where are we going?”

“The hidden Wal-Mart.”

What I’ve Learned: Summer FieldEd 2009

Use and work in partnership with the people around you. They are a priceless source of valuable information and know more than you do. Always assume that the person you are talking to knows more about something than you do. We all have our specialties…

Adopted

There is a woman here at my “home church” that has adopted me. I am her surrogate granddaughter. She began sending me cards in the mail last summer, really to be able to do something for me. I am grateful. She is a good woman.

Your ETA Is Off.

In my family there is a long history of leaving obsessively early for any distance of travel. I remember when I was a small child while we still lived in Greensboro, when my mother would get us up early (at four or five am) to drive down to Grandmomma’s house. Or when as a teenager, we asked dad…

Change of Plans

I used to be one of those people that was concerned if a three day schedule was off by 15 minutes. I have since learned better.

Sometimes the best things happen when you do not plan them.

What Do You Know?

Dancing last night, I realized something. I know many of these people. I recognize them. I remember how they dance. I recall how to swing with each of them, and if I can waltz with them.

So why do I not know their names, or their story of their faith journey? Is this…

Now That’s An Idea

Why don’t you sleep 5 hours, then drive 8. Have a smoothie for breakfast, skip lunch and have vegan supper in the car. Work on unloading and unpacking, and running errands, and then go to a strenuous dance for 3 hours. Stay awake for 20 hours while you are at it. Have Fun!

I mean, why not?

By The Numbers

This summer I:

Wrote 10,000+ words in my blog

Drove over 8,000 miles in travels visiting friends and family

Preached twice (and planned two worship services)

Dead Line

I both desire and abhor deadlines. They are good for one thing and one thing alone: getting me to buckle down. But, if like today, the deadline changes (and moves up, not once, but twice) that can get me into a bit of a tizzy. Especially if it is something about which I am not passionate.

So, How Was Your Summer?

This awkward question has come up so often. How do I describe what I did this summer without boring or losing my audience? How much do they want to know? How little can they hear and still keep some semblance of understanding? And really, what part of my summer do you want to hear…

The Cost of Responsibility

Does it seem to you that many times, when you are given a task that you fulfill you then receive a greater task? Like the parable of the talents, my parents are fulfilling this particular character trait. On their 29th anniversary my mother is becoming guardian of her 16 year old…

Home for a Nomad

Forever as I was growing up, home was where my parents lived. This changed frequently. I remember the time that I received my weekly phone call in Kenya, when my ‘rents let me know they would be moving. In essence my hometown moved while I was living somewhere else, and I had a new hometown for 5…

Lake

My “Home Church” had a youth afterglow at a lake house this evening. It was fun. They played king of the canoe, had a slip-n-slide into the lake, and generally played and had fun. One thing that inevitably happens is a series of girls get thrown into the lake by a group of guys.

Proper

You know when: you have something that you should do, that you need to do. It is not really something that you want to do. But in the long run, you know it would be better, eventually. And especially that it is something you must do because of your standards of integrity.

I might be there.

Family Tree.

Disclaimer: This is not a judgment on those who pursue this as a hobby. (Also, this strikes me as a “white” pastime… I never said I was politically correct.)

While I was sitting and visiting some friends last evening, a couple of them side tracked into their own conversation…