Friday Five: The Random edition

Over at RevGalBlogPals there's a Friday Five that I felt like playing:

RevKarla says:  Hello Pals~~
Random Friday Five is back!

1. If you could sneak away anywhere this weekend, right now, all expenses paid,
where would you go and what would you do?

Do I have more than two days or am I taking a private jet?  Maui or the Big Island of Hawaii, just to sit on the beach and watch the waves and maybe go float in the waves on a pool noodle.  I would say down to the beach just a few miles from my house but that water is cooooolllldddd!!!

2. What is for lunch today? (one of the very first FF I ever played asked this.)

Lunch?  People eat lunch?

3. Along that first-FF-I-ever-played theme, what are you wearing today?

Khaki capris, a blue and white sleeveless shirt and white cardigan...cause though it's warm to hot outside the office is cold!

4. Along the Today Theme, what are you doing today?

Working...when not playing the Friday Five...and then going to the Fair.  Turkey races and fair food (to make up for the no-lunch?)  Yippee!

5. Along the random theme, what is your favorite scent, and why?

Scents are tough for me as they tend to trigger migraines if they are too strong.  However, nothing beats the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.  I think I associate the smell of chocolate chip cookies with love.  It's my Mom's fault.  =)

Let's talk about the weather

The Friday Five over at RevGals was about Spring.  I read the entry and navigated away.  It's hard to think about Spring when Winter hasn't happened yet.  I correct that, it's hard to think about Spring when Winter has just begun.

I know that many have had snow and rain and snow and rain and are done!  I can understand that, I just can't join them. See, in my part of the country rainfall has been VERY low the last year.  The month of January, usually a pretty big rainy weather month for us, there was nothing. 

The word "drought" is now heard in most conversations.  We've started to take a closer look at our water usage (aka the "take shorter showers" conversation has begun). The media is focused on the low reservoirs and where the water might come from if it doesn't rain.  January was dry and unseasonably warm...there were far too many convertible days in January.  I was pretty sure it was never going to rain again and was about ready to take on ANYONE who believes climate change is a myth. 

Then the weekend came.  Friday, it started to rain and it's been raining pretty steadily since.  Where usually there are a ton of people moaning and groaning about the rain on social media sites, there have been simple posts such as this:  "It's raining!"  We are glad.  Though, today, there was one whiner...when we have to ration water this summer, and she starts whining about that, we will no longer be "friends".

It's February and it's finally starting to feel like winter.  No, I am nowhere near ready for Spring and I'm not playing the Friday Five this week...catch up with me in a couple of months, I may be ready then.

Friday Five--I need Help--Day Five

One way I have helped others:

This post is hitting the wires while I am in the air, flying to the town that captured my heart 7 years ago, Pearlington, Mississippi.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am grateful for Hurricane Katrina.  Not for the havoc or the destruction but the opportunity to find a part of myself I never knew existed and the opportunity to meet people I would never have met. 

I love putting on my steel toed boots, jeans and t-shirts and going to work.  I find it challenging and selfless, yet also selfish.  I get something out of helping people rebuild their lives in this tangible way.  I can't put this part of me back into the drawer it came out of.  I can't help but help.

God moves in mysterious ways and while I have a hard time fully accepting a God of chaos and destruction, I know that through chaos and destruction, God changed my life and I found a passion for helping that goes beyond anything I've ever known before.

Friday Five--I need Help, Day Four

Another time when I received help when I didn't want to ask for help:

I love watching little kids try and figure things out on their own.  My niece, Miss P, wants to do EVERYTHING herself, as did Creative Guy and Adventure Boy and all the other kids I've known that are in the age range of 2+.  "I do it!" is a common statement for parents to hear.

"I do it!" is a common statement for God to hear from me.  "I've got it covered.  I don't need extra help.  I don't want to bother God with something so little.  I can handle it."  I've said and/or thought those statements and many more like them for years.  In my relationship with God I tend to say "I do it!" a lot. 

There have been times along the way, though, when I've found myself at the bottom of the proverbial barrel, feeling myself sink deeper and deeper into the pit, sure I wasn't going to find my way out.  Did you hear that?  I said sure I wasn't going to find my way out.  All about me.  Not about God.

Those moments have always pointed out a huge truth.  I need help.  I can't do it alone.  My strength is not enough.  I need God.

Yesterday I was going through a list of questions about God and Christianity some High School students had answered, compiling them into one document.  One of the High School students said they wanted to hear why their youth group leaders believed in God.  They wanted to know what compelled their leaders to believe in God.  I thought about my own answer to that question and one of the answers that came was simply this:  I need God.  I can't do it on my own.  I need the help that comes from prayer, the peace that comes from knowing I don't have to do it on my own, the strength that comes from knowing I am loved, beyond all human understanding...even when I stand at the bottom of the barrel, realizing I, once again, allowed my pride, my stubbornness, my self get in the way and finally, finally cry out..."I need help."

Friday Five: I Need Help--Day Three

I am horrendously awful about asking for help.  The part of me that always, always, feels like a failure gets in my way and stops me from asking for help.  I am the helper, not the one in need. Maybe I don't like to feel indebted to other people.  Maybe my perfectionism gets in the way and its easier to ask to do things myself than ask for help.  I know a part of me hates to be let down, so not asking for help means that no one can let me down.  Whatever it is, I am awful about asking for help.

So I don't.  Yet there are two people who help me all the time, without being asked or even when I don't want to ask.  Now some may say it's their duty, but I know better.  They help because of love and I am grateful.  I live with my parents.  When I moved back in after college they were gracious and I only intended it to be for a year or two.  That year or two has been extended, considerably.  I like to think it's a little give and take.  They are retired, they travel but I'm around and can take care of things while they are away.  I've heard from both of them, separately at times that there is absolutely no rush to move out, in fact I'm pretty sure they both like having me around...most of the time.  I am human, I do get grumpy and they are the first line of fire when things are going awry.  I'm sorry for that but I'm also so grateful for their help.

If I am close to my breaking point, they are the people I will turn to first.  It never fails if I'm feeling stressed or scared or sad or whatever and I hear the voice of Yo Momma or Papa Bear, I'm done.  The tears start.  And they are always there to help.  No matter what.  I also know they are proud of me.  No matter what.  Sure, my relationship with my parents can be a little rocky at times but never once do I doubt their love and support.  I know beyond a doubt that I am blessed with two amazing people for parents.  And I am grateful for their help...even when I don't want to ask.

Friday Five--I Need Help--Day Two

The 2nd way I received help when I didn't want to ask for it...correct that, when I didn't know to ask for it.

 For a couple of years there were four of us, all in youth ministry, who would get together and collaborate on activities for our youth groups.  We would also get together just to talk about life and ministry.  We traveled to Youth Worker Conventions together and basically became really good friends, with youth ministry and God being the commonality.  There was one year when that friendship transcended youth ministry and definitely became more about just getting through life.  At the end of that year, one of us left youth ministry, another moved away and then there were two...until I left my job.

My friend, T, wasn't about to let me leave youth ministry fully.  The last couple of months as I prepared to leave my job, he was preparing to hire someone, very, very, very part-time to help with the stuff that was keeping him from doing ministry fully.  He offered me the position.  Seeing a very small paycheck come in the door when I was letting go of a nice paycheck (though I was not without the ability to survive:  see yesterday's post) was one reason I said yes but really the other reason was I needed to feel useful.  Every week for 6 months I had something to do every Tuesday.  I had a place to go, someone who needed my help and who was counting on me to get the job done.  I didn't know I would need that sense of being useful, having a purpose but there it was.  I didn't know I needed help, I didn't know I to ask for it but God knew.

It's been a year and I have a new job now.  Not a full-time job and I'm surviving.  I'm not sure how long my very, very part time job will last but for now, I'm content.  Not just to be helped by a friend but to help him as well. 

Friday Five: I Need Help--Day One

From Martha at RevGalBlogPals:  This time last Friday I was on my way to the airport to pick up your usual host for first Friday Five. We had a mighty to-do list for the Labor Day weekend, and her accomplishments were so far beyond impressive as to be heroic. A dumpster is now full of water-damaged junk from my basement.

This was not a job I could have accomplished by myself. I had to ask for help.

I hate to ask for help. I love to give it. You may identify with these feelings.

So, for this Friday Five, please list four ways you have been helped when you didn't want to ask for it and one way you had a chance to help that meant a lot to you.

If you know how to link to your post, God bless you, and if you don't, I promise to visit you anyway. And if you have a minute, leave a thank you to kathrynzj, the heroine mentioned above, who is retiring from Friday Five.

I'm going to take a little bit of liberty with this Friday Five and make it a Five Day event.  Partly because I don't have the time, at the moment, to ponder all five "helps" and partly because I want to take the time to do this one justice!

1st way I've received help when I didn't want to ask for it:

Actually that should be, I received help that I didn't know to ask for.

A year and a half ago I sent a venting text to a friend.  It went something like "I can't do this anymore."  The response came back immediately.  "Where are you?  I have something for you."  We met up briefly and this friend handed me an envelope.  I was in the midst of something else and I didn't open the envelope until about a half hour later.  When I did the floodgate of tears could not be stopped.  I sought this friend out and sat and cried and tried to give the envelope back, thanked my friend profusely and then...and then began to wonder.

My friend was God's messenger at that point, providing a way out, literally.  I knew, I KNEW what I needed to do at that moment and over the next two months I prayed and prayed and prayed until the moment was right.  Meetings were held, paperwork was handed in, goodbyes were said and for 6 months I survived because of the unbelievable love and generosity of a friend.  I wasn't asking for the kind of help my friend gave.  I couldn't conceive of asking for that kind of help and yet, there it was.  Offered without strings.  Offered without qualm and with a quite a forceful "you can't give this back!"

I'm forever grateful for the help I didn't know to ask for...

Friday Five: Mission Impossible!

Revkjarla @ RevGals poses this Friday Five: 

I am in mission trip mode right now, as I get ready to take a group of youth to DC to do service work around hunger and homelessness issues.   So, in that spirit, our FF is Mission Style!  So here are your questions:

1) Have you ever been on a mission trip, as a participant or adult chaperone? What was it like?
    A timely Friday Five, seeing as how I just got back from a mission trip to Joplin, Missouri.  This marked my 16th mission trip, with 11 of those times being to Pearlington, Mississippi.  I've been on the "go to Mexico and lead VBS" trip, the, "go to Mexico and build a house" trip, the "go to the Inner City" trip and the "disaster Relief" trip.   Each trip is so different, yet strangely the same.  We work hard, we get little sleep and are extremely emotionally exhausted by the time we head home.

2) What is the worst thing that happened to you/your group on a mission trip (or retreat, or camp, or Habitat for Humanity experience, or something like that--hey, this is YOUR Friday Five, so you get to play it how you would like.)
  Well...last year we sent a young man home from the Galveston trip.  I don't know who reads this blog, so I'm not going to go into details but that was pretty tough.  The first Mississippi trip we had one student step on a nail and I wound up with pink eye on the last day, going to the hospital at 2:30am.  The 2nd Mississippi trip 17 women stayed in hut/shack/thing that leaked in multiple places and it RAINED hard all week long.  Another Mississippi trip, with 20 or so people waiting back at the airport, we pulled into the Alamo Rent-A-Car lot only to see 2 vehicles in the entire lot and a lobby full of people waiting for cars.  That was special.  In fact, we had trouble with rental cars for probably half of the 11 Mississippi trips, usually in that the reserved vehicles were never there when we arrived.  My Mom (aka Yo Momma) came home from one trip commenting that she had never seen me get so tough with someone as I had with the Alamo people.  All that said, we haven't really had something truly awful happen, for that I'm grateful!

3) If money were no object, where would you want to go to help and serve?  What would you do?
  If money were no object I would be in Mississippi helping the people who are still not back in their homes from Hurricane Katrina.  It's not a glamorous or exotic location but it's the place that God put on my heart to serve.  Actually, if money really wasn't an issue, I would be a volunteer coordinator wherever a natural disaster struck in the United States.  I'm not the overseas kind of gal.

4) What would be your advice to someone who will be sleeping in a gym with 20 other people for a week?
  Ear plugs, eye mask, iPod and Tylenol PM.  There are ALWAYS going to be people who snore or make funny noises during the night and there will always be random lights in the room.  Also, if you are using a sleeping bag, I highly recommend taking a twin sheet with you.  This last trip I put the sheet over the cot and then used my sleeping bag like a blanket.  I could get my feet free in the middle of the night if I got too hot.

5) Any parting thoughts, stories, or questions you have around the whole theme of Mission Trips?
  Have a good time!  Smile!  Don't be afraid of laughter!  Be prepared to listen.  Everyone has a story, listen to the story without judgement and without adding your own "stuff" onto that story.  Sometimes the most important work you do all week is listening to someones story. 

A small Friday Five

I missed the Friday Five over at RevGals this week but I read it on Google Reader (love, love, love that service!).  This time the Friday Five was on gifts that we have received throughout the year...only they couldn't be store bought gifts, more of the gifts that life brings.  Anyway, it got me thinking about the the gifts I have been given this year, tangible and intangible.  In the midst of that musing, it dawned on me that one of the gifts that I have received is one that I semi-wished for for years.  It's the gift of time.

I remember thinking a few times during my time as Youth Director that all I really wanted was just a few months off.  A few months to do nothing, to just enjoy life, to have space to think, to relax and to breathe.  So here I am, with just what I wanted and what do I find myself doing...wanting to work.  Ha!

I am grateful for the gift of time and the gift of perspective...even when I whine about it. 

Friday Five: Time with Friends Edition

Kathrynzj at RevGals says:  "I have been spending my week with one of my favorite people and it has been a joy. As you can tell by our shoes lined up in the picture from our first ever visit together we have slightly different hobbies - those that require cleats and those that require... lavender Crocs. Despite our differences we have found commonalities in conversation and coffee; life and faith. This week we were both working but were still able to find the time to hang out in a really cool bookstore and see the autumn scenery at a nearby state park.

For today's Friday Five please tell us 5 things you like to do with friends. Are they local - do you hit a favorite coffee shop or nail salon? What about the friends who come in from out of town? Do you have a restaurant or museum you like to show off?  Thanks for playing!"

Time with friends is something that I have so enjoyed since being out of work!  I wonder some days how I had time to work.  :)  Here are my five things:

1.  Coffee, lunch or dinner.  Pick one, pick all.  I like 'em.  Depending on the friend we have many different places to hang out.  The young adult friends are loving to have birthday dinners at this place.  Usually the go to place, though is the Taqueria.  Many life conversations have happened at the Taqueria.  Sometimes lunch AND dinner in the same day!  Coffee with K is usually at Star$.  Coffee with LN can range from a lively discussion outside Peets or walking around the amusement park in #3...with behind the scenes tours 'cuz she works there!  It's just nice to hang out, laugh and talk.

2.  Game night with the Ladies.  Usually involves food.  Sometimes involves games...poker, Sequence, whatever we come up with.  Always involves lively conversation, laughter until someone cries (or pees a little but we don't care) and always involves some kind of margarita.

3.  Depending on the out of town friend, we could wind up at the beach, walking in the redwoods or at our local amusement park.  Right now we would probably be down at the beach trying to get a glimpse of the humpback whales that have been feeding along the coast.

4.  I loooooovvvvvveeee concerts.  My favorite moments this year have been at the two (yes 2), Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith Friend2Friend concerts that I got to attend with friends.  Aunt C used to be my favorite concert friend but she moved away.  Sigh.

5.  Long car rides or road trips have been some of my favorite moments with friends.  The goofier the better!  Yesterday was probably the perfect day.  A car ride with youth pastor friend T to meet Songfriend at a restaurant for lunch.  Nice!

Actually, anytime with hanging out with my friends is fantastic.  Just being known and loved by others is good!

Seeking

It's almost Saturday and I'm finally getting around to looking at today's blogs.  The RevGals Friday Five was on seeking and it struck a chord with me.  So here are 5 things I am seeking right now.  I'm not going to link it over to the Friday Five but it's fun just the same!

1.  Contentment.  God knows where my discontentment lies and we've been having some discussions lately.  More to the effect that I've broken down in tears and keep repeating the same prayer over and over again. 

2.  The enthusiasm and confidence to start applying for jobs.

3.  Jobs that are actually worth applying for.

4.  Clothes to wear to interviews and said potential jobs.  Can I just say that being a girl of substance it is awful having to go clothes shopping?  Slacks and I have never gotten along well (I am a jeans girl) and skirts/dresses hit me wrong...because I actually do have a waist AND hips, go figure.  I'm sure that Clinton and Stacy on What Not to Wear would find clothes to flatter my substance but I have absolutely NO desire to go on National TV and be torn to pieces for my looks.  I already beat myself up as is.

5.  Sleep.  One really good nights sleep without dreams about church, youth group, family, friends or any of the myriad of things that have woken me up in the middle of the night for the last four weeks.  Though I would like to know why I dreamed about my friend Kanda and why, in my dream, she had eyelashes that literally must have been 3 inches long.  Impressive...ly weird!  :)

Friday Five: Seasons Edition

Kathrynzj at RevGals says: "Headquarters for me is the northeast of the United States. Here school is getting back in session, the tease of autumn is in the air (or the hope for the tease of autumn is in the air) and church life is gearing up to full throttle.

One thing I've learned with blogging and social media is that the where I live is not necessarily where you live. And so I want to know what September means to you, in your place of the world and time in your life.

This week's Friday Five is: What are 5 things that the beginning of September mean to you?

Bonus: What's one thing you could do without?"

 

I'm late to the party today but here's my five!

1.  September means that schools are officially back in session, which means that the traveling on the roads around here changes.  Not so many teen drivers during the day and lots more parent drivers in the morning and afternoon.  If I leave the house between 7 and 8:30am (which is rare) I travel an alternate route to avoid the traffic jam.  Same with heading home between 2:15 and 3pm.

2.  Church camp!  The second weekend in September is FPC's annual trek to the KOA.  Even though I'm no longer a part of the church, I'm still going to one more church camp.  Nothing like staying up until the wee hours of the morning sitting around the campfire and laughing with friends.  This year R-girl and I are getting a cabin though.

3.  September usually means that the weather gets warmer during the day and cooler at night.  This year has been an anomaly in weather though.  Lots more fog...not that I'm complaining!

4.  September is my birthday month.  I usually spend the month trying not to think about being another year older.

5.  After so many years being in school and being in youth ministry, I always look at September as the beginning of the year.  It's the time for my vacation, for reflection and to begin planning for the months ahead.  It seems kinda strange not to be doing that this year!

Bonus:  The thing I could do without is the bees and yellow jackets.  While we see them during the summer, for whatever reason the yellow jackets especially get a little more daring and dangerous this time of the year.  Though we might like to eat outside, we hardly dare!

Friday Five: Road Trip Edition

Jan at RevGals writes:

My husband and I just returned (on Wednesday night) from a long road trip up the middle USA to Canada, going through various national parks, and on to the Puget Sound of Washington State. This brought back memories of family road trips with my children and when I was a child, so the idea of today's Friday Five arose.

Tell us about five road trips--in your childhood, in your family, in your recent past, with friends, and/or hoped-for-places-to-drive-to. Don't forget the one that stands out as the BEST or as the worst time.

Road trips are my favorite!  Some melt into each other, so here's what I came up with.

1.  Traveling to Iowa could probably take all five but I'll make it one. The most memorable of those trips were when we drove the Chevy Truck. Kid's in the back (before the days when people traveling in the bed of a truck was frowned upon), parents up front...mostly.  My parents, being the ones who love back roads, always love to tell the story of us driving across California and Nevada with nothing but tumbleweeds in site.  We finally arrived in a large town and I spotted McDonald's or Burger King or something and piped up from the back of the truck "Civilization!"  That may have also been the trip where Jesus and I first really connected, thanks to the lack of civilization, an Amy Grant tape, devotional book and God's touch.  

My first road trip to Iowa was at the age of 3, last road trip at the age of 17, when I got to drive Grandpa O's car. That was memorable!  If the speedometer crept up to 65 while I was driving, Grandpa would freak out!  But it was OK for him to drive 85.  Loved that guy.

2.  Traveling with Boompa and G.G.  We never went really far, just a few hours away, but it was with the 5th wheel!  Boompa always drove and G.G. was the co-pilot.  Us kids got to sit in the back seat as we drove to whatever campground awaited us.  I'm not sure the driving part of the trip was the most exciting but it was staying in the 5th wheel, making s'mores at night and being with Boompa, G.G., their friends and whatever family might have made the trek as well.  The best time was when they got a new 5th wheel that we could ride in while driving.  THAT was a fun trip!

3.  Over the last 12 years of Youth Ministry there have been MANY a road trip.  From the 11 hour car ride home from Tahoe (we had avalanche control, snow, sun, sleet, rain, hail and lots and lots of traffic) to the one where we saw the zebra's at Hearst Castle and started picture taking opportunity (we were the first car to stop.  By the time we left there were 30 others!) to the time we were going to Lake Shasta and were passed by the Goldfish Mobile.  There are many, many stories...if you are a former youth member and have a favorite story please share it in the comments!  In fact my horror story of a road trip came from youth ministry.  It involves whiny girls, boys up to no good, leaders who were anything but helpful, snow that would not stop, a emergency call to Yo Momma to come bail us out (after one of our leaders had to go home suddenly), a tire blowout on the way home in the WORST part of a city and my finally just exploding into tears.  It's amazing that we ever took another trip again.

4.  One of my favorite road trip memories involved a plane ride.  Lil Bro and I took the trip we had always been dreaming of, courtesy of the National Youth Workers Convention...or at least that gave us the excuse!  We headed out to Nashville the first year the NYWC was held there.  We went a week early and drove around Tennessee.  We went south to Chattanooga (who knew they were in a different time zone!) and over to Memphis to go to Graceland, where we passed our exit and had to turn around...but not before I saw the Mississippi state sign!  I had to drive across the border just to say that I had been Mississippi once, I was sure I wasn't going to be back there again.  Ha!  God knew better.  That trip was one that won't be easily forgotten.  That NYWC was probably my all-time favorite.

5.  This last one is one that hasn't been taken yet.  It's a trip around the country.  I have an urge, many days, to just get in my car and drive.  To find the little out of the way places that can only be found by taking your time and driving through small towns.  My goal is to visit every state and what better way to do that than by driving?!  Money and the right traveling companion is the only thing stopping me from doing it right now!  One day, it will happen!

Friday Five: Royal Wedding Edition

Songbird @ RevGals says:  Admittedly the media attention directed at a certain wedding is a tad askew given the challenges our world faces, yet for some it is an appreciated diversion. I'm at kathrynzj's house, along with her mom and sister, for a pre-dawn pajama party complete with scones! And while the DVR will cover us if we oversleep, the participants in the actual wedding had better have someone to get them to the church on time.

With kathrynzj's help, here is a Royal Wedding Friday Five:

1) Will you be watching? If so, is this your first royal wedding?
No alarm setting in my world...just an internal clock that is all haywire.  I woke up in time to see Prince William begin walking down the aisle.  Then couldn't go back to sleep until it was over.  This was my first royal wedding but not my first royal event.  I was up in the wee hours of the morning for Princess Diana's funeral.

2) The bride has chosen as her wedding cake a fruitcake. Where do you stand on this pastry?
Really?  She chose fruitcake?!  No thank you.

3) The dress code for royal weddings has not seen the same sad decline as that for most other weddings. If you could design your own royal wedding hat, what color would it be and what special decoration would it feature?
Honestly, this is one dress code thing I could do without.  I am SO not a hat person.  The thing perched on top of of one if the cousin's heads (Eugenia?  Beatrice?) had me talking to the TV...what was that?

4)  Any chance the Archbishop of Canterbury is using a Sustainable Sermon (tip of the mitre to the Vicar of Hogsmeade)? What would you tell the couple were you offering the homily?
I absolutely LOVED what the Bishop said!  I don't think I would change much about it!  In fact, I may borrow some of his thoughts for a wedding that I get to be a part of in July.  The cord of three strands not being easily broken came to mind as I was listening...wait, did he actually mention that?  It was too early.  I also loved Romans 12 being read during the service. 

5) Believe it or not, kathrynzj is getting up early mostly to see the wedding dress. By the time this post is up, the world will have seen it. Did you like it?
That's why I turned on the TV when I woke up.  I really liked the wedding dress.  LOVED the lace sleeves.  Loved that she had sleeves!  I did, however, get a little frustrated watching her walk down the aisle and the train wasn't even on both sides...wanted to stop everything and fix it.  Yeah, a little OCD tendencies in me.  

Friday Five: Quick Pick Edition

Kathrynjz @ RevGals writes:

Greetings all!

We're in the midst of 'it' and I'm hoping that it is not just me who is starting to get a bit overwhelmed. So for today I am asking for five quick picks of things that are good in your life. 

And as a bonus, 1 pick for a thing you could do without.

If you want to describe them? Great.

If not? That's fine too.

Five good things in my life (this week):

1. Prayer with others and alone.

2. Friends who listen

3. A "way out"...cryptic but the one who provided will understand.

4. A convertible and air conditioning in unseasonably hot weather (seriously, last week we were on flood watch, this week it feels like the middle of summer.)

5. An afternoon with Adventure Boy.

Bonus:  Right now I could do without that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach that just won't go away.  I just want answers!

Friday Five: Fave Verses Edition

Songbird at RevGals says:

"Twenty years ago, I was on a Pastoral Search Committee, and one of the questions we asked the ten candidates we interviewed in the first round was to tell us their three favorite passages of scripture. I loved hearing the variety of verses quoted and even learned some that I didn't know, such as the last line of one of this week's lectionary passages:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

For today's Friday Five, list your five favorite passages/verses from the Bible and tell us something about why you love them."

In no particular order: (From biblegateway.com--all New Living Translation)

1. Acts 2:1-13

¹ On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

⁵ At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. ⁶ When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

⁷ They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, ⁸ and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! ⁹ Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” ¹² They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

¹³ But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

For the last few years, we've had a moment in worship on Pentecost Sunday, where several members of the church who speak various languages all stand and read the same passage in their specific language. I've written about it before. It is a powerful reminder, for me, that God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit came for all nations, all people and not just for my little corner of the world.

2. Micah 6:8 (New Living Translation)

⁸ No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

My friend Jolynn brought this Scripture to my attention on a Mississippi trip. We used it as our theme verses for a subsequent trip. The simple words are seemingly easy to understand and yet so hard to undertake at the same time. When General Assembly was in CA a couple of years ago, that was their theme. Being on the "inside", I was able to get a print out of the artists rendition of that verse. It's on the wall in my office, reminding me of what God is calling me to do every day.

3. Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation)

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

In 1990 or 1991 I chose these verses for a testimony I gave in church. I didn't know but it turns out that those verses were the lifeline G.G. would needed to get through that year and the years after my Boompa's (grandpa's) death from cancer. Trust, seek and God will show up. Simple and hard...a common theme I find in the Bible.

4. Psalm 22 (just the first few verses to give a hint)

¹ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
² Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
³ Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
⁵ They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

Over the years I've been more and more convinced that we, in the church, don't allow people to lament, grieve or petition God. When people express doubts as to how God could allow X, Y or Z, we quickly label that person as "losing their faith". And yet the book of Psalms is filled with laments and petitions. I was first really introduced to this Psalm through an Out of the Grey album and have connected with it deeper through the years. I find comfort and safety in a God whom I can cry out to when my heart is hurting and lost, who I know is there but whom sometimes seems so far away. The whole Psalm confirms that I can lament to God without losing my belief in God.

5. Luke 8:40-48

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

This story has captivated, fascinated and encouraged me for a few years now. Jesus didn't just feel the power flow out from him, he stopped to recognize the person, to confirm the healing, to affirm that the woman's desperate faith was enough. I fully admit that may be my own reading into it. I also admire the courage of the woman to speak up, even though she faced rejection and humiliation from the crowd. A part of me relates to the woman's hope to be healed unnoticed and I am challenged by her to speak up when Jesus asks.

Friday Five: Comfort Media Edition

KathrynNJZ @ RevGalBlogPals says:

I don't get to watch that much tv anymore, but I actually wrote today's Oprah show down on my calendar. Why? Because she is hosting a Sound of Music cast reunion!!! Those of you who know me may be surprised that I would care so much about such a stereotypically girly flick, but I love it (although admittedly fast forward through the Reverend Mother's rendition of Climb Every Mountain). I can watch this movie over and over and over again.

It seems no matter how many new movies, tv shows or books come down the pike I still have my ol' stand by favorites that I can watch/read over and over and when I do they actually bring me comfort - like an old sweatshirt or a favorite food.

Today's Friday Five is an opportunity for you to list five of your favorite 'go-to' movies/tv shows/books. You can use images, links, explanations or netflix.

I'm having trouble making this just five things, so I'm lumping into categories: Books, Movies, TV. I'll save music for another time.

1. Books: I'm a romance book junkie. I'll just admit it and be done. I tend to read a lot of books and donate them to the library but Susan Elisabeth Phillips books I collect. Also LaVryle Spencer, though she isn't writing anymore...which is why I linked to the wikipedia page for her. I can pick any of these books up and read them over and over and over again.

2. Movies: My go to/comfort/watch them over and over and over again favorites:

28 Days (the NOT scary one)

Home for the Holidays
Gone in 60 Seconds
Speed.

There are too many Disney movies to mention. BUT if I'm in the need for a really, really good cry Steel Magnolias and Life as a House will get the tears flowing every time!

3. TV: These days there isn't much that I watch on TV. I do a lot of channel surfing. Guaranteed, though, if one of these shows is one, I will stop and watch it.
NCIS
Gilmore Girls
Everybody Loves Raymond
The Cosby Show
Friends
The West Wing
Doesn't matter how many times I've seen the episodes, I still watch them over and over again. Oh, and McLeod's Daughters. It's an Australian Show that I saw twice and was hooked. Thank God for Netflix and instant watch!

Hmmm...rain is threatening, it's my day off...comfort media, here I come!

Dream Job

The Friday Five over at RevGals had a bonus question today. It was "What would be your Dream ministry job include".

I got stuck on that question and haven't been able to really think about the others. My dream job is multifaceted. Ever since I first led a Snow Trip with youth, I've thought about buying property in Tahoe and building a retreat house. Not a retreat center with a bunch of cabins, but a multi-level house that 20-30 youth and their leaders could rent for the weekend for a reasonable cost. (Okay, there would be one cabin, away from the main house all for me...I need my sleep.) It always bugs me when I try to find places to rent, then need to rent vehicles and all that and the trips wind up costing over $200 for the weekend and that doesn't include snowboarding or skiing! Being the host at a retreat house would be part one.

At the same time I would like to be that person who helps teams of young people, help others in disaster response situations. Organizing and planning trips, finding the best deal, helping a group connect with serving others, all of it excites and motivates me. Watching young people make the connection between service and faith is powerful. I'm already doing that part of the job.

Part three would be a lot of what I'm doing already, helping young people make connections with faith in God. I could do without the pressure of the church setting, where it's more about conformity to a set of ideals that may or may not represent what is biblical. I'm not sure what the ideal setting would be, I just know that it's not exactly the one in which I currently work.

The fourth part would be time to write, dedicated time to write. I have so much whirling in my brain, books, articles, columns that would love to be written just not the time or energy to do so.

So there it is, my dream job in four parts. Host, organizer, connector and writer. Maybe one day...

Friday Five: Music in life and worship

It's been awhile since I've joined in the fun!

Marybeth over at RevGalBlogPals says: Music is a part of the human experience, and part of religious traditions the world over. It is evocative and stirring, and many forms of worship are incomplete without it.

Our title comes from a quote popularly attributed to St. Augustine: "He who sings prays twice." A little Googling, however, indicates that Augustine didn't say exactly that. In fact, what he said just doesn't fit well onto a t-shirt. So we'll stick with what we have.

"Singing reduces stress and increases healthy breathing and emotional expression. Singing taps into a deep, age-old power available to all of us. When we find our voice, we find ourselves. Today, sing like you mean it." And let's talk about the role music plays in your life and worship.

1) Do you like to sing/listen to others sing? In worship, or on your own (or not at all?)
I sing all the time. In the car, in the shower, in worship, in the store, when I wake up, when I'm going to sleep. Music is constantly running through my head...I woke up several times this last week singing the theme songs to the rides I'd been on the day before (In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room...it's a small world after all...yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me...sorry if they get stuck in your head too!). Listening to others sings makes me happy as well!

2) Did you grow up with music in worship, or come to it later in life? Tell us about it, and how that has changed in your experience.
Music has always been a part of my worship experience. Over the years God has spoken to me more and more through the words in songs, helping to connect the emotional part of my soul with words.

3) Some people find worship incomplete without music; others would just as soon not have it. Where do you fall?
It depends on the moment. Because I connect to God a lot through music, I think that I would miss that element in a worship gathering but I've been able to worship God without it as well. Music enhances how I worship God.

4) Do you prefer traditional music in worship, or contemporary? That can mean many different things!
I prefer music that I connect with. I don't connect with the sound of an organ. That doesn't mean that I don't love hymns! I tend to connect with the sound of a band, (guitars, keyboards/piano, bass, drums). I love the sound of voices singing in harmony in praise of God. If that's to hymns or praise songs, it's fine. I currently lead the worship team at my church, which consists of a band. We aren't the most happening thing ever but our goal isn't to be on the cutting edge, just to point people to God. That is what is important in worship to me.

5) What's your go-to music ... when you need solace or want to express joy? A video/recording will garner bonus points!
It's a go-to artist...no one who knows me will be surprised by this...Amy Grant. She didn't write this song, but she sings it well! I would embed the video, but youtube won't let me. :(

Friday Five: Pack Your Bags Edition

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals says:
I'm preparing to pack my bags for the Big Event Three, and as I gather what I need I'm thinking about just that: what do I *need* to take with me? As a person who likes to pack light, I worry that in the end I may under pack and wish I had other things with me. I own the gigantor version of the bag to the right, but my morbid fear of having it go astray and not get to the ship means I'm more likely to try to pack it all in a carry-on bag instead, especially since I have a very tight connection on the way to the cruise. But won't I be sorry if I don't bring _______________?

With that in mind, here are five questions about packing to go on a trip.

1) Some fold, some roll and some simply fling into the bag. What's your technique for packing clothes? For me it's part fold, part roll. Shirts roll up wonderfully. Jeans not so much. Socks get stuffed into shoes and undies are always kept in a separate compartment from the rest of the clothes, usually a zippered pocket.

2) The tight regulations about carrying liquids on planes makes packing complicated. What might we find in your quart-size bag? Ever lose a liquid that was too big? I don't usually carry a whole lot of liquids with me, so I haven't had to throw anything away. The quart-size bag usually has a travel size lotion in it (cucumber melon) and that's about it. Though on the trip home from Mississippi this last time, it also had two of those cute little bottles of maple syrup that Cracker Barrel gives you when you have pancakes or french toast.

3) What's something you can't imagine leaving at home? Walking shoes. Doesn't matter where I'm going, if I don't have good walking shoes I'm not gonna be a happy camper. AND after last springs adventure where my checked bags made it home two days before I did, an extra t-shirt and undies get packed in my carry-on.

4) Do you have a bag with wheels? Absolutely. I tend to pack to the 50lb limit, so wheels are a must!
5) What's your favorite reading material for a non-driving trip (plane, train, bus, ship)? Fluff books usually. If I can lose myself in a book for a few hours, it's good. Though I am not above reading those gossip magazines either.