Domestic violence awareness month

There's a great movie that I discovered by accident. "An Unfinished Life" Click here and you can read a review and see the lineup of stars. It has domestic violence as a main theme but its not focused on it directly.

I am putting this movie on my "to buy" list. There is accountability and forgiveness mixed with the reality of humanity and how we live our lives. ( I'm being vague because I don't want to spoil the movie.) Sometimes we think we are isolated, living by ourselves. But really, even when we separate ourselves from others, there is an impact on others. When we realize how connected we are, we must act on behalf of others not just ourselves. And, then there's a part of the movie that says, in effect, sometimes stuff just happens. And we still have to figure out how to live anyway.

Best lines from the part where acting on behalf of others is very clear:
"I see you back here again. I'll kill you."
"You've seen too many westerns old man."
"That doesn't exactly work in your favor does it?"

RevGalBlogPal Friday Five from Job 38

Friday Five: Word Association

Below you will find five words. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem or a story.

whirlwind As indicative of our season in life, truly, the first thing that came to mind was the upstairs -- inhabited only by the girls. And then I thought about all the things we did this week.

foundation When not concerned about the parsonage foundation, I almost always associate foundation with: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (from Ps 18)

And from that, or passages like it, I think about the Hymn Saranam, Saranam (Refuge, Refuge). The chorus is "Jesus Savior Lord lo to thee I fly, Saranam, Saranam, Saranam, Thou my rock, the fortress that's higher than I, Saranam, Saranam, Saranam." (United Methodist Hymnal 523) We have sung Saranam as a lullabye many, many nights. You can hear the tune if you search here. Unlike most hymns, this one begins with the chorus.


lightning Very first thought? Thunder bolts and lightening very very frightening me
Galileo Galileo Galileo Galileofigaro Mangnifico oh oh oh

den The cozy place with TV, DVD, DVR, GameCube, stereo, laptop, the best sleeping couch ever, the favorite green chair, the brown plaid chair that has always been in my life, most of the fun reading books, and most of the time all of the family.

prey Prey: the odd turn of phrase uttered by some church members who sound holy "shall we prey?" "let us prey" "we're gonna prey now" "we should prey without ceasing" The only worthwhile response: "Lord, listen to your children praying"

(Yes, they're all from Job 38.)

Rest assured, there really is only one of me

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 3,231 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Friday Five Creature Comforts

I hate missing the Friday Five, so I'm playing anyway on early Sunday morning before I go to bed. Funny my body wants to stay up late on Saturday nights even when I don't have to write a sermon.

Friday Five: Creature Comforts

Reverendmother here...

Maybe it's the arrival of crisp October, my favorite month. Or maybe it's the fact that the divine little miss m has been sick all week (and if the baby ain't happy, ain't nobody happy). Whatever the reason, my thoughts have been turning to cozy creature comforts--those activities and spaces that just make a person feel good. And so...


1. Comfort beverage
Mt Dew! nectar of life from my youth. more often consumed in diet version now (sad reality). And on the rare occassions that I want something warm, coffee that is ivory in color and as sweet as ice cream. I learned how to make that kind of coffee from my grandpa when I was about 10.

2. Comfort chair
The Green rocking chair. Fits my body perfectly. Many nights have been spent sleeping in that chair for various reasons. Great momma moments have been created in that chair.

3. Comfort read
Anne McCaffrey, Patricia Cornwall, John Grisham, Brad Meltzer, JK Rowling, Lemony Snicket, Sisterhood of the traveling pants, or anything else that I can pick up. Reading is my preferred comfort.

4. Comfort television/DVD/music

TV: Battlestar Galactica, Monk, Psyche, West Wing, Will and Grace, NFL, Numb3rs, CSI, Law & Order, The Amazing Race, Project Runway, Lost, Dallas SWAT, Book TV

DVD: Secondhand Lions, Keeping the Faith, Holiday Inn, Bells of St Mary's, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sword in the Stone, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Ever After

Music: (this one depends a lot on why comfort is sought)
Eagles (especially Eagles LIVE), Def Leppard, Mendelssohn 8th Symphony & Incidental music from Midsummer nights dream, Chuck Mangione especially Tarentella, Vince Guaraldi Peanuts music and Jazz mass for Grace Cathedral, James Galway, Wynton Marsalis, John Mayer

video game: Star Wars Pod racers (I am a very creative pod crasher), Harry Potter, Monkey Ball, Tetris, Bust a Move

5. Comfort companion(s)
This too depends on why comfort is sought. I have three friends around whom I rarely have self-conscious thoughts or self-limiting conversations. There are several others that I just like to be around but most of them are connected to some church thing. And my sister is really cool.

the prayer sermon

As a part of my sermon on prayer, I talked about learning from Sr Dempsey to pray when I hear a siren. The prayer is: O God be with the people who need you now. Ironically, or maybe providentially, during second service, siren was heard during sermon.

Many years after praying like that I learned it is very Benedictine. duh, she's a Benedicine nun. Anyway, I talked about how we have the opportunity as we go about our daily lives to notice things and use them as a trigger for prayer. We have school zones that significantly reduce the allowed speed. What if, as we hit the brakes and drive slower, we pray for teachers and students? What if when we get the reciept at the grocery store we give thanks for our ability to feed our family and pray for those who hunger (and donate food to the food bank)?

On Monday at a funeral for a long time church member one lady was talking about how that sermon had made an immediate difference for her. On Sunday afternoon, noticing things and intentionally talking to God because of noticing.

how about that? and she comes to the early service where they mostly sit like bumps on a log and sometimes I wonder if they're still breathing.

God is good.