Lenten Practice

I was at a loss of what to do during Lent; to give up, or not to give up- that was the question. I usually try to "add" something instead of giving something up, so here is my plan:
each week the Revised Common Lectionary has four scripture readings, almost always in this order:
1- passage from the Hebrew Bible
1- psalm
1- epistle (letter from Paul, or, atleast attributed to Paul)
1- Gospel
What I am going to try to do is to read and reflect in some way on each of these readings during Lent. I am hoping this will lead to creative ways of reflecting on the scriptures. We'll see how it goes.

Peace be with you all!

What to do....

Hey! I'm pretty sure no-one really reads this, which is fine. BUT, if you d0 then you can help me out.

Ready?

What should Evan and I do for Valentine's Day!?
We don't want to do the cliche things, but we want it to be a special day. We never go to the movies, only eat out once a month, and do all of our (really yummy!) cooking at home. I have forbidden flowers (the prices get SOOOO inflated!)and he's not a huge fan of chocolate.

Any ideas to make our first Valentine's Day special?

Adventures in Maine

I promised I would finish re-counting my holiday travels, so here I am, doing just that. If you remember from the last post, I spent several days at home in MD with my family before traveling up to Maine...
December 29:
I woke up bright and early, finished loading the car, and said good-bye to my family. It had been a really nice visit with them, albeit it quite busy, but I knew I would be seeing them again soon so I was eager to start my next journey. I drove from MD to my home in NJ (a bit over 3 hours), traded my MD luggage for my ME luggage, got some gas, and headed up to ME. I drove thru New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire before finally reaching my destination (about 7 hours later!). It was very windy, but luckily there was no snow. At one point in Massachusetts Roxy (my car) reported that it was 3 degrees outside. I called my sister to inform her I might freeze to death.
I arrived at Evan's cousin's house in Auburn, ME and finally got to see my sweet. : ) This had been the longest we'd been apart- it was soooo good to see him! I got to meet his cousin Ralph, and the three of us went to dinner at a Thai place in town. We spent the night in Auburn the drove 4 more hours to Starboard, where Evan's family lives. (If you've been counting, this adds up to about 14 hours from MD...that's A LOT of driving!)
When we reached Starboard it was dark out, so I couldn't see much scenery wise, but I finally got to meet the people I've heard so much about! We stayed at Nana's and met her, then Evan's parents came down the hill to meet us. They are all such lovely people. I felt at home right away. We were all tired, so we didn't stay up visiting terribly long.
The next morning I woke up, walked into the kitchen, and went, "Wow!" This is what I saw:


I got to meet more family that day; Evan's uncle and his family live right next door, so I got to meet Jeff, his wife Tracy, and their three children, Jeff, Andrew, and Maya. I fell in love with Maya right away, but it took her a little while to warm up to me. By the second or third time she saw me, she was asking for candy, having me carry her throughout the house, and signing to me. I was so excited to sign with her (she's deaf); she is super smart, and picks up new signs very quickly.
She loves Evan:


(in this picture I asked her what her name is, and she is signing it to me)

During the blizzard we made donuts and bread with Nana- she is a wonderful baker, and during tourist season sells her baked goods at stores in town. She gave me some recipes to make in Madison, which I am very excited about. : )

On New Year's Eve Evan had a gig in Eastport, the eastern-most town in the United States. They played at neat little place called the Rose Garden. It was a lot of fun; despite the snow, it was well attended, and everyone had a good time. I have a feeling we'll be spending next New Year's up here.




I had a wonderful time in Maine; I absolutely love Evan's family, and I think they all like me too (apparently, I'm a keeper). I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit his home and meet his friends and family. It was a great start to the New Year!

Holiday Recap

Peace and greetings to you all! Hahaha, enough with the church jargon.
Hello! It's been a while since I have blogged anything, so I thought a summary of the holidays was in order. I will try to be as brief as possible (we'll see how that works out).

Christmas Eve:
Wow! What a marathon! I spent the day cleaning the house and making sure I had everything I would need packed and ready to go to both Maryland and Maine. I made cinnamon rolls, from scratch!, to take to MD as a surprise for breakfast Christmas morning. I went over to the church around 4 to set up the hand-bells and to get ready for the Christmas Eve service/pageant. While it did not go off without a hitch, it was a lovely pageant, and one I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of. I got to sing several solos, play my trombone, AND direct the brand-new hand-bell choir; I was so proud of the Mustard Seeds!!! After the service was over, and hugs and Christmas greetings were passed around, I hopped in the car and booked it to MD. I made it in under 3 hours! I was so pleased with myself!
When my family got home from church (I got to the house before they did) we exchanged gifts among sisters, and then headed back to church. I was able to attend the 11 o'clock service at Hiss, where they did a traditional Lessons and Carols service followed by communion. With hot dog rolls. Hahahahaha- it totally made my night. When we got home we got to open our traditional Christmas Eve gifts- Mommy-made pajama pants!! Megan and Riley were fast asleep in the basement, so I crashed with Sarah and Sophie for the night.

Christmas Day:
Well, we woke up and exchanged more gifts. Megan had to work at the hospital, so we decided to save a few gifts to open when she got home. I made breakfast for the family with the help of Sarah and my dad: scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausage, and the surprise cinnamon rolls. They were a hit! We had a nice visit with my grandmother, and then I took Sarah to spend some time with her boyfriend. Jackie and Colette came over and had dinner with us! It was so nice having them spend some of Christmas day with us. We all watched the Muppet's Christmas Carol together; it is one of my favorites. They left right around the time Megan got home from work. We finished exchanging gifts, and then relaxed the rest of the evening. It was far from our normal Christmas "routine", but it was a wonderful day with family and friends.

Sunday/Monday:
On Sunday we had an Open House which kind of turned into a football party.

I don't want to even START talking about that horrible game...

But the party was nice!

Monday Lauren had sinus surgery. We went to the hospital at 5am...the surgeon was late, which is apparently normal for him, so we waited about 3 hours before they took her back. I went home around noon; by then she was finished in the OR and in was in the first level of recovery. Sarah and I went shopping for a few things, and I took her to the barn to take care of the horses. Lauren was really out of it- her pain meds kept her sleepy, which was good.

On Tuesday I started my journey up to Maine.

I think I'll save that for the next entry : )

Personal "Poem"

Yesterday in Pastoral Formation we talked about forgiveness; how it is one of the requirements of being a part of the Christian community. We talked about different ways of expressing our pains, of going about giving/receiving forgiveness. It made me think of a piece I wrote- I actually thought it was older than it is, but oh well. I don't know if it counts as poetry or if it's just a letter of sorts. I think I am hoping that by putting up here, it will help me to move on. I don't know. But here it is.

9.24.2009

To All the Men That Have Hurt Me-
I f*cking hate you.
There, I said it.
I hate you.
You all took things from me you had no right to take.
It was not your right,it was not your choice to make.
It was mine.
And you took that away from me.
You left me broken and afraid, unable to trust.
You left me full of doubts.
You left me with small pieces of me that I won't ever get back.
And I hate you for that.
I am afraid when men make sexual advances.
I shut down when I should burn with passion.
I don't trust people's intentions.
I don't trust myself.
But I can't hate you forever.
Eventually I have to forgive you.
With God's help, I must forgive you.
But it's not that simple
I fail to see how forgiving you will help me.
And, although I am supposed to love you as a child of God,
I sure as hell don't want to.
I am consumed by memories and fear, so much so that I cannot look at one who resembles you.
So:
names ommitted
and any others that may exist past my memory-

I want my pieces back.

Because I need to be at peace.

All Saint's Sermon

Yes, yes, I know All Saint's Day was weeks ago. I hesitate to even post this still, so much time has gone by, but I've decided to do it anyway.
On November 1 I gave the sermon at the church I am currently serving. Like many pastors, Saturday morning dawned and I did not have a single word on paper. While in the shower, I figured out my sermon outline, intending on writing it as soon as I got finished. However, life got in the way, and it was several hours later before I was able to sit down to write my sermon. By then, all my thoughts had left me, and I was left staring blankly at my computer screen. Taking the advice of a friend, I headed home and back to my place of inspiration: the shower. This was the result:


I think for Christmas I would like those special markers you can get children to play with in the tub...

The final version of my sermon, was, of course, more fleshed out, and not written on my shower wall.

(I was going to post my sermon, but it is rather long...if it would like to read it, let me know, and I will post it).

It's been a while...so here!

Here is something I had to write for a class. We were supposed to select one (or all) of the Ten Commandments and discuss how it describes and relates to the Hebrew people and the formation of their identity as a people at the time, as well show a connection to the New Testament. In very few words. Mine is a little longer than it should have been, and I may not have completely followed the instructions (which were NOT very clear- not as clear as I just articulated them here), but here it is.

The Seventh and Tenth Commandments
These two commandments reinforce the ongoing male-dominated, patriarchal system that has been presented thus far in the texts. The command to not commit adultery does not initially appear gender-biased until one looks more closely at the tenth commandment.

The tenth commandment states that “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Ex 20:17) This command appears to only apply to free men; men wealthy enough to possess property. Wives are grouped along with all other goods and property, without rights.

According to the commentary in the Harper Collins Study Bible, polygamy was still a common practice. Adultery was defined as “intercourse between a married woman and any man but her husband.” (p.118) Considering women were property, the act of adultery would have been an attack on the woman’s husband. Sleeping with a man’s wife would have been comparable to stealing a man’s ox. It is a matter of property laws, not necessarily marriage fidelity. While it permisable for a married man to have sex with multiple women, provided they are his wives or single women, it is not permisable for a man to have sex with another man’s wife.

While the initial command to “not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14) is directed at men, their female counterparts are often heavily punished. Both Leviticus and Deuteronomy prescribe the “proper” punishment for those who commit adultery; death. “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteres shall be put to death.” (Lev 20:10) and “If a man is caught lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman as well as the woman.” (Deut 22:22) The book of Numbers describes the steps a man should take if he believes his wife is being unfaithful, none of which include confronting the suspected male adulterer.

In the Gospels Jesus is recorded as taking the definition of adultery one step further, stating that “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in heart.” (Mat 5:28) Once again, this command is directed only at men. Jesus is also attributed with the statement “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mar 10:11-12) These admonitions lead the reader to the conclusion that, despite the numerous Judaic laws against adultery, it was an on-going problem within society.

Laws are often put into place as a solution to a problem; in the case of Exodus, and even the New Testament, the issue at hand is the lack of respect towards a man’s property. Just as one should not covet another’s land or livestock, they should not look with lust upon another’s wife/wives. These two commandments further embed male domination over women in the culture of Israel.

Source:
The Harper Collins Study Bible. New Revised Standard Version. Wayne Meeks, ed. Harper Collins.