Friday Five on Saturday: The Bucket List

Singingowl challenged us this week to a Bucket List. As I’ve thought about this, I’ve realized how much I’ve gotten to do in my life already. I’ve had it pretty good. However, there’s always more, so here goes:

1. Travel. There are so many places I want to go, the top of the list being Italy. I also want to visit all 50 states, and I’ve got about 7 left to hit.  Part of the travel will also include two film festivals I want to attend – Cannes and Sundance.

2. Go to a Superbowl Game.

3. Be a lounge singer/do a cabaret show. I’m working on this one folks. Stay tuned!

4. Go to Fashion Week in New York. I work for a massive retailer, so you’d think I’d be edging closer to this one. Hopefully that’s the case.

5. Write a book. I don’t know what type of book, but leaning toward a survival guide to being a normal person trying to survive in the church world. My title has always been Christians Are Socially Handicapped. We’ll see how that goes.

Breakthrough – Sponsored by Facebook!

I was browsing through Facebook the other night and happened upon an ex. We have all done this I’m sure. This is not a recent ex or one for whom there is (and really never was) any profound emotional attachment. As one might imagine, I got to thinking about this “relationship” and its effects and have come to an enlightening discovery on my persistent quest for humanity.

Recently I’ve be struggling to overcome my discomfort with focused attention and positive feedback. The goal is not to become a needy attention whore but to be able to accept and internalize compliments, which I am currently unable to do well. I have natural tendencies toward this for sure – my mom is totally like this. However, I have recently figured out that this “relationship” is what cause my absolute aversion. This person used attention, compliments and positive feedback to manipulate me into an extremely damaging situation and now all those things do for me is raise red flags and make me want to run away. I had not previously realized the direct relationship there. Now that I know that’s where it comes from, I feel comfortable letting it go for several reasons:

1. I am in a way better place emotionally and psychologically
2. I am 15 years older
3. I have people in my life whom I can trust and who genuinely care for me.

I also never want to become the person I was then, but I feel like I have a good safety net in place for me and it would take the decimation of a number of my emotional “firewalls” to get back there, which could still happen, but is much less likely. All that to say, feel free to compliment. I can take it.

Yeah me.

Outrage-O-Meter

Secret Muslim, Barack Obama, hater of Jesus, ordered Georgetown University to cover up the Christian Fish popular on the bumpers of erratically-driving Christians in his first overt act of Islamic defiance. That’s right. Obama hates Jesus. According to conservative news outlet CNSNews*, Obama’s office asked for a neutral background and Georgetown obliged. Catholic University of America says they caved.  However, David Brody of the Christian News service says:

“Georgetown University is saying that The White House made the request to cover all symbols around the stage but it’s important to point out at there are dozens of religious symbols in Gaston Hall and those were not covered up.”

Here’s a shot of the stage:

Yep – no religious imagery there. Crisis averted. At least he didn’t mention anything religious in the actual spee…oh, wait. What? He quoted the Sermon on the Mount? Huh. Yeah, Total Jesus-hater.

Is this really where we’re going to expend our outrage-energy? Really? Because here’s where I’ve decided to put mine:

“Interrogation tactics such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation and slapping did not violate laws against torture when there was no intent to cause severe pain, according to a Bush-era memo on the tactics released Thursday.”

“Several of the techniques used by the CIA may involve a degree of physical pain, as we have previously noted, including facial and abdominal slaps, walling, stress positions and water dousing,” it said. “Nevertheless, none of these techniques would cause anything approaching severe physical pain.”

“Detainees subject to sleep deprivation who are also subject to nudity as a separate interrogation technique will at times be nude and wearing a diaper,” it said, noting that the diaper is “for sanitary and health purposes of the detainee; it is not used for the purpose of humiliating the detainee and it is not considered to be an interrogation technique.”

“On waterboarding, in which a person gets the sensation of drowning, the memo said, “although the waterboard constitutes a threat of imminent death, prolonged mental harm must nonetheless result” to violate the law.”

*Please note that CNSNews’ goal is to “fairly present all legitimate sides of a story and debunk popular, albeit incorrect, myths about cultural and policy issues.”

Quote of the Day

Keep in mind that each of you has your own vineyard. But every one is joined to your neighbors’ vineyards without any dividing lines. They are so joined together, in fact, that you cannot do good or evil for yourself without doing the same for your neighbors.

– Catherine of Sienna

Whine and Cheese

I know I said I wouldn’t whine today, but I need to take a moment and vent. Yes, yes, I know. I’m very fortunate to say that many of my frustrations happened “at work,” which a lot of folks can’t say right now. I know that there are people starving in the former Yugoslavia. Totally get that. I just had a frustrating day and will now enumerate for you those events that I am free to post:

1. Totally left my purse at home. This means no wallet which means no MUNI pass which means no ID which means no money.  This last part becomes especially important later. Also forgot my protein shake for the afternoon.

2. I was bombarded by RIDICULOUSLY stupid questions. Ridiculous. Yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question despite what the hippies have told you. “How do I send something from one office to another? Do we have the means by which to do that? How does it work?” Really?

My favorite was:

Caller: I got this notice of change of address from you. It says the legal notices, defaults but not invoices go to SF, the invoices and statements go to NM and maintenance notices go to SB.

Me: That is correct.

Caller: Then where do the invoices go?

REALLY???

3. My lunch was rotten. Rotten. Stank and rotten. I had a salad from Trader Joe’s and did not even notice the use by date. It was loooong past. It smelled. So I had no lunch. This is where that wallet thing would have been handy. No money with which to buy lunch. I was starving.

4. Threw rotten stank lunch in trash and then breathed its fumes for a while. Noxious. I closed up the bag and everything. Didn’t help. It was nasty. Finally moved it to another person’s trash can when they left. Bwaaa haaa haaa.

5. Boss is gone for the week so I thought it would have been more quiet, as it usually is. Not so. For some reason, THIS time folks have heeded his out-of-office response and actually contacted me. Welcome back next week, Boss Man. Your calendar is now full. Enjoy.

This is not to say that the day was entirely awful:

1. I had a great conversation with someone in the area where I’d love to work and will be having a couple more similar conversations this week.

2. My cube-neighbor gave me a SpecialK bar so I wasn’t totally hungry.

3. I had a good workout at the gym.

4. I made an extra good dinner of friend chicken strips and sauteed spinach to make up for my lack of food all day.

5. We get a 40% discount at one of our brands for the next week (only at 2 specific locations, but whatever, I’m totally going to work it).

6. I booked my birthday spa appointments.

7. Tonight, Donna Martin returns to her home zip code.

Not wholly awful, but definitely had its moments. Looking forward to chillin this evening and starting over tomorrow.

Friday Five: Adoramus Te

Adoramus te, Christe,
et benedicimus tibi,
quia per sanctam crucem tuam
redemisti mundum.
Qui passus es pro nobis,
Domine, miserere nobis.

We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you,
because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.
O Lord, who suffered for us,
have mercy on us.

1. How will you pray and worship today?
A good friend preached at her church today at noon-to-one tennebrae service. It was the first time a woman had ever preached there and she knocked it out of the park. Tonight MBCC has a Taize service that I’m helping with. My personal focus today is on the necessity of embracing suffering, mine and the suffering of others, for the purpose of transformation and to make the “Easter” moments more meaningful.

2. Share a powerful memory or memories of Good Friday past.
I dragged my mom to an Episcopal church where they were doing a performance on St. Matthew’s Passion from noon to three. She LOVED it and went to it today. Unfortunately, it’s the last year they’re doing it, but it was really beautiful.

3. How have you grown and experienced God’s love during this past Lent?
This Lent I have learned to keep walking. I’ve had situations from which I wanted to retreat but I have stuck with them (mainly because I had no other choice) and learned about the beauty of the other side.

4. In whom do you see the face of the suffering Christ most clearly?
Any time I see children in pain or crisis. The depth of my compassion for children is in direct proportion to my lack of patience with adults (working on it). I want to rescue them all and take care of them in a huge house with lots of warmth, food and love. I know. I’m a total cheeseball, but there it is.

5. Where do you find hope for resurrection?
In the church, gathered and scattered. It’s a screwed up institution, for sure, but it also contains great hope. I’ve seen such a change in the last few years as those of us who really want the church to be the church are stepping up and saying that the right wing wackos do not speak for us and God wants us to make a difference in the world and not argue about stupid things like carpet color and parking lots. I see the church choosing to spend money on ministry instead of buildings. It encourages me to keep going and makes me feel like big things are ahead.

The following video is of the men’s acappella group from Goshen College. Big ups to my Mennonite brothers – well done!

Is nothing sacred?

Me: What were you going to say?

Boss: I’m not going to repeat it. It’s inappropriate. It’s Holy Week, for Christ’s sake.

Baracknophobia

Only now with the advent of Potato Day has tyranny come to our shores.

Quote of the Day

“The Christian religion asks us to put our trust not in ideas, and certainly not in ideologies, but in a God who was vulnerable enough to become human and die, and who desires to be present to us in our ordinary circumstances.” – Kathleen Norris

Friday Five – Time Out Edition

Sally writes:
Holy Week is almost upon us, I suspect that ordained or not, other revgal/pals calendars look a bit like mine, FULL, FULL, FULL……..

Jesus was great at teaching us to take time out, even in that last week, right up to Maundy Thursday he withdrew, John’s gospel tells us he hid! He hid not because he was afraid, but because he knew that he needed physical, mental and spiritual strength to get through…

So faced with a busy week:

1. What restores you physically?
Sleep. Lots of sleep. I also really love yoga – restorative yoga if I’m looking for, well, restoration. A good massage and/or facial doesn’t hurt either. Have I mentioned that I’m a little high maintenance? I’m totally ok with that.

2. What strengthens you emotionally/ mentally?
Stimulating conversation, a walk in Golden Gate Park, a good book, a thought-provoking film.

3. What encourages you spiritually?
Music, art, the ocean, community

4. Share a favourite poem or piece of music from the coming week.

At the Foot of the Cross by Kathryn Scott

At the foot of the cross where grace and suffering meet
You have given your life through the death you bore for me
And you’ve won my heart, yes you’ve won my heart
Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down at the foot of the cross

5.There may be many services for you to attend/ lead over the next week, which one are you most looking forward to and why? If there aren’t do you have a favourite day in Holy week if so which one is it?
I’m helping to lead all of our Holy Week services, but my favorite is Good Friday. I like that we force ourselves to focus on the suffering because we rarely do that. I’m not a masochist, but I think it’s important for us to see God’s presence in times of inexplicable grief and then to see the resurrection that comes later. In the suffering we experience in our own lives, it’s hard to see any resurrection on the horizon and when it comes, it’s rarely in the form we expect. I love this annual reminder of that.