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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Things learned
Maybe the best thing about ranting on a blog is that, in the responses, one begins to see that the issue that caused the rant is one that raises the passions because it is one that we also struggle with.
If I rant about how others express love so imperfectly, it is because I also am imperfect and I fight against that.
A rant is a bit like shouting at God. But when we are finished and we begin to listen again, we hear him in new ways, mostly showing us that the rant reflects our own need for his grace.
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Filed under Dealing with stuff
I can’t help it
Maybe I should not write a post when I am upset. I think I am most likely to rant. I need to rant.
I hate protocols and precedents. It seems to me that they kill spontaneity. They squelch a response to God’s spirit moving; calling us to act. They kill love and all the flexibility and responsiveness that a loving relationship needs to grow and flourish as part of God’s great gift of creativity.
Protocols seems to me the way an organization responds. But a community, a family and a living body, when it is forced to adapt to hard and fast rules becomes dysfunctional, I think. So is the church the body, living and responsive, or is it set and hardened within sets of rules?
When we give protocols and policies a higher place than the practice of love we are not practicing the faith Jesus taught us. It was one of his big struggles as he walked among a land full of religious leaders who had forgotten the real meaning of God’s law.
In Matthew 23: 23 and 24 Jesus said, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!
There, now I feel slightly better.
Filed under church, Dealing with stuff
Simple pleasures
Taking someone you love a cup of tea and having them look up and thank you.
Temperatures that do not fall below -20C.
Making a grand daughter smile by playing peek-a-boo.
Coffee with God in the morning.
Filed under Day to Day
Getting ready for the big concert
Yesterday it was mentioned at church that there is a big concert coming up this Saturday. The Saskatoon Youth Orchestra along with a mass choir from this city and some other hanger on groups such as the PA Strings are getting geared up to take over the EA Rawlinson Centre on Saturday.
Three people from the congregation are involved – Fiona who is singing with her school choir, Joanne(violin) and myself(bass).
So, now that it has been announced in church, it will be hard not to show up – which I was strongly tempted to do. There has been much practicing going on at my house. I don’t want my fans to be utterly disgusted with me!
The evening should be excellent, aside from my ineptitude at some of the songs. I’ll be quiet.
Filed under Day to Day, Music
Thinking about theology
Just looking at this blog and thinking…
That I haven’t had any real profound thoughts in a long while. Not that what follows is in any way close to profound.
Although tonight we had fun discussing Mary and some of the differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs about her. And I brought along my great big heavy book of excerpts from Karl Rahner’s writings. The bit about the immaculate conception was a bit obscure in its discussion of this but I could understand the part where he states something to the effect that Mary was unique in that from the beginning God willed her to be perfectly obedient so that his plans for our salvation would take place.
But there are times when these deep theological matters really don’t seem to matter. I doubt we understand the half of it. How can we. We look at things after the fact and try to make sense of things that are too big for us to ever understand. And so we set up barriers to communication between different branches of the church and between people.
I wonder who pleases God more – theologians developing arguments or some poor soul out there handing out a blanket to some unknown street person who knows no theology other than love.
Filed under Reading, Reflections
-35
I just came in from errands. It looks so nice out there but it is bone chilling cold.
-35 with the wind chill.
Hoping this is the last blast of winter cold. Come on spring.
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Filed under Day to Day
I’m In!
I think most of you who are around me know that I have applied for the MDiv program at North Park Theological Seminary.
The application process is way more involved than just sending in transcripts and an application. There are several references, a couple of essays to write and then telephone interviews. I started the process back in late November so all those things have been happening over the past couple of months.
On Monday, I had a telephone interview.
When I checked my messages last night, I had a message to call them.
This morning, I called and was congratulated on being accepted to the MDiv program.
So now it starts. I’m going to be busy but it will be good. Well, it is underway with my Greek class already but this is sort of official and serious…..and a bit scarey. It will mean some hard work study wise. Hope my brain doesn’t turn to mush!
Filed under Day to Day, Photos, Studying
A Push From The Almighty
It was a beautiful morning as I left home just before sunrise this morning. The sky was one of those amazing shades of pinky orange and I had a few extra minutes before I was due at the church for worship music practice. I had my camera in my purse and on the spur of the moment decided to take a short detour in order to get a better picture of the sky.
You know what that means – short detours have a way of taking you places you had NO intention of ending up.
I thought that the road leading down to the sewage treatment plant, just on the edge of town, a few minutes from the street I take to get to church anyway, would give me the view I wanted – lots of sky and trees on one side, river on the other.
I didn’t think I was driving that close to the side of the road. But it was way softer than I anticipated and my front right wheel got caught in the soft snow on the shoulder. It was as if an irresistible force took hold of that wheel and pulled me right down there into the ditch.
So, there I was. At the bottom of a deep ditch in soft snow. My spare minutes for photography were all of a sudden used up and I was not exactly at the church.
I think I got a good dose of my father’s stubbornness. I flashed back to one of those times when we, the whole family in the car, were hopelessly stuck in some mud hole on a dirt road that he had thought worthy of exploration. We would all end up having to push or walk to the nearest farm to get help. I swore I would never be like that!
At least, I was alone. Stupid maybe, but alone with my stupidity. My stubbornness showed up about then and I decided that I would just drive out. After all, I have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Well, maybe not meant for off-roading but 4 wheel drive should be good for something. And, I was not stuck. I mean the vehicle could move – parallel to the road in the ditch – quite freely.
We did it, that CRV and me. And maybe the Almighty gave me a small push between his guffaws of laughter at this silly woman who he loves too much to imagine, this daughter of another one of his beloved children. Maybe they both had a good laugh.
I was only ten minutes late for practice. It was a particularly good and joyful morning as I had a good laugh at myself too.
No pictures though. The orange of the sky had disappeared.
Filed under church, Day to Day, Reflections
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