"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Paul to the persecuted at Philippi (2:5-11)

20 December 2014

Its been a long time since we've had a sijo.

Nothing more beautiful in the morning than a curling,
Rolling, rising, mist, fogging my glasses and warming senses,
Rising like prayers of dark, scented incense-- a cup of coffee.

15 December 2014

Sunday Unplugged... and somewhat silent.

Okay, so I have laryngitis.  Delightful.
Saturday was a joyful, incredible day, with an ordination in the morning and a Happening (teen ministry) event lasting late into the evening.  I left home early Saturday morning and arrived home in the wee hours of Sunday.   Thankfully I can generally get by on little sleep.

On the ride home from Happening, I began to lose my voice.  Not a common thing for me.  Not amusing.  So much for reading the Gospel or much of anything else useful in church the next day. I woke up Sunday morning with nothing more than a whisper.

To make matters more fun, we had planned to spend the entire day with the kids unplugged, no internet, no cell phones, nothing.  We had planned to go get a Christmas tree, decorate it, play games, make hot chocolate.

Cough, cough,  whisper, whisper.  Yeah, I'm kind of useless.

But in the end it was a blessing. My middle child offered to be my voice so I could join in the goofy games.  My own enforced quiet caused the world to seem quieter by evening.  And my compete inability to be useful in church is a reminder that we aren't loved by God for our usefulness, but because we just are. 

Yes, I was going a little stir crazy (still am) from the lack of both vocal and typewritten communications.  But I was reminded that there wasn't anything that couldn't wait until the working week.  Enforced priorities are not always a bad thing.

So today I'm much improved.  I can squeak and sound like a teenaged boy.   This is not amusing.  But I should be back in the rat race by tomorrow.

I'm not sure that's a good thing.