Smooth Sailing, Norman+

It is a sad day in my Diocese.


Last evening we learned of the sudden death of a fine priest of a sister parish . I knew Father Norman mostly from my times at our annual Diocesan Conventions. At close to 6 feet five inches, and with a wide shoulder circumference , Norm+ was a big guy. But his " larger-than-life" presence was mostly due to his kindness. He had a wonderful laugh and loved fine cigars and good scotch whiskey. He left behind in this world a wife and two adult children as well as a congregation of Christians in a small Northwest Florida town.


Norman+ suffered a massive heart attack, so his passing is very sudden. A congregation is without their beloved priest, a wife is bereft of her husband and people are without their father.


He was well-loved, as evidence of the kind thoughts posted to his personal Facebook Wall indicate.


I am struggling this night with not only mourning the loss of a fine man & priest, but with the idea of Death.


Death is not " supposed" to steal good people away from this life at an early age{ Norm was close to the age of my Dad, and to me that is way too young to die}Good people are supposed to not die suddenly. Rather they are supposed to pass on quietly and without pain while sleeping at the age of 100 or more.


I know that Norm+ is in a better place...probably enjoying cigars and Scotch that are literally "out-of-this-world" with all the other saints {small s} who have gone on before him. But selfishly I will still look for him at Convention. the official clergy photo of all the collared people in this Diocese will seem incomplete.


Norman+, smooth sailing, good and faithful servant. We'll miss you.


Amen.

New Gym, New year

Due to unforeseen circumstances that were NOT my fault, I had to join a new gym this year.


Anyhow Snap Fitness offers a one-month free full membership to their franchise. Naturally, since I must be frugal with finances, I happily took full advantage of the free month with the full intent of joining when my trial period is over.


I am currently in search of a gym partner at the current facility. I miss Gym Buddy terribly, even though it is MUCH nicer to train in a drama-free environment. :O) So if any of **yinz** local people want to join me at Snap Fitness, please email or call me. Normally I am NOT a fan of any sort of "change" in my life but this new gym seems to be good thus far. I do wish it offered shower/locker rooms.


Today I focused on legs, with doing the " cardio" part of my training on the elliptical machine. Previously I've shied away from this machine for about 6 months in an attempt to get my bad leg healed. This morning's elliptical workout did my knees some good---I've definitely become stronger since my last 6 month's workout schedule has been dedicated to strengthening the muscles surrounding the weak left knee. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and feel GOOD! 


I've also increased my personal best on the bench press by 5 pounds. Wh00t!


It is such a blessing to be healthy and fit.


Amen.

Bring on the reunion! It's a wonderful life!

Its a date....my 20th High School Reunion will occur on July 19. It is to be a dress-up affair with a cash bar, food and music.




I'm going.



While I sincerely HOPE that Best Dude can come with me, I've accepted the fact that I might attend my reunion alone. That's OK by me, as I am much more confident than I was as a teen, and I'm pretty damn pleased with my life.






Inasmuch as I HATED high school { save for my time on the sports & Quiz Bowl teams and work summers at The Lake}. My grades for sure did not reflect my intellect, and I spent more time in the vice-principle's office than I care to admit.




I didn't go to either my junior nor senior prom and I attended ONE Homecoming formal { I went " stag " with a girl friend after said guy who DID ask me to the dance bailed on me with some lame-ass excuse.}As a matter of fact, I did not attend a formal dance until First College.


I was lame. I might have been an athlete and taking a hard course load , but I was a " nobody".
Girls were just a little bit mean to me and boys ignored me. My poor self-image led to dangerously disordered eating habits.


I was a mess.


In retrospect, most of my teen angst issues were related to my { then yet undiagnosed} autism coupled with intense introversion. Most of my lunch hours were spent in  vain attempts to become invisible from the rest of the student body and trying hard to work up the courage to talk with Cute Boy. My parents were  wonderful, {as they still are} and tried everything in their knowledge base to help me. Thankfully my small, rural school had some GREAT faculty members who went beyond the call of teacher and tried to help me fit in.


Now at the age of 37.5, I still don't fit in and I am more than okay with being an oddball. I'm blessed with a great boyfriend  who loves me unconditionally. I am totally over the disordered eating and am now on a healthy eating and exercise regime. I am the proud Aunt of an adorable baby nephew and proud fur-parent of a big dog. Best Dude and I keep several chickens in our backyard Both my parents are alive and healthy and I live in FLORIDA!


Life is sweet. I'm going into the 20th reunion with an open mind and without any grudges or otherwise " bad blood" I am not the girl whom I was back in 1994 : I am a healthy , happy version of me with most of the " bugs" worked out of my " operating system".


Amen.

I prefer a Church...

Pope Francis rocks!

I found a quote from the current pope {to whom I lovingly refer as " Papa Francis" for many reasons}that spoke to my soul .My Annual Convention for my Diocese is in February, and I am going as an alternate lay delegate.

Anyhow, here is the quote:

 

Amen and amen again! Although I am pretty sure that the Pope is speaking of the Roman Catholic Church, his statement SHOULD ring true for Christians of any & all varieties.

 

No one asks me of my opinion on such lofty matters: I am after all " merely a young woman" {sic} and " everyone knows that young people have nothing to contribute" { sic}

 

Too often the institutional Church is too concerned with maintaining status quo and keeping out "those who are not like us" than actually BEING Christ's hands & feet here and now.

 

I am sad about all the hard feelings that surround certain Church issues and I am even more saddened by the fact that these issues keep people away from knowing Christ & Christ's community.

 

I dream of a Church that is more concerned with BEING Church than DEFINING Church.

 

I dream of a Church whose Holy Scriptures are not used to justify hatred towards those whose lifestyles we do not understand. As long as some one's lifestyle harms no one,  we should not justify our prejudices in the name of the Church

 

I dream of a Church that focuses more on empowering members to live out our Baptismal Covenants rather than playing politics.

 

I dream of a Church that is more concerned with doing ministry that will make a difference to the greater local area than placating  members by playing up to prejudices of people with a lot of money.

 

I am 37 and one-half years old. It is my HOPE and PRAYER that I live long enough to see some of my dreams for the Church come to fruition.

 

Amen.

 

Christmastide 2014.

 

For some, a " Blue Christmas"

For most of us, it has been a merry Christmastide, filled with family, friendship, worship and food. I am among the blessed this Christmastide. Best Dude & I participated in a lovely Christmas Eve Mass at Small Parish Tuesday night followed by fun, frolicking and FOOD at my parents' house on Christmas Day.

But for some people, this Christmastide ushered in unspeakable sadness.

A family whom I know in Ohio lost their 38 year old son to an illness on Christmas eve. 

Closer to home, a 17-year-old student at a neighboring high school stabbed his mother to death in their home. the young man is being charged as an adult for second-degree murder . His late mother was a teacher at one of the local middle schools, so this senseless act of violence affects two local school communities.

I am sad. And I feel guilty because I am among my loved ones this Christmastide and others I know are suffering from a terrible loss.

We need to remember that not everyone is in a celebratory mood this Christmas season. Around the world, people are hurting .

Life isn't fair all of the time and sometimes life just sucks!  People get sick and other people commit acts of unspeakable violence against one another.  But the world into which Jesus was born was not " a rose garden" either.  Yet God loved humanity so much that God sent Jesus to live among us AS A HUMAN. he felt pain. He was sad at times.  He was betrayed by a friend before He died.

Emmanuel, " God-as-Human" came to us & is still with us today. he understands that even during the " most wonderful time of the year" that some are hurting.

The baby whose birth we celebrate at this time of year DOES understand that some people are having a Blue Christmas.

Amen.

Hey you, Mr Robertson

There is some " Quackery" going on regarding Duck Dynasty's patriarch  and his views on homosexuality today. When I turned on my laptop this morning and logged on to Facebook I was saturated with comments about what Robertson patriarch said regarding his views on homosexuality.

Now don't get me wrong: I totally disagree with Phil Robertson's views on homosexuality. I Totally think his views are errant. Several of my close associates and one member of my family are GLBT. My life is enriched by having these folks in it & I would not want them to try to " change" an essential part of their identity.

 But on the other hand, I will continue to enjoy the entertainment his show provides to me. I grew up among many men who look a lot and act very much like Mr Robertson. { If y'all think rednecks are conservative, come to where I grew up & meet my hillbilly kin and friends}  One does not need to agree with the star of any " reality TV" show to enjoy the entertainment value of said shows. I've read Phil Robertson's book, and I came away from that thinking that he { Robertson} tries to do what he thinks is right. Sometimes I found myself agreeing with his philosophies, and other times I think his views are rather extreme.

The bottom line is: we need not agree with Mr Robertson to appreciate his show. Similarity, we need not agree with Chik-Fil-A's anti-homosexual stance to enjoy the occasional sandwich from that franchise.

Live & let live.

Amen.

Las Posadas: Hospitality.

Best Dude and I are hosting Las Posadas in our home this evening.

We set the figurines of the Holy Parents in a spot of honor under our small tree.

 I've been thinking about what it means to practice REAL , and RADICAL  hospitality.  How good are we Christ-followers at practicing real hospitality?

Think about it for a minute:

If a young , poor expectant couple came knocking on yours or my door seeking help, how would we react? Would we invite the young couple in for a cup of tea or coffee and ask them if they are hungry? Would we offer them a place to sleep for the night?

Or would we call the police...or " take matters into our own hands".

The sort of hospitality that Jesus asks us to practice is not about setting a nice meal for our friends from similar backgrounds, ethnicity's  or lifestyles.

What if the young couple who knocks on our "door" is of another race? What if the don't speak English at all? Or what if said couple is comprised of two men or two women? What if the couple had with them a child {or adult} with special medical needs?

" Sorry, there is no room at this inn for you. You don't look like me or my neighbors. You smell yucky. Are you even married? Your type isn't wanted here. . Go away before I call the police."

Let me be clear: I am not necessarily speaking about a literal couple knocking on the door of our literal homes. Rather I am talking about how we behave when encountered by such  strangers who, for whatever reason, put us ill-at-ease.

How would we react? How DO we react? More importantly, how does Our Lord Jesus Christ expect us to act?

Are we supposed to extend the peace of Our Lord to those with whom we share commonalities? Who is welcome to join our fellowship? Are we " Instruments of God's peace " or are we gatekeepers with a power-hungry complex? Do we find joy in trying hard to keep out those who are different from ourselves and from most of our social circles?

Scripture tells us that He ate with strangers of all types --ESPECIALLY those whom, in first-century Judea, were pretty much " untouchables".  he healed on the Sabbath. he let a Samaritan woman touch him.  He set a small child on His lap as an example to the type of faith the adults present should possess.

Jesus did not turn away strangers , or people " not like Him." If He is our Lord, shouldn't we follow His example and also welcome others?

Amen.