Can you tell I've been busy?

It's been almost a month since I blogged. I am happy to say that Christmas will be here when it gets here. It has been a weird holiday season. This is the busiest Advent we've had and yet we did most of our shopping in early November. It is all the details at work, all the quirky things happening in life and paperwork. That darn paperwork. We are excited to have so many friends this holiday season and I will say we are quite the American family with a Christmas tree and lights. We have even managed to donate money to those in need. Anyway, life has been crazy so hopefully it will get better after Epiphany. We will almost be running 20 miles by then. Can you believe it? Hope you are enjoying your Advent and have a lovely holiday planned.

Oh and check out this website: http://www.elfyourself.com/ It is hilarious!

Pictures to come...

So this weekend we went to NC and attended our first church retreat. I ran all the children's programs - environmental programs, bingo, dancing and more. It was one of the most tiring weekends every, but those kids are so darn cute. It was great to be in a lovely part of the country where there is actually water (there was a big lake in the middle of the camp). We danced the night away to 80's tunes with 6 year old kids to 80 year old kids. So for those of you who think church is no fun, you need to come and check it out.

And there is no rest for the weary- work this week, prepping for a sermon on Sunday and running 20 some miles this week. Oh yeah and it's thanksgiving.

Enjoy your turkey or tofu!

Wait, we live in a neighborhood with kids...

How is it possible that we had more trick or treaters in grad school in an apartment than in our house in a kid-friendly neighborhood? Well, we definitely have enjoyed the leftover candy. I love Reese's! Happy Halloween.

Back to ATL..

I had a great time in DC with friends and getting all kinds of resources for work. I also enjoyed several fruity cocktails and shopping in Georgetown. I found the perfect dress at BCBG. Of course, it was $990, but since it was over 300 I could have gotten a $100 off. What a deal, right?

I enjoyed hanging out with some gal pals as we continued to support starbucks, shopped and ate, but we also hit some new DC sites. I enjoy the new (and free) American Indian Smithsonian museum and the Spy Museum. Both were very cool.

http://www.spymuseum.org/index.php , there is a whole section on women spies.

I also enjoyed running to the White House. The other memorable moment was standing on the capital steps and watching the security guy walk by with an AK47. How the world is changing. Couldn't get in to see my elected official that day.

Almost time for the 4th game of the world series...it is going so fast! Go SOX! Go Jacoby Ellsbury!

Little known fact of the day (according to Wikipedia):

Jacoby is officially enrolled as a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes^[3] and is the first Native American of Navajo descent to reach the Major League.^[4]

Hallelujah!

THE RED SOX ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!!! Okay, so it means more late nights, but man it would be cool to win again. They played unbelievable last night.

Oh and in other good news, we have a NEW NIECE!! Yay! I am sure Alexis will post pictures on her blog as soon as possible. Everything went well, so now we have 6 little nieces and nephews. What will we get her for Christmas?

What a fantastic Monday, no work, new baby, the Red Sox. YAY!

Now if I just didn't have to go run twice today. Oh well, GO SOX!

P.S. A note about the world series, no team has ever waited more than six days before starting the world series. The Rockies have waited 8 days. However, of the 10 teams that have waited 5 days 7 went on to win the title. Let's hope the extra two days makes a difference.

Red Sox Nation and new hope

Thank God we won last night. Now we have a chance to still make it to the World Series. I know that if they lost Alexis would stop watching the games until midnight every two days, but I just like watching her enjoy good baseball. Not that the Red Sox are playing that great now. Hopefully Saturday will be a good game.

Oh and there is an Oregonian on the team now who is awesome! Jacoby Ellsbury. He grew up on one of the reservations and was discovered recently. He's young and hopefully will stay on the Sox roster for a long time.

Oh and Project Runway is starting in November. There will be much rejoicing and maybe even a get together soon.

Little known fact:

Johnny Peski, who the foul ball pole is named in Fenway Park, is from Oregon and my grandpa knew him and played with him.

Fall leaves...

I was in North Carolina today and it was wonderful. There was a beautiful lake, colorful leaves and that lovely fall smell. Another reason to get a rental house in a place like boston or north carolina. I miss that smell of water and trees. Atlanta is definitely not the perfect city, but I will enjoy a warm November and December. I love the sun, I just wish the water was closer.

Time to get some candles that smell like fall, that is as close as we are getting for awhile.

Facebook...

Need I say more. What a crazy addictive website project. It ebbs and flows, but I love to play scrabble and I hear from lots of folks I don't normally. Well, if you are on facebook look me up. I could really use some more fish in my tank. I love fishies.

P.S. My sermon went well. I even got some comments like "that was one of the best sermons I have ever heard preached at this church" from a stranger. I am looking forward to preaching again in November and then again for my CPM (Committee on Preparation for Ministry) in January. I gotta get back in the swing of things. I haven't preached in awhile. If you want to know where to listen, let me know.

Peace

Eat Your Veggies

Unbeknownst to me that we were under drought conditions, Alexis and I planted some new green stuff at our house. We spent the weekend cleaning up our backyard, reclaiming it for non-weed like green plants. It looks great and feels great! So after all the trimming, weeding and cleaning we had to get yard bags at the hardware store. Well, let's just saying we walked out with more than yard bags. We now have spinach, lettuce, herbs and even one hanging plant and a couple of edible pansies in our front yard. We love it! The garden folks say that Atlanta's growing season lasts well into January, so this was perfect timing. Besides the drought, but Alexis did find out that you can water veggies, so that's good. Hopefully we can get pictures up on the web. Maybe next year we can try for peppers and tomatoes like my brother. He has quite the green thumb.

Little known fact of the day:
Nike just rolled out a new shoe that is specifically designed for the American Indian, the N7.

Scrapbooking

Okay, well I could write about the crazy week I had traveling over 6,000 miles in 24 hours and watching a SF Giants games. It was a good trip and hey I officially will get my name on a book in the GTU library that due to the paper I had to use will last longer than me.

And speaking of acid free paper, I just wanted to see who else out there scrapbooks. I am working on our wedding scrapbook. It is fun to be creative and colorful. I get to that more and more in my work with the kids, but it is more like advertising. I like the release of getting lost in my work and buying all the fun accoutrements like buttons, special paper and letters. The other cool thing is journaling along the way too. I can put random quotes or memorable moments. Too bad I need a week vacation just to scrapbook. So watch out next summer when we are in Oregon for our wedding book, it will finally be done (hopefully). And you can bet our kiddos will have crazy baby books.

Little known fact about scrapbooking:
Some of the most earliest and famous scrapbookers included Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain, now does that make it cooler or even more nerdy?

I'm going to Washington, DC

Yay! I am so excited to see my friends Tarn and Summer next month. It will be fantastic to catch up and hang out in the happenin' town with my two fabulous friends. The last time we were together was a brief stint in Oregon at the holidays and before that the wedding in Hawaii. So much has happened it will be good to get the whole story. Too bad I have to actually do work some of the time, but hey I love the opportunity.

It seems like when it rains it pours for us seeing people. We are looking forward to the holidays coming and seeing all kinds of people.

Speaking of holidays, halloween is coming soon. What is your favorite costume that you have worn or favorite idea for a costume?

Mascot Fight-Duck vs Cougar

You don't call the Oregon Ducks mighty for nothing. Check out this youtube video about my parents alma mater and their mascot. It will give you a giggle.

September already??

How is it that I have not blogged in so long...oh yeah...work. Thankfully the first sunday of church school has come and gone. We had almost 100 kids! We didn't have enough polaroid film or nametags. It was an unexpected blessing and now I am thankful for a day off.

Things are going well at work. The parents like me, the work is getting done and the juggler is coming on Wednesday for our big kick-off event. It is different working at such a large church. Everything is bigger.

That's pretty much been my life lately, unlike Alexis who has been traveling and doing fun things like going to our godson's birthday party and our niece's baptism. While she has been gone I have made some new friends which is good. Our circle of friends is growing bigger. I think the fall will be fun with parties and friends in our house. We are talking about a drive-in night and a game night. Bring on the fun!

Our newest hope is for a trip to Curacao for our anniversary next Fall. It is a great island south of Florida. This year we are just hoping to make it to Oregon. It's amazing how life has changed over the last 6 months and hopefully will change over the next year.

We'll keep you posted.

Little known fact for the day:

America's most popular board game is: Monopoly

F.A.O. Schwartz in 2000 sold a monopoly set for $100,000. What made it so expensive? Besides the 18K gold playing pieces, the money used in the game was real U.S. currency. The most expensive set ever sold according to guinness was $2,000,000. Talk about playing with your own money.

the lawyer...

Well, I have to say it went better than I thought. She was very helpful and knowledgeable. She is not only a will lawyer, she also deals with adoption issues. So when we have children she can handle all the details. She also shares a common understanding of our family issues that Georgia does not. I was impressed too that she wanted to save us time and money by adding in all the details for our "hypothetical" children in our initial meeting. Of course, we had homework when it was over like who will take Roux after we die and how much money we exactly want to give to charity. While it is strange to be thinking about all this it feels good to have it done.

On another note, even our lawyer questioned why we were in Atlanta. She said I don't understand why you would move from SF to Atlanta, but it makes total sense to move from Atlanta to SF. Oh and then today I got an email from her today about contra dancing. Weird.

Hope all are well. Summer's almost over and I am looking forward to cooler weather. We finally got below a 100 degrees today. Soon it will be fall and time for camping! YAY!

Oh and P.S. I get to preach on Oct. 7th so if you are in Atlanta come and listen. It can't be too political I have been warned, but who knows what I will be called to preach. It is children's sabbath at our church and later that week is National Coming Out Day, so much to think about...Keep me in your prayers as that day I will also be leading an intergenerational stewardship event for all our kids (100+) after preaching 30 min before and then 6 hours later helping with the St. Francis celebration where we bless all the puppies, kitties, hamsters and other critters in our congregation. I am looking forward to that and then a lovely day off on Monday.


Little known fact of the day:

Jewel, Drew Carey and Joan Collins were born on my birthday.

It's times like this...

that I wish the US was more like California. Don't get me wrong I like Georgia, but less now than usual. Besides the fact that it has been at least a 100 degrees here (literally) everyday this month with it staying in the 90's until 10-11 pm, I have to go to the lawyer tomorrow. Yep. Due to the fact that Georgia will not let me go to the hospital with the Alexis or share property (the list goes on and on) without legal documentation we have been figuring out what we want in our wills, medical and financial power of attorney. Oh the things people take for granted.

I think the process has been good for us. A bit odd in someways thinking about who will take care of our future "hypothetical" children, what we want done with our mortal remains, etc. The kicker for me is that the cost of this lawyer visit is 30 times that of a marriage certificate in Georgia. To me that says it is a big commitment for GLBT folks to protect their partner/spouse. I am so confused why people think GLBT relationships are different? Of course they are different, but on the big things like protecting, providing and such they are similar if not harder sometimes. I mean to go to the lawyer is more than a week's salary, a couple months of groceries or a trip for both of us to Oregon. And that is so that Alexis can have a fighting chance in the waiting room to make decisions about my medical needs instead of having the doctor call my parents 3,000 miles away to make decisions on things they cannot see or even know about. It makes me sick.

Well, thank God I have insurance now.

On a more positive note, it looks like I might get to preach at my church where I work. This is a big deal because in the episcopal world I am a mere lay person. While I have a MA in Homiletics, I am still not a priest and well, that means that I might as we have never gone to seminary. It is a big responsibility and sounds like if it goes well I will get to preach more. YAY! Keep me in your thoughts.

Little nugget about California (and a good reason to live in Georgia):

Housing cost on average in San Francisco is $694,000. Housing average for Atlanta $185,000. So it's hot, there is no ocean a few minutes away and I have to have a piece of paper in my car at all times to take to the hospital - I can own land.

Blogging about babies

It was nice today to see several responses to my last post, especially as people in all different parts of the world responded to each other. On my day off this week I looked at some other blogs that discussed their family's journey to having a baby. There was one blog about a family of two women in Beaverton, Oregon that just had their baby recently. I have always wanted to have a baby. It was a bit strange reading the blog and yet I kept reading. There is so much to learn and so much hope in the families that are having children. The baby is adorable (of course). The moms look so happy. It gives me hope.
It is amazing to me that this is a story that means so much to me, but without the internet I would not have probably heard it. There are many other families out there just like them. This gives us a model for how to start a family and what it takes. It is helpful to have this world wide community to give you information that your doctor may not tell you or even know.
Just to let all know, we are not pregnant and we have a while to go until this will be a reality. We are, however, excited about the prospect of being parents. Who knows, maybe we will have a blog like the ladies in Oregon in the next few years.


Little known baby fact:

The top ten baby names in 2006

Boys Girls
Jacob Emily
Michael Emma
Joshua Madison
Ethan Isabella
Matthew Ava
Daniel Abigail
Christopher Olivia
Andrew Hannah
Anthony Sophia
William Savannah

Our last three nieces and nephews have names in this group. Amazing!

Making Friends

Making friends in college or grad school was so easy. You saw your neighbor everyday in class or in the cafeteria. These people also had similar interest to you, maybe it was just going in debt together but you shared a common bond.

Now that I am working full time the "instant relationships" are few and far between. Since, believe it or not, I am not the type of person to going into a bar and make a friend like my brother I look in different places for friends. I work at a job with hundreds of people, however, I am not supposed to be "friends" with those people because of my pastoral role at church. I am working on relationships with people on staff and that is going pretty well for only being there 3 months. We all have a common bond which can be a positive and a negative - work. Sometimes I can only hear so much about work.

Outside of work, it is a whole different ball game. I spent last night online looking for groups to get involved with to meet new people since our church softball league is over. I tried a stitch and bitch group in the area and it was fine, but I was looking for something more. I am going to try another group closer to home, but still it is weird going to a group and meeting a bunch of strangers. It's like a job interview. Do you fit with us? Do I fit with you?

Alexis and I were talking about this and it seems like finding friends is not so much about shopping for them. You just make friends. Who you hang around with on a regular basis usually become your friends. She has many friends at her part-time job, but they are not people she would search out at a group meeting. They are the crazy people that work at Trader Joe's. Each one different from the other. I guess the whole common bond thing is part of it too. They HAVE to show up to work. With these "interest" groups you don't have to meet up. It take more commitment because there is no paycheck after attending a month of underwater basket weaving club.

The other thing about shopping for groups is the whole dating component. So many groups are "meetup" groups for single people. It was hard to find a group that did not advertise itself as a place to meet your new girlfriend or boyfriend. The sign language group I looked at stated in its advertisement that "we hope you find your true love by coming to our group, like we did." Check that one off the list.

After looking at many different groups including foreign language groups, an outdoor group, even a scrapbooking group, I think I found one where I can get the combo of I HAVE to be there and share a common bond. A feminist choir that has rehearsals close by our house. I hesitated to look at GLBT groups because I want a diverse group, but one of my co-workers who is married in a straight relationship sings with this group so it sounds like a good fit. I also want to get involved with a local couples group to have some folks to talk about life in domestic partnership, civil unions or marriage (do we really want to keep the word marriage, why not make up new word like eros eternum?). Hey, maybe we'll even meet some folks like us who have kids?

Oh and did I mention that the singing group is free? I would love to join a dance group, but it is expensive and I can't get a second job to pay for it or I won't be able to go to the class. Maybe someday when I am making the big bucks.

My parents are still waiting for that day to come. I will keep you posted on how the choir thing goes and if you are in the neighborhood we do have two concerts a year, so you can come and listen.

Well, time to go train for the marathon. Gotta work hard tonight so can relax tomorrow and go to Kathy Griffin's comedy performance. I am so excited! If you don't know this d-list celebrity, check out Bravo's tv line up.

Doh!

Has anyone seen the Simpsons movie yet? Speaking of Oregon earlier (the state that the Simpsons is based on) I want to get some feedback on the movie besides those of critics in the newspaper. I have heard it was not so good and that is disappointing. Give me your thumbs down or thumbs down.

Now for something completely different...

Alexis and I are fans of the reality show "So you think you can dance." Does anyone else watch it? We are excited for the upcoming finale...who will win - Sabra, Danny or the dark horse Neil? It would be cool for Sabra to win because she just has fun when she dances. The judges are also hilarious so check it out, if you haven't seen it. It's on Wednesday and Thursday nights on Fox.

While in Oregon recently with my grandmother we were discussing our favorite shows I found out that she actually votes on these shows? And she doesn't just vote once, she votes several times. How is my grandmother who doesn't have a computer more into reality tv than us? With dvr now we watch the show whenever we want to so we don't get to vote, but she is into American Idol and the whole thing. Are we the only ones who don't vote on these shows?

Little known fact (at least to me) about the show:
Last season the winner not only got $100,000, they got a contract to appear in Celine Dion's “A New Day” show at The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Come on who doesn't want to perform with Celine Dion?

The internet....

I have been thinking about the value of the internet lately. You know when you turn 30 you suddenly get all this perspective. Soo...the internet is a great thing. I can find things much more quickly now like take out menus, random facts and keep in touch with friends and family near and far. But, is the internet also just another distraction for us? I mean people say that the gay issue is a distraction from the discussing the fact that we are in Iraq and do not seem to have an exit strategy. (Side note: on NPR some strategist mentioned that if we have an exit date the terrorists will do everything bad on that day. Interesting point, but can't we have an exit date and just not broadcast it to the world?) Does the internet bring us closer together or just give us a reason to have random conversations with strangers? Does having all this information overwhelm us and make it difficult to deal with issues in ways more than sending an email to our congress person?

I am all for the internet. I love to send pictures to family, keep up with friends and know the weather instantly in the place I am going to visit...but as we look ahead 20 years what will the internet look like? Will it just be myspace pages and wikipedia? How will the world be better because of the internet? I think this is key to its survival...


Little fact on the internet:
The first usage of the word "internet" was in 1974 according to, of course, wikipedia.

Business Lunches

I recently just started a new job at a very corporate organization - meaning there are several people on staff. As the new kid I get taken out to lunch a lot. It is strange to have people buy me lunch and yet it's nice. I thought it would end after awhile, but I get invited to lunch and then someone offers to pay. Let me also throw into the mix that we usually go as a group. I try and pay sometimes. Some people are easier to share the bills with than others.

So my question is since these folks are buying lunch and they say "get whatever you want" do you really get whatever you want? I had lunch with someone for the first time this week and they mentioned that they were getting a salad and a dish. I ordered first, I got a salad and a dish, then when they ordered they only got one thing? Was it because I spent too much? I'd rather buy my own lunch then wonder what to order.

Thoughts are welcomed and appreciated...


Some little known numbers about eating out (according to Forbes Magazine, Sept 2006)

$200 billion Amount spent at fast-food restaurants in 2005.

$476 billion Amount spent at all restaurants in 2005.

According to Forbes' guide to a business lunch you are actually supposed to order more than you can eat so the person you are with can take it back to the office. Who knew?

Frequent Flyer Miles

What's the deal with these supposed deals? I recently just checked on Northwest Airlines for a flight and it was just a coast to coast flight. 100,000 miles to get a RT ticket? The advertisements I have seen are 20,000 miles. Am I missing something? I have been saving up for a trip to Europe what is that going to take? I know that credit cards can give you points, but I have heard that credit cards aren't that great because of blackout dates.

Anyone have any tips for making airfare more affordable?

Project Runway

Okay so there is going to be a new season of Project Runway, but WHEN oh WHEN will it start? Come on Bravo. Give us a scrap of information...because sorry to say Top Chef is no match for PR's fashion fabulousness.

Well, speaking of fashion, our puppy power got a very fashionable haircut today. She is a cutie already, but when she gets her summer cut she's adorable. She has dalmatian spots and a huge head. Come on, you have to admit that our dog is cuter than yours.

Marathon running...

Ever since I was young I wanted to run a marathon by the time I was 40. I also hope to be able to run a marathon after 40. The first test of my ability to achieve this task will come this Spring at the Breast Cancer Awareness Marathon. Not only are we doing a good thing for ourselves and our health, we are helping other women. 26.2 miles of goodness. It is exciting to think of running that far, even if it takes us 4+ hours. Maybe by the time I am 40, it won't take quite as long. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

If you are interested in running events near you, check out http://www.active.com/running.htm


Little known fact about women and marathons:

The first woman to enter and run a marathon was Katherine Switzer in Boston in 1967. After she began to run the race and the judges realized she was a woman, they tried to have her removed from the race. The first olympic marathon for women was not until 1984. Men have been running the olympic marathon for over 100 years. Now women run marathon times that are only 10 minutes slower than men. Aren't women amazing?

I'll order a Presbyterian, please...

Okay, I work at an Episcopal Church that thinks people of all sexual orientations, races, classes, languages, ages, you get the picture, should be able to be ordained. It is a good church and hey, they hired me. So you'd think I'd be Episcopal by now.

Nope. I am still working on getting ordained in the Presbyterian church (USA). That last part in paratheses makes a difference in the south. As I study for this last exam for my ordination at the end of the month, I know why I am presbyterian. I have learned more about why I am presbyterian from working in an Episcopal church. While I enjoy the smells and bells of episcopal worship, I want the flexibility of changing worship that comes from being reformed and presbyterian. Sometimes I think we need bishops in our system of government, but I still keep believing that our connectional nature as church will help us seek justice for all.

WHEN I pass this test (positive thinking) it will still be a journey. I am doing ministry right now in the Episcopal Church and to get ordained PC(USA) you need to be doing something presbyterian or at least affiliated/non-profit. So even if they decided that I can be ordained in the church I gotta find another job.

To use words from one of my favorite frogs, Kermit, "someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me." Someday I will look back on all this and see grace, but right now I still sometimes think about what the father of a friend said, "why do you want to be apart of something that hurts you?" I hope that the love of the church from those working for change always out weighs the hurt, but I also hope that someday that the church stops hurting people.

Well, one of my friends recently commented that my blogs are not as random as my spouse's. In honor of her comment I did find something that I know she will enjoy. Check out this video on youtube.com and read the comments on how the "Presbyterian" got it's name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmiTlaZd5Yg

Maybe I can order this after I pass my exam in honor of the great church that I am a part of (at least for now). Hey, there is no drink named after the Episcopals or Methodists.

DVR

I can't tell if we watch more tv or less with our new DVR. I love to be able to watch shows and fast forward through the commercials. I think we may actually watch more shows, but less of them. We almost completely fast forward through an entire episode of "So you think you can dance."

I am looking forward to a new season of Project Runway. The fall will be wonderful with Ugly Betty, Project Runway, Studio 60 and there is one more I am missing, oh yeah Gilmore Girls, which ended. What will Rory and Lorelei do now? Lorelei is doing cookie ads, I mean where do you go from there?

Whether or not we watch more or less tv, the DVR makes our tv watching experience more enjoyable because the flipping of channels during commercials is no more. ahhh... modern convenience. Now if we could just get our dishwasher to actually clean our dishes not just santize them.

Fourth of July

YAY! It's almost time for fireworks. I love fireworks. I can remember as a kid everybody in the neighborhood getting out their lawn chairs and lining the street for a heck of a show. Complete with kids using sparklers, the pre-show for the little kids of whisling petes and fountains and always the big grand finale of every illegal firework that was bought going off at once. It was beautiful. I am looking forward to passing on this tradition to our kids.

This year's show will not the three ring circus of the bay area (we sat up in the hills of marin watching shows in berkeley, 2 shows in San Francisco and Sausalito all at the same time) or Thunder over Louisville, but this year we have a lawn and a grill. BIG upgrades.

This year will be like the good ol' small town celebration of Montreat, NC complete with the parade and crepe paper decorated little red wagons with kids being pulled by their parents. Oh and Alexis' just mentioned I travel alot.

The funny part about the Fourth of July is that for me it is about fireworks. As I sat around the staff meeting last weekend preparing for worship, it became clear that for others it is about much more. The decisions about how many patriotic hymns to put in? do we put them in as a faith organization? what kind of language do we use?

Both Alexis and I have family in the military far away. Even one is unable to communicate with his wife who is pregnant and will deliver before he is scheduled to come back to the US. People all over this country will be celebrating the people who are serving this country, but I still like the fireworks. It is a celebration of freedom for me.

As people of faith what does the 4th of July mean? What does it mean to be patriotic?



Little Known Fact about fireworks shows:

The Macy's Show in New York (named as one of the best shows in the world)

Number of shells: 30,000 (55 times more fireworks than any average US fireworks show)

Speed of explosion: over 1000 shells bursting per minute

Miles of wiring needed to synchronize the show to music: 10

Feet of steel and fiberglass to launch shells: 63,000

Cost of average show: $75,000++

That's a lot of money to just have it go up in smoke.

The Journey is over....

VBS is over and now I am enjoying my day off. It was a great week. And being done is bittersweet. It is great to see the kids everyday and yet I am very tired. I learned so much and the kids had a great time. Now it is back to discovering our new curriculum, making plans for activities and cleaning my office. Right now it is a war zone. Bows and Arrows, rugs, plastic bins, costumes...it's all strewn everywhere in my office. I hope to get my office organized this week among many other things, but maybe I should just stick with that.

It is a big office and I really haven't made it mine yet. There are all these remnants from the previous director. I am hoping for a new coat of paint which will help change it up.

Speaking of making things new, we continue to await our new niece. She is due anytime and we can't wait to meet her.

Well, I will keep it short. I want to go enjoy the rest of my precious day off. Send good thoughts to the Red Sox, as we are going to the series tonight against the Braves. We really want a win!


Random Fact for the Day:

There is a weekly Farmer's Market in Morningside neighborhood http://www.morningsidemarket.com.
They are having their summer solistice celebration right now and their is a big party July 8th. They have lots of organic and LOCAL (unlike the DeKalb Farmer's Market) foods and sounds more convienent than driving down to Piedmont Park on Saturdays.

Journey to Galilee

This is the theme for our Vacation Bible School program at my church. I spent my day making costumes, banners for the tribes of Israel and 60 bows and arrows. Tomorrow will be tie-dye t-shirts, making jewerly and sandal kits. These kids have cool stuff...how can these kids have it harder than us? They have the internet, hybrid cars, cell phones...I can remember when my Mom made my clothes. Now it is cheaper to buy your clothes than make them.

What will it be like we have kids? How do kids today not become materialistic?

Galilee was a simpler time...people made things, got to know the people who sold them their food and walked to church. Of course that is not the whole story, people had huge families with multiple parents and people fought over land (but was it just land?). People talk about how we should live like Jesus did. Our VBS is supposed to be like Jesus' would have experienced it long ago as a kid. And maybe we are moving in that direction oddly...multiple parents from divorce in families, fighting over land, people buying local at farmer's markets and living in condos so they can walk to their favorite hangouts.

Have things changed that much from long ago?

If not, it makes it just as hard to live as Jesus did.

Speaking of Jesus and how he lived. I wonder what Jesus would have done in my recent insurance dilemma?

I got insurance with my new job and I picked a company that does offer domestic partner benefits, however my employer did not add those two words to our policy. This is frustrating because there is another plan where they did add the words "domestic partner". Why do they offer insurance to all people, but limit the policies that certain people can be insured under?

I am torn in these situations because when I found out that my spouse couldn't be covered under my insurance because of these two words being left out I almost cried. Does the person making the policy realize what it means to leave just two words out? I want to say "why did you do this?" Yet she probably didn't even think about it. I will call her and ask her to change it for the future, but when will language stop being a barrier? When will people in relationships be considered equal? Why does one person's commitment to another person provide access to benefits, while another's does not? The church could be a powerful agent for change in this arena as they ask people to look at how are Christians called to live in the world.

This, of course, brings us back to the difficulty of living as a Christian in Galilee long ago or Atlanta, GA today. How do we work for change in the world and take care of ourselves? I don't believe that Jesus would have yelled at the insurance lady, but I also don't believe Jesus would have given up on finding insurance for the ones he loved. I believe Jesus would have taken this opportunity to bring change. I think that is where grace is in these situations. People realizing their interconnectedness and working for justice. We are all part of one body, all of creation.

Hopefully my kids will learn about this interconnectedness as they make sandals, hear the bible stories and eat hummus and pita bread together. This is my hope.

Okay...so I am finally switching over to a public blog. Basically so I can write on my friend's blogs. A good enough reason as any. Keep a close eye here for quality writing about life in the South, my job in the Episcopal Church, the everchanging ordination process in the PC(USA) and living with my lovely wife, Alexis. Oh and how I am going to run 26.2 miles in 8 months.

Continuing from my previous blog...did you know?

big money bets were placed on the Scripps national spelling bee?