Seeking Authentic Voice

The biopsy reports for the young boy I blogged about earlier came back "NORMAL" - no cancer has spread. Thanks Be To God. and thank you for all your prayers. On another note: another former parishioner, a 50 something man, had a massive heart attack, is in a coma and the ICU. The doctors have said that he has suffered severe brain damage. His wife will probably remove the life support on Friday. I saw him today and prayed the prayers for those at the end of life. Beautiful prayers for such a sad occasion. A day of joy. A day of sorrow. A day of life.

In the early dawn, just before I woke up, I was thinking in my sleep. It wasn't really dreaming, it was more like thinking but not fully awake thought. I was thinking about the "Barbell" class I took at the gym last week. I wanted to take a barbell class but put it off for months before finding myself in that one. It was supposed to be a "Core" class, but it was changed without notice. So, barbell it was, with some core work too. What I was thinking about this morning was the instruction given at the beginning of the class, on how to lift. I was reviewing in my mind the steps: bend knees, lift barbell (with a heavier set of weights than one would use say in dumbbells), up to knee level. Continue to life the barbell up, skimming close to the body with some speed and effort, make a quick pull of the arms- until the barbell is level with the collar bones. Stop, knees are still bent, hands and arms are over the bar having just pulled it up. Now, turn the wrists an

It's Monday, a sunny, beautiful morning following a night when I almost got some sleep. I say almost because at my age I am sleep challenged. It happens. Ask any woman who is in her 50's, then again, don't, it's not very interesting, the reasons why. Trust me, it happens, though. But this morning I am drinking a great cup of coffee after almost sleeping all night. That's a good start. My dogs are playing, and wondering why I haven't fed them, yet. I will soon. But I like to keep them on their toes, not too set on a pattern of must have's. They are creatures of habit though and won't let me get away with this too long. Besides, I will need a second cup of coffee soon and that will trigger me to feed them. As long as I'm up off the sofa anyway.... I don't have any big plans for this day. I'm going to go to the gym and work out. I'm going to do some grocery shopping. I've been dog sitting at my daughters place so I will pack up later

The drive use to feel long. In the summer heat, traffic, and seemingly constant road construction it could take us two hours to drive there. I realize that a two hour drive is not long, especially if one is going on a respite. But the drive should have taken us, oh, 45 minutes, an hour maybe? That is if there had been no traffic or construction. The first seven years or so of our marriage my husband and I would make this trek out to my in-laws summer home. It was just a little place, near a lake and a small town west of Chicago. We took an exit of off Interstate 55, which, if you stayed on it would take you to Springfield and then St. Louis. This last year I have travelled I55 multiple times as I drove from Chicago to Arizona and back. I've driven right by the exit to the place my in laws used to have. In the context of that longer 36 hour drive, the two hour drive now feels like nothing. But that's now, years later when everything has changed. Then it felt like a long drive.

a reflection on Luke 8:25-39 Ok. So, I have these dogs. Some of you know this because you’ve met them. On any one day I will have two, three, or four dogs, depending on whether I have just my two and or the dogs that belong to our son or daughter. One of the dogs, the oldest of them, is prone to dreaming in her sleep. All of them will do this on occasion, but my oldest dog does it often. There she will be, day or night, sound asleep, when all of a sudden her legs will start twitching and her feet will move frenetically, like she’s running. Her voice will whimper and whine and you can tell that something is going on. Of course she can’t tell me her dream but I imagine it’s something to do with chasing rabbits or squirrels through a wide open field, something delightful. I think restlessness, even more than the commercials we see for “restless leg syndrome,” is a real symptom of the world we live in. There’s a pervasive restlessness in people young and old. As young people we are

Don't lose any opportunity, however small, of being gentle toward everyone. Don't rely on your own efforts to succeed in your various undertakings, but only on God's help. Then rest in his care of you, confident that he will do what is best for you, provided that you will, for your part, work diligently but gently. I say "gently" because a tense diligence is harmful both to our heart and to our task and is not really diligence, but rather over eagerness and anxiety...I recommend you to God's mercy. I beg him, through that same mercy, to fill you with his love. - Francis de Sales (found this on Tripp's blog...)

A reflection on 1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a and Luke 7:36-8:3, the Propers for 6C - written for and crossposted on the Feminist Theology blog found on my links to the right Over the last few weeks I found myself engrossed with hockey. (OK, I know...I can hear you now, wondering what the heck hockey has to do with Feminist Theology. Maybe nothing, we’ll see where this ends up going....). In particular I watched the Chicago Blackhawks in their efforts to win the Stanley Cup, the championship of hockey. Wednesday night, in a nail-biter finale, the series ended with a Blackhawks win in overtime. As a Chicagoan I was thrilled but not as emotional as one of the sports announcers who commented on the game and broke down in tears, post game. I don’t know this man’s name but I found myself thinking about him and the open tears he cried on live television. One of his co-announcers mentioned his emotion and the man replied something like this, “Yes, I am very emotional. In the years I play

(Photo of a hiking trail at the Grand Canyon  from the files of mompriest ) Recently I started an assertive exercise regime thanks to my daughter who convinced me to join her gym. Truth be told I've been pretty good at working out most of my life. Usually these workouts include walking my dogs, bike riding, swimming, or a yoga DVD. I thought I was in good shape. That is until I started using the machines and taking classes at the gym with people half my age. During this same time frame I have spent several nights a week watching hockey. As the oldest child with three younger brothers I grew up with hockey. Then it was played outside on rough ice and in freezing temperatures. Now I have been captivated by the Chicago Blackhawks and their quest for the Stanley Cup. Wednesday night I sat through a nail-biting game that culminated in the win Chicago's been waiting for. Also going on this week is the NBA playoff and the World Cup Soccer games in South Africa. Lots of

Is the soul solid, like iron? Or is it tender and breakable, like the wings of a moth in the beak of the owl? Who has it, and who doesn't? I keep looking around me. The face of the moose is as sad as the face of Jesus. The swan opens her white wings slowly. In the fall, the black bear carries leaves into the darkness. Our question leads to another. Does it have a shape? Like an iceberg? Like the eye of a hummingbird? Does it have one lung, like the snake and the scallop? Why should I have it, and not the anteater who loves her children? Why should I have it, and not the camel? Come to think of it, what about the maple trees? What about the blue iris? What about all the little stones, sitting alone in the moonlight? What about roses, and lemons, and their shining leaves? What about the grass? (Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems, Beacon Press, 1992)

A reflection 1 Kings 17:8-24, for Proper 5C In the early evening, as the temperatures were cooling from a hot June day, the family arrived. Clamoring out of the van was the mother, young and very tall with a beautiful face. Following her were five children, four boys and a girl, ranging in age from 17 to 4, and the grandmother, an elderly Islamic woman. This elderly woman was the mother of one of the three different men who had fathered the five children. They made an odd, rag tag group of international travelers if there ever was one. But more than what comprised them as a family, what I remember most is the look in their eyes. These fourteen pair of eyes were tired, worn weary by too much despair, loss, and probably violence.. The eyes told me of a pain so deep that to survive these people had shut down all feeling. They were simply going through the motions of unloading the few pieces of luggage; all that remained of their material lives. And most likely the suitcases, and what

(Photo of a tree on the rim of the Grand Canyon, from the files of Mompriest, a true sign of tenacity or maybe patience) Sally over at RevGals is growing a vegetable garden and celebrating the graduation of three of her children from college, both of which she thinks have required a certain amount of patience and some pigheadedness for the school completion. She offers this Friday Five Meme as a result: 1. Is patience a virtue you possess? If it is then does it come naturally, if not how do you/ did you work at it? I remember a friend of mine talking about her young children and their efforts to get their way - dawdling, distracted, temper tantrums, etc. She said, I can always wait them out and outlast them, they won't wear me down just to get their way....or something like that. I do not have that kind of patience. After a time I'd just scoop my kids up and say, "Off we go!" or get angry, or sometimes give in (not my best parenting response). I do practice havin

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Working out is making a difference. Followed by, should I color my hair or let it go gray (again). Followed by, I wish I had the patience to grow it out. 2. Do you miss anyone right now? I recently moved back to the area where all my family and friends live - so thankfully, no. But for the two years prior - I missed my daughter most of all. 3. If you could move anywhere else, would you? I moved far away some time ago and found out that if you can't find your hearts desire in your own backyard you won't find it any place else, either. 4. If you could choose, what would your last meal be? Grilled F ilet Mignon, garlic smashed red potatoes, steamed asparagus, and a glass of really nice red wine. OR grilled salmon, rice, and a salad with a glass of really nice chardonnay. I'm really basic and happy with simple ordinary home cooked meals. 5. What famous person, dead or alive, woul