RevGals Friday Five: Nearly New Year's Edition

Roxie, our 13 year old Lab-Red Heeler mix, on the deck, enjoying a wonderful early summer afternoon.

Sally, over at RevGals, offers this Friday Five Meme:

A simple Friday Five for a busy part of the year; indulge me by sharing two fives:

As you look back over 2011 share 5 blessings, they can be as grand or as simple as you like,if you year has been like mine they are probably a mixture!

As you look towards 2012 share 5 hopes- again, anything goes

Five blessings:

1. This new call. I feel very blessed to serve this community of very fine people, who are mindful of God's call to justice, compassion, and love.

2. Family stability. My family has had a rough time over the last couple of years. This year we each found stability. It's nice to enjoy my kids as young adults who are finding their way in the world.

3. Our dogs. Last spring our sweet dog, Roxie, at the age of 13 started to have seizure-like episodes, losing bodily function and the ability to walk. We took her to the vet who diagnosed her with arthritis in her hips and gave her pain meds and anti-inflamatory meds. Subsequently we moved and saw a new vet who confirmed the diagnosis. In the mean time, she has not had one of those episodes, seems to be relatively pain-free, and will even trot now and then like a dog half her age. We know that every day with her is a gift, and we are grateful she is able to enjoy life. We certainly enjoy her!

4. iPad. The church intended to buy the new rector a new computer. In conversation with the vestry we decided to get me, the new rector, an iPad. There are many benefits to my work like from this, but most importantly, for me, I appreciate being ablt to preach from it and not print off paper every Sunday, just for that. I also use it to store meeting notes, agendas, schedules, my calendar...and I love iCloud, the Apple feature that stores all my data.

5. UNCSW (United Nations Commission on the Status of Women) and AWE (Anglican Women's Empowerment). In February 2011 I attended the UNCSW in NYC, and a variety of parallel NGO events, sponsored by AWE. I learned so much about the status of women around the world, and the high degree of violence and abuse that women encounter....and our need, as a global community, to be proactive on the behalf of all people. I also appreciated the five-part series on PBS, "Women, War, and Peace." Again, I learned so much from this powerful, well made series.

Looking forward to in 2012:

1. The next UNCSW. This year I will be leading a couple of the workshops at this event on the WordsMatter Expansive Language Project. My work with that project continues, albeit slower and less involved than before I took this job.

2. General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This summer I will attend GenCon, and again, I may host a WordsMatter workshop at this event. It's being held in Indianapolis, so an easy commute for me. I look forward to this, it is a fabulous event.

3. Finding a spiritual director and a retreat center. I really need to find a new spiritual director and a place to go for rest and renewal. There are plenty of options in this area, I just need to spend some time organizing myself in this regard. So, this is one of my goals for 2012.

4. Getting back to yoga. I have not been good at exercise lately. (Ok, not good at all since about September). I really need to get myself back on track. I am wondering what this means for me as I age and find that I injure easier than I use to. (Usually my lower back). Joining a health club is out of the question, and taking class is not really affordable, so I am left to my own devices. I can do this, but of course it is much easier to maintain if I can have the support of classes. Anyway, one of my goals.

5. Gardening. We had a fabulous garden last summer and I look forward to gardening again this summer!