Seeking Authentic Voice

I will be out of town Mon through Wed visiting a church and interviewing. Prayers appreciated.

From the Revgals blog: What Are You... 1. Wearing - pajamas (and sunless tanner so I am ready for the warm weather that is coming - whoohoo for shorts and sandals which I'll be wearing soon.) 2. Pondering - oh, way too much. Mostly job search stuff and managing existing church at the same time.... 3. Reading - blogs. Christianity for the Rest of Us. And church profiles, newsletters, etc for my search process. 4. Dreaming - sleeping too soundly to dream. Oh, but day dreams - warm weather. Hopes and dreams - that new exciting call. 5. Eating - cookies and Tazo "Refresh" tea (spearmint, peppermint, and tarragon)...yum!

The first time I heard this phrase was in the late 1980's. My husband used it to describe the kind of promoting one did to win business, "A Dog and Pony Show." Touting the wares of the trade and soliciting interested clients to use him and his company as their vendor of choice. Now still having problems posting from my main computer...ergo this half finished post. When I went back to complete it, with beautiful prose....I was told that my site couldn't connect to blogger...bleh...now I am using a differnt machine, but I also have a meeting in a few minutes...sigh...I miss posting...sometimes I can't even leave comments on the sites I read...

While at CREDO I had the opportunity to have two massages in one week. As someone who once worked as a Massage Therapist I was thrilled at this opportunity. I also knew I really needed one. (Or as it turned out, two...). The first treatment was Wednesday. It was a good massage. But I did not relax. My body remained tense, my mind on high alert. I was not too surprised. My last massage was over the summer, many months ago. It has been too long since I had one. And way too much stuff has happened. 11 days in the hospital. Managing five search processes for a new parish. Guiding my existing parish through rugged terrain of grief and worry. Too much strain. Too much anxiety. So. I had a second massage on Friday. That time I relaxed deeply. Fully. My body just let go of all the strain it was holding on to. Instead of perpetually tapping my toe and bouncing my leg while sitting, I am able to sit still. Able to think more clearly. Able to be quiet and listen to God. I should have known. I did...

testing to see if I can publish... OK, I could be wrong. But now, today, it seems I can once again, mysteriously, publish....we'll see if it holds....

I am have a difficult time posting on my blog. It appears to be something between blogger and my home computer(s). When ever I try to post I get a message about not being able to connect to blogger - even though I am clearly connected to the internet....However, I am able to post from my office. This all started about two weeks ago after I allowed some updates to microsoft windows on my home computer...So, hum. confusing...I will continue to discern what has caused the glitch and hopefully be back to full posting soon.

I have just returned from an 8 day conference called CREDO. Sponsored by the Church Pension Group of the Episcopal Church, CREDO is an opportunity for priests to spend time reflecting on how we are living our lives. The team of professionals who lead this conference include folks with expertise in health, finances, vocation, and spirituality. We attended plenary discussion on each of these topics and had time to reflect on how we are caring for our selves. How is our health? What activities do we do that support our health? We epxerienced a healthy eating exercise and talked about managing stress. We had great food prepared for us by the conference center staff. We had a beautiful walking trails through woods and hills in Virginia. What about our finances? Are we being good stewards of our resources? Do we have a plan for retirement? What about our vocation? Are we discerning a new call? How do we negotiate a new agreement? What are the components we ought to consider: sabbatical; time...