layers of life

-Being DONE with ordination exams!!

-Receiving a package in the mail from my mom. It was a rather full card-sized envelope. As I opened it, a stream of willowy fabric kept coming out. (For a minute, I felt like I was doing a magic trick.) It turned out to be a lovely funky-patterned strapless dress for layering over things. The print is really wild and fun, and completely my style. I wore it when I went to the pub with friends to celebrate the completion of ords.

-Sleeping in. I slept so well, and have enjoyed a very lazy morning of making eggs, toast and coffee and watching mindless tv. I'm looking foward to using the day to read all of the novels I've been meaning to get to.

awaken your consciousness

-After working hard on my exegesis exam all day, giving myself the grace to relax for the evening, and put it away (ok, I snuck in a little editing, but it was minor).

-The music of cooking: the crack the garlic made as I pulled a clove away from the bulb, the sizzle of onions sauteed in olive oil, the whoosh of pasta going into boiling water and the mmm I made with my first bite.

-While making coffee this morning, I looked at the coffee bag and smiled, remembering where it came from. While at a family reunion at Mo Ranch this summer, we ran out of coffee. I immediately told my dad that they sold fair-trade coffee in the gift shop. The next morning, there were two pots of coffee, one labeled "economically exploited" using the leftover Folgers they had brought, and a second labeled "fair trade" using the coffee I had requested. My dad has a great sense of humor.

flying biscuits, hiphil cohortatives and pink sunsets (how's that for random?)

-Going to Flying Biscuit with Erin as sort-of a farewell breakfast before she left for her year-long internship. I'll miss you, friend!

-Spending lots of time looking at the Song of Solomon text in Hebrew for my ordination exam. It literally gave me a headache, and was painstakingly slow work. Yet, I was grateful to engage in the struggle of translating once more, and to remember how fascinating and layered Hebrew can be.

-A lovely orange and pink sunset behind the trees outside my window.

liberating sleep and conversation

-Hearing our dean of students ask a recently married student if she had changed her name. She replied that she had stuck with the last name she was born with, because she quite liked it. He said, "Yeah, liberation!"

-A very well-deserved nap.

-A great conversation with my Aunt Karen.

whoa, i'm halfway there, WHOA, livin' on a prayer...

-It's taken me ages, but finally having the air conditioning in my car work. It was blissfully freezing on the way home.

-A feeling of relief mixed with resignation and exhaustion that comes from being halfway done with ords. I'm looking foward to Mexican food with friends to relax tonight.

-A sudden summer rainstorm.

Jesus: proclaiming peace with painted nails.

-Commiserating with Karen and Rob over our ordination exam anxiety. Rob eased my frantic cramming by saying, "If we could learn all we needed to in one week, what would be the point of seminary?" Wisely put.

-Memorizing the Brief Statement of Faith, and being surprised by how much it was a comfort and source of hope for me. I especially like the part that says: "In a fearful and broken world, the Spirit gives us the courage to pray without ceasing, to to witness among all peoples to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom and peace."

-Finding Jesus (with pink-painted nails and toes no less) in a resale shop.

Please pray for my friends and me as we take ordination exams over these next few days. Thanks. :)

soul mates

-Hanging out with the girls last night to watch Sex & the City and enjoying good wine, laughs and venting. There was a scene in the show where Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte realize that they are each other's soul mates, and I looked around and thought of how many wonderful soul mates I have.

-Erin immediately agreeing to go with me to Stone Mountain to get my car fixed.

-Nutella on toast. (I know this has been a glimpse for me before, but what can I say? Hazelnut chocolate is divine.)

cleveland rocks

Glimpses from Ohio (and the drive there):
-The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. It was amazing to see the Edge's guitar, John Lennon's guitar and other great pieces of memorabilia. It made the music come alive to me.

-A thoughtful and counter-cultural sign in Tiffin, Ohio (ignore the typo).

-Lights strung across a street in Cleveland that, combined with the rainy, cold weather, reminded me of Dublin.

-Cornfields in Ohio. I always love how rows of crops seem to dance as you drive by them.

-Seeing Ian really happy.

-An early morning sun shining through textured clouds.

presence and poetry

-Karen and I telling Rob about how depressing Becoming Jane was. His response was, "You want me to cook y'all hamburgers?" They cheered us right up.

-Inexplicably feeling God's presence as I walked home listening to locusts singing (generous use of the word) above me in tall vine-covered trees.

-Sanders Bohlke's lyrics saying, "Storms will come. And rain, it shall pass. And our hearts, they may shatter just like glass. But rest easy, 'cause our souls, they were made to last." Beautiful.

(I'm headed to Ohio for a friend's wedding this weekend, so I won't be able to post until Tuesday. Have a great weekend!)

thoughtfulness, music and journeys

-The woman at the register at the Dollar Tree complimenting a customer on how great her driver's license picture was. The customer said, "I didn't really like it," but the woman insisted, "It's a good one--you're smiling."

-A week full of live music: Rufus Wainwright, Neko Case and A Fine Frenzy one night and Jenny Owen Youngs, Sanders Bohlke and Jeremy Fisher the next. Each was unique and grace-ful in their own way, and added up to great moments of introspection, laughter and peace for me.

-During our closing worship to finish out our chaplaincy at Grady, we answered our calls outside of Grady symbolically by lighting a candle and placing it in the font. It was so powerful to see those who have become my friends answer their calls after Grady and to see all of our candles mingled together in the font.

sweets and soulful songs

-Going to hang out with Maggie, and arriving to discover she'd baked me chocolate chip cookies. What a great friend.

-The magical step in key lime pie making where I get to put one drop of green food coloring into the filling, making it turn from a pale yellow to a lovely lime green. (note: This picture was taken before I put the pie in the fridge before it was cooled, and had a tub of cool whip fall over into it. I managed to make it somewhat smooth again, but I'm not too worried. Cool whip covers a multitide of sins!)

-Hearing a song while eating dinner with friends and, after a few minutes spent agitating over who sang it, realizing that it was by Mark Geary, a great singer/songwriter I heard at Eddie's Attic over a year ago. It was a bit obscure for the restaurant to be playing, and so I was really excited to hear it. His music also spoke to me a lot when I was going through a similar time in my life, so the return of it was very welcome.

cheeky and joyful

-Seeing tinges of a pink sunrise through the blinds when I woke up this morning.

-Hearing that my Dad got a promotion, and listening to him describe his job with real joy.

-A chubby-cheeked baby making faces at me at a restaurant.

predestination and other dinner conversation.

-The view of a reddish sun through trees from my window. If I time it just right, I get a great view from my couch of its ethereal evening glow.

-Explaining predestination to Sara as I study for ordination exams and realizing that I actually remember more than I thought.

-Finally getting to have Maggie and Claire over for Sex & the City. We definitely spent more time catching up than actually watching it, and that's how it should be.

the eyes have it

-Little boys playing with sunglasses in the grocery store. The boy who proudly wore his spiderman ones upside down made me giggle.

-The just-awake white fuzziness I see when I first open my eyes in the morning.

-The smell of fresh coffee hitting me as I came into work this morning. Trey brought some amazing coffee from his recent trip to Guatemala, and it was rich, smooth and heavenly.

fall, look and call

-Delicate crape myrtle blossoms gracefully falling from trees.

-A look that contains so much depth it's staggering.

-Seeing Hairspray with Claire. It's set in the 60's, and what I expected to be a light musical turned out to be a prophetic call for equality, justice and love. It was amazing.

signs of solidarity

-Taking a No More Deaths sign to the Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers concert last night. They're from Arizona, and so Jonathan put it on the stage last time he heard them in Atlanta. I squeezed up to the front and placed it on the stage. Later in the show, Roger acknowledged the sign's return and then talked about how humanitarian aid is never a crime, and that basic human rights aren't just reserved for the red, white and the blue.

-A ridiculous little song created by the other chaplains called "Little White Coat." It made me laugh so hard.

-Chatting with a patient from Texas and realizing that there's an undefinable communication that occurs easily between Texans.

running and Rufus

-The little boy who ran after pigeons with delight and scared them off by shouting in what I think was Hindi.

-A CD propped up against my door waiting for me when I got home. It's Rufus Wainwright, and my friend Daniel made it for me because he, Lucy and I are going to hear him in Atlanta in a couple of weeks. We've had tickets for ages, and I can't wait.

-The way I always leave with tomatoes, proscuitto, Italian bread and mozzarella when I go to the Farmer's Market without a list. It makes for the most delicious combination.