Miscellany:

This weekend has been a long one...we made it through the Oregon Military Museum (see the picture of the crowd with the tanks), which happens to be Oregon's best-kept secret. I didn't even know it was there until a week ago. For any locals who may be interested...it's in Clackamas off I-205 and Hwy. 224 at Camp Withycombe. It's free and it's open Fridays and Saturdays from 9-5. It really is worth a visit.

We also made it through the pizza, the cupcakes, the movie (Tron) and the sleepover...I actually got a great deal of the mess cleaned up today and only struggled to keep my cool once.

So...I also wanted to point to a couple recent posts which were interesting to me...

From the slap-myself-on-the-forehead-why-didn't-I-think-of-that-files: Paul Walker's Christianity/Paganism Syncroblog post, A Walk on the Wild Side, really is fascinating reading...not only for the post but for the comments. When he realized he didn't know what to say about paganism, he did what any conversational-minded person would do and went straight to the source. The end result really is worth the read for anyone who is interested in Christian-Pagan dialog.

From the I-can't-help-but-laugh-even-if-it-isn't-funny files: ABSO Jesus # 100.

From the one-reason-why-I-don't-want-to-go-back files: The Watchman Kevin Shinn on "Becoming Churchless 101", where he compares the Sunday-morning routines of the churchgoer vs. the churchless.

Also, Pam lost her laptop while in Asia, so she's been unable to post for several days. They are still trying to track it down...please pray that they are able to do so. In the meantime, she has been e-mailing me with updates on her travels and I have been posting to her blog in her stead. She is also unlikely to be able to check e-mail or respond to comments very often...so please don't feel as though she is ignoring you if you don't hear back from her.

I'm hoping to get on with "my story" in the next day or two...stay tuned.

Birthday Bash!

I'll be scarce this weekend...I have to clean house today in preparation for having all the extended family here this evening for my son's birthday.

Then a variety of boys will be descending on my house tomorrow for an entire day and overnight of partying and revelry!

So if I don't respond right away to comments, forgive me, and I'll get to them as soon as I can!

Have a great weekend!

Moving Along...

That last post did not come out as I planned and was not up to my own standards...I just couldn't pull it together; couldn't mold it into what was in my heart. Words have been a bit of a struggle for me lately...as I work through some internal upheaval. Forgive me.

I talked with my friend Donna last week, at length over lunch...I have been pondering (among other things) my direction here at Decompressing Faith as of late...and I do believe it is time over the next weeks and months to begin sharing the side of the story I haven't blogged about, and most of you do not know. Really, very few people know.

And to be honest, since God laid this on my heart, He hasn't allowed me to write hardly anything at all...except my draft posts about the rest of my story flow with interesting abundance. What should I glean from those hints?

It will likely be in bits and pieces, fits and starts, and only as I have the guts. But it's where I think this journey is taking me. I might lose some of you along the way, and for that I will understand. It's not that I have ever been dishonest or deceptive....every word I have written about my experiences are true, but they are only a part of the story.

I wonder if I'm crazy, risking my readership this way...but even as much as I love you all, it's never been about the readership, it's about my healing...and this is the next layer. God took me through the ringer and I learned some ugly lessons along the way...and I behaved in some ugly ways, which I take responsibility for. However, I was held responsible for far more than I ever should have been...I have held myself responsible for more than was mine, and I have carried a burden that is not my own.

Since I do write under my real name I believe I may edit parts of the story for details; I don't wish to further hurt anyone who was involved. Some people who knew me "then" do read this blog; they will likely know the identities those of whom I speak, but I don't wish anyone who doesn't already know the people involved to be able to identify anyone but me.

A good blog friend of mine has been extraordinarily honest about things in her past which are difficult to talk about, because she hopes it will help encourage someone. Though my story is entirely different, I pray that I can follow in her brave steps.

I do believe we all are shattered eikons, slowly and lovingly being restored, bit-by-bit, but each never any more perfect or more loved than anyone other.

My Brother the Pagan

I know for many intents and purposes, the word pagan is often used to identify those who practice polytheistic spiritualities, especially those who practice Wicca or Goddess religions. The dictionary reveals another definition, the one with which I'll be working here:

pa·gan: a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.

Awhile back, I began exploring the idea of agapeology, or agapetheism...the idea that God IS Love...and further research revealed that my friend Kevin Beck has explored it much more thoroughly here. I recommend you read that article, for I share his perspective in many ways.

To quote Kevin, if he doesn't mind:

“As I see it, God’s primary concern—God’s overarching interest—is love. The New Testament word is Agape. I believe that God poured so much of himself into love—that God so identified with love—that the apostle John could say without fear of being contradicted, “God is love.” Theos agape esti.

"This truth, this realization, this call can help us transcend the debates of what Jonathan Kirsch calls “God against the Gods.” The disputes of monotheism versus polytheism have gotten us nowhere. The wars over the proper brand of monotheism have caused no little amount of bloodshed."

If I might paraphrase in my own words: religion has caused bloodshed, and the best way to overcome this is to take a closer look at what God's real purpose for us is. If I remember my Christianity 101, the basics are "Love God with all my heart and Love others as I Love myself". I'm not going to get off on a tangent here on my broader and deeper thoughts on agapeology, that will be for another post. For now, one thing heavy on my heart is learning how we who call ourselves Christian have hurt the people we are supposed to Love, the "others", with our aggressive conversion tactics and absolutist theology.

For this post, I asked my youngest brother and friend, Andrew, if he would answer some questions for me about his beliefs, as a step in understanding one pagan approach to spiritual things. Andrew and I have a great relationship; any sense of frustration in his answers is directed at his collective experiences with Christianity as an institution.

-----------------------

Erin: How would you characterize or define your spirituality at present?

Andrew: Generally I consider myself an antideist or antitheist - I haven't completely solidified the things I DO believe in, but I know the things I DON'T believe in. I believe that there is a deeper order to life and it's interactions on this planet, and a form of deification of that system might be appropriate, but I'm not ready to set that in stone yet. We are, in a very LITERAL sense, different parts of the same life force, difference pieces, with an illusion of individuality but in truth part of a much greater whole just the same as an arm and a leg belonging to the same person are part of the same system - I do not mean this metaphorically, but very very literally.

Erin: How important or valuable to your life are your spiritual beliefs/practices? How do you feel your spiritual beliefs are viewed by people who claim to be Christian?

Andrew: Very important. I'm on a personal crusade against Blind Faith and Ignorance and the effects it has on those around me. Many of my Christian friends have distanced themselves from me since I have taken a conscientiously intolerant stance against them. I do not believe in the specific divinity and resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus I am a sinner and need to be Saved.

Erin: How do you feel about the act of proselytizing (people who try to convert you to their spiritual beliefs)?

Andrew: Christian proselytizing is Evil with a capital E. I hate to draw reference to a pop sci-fi novel, but as some might recognize the allusion to Snow Crash [by Neal Stephenson]... Christianity/Islam/Judaism (Grouped together with full knowledge of the implications) is perhaps the greatest social virus of all time, spreading throughout the cells of the human race, initially aiding the species but eventually becoming cancerous and greatly damaging our ability to progress. Jesus didn't come to start a religion, he came to fix the world, but he underestimated the perversions that his teachings would beget, and now the world is infected.

Erin: Not to correct your wording, but I would rather say Jesus came to fix the world by teaching Love. Do you feel that people of differing religions/spiritualities could learn to be more Loving towards one another, or do you feel that this is unlikely to ever happen?

Andrew: Different spiritual beliefs? Sure. But Religion, as a combative self-perpetuating social virus, will always strive to push its members to have hostility towards other religions.

Thank you, Andrew, for your time and your honest answers. I appreciate it.

----------------------

Combative? Hostile? Infected? Ignorant? Is that how I want my faith to be seen?

Once upon a time I would have felt extremely angry and defensive at these words, now I only feel sad. What is it about Christianity that we so miss Jesus' point? When did it become a crusade for right and wrong belief, rather than a lifestyle of love and servanthood? How could we, who profess to be Loving, be seen with such enmity?

I can't help but wonder if there isn't some underlying connectivity as Andrew claims...if we were to see Love as the current that binds us all, could we begin to Love each other and move away from divisiveness as a humanity?

If we believe Christianity must be aggressive and conquering as our mission to the world, what have we lost?

If we see Love as not only a noun or a verb, but as a lifestyle, what would we gain?

One more quote from Kevin:

"Agapetheism defuses fights over God because love does no harm, is not puffed up, does not seek its own. Agapetheism doesn’t even enter the religious fracas, because Love is not in fights over God. Love does not behave rudely.

"Speaking of behaving rudely: Agapetheism never asks someone, “What do you believe?” Instead, Love asks, “How can I serve you?” Do you see the difference?"

Indeed.




Please visit my fellow synchrobloggers:

Christians and Pagans in Conversation at Journeys in Between
Christianity, Paganism, and Literature at Notes from the Underground
Disagreeing with Pagans at JohnSmulo.com
Heathens and Pagans and Witches ... oh my! at Calacirian
Astrology and Faith at Elizaphanian
Rejection, Redemption and Roots at One Hand Clapping
Chasing the Wild Goose at Eternal Echoes
Visigoths Ahoy! at Mike's Musings
Belief and Being: The difficulty of communicating faith at Phil Wyman's Square No More
Steve Hollinghurst at On Earth as in Heaven
Undefined Desire at Igneous Quill
A Walk on the Wild Side at Out of the Cocoon
Observations on Magic in Western Religion at My Contemplations
Teenage "Default Spirituality" and Paganism at Tim Abbott
Spirituality and the Zodiac: Stories in the Cosmos at Be the Revolution

Christianity and Paganism: Synchroblog

Today marks the Christianity and Paganism Synchroblog.

I may not get my post up until tomorrow or Wednesday...but I will get to it just as soon as I can.

In the meantime, please visit these other participants:

Matthew Stone at Journeys in Between
Christianity, Paganism, and Literature at Notes from the Underground
John Smulo at JohnSmulo.com
Heathens and Pagans and Witches ... oh my! at Calacirian
Sam Norton at Elizaphanian
Rejection, Redemption and Roots at One Hand Clapping
Chasing the Wild Goose at Eternal Echoes
Visigoths Ahoy! at Mike's Musings
Belief and Being: The difficulty of communicating faith at Phil Wyman's Square No More
Steve Hollinghurst at On Earth as in Heaven
Undefined Desire at Igneous Quill
A Walk on the Wild Side at Out of the Cocoon
Observations on Magic in Western Religion at My Contemplations
Tim Abbott at Tim Abbott
Spirituality and the Zodiac: Stories in the Cosmos at Be the Revolution

Wordless

Lately I've been wordless. Not completely, but enough to cut my blog posting and commenting down to a minimum. I'm just spending time trying to sort some things out, so forgive me if I'm quiet than usual...when I go to post, the words just won't come...when I go to comment on many posts...the words just won't come. So please don't feel slighted if I don't comment on your posts. I think I may have just dumped out too many words in the last month or so...and am in a dry spell...hope to be back with a post soon. Bear with me...

I did have a very helpful lunch with my friend Donna yesterday...she listened to me rant and offered some much needed wisdom. I'm simply at a crossroads and am not certain which way to turn - trying to evaluate the directions so I can take a step. I am not contemplating the end of the blog...just working through some other things.

I got inked again today...just got home a little while ago. I neglected to have lunch before I went in, and the pain was a bit intense, so I got nauseous partway through and had to take a short break...and I ate and felt much better. Overall it went very well and I'm completely thrilled with it - and we did it on one sitting when I had expected two, I was quite happy about that. I will post pics when it heals up. I do know there is a blog friend out there who is contemplating/planning a first tattoo...I would just say "remember to eat before you go".

Umm..what else? I don't know, I guess that's all I have to say at the moment. I'll get back to you if something comes to mind.

Sometimes we don't get what we deserve...

and sometimes we don't deserve what we get! This is one of those.

Today, my friend Mike-the-night-owl awarded me with a Mathetes "Excellence in Discipleship" award. Huh? Say that again? Okaaay...

This award originated with Dan King at Management by God, where he says:

"Mathetes is the Greek word for disciple, and the role of the disciple (per the Great Commission) it to make more disciples. I'd like to take the opportunity to award five other bloggers with this award and badge for acting in the role of a disciple of Christ. These five all share the message in their own creative ways, and I admire them all for what they do."

I honestly don't feel like I disciple anyone very well...far more often I consider myself the disciplee of so many of you. That's not kidding. I certainly appreciate Mike for thinking so, and now I get to award 5 people who I consider to be far more deserving than I.

These are people I have learned from, been inspired and encouraged by and consider to be friends. This list is certainly not exhaustive, I do believe I have learned something precious from everyone who reads here...here are 5 of them.

Grace
Gary
Sonja
Cindy
John

Good times Abroad!

My friend Pam has posted today from Hong Kong! She and her husband were with YWAM in HK when they met. They haven't been back for 15 years and this time they took the kids!

She shares some pictures and relates some of their adventures so far. Their trip will be a total of 3 weeks, with a stop in Thailand later on.

Check it out.

ENFJ Anyone?

ENFJ was the only type we didn't get on the poll.

In the course of a month I received a total of 89 votes. Thanks to everyone who played along...I will be thinking more about what this data means for our community as time goes by, but here is my initial report. I have compiled my data in an Excel spreadsheet. It does not contain any information not posted here, but if you'd like a copy, please let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.

The poll was based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is an instrument developed by Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Cook Briggs, and first published in 1975. They based their typing on Carl Jung's 16 Psychological Types.

In the first column you will find the types and how many votes I received for each type. Next is the percentage of each type according to this poll. The last column tells what percentage of the general population falls into each type according to Myers-Briggs. M-B percentages don't add up to 100% due to their method of rounding.

Beneath the results, I have broken the results down by each of the 16 individual factors, E-I, S-N, F-T, and J-P.

At the bottom I have included a sort based on Keirsey's temperament pairs: Rationalists (NT), Idealists (NF), Artisans(SP) and Guardians(SJ).

This is a very unscientific poll, because if a person deleted their cookies they could have voted more than once. Also, since the purpose of this poll was to see how the types fell in the blogging community, this is assuming everyone who voted is a blogger. As well, the quiz at Mypersonality.info which most of us used to determine our type was an unscientific quiz.

That said, it is still interesting to me...we are by far introverts and intuitives. I think it's the intuitive factor that really interests me: in the general population, only 26% are intuitives, but 83% of us bloggers are. Also, not so surprisingly, we are primarily INFP's.

I'm not the kind of brain that would be good at breaking down this data more thoroughly, so if anyone wants to use this information, feel free. At the bottom I have include a number of links that will tell you more about your type.

TYPE		Total Votes/		Vote %													General Population %
		89															(per M-B)
ISTJ		5		5.62%													11.6
ISFJ		1		1.12%													13.8
INTJ		17		19%													2.1
INFJ		10		11%													1.5
ISTP		2		2.25%													5.4
ISFP		2		2.25%													8.8
INTP		7		8%													3.3
INFP		22		25%													4.4
ESTJ		1		1.12%													8.7
ESFJ		2		2.25%													12.3
ENTJ		5		5.62%													1.8
ENFJ		0		0													2.5
ESTP		1		1.12%													4.3
ESFP		1		1.12%													8.5
ENTP		1		1.12%													3.2
ENFP		12		13%													8.1
Introvert		66		74%													50.7
Extrovert		23		26%													49.3
Sensing		15		17%													73.3
iNtuitition		74		83%													26.7
Feeling		50		56%													59.8
Thinking		39		44%													40.2
		89		100%
Judging		41		46%													54.1
Perceiving		48		54%													45.9
Kiersey
NF		44		49%													16.3
NT		30		34%													10.4
SJ		9		10%													46.4
SP		6		7%													27

Personality Page
TypeLogic
LifExplore
Similar Minds
Wikipedia: Myers-Briggs
Wikipedia: Kerisey

Reminder

We are nearing the end of the Personality Poll...so if you haven't voted, please do. If you know anyone else who might like to participate in this non-scientific poll, please send them this way. We have received far more votes than I ever anticipated and it's going to be that much more interesting to look at the trends.

A Better Day and Another Year

Thank you all for your support RE: my last post. I do appreciate all the encouragement and conversation. The last two days have been better. I think it's a sign of moving forward...moving forward often means leaving parts of ourselves behind, and there is pain in that.

What I'm seeing that I am so uplifted by is this: we are community, even here in this intangible world. For anyone who tries to tell me that this isn't real...phooey on you. I know it's real. You all supported me, expressed kindness and generosity to me, and shared your experiences and even your pain with me. If that's not community, I don't know what is.

When I started this blog two years ago, it really was nothing but rant after rant about pain, injustice, bitterness, anger...often a lot of ugly. I have sometimes wanted to go back and delete the posts I am most ashamed of, but I have always concluded that they are part of my story as much as anything. Much of what I have said in the past remains true, at least to some extent, as well. I have managed to alienate a few people over these two blogging years; for that I am truly sorry...but I have always wanted this to be a place of "me", the good, bad and ugly.

As time has gone on, there has been a subtle shift...I'm not even sure how I would characterize it...I still do "rant" for sure. However, I do see a pattern of growth; of less pain and more healing, of less bitterness and more hope, of less despair and more motivation.

Thank you all for another amazing, beautiful, loving, kind, generous, faithful and encouraging second year here at Decompressing Faith. I have enjoyed making many new friends and "growing up" existing relationships.

I treasure you all. Here's to another year.

Still so Much Bondage

I sat in my living room and cried today. I can't remember the last time I did that, but surely it's been since embarking on this church-leaving journey two and a half years ago...I think.

In all the movement I have made towards being free from the bondage of religion and the religious approval of others, I still have so far to go. Today I realized I still struggle with wanting people to like me more than caring about my convictions. I was faced with a harsh reality that I still think of things in terms of church and not-church....I am still very dualistic even as much or more as I believe I am holistic.

The one thing which is different about me now is the willingness to cry out, to ask for prayer, to share my struggles with others whom I trust. In the past I have always feared letting anyone in on my struggles, for that to me would mean failure. Today I was able to invite some people I care about into my living room to hear me cry. Not literally, maybe, but e-mail is a wonderful thing.

Some days I can't help but feel as though my experiences these last 2+ years must be valuable for something. If not, why have I been walking through this hell? If I cannot offer to someone ideas for an alternative, if I cannot offer wisdom for the road of this de-churching journey, if I cannot encourage someone...what value am I?

Yet some days I do feel as though I know something others don't, and for that forgive me. I don't know anything...I really don't. Let me rephrase that I know a few things, but a very few. If I have ever led anyone to believe I have any answers for them, I am sorry. I struggle with this pendulum of pride and humility, trying to find the balance between feeling as though I have nothing to offer and feeling as though I have all the answers anyone will ever need.

I told a friend today that I have always had this dream of writing a book, because I believe I have some good things to say, but then I feel this sense of shame in my pridefulness for ever thinking anyone would ever want to pay money to read anything I write. Where is the balance in that? I go to extremes.

I'm not fishing for compliments of back-patting...I am simply sharing the struggle inside of me which has been going on for several weeks, hence my lack of meaningful posting lately. I've recently been battling a lack of vision, a floundering that depresses me and I have to fight against it daily.

Thank you all for sharing this journey with me.

Today is September 11, 2007

We will always remember.

If any of You Need Added Incentive...

The OTM Live Workshop Schedule is up! What a KILLER list! How to choose, how to choose?! I'll be contemplating this for the next two months...

Friday November 2nd
10:45-11:45

Jules Glanzer Emotional Intelligence: What you need to know about yourself to listen and connect
Geneva Vollrath They say you can lead but they don't really mean it
Helen Mildenhall How to make friends with 'enemies' and people who can't see or hear you
Joe Myers Organic Community - what if another small group program isn't the answer
Ken Loyd How to plant a church for people who lack money, power or influence (a.k.a. nobodies)
Randy Siever Doable Evangelism for Ordinary People - what if evangelism meant just being yourself
Jay Akkerman TBA
David Domke Faithful progressives and today's politics
Earl Creps Sacred Accidents: Evangelism and Spiritual Formation as Responses to God's Surprises
Michelle Tolentino TBA

Friday November 2nd
3:30- 4:45

Dwight Friesen Orthoparadoxy: embracing the gifts of sin, heresy, and 'the other'
Hugh Halter and Mike Brantley Developing leaders for a world gone different
Rose Swetman If you can't reach'em join'em - why a church traded outreach for inbreaking
...parker A guy walked into a bar... and started a spiritual conversation - how to do it
Phil Wyman and John Smulo Making friends with witches (and other missional mythbusters)
Jon Bogart Social Intelligence/ Emotional Intelligence for social networks
Tracy Howe Making music for the Revolution
Neil Tibbott What churches who want to be missional need to know
Amy Oden TBA
Ron Pate Time Banks: Building community one hour at a time

Saturday November 3rd
10:15-11:15

Colonel Jon Michel Coming Soon: The We Generation
Spencer Burke I just got in from the Bahamas and had to go Off The Map
Sadell Bradley The Gap: An African-American woman's views on the word 'missional.'
Lisa Domke Bringing The Kingdom to a warm earth
Jon Sharpe and Father William Treacy An evangelical and an Irish priest talk reconciliation
Lani Parker Secrets, shame and shadow... the ingredients of a great conversation
Karen Sloan Flirting with monasticism... finding God on ancient paths
Bill Dahl The Porpoise diving life... how to survive (and enjoy) day 41
Dave Richards Defeating Global Poverty... why I care and what I'm learning

Turning a Corner and New Beginnings

Today was the first day of middle school for our older son. He was so excited, a little nervous, but one of his best friends was there waiting in the school entrance. They were glad to see each other, relieved to see a familiar face, and wandered off together.

In our area, most districts divide the kids into schools thusly: K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. One thing I do like, they have orientation day...the Tuesday after Labor Day the Kindergarteners, 6th graders, and Freshmen have the schools to themselves; everyone else starts tomorrow. Today, the 6th graders will learn about their routine without the eyes of most of the older kids.

But this season is a little melancholy for me, middle school were the hell years for me...as they were for everyone...the difference being that I intended to take my own life twice in those years. It's a very long story...but those years shaped decades of pain and depression and identity issues in me, which I have only shaken in the last 2 years or so. I know my son is a completely different person than I am, but I can't help but worry. Lord please help me help my son know the value of his life, even when the next years get tough. Amen.

This last week has brought about some interesting changes for me, as well. Not the least of which was the prayer synchroblog - and a recap post on that is forthcoming.

But also some cool new connections and opportunities for my writing life, things I didn't solicit and things I did. It's so interesting to me, and I know God can change the plans any time He likes, but I do like to see what He's doing and try to meet Him there...since both of my kids are in school all day now, I have felt a bit of pressure to return to the gainful workforce. I have dreaded that, simply because it will likely take up many of my available writing hours. I don't mind the right job, I never have...but more and more I'm feeling like that "right job" for me now involves writing a book. Well...long story short, God has provided something for me that I think addresses this...still allowing me to write during the day while the kids are at school.

Spent some time this weekend carrying on a conversation via e-mail, talking about church...what it is, what it isn't, what it ought to be...and how to best deal with the anger from past abuses. I got myself riled up a bit, but truly, I do still think there are things that need to be said, and I'm feeling a passion well up to make a difference in the lives of the victims. It's a mission.

Recently Gary Means has been processing a whole mess of church stuff...post after post after post...and much of what he's asking and saying has certainly got me to thinking about church...and my idealist nature definitely showed up when thinking about these things.

One of Gary's questions was on "connection"...and a new online friend and I were e-mailing about that very thing...why and how do we connect with people? And I wonder, how is it possible to feel such a sense of friendship and connection with someone I just recently "met"? This is something I've been thinking about , too...the global nature of friendship that is becoming in my life. In the last week or so I have had wonderful e-mail exchanges with women in Canada, England, 2 southern US States , 2 Eastern US states and California...how is this possible? These are women I'm happy to consider to be friends, even if they live vast distances away.

And the other day I had some face-to-face time with my best friend...and she listened to me, once again, rant about the injustices I experienced in my CLB...some of which I haven't and will never talk about in this blogspace. This friend is always kind in reminding me the reasons she remains in my CLB...and I respect her for being willing to say so, because it helps me keep my perspective...prevents me from waging an all-out war against the institution, knowing there are people like her still inside. But why, after so long, is the anger still so close to the surface? Is God keeping it there for a reason? Because I sure thought I had forgiven and moved on. Why does He keep dredging it up? Why did I spend two hours telling her everything she already knew? Why?

I'm also, more and more, looking forward to the people I will (or at least hopefully will) get to meet in person at Off-The-Map, there are several I know of for sure, but it might even get me onto Facebook after all...just to see who else is going!

One more change, it's looking like I will be obtaining an new tattoo in upcoming weeks. I can hardly wait. Unlike Pam, who seems to get a new one every month or two...this one of mine has been in the works almost two years. Here's a hint: Matthew 10:16...and it's a good thing I'm sticking with a single verse this time, I can't tell you how many people have asked me to quote Psalm 104 to them...and I can't.

I don't know what is going on...things seem to be going in a new direction..or maybe a new tangent of an old direction. I don't know. "What does it all mean", I keep asking myself. It's not so much tangible as it is something I just sense something...so many new and different things and ways God is working...all at the same time...like a fog that is lifting or a dream that is awakening.

Checking my feeds this morning, and it seems I'm not the only one.

Gone Fishing

Our older son spent the long weekend with my parents...and my dad taught him to fish! They didn't catch anything, I guess no one did that day - but my son was sooooo proud of himself.