Light

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Oregon Coast - photo from the Internet

There are lots of people who bring light into my life.  I am blessed to have a loving family, great friends and I get to work with college students who are a neverending source of hope and grace.  One of the groups of people for whom I am most grateful right now is the board of directors for the campus ministry where I serve. I often hear of really disfunctional boards, people who at worst seem to derive pleasure from the personal tormenting of my colleagues and at best are well meaning but incompetent.  I had the great blessing of inheriting a highly functional, compassionate board who not only care deeply about both God & college students but, amazingly enough, also about the campus minister.  They are always willing to pitch in whether it is a fundraiser or mowing the lawn  - dealing with the forever on the fritz boiler or campaigning for support from the larger church.  AND on top of all that, they do so with laughter, love, joy and enthusiasm - even when they have lots of other things on their plates.  THEN on top of all that, they reach out to support me - just when I feel discouraged or tired, I'll get a kind message,  phone call, dinner invitation, etc.  from one of them.  They are always there with a kind word on top of all their personal time and service.

This weekend I had the opportunity to unwind at the Oregon coast.  One of my board members and her family own a cottage there - and they invited me to use it.  This isn't the first time they have shared this wonderful little spot. I've taken students here for retreats, it has been offered for use when friends and I were looking for an affordable get-away - and then they periodically just say, "hey, you wanna go to the coast?" Who would say no?! 

To top it off, the weekend was lovely - there was even gorgeous sunshine and blue skies. It was the kind of weather that inspires walks along the pounding waves into town, where you can wander through fun shops, stop for fish tacos (made by the same family business that owns the ship that went out to catch the fish that morning), and check out the amazing colors of all the creatures in the tidepools - seriously, starfish come in some pretty wacky shades.  I could listen to and watch those waves forever - with each "whoosh" you can feel the stress of life washing away bit by bit. . . you breathe a little deeper . . .all the little things that are driving you nuts get brought down to size, and you realize they really are just little things.   What a gift.

 I am truly grateful for each one of these people, and grateful for the time to stop and remember the things that matter in life - which of course aren't things at all.  Jesus said we are called to be the light of the world, I'm glad my board members aren't afraid to shine!

Sunshine on my shoulders . . .

Living in the Pacific Northwest has made me more aware of the relationship between weather and mood. It has also taught me the importance of Gortex and waterproof shoes! The darker and wetter days of fall, winter, and early spring bring on a kind of hibernation. People still get out and do things - if the sun behind a few clouds and wet weather were allowed to stop us, there would be little activity between October and June! However, folks are less social when the clouds blanket the sky. You get invited to fewer potlucks, there aren't as many neighborhood get-togethers. Instead you see smoke coming from everyone's chimney as we all go home to get warm and dry. It all makes me hungry for homemade soup, a good book, a blanket and the sofa!

But the flip side is how WONDERFUL it is when the sun comes out. Yesterday I noticed my Texas friends talking about how cold it was there - how everyone was hunkered down at home. For fun I compared the temps. It was, within 4 degrees, the same temperature here - but here it was a "NICE" day. Why? Not because it was any warmer, but because the sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly (something I know I took for granted in the Lone Star state). Folks still had on rain jackets, or carried a precautionary umbrella and the ever present warm cup of coffee . . .but they were out and about, making eye contact with one another rather than hurrying through the rain.

So, today, with the return of the gray wet weather - I want to stop and say that I for one am grateful for sunshine!

** BTW - the graphic at the top is from a fun blog called "Indexed" where many facets of life are boiled down to a vin diagram or graph. You can check it out here.

Roots

As much as I love the city I live in now, I am also grateful for the small town where I grew up. My parents still live there. In the city limits is the church where I learned that it is ok to ask questions as well as sing praises. The teachers who taught me to read, and write, and who held my hand while I struggled through chemistry were all a part of that community. The children's theater program that gave this little drama queen a creative outlet and a source of much joy and helped me through some of the more awkward parts of childhood.

And it is the kind of place where people really know each other - which can be good and bad, but is mostly good. And you can't get away from it!

Last night, here in the Northwest country about 2,000 miles away, I went to a house concert. I LOVE house concerts - a chance to hear independent singer, songwriters doing what they do best in a setting where you can chat with them at the break. They are more likely to tell stories about where they come from, where their songs came from; there are shared laughs and tears and even food and drink in potluck style. Hard to find a better way to spend an evening. So, anyway, I was at this concert being put on by a great singer, Beth Wood, who is also a Texas gal transplanted to this part of the world. I first heard about her from a friend (and amazing singer/songwriter in his own right) David Lamotte. On his recommendation I have been listening to her music for several years now, so when I heard that she was appearing at a house concert here I jumped at the chance to go.

The evening was all it I could hope for and more. Of course, here in hippie-ville, it was held at an great house that lives on an organic farm. So the pre-concert announcements included information on obtaining fresh, free range eggs (when the hens start laying again after their "winter break"). Folks were encouraged to bring a dish to share and something to drink - the table was laden with yummy food and there was plenty of good wine - and then there was the fabulous music! Beth was wonderful. You can hear her singing and learn more about her here. And she had invited Sara Sample to join her - so glad she did! Love to hear and fall in love with someone's words, melodies, and heartfelt vocals. You can listen to one of my new favorites here.

Then, to top it all off, Beth's parents were there to visit. I chatted with her dad at the break. He said they were from "west of Fort Worth" . . . and after a couple seconds more of conversation I discovered that not only do they live on the lake where I spent my childhood summers playing, but that my parents had been to their house for some concerts and that his wife had my phone numbers with her because she ran into a family friend at the grocery store who made sure she had them before heading this way. I told you - you can't escape the connections!

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

New Year, New Name

So . . . I've been a bad blogger. The point of even keeping this is partly to help keep in touch with friends and family who are far away, and partly to encourage a discipline of writing things down so that I can remember them. But I get busy, and I'm not sure if it really matters that I keep it up, so I put off posting anything. And then I'm frustrated cuz I have some fun pictures and a few mildly interesting stories that I know I'll forget to share next time we are chatting on the phone.

Hence the new plan, I'm going to try to turn over a new leaf this year. First things first, while I still care a LOT about faith, friends, family & food (and I'm sure they will make appearances in the days to come) . . . I think the new name "Thank You Notes" is a better fit. The plan is to use this space to make note of the things for which I am grateful - or at least some of them, cuz I have plenty of things for which to say THANKS!

To start the year off, I am grateful to live in such a fun, wacky town. The kind of place where vehicles like the one seen here are commonplace. Where it isn't always clear if someone is dressed for work or a costume party. Where most people who has how you are doing, are genuinely interested and wait for a response. I am mindful of this today because of the way the whole place came together in support of the local college team as they played a bowl game last night. They didn't win in the end, but it was so much fun to sit and laugh and cheer and . . . yes . . .quack with strangers of all ages as we watched in restaruants, homes and bars across the city. Some folks are sad today, but regardless of the final score, our strange, fun little city and their beloved team have a lot to be proud of -we have our flaws, but it is never boring!

Seattle!

So right after my time in Minnesota I flew back to the northwest - but not to my hometown. Instead I landed in Seattle because I had the chance to connect with some friends for a couple of days. My friend Karen and her dad had been in Alaska fishing the week before - and since they are from New York City I didn't wanna miss out on seeing them on this side of the country! Plus Kirsten, Janna & her kids joined in as well.

Of course we had to see the Space Needle - in fact it was quite close to the MarQueen Hotel where we stayed. It is a fun place that once little apartments for mechanics back in the day. We had fun hanging out in the hood - fell in love with the Metropolitan Market (great snacks and good, cheap wine :-), and generally acted like tourists.

We also spent some time on Bainbridge Island - which you have to take a ferry to get to. I think taking a ferry ride with little kids is maybe one of the more fun things to do in the world!

Plus we found the super yummy ice cream spot on the island and had a great time enjoying fabulous treats in the sunshine! What fun it is to explore a bit of a city along with good friends!

Presbygeek

In July, I had the opportunity to head to Minnesota and join with lots of other presbyterians as we converged on the city of Minneapolis for our General Assembly. Actually, I got to go a bit earlier for the Campus Ministry Summit, held at Macalester College in St. Paul. That was a great chance to see colleagues from all over the nation, hear from our keynote speaker, the Rev. Dr. Steve Haynor (new prez of Columbia Seminary) and generally enjoy time with others who "get" why campus ministry matters. The time together was good fun, worship coordinated with folks from "The Table" was wonderful - check them out at http://www.thetableatcpc.org/ - and it was all over much too quickly!

But for the uber-presbygeek there was still General Assembly, so I crossed the river to Minneapolis. I was officially there as an exhibitor for the group PACHEM (Presbyterian Association for Collegiate & Higher Education Ministries). There was much to do - between daily worship, hanging out schmoozing in the exhibit hall, connecting with presby-friends from all over and testifying on behalf of campus ministry I kept busy. I even got the chance to grab a meal with the pastor from my hometown church and another friend from the presbytery where I grew up.

Some explanation - for those of you who don't speak presbyterian, the General Assembly is our big national meeting that happens every two years now. We gather, worship, and have big meetings with representatives from all over the country where we vote on all sorts of things. It is what we do to prayerfully discern who God is calling us to be & where God is calling us to act, pray, etc. in the world. A presbytery is a regional grouping of churches - the one I grew up in is called Palo Duro Presbytery, named for the beautiful canyon found in the panhandle of Texas. And the reason these two guys are holding their fingers up by their heads is that the restaurant we picked was called Hell's Kitchen. Which we found amusing since we are all presby ministers - therefore the devil horns - I know, I know, but we were amused! And the food was AMAZING - I totally recommend it to anyone headed to the twin cities!

This is only the third GA I've been to - and I find them an interesting mix of meaningful worship, family reunion, business meeting, and politicking. But regardless of whether I find the day uplifting or frustrating, I can't deny that this is my faith family and I enjoy getting to see us in action. May God bless the work of my fellow presbys, now all back in their home congregations.

Summertime

So I haven't written here in quite a while . . .but that is because things have been busy here. The summer started with what may be one of my favorite things about living in Oregon - the STRAWBERRIES!!! This year we had a particularly wet, chilly spring - so the wait was long. We prayed for sunshine so those little red yummy berries would ripen, and eventually they did.

There are lots of small, farmer owned u-pick places in the area. This year the place I went to had six varieties, each one sweeter than the next. These were all destined for either my tummy or the freezer, so the morning was spent picking Raniers, Shuksans and Bentons. All delicious and so sweet. I honestly don't remember tasting sweeter strawberries before the move to the northwest.

Berry picking was always something that sounded sort of Laura Ingallls Wilder - something you might do on your way home from the one room schoolhouse. I have learned a few things that reading the "Little House" books didn't teach me. For one thing, it is best to pick in the morning, before things warm up. And you need to bring something to carry your berries home in - preferably something not too deep, because if they are in more than a layer or two they get squished, and that is a sad thing to find when you get home after scootching around in the ground picking berries all morning!

To me the summer really starts when strawberries are around - so that is how my summer started, one lovely morning out listening to the birds sing picking strawberries galore . . .and enjoying strawberry shortcake for dinner!