New Things Friday Five

Songbird at RevGals writes:

There's a new baby on my street, a double PK whose Mom and Dad are Methodist pastors and church planters. I'm hoping to go over and meet her today. I love new babies, the way they smell and their sweet little fingers and toes. Little K has me thinking about all the new things that please us with their shiny freshness.

Please share with us five things you like *especially* when they are new.

1. Bed Sheets
There are very few more comfortable things on earth. I don't necessarily mean "new" as recently purchased. I mean "new" as newly made. Ahhhh! Climbing into a newly and crisply made bed is just fantastic. While the sheets aren't always the most comfortable, I love staying in hotels or retreat houses for just such a purpose. Extra points in the sheets are brand new.

2. Books
Books, when purchased new, are like babies. They are so sacred and pristine--filled with potential. In a matter of days or a matter of decades, that book is still going to be there. Like wine (from what I'm told *cough cough*), books get better while they age--this I agree with. HOWEVER...books are just GREAT when they are fresh off the shelf. The binding is so crisp and fresh. The pages are clean. The cover is not scuffed and marred. It is great!

3. Legal Pads
There is just something exhilarating about unwrapping a package of yellow (never white) legal pads and making the first pen marks on it. I get so excited about having that experience that I tend to buy small packs so that I can buy more and, thusly, have more fresh packages. Silly? I know.

4. Compact Discs
Although I don't do this often any more with the advent of iTunes (all purchased legally with dues paid to the musician), but I love buying new CDs. I enjoy wrapping the package (even though I'm no good at it) and scanning the insides of the CD--hoping that there is an insert or something with lyrics so that I can sing along to the music!

5. Pens
This one is similar to the legal pads. The first time you write with a new pen, it just has a certain professional, snazzy style. The ink is fresh and ready to be put on page in the form of a brand new idea (which are also cool!)


I am off to Called to Action this weekend which will be AMAZING and fun (we're staying in a Franciscan House! Yay!) Your prayers are welcome. Also, if you think about it, please pray for Emily Waylander. She's a friend of mine (20 years old) who passed away on Monday. As I am able to sit down and reflect, I will post something on her (probably next week.) My thanks!

God is Love,

+Cody

Happy Reformation Day!

Happy Reformation Day!

Oh yeah! And Happy Halloween! May the Spirits of all the departed Saints--recognized and otherwise--lend you guidance, hope, peace, and prayer this weekend. Amen.

God is Love,

+Cody

((I can't remove the second video...sorry!))

Sally at Rev Gals writes:

Yesterday I was privileged to join the thousands of pilgrims who had flocked to York Minster to see the casket containing the bones of St Therese of Lisieux. People came from miles around, some with deep faith came to venerate the Saint, others with none came out of curiosity. The Christians who came represented a mix of denominations, I went because I have read her writings and out of sheer curiosity having never been to anything like this before.

To put it in crude terms I was blown away by the by the deep sense of God's presence, of gentleness, of holiness and purity. Today as I reflect upon the experience I recognise that there have been other places and other times when I have experienced a tangible touch of God. I wonder if it was because the message that Therese had is so much needed today, she experienced God as a God of love, and encouraged others to draw closer...

How about you, where do you find God's peace and presence, is there:

1. A place that holds a special memory? In my hometown, the Catholic Church has a cemetery that overlooks a valley on the edge of town with the most spectacular view of the valley and the trees and the river that runs through the valley. There is a little prayer space in the cemetery--two stone benches, a statue of St. Francis, a cross, and St. Francis' "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace..." prayer. It is absolutely beautiful to go there on a spring day and pray, looking at all the life in the valley and sitting with the spirits of the ancients. It is great.

2. A song that seems to usher you into the Holy of Holies? Well, I like to keep this simple when I pray/meditate. One of my favorites:


I use alternate lyrics, but I couldn't find a quality video of the version I'm used to singing.

3.A book/ poem/ prayer that says what you cannot? A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Read more: http://archshrk.com/2007/03/a-franciscan-benediction#ixzz0Sn9BqKUM

4. How do you remind yourself of these things at times when God seems far away? I sit in the silence and listen.

5.Post a picture/ poem or song that speaks of where you are right now in your relationship with God...


God is Love,

+Cody

SingingOwl at RevGals talks about how easy it is for most to point out negative qualities in themselves. In today's Friday Five, one of RevGal's Reverend Matriarchs ask for five POSITIVE qualities.

1. Tenacious (I was going to say persistent until SingingOwl used tenacious to describe herself. It's a much, much, much cooler word.) When I take up a cause, I don't back off very easily. I've been likened to a badger. Personally, I think it is one of the most useful traits for a clergyperson (or a future clergyperson, in this case.)

2. Ecumenical I get along very well with people of different faith traditions. I'm in the United Church of Christ (for now at least...I'm soon to be in an area with an active Episcopal Church...we'll see.) My close circle of friends includes: two Baptists, three Lutherans, one 1/2 Catholic 1/2 Lutheran, one conservative Catholic, two liberal Catholics, one lapsed Catholic, and an Agnostic. I get along wonderfully with all of them. Further, I am good friends with the clergy of every church in town and the nuns in the next town over. (The Catholic priest is in my cellphone as the Emergency Contact, in fact.)

3. Well-read I love reading, writing, and rhetoric (especially the former two.) I'm absolutely enthralled with fine (and not-so-fine) literature.

4. Charismatic. I absolutely adore being around people (most of the time, that is--I do love my alone, quiet time.) I feel that I have a real gift for being around people, especially people whom others (namely my peers) feel awkward around. When at a gathering, I prefer to engage in conversation with adults than with peers. I'm always nominated as the spokesman whenever a spokesperson is needed.

5. Creative. I also thought of putting whimsical. I believe in magic. Don't worry! I don't believe in the magic of Harry Potter or other fiction. I believe in the magic of love, of inclusion, of creativity. I like to look beyond what is present and imagine what could be. Again, I think this is a valuable trait in a clergyperson.

God is Love,

+Cody

PS: The eyes continue to get better, but my vision is quite blurry now. I'm just waiting for an okay from the doctor so that I can move up to school, which I'm get REALLY antsy for. Thank you all for your prayers!

Bad News

Friends--

I write to you this evening asking for your prayers. last week, I went
to the doctor and was diagnosed with pink eye and told that it should
clear up in a day or two. It didn't. I went back and was given some
eye drops and said that it should clear up in another day or two. It
didn't. I went, yet again, to the doctor's office yesterday and was
referred to an ophthalmologist (an eye doctor who handle more advanced
eye issues) in Marshall. It was determined that I had Epidemic
Keratoconjunctivitis. It is, more or less, an advanced viral form of
pink eye (conjunctivitis) with no cure. I was told that the virus had
to run its course. There is no way of knowing how long it will
last--could be a few days and it could be a few months. As the name
suggests, the virus is contagious. Last year, an outbreak happened in
Rochester. One of the doctors caught it and suffered for about three
months (his vision is not yet fully returned to this day.) Most people
get this nasty business in the form of a cold or simple pink eye. Some
don't show any signs and symptoms--they just carry the virus. My
immune system, however, took it full on.

As of right now, I'm confined to my house. I AM allowed to have
visitors, but only if proper precautions are taken (ie lots of hand
washing and no touching me.) I was supposed to leave for college
orientation on Thursday. That's not possible at the moment (living in
close conditions like a dorm setting would be homicide with this
business.) I have another appointment on Friday. If things aren't
cleared up then, the likelihood that I can attend St. John's this
semester is decreased dramatically. There are options to take online
courses and start again in the Spring Semester. AmeriCorps and other
similar programs are also options. I would, obviously, prefer my
original plan and attend St. John's for the entire year.

I'm asking for your prayers and your support. This is a hard time for
me right now. My eyes hurt immensely. I'm worried and afraid about my
future--educationally and personally. I was speaking with a friend of
mine and was reminded of the Jesuit motto Ad Majoriam Dei Gloriam--For
the Greater Glory of God. I do hope that this Epidemic
Keratoconjunctivitis is for the greater glory of God. I am of firm
belief that everything happens for a reason. I hope that, one day, I
will know the purpose of this virus and whatever school (if any) I am
forced to postpone.

I thank you all for your friendship and your prayers in this rough time.

God is Love,

+Cody

A Wonderful Experience

Friends--

Last night I had the opportunity to meet a few traditional Mexican healers who were visiting Minnesota. One of them, Teresa, was a priestess from a tribe of indigenous people who lived so high in the mountains that the Conquistadors did not reach them during the conversion of Mexico in antiquity. That said, many of their rituals are the same rituals that have been used since before Christ, which is an epic thing to think about. Her people are often poor due to spending so much time in ritual and ceremony. For example, they spend four days fasting and praying and performing rituals in order to ask permission to plant crops. They spend a similar four days asking permission to harvest said crops. I've only had two years of Spanish in High School, so it was a bit hard to understand some of the things that Teresa was saying. I was, however, one of the most fluent Americans, so I did a bit of translating for some other people.

Anyway, Teresa was offering blessings using some herbal products from her village. Man, oh man! I have never felt so good in my entire life. She had some miel de la planta agave con eucalopto (Honey from the agave plant with eucalyptus.) WOW! That stuff opened my nasal passages. It is used to treat asthma and diabetes and stuff like that. She then had a spray that was distilled from various flowers that grow high in the mountains. She sprayed me with it, then her hands. She made the sign of the cross, then invoked Dios la Madre y Dios el Padre (God the Mother and God the Father.) She then sprayed the stuff around me six or seven times, each time asking that the spirit of something (hope, peace, harmony, joy, love, health, etc.) would flower within me. She then rubbed some other stuff on my back, which felt amazing. One of their most holy ointments is made of basalm and is rubbed on the wrists and the temples. I left the gathering smelling like a bunch of potpouri, I'm sure, but it felt so amazing.

I bought some of the honey and the back rub stuff. I'm looking forward to using it! She said that it is best when applied right after coming out of the water from a bath or a swim. That just gives me an excuse to take a long bath or go for a swim.

It was also great to see another culture (or a few sets of cultures in this case). I very much enjoyed my time with Madre Teresa, y Maria, y Suzanka (who was an Australian translator/doctor.)

God is Love,

+Cody

Kathrynzj of RevGalBlogPals writes:


While traveling with my 4 year old we were both pleased to find a HUGE indoor playground. Now he can maneuver himself around those things no problem but I have found myself at the top level of what amounts to a glorified hamster tube more than once either rescuing an article of clothing or The Boy himself. There was a small part of me saddened to find that I no longer had the convenient excuse to be a kid and go up in the playground, but mostly my aging knees and back were quite happy to skip the experience.

Maybe you are better at it than me, but my first-born, responsible demeanor rarely lets up enough for me to do frivolous silly things – like playing on playgrounds – without a good reason. My friend will stand up in a crowded restaurant and serenade me with an operatic rendition of Happy Birthday. My sister is very good at grabbing the joy in the moment. I seem to need a child to bring it out in me and even then… it takes a lot.

Today’s Friday Five celebrates the spontaneous child in all of us… ar at least the one that we admire in someone else:

1) On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being I can’t do this now I am about to jump into a pit of plastic balls at the mini-mall and 1 being I can’t do this now until I can get all of the fonts on my blog to match – where are you? Well...I would put myself at a generous two, although I think that I could easily fit into one. I have some random sporadic moments, but they aren't very wild and they aren't very frequent. Otherwise, I'm pretty responsible, I think.

2) What is the silliest/most childlike thing you have done as an adult? Well...I've only had a little over six months as an adult, but I would say that laying down in a field an taking a nap in the sun was pretty childlike. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but it was kinda childlike. :)

3) Any regrets? No. I am of firm opinion that everything happens for a reason--I may never know the reason, but the reason still exists. I guess that's the old Calvanist in me coming out--predestination of events in this case, not souls.

4) What is the silliest thing you have ever seen another adult do on purpose? Let's see...I've seen some pretty silly things done by adults. On Pentecost, one of the women in church died her hair red. That was silly, but in a good way. During Crazy Dayz here in town, all of the clerks at the downtown grocery store dressed up in wild attire. That was silly, but in a funny way. Then...I've seen some adults take themselves too seriously. That is silly, but in an ironic way.

5) What is something you wish you did when you had the chance? Danced at the last wedding dance I was at. There was a beautiful young woman (as in, my age) looking for a partner, but the stuffy old self took charge and stayed on the sidelines.

BONUS: For our ‘I told you so’ sides – what thing did you skip doing and you’re really glad you did! I left a party just before it got busted. For the record, I left as soon as I found out that alcohol was involved. (By party, here, I mean a teenage house party. I was told it was going to be dry--I was lied to.)

God is Love,

+Cody