Friday Five: It is Well With my Soul Edition

Over at RevGalBlogPals, kathernnzj writes:

There are many perks in my life for which I give thanks and then there are some that make everything right in the world during the moment I am enjoying them. I'm wondering what a few of those things - five to be specific - are for you.

1. Hot water. Oh, how I love it. I can camp. I can go a few days, a week. But the glories of hot water. If I had to add a fourth to the Trinity, it would not be Luther. What's better- a hot bath or a hot shower or a hot tub or a sun-warmed ocean? I can't choose, for they each have their own glories. There is a special kind of giddiness, especially now that I am a mom, in closing the door and having my own steam haven. In those moments, all is well with my soul. (At least until I start making a to-do list in my head or I finish my book before I'm completely shriveled.

2. I love my family- my husband, our son, and our dog. When I come home and there are arms to greet me, tails wagging, a chorus of "Mamamamamama"- everything slides into place for me. Too often, I let the tasks of home immediately intrude, but I try not too- throwing myself onto the floor in the piles of Cheerios and dog hair to feel the love.

3. Romance novels. I cannot deny the giggly feeling of finishing a romance novel that had snappy, witty dialogue, well-written characters and a believable plot line. Oh, I read my theological books, my well-researched biographies, thick volumes of scientific research and slim volumes of poetry or essays on whatever, but occasionally a pink-covered novel with something purple (ahem) on the cover slips into the "to read" pile. I know I should demur and acknowledge a guilty pleasure, but I only feel guilty if I finished the book and it sucked. A well-written novel makes me glad I can read, just like good writing in any other genre.

4. Communion hymns. The swell of a congregation singing a song together, with heartfelt voices, stirs me like so little else. When people sing "It is Well with My Soul", "Precious Lord" or my two favorites "Give me Jesus" and "Jesus Loves Me", I feel overcome by the presence of the Spirit. I don't belong to a tradition in which people are too frequently "slain in the Spirit" (pity), but I think many of us have been struck and hard during a well-timed communion hymn.

5. November foods. One of the exchanges for living in Alaska is that we have a gorgeous fall that lasts about 2.5 weeks, somewhere at the end of August to the end of September depending on where you are in the state. Then begins the holding patterns until winter weather. Nevertheless, we still get the *harvest foods* of November, which I love. Mmmmmm. I SO heart turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, apples, green bean casserole, variations on stuffing, and wild rice. I love egg nog with Thanksgiving. By Christmas, my head is full and food becomes a necessity, but in November, it's still a luxury and I still have time to enjoy it.

Latibule

I like words and I recently discovered Save the Words , a website which allows you to adopt words that have faded from the English lexicon and are endanger of being dropped from the Oxford English Dictionary. When you adopt a word, you agree to use it in conversation and writing in an attempt to re-introduce said word back into regular usage. It is exactly as geeky as it sounds. And I love it. A latibule is a hiding place. Use it in a sentence, please. After my son goes to bed, I pull out the good chocolate from my latibule and have a "mommy moment". The perfect latibule was just behind the northwest corner of the barn, where one had a clear view during "Kick the Can". She tucked the movie stub into an old chocolate box, her latibule for sentimental souvenirs. I like the sound of latibule, though I think I would spend more time defining it and defending myself than actually using it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how often I use the ...

What is Best (Sermon)

Pentecost 15 (Year A) Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Psalm 15; James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 I recently read a novel set in a post-pandemic, apocalyptic world. In the book, people were working to re-establish pockets of society. A traveling symphony moved from town to town in caravans- performing music and works of Shakespeare. Early in their travels, they had tried other plays, but people only wanted to see Shakespearean works. One of the symphony members commented on the desire for Shakespeare, "People want what was best about the world." As I read and since I finished the book, I kept thinking about that phrase. People want what was best about the world. People want what was best about the world. That is true even when we’re not in a cataclysmic re-working of what we’ve always known. The very idea of nostalgia, of longing for what once was, is about wanting what was best about the world or what seemed like the best to us. One of the massive tension...

Would I Do?

Palm Sunday Mark 11:1-11 One of my core memories is of a parishioner who said, "I don't think I would have been as brave as the three in the fiery furnace. I think I would have just bowed to the king. I would have bowed and known in my heart that I still loved God. I admire them, but I can tell the truth that I wouldn't have done it." (Daniel 3) To me, this man's honesty was just as brave. In front of his fellow Christians, in front of his pastor, he owned up to his own facts: he did not believe he would have had the courage to resist the pressures of the king. He would have rather continued to live, being faithful in secret, than risk dying painfully and prematurely for open obedience to God. I can respect that kind of truth-telling. None of us want to be weighed in the balance and found wanting. For some of us, that's our greatest fear. The truth is, however, that I suspect most of us are not as brave as we think we are. The right side of history seems cle...

Faith, Grace, and Hope

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