hello out there

So I found out this weekend that there are people who read my blog, but don't comment on it. I really thought Bethany, Luke and Alexis were the only people reading my random quotations. It is nice to know people are listening. To all of you silent readers out there - Hello!

Joe

A friend of mine from Christmas School is coming to visit this weekend (http://www.berea.edu/peh/dance/ccds/). I am super excited. In honor of Joe's visit here are a few of his favorite quotations from his myspace page.


The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.
- Saint Basil

Preach the gospel always and when necessary, use words. - St. Francis of Asissi

Who loves not women, wine and song remains a fool his whole life long - Martin Luther

cheers

One of my friends got married last weekend. At her shower we took some time to toast the couple. Toasting is one of my all time favorite things (if you are getting married please don't ask me to be a bridesmaid, but I am always happy to make a toast).

I used this quotation from my favorite author Tom Robbins from his book Still Life With Woodpecker. Then I added something about breaking all the rules other people have made for you to choose the life you want.

“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet.”

So here is an official call for toasts! What are your favorite toasts?

In honor of Doug Marlette

The lectionary can be a crazy thing

This Sunday's lectionary text left me with a lot to think about. I attended St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta. It is a wonderful congregation just up the street from me. Last Monday, their pastor Brad Schmeling, was officially removed from the rolls of the ELCA as a pastor because of his relationship with his partner Darin (a UCC minister). This was the lectionary text for last Sunday.

Luke 10

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!' 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 "Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' 16 "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

The Lesson of the Smurfs

www.cracked.com

Communism works!

"For naysayers who point to the Former Soviet Union as proof that communism is inherently flawed, may we merely direct your attention to Smurf Village, where everyone shares everything, wears similar utilitarian clothing, battles Gargamel and his turn-Smurfs-to-gold get rich quick schemes and obeys the dictates of a bearded, red hat-wearing, benevolent authority figure. Quoth Comrade Papa: “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” Really, he actually said that."

I am pretty sure I have heard that line about abilities and needs before. Hmmm....I wonder where

Wabi Sabi

I have just spent the last few days at the US Social Forum here in Atlanta. It has been a wonderful week of edgy, grass roots, progressive folks descending on Atlanta. I was pushed and pulled in different directions and am leaving the week with much to research and ponder. One of the most interesting things I learned was during a workshop about Household Economic Justice. The presenter talked about this principle in Japanese architecture called Wabi Sabi. He described it as having three principles

-everything changes
-nothing is perfect
-nothing is finished

He used this to give people a way to examine their lives and working toward something good without beating themselves up. I looked it up on the Internet today and here are a few more interesting thoughts on Wabi Sabi

From Wikipedia

Wabi Sabi is a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centred on the acceptance of transience. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete"

nobleharbor.com
Pared down to its barest essence, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It's simple, slow, and uncluttered-and it reveres authenticity above all. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind.