END OF YEAR PEEVE -
Why is it that every time LH and I go out to eat in a restaurant the salt and pepper shakers are always overfilled? When you go to shake out pepper you can shake 'til the cows come home and barely get a grain or two. When you unscrew the cap, pepper granules spill out all over the table. I am not a messy person, nor hard to serve or please. However, I do like to add pepper to my veges or meat or potatoes.
To all you restaurant supervisors/managers, please tell your wait staff NOT to overfill the shakers. They should be 3/4 to 2/3 filled, so that diners can shake out what they desire and not leave a mess for the busboy or busgal to clean up.
Thank you very much.

POST CHRISTMAS -
Christmas came again this year, as it does each year no matter our circumstances or situations. Christmas finds a way to slip in beside us and settle in the manger of our hearts and lives. Each one uniquely different.
This year was no exception.
The Church of Another Denomination printed a very optimistic multitude of bulletins. There was great expectation and it was unfortunate that we did not come close to 200. 112 was the number. The head usher was a bit flumoxed that the candlelighting would be a bit different with ushers lighting the people at the end of the pew, instead of people picking up a candle and having it lit as they made their way back to their pew seat from
partaking of communion. A sort of dangerous practice and the first ones to commune would have their candles burning for quite some time.
Communion was also a wee different, as I again, had the manger with straw and a loaf of bread wrapped in white linen and offered a true invitation and my own Great Prayer of Thanksgiving which included the singing of "Gloria in excelsi Deo" refrain from Angels We Have Heard on High. The post-communion canticle was sung to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"
and the "Lamb of God" was replaced by the fourth verse of "O Little Town of Bethlehem", which made for a festive communion. I intoned the words, "The Bread of Heaven come down for you" as I gave the bread to each one. It was visually and aurally rife and dripping with meaning and symbolism.
I got home about 9:30 pm and was mightily disappointed that the brie LH had bought was no good! There was quite an odor that wasn't obvious the day he bought it, but the rind was darker and not white on the bottom. So, fortunately, LH had bought some Jarlsberg Swiss and that sufficed but didn't go with the Nicolas Feuillatte champagne as well as Brie does. NF is my favorite champagne - bubbly but I never get a headache from it. It's crisp and clean - just like champagne ought to be.
Christmas Day we had a few more in the cavernous sanctuary than I had expected. I tried to do a pool - I came up with 25, one parishioner who helped light candles suggested 10, the assisting minister and organist didn't give an estimate - so I suppose I won since we had 38!!
I focused on the Isaiah passage and read a wonderful story by Norman Vincent Peale called "A Faraway Christmas". It was a very nice, warm service.
Afterwards, I got home earlier since there was no Sunday School and changed, had lunch, fed the greys, LH came home, had lunch then we opened our gifts and promptly went down for our naps. Late afternoon, we made several calls to our families and enjoyed talking with them and thanking them for their wonderful gifts. LH surprised me with a beautiful sterling silver bangle bracelet from the Scottish Jewelry Designer - Sheila Fleet. The three interlocking waved bangles move and change configuration which is evocative of waves. Truly unique and since I'm so intuned to water, it was perfect.
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Canada surprised me with a pair of winter olympic Canada mittens - red with a white maple leaf on each hand, just like the Canadian olympic athletes wore!!! They are great!!!
Although, we never did get a tree to put up, I bought a small swag of greens that I placed on a Christmas placemat and added a pine and cedar scented candle and it was lovely.
There was peace, a quiet joy, and a spirit of love that infused this Christmas. And hope was present as well. A quieter, low-key, simple Christmas but beautiful nevertheless.
I pray that Christmas crept in beside you and left you the gifts that your heart and spirit longed for - the Christ child - and a deeper connection and love for the Lord. May His peace be with you all these days of Christmas and throughout the New Year.

RGBP'S FRIDAY FIVE - TO DO LIST

This Friday we're asked to name 5 items on our To-do List as Christmas
fast approaches and anything we've decided to skip this year. So, here goes:

1. Wrap staff gifts and write their cards.
2. Wrap LH's gifts.
3. Wrap SIL's gifts.
4. Cards and tip for newspaper carrier and mail carrier.
5. Launder white linen and white cotton towels for Christmas Eve
communion.
6. Order bread for Christmas Eve Communion service.(Threw that in extra, just a reminder for me!!!)
This year, I'm skipping baking Christmas cookies, putting up and decorating
a Christmas tree, and our Island Sweet & Sour Meatballs on New Year's Eve, we'll enjoy them New Year's Day instead. Can't stay up too late since we
have services on Christmas Day and New Year's Day! LH has to get the Brie for Christmas Eve. The champagne is already in the basement waiting to get
chilled!

RGBP'S - FRIDAY FIVE - RANDOMNESS
In the thick of Advent, just some random thoughts and goodness:
1. Gifts have been wrapped. packaged and sent. Woohoo!!! Still have
to work on staff gifts and LH.

2. Christmas letters to overseas family and friends have been signed,
sealed and sent! Christmas cards still need to be done.

3. The sausage bread I made for the Advent potluck was a hit, again!
Came home with no left-overs, even though the recipe makes two
loaves and there was a table full of food. Guess who's making it
again this week? Dare I hope to bring some leftovers home?

4. The sermon for Sunday came together fairly well. Still have to work
on the Children's sermon. Cut lots of brightly colored ribbon for
worship so folks can shout out their joy and wave a ribbon. This
congregation needs play a little in the wake of all they've been
through.

5. There was a package that came for me on Tuesday from a parishioner
from the last church I served. What a surprise! It was a green
prayer shawl and I've worn it every evening - enveloped in prayer
and warmed by love! What a wonderful gift to receive out of the blue.

HALFWAY THROUGH ADVENT
and I wonder where it goes so swiftly. Had a wonderful Advent 2 Sunday complete with a baptism of a beautiful baby girl, granddaughter of parishioner. I was so taken by her, I almost lost my place in the responsibilities of the parent section of the liturgy!!! What a precious handful to walk down the aisle with to meet folks.
Tomorrow will be our second Advent/potluck and I still have to prepare for the program.
Then there's the sermon writing for Sunday and final touches on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
LH and I decided not to get a Christmas tree this year. I will put up our nativity, hang stockings, and the candles are already in the windows glowing softly at night. LH did string lights on the newport plum out front and it looks nice.
With Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, we will be ever so busy and so a simple Christmas seems to be in order.
I am still writing Christmas cards, the German Christmas letters are
done and awaiting LH's signature and paw prints (the greys' signatures), and there are still gifts to be wrapped and packaged to be mailed.
Seems I'm behind this year, even though I'm home more. Maybe, the older I get, the longer it takes to accomplish things. I don't know!
But, I am enjoying listening to the Christmas music and did my yearly, helped someone in need who came to the church whose need was different from
what the Salvation Army usually helps with. I was blessed to be a blessing and pray that the one helped would have fresh start. Then there was the
unexpected trip to the children's hospital to check on the custodian's son in ER and that went very well. We all continue to pray for the healing of this young boy.
So, although Advent appears to be moving swiftly there are those moments of pure grace, blessing and joy where time stands still and the Holy One enters in.
May you find those moments in your Advent season.

THANKSGIVING AFTERMATH -
Tired! After two days of cooking, working, writing a sermon, polishing silver, washing crystal and china, setting the Thanksgiving table, stuffing and roasting the turkey, decarcassing the turkey, and doing all the dishes by hand by myself, I'm tired. The silverware is back in its drawer, the china has been put back in the china cabinet, the tablecloth is in the washer, the stuffing has been frozen and the stock is awaiting being put in little tubs and frozen for any recipes calling for chicken broth.
We enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving with LH's sisters and the food was good. They brought the green bean casserole which is always so yummy and some homemade banana bread.
The boys, Jazz and Renoir behaved very well, except for coming into the kitchen as the turkey was roasting and just sniffing the most wonderful aroma that, of course, for dogs is surround smell!!!!
Today, I am working on my Christmas letter in English and German. And trying to find a book I was going to use for my children's sermon Sunday. Haven't unearthed it yet.
Next will come the wrapping and packing of Christmas gifts so they can
get out in the mail.
But the weather is sunny and in the 50's and I have my butterfly bush and Siberian Iris leaves to prune. There will be a walk with Jazz and Renoir this afternoon.
Thankfully, I was gifted with a morning to sleep in, a quick run to the
grocery store for our weekly items, the bank, and the car wash. Errands accomplished and ran into no traffic and huge crowds where I went. WhooHoo!
I avoid crowds and the insanity of Black Friday.
Just going to enjoy the day and rest some.

RGBP'S FRIDAY FIVE - AN AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

1. Where will you be on Thanksgiving Day? With whom?
LH and I will be here at home and joined by my SILS, his sisters.
Jazz and Renoir are already salivating over turkey tidbits. We will
be missing LH's Dad who passed away last December.


2. Are there any family traditions or memories associated with Thanksgiving?
Most of them revolve around the food, the items made. I always enjoyed
wonderful Thanksgivings growing up with my family who learned to
make turkey and the trimmings as immigrants and did it very well.

3. What will be on your Thanksgiving menu?
Turkey! (Whoohoo!!) Missed it last year. Wild rice, rice, bread
stuffing made with Sweet Italian sausage, bacon, white wine, homemade
turkey stock, mushrooms and seasonings. Yum. Mashed potatoes, sweet
potatoes, wheat rolls, whole cranberry sauce, and SILS will bring the
green bean casserole. Pumpkin Mousse dessert will take the place of
Pumpkin Pie - so much lighter and easier to digest. A chedder cheese
ball will our appetizer. There will be drinks and Bella Sera Pinot
Grigio to complement the turkey. Oh, and homemade gravy.

4. Are you trying anything new this Thanksgiving?
Nope. Just the usual which we missed last year. Although, I may
have a Flying Elephant after dinner. (Amarula, Kahlua, & Grand
Marnier). Basically, a variation of a B-52 which uses Bailey's.
I prefer Amarula from South Africa.

5. What is the weather forecast for this day (next Thursday)?
We pray it will be cold Wed. night to store the stuffing in the
garage overnight. We hope it will be in the 40's, cool enough to
offset the warmth of the oven and roasting turkey and the warmth
of our being together with family.

Bonus: Prayer, poem, song, or whatever you choose to exemplify your image of Thanksgiving (giving thanks).
This year around the table,
we'll count our blessings, one by one.
But we'll all be mostly thankful
if the turkey comes out done!!! (Martha Bolton)

HOLIDAYS & FRUITCAKE
With the holiday season nearly upon us, I ran across this useful bit of information that might come in real handy!

USES FOR A FRUITCAKE:

Use as sandbags during heavy rains and flooding
Use as railroad ties
Use as speed bumps to foil neighborhood speeders
Use as bowling pins
Use slices in skeet-shooting competition

The Gift of Goodness -
In the congregation I was serving at the beginning of the year, I gave out star gifts on the Sunday before Epiphany as a way for them to be with the gifts of God for them in the coming year.
The star I picked (without seeing what was written upon it, which is the point of the Holy Spirit leading us to that which we most need) was "goodness". Great, I thought, somewhat sarcastically, now there's a hard one! I was thinking I would recieve one far more challenging. But this star gift of "goodness", was a reminder to me to look for the goodness that is everywhere and all around me every day.
I know I acknowledged the goodness of having an apartment to stay in while away from home, although, I struggle the whole time, with being away from home. I knew the goodness of coming home to stay!
This summer, I enjoyed the goodness of working in the garden, tending to our sick grey, the goodness of a cleaner house, the goodness of time with LH. Then there was the goodness of going to see my sister and being on Lake Michigan. The goodness of stopping by to see my niece and spend a wee bit of time together. I appreciated the goodness of an airconditioned van while driving in the heat and the goodness of an airconditioned home. The goodness of safe journeys and travel.
In an odd way, there was the goodness of my aunt's passing away. She was so ready to go for the past few years, had been longing for it, even within the mists of Alzheimer's. So, as sad as it was to lose my last aunt, there was goodness in her release. There was goodness in being to go
to Switzerland and to share what my aunt meant to me and my sister at her
Memorial Service. It was good to fly and be with my sister again, to see and be with my most of my cousins. I was graced with the goodness of spending a whole week with my closest cousin, to experience a part of Switzerland I had never been to, to share with one another the challenges and graces of our lives, to engage in deep spiritual conversations, to enjoy good food and a boccalino of wine as well as the beauty of lake and mountains.
Having to put down Jett was so very hard. The goodness was that he was
still with us when I returned home. The goodness was that he didn't have to suffer more than he did and love was there til the end.
There is goodness in this challenging interim that is so part-time and makes for some disjointed ministry, yet, there is time to read, to tend to our home, and do things.
Then there is the goodness of welcoming a new greyhound into our lives.
And that's when it hit me! Renoir is goodness, itself. All of our greyhounds have had a certain soul - Earl was without fear, stable, brave and giving. Baruch the Beagle was cute, but full of the dickens. Ben was a gentle, sweet soul. Jazz is our irrepressible soul. And now this one, Renoir, just plain goodness. Not one accident, did stairs, eats well, is quiet but curious, hasn't destroyed anything. Just pure goodness.
This year has been good, filled with goodness and it took a new greyhound with a good soul to point it out to me!!!
Oh, I may grouse about all the extra time I'm putting in for this interim, but it is good for me to serve again, challenging though it is.
My cup overflows with goodness, then surely mercy shall be with me all the days of my life. God has shone God's goodness in so many places in my life this year, many unexpected. And I am radiant with the goodness poured into my soul and spirit. What a gift to receive and be given this year. Thanks be to God!

GREYT NEWS!
As of Monday, November 7th, we are the proud guardians of a new greyhound!
We spent most of the day travelling in my van to the Hoosier State to check
out three greys that we were matched for us - 2 males and 1 female. Jazz was a good sport spending 11 hours in the van and travelling in one day. He did kind of complain the last 2 hours for a bit. Not that I can blame him!
The female was a petite thing, but somewhat dominant and had a penchant for shredding her toys. Poor Jazz - he does not want his toy hoard shredded nor does he want to be dominated by a female! One male was a stunning grey - a red brindle whose brindling was very striped and looked like deep redwood. He also was a bit dominant and into everything. The very first male we saw was shy, white with "banana" brindle patches, long narrow muzzle.
We looked at him again after we looked at the others and he came into the room with more confidence the second time. Bright-eyed, curious, with a notch torn from his ear in a racing accident, he seemed to be the best fit for us and for Jazz. He also had been living at the rescue organization for a year. He's not quite 5 years old, raced in Iowa and Florida and had a decent racing record - won at least a dozen races! A champion!
He seems fairly bright. We will wait for his personality to really blossom in this coming year.
His racing name was from a movie, his nickname was from an animated movie and he didn't seem to care about his nickname at all. It drew nary a real response from him when we called him that. Hmmm...he obviously needs a new name for his new life. LH and I have been blurting out names since Monday. Nothing seemed quite right. Felt bad calling him "Newbie" because some day
he'll, hopefully, be the senior dog as Jazz is now.
Then yesterday evening, I looked at him and it hit me. Renoir! If Renoir had painted a greyhound - this one would've been it. There's just something about him - the white with brindle patches, the narrow muzzle, the bright eyes, his beautiful, elegant gait in the backyard - that brought up, Renoir.
Even better, he likes the name and reacts to it!!!
It's a funny thing, choosing a name. It has to fit the dog. The dog should react to it. The name gives identity. It belongs to us and becomes us. Where would we be without a name? Even a dog needs a name, an identity, to belong to the pack, to know they are counted as one beloved.
So, now we have a Music and Art theme going with our greys - Jazz and Renoir! Who would've thought it!
I can't wait for his personality to come forth. He handled the front steps after a 5+ hour van ride home with the greatest of ease and no hesitation. He has had no accident in the house and goes out. He is neat and clean, a picture of good health. I never thought I'd really be that taken with a white greyhound with brindle patches, but there is something in his eyes that shines forth.
We are thrilled to welcome Renoir into our lives and home. A masterpiece of a greyhound and already precious to me.
So, that's the Greyt news here after being busy serving the new church with an extra service this past All Saints Sunday afernoon - yup, two sermons this week and busily preparing for midweek Advent potluck gatherings, the pre-school chapel time, oh, and Christmas Eve - which isn't
planned out yet, and a baptism to plan on the second of Advent. Now, it's all about the Renoir for this week and the sermon for this Sunday!!!

RGBP'S FRIDAY FIVE - What Lifts You UP?
Sally posts:
Over the last few weeks I have been struggling with depression, I know that from reading other folks blogs that I am not alone in this, and from time to time if not suffering from depression that everyone feels down. With that in mind I wonder what lifts you? So I'd like you to share 5 things:

1. A Scripture- it might be a verse or a whole book!
Jeremiah 29:11-14 "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says
the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a
future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me,
I will hear you. when you search for me, you will find me; if you
seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord,
and I will restore youfortunes and gather you from all the nations
and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will
bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."
This passage always gives me hope and assurance helping me to trust
in God.

2. A piece of music.
Keep Your Eye on the Prize - Marty Haugen & Dona Penna; We Come
Dancing. A powerful, upbeat song that inspires me.

3. A place.
Home with LH and my greyhound always comforts and supports me,
soothes me and uplifts me.

4. A person/ group of people
LH and my sister. They encourage and support me with their
wisdom, love, and insights.

5. Something you do...
Hmmm...some good Swiss chocolate and a glass of ice cold skim milk
always seems to help.

NOW PANIC AND FREAK OUT
as opposed to STAY CALM AND CARRY ON!
After a 3 hour worship and music meeting, we were all fried. I still working on the extra All Saints Sunday service and the Music Minister is asking me for a finished Christmas Eve service. Right! I am so not there yet, and I have to work on that in the next two weeks.
I am stessing and weary already over what is yet to come and knowing I am putting in way more hours than I am being compensated.
I still have to put together a children's chapel for the pre-school and finding CD's with songs they can learn, plus a Bible story and prayer.
They need at least 2/3 time to address and deal with and do what they need to deal with and do.
And into this craziness, I must stay firm, grounded in Christ and let the whirlwind swirl around me and try to be a non-anxious presence, honor their tradition and yet prod them into change.
I'm not thrilled with my Reformation Day Sermon, but we will all live through it. I'll pack my Gummi Worms, so the kids can have a treat in honor of good ol' Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms!!!
I think I'll go curl up for awhile while I contemplate Mid-week Advent Gatherings....

INCHING -
Slowly I am getting to know what is wanted, needed at the church I am serving. Slowly, I am finished getting the beds ready for winter. If it would stop raining for a day or two, I could get it done! We've broken a record for the wettest year and it is only mid-October.
Slowly, LH an I are inching toward welcoming a new greyhound into our hearts and home. Jazz will have to get used to sharing again, but it will be good for him. We pray it will be a good match and slowly the anticipation of welcoming a new grey is rising up. How could we not give a second chance at life, at life with a home, with soft doggy beds, special treats, milkbones, good left-over tidbits in a meal, and lots of rubs, hugs, and scratches just where it itches and they can't quite reach, and love and tenderness to a hound who has never known such things but were mere whispers of something more beyond the track life with cold, steel, hard cages, mushy sometimes rancid food, handlers, trainers and owners who regard you as a commodity rather than a beloved pet, and always having to run faster and your best, to save your life? Yes, we are slowly getting excited to adopt a new grey even in the midst of what will be a very busy season in the life of the church and our lives as we serve them. But into this mess of busyness and holidays - we will make room to welcome a new grey and stretch the expanse of love we have and know.

ANOTHER NEW RHYTHM -
Still trying to get into this new rhythm of being at the church one day a week and the two services on Sat evening and Sun. morning. Although, I will have to go in Monday evening for their church council meeting, and I am spending time at home, preparing and writing sermons. So, I am putting in more time than what is on paper. It's just that way, when part-time.
I spent some time in the garden cutting down some spent flowers and pulling grass where it ought not to be growing. In the back, I pulled the thyme (and lots of it), marjoram (not much) and my really spent tomato plants. I plucked a few tomatoes off and hope they ripen in a paper bag. I pulled weeds and planted my garlic buds. I have yet to cut down the oregano since the bumblebee was still on it.
I throw some fertilizer around, since I have to give back to the earth what it has yielded and given up in this growing season. I also put down a layer of Sweet Peet. What a beautiful thing Sweet Peet is! Dark, moist, organic and rich. It does the soil so much good. Every fall and spring, the back garden gets a layer of Sweet Peet and it has really helped. It felt good to give back after receiving so much - tomatoes, chamomile, parsley, sage, tarragon, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, hyssop, chives and garlic. I have made tomato sauce for lasagna this winter, pesto sauce - all frozen in cubes and ready to be used, and tarragon vinegar. I will have fresh and dried herbs to use at Thanksgiving and throughout the year. I feel truly blessed and know that the ground can rest in these next months. And spring will come and it will give and yield itself again.
LH and I are hoping also to welcome a new grey into our lives and home and provide Jazz with a buddy. Will see how that develops.
To Lutheran Chik, so sorry to hear of your health problems after a "routine" procedure. Prayers are with you. Don't know why your site won't let me leave a comment, so hopefully you will read this to know, prayers are with you.
I have been limping along with bursitis or tendonitis of the Achilles tendon and ankle joint. I guess the church is telling folks they have a "lame" interim pastor!!!!!!!!!
Slowly, it is getting better? with the pain traveling all around the ankle, but at least I can walk better now. Oh, the bane and blessing of middle-age.
I am feeling very blessed and graced in this season of harvest and thanksgiving. Eucharisteo arises from within and without. Thanks be to God!

WITH FEAR, TREMBLING AND FAITH -
I am beginning this new interim. It doesn't help that they have a bad taste in their mouth from a not helpful last interim time 11 years ago. The fact that they have brought it up, shows it is still in their memory. I pray that my grounded, usually joyful, self and love will win them over. But, I remember that I am a woman clergy and that in itself will be a challenge, as well as their healing, moving forward, and preparing themselves for new leadership. I pray that I will bring some freshness and offer some healing for them in this time. I pray that they and I will renew our faith in God and God's goodness to us even in times of challenge and uncertainty. I pray that their anxiety will abate some and their fears will be transformed to hopefulness of God's endless possibilities.
As I prepared myself for this new challenge in serving and loving Christ's beloved that is this congregation of a different denomination, I thoroughly lost myself in Ruth Haley Barton's "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership" which I would recommend to all clergy.
Ruth writes in such a loving, wise way using Moses as an example of leadership in ministry. Her practices at the end of each chapter are so helpful, prayerful and reflective. The prayers she has choosen for each
chapter are also so meaningful. This is not a book to read through quickly, but one that takes time for prayer, thought and reflection. She is very in tune with the isolation and loneliness of spiritual leadership. She points the way to the hopeful grace and freedom of being deeply grounded in faith and in an intimate relationship with God. I will probably re-read and reflect on this book often. And although, I know the process of discernment, especially with groups, she has a most wonderful, gentle and understanding way of explaining it and sharing it.
I would really enjoy a seminar with her - perhaps a RGBP's BIG EVENT! Although, I'm sure she would have a hefty fee.
So, I begin this new adventure to which God has called me, knowing it is a tender time in the life of this congregation, that I have much to learn about them and the way they do things, that I will be scrutinized, that I will need to stay very grounded, that I rely on God and God's grace for all I am and do and as I serve with wisdom, gentleness, peacefulness, joy and love. And in the wonderful mix of it all, God will be there for us all. Thanks be to God!

RGBP'S FRIDAY FIVE - HOME SWEET HOME

Rev Songbird writes:
I've got home on my mind: what it feels like, how we make it, what we carry from the past and how we separate other people's leftovers from objects that really reflect our identity. My family has had one home for the past 13 years, the longest I've ever lived anywhere. As the time when all the children are gone comes closer, I wonder where my next home will be?

So here are five questions about home.

1) Where was your first home?
A duplex in a very Italian Roman Catholic suburb just west of the Windy
City right across from the elementary school. We had a backyard with a swingset and a sandbox with little CAT tractors (from Dad) to play with. There were even garter snakes in summertime. This was my parents first owned home. Before,they had lived in an apartment. It was a brick two-story
with two bedrooms and one bathroom that 4 of us shared. We played in the
basement and I remember it getting flooded once with a 1/2 foot of water after a major rain. We played hide and seek behind the laundry sink and furnace.

2) Do you ever dream about places you used to live?
Not really. I dream of strange places that I have never been or lived.

3) If you could bring back one person from your past to sit at your dinner table, who would you choose?
Probably my Dad. He was a good dinner table conversationlist, although
somewhat argumentative. I miss him a lot and his wisdom.

4) What's your favorite room in your current living space?
Living room/kitchen - it's an open floor plan and where I spend the
majority of my time, aside from sleeping in my bed. Of course, I
do spend time in the den/sewing/ironing room where I'm on the
computer. But mostly, it's the living room/kitchen area where I'm either
cooking, preparing a meal or cleaning up, or on the couch reading or watching TV so I can be in company of our grey, Jazz.

5) Is there an object or an item where you live now that represents home? If not, can you think of one from your childhood?
My pillow/bed/duvet. They are comforting, warm, somewhat soft and
allow me to rest my exhausted mind and body. It is a retreat and
where I can sink into oblivion.
In our guest bedroom, there is picture of Gandria, Tessin,
Switzerland that hung in my parent's bedroom and reminds me of their
sanctuary in our home where all was safe and secure. Funny, it was only
this summer that I actually saw Gandria! It just represented Switzerland
and all our family ties - although my family is from the German speaking
part and not Tessin - the Italian part.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR -
So, yesterday evening I received a call from the church where I interviewed. I had thought that they would call their denominational office yesterday morning to ask what other interims they could interview. They did call the denominational office but to request the proper paperwork to be filled out. Apparently, I impressed these poker faced folks. It just goes to show you, that you never know. I think God likes to surprise one in that way. Just when you think it is over or hope shrivels up, bam! God puts it right in your face and surprises you.
I feel like I'm walking into the lion's den here. The folks are very wounded, anxious, fearful and I will have to win them over with gentleness, calmness, with the peace of Christ our Lord, yet challenging them with change, and to cheer them on into the new life God desires for them as a community of faith.
And I am the one who is anxious and fearful as well, learning a new liturgy and book of worship with which I am not familiar. Knowing that the position is so part-time, I will be limited in what I will be able to do.
And each church has some unique tasks and ways that they do things. I pray that I won't screw up the liturgy too much. I will be on probation for the first couple weeks, scruntinized under a microscope of can we live with this interim pastor? a female? one not of our denomination?
God has called me to walk into this lion's den and I hope that God has some more good surprises in store for them and for me as this interim unfolds. I pray God will give me the strength, the wisdom, the creativity, the love and the grace I will need to minister and serve these beloved of Christ.
God, you have opened the way for me to serve these your people, I hold you to your promise that you will be with me and providing me all that I need to minister well with them. Thank you, and may I find courage from all your faithful who faced fearful situations and continued to trust you for all things, for life. May I do the same. Amen.

SHADES OF HILDEGARD -
Today I felt a bit like Hildegard von Bingen as I cut down my tarragon, washed some of it and some thyme that I inadvertantly pulled out while pulling out garlic chives gone crazy-wild, and hung them to dry. I also reserved a few sprigs and have made my own two bottles of tarragon vinegar which works really well in making Asian Cole Slaw and other salads where Balsamic may be a bit heavy. I made a concoction of white vinegar and added some malt vinegar and it will cure for 2 weeks.
I already made my own pesto with basil from the garden and it is now resting in our freezer, awaiting a bowl of pasta to coat and savor.
I imagined how Hildegard carefully cultivated, dried, and used the many variety of herbs to cure ailments in her time. Somehow, through time and different cultures there was a kindred spirit there between us of growing
and harvesting your own herbs and enjoying the fruits of your labor in the foods that you cook and create. You know exactly where it came from and it is way cheaper than McCormick!!!!
There are still a few more herbs to harvest that can wait yet - marjarom, the rest of the thyme, oregano, sage, and some hyssop. I have to pull the tomatoe plants tomorrow. Then when I return, I will work on the rest of the herbs and pull all the remaining weeds and grasses that felt entitled to encroach upon my garden, put down the Sweet Peet and Osmacote and it will be ready for winter. I will wait to cut the sage and rosemnary until closer to thanksgiving. It depends upon the weather.
To you, Hildegard, I lift my tarragon in praise and thanks to you for your incredible Christian witness and life, to your imaginative and creative spirit, and your soul of compassion and grace.

INTERVIEWS
Interviews are interesting events, you just never know how it's going to go or what you'll be asked, or how people will respond. I've had my share of them. I don't get quite as rattled as I used to, perhaps, that's a good thing. This last interview is really up in the air.
They are a very anxious, wounded people and try as I did to be a non-anxious presence and assuring, I'm not sure they were convinced. I would be near totally opposite of what they have had in a pastor and that in itself, would be a good thing. Being of a different denomination might be a disconcerting factor to them although I have served in that denomination before.
There's just no telling what will come of that interview.
It will be as God deems best for them, for me. And I will live with that.
It certainly would be very challenging and there is some healing and process work that would need to be done.
In the meanwhile, LH and I will head for the Beach, even though it will be cool and fall and there won't be any sticking of feet into the cold water, and play and just be. I have some books to read and two still on the Kindle.
When we return, then I will actively seek what else might be out there and available. And will have to prepare the garden for winter and the flower beds as well.
I remind myself that I can only be myself and that God is in charge and to trust the slow work of God. Grant me patience, O Lord, and hopeful expectation for a place to serve. Amen.

So, I have an interview tomorrow for a very part-time interim in another denomination. I am anxious as I always am for one never knows what one will be asked. I will be praying much today and tomorrow, so that I can be a non-anxious presence to the ones who are really anxious and uncertain about their future and the journey of this interim time before them.
I will be learning new things all over again!!! That is the beauty and anxiety that comes with interim ministry - learning new things and reliance on God to make one able.
I am ready to serve again and have had a full summer off. (Almost guilty for having such time off and going to the Beach, visiting my niece and my trip across the pond - for I hear the tape in my head that those who don't work shouldn't spend what they don't have on such luxuries as vacation!) Perhaps, though, God was restoring my soul in this time after the year and half away from home and the need to let go of the congregation I finished serving. I was graced with the opportunity to attend my aunt's memorial service and to speak at that service (even if I stumble in my German) and I am so thankful and grateful to have been able to be there and be with what is now, extended family - all my cousins. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. And I know my Aunt was just tickled to see us all there together to take leave of her and her influence on our lives.
I supply preached at 3 different churches of this denomination this summer. Again, I see that as God preparing me for this possible new interim. Funny, that I never supply preached for my own denomination this summer!!! Makes me truly wonder at how God works so mysteriously and wonderfully.
The position is woefully part-time. However, I am thankful merely to be serving again. And will keep myself open to what may yet come to be.
It is difficult to make a life this way and to piece together some semblance of a life. LH and I both a have a few more years within us before retirement and it almost feels like retirement now. Only we can't afford to retire this early in life.
But I am grateful for this opportunity to serve and to minister and to get to know another community of Christ's beloved.