Excuse me while I recall where I am

Today was the monthly gathering of moderate Baptist pastors in the area. I have been to 2-3 of these meetings since my Mondays have previously been tied up by CPE or work at BoV. This group has been getting together for 22 years, I learned today. The old dudes are very nice about welcoming fresh blood, though.

After the official meeting everyone is invited to go to lunch at a local restaurant. Today we tried a new Mexican restaurant that was YUMMERS and offered huge portions at lunch prices. (You know it's a huge portion when there's still guacamole and cheese left on my plate after my face makes its aerial attack.) Anyway, toward the end, one of the pastors asked how everyone's congregation was reacting to the transfer of power. There weren't terribly many comments. But I, feeling like I was among people of like mind, said that Obama's oath of office was almost anticlimactic since I felt the real devil was exorcised when Biden was sworn in. (I didn't actually USE the words "devil" or "exorcised," mind you. I wasn't that comfortable.) Stony silence ensued.

Earth to KR, you are among clergy peers, just not those clergy peers.

Cool feature

I just realized today that my google reader, which I use to follow blogs on deals, sports, friends, and all things YCW, now has a feature that automatically translates feeds I subscribe to into English. I now no longer have to cut and paste at google translate to read the adventures of Maria and Jeez, two fabulous Swedes! Just click on one of your subscriptions in google reader, then "feed settings," then "translate into my language" in the drop-down menu.

BTW, if you don't use google reader, you so should. It makes life much easier if you follow several blogs.

First book of the new year...or is it?

After laying my sleepy head down on this book so often that the pages are crackly with dried drool, I have finally finished After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion. Bring on the balloons and confetti! Sound the noisemakers! Roll out the cake with the Chippendale's dancer inside!

Don't get me wrong, this book is chock-full of important information. Every clergyperson needs to read it. But be warned - if you don't have a mind for statistics, this will be an extra-star-in-your-crown enterprise. And if you don't get graphs, well, you may need to bump up your meds before you crack the cover.

Dear John

Dear Football,

I think we both know it's time for a break. Oh, we've had a good run, but it wasn't quite right from the beginning of this season. I was never really comfortable with the way you treated Big Orange, but I was willing to overlook it because you've been so good to the Crimson. Lately, though, you've shown your true colors. The way you looked at Tim Tebow. The way you gushed over a team from the MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE. The last straw was last night when you used the Colts defense and a whistle-happy officiating crew to keep Peyton away from the ball in overtime. I wish I could have quit you while we were still on good terms, back at the end of November.

To be honest, I've had my eye on Basketball for a while. Sure, he's not as sexy most of the time, but he's there for me all through the week, not just on Saturdays. I like that in a sport. So it's time for you and I to go our separate ways. Maybe in September, once some time has passed, we can be friends. We'll see. But don't even think of calling me in the meantime.

Sincerely,

Karaoke

Staycation success

Every year but one for all the time we've been together, GM and I have gone somewhere for New Year's. For weeks we batted around ideas for this year's trip - beach, mountains, city, bowl game. (Glad we steered clear of that last one. It would have SUCKED to pay through the nose for such a crappy game.) In the end, GM wanted to relax at home. I do most of my freelance work from my home office, so I was looking forward to a change of pace. The compromise was a staycation during which we'd do things in our city that we've meant to but haven't (or rarely) gotten around to:

--Minor league hockey game, which turned out to be $1 hot dog/$2 beer night!

--Weeknight steak dinner and a movie. I can't decide whether I'm inspired or depressed by Seven Pounds.

--New Year's Eve downtown at our favorite bar with a great band.

--Football marathon plus lots of naps for New Year's Day.

--Bowl game at a wings restaurant until we had to leave at halftime so GM could throw a tantrum in the sanctuary of our own home.

--Mattress shopping, which is not sexy but is very necessary because of our sinking 10-year-old bed.

As much as I like to travel, I'd do this again.

2008: full of hate 'n great

I didn't realize what a big year 2008 was until I started thinking about this post:

* GM and I became real Grown-Ups when we bought the little house with the yellow walls.

* I survived the final three months at Brood of Vipers Church, with my forced resignation coming the Wednesday before Palm Sunday and my last Sunday falling on Easter. Hmmmm....

* I hooked up with the local presbytery and was granted standing pending call in this region of the Disciples of Christ, making me officially ecumenical.

* I assumed leadership in an organization I love, which sucks up a lot of time but is very much worth it. And it is giving me unbelievable opportunities and many great new friends.

* I started feeling hopeful for my country for the first time as an adult thanks to Barack.

* GM and I celebrated 5 years of wedded [mostly] bliss.

* I took up sewing, which I never thought I would like, much less be good at. Now I am getting encouragement to put together a cottage industry. (From my very biased family, that is.)

* I am living more in the now, though I struggle with this mightily sometimes. I think I want more money, more stability, more "officialness," but then I remember that my time is flexible, I get a decent amount of respect as clergy, and we have Enough.

* I bought a bike and used it and the shuttle system to get around some. GM and I also began recycling and shopping with reusable bags. We're efforting here!

* I became a trained interim minister, which is nudging me toward further training to become an intentional interim. I think that would be really interesting work and well-suited to my strengths.

* I now have outlets to write and publish, though I'm looking for more.

* I went to several wonderful places, many of them free thanks to rewards points and gift cards.

I can't complain about any of this, even my departure from B o V, because I learned so much about myself and about how churches work from it. I pray I'll be open to all that 2009 has to offer. Blessings on your new year!

At least one reason I haven't been blogging

At the GM/KR household we are slowly going green, eliminating waste, and resisting the urge to buy crap just cuz it's Christmas or we have gift cards burning holes in our pockets. So for these reasons, and the fact that I am stone cold poor, I made several of the gifts we took to our respective family Christmases. There were placemats, napkins, tailgating towels, and scarves. I won't post pictures of them all, but I will of this wedding stole for GM, which is the definition of Labor of Love. Three intense weeks consisting of much reflection on how to put all the pieces together, several trips to the fabric store, a few lessons learned the hard way about needle sizes and thread types, teaching myself to sew in a circle, and a few moments of rending my own garments out of worry that all my effort would result in an unwearable stole. I also learned something about myself - I would rather tackle a project that is too advanced for me and figure it out as I go instead of building from the basics. This is why I cannot play the piano after several years of lessons. I refused to practice scales. I was, however, determined to (and did) learn to play "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters. Because when Alex P. Keaton drives all night to meet Ellen at the train station and stop her from marrying Dennis as this song plays in the background, it is just about the most romantic sitcom scene ever.