Monday, February 18, 2008

windy, no sun

Yes, it is incredibly windy today. and just last week the sun shone for about 5 minutes, after at least a week of no sun. at. all. Our lives have been windy too. Lots of change. Adoption things click along, some progress. Not much but we'll take it.

Last week's shootings at Northern Illinois hit closer to home. A windy moment for many- feeling untethered, at loose ends. I say it hits close to home because I know one of the campus pastors and several students at NIU. Also, it reminds me of Columbine when I was living just down the road from the high school then. Please what's with the guns? And the terror it strikes into those close and those far away. I pray these shootings would stop. Then, I pray we'll never get so overexposed tothese tragedies that we become permanently numb to people's pain.

It is windy today. Wind always changes things though. My hope and prayer is that wind blows through the NIU campus, and the Wind blows in the hearts and minds of all those this has touched. I'm reminded of the Lutheran bishop's (Gary Wollersheim) remark on that cold windy night they gathered for the first memorial. "We kept relighting each other's candles as we sang Amazing Grace. That's what we're supposed to do for each other, help light each other's candles again when they can't."
Windy today.

Monday, February 4, 2008

primary eve

The phone continues to ring off the hook, I'm trying to start dinner. Just got a mini-sermon message as the recorded greeting asked us to vote for Obama. The calls just keep coming! What must it have been like in Iowa in January.
Another (un)related story. We tried a new church yeseterday and we're pleased to find a slightly integrated congregation small, but teeming young kids. Well, we looked at each other, did we find something interesting? Then the lady began to speak, later to preach. Okay, I get to say something here since I am a lady preacher. She. was. bad. Bad. slow, no passion, but political. Started out about transfiguration but I got lost in all the mish-mash. Be clear, lady! Say something you believe in! Seems like I got a better, more impassioned, more focused sermon on my answering machine tonight. I thought the preachers weren't supposed to be political but they sometimes do a good job of dancing the line. I th0ught politicians weren't preachers but, hmm, maybe some are!