Wednesday Festival: Thorns and Roses

I spent some time this week getting ready to lead a group of students in a closing reflection on their summer experience as counselors in a camp serving disadvantaged children. My daughter, the lovely RunawayBunaway, a service veteran herself, suggested the group exercise called "rose and thorn," in which folks share one good thing and one difficult thing they experienced. Reading through this week's posts felt a bit like going through that exercise, as people shared their joys and sorrows.

Mid-life Rookie shares a Reflection on Life, a beautiful and gripping reminder of how fleeting are our lives and how much we need to remember what's important. This serious post served in its own way as a reminder of the importance of fun in ministry, and that led to an Olympic-inspired idea that came up at church. She'd love folks to drop by and contribute their own suggestions; some have already done so, and they're pretty funny.

At Eternal Echoes, Sally thanks everyone for their prayers now that Chris is home again after a difficult stay in hospital. She also shares two poems, An Geadh-Glas (The Holy Spirit-Wild Goose) and An Geadh-Glas 2.

Marie is looking for "some help with the goodbye-ing" at Brash, Dramatic and Outspoken.

In a more humorous vein, Mitch Ross has written a post about The Babbler at MitchRoss.com. The Babbler loves the sound of their own voice. A lot. (And if you think he's talking about you, you're probably wrong.)

Lorna at see-through-faith is crying (not laughing) out loud after she watched a youngster toss an empty can into the bushes, which is rare in Finland. It motivated her to think again about protecting the environment, and some of the little ways we can do our part. Lorna the scribe has also provided a picture of the amusing (but appropriate!) gift she received last week in honor of all the writing she had to do to get out of seminary.

If I missed you and you'd still like to suggest a post, either one of your own or something from another RGBP member, please feel free to mention it in the comments. And for next week, don't forget to send your nominations by e-mail to Wednesday Festival.