Visit our new site at revgalblogpals.org.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

11th Hour Preacher Party: Impossible Edition

Good morning, gals and pals! After a short sabbatical, I'm back in the preacher-party saddle today, bringing you breakfast (Muffins? Oatmeal? Blueberry pancakes? I'm here to serve) and encouragement in your homiletical and last-minute-worship-planning endeavors.

I've got the fair trade coffee on (the only kind my step-son will drink), and and also hot water for Good Earth Tea. I'm actually not preaching today, but I peeked at the texts (had a Bible study on Wednesday), and am musing about impossible things, like camels going the the eye of a needle, rich people getting into the kingdom of God, the Twins winning the world series. (But all things are possible with God, right?)

Perhaps you are musing on the double-edged nature of the scriptures, or you are shaking your fist with Amos, or you are questioning with Job. Where are you this morning, where are you flashes of insight, where are your struggles? Pull up a chair. There's always room for one more.

Today, I will be checking in periodically from the Celebration of Faith and Writing. Blessings to all.

68 comments:

  1. I have the coffee on.....anyone need/want a cup?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, please! My husband is the resident coffee maker here, and during the week I always wake up to a cup waiting for me! But today he slept in and didn't program the maker last night, so I am FIENDING for a cup ASAP!

    Anyway, working on refining my sermon today. I tried to reflect on each of the passages from Job, Hebrews, and Mark, to show how we encounter God in different ways, and also point out how the Bible does not present us with one static version of God.

    I usually preach a 6-page 12-point double-spaced manuscript, and I'm already up to almost 7 full pages, so I might need to start cutting...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning Diane! NO coffee needed here, just a good strong dark hot cocoa - and I will share! I'm off for a walk with the dog, since my weekly soccer game has been canceled due to soggy field :( Then home to try to deal with the mountains of clothing three girls create. The sermon is mostly done, but I will attempt to buff it up later, before I leave to preach at the 5:30 service. I focused on Job and on the idea that God is not always who we want God to be - and maybe it is we who need to change from seeing God as ALL powerful ALL knowing etc. It was a long week with an unexpected funeral, and I am glad to be on the other side of it!
    Blessings to all preachers and gals and guys alike, and thank you Diane for hosting!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm all done; focussed on Job & Rich Young Ruler - both of whom couldn't find God as looking in wrong place. Job at his problems, rich young ruler at his money. So what are you (congregation) looking at that stops you seeing God?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like all these perspectives! I wouldn't mind the problem of cutting. When I was first "out there" I always had to figure out what to ADD. Yes, Sarah, here's a cup of toffee caramel coffee for you; I hope you like it.

    and MumPastor, a cup of cocoa sounds very good this morning, since last night it SNOWED here.

    The dog and I will be checkin it out in a few minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'll take a cup of tea - thanks!

    Still lounging in bed with the ideas tumbling around. Didn't have the emotional energy to tackle Job this week, but will wrestle with Mark.

    It is CROP Walk Sunday here, so we are thinking of others in the world and their needs. Wealth is relative - how many times have we felt "poor" or worried about not having "enough"?

    I also have a Finance committee meeting on Monday, so can't help but think of church finances (not great) and personal stewardship issues. Always tricky topics.

    Meanwhile, I'm putting together a wedding reflection for a 2 PM ceremony.

    Some day I hope to be caught up enough to work ahead on these things. But that's not the case yet!

    Thanks for the treats and the company. Always appreciated!

    All there is here is cereal and eggs - but I'm happy to share :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mark for me and my first stewardship sermon. For now breakfast and some errands. Will be back later this afternoon.

    Any thoughts or ideas about talking to kids about money/stewardship?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Welcome, Bethany and Dancing! Here's some tea (pours).

    I don't have an idea right off the bat kids and money. I'll be thinking about it. we're doing stewardship too, but there's also a baptism tomorrow.

    Crop walk! Sounds great!

    If I sound out of breath, I just picked my husband up at the airport, and now have a couple of minutes to get out to my conference.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good morning, y'all. I'm preaching Mark, one of my favorite texts, and have some pretty solid ideas of what I'm doing but haven't written anything yet. If I can just figure out my beginning, I feel like I'll be all right.

    I've been up for awhile but haven't eaten breakfast yet - I'm having a HUGE jones for a breakfast sandwich from a local restaurant and trying to figure out whether or not to ask the hubs to run out and get it for me. Maybe it would be the kick-start I need?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanksgiving up here in the great WHITE north (an inch of snow on the ground this morning). ANd I am going with MAtthew "do not worry" leading into counting our blessings a la Bing Crosby and Rosemary CLooney.

    Stewardship with kids:
    Give each of them a candy in each hand and tell them that they have to hold it tightly, not opening their hands or they might lose the candies. THen bring out a whole bowl full and invite them to take some more. Of course they can only take more by opening their hands and letting go of what they already have. (In theory anyway, I tried this with our choir one year and they promptly proved me wrong).

    ReplyDelete
  11. My pastor-spouse-mate brought me a cup of Chai to start the morning. I drove to my office 30 miles, and am getting together my thoughts.
    Mark... ahhh he loved him..
    David LaMotte has a great song that I think works here. http://davidlamotte.com/music.html
    scan down to the song Butler Street... choras "sing me a song about Jesus, just don't sing about the poor.."
    Mark it is for me this week. Yes stewardship... what a story it would make about this man who went home...and did the very thing Jesus asked a first person reflection... even from the point of the mans' wife.. humm may have to work with that more..
    sigh
    bobbie

    ReplyDelete
  12. ah, stewardship season! we are doing Mark here...one of our members is giving his own testimony about giving in the middle of the sermon...which I am not preaching. phew! This was the very first text I preached at this congregation--that's right, this Sunday is the liturgical third anniversary of my first sunday in the pulpit here. Believe me when I say that no one wants their very first week in a suburban white pulpit to include such lines as "it's practically impossible for rich people to enter the kingdom of God"...

    This week i'm on children's time and prayers. I'm hoping to have the new children's worship area installed so I can talk about that and not about the camel/needle/rich/money thing. If not....I guess I'll be scrounging around for stewardship ideas too. sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  13. DH got me the breakfast sammie I wanted and it helped me get started. I'm rocking along now, borrowing freely from old work I've done. I hope to finish earlier than my usual Saturday night finish.

    Teri, happy anniversary of serving your church!

    ReplyDelete
  14. yes, happy anniversary, Terri! Earthchick, yes, Mark is a GREAT text.

    I love that in Mark, Jesus loves the rich young man.

    We're in the middle of a month of stewardship here, and have a guest preacher. glad to see how he's doing it tomorrow.

    Bobbie -- the chai sounds very very yummie.

    Now I'm off to hear Thomas Lynch.

    We'll be back for an extended time over lunch.

    in the meantime, "talk amongst yourselves."

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had breakfast out with the wardens this morning, which got me out of bed earlier than I might have liked, but is a good time to have a meeting anyway.

    I'm preaching on Mark, and it will touch on stewardship for 'tis the season, and we need to work on it. But I take Teri's cautionary tale to heart having only been here a few weeks!

    Gord, I love your kids' stewardship activity. It ought to work. How did the choir do it without opening their hands?

    ReplyDelete
  16. RDM,
    one chorister promptly took both fists and made a scoop out of both hands -- anything is possible bfor peppermints apparently

    just got back from the church where we set up our thanksgiving tree (using an old christmas tree since it is too snowy to go find a bare branch to use instead). Now to tie loops to the leaves for it. And hope that people will buy in to the idea

    ReplyDelete
  17. All right, y'all, I can't believe it (and only could have done this by borrowing from my previous self) but I have a draft up here (on the Mark text).

    I'm going to let it sit and simmer for awhile before I come back and see how it tastes. I'll pop by again later.

    ReplyDelete
  18. earthchick, nice job! You and I are thinking along very similar lines.

    ReplyDelete
  19. earthchick, you put me to shame! wow, good job. like to see if it percolates and changes a lot. I like that you aid, "see how it tastes."

    seems like a slow day here.

    it's lunch time where I am. does anybody need a sandwich? chicken chili? more tea?

    ReplyDelete
  20. In my office at school because I left the computer at church! Luckily I'm going back tomorrow to celebrate the bilingual mass with a few Synod latestayers.


    I am tying together the impossible yet possible to God task of being converted from wealth to Gospel poverty with the impossible yet possible to God miracle of the ordinations and consecrations we have just celebrated. Special focus is of course going to the deacons, the humblest and most essential ministers constantly serving the poor and converting our heartsd to do the same. opefully will when I am through.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanksgiving sermon here too. Same Matthew text as Gord. Great stewardship moment with the children Gord!! Let us know if any of the kids pull the same trick as the choir did - that would be hilarious!

    Thanksgiving sermons, like Christmas and Easter, always have that "deja vu" feeling about them. There isn't a whole lot you can do with the material that hasn't been said many times before. But on the other hand, a good message is worth hearing more than once - hence holy scripture.

    So, in a time of economic downturn, people sick with the flu, recent deaths in the congregation, etc....it's about finding Something, Anything to feel thankful to God about having in your life.

    Also, the "do not worry" piece is about being thankful in the moment and not getting too far ahead of ourselves.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Sophia -- I like how you are recognizing Deacons, and "gospel poverty" is a great phrase.

    Gord and Sue -- i almost forgot to say "Happy Thanksgiving".

    Maybe another question for today is: what are you thankful for? (In honor of Canada's Thanksgiving.)

    I'm thankful for my dog (who keeps me humble by howling when I'm on the phone with Important City Officials), my husband, who just got back from visiting his son in Atlanta, and for wifi in this ritzy old Presbyterian church on prestigious St. Paul Summit Avenue. And apples. I'm thankful for apples.

    Powering down now....

    how are the sermons coming?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks, Rev Dr Mom and Diane!

    If any of you are interested in taking aim at the ways people have tried to soften this text (translating "camel" as "rope" or claiming the "eye of a needle" is actually a narrow gate in Jerusalem), I would highly recommend this little article. I thought it was great, and it even gave me a quote from Jewish midrash that I was able to use in my sermon.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks Diane! It's coming slowly but, I think, well. Time for a quick lunch date with my sweetie--anyone want an oven baked sub or a cup of soup Potbelly?

    ReplyDelete
  25. earthchick, I'm always up for a midrash.

    Sophia, the soup sounds excellent....

    Scott Cairns is reading his poetry now....

    I dream of writing poetry, but I know that writing a poem is a little like throwing a clay pot; it is a long, multi-layered process. I always want to throw one off in a couple of minutes instead of attending to the details of the symmetry and the texture and the galze.

    sigh...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi, all!

    Back from the wedding - which started late but went fine. Now for a little down time before tackling the sermon.

    Yes, how to preach stewardship in a suburban church...we don't do pledge cards or talk much about finances.

    I am hoping to talk of giving as a spiritual discipline, but we'll see. We don't think twice about stopping at Starbucks, but we hesitate to commit to 5 more dollars a week in the plate. (and that, per person per week is all it would take to put us in very fine shape).

    Thanks, earthchick for the article. I will give it a look.

    Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian counterparts. One more year we didn't get home to see hubby's family for the holiday.

    Continued blessing to those of you still in process.

    off to find some brain food...

    ReplyDelete
  27. glad the wedding went well, Bethany.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Sermon is written, partially due to the fact that I'm not at district conference b/c I got sick this week. Always a good/bad news thing. Being home more means I'm not done and daughter just arrived from ATL so we can spend time together.
    I'm off this week for her wedding is next saturday. whew, still much to do.
    the Mark 10 text allowed me to tell another camp story which is here. Hopefully, I'm tying it together. I'll look again in the morning I guess. best to all for this evenings' Party.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for stopping by, Nancy!

    and prayers as you prepare for your daughter's wedding.

    I hope you are feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks for the tea Diane! And all the ideas brewing here. That conference looked good. Read some Lynch in seminary and loved him.

    Gord - Thanks so much for the idea for the children! Ties in perfectly with my half written sermon titled "Letting Go." And bonus, I have a tub of starlight mints in the pantry. Woohoo - it's the little things ...

    Teri - Happy anniversary!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I'm in the middle of a series on Job. Last week focused on the importance of Job's question--shall we accept good from the hand of God and not evil? esp. since the local paper did an 'expose' about how terrible our neighborhood is--said, shall we accept all the blessings being church has given us and not the challenges of ministering with/to our neighbors.
    But now it's this week and still a week left. The biggest challenge for me in Job is that there is so much to say--but it's all so inner-related. It's challenging to come up with 3 distinctly different messages. But...this week I want to talk about the friends and how desperately they need Job to say things he doesn't believe and admit guilt he doesn't have so that their picture of God can remain intact--and how Job's anger and questions make us uncomfortable--but they are faithful because they presume God is there and able to answer.
    Then next week...humility--how a key part of our faith has to be that God is bigger than we are/more than we can understand. Because, really, who wants to follow a God they completely comprehend...I need God to be more transcendent than that. (and believe firmly that God is...)
    but you can see that those two sermons aren't really too terribly different.
    When you boil it down, I think Job is less about 'explaining' suffering (b/c we can't) and more about destroying the idols we construct to avoid the difficulty of having FAITH...
    any thoughts/help/insights???

    ReplyDelete
  32. Well not much more done on the sermon. But I did have a rest with the youngest, and did some updating on the desketop (which apparently has a mouse that needs replacing--right button no longer works) and played the Friday 5 a day late

    Now back ot ruminating on Thanksgiving and blessings and worrying

    ReplyDelete
  33. Done, done, done. Going to the office to print it out momentarily.

    Didn't end up taking the direction I thought it would --that frequently happens to me. But I did talk about God calling us to a transformed life,and a life of discipleship. And that might mean considering how we think about and talk about money and what it means in our lives.

    I don't post sermons before I preach them (one of my weird quirks), but maybe I'll post it tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hello everyone...trying to catch up here as I was away this morning at a colleague's funeral, then took a nap, and now trying to get something worked out before a late supper.

    I'm preaching Mark and trying to figure out how to begin with "tough stuff" again...anybody have an idea for some "tough" item that could work as a visual aid? It's tough because it appears to be about money...and yet it's really about eternal life, and I really want to focus on the fact that for mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible. That is such heady good news to me (although we insist that it MUST be possible for us, somehow!).

    So, not very polished yet, but it's slowly taking shape. Off to do some reading and thinking...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Kate M, thanks for a take on the friends. Mrs. Redboots and I are headed in the same direction, I think. I arrived home from cooking for the Salvation Army and setting up the church for tomorrow's stewardship lunch, made a few phone calls to parishioners and sat down to continue working on the sermon. I am going to do all of Job in one week and then only touch on the rich young man a la Mrs. Redboots.
    At the moment, I am so tired I don't want to do anything at all that will tax my brain and Job is taxing every time I have had to tackle this text. Is it kosher to point out almost immediately that the entire book is fiction and the beginning and end were added later? I really don't want to go into the ha satan explanation but I suppose it is necessary. I'd really rather deal with the poem and leave the prose sections out entirely. They don't help.
    Okay, time to get back to it. Thanks all for your inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  36. The Rev. Dr. Wil GafneyOctober 10, 2009 at 6:57 PM

    I'm back from a wonderful Episcopal Women's Conference and heard the texts today. I've been thinking about the "word/sword" image in Hebrews. It seems that our romance with swords (pirates and historical films and fiction) makes it difficult for contemporary readers and hearers to to experience the image as it would have been. Remembering that swords were the primary weapon of the military and some individuals. It would be horrific to describe the word of God as an armor-piercing bullet shredding flesh from bone. Some people do use the text as a weapon, violently. What are we to do with this image?

    ReplyDelete
  37. Gord, I'd love to hear more about the Thanksgiving Tree!

    Rev. Dr. Wil... wow, the violence of the updated image is unnerving. This passage has always made me mindful of the prophets and their warning, "it would be for you as if..."

    We're heading into stewardship, too, and somehow I'm thinking the the children's sermon idea could be equally potent (as an illustration) for adults.

    If you hear the clanking and whirring sound in the background, that would be me, cogitating.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Dr WIl,
    it is the same dicussion we have at Good Friday eery year about the cross isn't it? we lose the reality of the language if we aren't careful.

    altar ego,
    the idea is that people write on a paper leaf something for which they are thankful and then hang it on the tree. The 5 of us put our leaves on today as we set it up. My plan is to leave it up (and hopefully have leaves added on an ongoing basis) until the end of October, or maybe even until just before the Bazaar on Nov 14

    ReplyDelete
  39. 707 words in! Just survived a Facebook update...back to work.

    Let me publicly commend earthchick's fine sermon to you. It's proved very helpful!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I'm back in the saddle bringing warm brownies and cold milk.

    Semfem - sorry to hear about your colleague. Sounds like several folks have had long days.

    Margaret - I hear you on the Job. I opted for Mark, but probably shouldn't have abandoned Job!

    I join you all in praying for inspiration and the energy to burn the midnight oil.

    I seem to be spinning my wheels. Usually that means I think I have a good idea, but God wants me somewhere else.

    For the moment I am working with "what's your next step" on the path to radical discipleship...inspiring one another to take that next step.

    We'll see if that's actually where I land.

    Continued blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thanks Bethany...it was odd to say goodbye to a colleague who'd passed away, my first time doing that. He was not young, but had taken time to talk with me as a new kid on the block a few years ago, and I really valued that.

    All you who are preaching Job...I'm thinking about doing the whole story of Job next week. It's our alternate first reading for the whole month, but it seemed better to do it all at once. Thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
  42. hi, back after attending most of the Celebration of Faith and Writing. Can you believe I wimped out on Hearing Anne Lamott speak? I did hear her a couple of years ago and it was getting to be such a long day!

    anyway -- semfem, so sorry to hear about your colleague. Many prayers for you and your colleague's family.

    Gord -- I too want to hear about the Thanksgiving tree.

    yes, I concur, Earthchick's sermon is mighty fine.

    And RevDrMom -- I too RARELY post a sermon before I preach it. So we're both quirky that way.

    I'll be back a little later. Anyone need anything? Popcorn? Chili? Cocoa? (It feels like winter here!)

    ReplyDelete
  43. YAY I just finished! (I promise I didn't totally steal earthchick's sermon--but it definitely gave me some food for thought and kept the wheels turning.) This is big for me, to finish before midnight!

    However, I will be back after supper to do some edits and polishing, so I'm not quite out of the woods yet. See you all later...

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anyone read David Howell's thoughts on the Mark text from the Pastoral Perspective in "Feasting on the Word" -- "The disciples have just witnessed a painful moment for the wealthy man who leaves "sorrowful" (my trans., NRSV "grieving"). Christian tradition has assumed that he went away sorrowful because he was unwilling to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Jesus. Another possibility is that he went away sorrowful precisely because he had decided to sell all he had and follow Jesus. That bold action would have not been emotionless. That would have been a decisive step into the future, resulting in an emotional letting go of all that he had and the relationshiops that came with his possessions." page 166. I am sitting here with this particular thought and a steaming hot cup of Raspberry Zinger tea, and the teapot is still hot is anyone would like a cup...

    ReplyDelete
  45. Wow Zipporah, that sounds fascinating. I have that Feasting on the Word; now i'm going to have to get it out and check that section.

    The tea sounds awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I have candy corn! Anybody want some?
    I also have some Vernors' Ginger Ale. It is great mixed half/half with cranberry juice.
    I am working on Mark text, but really need a children's message.
    Any ideas?
    Oh I should scan what you have so far, first.
    I have been without a laptop since mine is on the DL. However, my really cool computer guy loaned me one he had fixed up. Pretty cool.
    So I am using an older model HP, but who cares? I can work on sermon and watch LSU at same time.
    ")

    ReplyDelete
  47. 1-4 Grace -- Candy corn! very thanksgiving-y. yum.

    I think there might be a children's sermon idea (Gord's) up here somewhere.

    anyone else still working?

    will check in again...

    ReplyDelete
  48. I'm still here. Had a burst of inspiration and now transitioning to the next section. Will likely pack it in soon and get a little sleep.

    The later it gets, the more I think: gee, maybe some week I'll be able to start earlier :)

    Good night, all!

    ReplyDelete
  49. So, of course this is the week in which I DON'T read Feasting on the Word in preparation for my sermon. If I had time, I'd scrap everything I have and head in the direction of working through the rich man's grief at preparing to give up his possessions, at least to "imagine" in that direction...but, alas, I am almost ready to hit the sack after a busy day with the wee ones, a hospital visit, and the first "cottage meeting" that we've had since I began at this call. So, I will have to save that exploration for 3 years from now, hopefully at the same parish!

    ReplyDelete
  50. ok Bethany, I'll leave the tea kettle on for you. Do you like green tea or lemon zinger or what?

    I'm hoping we can crack 51 comments. it's been a slow day, but I'm glad we can get together...

    ReplyDelete
  51. This has been a heck of a week. I have had an infection in my toe that spread up my leg. In er sunday pain was so bad I thought I had a blood clot but it was just the infection traveling Got 2 shots. Mon had to go to my doc who said either antibiotices in office or hospital I chose office that was mon tues did a funeral then ended up in hospital got out yesterday
    y sermon is no where Really struggling between not feeling good the pain trying to keep my leg up and sermonizing uggh

    ReplyDelete
  52. Oh no, revie, so sorry to hear about what you've been through this week! Maybe a hymn sing during the sermon time tomorrow? Would hope your folks would understand under the circumstances...

    You'll be in my prayers!

    ReplyDelete
  53. I am with Sarah Revie, I think it is time for a hymn sing.
    So sorry you have had such a time.
    I am at 1000 words and need a good closing for the sermon.
    And still thinking on kids sermon.
    Trying to walk that delicate line between teaching them they can't buy the way into heaven verses our need to be willing to let go of what we have in favor of reaching out for God's grasp.
    Anythoughts?

    ReplyDelete
  54. Oh, the hole in the sock on sermons4kids is cute, but not sure they will get that one.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Thank you Sarah and 1-4 Grace, I really think I need to preach something to many thoughts running throughg my brain

    ReplyDelete
  56. Oh, Gord, I am gonna do a thanksgiving tree for Tday in November. We are so strange in the US and decided to put our Tday closer to Christmas(within a month).
    We don't ahve time to work off the tday pounds until we are onto holiday pounds

    ReplyDelete
  57. revie -- I think I'd go for the hymn sing. also, praying for you.

    I think you need a nurse of some kind.

    take care.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Well, I have some notes but nothing on the white screen with the blinking cursor. My children shared their colds with me so I really don't feel well. I'm in the middle of an off lectionary series and we'll have a special focused time of prayer so hopefully I can deliver something coherent that encourages regular engagement with God on a daily basis.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Vicar - glad to know you joined us. sorry about the cold. yuck.

    it's a small crowd right now... not sure how long I'll be up, but we're praying for you..

    now, to let the dog out for the final time before bed-time.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Diane - thanks for leaving the kettle on. I'll pour a mug of chamomile. I laid in bed only to hand write several pages. Trying for sleep now, then I'll get up in the morning to type them in.

    Revie - sorry about the leg business! I hope you can concentrate to put together the words the Spirit seems to be tumbling around within.

    Vicar - I hope your thoughts can cut through the fog of the cold. Never fun.

    Continued prayers for those still at work. It seems I am reminded every time I write that God manages to speak whether I am feeling articulate or not.

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  61. revie - I'm with the rest. DEFINITELY go with the hymn sing. It is so your turn to get some pastoral care on Sunday and not feel the need to produce, produce, produce. I hope you are in a place where you can do that. I know not everyone can.

    I'm coming super late to the party because I have been gone most of the day and couldn't do anything until the Gators took care of Louisiana. Whew. Glad that's done.

    So, Vicar, I'm with you. Nothing but a cursor on the screen right now. I liked the thoughts I discovered a day or so ago with Mark - the man asking for eternal life, but Jesus telling him how to live in the kingdom of God instead. I see the man wanting a golden ticket to hold onto for safe-keeping, and insurance policy (or retirement account) to feel secure, when what Jesus wants from his followers are people willing to live sacrificially, compassionately, without distinctions between rich and poor, insecurely, in the kingdom of God now, not later.

    So, there's my point, but I have no idea how I'll get there.

    Thank goodness - Drew Barrymore's on SNL. I can't stand Drew Barrymore. At least that won't be a distraction!

    ReplyDelete
  62. sherev -- so glad you are here for Vicar tonight. I'm making a few notes for announcement tomorrow, and then, off to bed.

    so, I'll check in in the a.m.

    and of course, I'm praying for you all...

    ReplyDelete
  63. I am at 1450 words and have wrapped it us and see not point in blah, blah, blah for 50 more words. Heading to bed now. The light is one and there is ginger ale in the fridge and candy corn on the counter. Oh, and if anyone has bisquits or toasts in the AM, I have homemade apple butter with fresh apples from the mountains of NC. enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  64. Got my entrance down on paper. After a super short night last night, I already feel the need to crash. My eyes are so droopy. Hoping for a very inspired morning write!

    ReplyDelete
  65. Back, edited, and going to sleep now. Blessings on all pondering, preaching, and proclamation this morning!

    ReplyDelete
  66. It's coming slowly, but it's coming. It does NOT help that I have discovered Mexican Train Dominoes on Facebook. Why, oh why, do I have NO DISCIPLINE?

    ReplyDelete
  67. checking in in the a.m. with coffee and tea and prayers for preachers.

    Remember, the Holy Spirit has your back!

    Blessings.

    ReplyDelete

You don't want to comment here; instead, come visit our new blog, revgalblogpals.org. We'll see you there!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.