Happy Birthday Revgals!

What a wonderful thing to blog with such wonderful faithful people!
The Friday5 is all about being a revgal.
Here goes:

1) What is your first memory of the RevGalBlogPals?
I have to admit that I found the revgals through St. Casserole while looking for a casserole recipe online (sheepish grin). I read about the devestation of Katrina and linked over to the revgals and found a whole world of people who are in my boat!
My husband answered the call of God and is in seminary after having a first career in the Gov'n't. It was a tremendous shock to me. (In the next few weeks I intend to talk about my call and our journey to the pastorate...stay tuned) Anyway, here at seminary I have met many wonderful people...but most of them felt so at home with God, with church, with a religious life and I felt so out-of-step. My blog is helping me to come to terms with my call to be, who'd have thought, a pastor's wife. My sisters ( and brothers) at the revgals have showed me what a life of christian service is like and whether they know it or not they are shepherding me along the way.

2) Have you met any of the other ring members in real life?
Only Lone Barista (who needs to start posting again). She lives in my neighborhood and our kids are at daycare together! Some of the revgals seem to live in Atlanta, our home presbytery, so maybe someday we'll meet!

3) Of those you haven't met, name a few you would love to know in person.
Songbird and I seem to have quite a bit in common. Lutheranchik, Hazelnut, & Hipchickmama seem like we could be great pals too.

4) What has Ring Membership added to your life?
Hmmm. I guess I should refer to the above. But aside from virtual comraderie, I know that someone will read these rants and somedays thats all I need, to know that someone who knows whats going-on with me will read this and care and maybe even pray for me. That really helps.
You gals don't know how much you've helped me.

5) Describe a hope for the future of the WebRing.
For myself, I know I need to develop a little more proficiency with the technology, and reveal a bit more of my thoughts on faith. As this year goes on, last year in seminary, I think more of this will come naturally.
As for the ring, I am so happy with it! I have really enjoyed the new changes on the Homepage! Are we ready to participate in a project, maybe? Heifer has these Women's lambing encounter weekends in Arkansas and I've always wanted to go. Wouldn't it be cool if a whole bunch of us went together? Could we get the devotionals published by a big publishing house?
Lots to think about. Lots to pray about! Lots to blog about!

our sad world

Think globally, blog locally.
I don't blog about politics or the big world much. Mainly because I don't like to share my opinions on such things. Partly because... well mostly because... I don't agree with many friendly and well-meaning people including friends and family.
Today I'll just say I'm feeling worried and sad about our world.
Pray for it please.

Dance Party Music!

I am having a Kid's Dance Party here at the Library in two weeks for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds. Below are my music selections so far. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Hamsterdance
YMCA
Macerena
Chicken Dance
Electric Slide
Limbo
Hokey Pokey
Everybody do the Dinosaur
Cha Cha Slide
Bunny Hop
Shout!
The Twist
Hand Jive
Name Game
Hot Potato

Thanks!

Nanny has gone to be with HIM

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6

My step-grandmother has died in Florida where she has suffered with Pancreatic Cancer for about 6 months. I don't know her very well, but I am grieving with her wonderful family that has been so good to me and so good for my father.

100 degrees + Obstacle course = ?

This was my brilliant idea.

For the summer I am in charge of programs for the K-2's on Monday afternoons and Family Storytime on Thursday mornings (and helping out with other programs and regular work stuff..yadda yadda). Last week we had a craft...in the air-conditioning. This week - in mid-July - I'm having an obstacle course. What fun, I thought! (I've done them before and everyone has a ball!) Here it is though and it is 100+ and an ozone day and such. 2-4 p.m. will be very bad says the cute weather man and people are asking me if I'm having it indoors or postponing it.

I think it will go fine! I think people that are worried about their child, can do something else! I think that doing it inside would be a disaster! I think we can handle 40 minutes outside running around a little...especially because it will be followed by Pop-Ice!

I'll let you know if it is a catastrophe.

UPDATE: It went fine, of course!
26 kids + 14 adults + 4 hula hoops + 4 plastic waste basket + 2 long pieces of wood+ 1 ball of string + 3 boxes of Pop-Ice = 40 minutes of fun!

Friday5: Pet Peeves

Check out the new revgals page. It has changed both in template and format! Here is the Friday5!
1. Grammatical pet peeve
Hmmm. Since I'm guilty of so many grammatical errors, its hard for me to be persnickity about these. Their, they're, there and other "spellcheck errors" are annoying.
AND ALSO CAPITAL LETTERS and chain letters.

2. Household pet peeve
people using the computer during high traffic/stress times
lack of a competant housekeeper (ha!)

3. Arts & Entertainment pet peeve (movie theaters, restaurants, concerts)
cell phones, of course
commercials in the movies
snack prices at the movies
sticky floors in movie theaters
the fact that I would still like to go to the movies occasionally, despite the above!

4. Liturgical pet peeve
Songs that no one knows. I am all for learning a good new song but there is a big learning curve pastors-of-the-world! Not a lot of the world knows how to read english, let alone music. And so we sing it one Sunday and then not again for another year! I'm not sure how much is "singing praise" and how much is "joyful noise".

5. Wild card--pet peeve that doesn't fit any of the above categories
Dog fur, everywhere.
Statements that begin with "we should" but mean" you should".
This high-pitched whistle thing my husband does just to get a rise out of me.
Inviting folks over but not being reciprocated.
Parting Flash's hair...please don't bother, he looks great the way he is.

Bonus: Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God: What do YOU do that others might consider a pet peeve?
I leave cupboard doors open.
I don't fill up the car with gas until the last moment (hoping someone else will).
I am queen of the "last moment plans"
My dogs are not well trained

I am not feeling very peevish at the moment so I am sure I forgot some things.
AREN'T YOU GLAD?

Downer Haiku

Sin, sickness, milestones
sad, shared world -heard and proclaimed
our prayers and concerns

Cookie Review Day at the Library

I just had to share this idea. Today is one of several teen Cookie Review Days at our library. If you turn in a short book review (on a special cookie themed index card), we give you a big chocolate chip cookie. Yum.

Do you remember those commercials about "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Its a lot like that. Kids really turn-up for Cookie Review Day and brag about the books they read! We post them for a while on the bulletin board and then put them in photo albums so that kids can see what other kids liked. And yes, they get used!

Incentives (prizes) are things that librarians talk about. Are they good, are they bad? Which ones are good? I'm generally against food...because we're often a no-food place, because of diets and allergies. But this works. The teens read a book, think about it, visit the library and tell their friends. Nothing wrong with that!

Hope of the Church Retreat

After my trip to New Orleans, I met up with my family and spent some time at the beach. We had a great, relaxing time and then went to Montreat a Presbyterian Retreat/Conference Center in the North Carolina Mountains. What a wonderful place! We'd never been before but most of our southern Presby friends love it and we are now devotees also.

The occasion was a Conference entitled The Hope Of the Church: Celebrating our Common Ground. I should mention that this conference was planned long before General Assembly happened but that it was probably good that the one followed the other. Some of it was processing things that happened there, especially the PUP report thing but also declining membership, the trinity and so on.

There were lots of Presbyterian big-wigs, former moderators, writers and seminary folks as well as pastors, elders, and well, me. Excellent speakers. I have to say that a lot of that "granduer" was lost on me because, I am a pew-sitter. Hubby would say things like "He wrote Thus and So" but those were also lost on me. It just meant that people could use the biggest vocabulary and jargon they wanted to, because they were talking to people who understood them. Why can't church people speak in English, honestly? After the first day I had a page of notes that mostly boiled down to "what does this mean?". I learned a lot, truly. Did you know that koinonia really means Fellowship? This one guy from California must have used the word 15 times in his 10 minute presentation. You learn something new everyday!

One part of the conference was a panel discussion of attendees who were under-40 to talk about what they thought was the direction and future of the Presbyterian church. After hearing the great-high-muckety-mucks speak on the same topic it was great to hear these folks, who are the future of the church, give primarily positive presentations!

My immediate future includes mega-amounts of laundry, some sleep, my first day back at work and the first real day of Summer Reading Club programs tomorrow. There are no dull days!

The details I promised...New Orleans

After spending almost a month "on the road", I am finally home, at the desk and ready to type. I have promised details on how the big Librarian conference went in New Orleans...here they are.

• My hotel, and those of everyone I talked to, had all the things hotels have, except adequate staff. This is a refrain.

• There were three weddings while I was there. The vacation destination type weddings where everyone flew there and had the wedding in the hotel and then went wild in the French Quarter. I gather that folks who were going to go to Vegas are going to New Orleans right now.
  

• The downtown area was clean, sparcely populated and safe. I walked most everywhere I went. Yes, some places were boarded up and every place had a help wanted sign.
  

• I heard that the employers in New Orleans called up everyone they knew to come work for the weekend, because there simply aren't enough workers. I'm not a gambler but the casino in town had their own medical clinic, since I understand that some medical care has been difficult to get. I am not sure but they may have drwan employees from other chain casinos. On that note...the concierge at my hotel didn't seem to know the city very well, my suspicion was that she was borrowed from another chain hotel.
  

• I heard harrowing stories from shopkeepers and hotel people. And sad stories about families living in different cities that used to live side-by-side.
  
• A publisher fellow I met got a bellhop to find him a reliable taxi driver to take him on a tour of the ninth ward and other places hurt badly by the storm. He is a very ummm...self-assured sort of person (?) and he was shaken. Said it was worse than anything he'd ever seen. Others who went on a swamp tour saw a lot of the destruction, and of course those who went out and worked at the libraries did too.
  
• The shops have some very funny t-shirts with messages about the hurricane and the aftermath. But my favorite was a t-shirt hanging in the window of one of those shops that said "Librarians do it by the book" and then underneath "American Librarian Conference, New Orleans 2006". We have this conference every year. No one ever makes us a t-shirt. Gratitude was evident everywhere you went. A woman I met was hugged by a hotel worker!
  
• I understand there was a demonstration outside Cafe du Monde where the protesters basically conveyed that we were only seeing the parts that are fixed. Which we knew. We are librarians after all.
  

I hope that my comments about the great time I had, did not diminish the catastrophe in New Orleans and the gulf area. My goal was really to tell you that if you were hesitant to visit you shouldn't be. They could use your help.