Quotable quotes encountered during the month of June

6-1-11 

There are only two ways to live your life. 

 One is as though nothing is a miracle. 

 The other is as though everything is a miracle. 

- Einstein 

6-5-11 

Jesus taught us that we must be ever willing to die for our faith, but never willing to kill for our faith. 

- Tim Kuepfer 

 6-8-11 

"You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was" 

 - Abe Lincoln "

Leadership is overpowering. Influence is empowering." 

 - Tim Elmore 

6-10-11 

We try not to over-schedule our lives with stuff that pulls us in different directions — which means church activities... aren’t always a priority... It’s not because we dislike our church. It’s because we believe the Kingdom of God is bigger than our church. 

- Jason Boyett 

6-12-11 

Peace, unsurprisingly, is not welcome by those whose politics depend on division and hatred. 

- Yameen Rasheed, RE: Palestinian human rights, but could apply in many contexts 

6-23-11 

"When you realized that you will not always fit in, that is when you can really be yourself" 

- Josiah Create Hope Potter

 

6-29-11 

There is a time to lay quietly and a time to thrash about. There’s a time to honor the church and there’s a time to warn the church. 

- Scot McKnight 

Organized religiosity has failed. Institutional church is dead as an effective means for representing God to the emerging scene. 

- Rubel Shelly, I knew Jesus before he was a Christian & I liked him better then

Five Years

I haven't had my annual check-up yet so I don't have the official declaration, but it has been five years since my last cancer treatment. That's a positive milestone in the life of a cancer survivor & I am grateful to be here.

Mothers' Day remembrances of a different sort

I remember.
I remember Mothers' Day.
I remember trying to pick out the perfect gift for my mom.
I remember the testimonials in church about mothers and grandmothers.
I remember feeling grateful for my mom and I still am.
I remember my first Mothers' Day as a mom.
I remember celebrating the privilege and joy of being a mom.
I remember hearing Mothers' Day Scriptures & sermons that I couldn't live up to.
I remember getting a very special Mothers' Day card from a most unexpected source.

But I also remember Mothers' Days that weren't so wonderful.
I remember being painfully aware that I wasn't yet a mother.
I remember the deep disappointment, the grief, of having thought that I would be a mom by this date, but alas it was not to be.
I remember wondering how to reach out to a loved one who has experienced similar grief.

I remember the friend whose daughter is on the other side of the world and I know how hard that is.
I remember the friend who is dealing with great sadness and heartache because of her kids' choices.
I remember feeling like a failure as a mom, of not measuring up to somebody's standards.
I remember the friend who must be barely able to breathe on Mothers' Day because her daughter is gone. I cannot imagine living with the knowledge that she will never be a grandma and that she will never again be able to hug her own precious child or look into those beautiful eyes.
I remember the friend whose mom died just before Mothers' Day.
I also remember the friend who became a mom just after her own mom died.

I remember sticking my foot in my mouth in some of those situations.
I remember trying to comfort a friend who had just been blind-sided by someone else's insensitivity.

...

May I always remember that smack-dab in the middle of celebration and well-wishing, grief and sadness may be close at hand.
May I remember that society's celebration can intensify the pain of loss.
May I remember that some of the deepest pain is secret, that nobody else knows about it, that the person can't talk about it.

May I choose to remember...

BRAVE NEW BEAT

BRAVE NEW BEAT
by Erin Zindle & the Ragbirds

I made friends with fear
We went everywhere together
He pulled out my chair
when I sat down at the table
I told him everything
just to get his opinion
He spoke so confidently
because I always believed him
He kept me from doin' anything
too risky or brave
In exchange for his protection
I became his slave

I made friends with hate
I hated everything about him
But I was so wounded by love
I tho't I couldn't live without him
He kept track of every little grudge
so it wouldn't heal
He helped me hold & preserve
all the pain I feel

I'm leavin' this sad city
Sorry, my old friends
but you can't go with me
I made friends with love & mercy
Ooh... & they're such good dancers
So don't call me anymore...
I'm not gonna' answer

I'm gonna' tango with my new friends
I'm gonna' tango with my new self
I'm gonna' tango with my new feet
I'm dancin' to the rhythm
of a brave new beat

...

--------------
Thank you, Erin Zindle, for this great song.
Thank you to my friend, Sherry, for reminding me of it.
It articulates my healing & my freedom.

ta-da!!!

Ooh, ooh; I just remembered that for awhile I played around with the idea of ta-da lists rather than to-do lists. I've been a list-maker for many years & they often serve me well. Or maybe I should say that I serve them well in actually getting things done. At any rate, sometime, somewhere in my history I came up with or came upon the idea of making ta-da lists instead. They had a much different feel. Instead of drudgery, they were celebratory - rejoicing over the things that I had finished or accomplished. I haven't thought about them for awhile, but maybe I will resurrect the idea.

...

Wouldn't you know it? It turns out that "Ta-da list is the web's easiest to-do list." Guess maybe I wasn't so original. Or maybe I should have copyrighted my idea years ago. Drats! However, it looks like this one is really just a list of things ya' gotta' do. So there ya' go...