You Know Things Are Out of Hand When...

you've gotten back enough breathing room that you're actually thinking of make a to-do list...

but you don't know where your calendar and planning book are.

One God

The question of one God....

I think the question of one God vs multiple Gods sometimes becomes an unhelpful semantic barrier.

I do believe in one God. I know some people believe there are multiple Gods. Those people might not be satisfied by the perspective I'm about to give. In fact, I'm a bit concerned that it may not be respectful of me. I'd like the opportunity to discuss the issue with people who believe in multiple Gods. I'd like the opportunity to learn from them. But to the best of my knowledge, I don't know anyone with that belief.

In my perspective, belief in one God does not preclude recognition of what may be understood by others as multiple Gods, or even competing Gods. God is big enough that we use multiple metaphors for God. In my thinking, multiple Gods (past or present) may be considered a partial representation of God. Each of them are, if you will, one of many relevant metaphors for God. Metaphors (whether used for one God, multiple Gods, or anything else) in some way represent the thing for which they are being used as a metaphor, but can not completely represent or contain it, nor can they represent it with completeness or full accuracy.

In some ways those of us steeped in monotheism might benefit from thinking in terms of multiple Gods, or at least by taking diverse metaphors for God more seriously.

Too often I think we have an image of God that is neatly packaged, defined and contained. We miss too much of God that way. We tame God too much that way. We try to keep God fitting into our theology, our religion, our society, our comfort zones. But of course God isn't so easily limited. It's our theology and ourselves that we're limiting. We're keeping parts of God at a distance when we could be drawing near. Sometimes those are the parts of God we or others may need to keep our spiritual lives engaged and growing.

Night Owl

I've long had a bit of a night owl tendency, and an appreciation of the benefits of being awake in the wee hours.

Since I spent a year & 9 months awhile ago working an overnight shift, and being influenced now by factors of relevance I will not enumerate, my schedule has not been the same.

You may notice that I'm posting at 4 something am.

While I could debate the pro's and con's of purposely altering the rhythm of my life to keep earlier hours...Ill refrain from boring you (and myself) by writing out that debate.

I do want to say: one advantage of the approach of winter is that I can be awake at such hours with decreased concern that the morning birds have begun to sing and the sky has begun to show signs of light.

We Believe In One God

This is the first phrase of the Nicene Creed.

I suspect that the writers of the creed assumed belief in God and meant to make the point that they believe in ONE God. But before I tackle that part of the issue, it seems relevant to consider the question of belief in God. It can not be assumed that people believe in God or not, or what they mean by that.

However, while the question of belief in God may often be relevant, sometimes I think it gets in the way.

I've had people indicate that they don't believe in God, only to go on to express what sounds to me like belief in what I understand to be God. I think my understanding of who or what God is may differ from theirs.

On the other hand I've had a person talk about things they don't believe (things they apparently think church represents that I strongly disagree with), then go on to say they believe in God. That's fine. But I'm not sure what they mean when they say they believe in God. Their understanding of the meaning of church seems so far removed from mine that I'm hesitant to make assumptions.

Furthermore I have a co-worker who, because of statements they've made, I perceive to be atheist. Yet when I've referred to them as such, they've objected. I don't think they object primarily (if at all) because they wish to claim some belief in God. They indicate they object because they see the label as a way to unduly define and categorize.

I think they may be onto something. Statements of belief in God or non-belief in God call for more explanation. We might find we have more in common with those across the divide of our labels than we think. Sometimes we might find we have less in common than we would expect with those who use the same terms as we do. Either way, the labels and terminology shouldn't be allowed to stand in the way of supporting each other's pursuits in developing and nurturing our spiritual lives and connections. I wonder how often they do.

History & Context Disclaimer

As I set out to comment on creedal statements and beliefs, I want to acknowledge that there is a lot of history associated with many creeds. I would need to do much reading and work to do a well informed job of interpreting the creeds within the relevant historical (and other) contexts. Though I would like to take on that task, it's a much bigger task than I have in mind for this blog. Here I simply intend to shoot from the hip about my reactions and thoughts related to each of the statements that I treat.

Me and the L Word

I've been thinking about some of the things I might say about what I believe. I think some of it will sound troublesomely liberal or even heretical to some people. Some may think I've been led astray and lost my faith. To some people, what I'm likely to say will make me one of "them" instead of one of "us." I know that kind of perspective from experience.

But I don't see it that way anymore. Though I might not believe some of the specifics I used to believe, I find that the changes in my beliefs have expanded and strengthened my spiritual life and relationship with God. You don't have to see everything the same way I do or agree with everything (or anything) I say. But at least I want to let you know this.

Writing Topics

The things on my mind are not always interesting topics for a blog. Even if they could be I'm not always compelled to write about them nor I do I believe I'm necessarily ready to write about them in a compelling way. So, if I'm going to make a routine out of writing I need some topics.

I have some I hope to try out.

• Creeds and catechisms - The Curious Monk has proposed a Wikicreedia project. Maybe I'll do some writing on my beliefs on specific topics that could will be my personal version of this and a contribution to the nurture of that project.
• The Gospel of the Week - I heard last week's gospel at church differently than I've heard it in the past and the sermon had some points I'd like to ponder further. It would be good for me to re-immerse myself in the Bible so as to explore and perhaps reclaim some of its contents from the perspective of the place my spiritual path has taken me.
• I have some other ideas too...but...5 min are up. And I suspect you don't really care to read about what I MIGHT do.

I35W Bridge

A couple days ago my family and I walked over the 10th Ave bridge to see the work on the I35W bridge construction.

I was fascinated and could have stayed all day. My family tired of it sooner than I.

I realized that what I like about watching the bridge under construction are the same things I like about many other things I'm interested in.

There's an amazing juxtaposition of the grand scale with smaller details.
There are a myriad of facts, implications, questions and meanings associated with each of these levels of detail.
There are many perspectives from which to look - both physically and otherwise.

Adult vs Family Vacations

My husband and I have spent plenty time bicycling and camping in conditions that would push the limits of most people's comfort and tolerance.

Sometimes it's seemed we've biked and camped more in the dark and on the edge of the seasons than any other time of day or year.

Rain, snow, dark and cold....all familiar conditions for bicycle touring and camping.

It wasn't always fun. But I enjoyed it enough that I was always willing to go again. I think my husband always enjoyed it more than I did.

Without kids I'd still be out there doing all kinds of things that I'm not up for with kids.

We've made some trips with the kids that haven't gone well.
That's my assessment, not necessarily my husbands. He wouldn't deny the adverse conditions we encountered, they just don't bother him as much.

For me it becomes too much work to be worth it.

If its just me I'm taking care of I can manage that and enjoy the accomplishment. But when I have to cope with whatever physical and emotional challenge the adventure has brought our way AND function as a parent in that same challenging context; responding to the physical, emotional and relational dynamics that implies, it pushes it past my limits of desirability. It's no longer a vacation. It's no longer much fun.

Did I mention that we haven't decided what we'll do for vacation this year?

Goals - the short list

Two unrelated people recently suggested I make my goals a shorter more attainable list.

I've been told this many times actually. I never do it.

I can't find enough of my goals that I'm willing to give up. Which of the things on my list don't I really really want to do, or feel I have to do? Not enough to get the list down to an achievable level.

So I continue on in frustration, with my to do list hanging over my head, keeping me feeling too busy, always behind, never satisfied.

But why? If things aren't going to get done anyway, why maintain an unrealistic expectation? Why hold illusions?

I understand a little bit about why I do it. But that's another topic.

Somehow, this time, I'm hoping, maybe I've heard the message a little louder than usual. It's starting to make a little more sense.

Yet as I think about tomorrow, I strongly sense the likelihood of having a longer list than I can achieve...and I'm not sure how to get out of it. I'll try.

What We All Have in Common

What is it about food & meals & sharing food that makes you want to have everyone there when you have a feast and that makes food such an important part of some many things?

Its the one thing we all have in common.

This isn't my own insight. It was a gift from God. It was a gift from the Universe, a gift from and through my friend who was sharing supper with us.

It was something he was in sync enough to say
And I at the moment was in snyc enough to hear
And now I'm starting to understand so much more....
about my own experiences and about social & cultural dynamics and about religious ritual & meaning, and about why an open table is so important.

Wow, what a moment.

The moment didn't call for it, nor is my theology sorted out about it....
but in reflecting on that conversation at supper, it has felt like there's a way in which it would have been appropriate at that time for the bread to have been picked up and offered with the words, "the body of Christ..."

It is a good and joyful thing, always & everywhere to give thanks to God

Dinner Party

What is it about food and sharing it that

makes you want to invite all your friends when you're preparing a feast...
makes it such a big part of religious ritual & symbolism...
makes it a major part of cultural observances and celebrations (what holiday doesn't have food?)

I hosted a dinner party last night. It got me thinking about all this.

I'm tempted to ramble and reflect about all my shared meal stories. But I only have 5 minutes and you have your own stories. Maybe we can talk about them over dinner sometime.

Topics to Expect

I hate to take up time & space w/ this, but it seems I should let you know what to expect.

I anticipate it will be:

• anything that I'm inclined to & brave enough to talk about in this forum.
• varied...If you know me you might be able to guess a lot of the types of topics, but maybe not all of them. If you're not intersted in one, I might be writing about something else another day.

The Idea

A friend recently mentioned the importance of making a verbal point in 30 seconds or less, so as not to loose the attention of your listener.

I want to apply a similar standard to my writing.

My goals are to

• improve my writing
• improve my time management
• increase communication between myself and others
• give myself an expressive outlet without getting sucked into a lengthy endeavor

The plan (at this point) is that I will give myself a strict 5 min to write,
then save the writing as a draft.
On the next occasion, I'll give myself a strict 5 min to edit/finish,
then post. What you see is what you get.
I hope to post frequently, several times a week.

I will be able to meet some of my goals on my own.
But it will be a lot more fun & a lot more effective if people join me.

Comments on my writing and comments on my content are both welcome.
You're also welcome to join the project, in any number of ways...
Make a 5 min. response. ..
Or adopt the idea and write your own topic using this format...
Or make whatever proposal you come up with.

This is a personal project...but I'd much prefer it be a communal one.

Post time....!