cupcake of christ - baked for you...

i have no idea if you have ever stayed after communion and eaten the "left over" bread and wine - either by yourself or with others...i often reflect theologically about the "left over" bit...classically, we don't really believe in a "holiness" in the regular old bread and wine...this is why we have to utter some profound bit of words that aren't necessarily magic - but try to make us understand that the presence of christ is really there - through the spirit...i personally think this is a load of crap...if we don't get that christ is really present absent of words, then we have a whole other slew of problems we should be dealing with...like our lack of understanding "word"...

that was a crappy foreword to what i really want to talk about...i get frustrated sometimes that there are actually leftovers of bread and wine...in the world we live in, people should be ripping off huge chunks of bread and gulping down the wine with great shouts of acclamation "praise be to god" as cheeks are still full of bread and one drip of wine is trailing the left side of the mouth...

instead, there are half loaves of bread still there when it is all said and done with a large majority of wine still waiting to be drunk...this bothers me...and i am still trying to figure it out...

tonight joseph took me to the cupcake trailer...it was a little silver trailer - the kind that lines recreational parks all across america...they even had lights strung up all around it - strong white lights that defined the trailer with a unique color...there was even a small stand up menu with select cupcakes listed - chocolate with vanilla, vanilla with chocolate, etc...the real kicker is that they have cream cheese icing...seriously - it took me about two hours to get ready to eat it...

i had to let my dinner settle away and there had to be a little bit of time to reflect on it - prepare myself for this luscious, deep, dense, filling piece of cake...as i licked the cream cheese icing off the paper, my mind began to race at my craving tonight compared with the craving of eucharist this morning...both were not holy elements by any means...just ordinary things...but my desire to eat the cupcake trailer cupcake was more passionate than my desire to eat and drink of the body of christ...

it's hard to imagine "cupcake of christ - baked for you"....but i wonder if i would think about eucharist more? desire it more - long for it more...get it - more...i know, the bitterness is a part of the whole deal...it seems a bit paradoxical to drink the cup of suffering through a cupcake and possible chalice of milk...

but i sense that is what is going on lately...the willingness to drink the cup of suffering is only attempted if lured through some type of cupcake trailer...bright lights and small stand up menus...you order your own suffering according to your ability to handle it...

what is funny is that there would be no left over cupcake jesus...the bitterness of bread and wine is left to whoever decides to dive in later on...their only ordinary - right? i sort of have a hunch that if we truly drank the cup of suffering, we would tear off the biggest piece of bread and take a huge gulp of that bitter wine because of the nourishment and sustenance we know the real christ can and has promised to give through it all...no wonder we leave it there...we don't want it...we want the trailer with bright lights...

i feel certain i have not flushed this out yet entirely...but it's a good start...and for the record, the cupcake trailer makes some damn good cupcakes...

just exhale...

i don't think i was prepared for coming back to texas...it turns out that many times no matter how much you think you are ready for it - you're really not...

i am trying to take it easy today...all the hype of concerts, reuniting, and big city have taken a toll on me...so today- i am exhaling...

vox...

what i really want to do is to talk non-stop about the experience i had at an emergent church this morning...i have waited all summer to hear something challenging and theologically thought out from the pulpit...i was beginning to think that pastors have officially checked out theologically all around the world...just stringing some sentences together with a few jokes about football...today was finally the day that i heard good exegesis - good illustrations - good theology - good humor - proclamation in the sense that we were uncomfortable - it just kicked ass...

so as i read carol and pappan's stuff, i now know where the missing generation of people are...they are in store fronts...they are living in communal housing...they are living across the tracks on the other side of town...basically, they are giving the finger to mainline churches and going to "live" the gospel according to emerging theology...

but, i am tired...the sunshine has made me high- no wait, all the pot smoke from ACL had a little to do with it...and i am going to take a nap...and connect all the dots of things that have been brewing for a long, long time...

ps - ryan, nuni de is poised and ready to be the non-hierarchical version of the emergent church...i think i am coming to louisville anyway...maybe...i'll tell you in a week...

farewell haiku...

the goodness of love
wrapped in friendship and lucy
it makes me thankful

carpentry is fun
sanding the plane is arduous
pleasant dreams are near

apricot puppy
smelly kisses and licking
good for the heart strings

airplanes connect us
rockies fading in the west
tears are streaming down

critical times...

first - i think W has had some serious work done on his face...he really looks good...maybe its the relief of the end being in sight...or a nice chemical peel..

as i listened to tonight's national address, i had a couple of things brewing...1) i hate being threatened - which has been a white house tactic for years now 2) IF our elected president is correct in his predictions - is 7 billion dollars enough?

in derek's calculations, that is roughly $2300 for each citizen of the united states...so - i wonder if the government issued a $2300 check to each family - and in turn, each citizen had the right to either 1) give it back to the government with the stipulation it would NOT be given to big corporations or 2) sign your check over to big capitalist corporation that either has your money or does not - it would be interesting to see the outcome...i suppose this is what the rest of the week will be about...have you called your congressperson?

i try to imagine an america where there is no longer credit...now that would be something...halts on house buying, car buying, boob jobs - all kinds of things would cease...even education -which scares me the most...it means we will only be able to spend what we have...i would barely have been able to get a master's degree without some federal help...now i'm listening...

but...

W used the words "those people" tonight when he referred to those who are in trouble financially...and he said it again in regards to "those people" needing our help...it is clear that he is NOT in that category...but it makes me wonder who is? because of the differentiation of "those" in his language, how do we define who "those" are? right now it seems that the big companies are the "those"...but if he is right, and mayhem ensues -i think that the "those" will soon be you and me...and the 7 billion is gone...no more money to help us...and as an unemployed citizen, it scares the shit out of me...but it again reinforces that he will never be me...nor do i think he will ever be in a situation where he loses a house or is denied an education because of no more money...therefore, i agree - these are indeed critical times...

on the road...again...kerouac style...

except i am not train-hopping to texas...now that would be true to the dharma bum style...i have too much crap that would prohibit me from jumping on the train...i might lose my greek text or something...

as i bid farewell to the rocky mountains, i have to admit - this has been an incredible season of goodness...the hospitality of friends - starting with aaron then on to derek - has been overwhelming...what people have given to me, whether it be housing, a meal, a laugh, river fishing - even a beer...it has been a string of memories and blessings that i will never forget...

i have learned that we never arrive...each day is a new thing that never gets us to a place of arrived-ness...i have quit expecting to arrive...instead i wake up wondering what breathing will lead me toward...so far today it has lead me to laundry, packing, and thankfulness...


so, farewell sweet mountains...hello sweet texas - see you in the morning...

the waiting...

even as i prayed "satisfy me with your love oh lord," i wondered how i might enjoy it...it is too much for words...it is encompassing, haunting, exhilarating, and dangerous...this kind of love moves one to do things that are not necessarily normal...it puts a stirring in the stomach...

in two days and i am back in the hot-ness of texas...but along with the heat comes a boundless amount of friendship and love that has not been met with real presence in a while...this summer has been a somewhat nomadic journey...here, there, and then over here...i can't decide if it is something i am "doomed" toward or if it is something i am "bound" for...both i suppose - but it is a real dinger of surprise at every turn...

each day i wait patiently for an answer...as another day closes and i lay my head down to sleep, i close my eyes knowing the sun has waxed and waned without me getting any type of clue to the future...it isn't that i am worried...in fact, i have never enjoyed a waiting period more...it's just interesting to me that i can live satisfied each day with no knowledge or foresight to the future...which makes me wonder - how long can one live this way?

i suppose as long as i have to? the question is always "what are the prospects monica?" as i reply "i don't know" i can hear that twinge of anxiety on the other end of the phone...if i am not "doing" something, it is hard for others to realize that i am "being"...it is even hard for me sometimes to realize i am being - not doing...

ramble ramble ramble...i'm a fan of being...it's kind of dangerous...

asante, asante...

one of my good friends from seminary is now a phd student at vanderbilt...he is studying ethics and society along with a myriad of other topics...he recently pointed me to a new project that he and his colleagues are working on to further a public discourse on race, religion, and society - from the african-american point of view...

the internet publication is called The Call and Response...as i read many articles posted last night, i became acutely aware of how much non-dialogue goes on among many of us regarding race and religion...asante was especially patient with my southern white self in seminary...he tolerated my elementary questions and persevered to bring me into a conversation that expanded and highlighted my own racism...my own misunderstandings...

what i am most proud of is that this man chose to include me in reading the struggles that are still prevalent in today's america regarding race...i encourage you to click and read...it may be a beginning for some...it may be a source of expertise for others...nevertheless, it is worth the journey to hear the voices of a new generation speaking to the church and society on issues that affect all of humanity...enjoy...

connected..we're all connected...

okay...i crave for someone i know to watch LOST so i can talk about all the essential elements of the show and what it means...i know - what does it mean? it haunts me at all moments in time...

so i stumbled upon some crazy tool on facebook...i wanted to write on doug's wall and i typed in doug's name in the search box and apparently didn't put in his last name...to my surprise, 9,000 doug's came up and for the first 12 pages i had friends in common with them all...some of them i knew...many of them i did not...but it amazed me as i clicked on "mutual friends" i was astonished yet pompous in my confirmation of - we're all connected...

in LOST, each character was connected with at least one other character before they all landed on the island...tonight i realized that my friend mary is mutual friends with friends that i went to college with in undergrad...facebook is my technological version of LOST...all it takes is typing in a name to realize how small the world is...some of us were convinced of this prior to facebook...now we have a tool to make a philosophy tangible...

some part of me wanders how shallow this is...but part of me thinks this is freakin amazing...so i am lost in facebook...just for fun...

just hateful...

i just read kristof's op-ed in the nytimes and i was a little thrown off by the anti-obama marketing ploys...as i perused several online shopping stores i was overwhelmed at the fierce hatred i saw displayed on purchase-able merchandise...

kristof told of one t-shirt that had an "O" with horns on top of it captioned with : the anti-christ...i am thinking to myself - really? is it that easy to become the anti-christ?

as i looked at everything from obama/marx, obamunism, che-obama, etc, i couldn't help but think - is that really what republicans think? religious republicans especially... any shift to socialism, communism, or any type of shared goods for all comes through a public vote in america theoretically- hence, democracy...the picture with obama with a turban on was probably the most offensive - to me...not only is it a hatred aimed at him - it is hatred centered toward the members of islam...thank god for freedom of speech...

it's funny to me that many religious people feel the anti-christ to be personifed as one, singular person...to me, anti (against) christ (christ) can easily be seen by those who proudly claim christianity as their religion...for example, by supporting shirts such as the one posted here... is this anti-christ(al)? - by means of hate, degradation, and dehumanization...to all mentioned above?

it's so frustrating...i shouldn't read the paper on sundays...i want to cry right now...every where i turn there are those in the church who are keeping the gays, the poor, the single, the liberal out...every article i read there is another "follower of christ" hating obama, the democrats, and muslims - all in an attempt to eradicate evil...i get so tired of being on the "evil" side...as of today i am going to embrace it...

current read...

i naturally shy away from books that are largely endorsed by the religious right...as unfair as that may seem, i highly doubt that w. wink is on the top of the reading list for the religious right...however, i find it both necessary and intriguing to see what all the buzz is about...

so i started reading "the shack" yesterday...this summer at brooks, i met many clients who went on and on about how it challenged their perception of god...the more i questioned, i finally realized that it is basically about the portrayal of god as a big, black woman named papa that threw their worldview for a loop...

i am almost finished with the book - many times it was painful to keep reading - and at other times i appreciated the author's use of tillich, barth, and schleiermacher to theologically challenge the american "idol" of god...as i read the back cover, m.w. smith was quoted as saying something to the effect that this book was the most stimulating fictional read he has read in years...i had to think - seriously?

even though god is a big black woman, w. young still keeps her in the kitchen...jesus is, of course, a jewish man working in the back shop making woody things...and the spirit is an asian woman that both confronts and comforts the main character - mack...as i talked with derek about it, he saw papa in the kitchen as a source of nourishment...i, on the other hand found, it terrifyingly stereotypical and only reaffirming of white prejudices...not to mention that mack found jesus to be astoundingly "ugly"...instead of the smashing, muscular, intensely handsome white jesus that hangs on the wall in most american churches...

even though i found the trinity to human conversation sometimes excruciating, i did find young's portrayal of the economic trinity in flesh to be enlightening...he addresses hierarchy and the will to power and then accurately addresses the human longing for autonomy and individualism...which theologically, negates our willingness to embrace the "absolute dependence" schleiermacher so adamantly tries to school us on...

i don't know whether to think the gender shift is the most challenging aspect of this book for its overwhelmingly right readers - or the overt address to the need for power within our society...if a gender quandary is all the reader is left with - young's challenge to the system is lost...i will say that if the reader puts the book down and starts to challenge power and autonomy - the church might have revolution on its hands...which is strange...it would be difficult for me to imagine seeing women in the religious right fighting hierarchical power...but stranger things have occurred from the reading of literature...

if the same phenomenon occurs with this book as it did with lahaye's last series - then i would love to know the number of people who try to go to the shack (located in the northwest) in order to meet papa in hopes to see god for themselves...fiction people...remember, its fiction...

i imagine a discourse between god and humanity to be something like reading a james joyce novel...somewhat recognize-able yet overly mysterious...actually, the gospel parables are more than enough of a challenge to me...forget joyce...but i have to say, as a fictional read i am thankful for young's challenge to the manly idol of god the american church has created for itself...if we are lucky - it might be the source of a new beginning...

lost...

i received another email today that confirmed my unmatchness for a particular church...i never quite know what to think...usually, ego hurts a little only because it's convinced it could have done exactly what they needed...then reason tries to calm the senses and precedes to give that crappy one line advice that goes in one ear and out the other...during reasons' quick stay experience comes along to remind you this is not the first time this has happened...

if this expansive moment can be enjoyed - it's only because i'm not frightened...now, i did think i could handle this particular parish...but i guess between them and the spirit - i was wrong...which does a number to the ego...

i have absolutely no idea what is next...and i am trying to enjoy it...

eyes on the prize...

as i was running this morning, i looked up and saw the red light for "allison" in the far distance...this light is the end of my running trail...it is within my sight and i think - i see it - but if i only run toward it (to finish and finally quit sweating) - how many steps will have been taken that i didn't even notice? or even enjoy? if my whole being just wants to get to the end - what do i miss in the mean time?

this summer has been a fantastic time of contemplation...merton daily accompanies me and pleads with me to quit looking even to the evening of the same day...the expansiveness of each moment - there is this rich excitement that evolves when you quit ticking off the hours and start looking to moments for reflection...

there are all kinds of philosophies that accompany this...greenway tried to tell me that the more i want time - the more it becomes unattainable...the less i want more time - the more i get...it's a strange paradox...the problem is - i don't think a lot of people even want or don't' want time...millions of expansive moments are lost as we sit greedily gazing into the future...whether it be the night or the longing for eternity to hurry up and get here...which is funny in itself because for some reason, i am convinced we are presently in eternity...

this reminds me of i heart huckabees when the existential detectives were on the front porch of the open spaces office and they are arguing about who either doesn't or does have time for infinity...i agree with dustin hoffman - who doesn't have time for infinity?

as the church sits greedily glaring and waiting upon eternity to hurry up and get here, millions of expansive moments are being lost...the moments are spent in wars over who is in and who is out...from dehumanizing the oppressed or the petty struggle for power - expansive moments of life are wasted on what we think will be prominent when it finally gets here - the whole eternity thing...

expansive moments allow us to befriend, love, be hospitable - treasure all that is surrounding us...i'm not saying it's the magic elixir that cures everything...but i do think many kingdom-ish things could and do happen in the midst of expansive moments...

i am not sure yet how this works in systems...how can a system enjoy and operate in expansive moments? i know it is a practice...i know it is a part of being...if i could have one wish today, it would be that the prize we think is so far away would be revealed through an expansive moment...so as we greedily gaze for the "future" prize - we instead see that it is really already here...

the grind...

as the future looms the present is strangely peaceful...my apprehentions about work, security, salary, housing - they all seem to be less important than the enjoyment of today...

granted, i have trolled positions in the west, overseas, and have even contemplated moving in with derek indefinitely...nothing seems too far-fetched at this juncture...only when i look around at my collegues do i start to wonder if there will be some sense of identity with what they are doing as to what i may or may not be doing...working for whatever it is i am called to do - let's just say it seems to be hiding beneath some surface i cannot permeate...

lots of people have advice on this...too many of us in the clergy are looking at a system that favors us yet favors more what it sees as to be fitting...and rightly so...i wonder sometimes what it is that one day breaks the favor mold and propels us into the system...mutuality? common need? a friend of mine, a good and well rounded pastor, ended up going overseas to serve the church of scotland because of the endless toil and labor of never finding a common need between he and a church here in the states...lots of people would say "it was destined"...he probably would as well...he has a strange and curious way of patience...

in a week i will head back to the lone star state...i will arrive no less acquainted with my future than before i left three months ago...musings here and there have peaked my interest for service...the question is - have i peaked theirs? i often debate whether a piece of paper is an adequate indicator of service ability...i suppose i will soon see...

other than that - i have a bed to stain and a dog to entertain...i spent the morning reading christian century and the economist...i enjoyed the yirgacheff with glee...i have made a few more inquiries concerning the future...it is less with anxiety and more with intrigue...and that is today's grind in a nutshell...

feminist icon?

so derek received the economist in the mail today...as i glanced at it knowing i would read it tonight, my eyes saw the very top splash of magazine insides and it read: palin feminist icon
read here

i think i sat there stumped for a few minutes wondering how the author of this article could call palin an ICON?

i had to go and run two miles just to process how this author could use the word feminist for palin - as if she is a member of the club...now granted, i grew up believing that feminist was a dirty word...palin is just the kind of woman the men i grew up with would want me to emulate...i grew up in a society where women were always beneath men and highly respected for behaving this way...eventually the shroud came undone...to move out of that sort of mind frame was difficult...i still have aunts and uncles that think i am going to hell for being an ordained minister...

back to palin...let's see...derek has a great theory on why she is the vp nominee...he thinks that if obama would have picked hillary - then there is no way in hell mccain would have chosen palin...it sucks that we had to make the first move - and we played it safe...the thing is - how can a strategical pick (palin) be an iconic issue? don't you have to do something first? be something first? you can't be an icon to something you don't believe in...or can you?

the title of the article is "the triumph of feminism"...i personally see no triumph in this...how can someone who offers nothing but posting a position be iconic to the liberation from patriarchy? what is sad is that on saturday night live - amy p. did a great job of summing up what feminism did to hillary...THAT is an icon...i'm not saying she is a saint - but seriously? if progressive women aren't going to shatter the ceiling - god forbid people think that palin is doing it? she is not shattering anything that a group of men didn't shatter for the sake of the party...it has nothing to do with women or women's rights or women's equality...it's all about the strategy...how can that be a freakin' triumph?

so i think she is a strategic icon* - but a feminist icon? hell no...



*termed only because i believe she was chosen out of a desperate strategy...

timing...

when i want to write - i'm usually in the car...in this case, trapped for seven hours with nothing to do but talk to myself...radio out...mind in a frenzy...last night i talked to someone who talks to themselves as well...outloud...it made me feel better...

it's really funny when i give myself advice...yesterday, the crux of the one-sided conversation rested on my ego...i literally said out loud - "the problem is that you're ego can't handle the fact that he doesn't want you...or that he won't address it directly..." i have to say, i felt much better...not only was it a strange scenario, but it was really good advice...

i finally stuck an earpiece in my ear and listened to the pod for a while...i investigated j. timberlake a little more...in my opinion, he is an incredible, incredible musician...i think the lyrics to "damn girl" could have been a bit more expansive and inclusive - but i love "what goes around"....i decided that i liked that advice as well...

update...

so, i was driving most of yesterday and i only had the radio on for a short while because i was in the middle of nowhere most of the drive...the fair and balanced report of the hurricane damage was given and i only have a few things to say:

1- price gouging does not count as an oil crisis
2- i am very sorry for all those who lost life...and for those who lost things that were important to them
3- to the one reader - i don't know if i should apologize for the hike in prices for a couple of reasons...but i am very sad for those who were taken advantage of during this time...


i am sitting in the wilderness again and it feels good...it mostly feels like home...which is interesting to me because i have no idea how one can wander for 36 years and suddenly realize that geography matters...i think kathleen norris talks about spiritual geography...maybe it is something akin to this particular situation...atmospheric pressure - wind velocity - altitude - visual stimulation - it all matters... :) i wonder if realtors would use any of this in describing a new development ;)

i feel random today...in some senses the last few months have been an alternate universe...one day you understand and are convinced you know what is going on...then, unoblivious to another reality circling around your perceived reality lies another universe...poof...they collide...then it all becomes one strange and wacky interfaced situation that ejects you from a time warp...or a perceived time warp rather...

there is something interesting about the encounter...whatever you were feeling in the personal perceived universe becomes altered...changed...dismantled is probably the best word...which makes for - in my case - a nice liberation from self-deceit...

constant form of terrorism....

as i watch CNN for the first time this week (i have boycotted all this week for several reasons) - i realized that since the first terroristic act this country endured, it has not awaken to realize that if the government/media can keep the american people in a constant state of anxiety and fear - then we will watch them, do what they say, and let our rights be violated for the sake of "safety"...

CNN has a weird way of predicting the future with hurricanes...everything from how strong the storm will become (which has never been as strong as they say) or to gas prices exploding to $5.50 by the weekend (which if if does i will apologize to the two of you who will read this)....

i think i am so frustrated by the bombardment of terror...i am even more frustrated that americans are oblivious...

the best news yet on democracy...from late night...

i think craig has said what i have been trying to say in 8 minutes and 45 seconds...



click here...i promise, you won't be disappointed...my favorite quote is this:



"Are we so lost we have to be sold our own democratic right!?" craig ferguson, late night....

morningness...

i awoke at 4:45 this morning...i always wonder if there is some element happening some place else in the world i need to be aware of...so i started sifting through people, crises, the need for peace - all things of the things that might wake you up at the crack of dawn...

so i wrote a haiku about coffee...then i wrote a cover letter to a PNC for some church in colorado...then i wondered what it would be like to live in peru for three years...all of these things combined made me sleepy again - only to go back to bed and have those tremendous nightmares that happen somewhere in between being awake and trying to get some more sleep...

if you try to describe these dreams - they are always broken and distorted in real time language...only the time of your dreams make sense...kind of like LOST...(by the way, i am so mad they won't air again until 2009)...

unknown babies cared for by my grandmother, drowning kittens, broken down and taken over jeep by some kids at a random place in wyoming, me scratching a girls face to find out who they were - then a pleading and verbal retort that woke me up - "i just want to go home..."

i've discovered home is right where you are...granted i have had to struggle to figure out a forwarding address for the future...but besides the postal system - i don't have any real need to "hang my hat..." i find this both odd and yet confirmation-al that i resound and thrive in the nomadic life...new places, new people, new food, new atmosphere, new everything...except my being...it is the same - which makes all the newness "home"...

also annie dillard uses words i have to look up...she used a priori a word i learned last year...which may have triggered my desire to put this all together in language...

i don't know anything about tomorrow...not even about the rest of today...above running and playing the guitar, i only know i am going to enjoy sunshine...like john denver - it makes me high...

so maybe the sunshine woke me up wanting to get me high...maybe the dreams have some meaning for real time...maybe i just couldn't wait to dive into the new yirgacheff...who knows...

satisfy
me
lord

with
your
love
in
this
morning

i
will
live
with
praise

...

rhetoric...

as the days hurry on toward november, i find myself investigating the language of the nominees for president..

one side is pushing for mutuality...the other side is pushing for us to fear...i have lost so much faith in the american people that i am not sure that mutuality is a good push...i have my doubts that when it comes to raising taxes for the betterment of ALL people there will be a backlash from those who are fiscally conservative...

i am not sure that making us fear is any better...it's a form of terrorism itself to make the public fear what could happen...it is mind control, crowd control, and it sets up a scenario that makes only those who function on the threat of fear seem capable of being the best to handle it...remember giuliani's speech? it does not even matter what he said prior to his 9/11 remarks...the entire room erupted, rallied, unified over his words...

so i see a battle of ideology - mutuality vs. fear...you know where i stand...even though i fear the rallying of the american people to consider the best for EVERYONE, i still think it is the better choice over the ideology of fear...

signs...

what exactly does the point and thumbs up with a smile signify? especially since it is to at least 25,000 people?

tagged from ryan...

The Questions // Presbymeme II


1. What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus.
i would have to say today - O For A Thousand Tongues - i long for the day my desire could be self-described as praising God in this way...i have a secret love for wesley's hymns...

2. What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?
david johnson's sermon on satan...i had just come back from africa and the superstitious was fresh in my mind...

3. If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?
i am not really a good writer...i just like to vomit my feelings out on a site that serves as my everyday editorial to life...i like the latest - new deep...only because it's fresh...

4. What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?
it takes time to read three blogs a day...fetteredheart, tribalchurch, and mere's latest - hymnsandneedles are my current reads...

5. If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?
the breakfast club strikes a chord...principal bender (the status quo) is struggling to deal with the diversity of the prom queen (marge carpenter), the jock (emergent presbyterians), the geek (cradle presbyterians who can't even make a lamp turn on), the freak (diversified presby's who sit and watch the status quo and everyone else with the contentment of being who they are), and judd nelson (those who stand up for convictions based on experience)...it makes for a great situations...i even say promise...


i am supposed to tag five other people...but i am too tired...

definitions...

MAVERICK: (n). - One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter

(adj). - Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence

he will see us to victory...

my blood pressure is up...and i have never watched the RNC like i have today...giuliani is speaking now and has assured the american people that john mccain will lead us to victory over the islamic terrorist...what does that mean? the annihilation of all islamic terrorist in order to claim "victory?" i would like to hear how this plays out...

the word "experience"...

i just spent a blog's worth of time talking about experience...apparently the buzz word of both political parties is - experience...

let's face it...neither candidate has the experience of being president...i feel as if the real question is about the experience of the american people...does the american public have the experience of understanding who is better for serving as president? over the last sixteen years we have only known the experience of two families...many of us - including myself - have become numb to wanting to understand the tactics of who ends up being on either side of the ballot...

"these tough times" are ringing through the networks as words that define a circumstance which disqualifies those with "little to no experience"...are "mavericks" better than "youth"? when neither have presidential experience - is it merely buzz words that play on the american people in order to help them understand who is the better candidate? do these words create an experience that woos the voter to one side or the other despite a previous political alliance?

instead of wondering if "they" are "ready" - maybe the american public should ask - "are we ready?" in some sense we don't have a choice...an election will happen regardless...but more than what the president will do, i feel as if americans should ask themselves "what are we going to do?" because in a democracy, doesn't the will of the people steer the president? not "their" experience?