things on my mind at 6:30 in the morning...
-its super tuesday today. i should vote. i'm not sure when i will have time to vote today, but i should vote sometime. and i have no idea who to vote for. i'm not pleased with the candidates in the party with whom i'm registered. i often get ridiculously cynical around election time and i feel like all the change that seems possible is only rhetoric and politic. politics make me tired and leave me feeling hopeless most of the time.
-on another note, tomorrow is ash wednesday. as you may remember from last year, it is one of my favorite days of the christian year, so aware of our humanity and our desperate need for God's grace. it is a grey day, a dust day, an ash day. it is a remember-your-mortality day. it is a thank-God-there's-more-to-this-life-than-just-skin-and-bone day. it is a day for ashes on your head, a mark on your face. it is a day for repentance. it is a day for forgiveness. it is a day for beginning a journey of lent, and it is tomorrow.
-i kind of like ron paul. at least he seems radically different and some things would change.
-today i am heading to a pre-lenten gathering of all the united methodist clergy in our conference (which is all of new jersey). we'll be worshipping together and trying to prepare our own hearts, minds and souls for the lenten journey ahead. it will be nice to worship without being in charge. and it will be nice to be with several of my clergy friends who i don't get to see too often.
-on the other hand, ron paul seems like he has no idea what he would be getting into, and we would be left with chaos.
-on sunday our church had a special church conference and voted to do something we've been talking/debating/arguing about for several years now. we decided to buy some land. it comes at a pretty steep price, but when you consider the location, the size, and the fact that we have already outgrown our current facility in many ways, it was a decision that made some real sense. it wasn't an easy decision to make, as evidenced by how long and arduous the task of making the decision was for this congregation, but now that the decision has been made, it is like a huge weight has been lifted off of us. i feel like we are now free to move forward in ministry and not worry about this looming decision. yes, we will now have a mortgage to pay, and i'm sure that will be a challenge for us. but we can do that. instead of worrying (being anxious) about that, we can now turn our energy into ministry and what needs to be done to share good news with the people in our community. i'm excited about this new place for our church.
-i need coffee.
-i should get some new collages up on art locals only (see links section) soon, so look for those.
-a week from today i'll be at my board of ordained ministry 'retreat' in interviews that will determine whether or not i get ordained this year or not. i would be lying if i said this was not on my mind nearly all of the time. i'll be relieved when that's over.
-i'm preaching on the temptation of jesus in the wilderness this week from matthew. this story makes me wish i had more scriture memorized.
-would you like it if your name was mitt? i mean, would you be proud of that? would you write it with large sharpie letters on a name tag when you went to a meeting? hello, my name is MITT. like a baseball glove. or a mean dog.
-of course, barack doesn't seem much better.
-and, in the spirit of a random post, i will end with this thought from my 3-year old: daddy, when you shave your cheeks where does your rough hide?
randomly,
greg.
-its super tuesday today. i should vote. i'm not sure when i will have time to vote today, but i should vote sometime. and i have no idea who to vote for. i'm not pleased with the candidates in the party with whom i'm registered. i often get ridiculously cynical around election time and i feel like all the change that seems possible is only rhetoric and politic. politics make me tired and leave me feeling hopeless most of the time.
-on another note, tomorrow is ash wednesday. as you may remember from last year, it is one of my favorite days of the christian year, so aware of our humanity and our desperate need for God's grace. it is a grey day, a dust day, an ash day. it is a remember-your-mortality day. it is a thank-God-there's-more-to-this-life-than-just-skin-and-bone day. it is a day for ashes on your head, a mark on your face. it is a day for repentance. it is a day for forgiveness. it is a day for beginning a journey of lent, and it is tomorrow.
-i kind of like ron paul. at least he seems radically different and some things would change.
-today i am heading to a pre-lenten gathering of all the united methodist clergy in our conference (which is all of new jersey). we'll be worshipping together and trying to prepare our own hearts, minds and souls for the lenten journey ahead. it will be nice to worship without being in charge. and it will be nice to be with several of my clergy friends who i don't get to see too often.
-on the other hand, ron paul seems like he has no idea what he would be getting into, and we would be left with chaos.
-on sunday our church had a special church conference and voted to do something we've been talking/debating/arguing about for several years now. we decided to buy some land. it comes at a pretty steep price, but when you consider the location, the size, and the fact that we have already outgrown our current facility in many ways, it was a decision that made some real sense. it wasn't an easy decision to make, as evidenced by how long and arduous the task of making the decision was for this congregation, but now that the decision has been made, it is like a huge weight has been lifted off of us. i feel like we are now free to move forward in ministry and not worry about this looming decision. yes, we will now have a mortgage to pay, and i'm sure that will be a challenge for us. but we can do that. instead of worrying (being anxious) about that, we can now turn our energy into ministry and what needs to be done to share good news with the people in our community. i'm excited about this new place for our church.
-i need coffee.
-i should get some new collages up on art locals only (see links section) soon, so look for those.
-a week from today i'll be at my board of ordained ministry 'retreat' in interviews that will determine whether or not i get ordained this year or not. i would be lying if i said this was not on my mind nearly all of the time. i'll be relieved when that's over.
-i'm preaching on the temptation of jesus in the wilderness this week from matthew. this story makes me wish i had more scriture memorized.
-would you like it if your name was mitt? i mean, would you be proud of that? would you write it with large sharpie letters on a name tag when you went to a meeting? hello, my name is MITT. like a baseball glove. or a mean dog.
-of course, barack doesn't seem much better.
-and, in the spirit of a random post, i will end with this thought from my 3-year old: daddy, when you shave your cheeks where does your rough hide?
randomly,
greg.
Comments
Buying land is scary to me for a church. I am glad you made the decision as a body, and struggled with the right one along the way. I trust God will bless it. I hate debt.
Thanks for posting.
By the way, I should also mention that I enjoy your random scattered thought blog postings as much as, if not more than, the more structured ones. Fun to read.