Snapshots of Life

I have been doing some thinking lately about who I am and who I want to be. About the balance between the already and the not yet in my life. And how this is related to my camera.

I love photography. I have loved it ever since I was 13 and got my first "real" camera, and maybe even before that. And anyone who knew me in high school knew that my camera was just as much a part of me as my "poof". I always had my camera. I was always taking pictures of everything. I documented everything because I was so afraid of missing something. But I look back now at those two dimensional images and I realize a few things.

#1 - I was hiding behind that camera. Photography gave me an excuse to be a spectator of life rather than a participant in it. There are a few photos of me and friends that I treasure from that time, but for the most part my photos are of other things and other people and what they were doing. I was too busy watching it and taking pictures of it.

#2 - Because of reason number one, I don't really remember much about all those things I took pictures of to begin with. I can look back at the pictures and go "oh yeah, now I remember" but the things I remember most vividly from those times are the things that there are no photos to document. Because I was too busy "doing" it. There are pictures in my mind, and those are really the most meaningful.

My life has evolved a little bit since then. I still love to take pictures. I still love to see the things that a camera can capture that we often miss in the fleeting moments of life. I love the ability to look back and remember and reflect and to share those experiences with others in a very tangible way. But I don't carry the camera with me everywhere anymore. I don't document nearly as much as I used to. I live a little more.

As much as I love the memories of living in a new and exciting way, part of me wonders what I'm missing out on by not taking as many pictures. I look at the blogs I love to read like The Pioneer Woman and Enjoying the Small Things (both fantastic by the way. If you don't read them regularly, you should!) and look at their beautiful photos. I look at the way they capture the most normal, regular things in the most beautiful and special ways. And I wonder if someday I will do a disservice to my children by not capturing those moments for them.

I love my memories. But I love being able to share them in tangible ways with others. I love photos. I love living. Part of me wishes I could hire a photographer to follow me around all the time so I can live and enjoy and make memories of my own, but still have those memories documented!

Witness

Normally I don't like to get into the politics of religion (or of anything for that matter) but when something crosses the line into hatred, it gets my attention, and not in a good way! If there is one thing in my life I have absolutely no patience for it is hatred and ignorance. I know that actually sounds like two things but in my experience one is never very far from the other.

I don't know what you have heard or read about the Dove World Outreach Center (and I know several of my regular readers have already seen this) but I would strongly encourage you to read this article. Dr. John Thatamanil was one of my professors in Divinity School and while I can't say I loved his class (no offense Dr. T, it was my last semester and I didn't love much of anything!) I do really respect him and enjoy his speaking and writing. This article in particular articulates beautifully what I, and I am sure many others, have been thinking and feeling without nearly as much clarity and focus!

If you haven't seen it yet, read it. If you know of someone who could benefit from it, share it. Bear witness to love and justice.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Friday Five - Memories

Today's Friday Five challenges us to think about the value of memories and the wonderful treasures that they can be, particularly the memories from the different parts of our life.

A treasured childhood memory - I think my most treasured memories from childhood revolve around family get-togethers, particularly Christmas and summer vacations. Although I can't recall every specific detail, I do remember all the love and laughter and silly traditions and joking around that happened. To me, that is what family is all about!

A teenage memory - I have a lot more memories from this time period that are embarrassing or painful than I do those that I treasure. But I do still have a lovely little collection of wonderful memories from this period in my life. I think one of my favorites was from International Peace Camp III at Camp Sumatanga. It was the summer before my senior year and life was full of promise and excitement. I had spent the better part of the week really feeling out and living into the reality of my calling into full-time ministry and as the week was coming to an end, I walked down with a friend to see Nurse Buck. We ended up sitting on the screened porch of his cabin for a long time talking about all kinds of things and he told several stories about when he was young. It was a moment when I felt entirely at peace and loved and valued exactly as I was in that moment.

A young adult memory - I still have a lot more young adult memories to make, but I think one of my most treasured was the day I graduated from Divinity School. It was wonderful to be surrounded by some of my best friends and family members who had helped me go through so much and to be able to celebrate all that we had accomplished together.

A memory from this summer - It's hard for me to pick only one from this summer, so I'll cheat and go with two. Either my time spent back at camp, or Jeff's and my quick trip to the beach. Both were awesome and were so very needed. At camp I really appreciated the opportunity to simply participate in real and meaningful worship again without all the pressure that is placed on me (by others and myself) of leading and "performing." I also really loved having the opportunity to write and then lead a part of the Great Thanksgiving and help serve communion. It was so stinking awesome! At the beach I think my favorite memory was floating in the hot tub while it rained and having some quiet time to reflect and to be inspired. If I could spend an hour like that every single day, I would be such a mellow person you wouldn't recognize me!

A memory you hope to have - I think right now, the memory I am most hoping to have is any overall positive memory of being a parent. There are places I would like to go and things I would like to do, but in the end they won't mean much without my family and so I am hopeful about memories I am going to make with my family in the years to come.

The bonus for today was to come up with a song that sums up all our memories. I don't have one because I'm not good at stuff like that. Thankfully, I have friends that are great at that, so if that's your thing give me a song!

Alabama Sales Tax Holiday

Just a friendly reminder for all my fellow Alabama residents - this weekend is our sales tax free weekend. I think other places are doing this too, but I'm not sure of the details!

What I do know is that not everyone is participating. In particular, Jefferson County is not! The towns/cities may be, so you won't have to pay the city tax, and the state tax has been waved everywhere, but the county tax would still have to be paid.

Shelby County (which is where I live) IS participating. So that means everything that qualifies that is purchased here will be tax-free. This also means that lots of folks from Jefferson County are down here shopping this weekend. It's a wee bit nuts.

But if you do need anything, now is a good time to get it, even if you do have to work on a little bit of patience. Just remember, parking in the back and walking is good for you. I doesn't hurt you to stand in line and wait. And just because someone is mean or rude to you, that does not mean you have to be mean or rude back!

Happy Shopping!

My Favorite Things - p.30

I'm going to go a slightly different route today, and rather than giving you "things" I'm going to give you information! These are a few of my favorite fun facts about my birth month, August.

The word August is Latin and means "inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur"

The flower for August is the gladiolas or the poppy

The birthstone is peridot or sardonyx

August was originally the sixth month of the year in the old Roman calendar, but became the eighth in either 700 BC or 450 BC (there is a lot of discrepancy among writers about this one). It was called Sextilis else until about 8 BC when it was re-named after Julius Caesar Augustus.

August is the month when birds begin to plan their flight south for the winter.

There are typically more bugs (and the bugs are more active) and more weeds during this month than any other.

A few random August holidays include - National Watermelon Day, Wiggle Your Toes Day, International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Left-Hander's Day, National Filet Mignon Day, National Relaxation Day, Roller Coaster Day, International Homeless Animals Day, Women's Equality Day, and National Toasted Marshmallow Day.

There aren't a ton of causes that use August as "their" month for awareness, but a few of them are out there. They include Cataract Awareness, Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness, and Psoriasis Awareness.

Now for your pop quiz - A very famous entertainer died on my birthday (but several years before I was born). Who was it? Give me the person and the date of death including the year.

Let Go!

This is a reflection I came up with after my first experience with archery at camp. Hope you enjoy!

This summer as a counselor, I got to do something I had never done before. I got to try my hand at archery. I wasn't sure I wanted to even try because I knew it was hard. I knew it required both physical strength as well as serious concentration. I wasn't sure I had either. However, thanks to a little encouragement, I decided to give it a shot. I picked up the bow, loaded my arrow, and began to pull back on the string. When I got it as far back as I could, I had a brief moment where I froze. What now? I remembered what the instructor said, but wasn't sure about it. Let go, really?

I'm used to sports like baseball or basketball where you have to follow through. You can't stop when the ball leaves your hand, you have to follow through. If you try to stop short you can get hurt. But in archery, you do the opposite. You have to simply let go of the string and let the arrow fly. It was a hard thing to do. In fact, I had to think harder about letting go than about pulling it back. The physical work was easier than the release.

But I did it. And it was amazing to watch how far and how fast it flew. I didn't hit the target, but watching it fly was probably even more rewarding. I imagine that if I were to continue archery, releasing might become like second nature, but just like everything else, it takes practice. Letting go isn't the type of thing we practice very often. But we should.

I noticed watching others (and could feel it in myself as well) that, in addition to the release and lack of follow through, there is no instant recovery. Maybe if you were a professional or in some sort of timed competition things would move a little faster. But even in watching "Top Shot" on the History Channel (no judgements please) when they were shooting with a bow, they all sort of stood there after they released, and they didn't drop their hand that had just released the string. If was only a few seconds, but the hand seemed to stayed frozen in that open position until the arrow had stopped flying. It was long enough that it could be seen. That release could be felt. That openness could be captured and remembered.

What kind of interference do we cause when we refuse to let go? How are we slowing things down? How are we shortening the journey or missing the mark? When we do release, how quickly do we try to recover? Do we relish the moment before moving on to the next? Are we able to feel it and stay in that moment for a while? Even if they were unable to witness the actual event, can others see evidence of our release? Do we maintain that posture of letting go?

I don't know the answers to these things. I think the answers vary based on the person and the situation. But I also don't think the answers are the important part. The important part is asking the questions, and perhaps the process of discovering what the answers might be.

Garden Update

Here is a little update on the garden. It's been really rewarding to watch things grow and develop and to be able to cultivate a part of creation.

The herbs look pitiful because they got all dried out and sad while we were in Branson. The cilantro never did take off and we had to just cut it off and hope it comes back next year. If not, we'll get some more and try again.

The mint seems to have some kind of fungus because most of it is sad looking. The basil has done really well, but got sickly when it dried out and lost a lot of leaves. It is coming back, but it will take a while. The rosemary and thyme have done really well and I have enjoyed using them. They seem to be multiplying. I think I'm going to have to transplant the thyme before it takes over! Anyone need any thyme?

The tomatoes in the patio garden did well early, but also dried out while we were on vacation and are coming back, but I don't think we'll get as many as we did last year. The tomatoes in the big garden haven't done all that well for some reason.

The peppers have done ok but haven't really taken off like we expected. We have gotten bell peppers and banana peppers, but not a ton of either which I guess is a good thing. I was hoping for more bell peppers to be able to freeze, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

The onions never did come up. I don't know if they didn't take or got choked out or what.

The radishes and carrots have done pretty well. They weren't excessive so we will probably do them again.

The cucumbers absolutely EXPLODED. Jeff's cucumber cage did well and gave them a place to climb, but now they are all over each other and it's really tightly wound and actually kind of hard to get into to pick the cucumbers. I'm going to have to make some more pickles again soon!

The pumpkins did pretty well for a while, but because of the pool and being trampled by Patches, they are now dying. Oh well!

The pole beans climbed and did what they were supposed to do but simply haven't produced like we expected (as you can tell by the photo and the one lonely bean in the basket of cucumbers). Since we haven't had enough to actually cook, we are saving them as seed for next year.

The watermelons also exploded. We have lots of baby watermelons so we are going to have a lot more watermelon than we will know what to do with! I haven't had any watermelon yet this summer because I'm waiting for ours, so they better be big and sweet and beautiful!

If you need some produce, please let me now. I'm happy for this stuff to go to new homes. And if you have any tips or tricks for improving what we have, I'd love to hear them! Happy Cultivating!