Too Much of the Good Stuff?

This has been an incredibly busy week: there was an attempted family picnic on Memorial Day, the Seminary board is meeting so there was a dinner on Wednesday night; I sang for the dedication celebration of the T. L. Lowery Global Foundation; Corky has had multiple out-of-town trips to make for the Agency; Emma is in Florida; Leslie has been shuttled back and forth between home, church, Hope's and the farm to ride Sweetie. Tomorrow night is Honors Night at the Seminary; Saturday morning is graduation. And in the midst of all this busy-ness...I've been grading final (and late, I might add) papers, trying to find reasonable airfares for Corky's trip to Pasadena, figuring out how to pay tuition for Emma and what to do about our car which needs an engine (to fix or not to fix?)

Maybe it's mid-life, maybe it's the end of the school term but I find myself longing for a simpler, quieter life. I LOVE and believe in all that I do, feel I'm called to most of it, but sometimes we keep such an exhausting pace....so, I become weary in well doing.

As Corky says, "No wonder old people get up early. They need the peace and quiet it offers and it's the only time they can get it!"

"Is this heaven?" "No. It's Iowa"

After many mix-ups and long layovers yesterday, Corky and I arrived in Des Moines, Iowa last night. This morning we did a seminar for pastoral couples. Interestingly enough, it was mostly about education!

This afternoon we ate at a wonderful place called "The Machine Shed"...a kind of "country cooking extrordinaire" place with, what else, a farm theme.

We are staying in Pella, a Dutch settled community where Pella windows are manufactured. It is really beautiful. The farmlands all around are beautiful and green right now and very well-kept. They've just been through flooding, so there are some places which still have floodwaters around but they looks like lakes to me!

Tomorrow we minister in two churches.

Oddly, enough, the church where the seminar was held, a new church plant in a mall (Three Lakes Church) is pastored by a guy whose mother and sister's family now attend Woodward!

Mother's Day and Girls' Night at the Movies: A Review

I celebrated Mother's Day with my family...all but Corky, who was shoutin' at Al Green's church in Memphis. I'm not bitter. We went to church where my pastor, Travis Ballinger, preached a great message, "10 Things My Mother Taught Me". I don't like Mother's Day sermons, as a rule. I don't like any church service which focuses on civic or Hallmark holidays. But Travis managed to preach a real Pentecostal sermon, with stories about his mother's prayers, faith and giving.

After church, Hope, Josh and Lex came home with Emma and Leslie and I. I cooked. I hate holiday crowds at restaurants. I also baked a cherry pound cake (the part not eaten yesterday was promptly frozen this morning!). I took a nap with Lex which was the best gift of all.

The girls and I watched "Dream Girls" and "The Queen". Two very different movies, I know. But both focus on the stories of two very strong women. My thoughts on each:

"Dream Girls" is most noteworthy for its music and kickin' singing, of course. That Jennifer Hudson can flat-out sing. And Beyonce nailed it as well. The film does a good job of showing the rise of the Motown sound, even if it is a loose interpretation. What is said in a subtle way is that the music had to be "whitewashed" in order to market it. And it had to have visual sex appeal. The character that the story turns on, Effie, is a strong, proud African-American woman, with real talent. So, its a story of Black Power (gaining position and status so as to effectuate change, which Deana does) and Black Pride (Effie). And did I mention the great music??

"The Queen" is a remarkable telling of a true story of not so long ago. Like "Dream Girls" it is the story of a societal paradigm shift. How does an institution of a bygone era (the Monarchy), with its protocol and image-bearing, survive and become relevant in an age of "reality TV" and "casual Fridays"? She's an amazing woman, doing what she knows to do, but for whom I have little sympathy. She's held her finger in the dike for so long, surrounded by playboys and elitist socialite women, that she cannot imagine removing it, even though its arthritic.

Thanks, Hope, Emma and Leslie for a wonderful day!

All Things Familiar: Andy Griffith

I heard an interview with Andy Griffith this morning. He has a supporting role in the new movie "Waitress" (which sounds interesting). Griffith, being a NC native, feels like family to me, though, of course, I've never met him. I've had several near misses however. My aunt and uncle, Don and Margaret Whichard, pastored in Mt. Airy, NC (his hometown; the town on which Mayberry is based). My cousin, Johnathan, married a Mt. Airy native, Kristi, whose uncle owns the barber shop on which Floyd's shop was based. Then, a couple of years ago, when Hope and Josh lived in OBX, we ate in Manteo, AG's present home town. Of course we rode around, trying to find his house. Andy is a UNC alum who played in "The Lost Colony" while in college.

He seems to be a fine person. He provided laptops for all the school children in Manteo recently.

Most are familiar with "The AG Show" but a lot of people haven't heard his stand-up routines from his earliest career. We used to have an audio tape which, though priceless, somehow got lost. Here's an audio clip of one of his most famous routines: "What It Was Was Football". Here's a link to a site where you can purchase this CD with this, "Romeo and Juliet", "Swan Lake", et al. I intend to purchase it right away!!

My Visual DNA

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2 Degrees of Separation

Kim to Gary Stacey (his father, my student) to Phil

Not an AI fan but given this performance, seems he should've stayed!

Past, Present and Future

I've just returned from a whirlwind week-end in which I participated in a so-called retreat (which was as much a high-octane energetic Pentecostal tear-down as I've ever been involved in!), a family reunion and a worship service at the church I attended as a little girl. As it turned out, I saw nearly every cousin, aunt and uncle I have on both sides of my family. In addition, I got to see and spend time with Doug and Anna Phillips, two of my dearest friends in ministry.

Within a matter of a few days I have reflected on my heritage, enjoyed my present and rejoiced over the future and especially over that of my children (both Emma and Leslie received amazing prophecies about their future ministries). I looked at a lot of old photographs of my grandparents lives and ministry (I'll post some of those later) and talked with cousins about where they are ministering now.

It was, in many ways, an encapsulated picture of my life. I'll be sorting out the insights for weeks to come!

And, as is always true of reunion times....I ate some great food!!