Friday Five: Hasty Pudding edition

SONGBIRD TO THE RESCUE! Our regular poster, Sally, having been oppressed by Blogger today, I bring you a hasty Friday Five on the subject of pudding. If you are not a fan of pudding, then you will feel solidarity with Sally, except that you will be oppressed by pudding instead. ;-)

1) First of all, thumbs up? or thumbs down? Do you like pudding?
EH. There are times I do like it. I can live without it.

2) Instant or cooked? (Does anyone make pudding from scratch?)
A good home-made, rich, stick-to-your-hips rice pudding is fantastic. Can't say as I've had one in a long time. Most of the time, we make instant.

3) If you had to choose, would you prefer corn pudding or figgy pudding?
MAJOR EH and EW. Neither.

4) Have you ever finger painted with pudding?
I can honestly say I have not. I have, however, had a food fight with it. Chocolate. It was memorable. And messy.

5) Finally, what is the matter with Mary Jane?
Her hairbow is too tight and is giving her a headache. The crinoline under her dress itches. And she hates the lace around her neck. I'm sure that's it. Either that, or she's practicing to be a field goal kicker. (Truthfully, I think she found out she's a synonym for an illegal substance and is demanding a name change.)

Bonus: Share a favorite recipe that includes pudding!

MONKEY BREAD
24 frozen bake-and-serve dinner rolls
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 box butterscotch instant pudding mix
1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces


Let rolls sit on counter one hour until thawed. Cut in half. Roll in mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Place in well-greased bundt cake pan. Sprinkle pudding mix over top. Distribute butter pieces on top of the pudding mix.

Let rise for 2 hours in a protected, warm space. (OPTION - Let rise overnight in your refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap.)

Bake at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes. Cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking.

Immediately after removing from the oven, carefully release edges and center tube with a knife. Invert onto a serving plate.

(I have NO idea why it is called "monkey bread" since there's no bananas in it... but it's still good.) :)

And that's my Friday Five - on Saturday.
Deb

The Virginia Beach Blizzard

The Virginia Beach Blizzard...
It's just hard to describe...

It was terrible!!

The cold, frigid winter air...

Windy.

Blowing and drifting snow.

Ice on bridges and overpasses.




Just not here.
But my class was canceled today....

Can you see why??

yeah. me neither...
...so I did homework instead. It's all good.

Matthew 7:1-5

So...
here's the graphic I used for my sermon assignment for school... I'm either really tired or it's funny.


Or both...

Friday Five: Fork in the Road

Singing Owl from RevGals writes:

I am at a life-changing juncture. I do not know which way I will go, but I have been thinking about the times, people and events that changed my life (for good or ill) in significant ways. For today's Friday Five, share with us five "fork-in-the-road" events, or persons, or choices. And how did life change after these forks in the road?

1. Family moves - from Ohio to South Carolina to Ohio again: This allowed me to experience life in two very different places! The Piedmont area of South Carolina in the late 60s, early 70s was probably much harder on my parents than on me. I realize now that they shielded us from a lot of the nasty stuff of that era. However, the death of my oldest sibling resulted in my parents to move back to Ohio to be near their elderly parents. The public schools were certainly better in Ohio, but it was just trading one kind of conservatism for another.

2. College: I probably made my parents crazy, but I only applied to one college. ONE. It never occurred to me that I might not get in. Unlike many of my friends, I finished in the major I started, a double major in vocal and instrumental music education. My choice of college drove other choices: proximity to home, joining a sorority, making the marching band, three bowl games, returning to church, job searches... But no matter where I go, I'm still and always a BUCKEYE!

3. First Job: I graduated just as music education in Ohio was being gutted by budget cuts. Talk about bad timing. I ended up with a teaching job in a rural school district that cared more about football than music, more about the start of deer hunting season than concerts. I can honestly say I stunk as a teacher. Which led me to apply to...

4. Graduate School: I ended up at University of Miami because they offered me a full ride. I learned that I really REALLY like four seasons and hate palmetto bugs. The program was challenging and rewarding (Music Therapy). And, though the friendships were intense at the time, I have not really kept up with anyone from Miami since I moved away. In order to finish my master's I had to do a six month internship, which is how I ended up in Bloomfield, New Jersey! Yes. A transplanted Buckeye moved to Florida, then New Jersey. I finished my internship in an economic downturn so there were no jobs in my field ANYWHERE. I took a job at a missions agency so that I could live near a serious boyfriend, who dumped me. (In hindsight? It's all good! Really.)

5. Marriage: Two jobs later, working as a music therapist, after a broken engagement from another poor excuse for a male, (I'm being kind...) I met my future husband at a friend's wedding. A year and a week after that, we are married and move to Maryland. Twenty-two years later, we're still married, still love each other and I'm a year out from finishing my M.Div.

Now, tell me how a "Career Path" would have foreseen all this??? Somehow, I think I found a SPORK in the road instead. It's been less transparent, more quirky, and completely at the discretion of God.

What's next? No. Clue. First I need money for the last year of grad. school... and from there... I walk by faith!

I walk by faith, each step by faith
To live by faith, I put my trust in You.
I walk by faith, each step by faith
To live by faith, I put my trust in You.

Every step I take is a step of faith
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
And every prayer I make is a prayer of faith
And if my God is for me
Then who can be against me?

Words and Music by Chris Falson.
Copyright (c) 1991 Seam of Gold. All rights reserved

Morning worship

Sing to the One who made us
Sing to the One who gives water and trees
Sing to the One to loves us
And cares for the very least of these


Sing to our God in heaven
Sing praise with the brightly colored birds
Sing to our God in heaven
who saved us by the Living Word


Feathered, furred or human
watch and sing and praise
Glory be, above, below
until the end of days.


"Morning Worship"
Deb Vaughn
February 26, 2009

Ashes...

Remember...
dust thou art...
to dust thou shalt return...

I helped with an Ash Wednesday service this evening. It was a gentle, thoughtful time of reflection and prayer. I'm really glad I was able to be a part of it.

You might be wondering... what? aren't you one of those non-liturgical pastors?

Well... I am. But I 'm not ANTI-liturgical.

I am serving right now in a church that uses elements and symbols that are familiar to churches all over Christendom (for instance, prayer, baptism and Communion) but one which does not have a written liturgy. I grew up in various flavors of Protestantism so it's not like I've never experienced this before. However, as a pastor it was a new experience to help lead an Ash Wednesday service.

A pastor friend cares for a trio of small churches in here in Maryland. She divides her time among them, listening, praying, and caring, and the services are scheduled between their buildings. Solo pastoring gets to be difficult, so she welcomes my help and is patient with my inexperience.

In the quiet, cold church, there was time to sit and think and pray about the past year, and the upcoming days of Lent before Easter. Today on Pray-as-you-go the music and text helped me reflect and repent. Return to the Lord your God. Return...

Ash Wednesday is an opportunity to start over. To go back to GO or to re-boot. It's human nature that either we are too afraid or too embarrassed to try again. And yet we're invited... Return to the Lord your God...

We used a simple exercise for their time of reflection. I brought bits of broken sea glass and watercolor markers. Those present were invited to think about ways they would like to make a change, or to tell God about something in their lives where they were ready to repent. They wrote something representing this change or area of repentance on the glass and when they were ready, walked to the front and dropped them in the baptismal font. The lovely visual reminder of sins being washed clean -- clean because of the cross -- happened before their eyes. Some were bemused and some were startled as they slipped back into their seats.

Later in the service they came forward for ashes, and again, a new experience "from the other side"... Remember... Dust thou art, to dust thou shalt return.

The words of Joel 2 came to me...

¹² "Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."

¹³ Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

We are all broken people. The difference is that some of us have found a way to find healing, and hope -- when we return... with all our hearts. We walk about 364 days of the year with "clean" foreheads. Today, we had a visible smudge - one that God washes away.

thoughtfully...

deb

At the Foot of the Cross by Kathryn Scott

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me Your love
Through the judgment You received

And You’ve won my heart
Yes You’ve won my heart
Now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death You bore for me

And You’ve won my heart
Yes You’ve won my heart
Now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

I’m laying every burden down
I’m laying every burden down

words and music by Kathryn Scott
© 2003 Vertical Worship Songs/ASCAP

The deeper streams of life...

I have been trying to articulate this passion, this dream that I have. I hesitate to put it into words. I fear being misunderstood.

...will the people I work with now be insulted?
...will I misrepresent this nagging heartache that I believe is from God?
...do I overestimate my gifts and skills?
...can I fulfill whatever it is that God has in store for me?

I've written around the subject, hinted at it and even occasionally stumbled into some semblance of an opinion. The picture is still foggy, but the vision from God is there. Deep within me there is a longing for the "deep streams of faith." (I have no other words to describe it.) It's more than a program. It's "life together" with family that spans generations and experiences... and I want to be a part of that, lead it, pastor it, see God do it.

In moments of doing tedious work and bean-counting, it seems like I'm chasing rainbows.

Every month I get together with three other women pastors. We laugh, cry, challenge, commiserate, and share our hearts. They are precious gifts of God! Today at lunch they gave me another glimpse of that which is "within" -- what I don't yet know but sense is ahead. The reminders to believe, to look, to pray, to wait with joy. That I can do. Every now and then I "get a whiff" and it blows me away.

It's deeper, sweeter, stronger and fuller than I can know, ask or think.

In God's time... it will be.

I believe... Lord, get me ready.

Deb

I have promised my children...

If, when I am in something that could be called a "senior praise band" I attempt to participate in something like this, my children have my permission to remind me of this video....

I don't think I need to say anything else.

This song is STUCK in my HEAD...and it's all good!

This is a great song... we sang it last weekend on Chrysalis (a youth renewal weekend sponsored by the Upper Room) and it's stuck in my head! The original version by the writer, John Mark MacMillan is out there, but I think Kim Walker does a better job.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so...
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so...

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves...

Friday Five: Taking a Break

Songbird from RevGals writes from the frozen Northeast:

Where we live, it's February School Vacation Week!

Yes, that's an odd thing, a vacation extending President's Day. But it's part of our lives here. Some people go South or go skiing, but we always stay home and find more humble amusements.

In that spirit, I offer this Taking a Break Friday Five.

Tell us how you would spend:

1. a 15 minute break: Likely to spend it cruising Facebook or wrapping my hands around a warm mug of something. IT. IS. COLD!!!!

2. an afternoon off: Easy. A nap. A nice, long, cosied-up on the waterbed with a cat, NAP. (Can you tell the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet?)

3. an unexpected free day: "Free Day" as in no work, no school??? WOW. What's that? Well, I can dream... Probably persuade the Bearded Brewer to take off as well and take Metro down to an art museum and a leisurely lunch.

4. a week's vacation: The beach. I'm SOOooo there. Maybe pick up some family members to join us.

5. a sabbatical: I'd like to take a month or two at each of the following places:
(it goes without saying that I'd take the Bearded Brewer with me!)

- Ireland, probably near the Cliffs of Moher











- Hawaii (I'm sure they need someone for pulpit supply!)













- The Cascades mountain range














- Bavarian Alps (I hear a spa calling my name!)













- Northumbria Community (read more about it here!)














- Paris, for a cup of hot cocoa on our way home.
















BONUS QUESTION: What break would I really like to have?
I would love to have family vacations, my vacations and breaks from our respective schools to all coincide. Because as it was last year, my kid's spring break is during Holy Week. And I will be in the death throes of writing papers. Actually, I have summer 2010 in my sights. I will finally be DONE DONE DONE with my M.Div.

(What will I do with my free time after I graduate? I know! Go on a sabbatical!! And maybe, just maybe, I'd come home after that sabbatical. I'll think about it...)


Deb