I started this blog to keep my church, friends and family updated on my year volunteering in Katrina recovery with the Presbyterian Church (USA). I've now signed on for a second year working in disaster recovery and another year living in Mississippi. It's getting good....

Thursday, November 22, 2007

A Litany of Thanksgiving

Give thanks to the Lord who is good. God's love is everlasting. Come, let us praise God joyfully. Let us come to God with thanksgiving.

For the good world; for things great and small, beautiful and awesome; for seen and unseen splendors;
Thank you, God.

For human life; for talking and moving and thinking together; for common hopes and hardships shared from birth until our dying;
Thank you, God.

For work to do and strength to work; for the comradeship of labor; for exchanges of good humor and encouragement;
Thank you, God.

For marriage; for the mystery and joy of flesh made one; for mutual forgiveness and burdens shared; for secrets kept in love;
Thank you, God.

For family; for living together and eating together; for family amusements and family pleasures;
Thank you, God.

For children; for their energy and curiosity; for their brave play and startling frankness; for their sudden sympathies;
Thank you, God.

For the young; for their high hopes; for their irreverence toward worn-out values; for their search for freedom; for their solemn vows;
Thank you, God.

For growing up and growing old; for wisdom deepened by experience; for rest in leisure; and for time made precious by its passing;
Thank you, God.

For your help in times of doubt and sorrow; for healing our diseases; for preserving us in temptation and danger;
Thank you, God.

For the church into which we have been called; for the good news we receive by Word and Sacrament; for our life together in the Lord;
We praise you, God.

For your Holy Spirit, who guides our steps and brings us gifts of faith and love; who prays in us and prompts our grateful worship;
We praise you, God.

Above all, O God, for your Son Jesus Christ, who lived and died and lives again for our salvation; for our hope in him; and for the joy of serving him;
We thank and praise you, Eternal God, for all your goodness to us.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is good. God's love is everlasting.


from the Book of Common Worship, pg. 792-793

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Ten Random Things About Me

There is a bit of tagging going on with this post. From SL and Linda, and now to me......just because it is fun!

Here's what I came up with...some randomness fit for a list:



1. I drive a green Chevy Cavalier that's called Burt. She's a girl. A girl called Burt.

2. I've lived in 5 different states and two countries.

3. I've worked in a cubicle, in a church, in an office with a mountain view, in a school, in a courthouse, at an indoor pool, at an outdoor pool, at a restaurant, inside a historic library, and at the county fair.

4. I've never worked retail.

5. My favorite foods are all orange: Cheetos and mac-n-cheese.

6. I hate the feel of bare mattresses and bare pillows. Sometimes I wear socks on my hands when I change my sheets.

7. I'm quite accident prone. I've broken my arm 5 times, broke my foot and a couple of toes, herniated a disk in my back, and also had major injuries to my knee, ankle, and shoulders.

8. I pick up accents pretty easily. It's because I make fun of the way people talk and then it sticks.

9. I cry. All the time. At birthday parties. At sappy movies. In church. At every wedding. When ESPN puts together sports montages. If I loose my keys. All the time.

10. I love leopard print anything. It's tacky and bold and I just love it. Can't help it. Love, love, love.

Do you blog? Have you done the random list yet? No? Then it is now your turn. Consider yourself tagged, suckers!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

To Blog or Not To Blog....

It's been a while.

Not sure what I am doing with this blog thing anymore. I started blogging about a year ago as an efficient way to help family, church, and friends keep up to date with what I was working on down here.

Not much has changed.

No one likes to hear that. I call home and people say, "what's new?" and I got nothing. It's the same stuff. So I stop calling home. Some of the same stuff is drama and frustration and sadness. But a lot of that same stuff is really good. I am surrounded by wonderful, loving, busy folks doing great work ... just as they have for the past 14 months.

But same stuff makes for boring blogging.

But to give it an honest try, I will attempt to share what news I can from the past month that might be of some interest to my faithful pals who've stuck around to continue reading this blog, even when I'm not so good at updating it.

In the past month I have:

  • Busted another car tire (that's five in one year, if you are counting)
  • visited the most awesome friends ever, up in Oxford, MS
  • struck a deal with a long-term recovery org, americorps, and pda that might actually help some folks down here
  • pushed through exactly ONE grant application on behalf of ONE family
  • cheered my cheeks off at the very cool VooDooFest in New Orleans (I'm still totally in love with Trombone Shorty and Irma Thomas)
  • become a key player in an all-out peanut-butter-prank-war
  • logged more than 3000 miles on my work vehicle
  • walked 50 miles in 3 days back at home with my sister to benefit the Nat'l MS Society
  • nearly adopted a dog, three times, before panicking at the thought of that commitment
  • missed church three times
  • enjoyed visits from two of my amazing roommates from last year
  • started making plans for my visit home for Thanksgiving....dreaming of turkey!

Guess I had more to say that not.....