I was inspired from searching Flickr photos to create this video. The song is “God is With Us” from Sharon Singers, 2006. You can order the cd from Anabaptist Book Store

Enjoy!

:::Update::: Uncle Dennis will be fine, except for whiplash, he was otherwise unhurt. His auto, I think, will be a total loss. Bummer.

Jeff just left the house to go pick up his uncle from the scene of a car accident. Uncle Dennis was rear-ended at a high rate of speed. He was able to call Jeff…so I guess that is a good thing but he wanted to go to the ER to get checked out. He retired from radiology; he knows the drill. Pray that there were no internal injuries and that he can get his vehicle replaced. Rather a shocking thing!

Our first visit to an Orthodox Church service

So I mentioned the church we visited is about an hour’s drive away in a city we don’t know too well. Overcoming the hurtle of finding our way there was a big one. Yay, Google Maps! Jeff studied the aerial topography closely as well as the street names, exits, and turns. Aspie husbands rule. When we got off the freeway, he exclaimed several times, “Oh, that (building, street, etc.) is what it looks like!”

We landed, with just a few minutes to spare. One cool thing is that the church is right next door to a Greek Orthodox Church, who use the Eastern Rite service. The parishioners often attend each other’s service, especially when there is a visiting Bishop or other notable. How neat.

A nice older lady was walking in at the same time. Blessed be God, she was the deacon’s wife! Susan got us the bulletins (coolest church bulletins I ever saw…more on that later) and the hymns-of-the-day sheets and sat down with us. Then she pulled out the service booklets from under the pews and explained how to follow along. Was I ever relieved!

A bell rang, literally. Off we went! I compared the liturgy afterwards in coffee hour to a trolley ride. Hop on and hold on tight until the very end. The priest got a chuckle out of that.

You see, for those of you from a non-bells-and-smells background, the Divine Liturgy is an all-engrossing hour and half experience. Bow, kneel, cross yourself, sit down, stand up. Repeat. Sing and sing and sing some more! I have a short attention span during my normal life, unless I am deeply interested in something. I admit to trailing off occassionally during the singing to follow what the priest and deacons were doing or just gazing at the icons. [There were only a few icons up front on the walls...something we need to ask about...cause there was no kissing them during the service.] BUT I stuck with the liturgy pretty closely, kinda like going for a group hike. I wanted to keep up, even if I didn’t know what was going on.

Jeff stuck with it amazingly well. When we went forward with the others to receive the blessing (instead of communion), we got the bonus “blessed bread” which everyone munched on their ways back to the pews. Nifty…like snack time in Sunday school.

All in all, we had a positive first Divine Liturgy. I was worried the incense would make me sneezy (had one awful experience previously with incense). It was lightly burned, rather pleasant, really.

We have yet to discuss what to do next. There are many changes afoot for us…

see more dog pictures

Time to take a peak behind the curtain surrounding my life at present:

Jeff and I have been learning about the Orthodox Church. We visited a service for the first time yesterday at this church.

For my regular, long-time readers, you may know that we have been kinda “out there” as far as our theology goes. Our moniker has been, “Amish-Quaker-Hippies”, with more or less adjectives since we were married. I even wore kapps and cape dresses (still love them, btw).

So how on earth did we end up attending a Western Rite (or Tridentine Mass in English, for those in the Catholic know) Orthodox Church?? Jeff had never been to any sort of liturgical service before. Truly this was a move of God!

Its hard to point exactly where our path started. We’ve been wandering for so long, looking for Truth, for stability, for a real community of people who, more or less, take the Truth seriously. Like my dad says, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occassionally!”

For my own situation, I had come to the point where I didn’t trust myself at all. Trying to read the Bible and argue MY points till I was blue in the face, left me, well, lacking spiritual oxygen. My arms are tired of holding a protest sign. Living like we were was like trying to cross the Atlantic in a kayak. Perhaps we might make it…but…no comfort, constant danger of death, and…

We were alone.

God wants us in an ocean liner called the Church, a real, visible, recognizable body of people. That is the second thing that draws us towards Orthodoxy. We like sharing in a similar struggle, a similar path with others. Fasting for extended periods is not so scary when I know I am not alone in it. Praying is easier when you have dozens of others saying the same prayers at the same time.

[If you have no idea what I'm talking about and think I've really lost my marbles this time...I strongly encourage you to listen to the Pilgrims from Paradise podcasts, starting from the first one and work your way towards the current.]

There are many other details to go with it, and I have some friends to thank for their prayers (and a couple of saints, at least!) for getting us this far. Small, wobbly baby steps…forward progress.

I will describe the service for the curious in the next post.

Alana gave me the perfect excuse to share seven more things about myself. Let’s call this one, “7 ways I became obnoxiously accomplished”:

1. I took 8 years of ballet as a child/teen, plus two more years as an adult. That might explain why I’m soooo frustrated with being “fat” recently. I’ve had my body the way I wanted it and used it the way I wanted it for so long….ok, enough psychoanalyzing on the first point!
2. Three years of piano lessons, to the point where I can read music. Bach Rocks.
3. Ad naseum art lessons: drawing, painting, even pottery. Drawing is my best. I can only paint in three dimensions if I can do it in pointillism.
4. Sew, knit, embroider, spin yarn, dye, and cover screens and I know not what else.
5. Add in one year of Irish Step Dancing lessons and a smidgen of ice skating lessons. I skate backwards better than I do forwards. Still have my really expensive ice skates in the closet with no ice arena within 2 hours drive. Drat!
6. Enough German to get me lunch and a train ticket.
7. Is baking perfect chocolate chip cookies one of the finer distinctions of civilization? If so, I am a truly accomplished woman.

Your turn. How accomplished are you?

[All the above is factual, but said in a completely LOL manner.]

Some photos from a recent excursion to the Refuge.

This bison was just strolling along between the fence and the road. I snapped the pic as Jeff slowed the car to a roll. Explains the crookedness.  As we came up over the hill, we saw he was headed to a large herd of his friends. [Sorry...no pic and I left the camera at home!]

Not sure if you all can see the geese all lined up along the top of the spillway of the lock. It was rather cool in person.

They all hopped into the lake as we walked around the other side.

For the last couple of days, I have been really, really obsessing over abayas. In particular, abayas from the Islamic Boutique. [Muslim ladies, has anyone ordered from them before? A good experience?]

Here is an example:

The abayas are mostly machine wash, custom sewn to your height and basic measurements, and you can pick a matching scarf! Their colors are a good selection of basics (yay for me, brown and tan are included!). Three of these plainer ones, plus two dressy and I would be set for work wear. Toss in some colorful head scarves and comfy but nice shoes, my wardrobe is set.

They also carry under skirts, pants and slips in matching colors.

Alana was having a yen for a uniform. Maybe these would work? Perfect lengths on sleeves and skirt for monastery wear and…no belts! Depending on your head covering, you wouldn’t look like a nun or a Muslim.

Just a thought.

Two years ago this week, I married this man….

…and we couldn’t be happier!

Going through blogging withdrawl…must type…argghh.

There are some grand things going on behind the curtains. Things I never though would happen. And plans are unfolding. Waiting for important phone calls, still. August might be a better month for those plans. Shoulder shrug.

Work is still agonizingly busy. Helping with the current projects, plus the Add-on project was not enough. Now the University is starting their 10 year accreditation review. “Oh, yeah, what did we promise to improve 8 years ago? Did anyone save those papers? Shouldn’t the Archives have that??”

I might have to resort to heavy caffeine usage or cloning, cause there is not enough of me to go around.

Husband and cat are healthy. Mom is doing ok, still weakened from a bout of pneumonia two weeks ago. And Dawn made it to Texas! Yeeee-haw!

Lesson of the last 2 weeks: When God moves, He can do so swiftly that the cobwebs in your brain are blown away! [I will let yall in on the secrets soon, I hope!]

Lunch break is over…back to the grind…