Friday Five: Random!

I'm grateful for this prompt today. Birthing the sermon, preparing for a wedding, meeting with a family whose two young children will be baptized on Sunday have all conspired to drain me of creativity for blogging. Thanks, RevGalBlogPals, for this prompt! Random Friday Five is back! 1. If you could sneak away anywhere this weekend, right now, all expenses paid, where would you go and what would you do? Anywhere? Really? No surprise, I'd go to the beach. Anyone can come with me, puppies included. We will walk on the beach. We will eat snacks. We will take naps. It will be wonderful. 2. What is for lunch today? Shoot. Missed it. 3. Along that first-FF-I-ever-played theme, what are you wearing today? Black jjill dress, cardigan, black & white infinity scarf, fitflops. #shoefail. 4. Along the Today Theme, what are you doing today? See above + a ridiculously fun church staff outing to a fundraiser for our Cuban partner congregation. Viva Cuba! 5. Along the random theme, what is your favorite scent, and why? How fun! I just discovered Demeter, the fragrance company that turns human beings into Yankee candles, thanks to their interesting, "lifelike" scents. My first order came today. My favorite: "Salt air". See you at the beach!

This is the day

I'm clearly not yet back into the rhythm of blogging regularly, but I want to get there. I'm giving some serious thought to returning to Julia Cameron's wonderful practice of "morning pages" that she outlines in The Artist's Way. I had a wonderful time writing those pages, once upon a time. Then I moved to the website called 750words.com, which was great, and I think I shrunk back into a non-blogging hole. I love reading other people's blogs, but when I consider why I don't blog, I think it's about self-consciousness. I'm not persuaded that I have anything worthwhile to offer. I'm very shy about anything that seems like self-promotion. I admire it in others, but can't seem to get there myself. So, what about today, this day that God has made? On this day, which is overcast and chilly here in Chicago, in contrast to the cloudless, warm, beautiful day it was thirteen years ago when the beauty of the morning changed so abruptly, I think it's wise to pause and be still; to remember and be so grateful for the helpers, as Mr. Rogers is famous for having said. To be mindful that we have such a long, long road to peace and understanding in our world, and to commit ourselves again to the gift and the challenge of being peacemakers.