Not a Good Week

Can we start this week over?
Our old kitty, Mystic, died this week. We knew she was going downhill fast and I was home sick on Wednesday and looked out to check on the cats and realized that Mystic was bleeding. Called Tim and then Mary Kate and Lucy. By the time that we got her to the vet she had died. So sad. She was cantankerous but loved. She provided us with entertainment over the years.
Next, I just couldn't get well and suddenly realized that I felt the way I did when I had pneumonia and yes, I do have pneumonia. Pray that I recover quickly.
Then, last night our fish, Buddy, died. Lucy had just changed his water yesterday and he always seems traumatized by that but I looked in the bowl before I went to bed and he was lying on the bottom and upside down. We were sad. He was a very energetic fish and we liked watching him and sometimes we even talked to him.
So, don't ask us to petsit for you in the near future.

Peyton

There is a new little soul in this world and her name is Peyton. She is now just a little more than a day old and I want to pour words over her...words of love and encouragement.
Peyton, may you know love...love in its purest sense...love that holds your heart and won't let it go....love for something higher and greater than people but also love for people....the love of your family (that includes me), the love of friends...friends that hold fast and walk beside....who do not judge but guide...
I pray that you possess courage...courage to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves....courage to speak when words need to be spoken, words of truth.....courage to be yourself even when you know that others will disapprove...courage to be angry when you know that others will be surprised.
I also pray those graceful qualities of gentleness and peaceful over you...gentleness can soften even the harshest moment and a peaceful countenance will squelch many an argument.
May you walk in this world with your head held high and feet firmly planted in the love of your family and your hands reaching for God.
Can't wait to meet you.

Ted Kennedy and Healthcare

I have been thinking about Ted Kennedy all day. The first time that I remember hearing his name was in 1st or 2nd grade and we had taken a field trip to the Capitol building. A little girl in my class had a dad who was a senator or an important staffer...I only remember that her name was Sabrina. She was tiny and beautiful. Long blonde hair that always curled just right and she was an amazing artist. A very elegant little girl. Her dad gave us a special tour of the Capitol. We got to stand on the Senate floor and meet lots of Senators and House members. We met Tip O'Neill. I didn't know at the time that it was significant but now I realize how priviledged that tour had been. We went to the Senate prayer room...so pretty and quiet. But the moment I remember the most is the elevator ride. Yes, we thought the elevator was cool....we were six and seven year olds....don't they all think that elevators are fun? But my group rode on the elevator with a very large man with a thick Northeastern accent. My friend's dad introduced us to him and he got down on our level and a huge smile spread across his face. He wanted to know each of our names. He shook our hands. That man was Ted Kennedy. He felt warm, kind and full of life. I was impressed.
In high school we were assigned a project that required us sitting in on Senate committees. I don't remember what the committee was....I only remember that Ted Kennedy was the chairman of that particular committee. I will look it up when I am done with this blog. He commanded the room but not in an overbearing way...you just knew who was in charge. He listened intently to each speaker and asked thoughtful questions. He looked over his glasses and smiled often. He shook our hands at the end of the session. He knew that we were students and were there on assignment. Again, he wanted to know all of our names. Again, he felt warm and kind and full of life.
I am angered by the negative words spoken about him from people who don't appreciate his style of politics. He was a Democrat and he fought hard for what he believed in. Aren't we all supposed to fight hard for what we believe in? We live a country that doesn't decide all that for us and aren't we glad? Aren't we glad that we can speak out? But, please don't just use that free speech to lash out...use to make change for the good of us all.

I wish that Ted Kennedy was still around to see us through the healthcare reform. I was listening to a Senator on CNN today talking about healthcare and talking about how we all want a choice and that of course, as a newly married woman she chose to pay for maternity coverage. The more she talked, the angrier I became. Yes, all of us want choice. But right now there are so many people who don't have a choice. They don't have insurance and yes, they can choose to be treated for their ailments, or go for a preventative visit...but, they can't afford it. Their only choice is no healthcare. Can we live with that?
I believe the healthcare system is so like the public school system. We all pay for public school (and roads, and bridges, and Medicare, and disability, the public library, and police, and firefighters....) but you can choose to not use it and send your child to private school or homeschool. But we all still have to pay for public school....otherwise the only people to receive an education would be those who could afford it. What a shame that would be! Well, I think that healthcare is even more basic than education and we are doing exactly that...those who have money are receiving healthcare and those who don't have money are not receiving healthcare. We need to take care of each other and stop thinking only about what we think will be good for our own family.

Looked it up....Senator Kennedy was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1979. I was a senior in high school.

Heart Thoughts

I have been feeling lately that friends are not happy with a choice I have made. That choice is to stay in the Church of Christ. I keep running this around in my brain and so now I will pour some of those thoughts out...they may not make sense but here they are.
Some of my earliest memories are of church. Sun streaming in huge glass windows. Dogwoods blooming in that floaty way that they bloom outside those same huge glass windows. Glass communion cups tinkling in their holders. My beautiful mother in a lime green dress with pearls and pretty pink lipstick. Patent leather shoes that won't touch the floor. Little white socks folded over. Voices lifted in praise. Comfortable people who love me and teach me about Jesus. Aunt June and all her silliness that gets me in trouble and probably a thump on the head. Friends who will be my friends my whole life....not everyday friends but friends that will always be there for me.
Another church...same heritage....completely different feel. Old wooden floor. Loud, boisterous singing. Feet tapping out the time on the old wood floor. Outhouses. My beloved Grandma in a flowered dress and a flashy hat singing in her little voice. People who love me...not truly for who I am ......but because I belong to a certain family that they already love. This church has a dusty parking lot and in the August heat men stand out there in the dust and smoke.
Moving on to young motherhood. Again, different church...same heritage but again, different feel. Yes, we left this church in the midst of conflict but from those early years there there was so much good. Padded pew covered in cheerios, books, and toys. Hands resting on an expectant belly. Sweet curly heads resting under my chin. People who loved my children as their own. Returning home from WaMaVa retreats exhausted but content. Our son in the waters of baptism.
Yes, I am still attending a Church of Christ and yes, there are still moments that are frustrating to me but there is also so much to love.
Voices and hands lifted in song. Children who feel loved and cherished as part of the church family. Thinking. Witnessing often people taking care of each other. An atmosphere of tolerance. Humor.
Yes, I wish that our next preacher could be a woman and yes, I wish that we had female elders. And yes, I know that I could be somewhere else and they would have that but I am willing to walk this journey with this family that I am a part of right now. I don't want my friends who have left the Church of Christ to think that I am saying that they should've stayed....not at all. I only want respect and support for my choice.
I am sure that there will be more later on this but this is just what is in my head at this very moment.

Love These Voices

I have been loving Patty Griffin, thanks to Mary Kate, and then I found this on utube and it brought chills. Two beautiful voices that sound amazing together.

Mike Cope

Tomorrow is Mike Cope's official last Sunday as our minister at Highland. I will miss his voice every week in my life. I loved how he has guided our hearts. He has been gentle but persistent about living our lives in a kingdom way....lives that reflect our Savior in every way possible. I have only been here for 5 of his 18 years at Highland but this 5 years have been amazing. There are so many things that I love about him being my minister....I know that I will forget something but I am going to give it a go.
I love his love for children. How he gently explains things to them and makes sure that they know they are important....sometimes letting them tell the story.
I love how he laughs so easily...once being so overcome with laughter that he couldn't stop.
I love that he is real. He has walked through grief too many times and is honest about it. Honest that it is hard and sometimes it feels impossible. Honest that sometimes we are not sure about God in the midst of all that. And confident that doubt is part of our walk.
I love that he doesn't take the scripture in the conventional-always-given-to-us kind of way. He has walked me through scripture and turned my world upside down.
I love how he always prays that God give him the gift of preaching. I believe that he has been given that gift a hundred fold.
I love that he is a reader. I know, of course, a reader of scripture but also a reader of theology, a reader of literature, a reader of newspapers, a reader of blogs....you get it.
I love that he loves to play...basketball, ping pong, dodgeball (sorry that you got hurt)
I love that he loves God's people. He ministers to people all over the world. He walks them through difficult times...difficult church times, difficult family times, and yes, those walking through grief....he's been there and he is good at reassuring words.
I love how he loses things....his ipod in his house, his remote for his sermon, the clip on mic....this makes him more human to all of us.
I love how he loves his family. You can see a different light in his eyes when they are around or he is talking about them. Chris is precious to me and I have loved getting to know him more and more...but I am especially glad that he is married to Diane. She is an amazing friend....one of a small handful of people that hear the secrets of my heart. Glad he isn't taking her away.
I love how I feel the Spirit move when he is preaching. I know that this might be weird but there have been moments that I have felt the air move...move in a way that I thought only the Spirit could move it.
I love that he is committed to women and their involvement in the kingdom. I love that he has been willing to stand up for women and their part. I know that means that he risked many things but was still willing to stand up.

I am nervous about someone else taking his place. I am nervous about them being the one to pull on our hearts. I am afraid that I might not be very receptive at first to listening to their voice and especially to taking it in. I know that they will have to earn my trust but that is part of the process and I will adjust.

Tomorrow is your day, Mike Cope. Take it all in and realize how much you are loved and how many lives you have touched.

Surprise!

I answered the phone at work yesterday as I usually do. I just said, "ACU Med Clinic. This is Julie. Can I help you?" And someone giggled and said, "Hi Julie. You answered and so professionally. This is Pix and I am coming to your house tonight." Crazy! Pixie and Trudy are driving cross country to move Trudy's stuff from New York City to San Diego. They rented a truck and filled it with her stuff and are roadtripping it. They had a little setback in TN when a tire blew and the truck turned over. Stuff was smashed and they are bruised but they now have a bigger truck and less stuff and they are fine. Crazy! You should have them tell you the story sometime.
It was such a short visit but so fun to have them at our house. They are family and they could've stayed forever and that would have been fine.