Tuesday Anticipations, June 19, 2012

This week I'm anticipating:

• my trip to Florida (something like 56 days!)
• the weekend and some down time
• house church
• the zoo with a few friends and their babies & toddlers
• catching up by phone and/or skype with a few other friends
• getting a couple of high pressure midterms and projects off of my plate

What are you looking forward to this week?

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 301

Today's Daily 5:

1. Clinic visits at a new site, that included lots of new experiences
2. leftovers from the wedding rehearsal dinner (my dad made two huge roasts and a ham on the smoker)
3. a long shower
4. feeling semi-peaceful
5. cookies

Recovery and Catch-Up

My middle brother is married!  That was pretty much the theme of the last two weekends in my life.  One with a bachelorette party, and one with a wedding.  I got home from the reception somewhere between 1 and 2 am Sunday morning, fell into bed, and slept until noon.

I'll write more about the wedding later this week, and maybe even share a photo or two.

Today, and this week, really, are about recovery and catch-up.

I have all the normal school commitments (plus two midterms, and a paper to write), and the normal church and life commitments, and a few work shifts, but the rest of the week is devoted to catching up and recovery.

I've been around people a LOT the last few weeks, and my introverted self needs some time away.  My evenings for the week are planned around quiet and alone time, mostly, and I can't wait.

I need to catch up on sleep.

I need to catch up on email and blog reading.

I need to catch up on a stack of homework and assigned readings.

All very doable within a series of quiet evenings.

The most adventurous I'm planning to get at this point is venturing out to get groceries tonight.

It should be awesome.

I can't wait to have the chance to sleep, rest, and be restored.

A week devoted to catching up and recovery?  Sounds just about perfect to me.

Daily 5 - Year 3, Days 298, 299 & 300

Day 298 (Friday's Daily 5):

1. a day off school since my one class of the day conflicted with the rehearsal dinner for my brother's wedding
2. buying an awesome (and super cute) pair of shoes to wear with my dress for the wedding
3. taking the day just a bit slow
4. mango diablo tea from David's Tea
5. an awesome meal and lots of laughs at the rehearsal dinner

Day 299 (Saturday's Daily 5):

1. getting my hair and makeup done for a very affordable rate at a local beauty college
2. the "flower man"
3. my brother's face as he caught sight of his bride entering the sanctuary
4. all of the emotions - watching my mom cry next to me, and dad choke up and preach through tears as he performed the wedding ceremony
5. lots of laughter, and watching as my brother, his new wife, and their friends celebrated in a way that was perfectly suited to who they are

Day 300 (Today's Daily 5):

1. an unplanned sleep-in until noon (of course, I didn't get to bed until around 3am so...)
2. a mini father's day celebration (the big one will be after J&R get home from their Italian honeymoon)
3. coming home to my own space
4. an afternoon of awesome quiet, moving slowly through a to do list
5. a bouquet of flowers, and other bits (little pots of moss, mostly) from some wedding centerpieces that are now part of the decor of my room and are adding a bit of green and life to my rather dark basement abode.

Friday Reflections - June 15, 2012

Today's reflection is written by Richard Rohr and struck me as deeply true and profound when it arrived in my inbox yesterday.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic he writes about.


EUCHARIST AS TOUCHSTONE

Christ is the bread, awaiting hunger. 
~ St. Augustine


Eucharist is presence encountering presence—mutuality, vulnerability. There is nothing to prove, to protect, or to sell. It feels so empty, naked, and harmless, that all you can do is be present.


The Eucharist is telling us that God is the food and all we have to do is provide the hunger. Somehow we have to make sure that each day we are hungry, that there’s room inside of us for another presence. If you are filled with your own opinions, ideas, righteousness, superiority, or sufficiency, you are a world unto yourself and there is no room for “another.” Despite all our attempts to define who is worthy and who is not worthy to receive communion, our only ticket or prerequisite for coming to Eucharist is hunger. And most often sinners are much more hungry than the “saints.”


Adapted from Eucharist as Touchstone


Prayer:
Eucharisteo. I give thanks.