shopping

my new working shoes. as J1 says, it makes for a rather eccentric look, but what the hey. HOM has his reservations.

the risen Son

the heir... through whom the worlds are made... the radiance of glory... the express image... who sustains... who purifies... who sits at God's right hand. (heb 1)

not possible, my friend says, to get her head around these. nor mine. yet in an utterly inadequate imperfect way we gather that this is he who went to the cross. who do you say i am? he asks. only with the scales dropped can i say you are the Christ, son of the living God.

end of the beginning

the piano gets an adjustment to its pedal touch pitch and dehumidifier.

this, as always, is the final step in the repatriation.

after this we officially settle into our home.

old wine

some friendships grow on common interests. some grow on fond regard. some grow over years or in spite of them.

may you have a couple of these to rejoice in. sláinte.

inequality

his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; 

... the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person ...

- heb 1:2-3

he went to gethsemane. talk about GINI coefficients.

op. raleigh

J1 returns from his trip to tanzania. it's been some time. he's full of stories and photographs and names and swahili words. his new friendships span several continents. his luggage is still in africa, together with his mefloquine.

he visited an african church service, he says. the amazing thing was to realize that church in a totally different part of the world among a totally different people in an absolutely different language is still church.

good trip, he says. it's a good trip i think when your heart is stretched and your eyes widen a little more than before.

tax season 2

it's over. as assuredly as the sun rises from the east, it will return.

stuff like this keeps you on your toes and on the edge.

tax season

it's that mind numbing time of year again when HOM's eyes glaze over in default and the dining table holds stacks of account statements the printer-scanner three laptops a constant parade of coffee cups and quietly deepening desperation.

aaargh. grrr. to clarify, !@#$!!.

sudden wish

i'm feelin'

like 'twould be 

nice

to have 

 a new pair of shoes.

the workweek is getting to me.

lent - the servant's song

there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred ...

- isaiah 52:14

whatever you did not do for one of the least of these ...

- matt 25:45

in my most unbeloved unlikable acquaintance

at the height of my most arrogant importance

 in the wheedling neediness of irritating fools

and when i feel strong and well and worthy

he comes to me.

help me to love fully freely and brokenly.

morning commute

i spend part of my train ride sneaking a look at my right hand side neighbor's book. he is engrossed in a florid thriller written with loads of graphic language. very macho-type action. my left hand side neighbor, on the other hand, is a teenager working through her english prepositions worksheet. this is typical __ him, i read surreptitiously. she put a lot of effort __ this. 

i think a reading assignment of something like my right hand neighbor's thriller might be in order.

ouch

what i think it is:

rhomboid muscle spasm

from poor posture at the computer.

so it serves me right.

here's what i am reduced to:

either this works, or i'm getting a h&l injection.

weekend

HOM is on another continent.

J1 is on another continent.

J2 is on another continent.

they are on different continents.

this makes us pretty international.

it gets lonely around here.

lent - the servant song

but i said, "i have labored to no purpose; i have spent my strength in vain and for nothing ..."

-isaiah 49:4

could i come to the end of my earthly journey and face the failure of a lifetime's labor

and have nothing to show for it and draw my value from my God alone? 

without shame without resentment and without irony?

lent thoughts

he will bring justice to the nations.

he will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.

a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

... he will not falter ...

till he establishes justice on earth.

- isaiah 42:1-4

justice and mercy.

power and gentleness.

the avenger and the comforter.

my Lord and my God.

lent / pedagogy

I have the awful problem now of (becoming) a better physician before I can teach better…

- p huggan

and so i find myself in the terrible position of having to become a better practitioner before i can be a good teacher. it is realization that sinks in slowly and heavily, as the confidence of youthful years gives way to the conviction of want. 

... no beauty or majesty ... nothing in his appearance that we should desire him ... like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised ...

grant me to teach as brokenly as i must.

atavism

i telephone a new colleague to introduce myself. hiii! she says cheerfully. i haven't seen you since my first year in university and they introduced me to you. you were super-senior-lady to my freshette back then! wow. memories have a way of catching you unawares, and sometimes they pretty much totally sneak up and wham! you go. i think suddenly of kevii orientation song fights and some really malodorous activities they put us through.

on the other hand, it is rather nice to be remembered in such a happy tone.

family

my brothers visit, including the one who lives far away. we haven't seen you in so long my children think you are a family legend, i tell him.

what is good about the reunion? HOM asks. they are bright people, i tell him. we can talk. we have conversations about the weather politics les miz books old times and wicked jokes. the best thing is being able to say stuff without having to explain what i mean or having to apologize for the humor. it is always a pleasure to meet someone of a similar mind, so it is nice that two of them are related to me.  

dragon boating

doing my wifely duty and being the honorary groupie at HOM's event today.

what is sorely missing, which i hope the organizers pick up for subsequent events,

IS A COFFEE STALL. 

because food and milo and ice cream and children's program and even the races are all very well, but hello! some of us function on the stuff, y'know.

thought for lent

then i shall know fully, even as i am fully known.

1 cor 13:12

thank God i am fully known

in the fulness of my flaws

and to the complete measure of my brokenness. 

thank God i may not hide

the ugly and the sordid and the shame.

i am free

before God and before man

i am fully known.

relativity

through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God...

heb 13:15

why would anyone juxtapose sacrifice with praise? one such a joyful gladsome thing and one that exists only when a price is paid. and yet the highest payment becomes an offering of gratitude in light of the costliest sacrifice of all. 

work-life balance

HOM and i stumble home bushed from a week at work. at least we have the weekend in between the work weeks, we gasp to each other. how do couples with younger children do it, whose weekends are spent shuttling from one enrichment class to another? we wonder. 

how does one find the energy to cycle from the week to weekend to the week to the weekend with no foreseeable end in sight? how did we use to manage it?

public service suggestion

owners of big cars

ought to be made to take parking tests.

relief

our old helper arrives. the dishes clean themselves. the laundry irons itself. the coffee greets us when we stumble out in the mornings. the sink is spotless. 

how did you get her to come back to you? people ask. how did you manage to contact her? it's easy when she is your daughter's facebook friend, i tell them. modern technology has its uses.

things are looking up.