UUU

Well - after a day at the coffeeshop, I've prepared an agenda for a 6pm meeting tonight, prepared material for a 7pm meeting tomorrow night, ordered Settlers of Catan (yes!) and done extensive Unicycle research. There's all sorts of important things to consider - seat comfort, wheel size, weight, prize, etc. I surfed around for a while, reading, bookmarking, etc. I even called a couple of places in Tulsa, but no one around here seems to have much in the way of Unicycles, so I resumed my online search.

I got one with a 26" wheel size which means it will be harder to learn on - but not impossible - and then better for actual transportation around. (I plan to get some Unicycle snow tires for the St. Paul experience!).


After a bit of practice I anticipate being able to do this!

Now..for a helmet and some kneepads...

Disturbing Face of American Democacy (you got $?)

This article is deeply disturbing...and makes me have a greater clarity about what I need/want to do with my life and ministry. Time for the the heretics and the real people of faith to rise up!

Lake Tenkiller Retreat

So I'm exceeding my own expectations for blogging - this is twice in one month, so consider this a bonus treat. I had one of the best weekends of my life. We all bailed on work early on Friday afternoon, and packed up the car to head out to Lake Tenkiller, about an hour away from Tulsa. We arrived about 5pm or so, and played catch, watched the sun set, and then made the best pizza ever! It was loaded with veggies, cheese, and pure goodness. We gorged on that. We played cribbage and Cranium and had a great time.

The next morning, we played more games, ate a fantastic omelette thingy with hashbrowns, and then went for a great hike around the lake.

After the hike, we laid out some blankets, ate the best lunch ever (which included melting icecream and graham crackers!), and played some more cards. We also discovered a number of ticks. I found two - one on my arm and one trying to get on my arms. After that, the game sort of broke up and we decided to head back to Tulsa.

Then, that night, we all rolled back into Tulsa, and played Settlers of Catan (which I haven't played in 5 years!) I used to play this game all the time with folks in Fort Collins and it's been forever since I've played. We played two games and Juliana and I won one of them! I may have to buy this game, too, because it's just too fun, and easy to play. It takes an hour to play and there's strategy, trading, scheming, treaties, and more. A classic game, in my opinion.


While we were away we had an open house, and 3 couples came and looked, but so far, no one's biting. I've got a good feeling about today, though. We'll see it. It's sort of an emotional roller coaster having a house on the market, but I trust that everything will work out.

I can't believe how fast time is flying. We have only a couple of months left here (2 or 3) and then we're free for the summer. I'm hoping to do some camping, catching up with old friends, and then moving to St. Paul and settling in.

I'm thinking about getting a Unicycle. I think I'd like to be known as the minister that Unicycles. What do you think?!

That's the update from T-town. Hope you're all well!

Once a Month Blogger

Well, at this rate, I'll post an entry every month or so.

I love reading Duoteam's blog. I love it when the Minnosotans get polical! (And yes, Kettle chips are out of this world.)

The news around here is that our house goes on the market tomorrow. Yup, our cute little bungalow will be for sale. It's a sad feeling, owning a house for a while, and then getting ready to sell it. Sorta like taking "Old Yeller" out to the shed.

But the house is looking great. Flowers everywhere. Painted rooms. Replaced light fixtures. The smell of fresh baked cookies everywhere. Ah yes, the fresh baked cookies!

In the midst of all these house prep, I've found time to avoid writing papers and read some good books. If you're looking for good books to read, you might check out Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver or the Schopenhauer Cure by Irvin Yalom. Yalom is a fantastic writer. So is Kingsolver, for that matter.

As far as the weather, spring is here - as you can see from the blooming flox, one of my favorite flowers.
Tulips and daffodils and all sorts of other things are coming up, too. This is one of my favorite times of year, but it's been super dry and almost too warm.

I've been reading up on global warming, and basically, we're in some major trouble. If we keep up with business as usual, we'll be looking at the ocean in our backyard, (or a sort of hell) or maybe that will happen anyway. I think this is the fundamental issue of our lifetimes. Yes, we still have to get our minds around institutional racism (Crash offers a facinating look at the complexity of race/racism, class, and gender...) and post-colonial colonialism, and gender inequality and all that, but now much of that will matter if we don't have an inhabitable planet?

That's my rant. And the real question, for me, is how will I address this in my ministry? The faith community, for the most part, is silent on this issue, and yet I think that people of faith can and should speak to this issue.


And now for something upbeat: photos -

Here's a great picture of my dad in our newly painted kitchen, from a couple of weeks ago:




And finally, it's good to focus on some of the good things in life, like chilling in the back yard with a book:








Until April, JMS.