Isle of Remote

Another Easter. Not the one I was planning, but still the celebration remains the same. Easter is always such a solemn occasion, but I think it’s one of the most festive times really, when you think about it.

At my church we have a huge celebration. Typically we have a sanctuary service that is very low key and reflective. Then we leave the sanctuary and go to another building - having some sort of symbolic representation of passing from the old life into the new. One year we wrote down something that we keep trying to hang on to rather than give up to God. Then, as we exited the sanctuary, we tossed the paper into one of several fire pits. It was pretty cool.

Speaking of fire….one year, I’m not sure if it was Easter, but we had a huge show of sorts in the church courtyard and we burned someone at the stake. No, just kidding! There was a fire eater. I’ve never been that close to someone who is eating fire. Have to say that it’s quite fascinating. I mean, you can feel heat of the fire and all.

Back to Easter. So we enter our multi-purpose building and there are no chairs set up. The band plays and we just dance for an hour. It’s like a full on concert.

Our band is Something Like Silas. If you’ve heard their cd, it’s nothing like what they are like live. It’s great, but when you’re used to hearing them every week, the cd sounds so different.

I hope you all have a Happy Easter and remember that God is present and real and BIG!

Dear L’il Kim and Martha,

If you want to commit a crime and get away with it, do it on the west coast.

Sincerely,

OJ, Wynona and Robert

So, this weekend I just kinda floated on air. Everything looked brand new and shiny. In fact, when I went to physical therapy, it didn’t even feel like I had that tension in my back anymore. But PTT (physical therapist todd) says they are still there, just not as badly. He pushed a point on my shoulderblade, and sure enough, those knots were right where we’d left them. But it’s definitely on the mend.

I’ve done the resignation thing and I’ve got a lunch coming up that I hope the people I do like can actually attend. I’d feel a bit hypocritical if I went to lunch and it was the same people I was trying to get away from.

Anyway, the weekend was very lo-pro. Got my hair braided Saturday so I am back to my old self after 3 years! Yay!!! It only took 7 hours too. You may think that’s a long time, but I’ve got a LOT of hair and it takes people who aren’t prepared 12+ hours to two days to complete. So I’m feeling especially lucky. Came home and watched 6 episodes of AbFab and I’m feeling the need for champers and ciggies.

Spent Sunday knitting and that was nice - didn’t have to talk to anyone or entertain anyone, just watched Jersey Girl (it was okay….I only checked it out because it had higher reviews than I expected to) and thought about packing up all the crap in my desk at work.

So I went to church that night and we’re discussing transition. He’s talking about all the things that can throw us into transition - changing jobs, moving, the loss of someone we love….BOOM! I’m a puddle of tears. Came on so suddenly it made me laugh at the same time. Very confusing these emotions of mine! Then I had French toast for dinner and all was well.

Wonderful news! I got a new job! Not only did I get a new job, but I got the job I wanted! No more CrazyTown.

Didja ever the Simpsons episode where (I can’t remember why) the family Simpson was leaving Springfield?

Can I leave like that?

“SO LONG, STINK TOWN!”

Had to put the power shoes on today. Dealing with psycho-prof. Not to bore you with a long, uninteresting story (yeah, I know, when has that stopped me before?) but this formally nice professor I had no problems with is now completely all over my case about every little thing.

He’s not very tall, so one of the things I always do is wear heels when I have to stand up for myself. Makes him have to look up to me. I had about a thousand and one scenarios running through my head and I was definitely going to be giving him the “you don’t know me” head roll if he so much as gave me a lick of trouble.

I mean you just don’t call a person, start yelling, yell some more then hang up. It’s just freakin’ rude.

Well, this afternoon I get to the meeting room before him. Everything is set up. Everything is smooth. I make sure before the confrontation that there are no distractions. Then I got introduced to a little thing called the high road; called grace. He came strolling in and I just saw a tired old guy with a bad case of middle aged crazy. I smiled, waved and said hello; took care of everything that needed taken care of and went on my way.

I think whenever you let someone get you upset to the point where you sink to their level, you let them know that they have succeeded in making you think somehow less than yourself. Don’t waste your time trying to reason with the unreasonable. Let it roll off your back and move forward. They’ll just find something else to pick on next, but because they didn’t get a rise out of you they’re likely to pick on a different target.

Why is it when peopled were expressing their dissatisfaction with Clinton they were exercising their freedom of speech.

But when people express their dissatisfaction with Bush they are anti-American?

I got the “if you don’t like it, leave” thing again. Am I safe in assuming that they only returned to the country four years ago? Perhaps they don’t realize they have more in common with the 17th century meanies who drove the Puritans out of England than the forefathers of this country. Perhaps they are the ones who should leave, eh?

The whole thing is reminding me of that eerie episode of the Twilight Zone where that kid would send you to the cornfields if you weren’t thinking happy thoughts.

I’m not thinking happy thoughts right now. Will I get sent to France? (crossing fingers and hoping).

The fact of the matter is this country was founded on the acceptance of differences. The Statue of Liberty doesn’t read “Give us your poor, your huddled masses only if they sign this contract and hold to the opinions we set in this here manifesto.” The preamble to the constitution doesn’t grant life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness only if you believe in the God of the Bible.

As Christians we have allowed nationalism to supplant the power of God. We have blustered in and declared our way the one true way and by golly the nation is going to run under that premise no matter who gets lost in the process. We, who were allowed to freely choose God, are trying to force everyone else to make that same choice. Why, when our salvation was a gift, do we try to make it another person’s sentence? People have to choose to accept the gift. Some people are not going to accept it. That is what free will is all about. But those who wave the flag of Christianity simultaneously with the flag of the United States are saying that God isn’t good enough on His own. It is one thing to be proud of your country, it is another thing altogether to wrap that pride up in a package deal that God never offered.

As Christians, our behavior is supposed to model God’s grace toward us. We are to be merciful because He is merciful. We are to love because He is love. We have a choice each morning when we wake up to live a life that points people toward God or away from God.

I am a registered Democrat. I am a Christian. I believe in the elemental freedoms this country stands for. I believe that Bush and his cabinet are the Sanhedrin of our times. I believe in the God of Abraham. If He told me to renounce my party affiliation, I would do so in a heartbeat, regardless of my politics. Because deep down I know that He is good and right (all the time). But the thing is that, while He has convicted my heart on many a thing, He has never done so about my vote. Why? Because I don’t think our politics play that big a role in the relationship we are to have with our Creator. Why do we insist on double-billing God along with politics?

I’ve been doing nothing but working and sleeping and taking vitamins. I think it is finally starting to pay off. I made it all the way to 3pm today without drifting off. Of course, I came right home and went straight to bed. I would probably still be asleep if I hadn’t gotten a phone call at 9.

Anyway, I’ve been missing all my tblog friends you see on the left. So I’m going to take it easy this weekend and catch up on what all of ya’ll have been up to.

Take care!