It oooonly takes a spaaarrrk to get a fire going...

To anyone who went to Bible Camp or VBS, that was your earworm for the day. :-)

My articulate cyber-friend Shalom has bestowed a kindness on me, and it's now my pleasure to pass it on (as in the song). Here are the rules:

List 7 things that you love and then pass the award on to 7 people...tagging them and letting them know they won! You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sidebar letting the whole wide world know you are KReATIV!

Seven Things I Love

1. the sound the pups make when they wake up in the morning, and the way they're excited about nearly everything

2. really well-crafted lyrics

3. friendships measured in decades

4. the moment when I say a perfectly abstract thing to one of my choirs and it makes enough sense to them that they SING the essence of the thing I was trying to say

5. unexpected kindnesses, of which I have received a bunch lately

6. getting to preach (which is fun on several levels), or getting to hear a really good sermon

7. the hearts of those who suffer when justice is absent...especially when the offense isn't against them personally


Now, to share--some old friends, some new!

1. MomPriest at Seeking Authentic Voice--it's an oasis: calm, thoughtful, deeply kind.

2. Diane at Coexist--lots of original poetry and meditative thought. Got a Minnesotan's love for this one, personally.

3. Christine at Abbey of the Arts--gorgeous, all around. Photography, poetry, and I particularly loved the wisdom in this post.

4. Catrina at The Mad Preacher Liberation Front--insightful, articulate, and sometimes hilariously titled posts (i.e. The Audacity of Nope).

5. Rachel at The Sweet Bi and Bi--visually restful, astutely observed, well connected with resources, sweet and funny. Try this post for a new take on diversity in the church.

6. Mary at Tensegrities--she's interested in lots of things that appeal to a quirky church geek like me, and she writes well and links to fascinating stuff.

7. I've recognized Ruth of Ruth's Visions and Revisions before--still think she's wonderful, but today's shout-out goes to her co-blogger, Smokey. His Dog Parables (right sidebar, scroll down) are really something special!

Warmth on a REALLY cold day

The thermometer by our kitchen window currently reads -14 fahrenheit. No matter. My friend Diane did a sweet thing, and it warmed me up. She sent me this blogging friends award.

It's funny--I hear about how we're all getting sucked into the vortex of the internet, cutting off our social circles and developing eyestrain. But what I've found is a really lovely circle of people. They take an interest in each other's lives across a lot of miles, and reach out to one another in real friendship.

I've been fortunate enough to meet Diane, as well as Magdalene and Rachel. I also feel like I've got to know Fran, Ruth, Songbird, Catherine and Jan. I know I'm supposed to stop at eight, but Peg got me into this whole blogging business, and I'd love to have a beer with Shalom some time. All of them fit this description well:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Thanks, friends.

Navelgazing extravaganza II: the wordle as I see it

Just made a Wordle. It's a visual aggregate of all the words in my blog...and an interesting way to see if my writing actually matches up with my thinking. Other than a mild sense of alarm that "get" is bigger than "God," I'm reasonably happy with it. :-)

BTW--click on it; you'll be redirected to wordle.net's gallery, and a larger version!

Blog Action Day: your deep joy and the world's deep hunger

It's Blog Action Day today! Bloggers around the world are writing about poverty, and trying to combine our small, individual, vocational actions into a movement to alleviate the suffering of others. Frederick Buechner defines vocation as "the place where your deep joy and the world's deep hunger meet."

I'd like to tell you about some friends of mine. Three years ago, we decided that our vocation-- music--could be used to address hunger issues. We formed a chamber choir called InVocation, a name that invokes Buechner and invites God's presence and others' participation in our work to feed the hungry.

We choose a new charity partner each year--one that addresses hunger issues--and perform eight concerts each year to support their work. There are many open hearts involved in making this happen: our rehearsal space is donated; our concert venues are hosted by churches in the metro area who also provide a reception for concertgoers; our recording time/space, our printing, our photos, our website--all are donated. The members themselves buy their music and concert dress, commit several hours each week to rehearsal and concerts, and run the organization (charity interface, webmaster, management, publicity, creative direction, etc.). More information is available on our website about the specifics of the organization and our first two charity partners.

Our first year was spent singing for Loaves and Fishes, which feeds meals to the hungry at eight sites in our metro area. In our second year, we supported Feed My Starving Children, which packages and sends meals to over fifty countries around the world. Our partner for the coming year is Second Harvest--Heartland.

We love to sing together. It's a joy to get to use our creativity this way, and to be conduits for a whole big bunch of goodwill from our supporting organizations and audiences. That feeds US. It also feeds a whole bunch of others: we fed 1700 meals through Loaves & Fishes in 2006-7, and sixty children will eat all this year because of last year's concerts for FMSC. Who knows what will come of this year's partnership?

I tell you this not out of a desire to boast about my friends (though I am proud of this group), but because this is a joy to us...because there may be an idea like this lurking in the back of your mind, Gentle Reader, and you need a little bit of encouragement.

Why not light that candle in your hand? It's surprising how much darkness can be dispelled by some shared goodwill, and that's a blessing for everyone concerned.

Warmth, depth, reason, honesty, humor

Hello, everyone! It's been a crazy week; I'm fully engaged in All That Is Autumn--rehearsals; church & nonprofit planning/administrative stuff; prepping the homestead for winter; keeping the pups active, healthy & happy; having the happy occasion to invite dear ones to dinner, after a summer of everyone being scattered to the four winds.

So it's been a crazy week, but a good one. I'm feeling chin-deep in love and richness. But things are moving quickly, and I haven't been as present to the blogosphere as I like to be. And so...my friend Ruth sent some loveliness my way last week, and I've been pondering a response, but it's taken me a little while. She sent me an award, which made me grin:


There are a lot of blogs I read, for many different reasons. Blogs I really love have five things in common:

• Warmth--I want to know the writer a bit, to understand what makes them tick. I want to read people who know themselves but don't wear ego like a big orange hat; who I can imagine chuckling from somewhere behind their kneecaps; with whom I'd love to sit down and have a long chat over a cuppa.
• Depth--These bloggers turn the prism a bit for me; they ask me to take one more look, and invite me into places I might not have gone. They offer places of rest and reflection and insight and goodwill.
  
• Reason--Good sense trumps hyperbole for me; these people are grounded and principled and smart. And as an added bonus, they can write.
• Honesty--They call 'em as they see 'em. They're not afraid to admit what they don't know. They'll say the tough thing that needs saying, and they swim hard toward reality at all times.
  
• Humor--Karl Barth said that "Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God." These women make me laugh. At myself, often. :-) Snorting, running-to-the-bathroom kind of laughing. What a gift!

So, I'd officially like to thank these people for all those things, and tell them that I love their blogs!

• Magdalene at Magdalene's Musings
• Fran at FranIAm
• Shalom at Mine Unbelief
• Jan at Yearning for God
  
• Diane at Faith in Community

and, of course, though I don't say it as often as I should,

• Ruth at Ruth's Visions and Revisions.

Y'all are a blessing to me, every day. Thank you.

Non-anxious presence

A comment from the Mad Preacher about the last post sort of clarified something for me. She alluded to someone we both used to report to, who used the phrase "non-anxious presence" as a mantra, but was leagues off from even a wrong-end-of-the-telescope view of that state of leadership. Well, it made me chuckle--not just at the former supervisor, but at myself.

'Cause I'm not one, right now, in a couple of the leadership capacities in which I serve.

I've seen "Unbloggable" as a post title in several other blogs I read regularly, usually describing a period in which the writing either a) won't quite come, or b) presents itself, but boundary issues prevent blogging it. I'm having an "Unbloggable" time right now. I know it's been a while since I offered a substantive post, and please know that I'll be back to it when I can. Just got a bit of sifting to do first; I'm walking through sort of a sandstorm.

In the manner of the "please stay on the line; your call is important to us" messages we get while we're on hold, here's some loveliness for you and me to listen to as we wait. :-) Peace, friends.

Friday five: what's in a name?

This week, Revhrod of the RevGalBlogPals writes:

If you are a regular reader of Songbird's blog, you know that "The Princess" has requested a new name. Her older brother changed his "secret identity" a while back and now this lovely young lady is searching for a new name on her mother's blog. This got me to thinking. How do we come up with all of these names? There must be at least a few good stories out there.

1. So how did you come up with your blogging name? And/or the name of your blog?

I guess "Choralgirl" leapt to mind because I'm a choral geek to my very core. :-) I'm also a punster; my mind was sort of toying with the word "choral" and naturally, "reef'" was there almost immediately. I loved the imagery of all those colors and hidden places beneath the surface of the water, and so, dum-ta-DAAAA, a blog was born. Curious choice for a midwesterner, though.

2. Are there any code names or secret identities in your blog? Any stories there?

Mostly just to preserve the privacy of the other actors in my little play...and, to some extent, my own: Beloved, Wonderful Colleague, and lots of representational "first letters" (though I sort of outed M and B here), but that was a special circumstance and I got their approval first. It's weird; many of my readers know one another, so I try to be respectful of those boundaries, and sensitive to the parallel reality that this creates.

3. What are some blog titles that you just love? For their cleverness, drama, or sheer, crazy fun?

Well, I'm a big fan of Reflectionary, 'cause it's such a graceful piece of word play; wish I'd thought of it! :-) On an entirely different note, Cap'n Dyke, Lesbian Pirate Queen and Rogue Blogger is hilarious. Found her through Fran I Am, also a clever one.

4. What three blogs are you devoted to? Other than the RevGalBlogPals of course!

Nope. Uh-uh. Not answering this one! Too many that I love! Take a look at my blogroll instead, 'K?

5. Who introduced you to the world of blogging and why?

Complex question. I think it started with conversation with Wonderful Colleague; this tree has two branches. First, someone we both know shared her blog with us, and I enjoyed reading it and talking with her and WC about it. Second, WC had been reading Real Live Preacher (which is wonderful), and I started, too. I got curious and started clicking around on his blogroll and found Don't Eat Alone, which became a regular staple in my spiritual diet and inspired me to start one of my own.

Bonus question: Have you ever met any of your blogging friends? Where are some of the places you've met these fun folks?

Well, Peg Kerr (see last question) was already a friend when I got into this, as were Mad Preacher, Karen and Sara. I was lucky to have dinner with Cecilia at the Festival of Homiletics, this past spring, and that's been a delight ever since. I'm hoping that I'll meet Diane and the proprietor of the Swandive soon, as we all live in the same metro.

Arte y Pico award

Two days ago Ruth of Ruth's Visions and Revisions bestowed the Arte y Pico award on five bloggers, including me. This award is given to blogs who "deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language." I'm honored that Ruth listed me among her honorees; her blog is one I read every day. Ruth is a gifted writer; she has the courage and insight necessary to see into places that many wouldn't dare to venture, and she uses those tools in ways that are both thought-provoking and lovely. Please go and see for yourself!

Here are the rules of the award:

1) Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award which is here: "Arte y Pico".

May I have the envelope, please?

Actually, each of these five people has been an inspiration to me in some way...in my own blog, in my ministry, and in my spiritual life. I thank them and I'm pleased to honor them in this small way. My choices for the Arte y Pico award are:

1) Grace Unfolding: more than just a blog, it's a haven. It's a beautifully designed page whose evolution I've watched for almost a decade. Anita is a pastor and a partnered lesbian who has created a ministry for GLBTQ Christian folks. When she started this, online resources for this community were scarce, and she has created a lovely gathering space there. Whatever your orientation, there's beauty and grace to be found at Grace Unfolding.

2) Closeted Pastor: the visual design is very simple, and that's appropriate. Complexity would draw focus from Cecilia's courage, pastoral heart and searing honesty. When confronted with opposing and sometimes hostile viewpoints, she stays engaged in conversation in a way that builds trust and elevates discourse. I'm proud to call her my friend.

3) Don't Eat Alone: the blog that got me started. Milton is a former pastor, current chef, and beautiful soul. His art is in the blend of his spirituality, cooking, music-making and poetry. It's never clear what you'll find there on a given day, but I promise you, it will be tasty and gorgeous.

4) Velveteen Rabbi: Rachel is a poet and rabbinical student who offers Torah portions and stunning poetry, along with a glimpse into a world I don't often see. Well worth a trip.

5) Real Live Preacher: Gordon is that rarest of birds, a progressive Texan Baptist. His pithy, easy-on-the-ears preaching is...well, the man is gifted. Words fail me. He's often a source of discussion within my church staff. Go see why.

Thank you to each of you, and to you, Ruth. Blessings!

Emotional eating

Alas, alack,
what's wrong with my Mac?
It's stony and silent; the screen has gone black.

I'm all agog:
no chances to blog.
Perhaps it's a sign that God wants me to jog

or ride my bike,
or do something like
the dishes or laundry, or go for a hike.

Oh, God, oh please,
I'm down on my knees:
just don't let my motherboard have a disease

that they can't fix.
Give the guy any tricks
that will get me back into the bloggity mix!

Oh, you will see
what a good girl I'll be
if my Apple is not just a box of debris

but comes back whole,
because I'm on a roll
and wishing to blog for the good of my soul.

Alas, alack,
what's wrong with my Mac?
Sigh. Perhaps I'll feel better if I have a snack.

An apple?