Your vote needed

My favorite blogger in the world, The Internet Monk, is in the Final Four of a “best blog” contest that SBC Voices is holding.  He can really use every vote possible to win this thing as there’s a big group of voters likely to start bombarding it and voting against him.  The prize is a $300 gift certificate that he is going to use to buy Bibles and books for his students if he manages to win.

Take a second and go here:  SBC Voices Blog Madness Final Four

Place a vote for Internet Monk and help him win this thing.  And pass this link along to anyone you think might be willing to give him a vote.  Oh, and bookmark his site.  Excellent stuff.

Read Full Post »

Prayers would be appreciated

For financial issues. We may be having to put a new transmission in our Honda Odyssey. I’m trying to see if Honda will cover any of it because they knew there were problems with these and extended the warranty coverage to 109,000 miles. We’re at 119,000. Based on estimates, this would eat up our entire tax refund, plus about $630 we had set aside to replace our 6-year old computer.

Pray for some leniency from Honda or that perhaps the transmission isn’t as bad off as our mechanic thinks it is (he doesn’t do transmissions so we’d be taking it somewhere else). As they say, when you have plenty of money sitting in the bank for emergencies, Murphy never seems to call.

I feel like I’ve been dodging bullets all week…a coffee maker on the fritz, a clogged garbage disposal/kitchen sink and a broken toilet. Somehow managed to fix the latter two myself and the coffee maker acts weird but is continuing to function for now. Then this hits.

I hate financial stress.

Read Full Post »

“Liturgy…lets me be”

If you don’t read Amy Welborn’s blog, you need to start. Especially now. I’m amazed at her bravery as she blogs through the aftermath of her husband’s unexpected death. It’s really powerful, emotional, cathartic and redemptive. This little part at the end of today’s post stuck out to me. I agree with the sentiment at any time or season of life, but seeing what she’s going through now only reinforces it.

I was also grateful for liturgy – Catholic liturgy, although it is certainly characteristic of almost all liturgy, by nature – that lets me be. That prays and sings and chants of God’s love and mercy, of repentance and forgiveness, of justice…and gives me the freedom to enter this place in whatever way I choose. That does not manipulate me or try to direct my emotions. That does not demand that I respond with a certain level or type of emotion. That does not make myself and my life the center of the drama, but rather points me relentless, but compassionately and authentically, towards Christ. And allows me the space to listen…and respond, out of freedom, in my own way, on my own time. To listen.

She’s on my blogroll list, but here’s the link too: Via Media

Read Full Post »