Grace in Small Things -- 10

1. White pizza

2. Freshly-made quacamole

3. Chilled Peach Soup from Whole Foods

4. Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House by Billy Collins

5. Birds at the birdfeeder

Women in the Church of Christ: An Important Conversation

Matt and I traveled to Nashville recently for the Christian Scholars Conference. It was an incredible experience, and I'm still trying to process all of the thoughts, ideas and emotions I took in during our time there. I initially wanted to attend the conference because Marilynne Robinson (author of Gilead, the most beautiful novel ever written) was a keynote speaker. And while Robinson, Barbara Brown Taylor and Billy Collins were all a delight to hear, to my surprise, I was most profoundly affected by three "paper and panel" sessions that all related to women in the Church of Christ.

For those of you that are confused right now, I am honestly glad if this doesn't make sense. This is an issue that has caused and continues to cause a great deal of pain, and one I believe is a significant impediment to the health of many churches. As a very brief explanation, I was raised in (and still belong to) a church heritage that traditionally forbids women from full participation in major aspects of worship, including preaching, teaching, praying, reading scripture, and presiding over communion, to name a few.

At the conference, I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion entitled "Women Speaking: Theological Reflections on the Experiences of Women in Churches of Christ." During the session, several women of various ages, backgrounds and vocations shared our individual experiences of being part of a church that, in various ways, denies us the opportunity to use our gifts and talents to serve the church. I was apprehensive about the panel, first because I thought it was likely that I would cry (and perhaps be unable to communicate what I wanted to share) or worse, that I would come across as bitter and angry, and thus any message I tried to communicate would be easy to overlook. Thankfully, I avoided getting angry. And I believe that what we each shared was heard and accepted with love by the audience. Alhough I did cry a bit, when I looked around the room I saw many other faces filled with tears. I couldn't help but think how every person in that room (women and men) had a story -- whether their own, or their mother's, grandmother's, sister's, daughter's. When another panelist apologized for getting choked up, a voice from the audience called out, "Some things are worth weeping over."

It's late, and I have so much more to say that I need to save for another post. In the meantime, I want to direct you to JTB's blog, where she is opening up a space for others to share their stories in guest blog posts. I encourage all of you who have something to share, or even simply questions, comments or general thoughts on the issue to join in this important discussion. Or just go and read the stories -- they are already starting to come in. These stories have been silenced for a long time, and they need to be told. More to come.

Seven

A few weekends ago, Matt and I celebrated our seven-year wedding anniversary. I took Friday off of work and we slept in, went to brunch, and then strolled through the Impressionist section in the National Gallery. Then we went to the Sculpture Garden and listened to live jazz music while we drank sangria and dangled our feet in the fountain. It was a glorious day.

That weekend, we went to the Eastern Shore for a night, and spent a day exploring quaint little towns in Maryland, lounging, and reading books by the water. I spent a few hours sitting on a porch swing, reading and watching bluebirds come in and out of a little birdhouse. I could have stayed there forever. We had a dinner at a local Bed and Breakfast, where we ate on a porch in the company of fireflies and at least two cotton-tailed rabbits.

On our actual anniversary, we went out for a casual dinner with some pizza and wine. Not the best picture, but to commemorate the actual date:

Seven years. Even though anything I say in a blog post will be an inadequate reflection of my feelings about Matt, here are a few reasons that I hit the jackpot when I married him.

1. He is patient. So very patient. I learn from him all the time how to "not sweat the small stuff," and stay calm when I get frustrated. He's a master at this.

2. He's smart, and cares passionately about important ideas. Matt is always reading, always learning, and always interested in having a discussion about various theological and philosophical concepts. Even though I'm not always the best conversationalist on these issues (I'm not even able to describe them intelligently here), I greatly admire his passion for learning, and I am so thankful that I can (and frequently do) go to him as a sounding board with all of my deepest theological questions. Not that he has all the answers, but he always has a good idea of where to go to try to find them.

3. He makes me laugh every day. Not just a chuckle, or a cursory "that's funny," but really laughing out loud, often until my sides are hurting or until my eyes are watering. We love to laugh together.

4. He's egalitarian. Matt and I are equal partners in our marriage, and he does not ascribe less (or different) value to my opinions or decisions, or believe that I should be responsible for certain domestic tasks, simply based on the fact that I am a woman. I am especially thankful for this, because it was not something I was even cognizant of when we were dating, or when we got married. But by the grace of God, I married an egalitarian, despite the fact that I did not understand or appreciate what that word even meant at the time. (Like I said, I hit the jackpot).

5. He appreciates and loves the arts. I don't have to drag Matt to classical music concerts, the opera, plays, art exhibits, or obscure movies. He loves them just as much as I do.

6. I love eating meals with him. Matt and I share a love of good food, and we have so much fun eating, talking, or cooking together. Some of our best dates have been when we go through cookbooks to pick out an interesting recipe, shop for the ingredients, then spend the evening cooking and eating together. We also love the same types of food, so I'm glad I don't have to find someone else to eat Indian, Lebanese, Ethiopian or Afghan food with me.

7. He brings me closer to God, and makes me want to, and try to be a better person.

Matt, thank you for being my partner as we walk this journey of life together. If I ever have a son, I would want him to be just like you. If I ever have a daughter, I would want her to marry someone like you. You are more than I could have ever asked for or deserved. Happy Anniversary, babe.

And partly because I'm sentimental, but more because Ben Folds just says it all better than me:




And in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
And I know
That I am the luckiest.

More on Arms and Legs

Lots on my mind, that I'm still sorting through myself and also determining what should go into the blog post vs. what goes in a private journal. To be continued. But in the meantime, here's a fantastic and inspiring video. Many of you may have seen this already (I think I saw it a little over a year ago) but if you haven't, it's worth watching.

GiST 9 of 365

1. Brunch with an old friend

2. Springtime in DC (despite the throngs of tourists)

3. Rachmaninoff's Vocalise with cello or violin. If you have a few minutes, listen to this. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

Itzhak Perlman on violin:



Stjepan Hauser on cello:



4. Enjoying talking with Matt so much that a nine-hour car drive truly flies by

5. Glide dental floss. I know that's weird (and also kind of gross), but honestly, it's pretty fantastic that dental floss exists. What a great invention. I think that the best motivation for flossing is actually flossing. Once you realize how much it does, it's pretty hard not to do it every day.

GiST 8 of 365

1. Watching A Room With A View with my mom. It's the newest version from Masterpiece Theatre Classics, not the Helena Bonham-Carter one from several years ago. I think it's much better, except for the ending, which I won't spoil.

2. Spending time outside on a rainy day

3. Being drawn into a good book (it took me about 100 pages, but now I am really loving it) Ahab's Wife, by Sena Jeter Naslund.

4. Comfortable cotton t-shirts (and a husband who loves when I wear t-shirts)

5. 16-year old Adidas slides that are molded to my feet

GiST 7 of 365

1. Biking on the beach
2. Creamy clouds of foam scattered across the shoreline
3. Breathing in rich, salty sea air
4. Setting up the automatic "out of office" message on my blackberry
5. Firefly sweet tea vodka with lemonade