In case you've never seen it, here's the clip from "It's a Wonderful Life" I refer to in the below post.
Happy viewing!


Evermore and evermore,
Mary-Lynn

Ranting about Raving

(Warning: this is not pastoral, it's prophetic):

I'm starting to see vast parallels between the reaction to the coverage of the Supreme Court decisions and the reaction to Orson Welles' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. 

Here's the hint--just because someone with an announcer voice says it doesn't make it true. And regardless of who is saying it, it is not the end of the world, I promise; I am 100% sure it is not the end of the world. I’ve read the Bible: you don’t have to worry about the world ending until you see plagues and rivers on fire and horsemen and such. How about we try something novel, like waiting and seeing how it actually affects us before we pack our bags and head for a camp in Idaho or someplace more remote, like Canada? Let see, that shouldn't be until about 2014, so let's all just calm the heck down before we all get collective aneurisms.

Now, for all of those friends who are declaring that they are going to "vote out all incumbents" I love you but I would hate myself it I didn’t point out 2 things.
# 1: We tried that in 2010 and look at the mess Congress is. Voting for someone just because they are against something doesn’t solve problems; it just guarantees that nothing gets done but fighting.
# 2: How about we try something really novel and educate ourselves about the issues, decide where we stand on them, and then vote for the people who best represent our view? I know it seems like a strange concept. I know it may sound like hard work, but that’s the how the system works best. At least that is what they taught me in 10th grade civics class. That’s where our power as citizens comes from; I suggest we calmly and thoughtfully exercise that power.

Every Frank Capra movie I’ve ever (which is every Capra movie) seen has a point where the powers-that-be try to stir up the mob for their own purposes and it all goes out of control. Think “It’s a Wonderful Life” when there is a run on the bank and the people go crazy demanding their money. How about we as educated people of conviction try to model ourselves on George Bailey in that scene and try to calm folks down instead of stirring up the mob with our fear and paranoia? If we join the mob we create the destruction of our society and our individual selves. Now more than ever it seems that society needs us to be calm and responsible citizens.
Ultimately, for people of faith, the future rests in God’s hands. Grace to you and Peace to you. Perhaps the words of Psalm 63 (NIV translation) will be of comfort to you:

You, God, are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you, 

my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary 

and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, 

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live, 

and in your name I will lift up my hands. 

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; 

with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watches of the night. 

Because you are my help, 

I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

I cling to you; 

your right hand upholds me.

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; 

they will go down to the depths of the earth. 

They will be given over to the sword 

and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God;

all who swear by God will glory in him, 

while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Evermore and Evermore,
Mary-Lynn

In a Month of Sundays

I don't know if "idle hands are the devil's workshop" but I do know that I like to keep my hands busy. Thus I sew, I knit, I make jewelry, I create. Over the past year, I've been working on embroidering squares for a quilt. I was inspired by looking at various vintage "day of the week" tea towel patterns and so I decided to make a quilt of the "Sunday" images. As I was working on the individual squares they became a form of meditation on what "Sunday" has meant historically and what it means to me. These squares lead to a great discussion with all sorts of folks; kids especially love the tangible quality and the appealing images and I've found it a great way to engage them in a discussion of what Sunday means to them.






So, Which square appeals to you? How do you spend Sunday? If you were to design your own square what would it look like?

[I should note that these patterns date from the 1920s to the 1980s and some of them contain the visual stereotypes of their times. When I'm showing the squares to children (the quilt's not finished yet) I leave those out. I thought about not including them at all, but I decided that I wanted to include all of the images because I don't want to cover up the past but challenge myself to examine all the ways Sunday has been exploited as well as the ways it has been celebrated. In other words I don't want it to just be warm, or pretty; I want the quilt to make me think.]


Evermore and evermore,


Mary-Lynn