- I have been to church on Sunday two weeks in a row! Last week I preached at Quest. I really liked how the worship there focused on adoring God rather than on our own requests for stuff. That was v. refreshing for me.

-This week I went to see the new digs of my pal Rose Swetman, who co-pastors the Vineyard Community Church with her husband, Rich. They’ve built a community center/church. Even though I don’t know many folks there, it’s always v. welcoming. Rich spoke this week and he said something that stuck with me. He was comparing “running the race” with Lance Armstrong’s year long training for the Tour de France. He said something like, “The thing he chooses to eat at the cafe affects the outcome 12 months later.” It’s hard for me sometimes to honor the little moments of extending love in the world. They often seem too tiny, insignificant, too foulded up by my dorkiness to be involved in anything like “living out the kingdom of God.” But those little choices and efforts do matter, do have merit, are of meaning–especially when the end goal isn’t talking someone through the doors of your church, but rather walking together towards wholeness, towards shalom, towards God along whatever path is available. This is the first time the whole “running the race” and “training” metaphor has been relevant for me.

-Things that should be on a t-shirt (by Alicia): “God Reads My Blog.”

-Barb Henderson, Elizabeth DiCandilo and I got to walk the lake late last night. Barb never ceases to crack me up. She was telling me this whole long story about how I could fanagle a puppy out of Paul. She’s got this really sweet voice and she used to be a nun so you sort of get lulled into thinking she’s this really soft, gentle, retiring person. But actually, she’s spirited and hilarious and she has this really crafty mind.

-Another story about nuns: Eugene Peterson once told a story about having a nun as a spiritual director. He was lamenting the fact that he couldn’t live in such a dreamy cloistered community. The woman said something like, “It’s not perfect Eugene, nuns can be bitchy too.”

-Generous Creatures: This weekend the girls fell in love with horses. Paul’s colleague, Noelle, raises horses. She spent several hours with us Friday night teaching the girls to ride Fred. Poor Fred, he had this look on his face that said (in an Eyeore voice), “Oh great. Little girls. Well, fine, if I have to.” The girls got to walk the horse and even canter a little. While they waited they dressed up Ellie, the very tolerant daschund. On our way out, Noelle gave the girls big award ribbons from her annual collection. (Shiny! Pink! Pictures of Horses!)
On Sunday, the very busy Noelle came with us to the Races and taught Paul all about how to pick ponies. It’s a 2 buck bet to show, so you never really lose too much money. We were there for four or five hours and Noelle patiently walked back and forth from the race track, to the viewing paddock, to the betting lines and back to the track; answering a million questions from Paul; and placing bets on horses based on their “pretty colors” for Eden and Cate. It was a nice way to spend a sunny day.