Limping Through London

At breakfast this morning I watched my son eat beans on toast. I think Brett could live in England on a long term basis. I, however, told him I would visit him but I would could never move here....I need some sunshine in my life.

I twisted my ankle late last night. This is a tragic experience when one has planned a day of exploring London by foot. We started on the North side of the Thames at the Tower of London. We didn't join the insanely long line to venture inside. We were satisfied just to walk past Traitor's Gate and see the holes through which the archers shot their arrows. Then we hiked across the Tower Bridge to the South side of the Thames.

What an impressive city London is. The mixture of old and new boggles my mind. We strolled (I limped) past City Hall, HMS Belfast, the Golden Hinde, Shakespeare's Globe, the Tate Modern and then across Millennium Bridge. We stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral in order to meet Brett's roommate Alice.

After a long relaxing lunch I felt recuperated enough to venture out to the British Museum. The British Museum was high on Bryan's list of things to do while in London. We wanted to see the Elgin Marbles and the Caryatid from the Acropolis in Athens.

What we didn't know was that the British Museum houses the Rosetta Stone. We had several amazing hours at this museum. It was unlike any other museum I have ever explored. No one checked my purse as I entered. There is no fee, although a donation is appreciated. Very few things were behind glass and people were touching everything. At one point I witnessed a father wanting to take a picture of his sons with the Lykian tomb of Payava. The three sons set their iPods on the tomb while he took the picture. Which also points out that pictures were allowed.

We had dinner in an Indian restaurant in Covent Gardens. According to Brett you can find delicious food from many ethnicities but he has yet to find decent Mexican food. We made it back to the hotel and I now have a wrap on my ankle.

Visiting Brett in the City of Fog

We arrived in London yesterday. We are here to spend time with Brett during the holidays. It has been hard to have both of our boys on different continents. Brett moves around this city like he has lived here his whole life. He met us at Heathrow with oyster cards to make our travel on public transportation a bit easier. After a delicious Thai dinner in Covent Gardens we were ready for bed.

This morning we got up at 5:45 to meet our tour to Stonehenge. I should have known that it would be an exciting day when the shower head popped off the wall and covered the bathroom in water.

I was a bit afraid that Stonehenge would be a waste of time but I was absolutely mesmerized by it. I was glad we got up early to see it, even if the day was completely overcast and foggy.

Our next stop was to the Salisbury Cathedral. It has a beautiful cloister and an amazing sanctuary. It was completed in 1258. I understand how cathedrals have the ability to pull someone's mind to the glory of God. The cathedral also houses the oldest working clock (1386) and one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.

We had pasties and baguettes for lunch before heading for Old Sarum Castle and an ancient burial chamber from 6,000 years ago.

Our last stop on the tour was another henge in the village of Avebury. At this site is a henge, several very large stone circles and it is older than Stonehenge.

The advantage of Avebury is that you can go right up to the stones, which we did. Our guide was convinced that you could feel heat radiating from the stones. We spent way too much time trying to discern if he was right.

The last adventure of the day was a jaunt through Central London in the dark and the rain. It is a beautiful city at night. I am eager to explore it when the sun is out.

Christmas Eve

It is Christmas Eve afternoon. I have been going at high speed for several weeks and now that I am ready for tonight and Sunday I feel so relieved. I really thought when I had an empty nest Bryan and I would bump into each other all the time. But either life is busier or I am slower at accomplishing things. There are so many things Bryan and I didn't do this year. We didn't put up any lights outside. I didn't feel too bad about that until I drove past this house on Thoroughbred Street in Upland. It made me feel like an underachiever.

We didn't send out Christmas cards either. I used to send out a funny letter in reaction to all those Christmas letters you get in which everyone's child graduated from MIT or they sailed around the world on their own yacht. But I couldn't find a witty bone in my body this year.

My sister and my father called this afternoon. My father had a stroke in 2008 and while he knows what he wants to say, he usually can't say it. But recently he has found some language returning. Today on the phone he said, "Merry Christmas." I told him it was the best present he could give me.

Then we Skyped with Matt and his girlfriend, Kairee. They already had their Christmas morning and were getting ready to cook their Christmas dinner. Tomorrow they leave for Japan.

Tonight is the Christmas Eve service at the church. I talked to a man on the phone yesterday who said that he usually drives up from Long Beach for our Christmas Eve service but he won't be doing that this year. He said he would miss our service because it is so beautiful and calm. I agree.

I'm Free

I am having a hard time sleeping tonight. It has been happening all this week. You know, when you have an issue to solve and you are looking at it from all directions? So I have been chewing and chewing on it hoping that soon it will taste right in my mouth. Until that happens, I don't sleep well. I have a couple options when sleep alludes me. One is to read and the other is to write. Tonight I will write down one of my favorite stories.

When our oldest son, Matt, was in elementary school he had trouble getting ready in the morning in time to make the school bus. The first several times we drove him to school. But he started getting in the habit of missing the bus. So Bryan decided to solve the situation by making Matt pay us to drive him to school when the bus left without him. The next time Matt was late Bryan charged Matt $1 for his chauffeured ride to school. He informed Matt that each time he missed the bus the cost would go up by an additional dollar. Matt got to $4 before he learned to be ready on time.

Our youngest son, Brett, was more of a challenge. The first time Brett missed the bus it was in late October of his kindergarten year. Bryan said, "I will drive you to school but it will cost you $1." Brett was hysterical. He only had 64 cents. So Bryan had Brett make out an IOU for the remaining 36 cents and then drove him to school. Bryan and I patted ourselves on the back for another successful parenting story.

That noon when I picked Brett up from school the teacher came out to the car and said, "What is this Brett tells me about you charging him to go to school?" I blushed bright red and said, "Only when he misses the bus." She looked disappointed in me.

When Brett and I got home the mail had arrived and there was an envelope addressed to Brett. It was a card from a nice woman at church who wasn't going to be home on Halloween night. Brett always liked to go Trick or Treating at her house and she felt bad so she sent him $1. Brett held up the bill and said, "I'm free."

Bryan worked late that night and Brett had to go to bed before Bryan got home. But Brett made me promise him that I would send his dad in to kiss him good night. Bryan tiptoed into Brett's room and kissed him on the forehead. Immediately, Brett sat up and pulled out his little boy wallet out from under the covers. He retrieved his newly received money, handed it to Bryan and said, "You owe me 64 cents."

The next day when Brett got home from school he asked me if there were any jobs he could do around the house to earn money. I said, "What are you saving for?" He said, "The next time I miss the bus."

I remember one morning encouraging him to hurry so that he didn't miss the bus. He said, "It's okay. I have plenty of money. I plan on having you drive me today." When Brett got up to $9 I finally decided that a new strategy was in order. I told him that I wasn't ready to drive him to school that morning. I needed to shower, do my hair, trim my fingernails, load the dishwasher and start the laundry before we could leave. Suddenly the tables were turned. Brett started telling me to hurry up. I took him to school an hour and a half late and he had to fill out paper work about why he was so tardy. He didn't miss the bus again.

When I think of that story, I smile. I didn't smile at the time, however. Brett...always thinking....always planning...always trying to let me know who was really in charge.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

One of the things I love about the Christmas season is the chance to celebrate the staff of this church. The office staff gathers for a white elephant gift exchange and a nice brunch. Some of our white elephant gifts over the years are notorious. Julie picked my gift this year. I think it is a gift that she can treasure for years to come.

It has been a tradition at this church for many years to invite all the current staff and any former staff that worked for the church for five or more years to come together for a Christmas potluck. It is one of my favorite Christmas events. We have a delicious meal of traditional foods, get to know each other better, have a short program and do some singing.

Last Christmas Chuck Boyer joined us for the event. He was definitely missed this year. Tonight Ryan and I created a game called "Musical Christmas Traditions" and Shawn made an old piano sound beautiful. Shawn is the only person I have ever seen who can play a piano while pivoting his whole upper body backwards.

What a church! What a staff! What a great place to call home!

Cloudy with a Chance of Beauty

When Bryan and I moved our family to California in 2002, people in Indiana would ask me if I missed the seasons changing. I don't. I get Christmas tree lights on palm trees. I like picking oranges off the tree in January. I don't miss shoveling the sidewalk. I don't miss all the muddy footprints on the freshly mopped floor. But I do miss clouds. The midwest has some of the most amazing clouds. When we have clouds here in Southern California, I notice. Below are some of the cloud pictures I have taken since August. (Don't worry...I won't show all of them to you.)

Sunset in Monument Valley

At Mesa Verde National Park

Outside the St. Louis Arch

Sunset in South Dakota

Road into Zion National Park

New York City

Flying above Toronto

Imerovigli, Santorini

Driving on 15 North from Oceanside

Tonight I was driving home from visiting at Woods and I was struck by the beauty of the sky. I stopped at the corner of Foothill and Garey to take this picture. I love clouds!

My Silver Anniversary

This morning I was completely surprised by a brunch in honor of my 25th year of ordination. As Bryan will tell you, it is hard to surprise me. I had no clue it was happening. There were even silver 25s hanging from the Christmas tree. The group sang me a happy 25th anniversary song. I got to blow out the candles on the egg casserole. We played a Jeopardy game in which each answer had the number 25 in it. People were asked to share what I mean to them. I think I was so overwhelmed I didn't properly thank the group for honoring me in such a surprising, fun and beautiful way. I have been sitting in the glow of it all day.

I was ordained in June of 1985 in the sanctuary of the La Verne Church of the Brethren. Marlin Heckman signed my ordination certificate. John Gingrich preached the sermon that day. Then Bryan and I packed up all the boxes we had been storing in our parents' garages and drove a rental van across the country to Michigan City, Indiana. Because of some of the questions I was asked today I have been contemplating how different I am from that 24 year old woman.

I am so grateful for all the living I have done since then. There really is nothing like ministry. I get to be with people in those truly sacred moments of life. I get to hold babies as the congregation promises to love them and be community to them. I get to be with families as their loved ones die and they speak their words of devotion. I get to aid the congregation in memorializing those who have died. I get to listen to people as they come to new understandings of themselves and their place in the world. I can't thank you enough for letting me be one of the pastors of this congregation. It truly is a blessing.

Advent Has Arrived

All the signs of Advent have arrived. Last week a group of us met at the church to tie greens onto ropes so that we could have them for the Hanging of the Greens on the First Sunday of Advent. It is quite a production. First someone has to cut all the needed greens. Then the greens need to be washed and fireproofed. Wire needs to be cut and many hands are needed to wire all the greens to the ropes. The pulleys in the sanctuary need to be hung. About ten people are needed to pull the greens into place during worship.

While we were outside preparing greens Eric and Juliet Davis were inside preparing the sanctuary. With an agave, greens, berries, and fruit the front of our worshiping space has been transformed Now the sanctuary smells like greens and fresh fruit.

While some wired greens and some prepared the

sanctuary, others were creating their Advent wreaths.

A couple Sundays ago our children had challenged us to each take home a paper bag to fill full of food for the local food bank. During the Children's Story the children brought the bags forward. It was absolutely awe inspiring to see the great response. There was more food than the children could bring up by themselves.