My Word

"Are you still in the word," was the question at a recent family reunion. After quickly translating what he meant, I dutifully answered, "Yes, sir," hoping this would satisfy this cousin by marriage and we could walk away with our second helping of pole beans unscathed and moving in separate directions. Not so fast. Second question emerged with gusto. "But are you deep in the word?" Now I'm feeling less polite and more like a kid being tested. It was a family reunion. There were pole beans. Of course the answer was still yes, but after answering I was lectured.

Why didn't he ask me this question, "Are you still feeding the hungry?" "Don't you work with women on issues related to maternal health? How is that going?" Because, in my opinion, if one was concerned about my "deep in the word(-ness)," the better question to ask might be, "How are those Millennium Development Goals, any progress?"
S

(thanks myrecipes.com for the photo)

3 km to the Right

A lot of signs captured my attention while roaming the back roads of Ireland. Visible and invisible. Here are just a few. 

Way Out

Renting a car in Ireland meant getting to explore out of the way places. I spent a lot of time driving. Often, the view in the rearview mirror was just as inspiring as the one before me.  

Which way to look?

This look on my Mom's face is one of my favorites. And the fact that she made it on her 60th birthday at
Tigh Nan Phaidi Cafe on the Island of Inis Mor, makes me love this picture even more.

Out of the way places I tell you.

Cliff Diving and Driving on the Left

Ireland was amazing and I'm back ready to enjoy a southeast summer with heat and hot dogs and all things humid. I spent quite a bit of time looking over cliffs - the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Island cliffs, the Loop Head cliffs. It's a long way down, but the view is breathtaking.

I think I spend a lot of time looking over cliffs in my everyday life too. So what about the Cliffs of Thread 2012 and the Plan C Cliffs? What about the Cliffs of Maternal Health? It is a long way down and the view takes my breath . . . but that can be a good thing. So put October 3 - 6, 2012 on your calendar, let me know if you know of a church staff position that would welcome an outside of the box minister and let's keep working on that global maternal health consortium with Kaa Simon, Neema and Witness.