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Thursday, December 20, 2007

it's friday 5 but it's almost christmas, too!

it's an almost Christmas Friday 5 on TevGalBlogPals!

Merry Christmas from RevHRod, Self 2!

1. What was one of your favorite childhood gifts that you gave?

it wasn't quite childhood, but the garage door opener i gave my grandmother when i was in high school.

2. What is one of your favorite Christmas recipes? Bonus points if you share the recipe with us.

hey, it's so great to be able to play early and i know where the recipe is but will post it later: for both t-day and c-day, a bisquick impossible pumpkin dessert concoction. love it!

hibiscus 33. What is a tradition that your family can't do without? (And by family, I mean family of origin, family of adulthood, or that bunch of cool people that just feel like family.)

i need to pass on this one, since my family of origin hasn't existed in my world for too long and the big-c and little-c church i considered family isn't there, either. not sure what happened all around.

4. Pastors and other church folk often have very strange traditions dictated by the "work" of the holidays. What happens at your place?

not sure if it's safe to be this transparent and potentially vulnerable, but despite having made a carefully conscious decision to not continue serving professionally in the church, at christmas i feel lost, heartbroken, iris 1 shattered and unconnected to life; i still cannot quite believe i still am not leading worship or preaching and wonder if i'll ever have a real place in the church again. other sundays i pretty much can roll with it in the name of life happens and experience is ongoing. in response to my nativity devastation, for the past few years i've been spending christmas in southern arizona's sonoran desert, and it has become a place i can begin healing in general; the pics i'm posting are from my friend's house there.

5. If you could just ditch all the traditions and do something unexpected... what would it be?

can't think at the moment, but i do so enjoy christmas eve fajita burritos and christmas day turkey plus everything else—gravy, mashed potatoes, dressing/stuffing, cran, green bean casserole, mince, pumpkin, other pies...

7 comments:

RevHRod said...

Thank you for such a frank and honest post. This will be my third Christmas of being a pastor without a normal parish. And it is still a little hard to watch the parade from the sidelines. It gets easier though.

I hope you find blessings and joy in Arizona this December. It sounds like a lovely place to be. Comforting and warm.

Mary Beth said...

One of my favorite traditions in general is you, Leah! Thanks for telling us where you are this year. Glad to be along on the ride with you.

revhipchick said...

beautiful post. your honesty and vulnerability is strikingly beautiful.

blessings on your journey, and Spirit in the desert healing.

chartreuseova said...

May you have a warm, healing Christmas in the desert.

A garage door opener. What a thoughtful gift for a grandparent.

Dorcas (aka SingingOwl) said...

((((((((((L.S.))))))))

Elaine (aka...Purple) said...

What a poignant post. Prayers for grace and peace in the desert and beyond.

Cathy said...

Leah, your Friday Five is so very honest and I see your pain. Not an easy time for you and praying that the pain becomes less for you in the fact that you shared with folks that can pray for you and guidance for where God is guiding you. Blessings upon you this day.