A Quiet Week

Feeling a little pinched and closed in this week. Not sure why. Well, there are a few reasons, only a few of which I can share here on the blog.

First and foremost, my journaling class is over for the summer. Those beautiful, strong, honest, loving, supportive women are no longer on my weekly schedule. Unfortunately, one of them is moving to Arkansas this month. Another is in Kansas for two months. The rest have scattered to the four winds for the summer months. When we said our farewells on the 27th of June, we thought it would be only for the summer.

Which brings me to the second reason for my sagging spirits. It looks like we won't be able to continue with our spiritual journaling class in the fall. At least not on Wednesday nights at the church. The Powers That Be have changed the format and yanked the white boards out from in from of several of us unschooled and unordained teachers. I admit that there are moments when the restrictions imposed by The Men In Charge make me want to start a women-only congregation. No rules by the dudes. But that's a-whole-nother blog.

So anyway, my women friends and I will have to decide which direction we want to go and when and where. I'm sure we will make a great choice. In the meantime, I will pray for patience and grace to not be too resentful towards The Men In Charge.

Third in my list of current gripes - that's what this is, I suppose - is the tirade I listened to yesterday by a man who meant well but who was mistaken in his assumption that everyone in the car at the time was a Bush-loving Republican. He started a lot of his sentences with "those environmental wackos," "those Democrats," and progressed to the only logical conclusion: "They just don't have a Godly perspective. They have a worldly perspective." He was careful to include statements like "God gave us the earth to use. Why should we get caught up in that conservation stuff? There is plenty of oil and coal. All that stuff is just political." I listened quietly and leapt out of the car before it came to a complete halt. Did I mention that this conversation took place in the car on the way back to the church from feeding the homeless? I will be sure NOT to ask him what he thinks of homeless people!

Why didn't I speak up? The gentleman in question, God bless him, is a man in his 70s, obviously quite passionate about his opinions, and obviously unwilling to take any disagreement seriously. I know that because of the way he answered the two or three questions I asked. Plus it was good for me to listen to what "the other side" thinks.

And if that weren't enough, there is a drought here in the Southeast, fires out west, flooding in Texas and Kansas, and all kinds of other weather-related disasters around the globe. The ongoing war, suicide bombers, and a dog that insists on dotting my carpet with her urine and feces - I'm ready for a SERIOUS VACATION!

The best news of my week is that Venus Williams and Roger Federer won Wimbledon. Although I am slightly more partial to Serena, I will settle for Venus winning in her stead. And Roger Federer is my favorite male tennis player - by far. My heart is divided to some extent because of all the excellent Spanish players, and if I'd had my way, I'd be living in Spain - but until that day comes to pass, I'll be a committed Federer fan.

Oh yeah - Steve and I celebrated 16 years of marriage a week ago. That's a good thing too - most of the time. Today he tried to kill all four of us. Last night I seasoned two gorgeous rib eye steaks for tonight's dinner. He cooked them to perfection on the grill this evening and then proceeded to put them back on the original plate. I discovered the mistake (thanks be to God) after we'd tasted them and served our plates but before we'd sat down to eat. Meat back onto the grill. Salad in the trash. Wash the plates. Pray for the best - and thank God that we have four bathrooms in the house... just in case we need to put them all to the test later.

I guess that's a little too much information.
See, it's been a tough week!
All in all, all is well.