Monday Stuff

We had planned to be on the road to Fair Hills Resort by now: today is the start of our annual Synod Rostered Leaders' Retreat. It kicks off with golf at 11:30. But with thunderstorms scattered across the area and our little one to manage, I just thought it might be nice to stay home and not fight the weather. Pity, though - we play Wildflower only once a year, and it's one of the better courses I get to play.

So, Beloved has had a nice long nap and Ainsley has, too. She's been cheery and active other times this morning. We spent the last 30 minutes catching up on blogs while Beloved finished her nap. Yesterday afternoon she pulled herself onto her feet while playing with me on the living room floor. She's already growing up too damned fast. :-)




I received this t-shirt in the mail this week from some mail-order company in Minnesota. Talk about things that make you go GRRRRRR:



Please understand that I pray for our soldiers and I do know how fortunate we are to live where and when we do. My grandfather was a WWII vet and my dad served during Vietnam. I would never denigrate the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made. But the civil religion/military of God allusions I've heard far too often since 11 September 2001 just piss me off, frankly. It's idolatry of the worst kind, in my opinion. A soldier lays down his life for his comrades in arms, not his country - anyone who's read Band of Brothers or We Were Soldiers Once...And Young knows this is true. And I KNOW that Jesus would want to have nothing to do with the atrocities committed at My Lai and Abu Ghraib. The fact is, wrapping Jesus in the flag means that being American is more important than being a child of God, and frankly I'm tired of swallowing the bile that rises every time I see it. This kind of thing is killing the American church's grasp on reality, and it needs to be resisted if we are ever going to become responsible world citizens again.

[sound of me stepping down from the soapbox - rant concluded]

So, soon it's time for lunch and off into the day. Hope y'all have a pleasant week and God bless ya!