a reforming state of mind

The thankful list for May:

* Spring has sprung!

* Our baby girl will be here in less than a month!

*  York Peppermint Patty Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins (mmmmmmmm….goood)

*  The members of Colesville and Rockville Presbyterian churches who threw wonderful and generous baby showers.

*  Serving God, Saving the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth

*  Joe Purdy’s “Washed Away”

* The return of The Office and Scrubs–funny times, funny times

*  Re-connecting with old friends on Facebook

* Seeing Eddie Izzard, one of the greatest comedic minds of all time, with John Weicher and his sister Jean at Constitutional Hall in D.C.  I laughed so hard that I got a headache and almost peed in my pants.

* The James Hubert Blake High School’s stunning production of “Les Miserables”; David Tuttle, a youth at Colesville, is a gifted actor who delivered a memorable and incredible performance in 4 different roles; Katya Ankudinov, another youth at CPC, who was a brilliant member of the Ensemble and Lucas Murphey, CPC youth, who played with an orchestra that sounded, note for note, like the original musical score. Inspirational and moving.

* “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables…one of my top 10 songs of all time; gives me goosebumps.

* You, ole faithful readers of this blog.

This month I’m thankful for:

*  Dylan and Harper who crack me up everytime they stare at the window looking at the birds they just can’t get (They literally freeze. You can poke either cat and they won’t flinch; they’re that mesmerized. And they talk to the birds to in these high pitched squeaks as if to say, “Suffering succatash, I see you birds. Come any closer and you’ll be the hot wing special for lunch.”)

* Elizabeth and the baby girl that is two months away from popping out of the womb!

* April showers that bring May flowers

* In-laws coming to visit this month

*  Our fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday!

*   Friends and Family

*  LOST—for its spiritual, philosophical and ethical insights; it’s intensity, drama and humor. It is storytelling that feeds the imagination at its very best.

*  Re-connecting with old friends from my youth

* Cocoa Krispies…mmmmmm…chocolate milk cereal

* Officiating weddings

*  Chocolate Crunch ice cream bars

*  Smiles and laughter

*  Reading The Lorax to my daughter…she’s got to know about saving the treeees!

*  A church member and youth leader who just calls to say, “Hey, how are ya?”

* Playing Scrabulous on Facebook with friends, family and church members

*  A baby’s kick

*  A wife’s love

* A friend’s support

I am thankful this March for:

* Elizabeth  who is at 26 weeks in her pregancy and continues to be healthy

* Spring forward next weekend and knowing that warmer weather is on its way

* The church’s youth and youth leaders and the meaningful worship servie the MSYG led on the Third Sunday of Lent

* Jesus For President by Shane Claiborne

* A good friend who told me wisley that sometimes you just have to “LGOTS”

* Planning a Middle School Youth Mission Trip with good friends and colleagues

*  Playing fetch with Harper

*  BBQ

* The humor of Will Ferell, Lewis Black, Eddie Izzard and Bill Cosby

* The Steve Harvey Morning Show keeping it real

* The anticipation of seeing a childhood hero “Indiana Jones” return to the screen

* My father-in-law’s blog “Middle Aged Southerner”

* My wife’s blog “I Had A Thought;” It’s good to see her writing again. She is a gifted writer and humorist

*  The music of David Lamotte, Eddie Vedder’s “Into the Wild,” Janis Ian’s “Folk Is the New Black,” and Sheryl Crow’s “Detours”

* The Christian Peace Witness movement coming to D.C. Thursday-Monday and the Faith-based Peace & Justice Coffeehouse at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.

* This Lenten time of reflection

* Outrageous Oatmean Ice Cream from the Hershey’s Ice Cream Shop

* Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

* LOST and Eli Stone

* Reading

This month I’m thankful for:

* Oatmeal scotchies that my mother-in-law and wife lovingly made for me

* My wife and the baby inside her that is the size of a pound of coffee (fair trade kind of course)

* A youth who wrote a beautiful essay on believing in God

* Members of the church who shared their views of God’s hope in the world for a recent sermon

* Playing “Jetman” and “Scrabbulous” with friends and church members on Facebook

* Laughing till my side hurts playing MAD GAB with the High School Youth Group

* Brian McLaren’s book “Everything Must Change”

* Harper and Dylan who cuddle up together at the foot of the bed; Harper who also rubs her face on my shoe as I’m tying the laces; Dylan who also crawls into the covers to spoon with my wife because he loves her and wants to protect her.

* Being alive

* Bloggers, sojourners and preachers like Wee Blather, Middle Aged Southerner, Church For Starving Artists, The Human Animal, Yestertime and Pomomusings who inspire me with their heartfelt words about God, faith, the Bible, hope, despair, kingdom-living, love, childhood, and family.

* “Business Time” by Flight of the Conchords

* Lent–a time for reflection on how often we are faithless when God is always faithful

* Jesus’ words to Pilate in John 18:36–”My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews (religious authorities). But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

* My father-in-law soon to be “Pops” is cancer-free

* A church member is done with cancer treatments and is regaining her smile and energy again

* A co-worker who is about to bring a beautiful child into the world

*  The staff at the church

* A member in her 70s who told her granddaughter who is in the High School Youth Group that “I rocked” when I preached my sermon on hope.

* the courageous lives of Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Mohommaded Ali and Jackie Robinson

* The Daily Show and The Colbert Reports, subversive court jesters and fools mocking the kings and queens in their courts

* My grandparents, particularly my grandmother who is now a member of the Ladies’ Red Hat Society

* God’s grace

* Oreo ice cream

Things to be thankful in January and the New Year of 2008:

* My wife Elizabeth and the baby we’re expecting, 6 months to go!

* Playing board games on New Year’s Day/Birthday with Elizabeth and friends Linsey and Shelli

* Dogs–Zeus, Cal and Scout

* Montreat, the College Conference and the group of students coming from CPC

* Heart-felt and thoughtful presents: My brother Ben’s “Daddy-Mix” Cd and his wife Rachel’s “Auburn 101″ book

* Ben and Rachel

* Rachel (Elizabeth’s cousin) and her husband John and the funny birthday card they sent me.

* Friends and family

* Playing Scrabbulous with Friends on Facebook

* Laughter, lots and lots of laughter

* Music, especially the “Juno” soundtrack, “Let It Ring” by Amy Ray, “Jesus Christ” by Woody Guthrie, and “Let My Love Open the Door” by Pete Townsend

* The youth at CPC, they rock

* Sunshine

* Homer Simpson slippers, warm and funny

* having a New Castle brown ale on your birthday with your brother

* Watching “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” with Elizabeth, her dad Rick and his wife Deidre and eating dim-sung for lunch in Cleveland

John Beauchamp, a homeless man living in Davie, Florida, truly embodies Jesus’ commandment to love others by risking his life to save a woman suffering with dimentia from drowning in a canal:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/12/31/dnt.homeless.hero.wplg

We have much to learn from the humble and faithful Mr. Beauchamp.

In this month of December I am thankful for:

* My amazing wife Elizabeth who is 14 weeks pregnant and a baby who is on the way

* Being able to hear the baby’s heartbeat and seeing a cute tiny hand waving around on the sonogram last week.

* The beautiful, colorful picture mosaic of a cross that a youth made for me. The youth stayed up several hours to draw and color the picture. I posted it on my door so that I see it every day and am reminded of the love it represents and the love from which it comes from.

* The notes and drawings the youth leave on the small dry erase board that hangs on my door. One youth recently drew Pac-Man eating the Mr. Bill claymation figure from Saturday Night Live.

* Dylan the cat who attacks your socks thinking they’re another animal; and Harper who plays fetch with her toys just as good as any dog.

* Being able to gaze sleepily at the snow covering the ground outside and no longer having to drive in it.

* Friends who leave you awesome messages and drawings on Facebook about your expectant child.

* Friends who love you enough to tell you when to step back and take a breath.

* The freedom that came to Gillian Gibson, the British teacher, who had been jailed in Sudan for allowing her class of 6 and 7-year-olds name a Teddy bear Mohammed.

* My father-in-law had his last day of radiation and is feeling hopeful that he will beat his cancer.

* A fun weekend to celebrate my good friend John Weicher’s 30th Birthday in Media, PA.

* Christmas cards from friends, family and church members

* Advent–a time of preperation for the loving and grace-filled mystery of God that dwells among us as a baby in a lowly manger.

* Christmas–a time of giving in the name of God who in Christ gives us the freedom to shine as lights in the darkness