Stone of Witness: Friday Five: Gratitude

Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday Five: Gratitude

Jan has come up with a great Friday Five on Gratitude

A wise person once told me to make an ABC list of things I am grateful for any time I feel sad or depressed. It is a good practice when one is feeling happier than that, too. So for this Friday Five, I suggest that you use your name or nickname of about five letters and express your gratitude about something that starts with each letter. Some people have longer names, so you decide how you will go about this! (Last names, middle names, and nicknames count!)

Mostly Humorous- I think I look at life through the lens of humor these days. On most days it tends toward the ironic she says with one eyebrow lifted. I am so thankful for being able to laugh; it is the way God has given me to survive this vocation!

2. Utterly solemn about faith. This does not mean deathly serious. Quite the opposite, I think. In fact, if I can't convey the joy I know about God then I feel that I have failed in living a life worthy of my calling. Solemn in this sense has to do with the dignity and worthiness that Christ has called me by sharing in his Incarnation.

Thougtful-- I am thankful that I have the gift to think--to be able to concentrate on topics in order to work out gifted ways to respond to what happens in my life and give them meaning.
H2O--I had forgotten about drought before this summer. I am presently watering the lawn because we haven't had a drop of rain this month. There is something that drought does to creation. It makes you thankful for little things like drops of cool water.
Actual Cats--not virtual cats. There is something about a kitty purr that makes everything right in the world. I am not especially found of Bit attacking my feet in the middle of the night but I love her toothsome playfulness.

Bonus: Hunger--that gnawing thing that makes me aware that there is more to do, be, experience, embrace, and sometimes eat. 8>D

2 comments:

Wendy said...: I like your definition of solemn. Also, I used Water and Yearning--I like your explanation for Hunger.; July 15, 2011 at 1:25 PM
Sharon said...: I never thought about hunger as a gratitude, but yes!; July 15, 2011 at 4:31 PM

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Quotes

"Faith is different from theology because theology is reasoned, systematic, and orderly, whereas faith is disorderly, intermittent, and full of surprises.... Faith is homesickness. Faith is a lump in the throat. Faith is less a position on than a movement toward, less a sure thing than a hunch. Faith is waiting." Frederick Buechner “I realized that an oyster is an organism that defends itself by excreting a substance to protect itself against the sand of its spawning bed. The more sand in the oyster, the more chemical the oyster produces until finally, after layer upon layer of gel, the sand turns into a pearl. And the oyster itself becomes more valuable in the process. At that moment,” I said, I discovered the ministry of irritation.” Joan Chittister

Quotes

So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.(Molly Ivins 1944-2007)

Dorothy Sayers (Creed or Chaos?)

Let us,

In Heaven's name,

drag out the Divine Drama

from under the dreadful accumulation

of slipshod thinking

and trashy sentiment heaped upon it,

and set it on an open stage

to startle the world

into some sort of vigorous reaction.

If the pious are the first to be shocked,

so much the worse for the pious

--others will enter the Kingdom of Heaven before them.

If all men are offended because of Christ,

let them be offended;

but where is the sense

of their being offended at something

that is not Christ

and is nothing like Him?

We do Him

singularly little honor by watering down

'til it could not offend a fly.

Surely it is not the

business of the Church

to adapt Christ to man,

but to adapt man to Christ.

Just Something to Think About...

"The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision." (Lynn Lavner, an American comedian and musician from Brooklyn, NY). and...none of the six came from Jesus

"Religion isn’t about believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It’s about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness." - Karen Armstrong

"A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what gospel is that?"

-Archbishop Oscar Romero

"If the truth be told, my attitude towards all gatherings of bishops is to avoid them. I have never seen a good outcome to any synod, or asynod which produced deliverance from evils rather than the additionto them … rivalries and manoeuvres always prevail over reason … and intrying to decide between others it is easier to get accused ofwickedness itself than to deal with their wickedness. Consequently Ihave withdrawn to myself. I consider retirement to be the only meansof saving my soul." Gregory of Naziansus (bishop, 4th century)

The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision." (Lynn Lavner, an American comedian and musician from Brooklyn, NY).