25th Post-iversary!

Welcome to my 25th Post-iversary! Since this is not a blog that literally documents my everyday life, nor does it spout off on hot topics or speak negatively about others - feel free to roam through my archives. Many of my posts contain ponderings that are poignant regardless of when I wrote them. Here's my personal Top 10 of the 25 posts, so far:

1) 50 First Dates - posted 12/5/07
2) Thing of Beauty - posted 12/8/07
3) Kirsty MacColl - posted 12/9/07
4) All Summer in a Day - posted 12/12/07
5) Sound of Music - posted 12/30/08
6) The Logical Song - posted 1/6/08
7) Humanity - posted 1/25/08
8) Reign Over Me - posted 1/27/08
9) U23D4ME - posted 2/10/08
10) Over the Rhine - posted 5/25/08

Thanks for pondering the Truth and Grace in everything with me!

Spynoculars

There's a great commercial for the cable company that shows 2 bored guys on an undercover stake-out discussing the great ideas they've come up while on stake-outs. Of course one of them is something that the cable company is now providing, so they end it with "Well, we still got spynoculars, right?" I have a couple of restaurant ideas that, if someone else puts them into action before I do... I'll get crackin' on those spynoculars. If anyone reading this wants to help me make these two ideas a reality, please leave your comments on this blog. Here they are:

Good to Go- a drive through restaurant that offers ONLY healthy food that meet the following criteria: contains NO high fructose corn syrup, uses only whole grain bread products, ingredients bought locally as much as possible, at least 3 low sodium choices, organic as much as possible.

Peacemeal- a upper scale or gourmet restaurant that publicizes and donates a large portion of profits to various not-for-profit organizations that positively impact the local community and/or world on a rotating basis. Possibility of having visiting celebrity chefs to raise even more awareness for specific causes. This restaurant would operate on reservations only with just a few pre fixe menu options to choose from.

These are just a couple of my many ideas of ways to infuse good stuff into society. I also have writing/screenplay ideas and a marketing idea for a thermal bag just big enough for a pint of ice-cream with a lock on it for those people who live with ice cream mooches (thus keeping the peace in many a home). But then again...there's always the spynoculars.

Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine is a section of downtown Cincinnati that is notorious for extreme poverty, crime, and drug dealing. In fact, the movie "Traffic" filmed it's U.S. inner-city drug dealing scenes in Over the Rhine. And there is another reason the name Over the Rhine is somewhat noteworthy. There is a great band from Cincinnati named Over the Rhine, lead by Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. They are so good that they spend a good chunk of their time traveling to do live shows for their fans around the world. I happen to be a fan as well and have seen them a few times when they do hometown shows. Which leads me to the inspiration for this post. On Thursday, Linford walked into the coffee shop a couple of blocks from my place where I happened to be having lunch. They are in town for a show and rehearsed at the gorgeous old church across the street from my building. As I walked home a little while later I heard music and Karin's voice coming from the open windows of the church. It was a beautiful day and I walked slowly past the church to linger in the afternoon serenade. And got lost in thought about some of my favorite OTR lyrics.

Linford and Karin write great songs together. When I heard Karin sing "Drunkard's Prayer" live at an intimate concert, it sent chills up my spine and I declared I wanted it played at my wedding or at an anniversary celebration. Now I just have to find a husband who agrees with that song choice! ;-) Here are the lyrics:

You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

You're the hunger
On my bones
All the nights
I sleep alone

Sweet intoxication
When your words
Wash over me

Whether or not
Your lips move
You speak to me

Like an ocean
Without waves
You're the movement
That I crave

And in that motion
I long to drown
And be lost not to be found
You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

And then there's the lyrics to "The World Can Wait" which affirms the intimacy I feel with God and fills me with longing to bask in His presence, to be pulled even closer to His side. Here's a taste:

but tomorrow I can't imagine
how am I supposed to know
what's yet to go down ?
is there only one religion
the kind that whispers
when nobody comes around ?

the world can wait
the world can wait
I wanna drink the water from your well
I wanna tell you things i'll never tell
the world can wait
the world can wait
i'm wide awake
and the world can wait

I want to feel and then some
I have five senses
I need thousands more at least
every day a page of paper
every night a photograph
a moveable feast

so fade to black and white now
roll the movie of my life
inside of my head
'cause like all true believers
I am truly skeptical
of all that I have said

Those last few lines speak to me about those moments of doubt, when I replay scenes from my life trying to discern the truth or grace in me. And then the chorus kicks in reminding me the world can wait while I drink from His well.

Bathed in Prayer

Over the past several months I have become close friends with two wonderful families. I'll refer to them as the "S Family" and the "H Family" for the purpose of this post. The H Family has had a tragic year full of struggle and heartache on many levels. So a few weeks ago Mrs. S suggested praying over the H Family's house while they were away. I was having a busier week than usual and couldn't be there physically, so I told Mrs. S I'd write one of my signature prayers to hang in the H home. As I sat down to compose I prayed for inspiration and God gave me this:

Bathed in Prayer

We call Your Name, Blessed Be
With our rawest emotions
Wrapped in tears, wrapped in anguish
Guarded with logic, defended with pride
We offer our prayers

We call Your Name, Blessed Be
With Your sacred devotion
Strip us bare, embrace our search
See where we are, drenched with pain
You hear our prayers

We know Your Name, Blessed Be
With our fumbling faith
Full of despair, we wait, "Why?"
Steeped in blessing, infused with hope
We bathe in prayers

We know Your Name, Blessed Be
With Your water of life
Wash us pure, cleanse our church
Splashed with blood, redeemed by Christ
You lived our prayers

Splish Splash, I am takin' a bath!

Lyrics Du Jour - Whole of the Moon

In honor of the full moon tonight I'm sharing the lyrics to one of my ALL TIME favorite songs. This song, "Whole of the Moon" by The Waterboys, has always deeply moved me spiritually. More often than not, if all my attention is focused on fully listening to the music and lyrics of this song, I get full body tingles that my sister and I refer to as "God Hugs." Yes, there are a few specific lines that capture how I feel about God, but mostly I think my feelings for this song are poetic rather than a scientific disection of language. Here are just a couple of stanzas:

I pictured a rainbow, You held it in your hand
I had flashes, butYou saw the plan
I wandered out in the world for years
While you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon
The whole of the moon

I was grounded, While you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truth, You cut through lies
I saw the rain dirty valley, You saw "Brigadoon"
I saw the crescent, You saw the whole of the moon- Yeah

Whenever I'm feeling frustrated about only seeing a sliver of God's perfect balance of Truth & Grace, this song lifts my spirits and raises my voice in praise and reverence of His Glory.

Oscar Buzz

No, this isn't about my predictions for who the Oscar will go to. As a matter of fact, I'm watching the Academy Awards as I type this- and I'm feeling the adrenaline buzz I get every year. I love the Oscars!

While I do appreciate the beautiful dresses to a certain degree, I don't care too much for the red carpet hoopla prior to the ceremonies. No, what I love about the Oscars is the acknowledgment of creative genius in all areas of movie making. When I see a great movie I steep in the complete experience- great direction & vision, cinematography, production, music, and an actor who can transcend their celebrity.

My definition of an amazing acting performance IS when the actor so completely portrays the character that the viewer forgets which actor is playing the part. Some examples of this (in my opinion) are: Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot (or anything else he does), Jamie Fox in Ray, Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain, Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, The Insider, etc. (again, anything else he does), Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, The Devil Wears Prada, etc. (anything she does), Gary Oldman in Sid & Nancy... okay, so I could go ON... I have a whole list of actors who seem to always lose themselves in their roles. Then, there are a few actors who are always excellent AND you always know who the actor is... Jack Nicholson is one of those, Judi Dench (for the most part), Emma Thompson (love her!), Laura Linney, Denzel Washington, etc. Well anyway, I digress... I love great acting...

And then there's those "Oscar Moments"- sometimes it is an acceptance speech that makes me feel like I, sitting on my couch in my jammies, have just won something, too. Sometimes it is the host who captures the audience with quick wit, or due to their incredible writing team who writes their schtick. Sometimes it is a great comic moment by a presenter. Some of my most favorite recent comic moments have been by Will Farrell... the year he presented the Oscar for Best Makeup- hilarious! And the time he and Jack Black wrote lyrics to the music that swells to cut off a long acceptance speech- genius!

I love the Oscars so much it is a secret (not so secret now) dream of mine to actually win an Oscar...for what I'm not sure yet- probably that great screenplay I haven't written yet, but God only knows! Well, even if I never win an Oscar...it would be pretty cool to be a part of the Oscar Production somehow... maybe as a seat filler? ;-) In a nutshell, I love movies for the way they embrace and celebrate humanity and I love the Oscars for the way creative humans are celebrated.

U23D4ME

My friend, Chelle, admits she isn't the biggest U2 fan, so when she told me I had to go see U23D, I knew it must be extra good. And it was. Anyone who knows me, knows I AM a huge U2 fan and they have consistently been one of my all time favorites since 1981 or so. I remember that when I got my tix to see The Police on the Ghost in the Machine tour, there were rumors that U2 would be the opening act and I was super psyched about that! Turns out they only opened for the first leg of that tour and Joan Jett opened for the second leg...I got the Jett leg (pun intended).

Here's another little nugget that I very rarely share with anyone- When I was 17 (that was in 1984- yes, I am old)I wrote a fan letter to U2. I don't remember exactly what I wrote. I remember that I prayed fiercely before writing the letter. I had no idea where to send the letter so I sent it c/o their recording studio, Dublin, Ireland. I'm not even sure I had a street address, but I had an innocent faith it would reach them somehow. Several months later I got a postcard in the mail from Ireland. It has 3 pictures of the band on the front and the only words on the front are SISTER SISTER. On the back is a handwritten note that reads: "Dear Emily, Thank you for your letter which I have passed on to the band. Unfortunately they are unable to reply personally as I'm sure you understand." And it is signed by Cecilia. I still have the post card!

Anyway, I'm so glad I took the opportunity to see U23D- it is an awesome experience! Although it is live footage of them in concert in Argentina, I can't compare it to seeing them live. And, by the way, I did see them live twice on the Joshua Tree tour (still have my concert t-shirt). First of all, the 3D effects brought the entire band much closer than one could get seeing them in concert. Also, if I were seeing them live I would NOT be sitting still, calmly munching on popcorn! I would have been up on my feet, smashed into the crowd around me, singing along with them, and screaming with glee until my voice gave out. Somehow, I don't think the people sitting behind me in the theater would have appreciated any of that! ;-)

But that reminds me of the time I went to see Rattle and Hum with my friend, PJ. We went to a matinee in the small town I grew up in and we were the ONLY 2 people in the entire theater. So, we DID act like we were at a live show! We had so much fun! We stood, we cheered, we lit a lighter and swayed back and forth with the crowd on the screen...and laughed when the usher came in and caught us acting that way. PJ and I used to do all sorts of silly things together. He is one of those friends who has always offered me limitless grace.

U2 and I go way back. And I have always had a deep spiritual understanding of their music. I know there are all sorts of people who feel the same way and books have been written to point out all the biblical references in their songs. But from the first time I heard "Gloria," their music delivers me straight into a zone of worshiping God. It is a worship zone without pretense or excuses. It is a zone where I feel the intensity of God's perfect balance of truth and grace. It is a zone that conjures pure praise.