some words about home, or the search of such a thing

the hazy sky welcomed me
to the place I now call home
3 more years, "or more," you say
the sky, still gray, with haze


back there felt like home
with its board games and laughs
back there felt like home
yesterday, still today


but aren't I always the same?
wandering onward
in search for my home
only to say, "it's not here."


just give me a week
or two
or three
and I'll sing another tune


I'll call this place home
come sunshine or haze
and wait for the next time around

Miss Scabby! Miss Scabby!

Miss Abbye. Or Miss Gabby? Or Miss... Scabby. I'm pretty sure she's saying Miss Scabby, which is what it sounds like and this one is frankly just the funniest one, and so we'll go with it.

This little 4 year old gal lives (or visits, but is there most of the time) about 3 streets down. And normally she doesn't really listen to me, and I spend all my time saying, "No, don't touch that," and "Aniyah, this is the 12th time; stop that," or some other reprimand. There's a reason I hang out with elementary-aged kids and not pre-K kids. But from the backseat hearing, "Miss Scabby, I want to come to your house; Miss Scabby, Miss Scabby!" I couldn't resist. She's coming with us from now on.

That's just a funny story to maybe make you smile. Or grossed out, because scabs are pretty nasty.

I've not blogged for awhile. What's going on? A grandfather is slowly slipping away from us; A community of hospitality in South Bend, Indiana opened its arms and shared in our songs and stories; we met a presidential candidate; and we've eaten some ice cream and done some homework with the kids down the street.

We've been learning why love should keep no record of wrongs; why it matters where we live and who sits at our dinner table; that prayer is something much more than talking, and in fact, maybe has nothing to do with it.

Hopefully I will make time in the coming weeks to spend more time on some of these... but for now, a Friday night with no plans awaits me (ah... finally.)

[peace be yours]

music & lyrics

songs were meant to be shared...

sister, stop your pacing feet
you'll wear a hole in the floor by morning
sister, calm those voices loud
they've never done a thing but wear you out

kicking, screaming all day long
but the reality keeps hanging on
that everything is falling through
what will they ever come to think of you?

have you ever known such freedom?
have you ever known the truth?
that you are so much more than the flowers of the field
and he'll take care of you.

what in the world are you living for?
is it to gain the world or something more?
Jesus came to set you free
from all these things that keep you company

[chorus]

written while reading 2 Corinthians, "Where the Spirit of the
Lord is there is freedom..." and praying our sister finds it.

setting the world ablaze

So, "setting the world ablaze" sounds like perhaps I'm going to have some poetic blog entry, or something profoundly theological. Actually, the phrase literally popped into my head mere seconds before I wrote it. Maybe I'm not as bad at titling things (my song titles are generally boring) as I thought...

But our world needs some Fire, some Light, some Goodness. And I'm more and more sure that only Jesus sets a fire in our hearts to go and do the same. This week I've been struck by pictures of a terrible bombing in Pakistan, images of little children in the arms of already injured men; words from my fellow Memphians about their neighbors in this city, in this case neighbors who are considered poor, pondering, "are they poor because they're stupid or stupid because they're poor?".... such outrageously hurtful questions to ask. And a sister who is struggling, plagued with fear and worry and discontentment, who has yet to embrace freedom.

Yet amidst the darkness, there are those setting the world ablaze. Matthew and Brian have been burning a trail all over the eastern half of the country with their stories and songs and laughter; friends in India are passionately loving a people mostly without the Fire of Christ; the Church slowly raising a voice against the injustice of Memphis city schools, and inch-by-inch children in our inner-city are bearing the name of Christ, rejecting the apathy and destruction of their often dark and oppressive surroundings.

Ablaze, I'll tell you... ablaze.

Brothers, sisters.... keep setting the world ablaze with the Light.

First let me start by saying...

that Neha's lentil soup is fan-tas-tic (that's 3 claps, if you're learning your syllables). It's past 9pm, and she made it so we could have it for the next few days, but it's such a chilly evening, that I had to grab a bowl. Besides, I'm in a contemplative mood, partly brought on because of a story I just read in "Simple Spirituality" by Chris Huertz, about a family from India. A family he was friends with. Not "the poor" as I so easily throw around, but "his friends who happen to be poor" as he says, in an effort to give some dignity back to his friends.

I can't re-tell the story here.

But I did speak a prayer for them. A prayer for all "thems" who find themselves bowing down the prosperity God. Whether it be the one with the elephant head or the one with the shiny rims and luxury, private security living, or whatever our prosperity god happens to look like... God, have mercy on us...

...your kindness leads to repentance. Lead me to repentance, God!

Autumn in New England [we love thee]

Just a couple of weeks ago, we found ourselves laughing, roasting marshmallows, and listening to the Wailin' Jennys with two of our favs - Matt and Aislinn. If you've been around me more than 10 minutes, then there is a good chance you've heard their names... multiple times. What can we say? When you love 'em, you just love 'em.

And so we like to visit them, too. The colors were beautiful and soul-healing; the conversations were dreamy; the marshmallows (plus nutella) were delish. But most of all, it's just good to be with them. It was a good, good time... [here are some pictures to prove the good-ness.]

Yes. We miss this very, very much. Oh, Autumn, we love thee.

http://matthewandbriangoontour.blogspot.com/

Please go see Matthew and Brian's tour blog! And if you're near one of their shows, go listen to their music, stories, and wonderfully terrifically hilarious jokes!

and tell them the Pates sent you.