My Sunday School class has been discussing the lectionary texts during this Advent season and yesterday we turned our attention to Mary’s song in Luke. Mary’s song, or the Magnificat as it is called is found in chapter one of Luke as Mary visits with her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth.

So at the end of Sunday School the class re-wrote the Magnificat in their own words for our own time period and context- note: Oval Office. (I had to run out during this time to help the youth and children practice lighting the Advent candle, so the first time I read it was this morning as it was on my desk).

Today, it’s my prayer with them…Barbara Brown Taylor calls it “singing ahead of time.”

I feel the Lord inside myself multiplied 100 million times and I’m pretty excited about it. S/he has blessed me and everyone is going to know about it. God has really looked out for me even though I don’t deserve it and I’m not really sure I want to do this. Praise God for what God has done forever and God is in charge no matter what place in society one has. God changes the power from the Oval Office to the people working minimum wage. God has given those in need the power to remind those in worldly power of their humanity. God is the great equalizer. God is keeping the promises made to our ancestors and to us.

But it’s Tuesday and for what it’s worth, here are 5 things that I love…

1. My sister. Lara’s graduating on Friday from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a degree in Social Work. How could I not be excited to go and celebrate with her from Thursday to Sunday? We’re hoping to take a better picture than this one to the right. We were soaking wet from a rainy ghost tour in Wilmington in 2008!

2. The Pastor, by Eugene Peterson. My pal Katie told me to read it because it’s like someone wrote about your life. She was right. I put it up there with This Odd and Wondrous Calling.

3. Farmers’ Market open again! My joy was made complete Saturday morning as the friends and I headed over to Mt Pleasant for the opening day of the farmers’ market. There were heaps of asparagus. The fresh bread smell was floating along and calling people into the market. We also bought bacon for brunch. Then, we feasted on a farmers’ market brunch. Is it Saturday yet?

4. Hebrew Bible. Well yes, I love it general. That is thanks in part (in most) to my wonderful Hebrew Scriptures professor Dr. Ngan, but also I love story. We are about to begin a new Sunday School series on Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob, Leah and Rachel called Dynasty. I’m so excited I could pop. I can’t wait to spend hours each week delving into commentary on these all-too-familiar stories, which have more depth than we’ll ever know.

5. Waffle House. I had never been until two months ago. How did I miss out on this my whole life?

2. Lewis Fellows. I’ve written about these colleagues before, but last week we gathered one last time. It’s hard to believe this was our last meeting and that we’ve been together for almost a year. We have laughed and cried together and talked late into the night over beer about the future of the church and what part we might play in that. I’m so deeply thankful for these 16. We already have reunion tour 2012 planned! (Everyone hates this picture, but it’s the only one we have. Yes, I ruined the photo opp in Miami).

3. Spa World. I recently made my first trip to SpaWorld. BooP told me that it would be life-changing and he was right. My friend Kate recently wrote about her experience on Fidelia’s Sisters. Check it out!

4. Keeping the Feast. I’m reading this fantastic memoir right now about a journalist couple who suffered great tragedy and eventually ended up back in Rome. Healing from their trauma, all the writer could really do was cook and visit a little church near her home on the way back from the market. I love the story of sitting around the table bringing healing. Eucharist, anyone?

5. Spinach and Shrimp risotto. Speaking of good food, I enjoyed this little treat for dinner last night. But we substituted Parmesan for goat cheese and vegetable stock for chicken stock as I am currently vegetarian during Lent. We also threw in some mushrooms because…you can’t go wrong with mushrooms. I can’t wait to eat my leftovers in a little bit!

In 30 minutes, life poured on me. Nothing that isn’t manageable and nothing that we don’t all have to deal with, but it poured. And I wasn’t prepared. For all of you clergy pals out there, let’s just say the annual taxes owed were a bit higher than I was expecting. As I was opening them, I received some sad news and while I was on the phone receiving that news, a call beeped through saying the hotel room for my sister’s graduation had been canceled because they overbooked. It poured.

The amusing part of all of this is that while I was picking my jaw up off the ground from the taxes and wiping my tears from the sad news and re-booking a hotel room for May my dog Moses, just home from the vet from his neutering was licking his stitches incessantly. They told me he wouldn’t need a cone because he hadn’t licked at all. Classic. Moses and I got back in the car as rain drizzled down the windshield and I held him down so as not to rupture his wounds. It poured.

But then, my person called. If you don’t know what a “person” is, check out this clip from Grey’s Anatomy. She was just checking in with me in life as we do often for our famous “in town chats.” I told her about my previous 30 minutes as my earpiece clicked in and out because of the weather. She asked, already knowing the answer if I needed anything. I said I just needed to go home and get some stuff together and make my dog look like a conehead. She agreed, knowing me well enough to know that if I really needed something, I would ask.

Moses the now conehead and I were sitting on the couch around 9pm watching some mindless television when my person called to tell me to come out front. There she stood with her dog and a box of Fruity Pebbles, my all-time favorite cereal. She said, “I’m your person. This is what I do.”

This morning, I poured a bowl of Fruity Pebbles and let the milk soak in to those sugar-coated pebbles. As I sat there, conehead beside me, I thought about the gesture of bringing Fruity Pebbles to me in the rain. She’s right, she’s my person– that’s what she does. It’s not pouring today. I’m thankful.

by Christine Sine

We have chosen to fast

Not with ashes but with actions

Not with sackcloth but in sharing

Not in thoughts but in deeds

We will give up our abundance

To share our food with the hungry

We will give up our comfort

To provide homes for the destitute

We will give up our fashions

To see the naked clothed

We will share where others hoard

We will free where others oppress

We will heal where others harm

Then God’s light will break out on us

God’s healing will quickly appear

God will guide us always

God’s righteousness will go before us

We will find our joy in the Lord

We will be like a well watered garden

We will be called repairers of broken walls

Together we will feast at God’s banquet table

tulips and asparagus (best of spring)

this spring’s mix is a little different. i’ve got some classics on here alongside some new music. but at the end, you will find four songs that i hope make you smile, roll down your windows and dance in the car or on the metro. happy spring!

1. someday, the strokes. bouncy, poppy, welcome spring.
2. forever young, bob dylan. besides being a fantastic song in itself, it is also the theme song to  parenthood. it makes me smile every time.
3. love like the movies, the avett brothers.  spring fever is upon us.
4. windows are rolled down, amos lee. in my opinion, one of the best parts of spring is when we get to roll down the windows and breathe in the fresh, spring air.
5. everlasting light, the black keys. dark days of winter are over. ptl.
6. don’t carry it all, the decemberists. raise a glass to the turning of the seasons…
7. walking far from home, iron & wine. to me, this song sounds like the beginning of spring. it’s like his record of everything he saw for the first time when his eyes were opened. makes me think of how everything is new in spring.
8. folk bloodbath, josh ritter. resurrection is coming…?
9. christchurch woman, justin townes earle. waiting in the rain.
10. you got what i need, joshua radin. phew, this song. you better open the window to cool off.
11. all in a day, the open sea. these two together make my heart sing.
12. cherry blossom love, the wailin’ jennys. cherry blossoms=beginning of spring in dc.
13. new york city’s killing me, ray lamontagne & the pariah dogs. gotta get out of (new york) city, somewhere i can clear my head. spring makes me want to get out of the city and to the (wine) country.
14. ode to sad clown, joe purdy. sing some good time harmonies, but maybe without so much whiskey.
15. let it ride, ryan adams & the cardinals. consider this ryan’s benediction to you.
16. jessie’s girl, glee cast. one of my all-time favorite songs.
17. alejandro, lady gaga. you can’t sit still; don’t try.
18. the way you make me feel, michael jackson. who doesn’t love this song?
19. forever, chris brown. maybe this is included because it makes me think of jim and pam’s wedding and that makes me really happy. maybe.

2. Vacation. I have the travel bug again. Where will the next trip be to? Stay tuned.

3. Birthdays. Mine was two weeks ago and I celebrated the big 2-9. It was a perfect day with all the ones I love around me.

4. Sushi. This is a new found love in my life. For so long I just couldn’t take the plunge, but recently someone encouraged me and it’s been an obsession since then. I had the perfect peanut-avocado roll the other day. Sigh…

5. Sex Series over at The Young Clergy Women Project. Finally, a group of female clergy who are writing about sexuality, theology and life. I find the approach refreshing and I am so proud to be a part of this organization.

It is so much more than wallowing. To me, it is permission giving. We spend so much time trying to be “happy” and trying to put on a good face. But that is not real life. Real life means wrestling with lost hopes, dashed dreams and grief that lingers.

Lent is an opportunity to strain toward introspection and lean into the lengthening of days. Introspection occurs day by day as we examine our lives, our relationships and our prayers. As we inch closer to Easter, we lean into the longer days, a bit more daylight streaming into our darkened lives.

I posted this article yesterday from David Lose on Huffington Post about this very subject. Perhaps Lent is not ours, he suggests, but perhaps Lent belongs to God. And here are a few more reflections on Lent by Sister Joan Chittister. While I’m at it, this one too.

A blessed Lent to you and yours.

Before-November (after Julie and Susan gave him a bath):

After- February (last night as I held a treat in the air):