Still Sunday

Wow. Just went to a meeting after the OD about the Emergent movement (the type of church OD is.) My brain is mush. I took notes but I can't process a thought more than this: I'm glad to be a part of a movement who takes friendship as its highest value: discussion, conversation, not "my way is the only way, let me go make up a new denomination/seminary/church." I have to remember my own words: IT TAKES THREE YEARS! I've been in Pgh for four now, so I have a community, but I haven't been at the OD for three years, no one has! So if we're still a little disjointed and we don't know who to talk to or what to talk about and we're not "the perfect little community" we're all trying to be, Guess what? It takes three years. Beth Moore said it best, it's that five letter word we all hate: "later." But I'm lonely now! I want friends now!

I have a drawer where I keep a Van Gogh quote, and I just found a few more treasures there that I'll share with you here.

"There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and passersby only see a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney, and go along their way. Look here, now what must be done? Must one tend to the inner fire, have salt in oneself, wait patiently yet with how much impatience for the hour when somebody will come and sit down--maybe stay? Let him who believes in God wait for the hour that will come sooner or later."

And then I found these two there as well. I am a good geographer of my apartment, a good tender of my own heart when I hide these treasures.

"Now, with God's help, I shall become myself." --Soren Kierkegaard

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself (herself) intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8:26

In that drawer, I also found some stickers with inspirational quotes, two sheets with heart stickers, a homemade birthday card from two years ago, and a movie ticket stub from the Muppets from Space (or whatever it was called.) The day I saw that movie was a day that I will always remember: I had come back to Pittsburgh for the weekend, I was going to spend some time with my friend Will and he had coupons for Sandcastle so we went with two of his friends, Geoff and Teresa. We had a total blast, and when Sandcastle closed, we couldn't imagine the day was over, so we went to Waterworks, bought tickets for the movie, went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner, went to the movies...it was one of those days you never want to end. So I wrap myself in that memory, a memory of a wonderful day spent with people I haven't really seen since that day in any meaningful capacity. But what a great wrapping for a melancholy autumn night. Friendship is the perfect blendship, says Cole Porter. I agree.

And Emily comes back from L'siana in 2 days! Woo hoo! (and there is that little intimate concert on Saturday night with some men from Ireland...) (Gotta clean the apartment...NO! GOTTA SLEEP!!)