My new definitions of spirituality and church….”I think that belief is an individual thing and faith is a group thing…personally I like to have access to both”
Why do people god to church part 2 (you gotta love my defining moments ha!)
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…and by the way we are 6 months in….
Things have been very precarious for my family. I thank God (almost) everyday (hey I’m human sometimes I forget)
that I have a fulltime job which I find fulfilling, with healthcare for my family.
However, my husband has been working tiny part time jobs for a while.
First it was a secretarial instructor, then it was that plus Borders (then Borders closed)
then it was secretarial school instructor, lego/robot/comp after school program instructor (which sort of went on hiatus)
Now its secretarial school instructor, lego/robot/comp program (occasionally) and part time library clerk. Oh, and a post-grad continuing ed. degree…
Did I mention my husband is the “stay-at-home” parent for my 3 children (all in preschool, eldest to attend kindergarten next fall)
I’m not complaining, its good he’s getting experience, and although the church is not at fault, money has been tight at times….. I’m just letting God know that the changing of our schedule every 8 weeks or so is something I can probably only handle for about 2 years tops…
…..oh and by the way (God) we are already 6 months in….
Ozma of Oz, Eon/Eona, Song of the Lionness and coming out of the closet
Spoiler alert: if you haven’t read “The Wonderful Land of Oz,” I’m about to ruin it for you….
I think “The Wonderful Land of Oz” is the first cross gendered story I ever read..True I had read other tales of girls dressing as boys to escape whatever…but Ozma is the only “truly” transgendered character I can think of….She simply changes from a boy to a girl–turns out she’s been a girl all along. Kind of like the book “Boy Meets Boy” its almost too blase about the acceptance…but hey, I like to think this is how it will be in a perfect world!
PS its the total feminine empowerment story, every power-player is female!
“Eon/Eona” does the girl disguise thing plus a legit transgendered character who is lovely, as does “Song of the Lioness”, Robin McKinley’s Spindle’s End hints at other kinds of love, even though sexuality isn’t really the point. of course Malinda Lo does a great (no-cross-dressing needed) out and out lesbian fairy tale. (PS want a great history of sexuality? Check out “Coming Out Under Fire” an amazing history of gay and lesbian sexuality)
All this makes me think about all those transgendered people are under enchantment, they don’t look like who they are supposed to be….
on the other hand, most fantasy is about that (I’m part fairy, I’m dating a vampire, I have superpowers, I’m really a girl in disguise, I’m a prince/princess turned into a frog)
Being a fantasy nerd, I often feel frustrated with who I present to the world and who I really am
Its difficult on so many levels..
I’m a pastor, fantasy-loving, mother. I am not right-wing, or conservative, but I’m not an atheist either. I had children young and am a professional career woman. I am creative, cheerful, optimistic and yet strong, a leader and am super-responsible.
I’m hard to stereotype.
So I read fantasy, I read it because I know that I am not limited to what other think Christianity is (THANK GOD), but at the same time I think that my Christianity defines my entire being. I read fantasy, put my family first and dress the way I want to because I am Christian. Being Christian isn’t a guideline for me, it is the very fiber of my being and I continue to find more and more ways to live fully into it…..
If I’m in disguise, and I think all of this is a part of being Christian, what parts of Christianity are being unexplored when we are exclusive. What do gay men and lesbian women experience in Christianity that I miss out on? How about single parents, immigrants and the transgendered?
Fantasy is not about escapism, for me its about the facts of life
1. the world is full of a multitude of unique and interesting beings
2. we have to learn to get along
3. there is a battle between hatred/greed/powerseekers and love–good and evil do both exist…..
4. Even when humanity is failing, hope exists, heroes emerge, and love wins
5. Everyone has a call: a unique part to play in this ongoing quest for hope and love, and it doesn’t matter who we are, because the call is perfect for each and every one of us (only fantasy literature seems to do a good job of defining call!)
Living into this is hard, but this is my reality, and for me fantasy is another way to understand real life and the Bible….
Gotta love the irony of that…I’m sure God gave me an appreciation of wry humor so I can straddle all of that..
So some day fully believe I’ll come out of the closet…….and find Narnia
HA!
Vampires, Harry Potter and the Wonderfulness of Fantasy!!
Vampires on my mind so….
Someday, when I am rich and famous
Or when my children are grown
Or when I plain old have the time, I’m going to write a great thesis about the evolution of Fantasy from mythology to Fairy Tale to Fantasy to Modern Day. (for a little on this read my post about Beauty and the Beast)
And when I do I will write many many important and amazing things about life.
But if you love fantasy, and are curious about Church, can I just say that nothing corresponds in describing the human condition (in my opinion) and the importance and significance of hope in the Bible …nothing except the fantasy
Nowhere else does good battle evil, amazing things happen, people live in completely different conditions with different abilities, and yet they still are stuck with struggling with the human condition. Those things that make life essential!
My professor Kenda…
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If You Like…Graceling
Some recommendations for books…YAY!
1 Year Later: “…
1 Year Later: “On the 15th of May in the Jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool. He was splashing…enjoying the jungle’s great joys when Horton the elephant heard a small noise…”
Last year on Horton hears a who day, Katy-who put forth her first “Yop” in the form of a post on WordPress. I wanted a place to talk about my practical theology, I wanted a place to think through (in my verbal-processor way) my deep and not so deep thoughts on life, the universe and everything. My topics tend to express my life as it is–covering theology, parenting, technology, fantasy, love and money. It doesn’t (yet) cover my deep need to engage more with the arts, it doesn’t discuss self-care or yoga or cute stories from my children (my parenting thoughts have been more philosophical). So there is room to grow, there is more to me than I’ve been letting myself do. But so far my 171 posts in 365 days (some of them being reblogs from other wise people) have had 2, 228 views and 92 followers. That is a post every 2 to 3 days, approx 13 views per post, and about 1 follower for every post I’ve made…
What else is to say but thank you. Thank you for journeying with me…..
Each contribution you have made–whether it was a read or a like, has helped!
For After All
“A person’s a person no matter how small!”
15th of May
Batman and Baptism
Baptism Message: You are beautiful and loved and perfect as a newborn naked baby, the more “Naked” you can be with God, the more you can share in the glory of Christ’s love (both reviewed in Skinny Dipping and Embodied Spirituality and Nakedness)…
Reality…Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then always be batman. This morning a batman costume helped to relieve any nerves during baptism….yep today I baptized batman..
Money, money, money
This is a conversation I had with my sister earlier today….
Izzy: I don’t want to be a grownup anymore
Me: I’ll be a grown up as long as I don’t have to worry about money all the time anymore.
Izzy: Ok, deal…
Student Debt (“According to the federal Reserve Bank of New York, almost 13 percent of student-loan borrowers of all ages owe more than $50,000, and nearly 4 percent owe more than $100,000. These debts are beyond students’ ability to repay, (especially in our nearly jobless recovery” read more in the link)
Student Debt is a national issue–if you don’t have crippling debt, chances are your child or grandchild does. I recently got told by an older pastor that she just “couldn’t relate” to my debt issues even though her daughter was stuck in the position I was describing…
You know the situation where you are working as hard as you can (usually not even in your field) and you are receiving neither self fulfillment, nor enough money to pay your bills….
I’ll say what I’ve said many times before–almost everyone I know is looking for work. Either they are looking for a better paying job, or they are looking for another job on top of the one they are already doing.
Look, if I knew I was at least on my way to paying down my/our family debts…I would be ok with this whole adulthood thing…but until I can, I feel like a failure as an adult–and if that’s how I feel how does the rest of the millennials deal?
Ode to Cimorene
One of my favorit-ist series EVER
***NOTE: this post will be a little bit of a spoiler for the book Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. The post will discuss the first two chapters. SO if you do not mind a very little spoilage, read on! ****
Throughout most of my youth and young adulthood, I was a reading fanatic. Any fantasy, sci-fi or fiction book I could get my hands on were devoured by my need to escape into another world and for a little bit of time, become a character on a space ship or a detective on the streets of London. My favorite books had female protagonists and authors such as Tamara Pierce, Robin McKinley, Diane Duane, Phillip Pullman, Holly Black, and many others, were the ones who introduced me to the basis of my feminist belief that women are as kickass, powerful, and moving as men. One particular book whose character…
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Favorite Romances
Romances that are Awesome!
katyandtheword 