if you could bottle a weekend . . .

some nice photos taken over the weekend on jude's mobile are over at her blog - that's me off in a daze in the cowboy hat wandering through the country park with the lads. and the sculpture is an amazing addition to belfast's waterfront. more on that later in the week.

ten weeks today 'til we head to Provence. patience is a very inconvenient virtue to which to aspire.

a correction: daniel is not yet 4. he's only 3 and a half (ish). which makes his taste in music (see yesterday's post below) even more remarkable, let alone his vocabulary. he took a deep breath while on saturday's beach walk and said, utterly unprompted, "michael, i love your house. it's beautiful." an hour earlier he had stepped into the kitchen, and announced, "cary. . .[dramatic pause] . . .i love Greenbelt" and promptly turned on his heal and ran back into the garden. daniel is very into making such announcements. i hope he never grows out of such honest expression.

were i honest there is so much more i would say. but here's the rub of a blog: you start finding your voice and then you start editing your voice because this is ultimately a public, not a private, space.

was going to post some stuff i read at ikon ::virgin territory:: but in trying to do so i am overcome with a sense of panic. a guy approached me and asked for the details of the book from which i had read. i didn't get to find out who he is or where he was from but i passed over the book so he could take down the details. the book was delta of venus by anais nin. i suspect he has no idea what he is letting himself in for. ::shudders:: i hope he is an intelligent reader. if i could turn back time and warn him . . .

off to think about something else so i can sleep

x.

flesh of my flesh

a little gem from last night's ikon... a new song from Pádraig:

flesh of my flesh
bone of my bone
your skin is warm
but your hands are cold
warm them on me
warm them on me
let me look at you,
warm me on you

my blood is red
it heats my skin
your skin is beautiful
it turns me in-to me
ah, have you burned
at the thought of me?
Like i have burned
when i am missing you.

I'd kiss your body
if you were close,
i'd kiss your lips
i'd cover most of your skin
with my love
with my breath.
with my yearning
for your flesh.

(C) Pádraig Twomey, 2005

Joyous weekend of chilling with Jude. Precious times.
Saturday afternoon was spent over a picnic and trip to the beach with Chris and Daniel (aged 4) and Jonah (16 mnths). Both are rock stars in the making. Daniel shared his "mix" on Chris's iPod - which included the following artists:

The Police
Sigur Ros
Prefuse 73
Biffy Clyro
Eliot Smith
Fischy Music for kids

at only 4 these are some of his favourites. fischy music is linked above. fabulous kids songs that are more than bearable to the adult ear - very affirming and funny. tuesday night group has been known to feature daniel leading us in a song or two. this is christian music for kids complete with hand actions that doesn't make me recoil in horror. very. very. cool. almost as cool as daniel and jonah themselves.

off to enjoy the sunshine. further ikon extracts to follow.

x.

a sleepy late night note

Well it's nearly three o'clock in the morning. busy writing notes and browsing through piles of books for points of inspiration for this coming sunday's ikon ::virgin territory::
preparation for this one has been coupled with some major stress and also sickness in the team and it's been a hard one to pull together - some radically different perspectives around the table. i'm finding that being in reflective mode has been a blessing and a curse. i am so aware of my interactions and yet it has been hard to distance myself enough to work out the best way to lovingly engage. . . especially when we are exploring an issue that really awakens my feminist instincts and a desire to see us radically challenge the historical suppression of experience and expression. ikon is attempting to speak beyond liberal and conservative boundaries. sometimes i find that harder than others. it's part of the lifelong learning curve i guess.

if we can get our act together ikon will soon have a blog of its own and i hope we can put the poetry, reflections, song lyrics, liturgies and maybe even pictures of rituals gifts and of course the community on it each month. will no doubt be kind of like lifting the curtain in the emerald city. . . hehe.

tattoo is healing well and i plan to post a photograph this weekend. when jude is here. can't stop doing a little dance at the thought.

major news of the day: Provencal sojourn 2005 is booked. flights are booked. the title above gives a link to the site of our home from home.: L'Isle sur la-Sorgue. a slice (or should that be tranche) of heaven. . .

Easter is crying, as only a feline can, at the window to be let in - i guess i should go. and i am very tired. up again in 4 hours. must. sleep. i'll try and gather my thoughts on the train.

sleep well dear friends. peace be with you.

x.

Performance Anxiety

hmmm. so what the heck should i write about tonight?

plan from here on in is to scribble thoughts on the train and post from work - a glitch in the system has been solved (touch wood) and i can now access the blog dashboard from my desk. this new plan should make for more regular posts and keep Pip happy.

meanwhile . . . meanwhile, i'm metaphorically drumming my fingers until we confirm the plans to return to Provence in June/July. and indeed drumming the other hand waiting for Jude to arrive on Friday. i have no patience. rather appropriately itunes is playing our soundtrack album - jason mraz - as if to only taunt me further.

at ::tuesday group:: we are working our way through "the bible makes sense" by bruggemann. some seriously amazing ideas contained therein. we are changing. i know i am. this little gathering for food and sharing is shaping the rest of my week. i'm looking less at the big things and more at the small. 'bout time. i mentioned prayer for the second week in a row. look out. is that the sound of four apocalyptic horsemen thundering our way?

here's the opening line of tonight's chapter - which kind of floored us all:

The Bible has notions of life and death that are very different from those we have today. Whereas we think of life as the continuing function of the individual organism and death as the cessation of such functioning, the Bible understands life and death in covenantal categories. Life means to be significantly involved in a community of caring, meaning, and action. Death means to be excluded from such a community or denied access to its caring, meaning or action.

The more one considers that . . . the more one is provoked to see things in a whole new light.
Bruggemann's writing style is not always the most poetic but his theology is deeply radical. I'm not sure if the Bible quite makes sense yet, but something is being revealed and I am seeing in a new light. even the most cynical heart can be got at.

Are we building an inclusive community built on caring, meaning and action?

we can but try.

sleep well friends.
x.

p.s the title above links to my site of the week. enjoy.