Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Tuesday Afternoon

I hate that it's been so long since I wrote anything here. I have been off of the computer for several days, due to a hurting right arm - shoulder - hand. My fingers are numb, the arm bones ache, and the muscles get tight and spasm. Typing and "mousing" are extremely uncomfortable, even painful at times.

Went to an orthopedist yesterday, and he gave me a scrip for pain medicine and a set of exercises to do. Says it's probably a pinched nerve, maybe some arthritis in my neck. Sounds like something I may have to learn to live with periodically. Stress and tension seem to make it worse, and there's plenty of that in my life these days, so guess I'm in for it.

Heavens only knows what folks have been up to in the forums......I'll try to check into some threads later on, this is about all I can stand at the moment.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-01-18 13:56:49

Friday, January 14, 2005
TGIF

I have not been online much at all for the past couple of days, and won't be on much for the next few days, either. My right arm and hand are in bad shape.....I have a pinched nerve in my shoulder blade area, and my upper arm hurts really badly, plus my fingers are numb. There may be some carpal tunnel involved as well.

Typing and "mousing" are very painful. I will peek in when I can, but probably won't be writing much until I can get some relief.

The pain was so severe Tuesday morning when I wokme up, I drove myself to the ER to get some help. They gave me a hit of demerol and made an appointment for me with an orthopedist, for Monday. I have scrips for lorcet, flexeril, and naproxin, but they don't really do that much.

Anyway, I just wanted folks to know why I was not around much.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-01-14 13:36:05

Sunday, January 9, 2005
Sunday afternoon

My sermon went well, felt good, and seemed to touch some folks, and I am happy with it.

That is not something I could ever do on a regular basis.........once or twice a year is all the stress I can take! LOL

Tomorrow night, our faculty, lots of students and their parents, and some community leaders plan to attend the school board meeting in support of our principal. His forced resignation may go through, but we intend the superintendent and his cronies to see that the man is loved and respected.

I was the one chosen to write a letter in support of him to the board and for the local newspaper, and standing up to read that letter to our facuilty for their consideration is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I am never nervous - or hardly so - in front of people. Impromptu speaking is something I've never shied away from. But my hands shook as I read that letter for my peers' approval, and I fought back tears.

Losing this principal is a tragedy for our school. We have come such a long way under his leadership, reaching an exemplary academic rating because of rising test scores on many fronts. All because of some petty vindictiveness......years ago, he seems to have offended the superintendent's sister-in-law.....and this year our school had the first school-sponsored, racially mixed dances in its history. (This is the American Deep South, ya'll)

Tomorrow night, we will demand reasons from the superintendent for wanting to let this principal go.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-01-09 18:39:11

Saturday, January 8, 2005
Amazing Grace

As always, no matter how distracted and undisciplined I've been, putting off writing my sermon till the very last possible moment, the thing seems to be coming together in some mysteriously coherent way.

Despite our weaknesses and mistakes, our negligence and unfulfilled expectations, the Spirit somehow enters into such a process and creates something beyond the writer. The WORD will break through and prevail, it does not depend upon our puny efforts.

At times like these, I feel even more humble than usual. I am such a weak, imperfect vessel, yet the Spirit blesses my small effort.

And that is GRACE....amazing indeed.

The subject is the work of Jesus, particularly the meaning of his passion, and there are so many rich metaphors and ways of talking about that. One of my favorites is by a Mennonite theologian whose name escapes me at the moment......he arrived at this bit of imagery through his mission work in the Far East. The people he was serving did not understand the concept of "sin" and atonement, but they did understand the importance of "saving face." So this theologian developed imagery, supported by Scripture, which suggested that Jesus saved face for us before his father. The people he was working with responded avidly to that image.

That reminds me in turn of C.S. Lewis's Until We Have Faces, in which the main character comes through struggles to stand before the gods and maintain "face," or personhood.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-01-08 16:09:57

Saturday, January 8, 2005
Saturday

I don't know about the other Blog participants, but I am having a great time reading everyone else's. This Blog place continues to have that sweet, intimate, nonpressured feel that my other two abortive Blog attempts didn't.

I bought a little devotional book by John Piper that contains fifty ways of looking at the meaning of Christ's atonement. That is what my sermon will be about, and I am sorely tempted to open with quotes from "FiftyWays to Leave Your Lover." LOl

It stormed here last night, and I enjoyed listening to the rain while watching the Stargate Atlantis marathon on the Scifi Channel.The next part of the "new" season starts next Friday, and SG-1's starts the Friday after that.

Saw the new Andromeda last night, and am still trying to figure it out. I'll be glad when they finally reassemble themselves and get on the damn ship and back into space. What I did like about the episode was the fadeins and outs.....added to the surrealness. Never knew for sure who was really there or not.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-01-08 07:19:49