There is a question that goes around social media as of late, and it says, What radicalized you? And so this blog is the answer to that question. And the other stimulus is seeing a whole lot of hate, prejudice and misunderstanding floating around against Islam. I've spent a lot of time Islam adjacent. I studied it a lot in high school and college, and went to two countries before I celebrated my 21st birthday. that the majority of the population would identify as Muslim. Now, for over 22 years, I have lived in Granada, a city in which for over 700 years was the Shangri la of the Islamic world, full of art culture history medicine and law as a result. Yes, medicine and law as we understand them now, began here. Finally, my personal group of friends for over 15 years has included men and women from different parts of the Islamic world. No names here, but they have done nothing but enrich my life, and helped me learn more about this world I live in. So, when I see extreme posts about...
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This month has been one of deep reflection, art and mystery and I think most end of the years should be like this. We are now on the edges of Christmas, with this week being the first Sunday of Advent. And building up to this point I've been privy to a great deal of art and music that has helped heal my soul But one of the breaking moments I've experienced was today. There is a social media account of a southern US man talking about the culture of that world, and it broke me. See, I didn't grow up in the South, but my Mom's mom and grandma were Nana and Nanan respectively and that shows you they were from West Virginia. Well, this man talked about the church ladies that raised him, comforted him and nurtured him, and just hearing about his experiences brought tears to my eyes and memories that bubbled over. The Thanksgivings my Nana made a dozen pies, and then we snuck in the night before to consume one without her knowledge....with Grandad. Going to my Aunt Jane's...
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Autumn is a season of nostalgia and its probably why elements of it I really don't care for as much as others do. I enjoy a pumpkin spice latte, my favorite holiday (after Easter) is Thanksgiving, and in Andalucia, the air is finally cooler and windows are thrown open, even if the one damn desert mosquito finds you in the middle of the night. These are great, but the darkening days are not my favorite. I actually count the weeks down until Winter Solstice, and rejoice greatly the instant the earth turns again towards the sun. It's probably one reason why we got married in April instead of November. A bit of the nostalgia today stems from the fact that last blog, I closed out my rants on perhaps what some might call the deconstruction of what I believe. I'd like to call it the renewal of it instead, and this blog return to creativity of the present and the future and not what happened in the past and my logical, visceral and intellectual discoveries through it all. And my b...
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Looking back over the posts I've done for the last 2 years, I can see its been a bit of a manifesto, or maybe because that word is tinged with too much negativety, a sort of thesis. Martin Luther did his, and since he didn't have the internet, he pegged his to the door of a building so that all could see and read. This, is my way of pegging it to the door. What the good news God has given us is. What it isn't. And how I, as an American happily transplanted to Spain, have learned in the 22 years (as of 2 days ago) what it looks like to live and work out my own faith in fear and trembling in a world of which I was not raised, but now call my home. These questions are never going away, as life changes and we adapt, we still ask the same questions, and are reminded of these answers and of these, I am not ashamed of them. The good news is God wants to give us abundant life, and freedom, and life that is full of Love, Patience, Peace, Kindness and Joy. In contrast to the bad new...
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I've been privy to a religious meeting with powerful religious fervor. And in more than one expression of faith. It's amazing. And sometimes I've experienced it even outside of a religious context. The connection you experience when a group of people, maybe 3 or maybe 30,000 comes together for a common goal, a cause, a belief. It gives me goosebumps remembering moments of connection to each other and the Divine. Some have been concerts, others worship services, and some just being together in the same room with a guitar and a few voices and suddenly you've been caught into a moment of pure and amazing ecstasy. That dopamine rush is unlike any others, not the one you have during sex or finishing a long race, or picking up a small baby to meet him or her for the first time, or your first kiss or hand hold. That ecstasy is beyond any of those, and all of those are pretty amazing. Why? Because the ones I mention above are amazing connections, but the one we experience with...
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Deliver us from Evil. This petition in the Lord's prayer has been a meditative mantra I have said, breathed, played in my mind and heart over and over and over these last few months. And, I realize, in so many ways, how God has delivered me, my husband and so many others from evil in so many ways, both in the past and present. And my worst, bump in the middle of the night anxiety, is the, What if He stops now? What if the Evil spreads, and isn't stopped and it goes on and on and on and on? What if I go completely broke and can't do a thing to work? What if ? What if? In the midst of the noise, the word that has emerged for me as the summer starts to fade from its intense light and even more intense heat where we live here in Granada, is the word, Help. There has always been discussion about a women's role, either in the church or out of the church, and lately with a more conservative breeze in the works, all these discussions have popped back up again. Suddenly, people...
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You see, this is the horrible thing with evil. It isn't all evil, it's what Jesus called, wolves in sheeps clothing. Wolves are animals, about the same size as sheep. Dressed up in fluffy wool, from a distance, they may look passive, fluffy and cuddly, but really they are vicious violent predators that eat meat and not grass. They are not to be messed with. The current events around the world. The sanctioned kidnappings and deportations. The forced labor and slavery. The bombings and political manipulations, and the list goes on and on and on. We wake up every morning wondering, what next? The last couple of weeks, the calculated starvation of an entire nation of 2 million people has overwhelmed me. There have been moments where I have lost my own appetite. I heard that at one moment a kilo of flour was being sold for 85 dollars, and I barely pay 85 cents for my own kilo. As I knead my dough for pizza or hamburger buns, I have cried over this. And this week, my TikTok feed i...