Mistake.....

I've been away a few days. Spent a time at diocesan convention (which I'll write more about later), had a wonderful time in Monterey with geekchick, and came home and had a lovely dinner with brian1789, geekchick, sinboy, hopeforyou, and clairade. Felt great.

Logged on the LJ. Big mistake. Now I just feel sad. It just underscored what has been so recent an issue for me... that I feel there are few people with whom I can be completely myself. There are the people who can accept my faith and can talk with me about the journeys we find ourselves on as we walk through the world, but with whom I cannot discuss my relationships. There are those for whom my relationships are no problem but my Christian faith is.

And some of the things said felt so.....hurtful. Not so much about God... God is in my belief above my defense or reproach ("My ways are not your ways, says the Lord" Isiah 55: something) but more about the people who share my faith. (Of course, there are people who call themselves Christian who are willing to be equally hurtful towards those who do not share their beliefs, and I recognize that -- it is behavior I find appalling.) I am not a slave, nor am I a fool. I consent fully and completely to my relationship with God.

I started to reply, and then thought... there is no point.

I am myself: my faith in the Creator God and in Jesus Christ, infuses my life. And I have nontraditional relationships which some would call "sinful".

I am myself: Deal with it.

[I am disabling comments to this post because I do not want to be dragged into a theological discussion at this point. The point of this post was really about my feelings of isolation and sadness.]

Speaking of belief structures...

I have a question for my pagan friends that has been bugging me since early December.

I know that many of the "Christmas" symbols: trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe, etc. were appropriated from pagans. (Even the date... wasn't it originally the day bulls were sacrificed to Mithras?) There are some Christian sects who reject such things because of their pagan origins.

And my question, asked in all seriousness, sincerity, and with the humble recognition of my own ignorance is... how do pagans feel about this? Do they snicker? Are they offended? Angered? Exasperated? I know that when people appropriate Christian symbology for other uses it makes me at best uncomfortable and at most angry depending upon the nature ot the (mis)use.

And does it depends upon the nature of the pagan belief? I've come to understand that there are many differing varieties of paganism, and I am unfortunately ignorant on the differences between them.

TQOTD: Music

(This is my first TQOTD for several days because I was out of town....)

Who won the 1969 Grammy for Best Country Song? (Note: this award is given to the songwriter, not the performer.)

I'll even give you a hint: Johnny Cash won the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male for the same song.

( This always makes me chuckle.... )

I woke up this morning and it was still true......

Bucs and Raiders in the Super Bowl. Bucs and Raiders in the Super Bowl. I am in football heaven. It is my favorite AFC team playing my Buccaneers.

I sat in the stands for some of those games during that 0-26 losing streak their first two seasons. I was there during their first loss in a NFC playoff game, to the (then L.A.) Rams.

I have endured far too many conversations over the years where the statement "Well, actually, I'm a Bucs fan" was greeted with snickers.

This is really sweet.

Erewhon

The words that are left unspoken
The lines we will never cross
The places never gone to
Keep us safe
The boundaries of rainbow skin
Enclosing the bittersweet that is
From the cold winds of what will never be.