Uphill idealist

There are traces of light out there. These lights are teasing me to make chase. They bob, and flicker, and weave their way into my sideways glances. I almost catch them, but when I turn to see them straight on - they disappear. Some days, I think it would be good if they'd all gather together in one place. Then I could see what was far down the path clearly , with the help of their glow. But then again, I think half the fun of fireflies is the hide and seek dance they do. With my jar in hand, I will go out into the field at sunset. I will run. I will seek. I will be present in the place of their flickering light. For a moment, I will hold them inside my mayonnaise jar with holes punched in the lid. Then, I will unscrew the lid, turn the glass upside down and patiently wait as the fireflies buzz away in a trail of on, off, on, off flickering light. Fireflies are far much lovelier when they are free. T.L. Eastman June 2010

In less than 24 hours I will be heading to Rochester NY for the ELCA Youth Convo . My car will be packed with: My guitar Luggage Prayer Space supplies Laptop Two teens and their belongings and my ART SUPPLIES. I will be serving as Chaplin for the event and with the help of Pastor Laurie, we worked out the plan for the next SIX days! It's part adventure. It' part road trip. It's part spiritual retreat. It's part wow I need to get some sleep, but I'm SO EXCITED! It's all CONVO and I'll try to keep you posted on the happenings as best I can. Please keep all 20 students, and 12 staff in your prayers - it will be an amazing, challenging and exciting time for this newbie staff person. By the way, did I tell you they have a pool where we are staying??? CANNONBALL!

Here is part of an ongoing conversation that is a part of the small group ministry of First Lutheran Church of Jamestown NY. If you would like to join in on the online discussion follow the link to the Holy Conversations Group on Facebook . When I think of Jesus, my earliest association with him came from my childhood growing up in Sunday school and church. There was a Christmas pageant that baby Jesus was the literal star of and I was one of the myriad of angels singing "Oh come let us adore him", there was communion in worship where his crucifixion story was told - the emphasis of the entire sacrament was to REMEMBER Jesus. My childhood was filled to the brim with Jesus and my early religious education made Jesus the face of God for me. In Mrs. Cartwright's classroom there was a picture of Jesus on the wall where he was surrounded by children from all around the world. I once had a dream where I was seated with Jesus and his full attention was on me. It was a dream that...

Image from blog Inadvertent Farmer. When I was little I used to imaging the wind lifting me up just that little bit to make me run just a little faster. Sometimes if the wind would be blowing hard and I was running down a hill, so fast that my legs would fall into place - one after the other - that I thought that was what it was like to fly. I so wanted to fly as a child. Some days as an adult, I think I still want to fly - but my motivation is more on what or how much I can accomplish... not the free-flowing-abandon-filled-sprint-down-a-grass-covered-hill-and-not-caring-if-I-fall-in-the-mud-and-laugh-my-head-off. I think that life may be filled with more wisdom if grow-ups took the time for flying lessons. I think our days would be much more lively and joyful too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See you later gators, I'm off in search of a steep hill, and strong gust of wind and that little girl with pigtails I used to know so ...

It's not the shaking that people will notice, as long as you are speaking the truth.