what's up

- just back from a belated birthday beach trip. yeah, i milked this one for all it was worth. squeezed two more birthday celebrations out of the big 4-0.
- got to catch up with my birmingham buddies.
- played a lot of boggle.
- ate a lot of firecracker shrimp (this involves the best remoulade sauce in the world).
- slept a lot.
- sat on the beach a lot.
- watched the sun set and the moon rise.
- had some great conversations.
- did a lot of nothing.
- read Bless Your Heart, Tramp. and random magazines. deep, deep reading, in case you can't tell.
- did read a bit of Breath for the Bones, by Luci Shaw, so all was not mindless.
- enjoying the new foo fighters album - echos, silence, patience & grace. isn't that a great title?
- found the perfect music for the treadmill - florida state's marching band doing the best of college football fight songs.
- drove up to the mountains today so i could catch the aspens in all of their fall glory.
- just spruced up my porch with a pumpkin/mum display to officially welcome fall.
- trying to plan my week now so that i can ease back into work and maybe even a daily routine that doesn't feel like chaos.
- have a huge need for great amounts of creative energy to come bursting forth in the next week or so.

madeleine l'engle

Here's a wonderful tribute to Madeleine L'Engle, written by her friend, Luci Shaw.

kindred spirits

That's my girl! My niece shares my love of music and I recently turned her on to the iPod....Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band doing Old Dan Tucker. Peter, Paul, and Mary's Go Tell it on the Mountain, and Eva Cassidy's Over the Rainbow.

doing the decades

Great exercise by Wes Roberts in a recent blog post. I'm going to work on it while I am on a mental health break next week:

DOING THE DECADES…

In considering the decades of your life…

0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, etc….

I would like you to consider responding,

in EACH decade to the following…

...one page for each decade of your life.

As with all responses, please give a brief sketch as to “why”--

…what were the 3-5 most significant events in your life for the positive?

…what were the 3-5 most significant events in your life for the downside?

…who were the 2-3 most influential people in your life for the good?

…who were the 2-3 most influential people in your life for the not-so-good?

…in what 3 ways did you feel really good about your life?

…in what 3 ways did you not feel good about your life?

…what was your top life experience in each decade?

…in what ways do you see, or even not see, our Triune God’s fine thread of grace guiding you to the current moment?

…what did you fear the most?

…what brought you the most joy?

…what books, films, music influenced you?

…who were your best mentors?

…looking back, what was your best decade to date?

…remember, be brief…and enjoy the exercise.

congrats!

A big round of applause to my friend, Jess Deugan. Her design submission was one of three selected by Over the Rhine (one of my all-time favorite bands, who I happened to catch in Nashville last week) for their new t-shirts. Way to go, Jess!

jim and casper come to denver

A believer, an atheist, an unlikely friendship. Jim & Casper Go To Church. Frank conversation about faith, churches & well-meaning Christians.

If you're in the Denver area this weekend, join us for a conversation with Jim Henderson and Matt Casper.

Friday, September 14th @ 6pm at CU Boulder - UMC 5th floor Commons

Saturday, September 15th @ 10am at the Temple Event Center, 1595 Pearl Street, Denver

Sunday, September 16th @ 5:30 pm at the refuge, 1120 Miramonte Street, Broomfield

More info at the refuge.

my interview from Presbyterian Gal

Five thought-provoking questions for me from Presbyterian Gal.

1. Being obviously both left and right brained, do you ever find yourself misunderstood in daily life? Great question. The misunderstanding usually comes around family, which values the left-brained, ‘practical’ side of things more than the creative. It’s less frustrating now that I realize it for what it is.

2. What was the subject of your first photograph that inspired your hobby and how old were you when you took it? I really wish I had an answer for this. I have no idea. More than likely the subject was family. Wish I could ask my mom. I could ask my dad, but he would totally make something up! The first camera I remember ever being around was my dad’s old Polaroid with the pull-apart film. Once in a while he let me ‘help’ him take a picture.

3. Describe your favorite meal. Crowder peas, stewed potatoes, creamed corn, fried okra, and corn bread. All fresh, of course.

4. What kind of band would you be in and which instrument would you play? Lead vocals? And what would you wear? An alt-country/folk band. And I would sing lead if I was able to carry a tune. And I would play an acoustic guitar, and also be great on the fiddle and banjo. And mandolin. I would wear great boots and something orange every single gig. Maybe a fun wig, too. Heck, maybe even something sparkly, since that is the opposite of my usual Eddie Bauer-esqe wardrobe!

5. What was your favorite toy or game as a child? Any kind of arts and crafts. I remember construction paper, scissors and crayons being favorite Christmas gifts. But I can’t forget the Spirograph. I LOVED that thing. I got it for Christmas when I was eight, and I didn’t want to have to share with my then 5 year-old brother. So I scratched out “for all ages!” on the box and wrote “ages 6 & up” over it. Problem was, his birthday is in January. I'd let him play with it now. Now I even let him use my power tools when he comes to visit.

Wanna play? Here's the rules:
1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

welcome to the world, baby boy

well, the clifford name can go on now. harrison james clifford arrived friday morning. mom and baby are doing well. i arrived in town friday evening and took a cab straight to the hospital. not that i was excited or anything. i've enjoyed a weekend of playing with little people, and was even able to take in some live music last night. now i'm off to bed for a few hours before my 6am flight home.