I knew it.

Growing up fundamentalist has been fascinating me lately. In some ways, I've been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, but that's not the same as understanding it. I've been watching lots of shows about fundamentalist Mormons, and the Amish, the Duggars, and anything else from any religion that strikes the same chords. My sister posted a little news on Facebook that brought all this research back to my home front. Bill Gothard has resigned from his Institute on Basic Youth Conflicts because of bad behavior with at least thirty-six of the many teenage girls that he recruited to work at his headquarters.

We had our share of Bill Gothard stuff around our house. I can't remember if my parents went to his Basic Seminar or not. His idea about the umbrella of protection made my mother miserable for years, turns out that was just a way to make the girls more compliant. He wasn't a second god for us, just a guy with strong ideas and a huge following. As I got older he seemed strange to me. His behavior didn't meet the standards healthy men had set for themselves. Everyone said it couldn't be true of such a well-known teacher, but it just had to be. It is.

When I was a kid I loved the moment in the story where the wicked witch was defeated and all the evil is overturned. Finding out I was right about Bill Gothard restored my faith in my radar. It brought men back into the realm of the knowable.

Going Blue

We are moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kurt needed a better work opportunity, and he found it in a city we've often talked about for retirement. We'll have The Big House, and the University of Michigan for entertainment and enlightenment.  There are great schools for the kids, and the possibility of graduate school for the adults. All my research says that this is going to be a great experience, so why are we so sad?

Mea doesn't want us to crowd into her big adventure. No one wants to leave friends. We've put down deep roots here in Spring Lake. This has been a place of shelter and help. It is irreplaceable, especially all the people. 

And Just Like That...

A Taste of Redwall is over. I still have notes to write, a summary to create, and ideas for the next time to capture, but this event is over. I learned so much.

1. Walk straight through your fears. I put this project off because I was afraid it would be rejected. Morning after morning, I woke up sure it was failing. Phone call after phone call, I had to remember a no added up to nothing, but a yes changes everything. There were moments all along the way where quitting was a reasonable option. I'm so glad I persisted. It was worth every negative feeling.

2. Actively listen to others. I've always appreciated input, but in the past I was so afraid of being run over that I could be very hard-nosed about my vision. This time I had the best supervisors in Ann English and Mary Casselman. Their ideas were always helpful, and they truly appreciated what I was doing. It was easy to share with them. Karen Morgan was also instrumental in ramping up the fun factor. She was patiently persistent about activities I was unfamiliar with. She taught me a lot of new tricks.

3. Keep everybody in the loop. Sometimes I got so busy with drama in one aspect that I forgot that leaders in the other aspects needed to know what was going on in order to feel useful and appreciated. I don't think I'll make that mistake again.

4. Have fun! I did not meet my goals. In the past this meant an emotional storm that overshadowed everything. This time I decided to roll with it. The desserts were delicious and we had a good time. 

5. Remember, it's not your party. This was the first time I could let go of my successes and recognize that they came from God. They were not mine so I had no reason to boast. It's a nice change for me.

There is too much...

A Taste of Redwall is coming down to a bunch of lasts, last rehearsal, last school to call, last reorganization of my paperwork. I've had a grand time and managed to float through other milestones and some unexpected and unwelcome stressors in one piece. I hope that God's will has been done, and that it will prosper, but it's out of my hands.

It's down to ticket sales and this weekend is our "Hail, Mary" and St. Zita, and St. Martin DePorres, and St. Anthony, and everyone else. It is maddening to work this hard for so little fruit. Pray for us, everybody! It's all that remains.

Cat Humans

A few years ago, Iris learned about catechumens in her religious education class at St. Mary's. Her imagination caught fire and we had cat-human pictures all over the house. Now, tonight, she is one, though not in the way she originally thought of it. Two of my babies will be baptized and enter the church tonight, though they'll step into the font to do it. Praise, God!

Winded

On my aerobics videos they always give the advice that you should be able to talk or sing while you exercise. This blog has been me singing while I do my Taste of Redwall workout. 

Exactly.

A different time zone

Right now I have one graduating highschool, two joining the church, and I'm coordinating the huge, A Taste of Redwall, event, I still have work/reading to do for Crowhook, and I'm facing other pressures I'm not ready to blog about. I keep waiting for the meltdown, but instead I've trusted that enough is enough. When my anxiety goes up, I'm learning to wait and to do whatever small things I can do. So far more has been accomplished than I ever expected, and I'm still sane. It's like moving to a new time zone while leaving most of the fear behind.