Ramara at Street Prophets has posted three beautiful poems on forgiveness.
I am still working on the book proposal. My new deadline is Friday. The actual writing of the sample chapters is coming along fine. It’s the marketing/research “this is why you should publish my book” stuff that is killing me.
I am working hard to have my book proposal for Career Women of the Bible done by September 16, so I will not be posting this week.
IÂ hope everyone has a great week!
I was wondering when a statement would come out from people of faith who do the hard work of community organization about Palin’s putdown. This is from FaithWorld:
“Contrary to Palin’s disparaging remarks, organizers have major responsibilities for creating policy changes. Feeding the hungry and housing the homeless are clearly responsibilities of people of faith. We do that by providing food and shelter and more importantly, by organizing to address the causes of injustice and inequity which lead to hunger and homelessness,” said Kim Bobo, Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice, a congregation-based community organization in Chicago.
Bobo was quoted in a statement issued by several faith-based community organizations that bristled at the remarks by Palin, who has revved up other people of faith–the conservative Christians who comprise the Republican Party’s key base.
A commentator at MudFlats perfectly sums up the difference between community organziers and people like Gov. Palin: “Jesus was a Community Organizer, and Pontius Pilate was a Govenor.” She’s definitely acting more like Pilate than Christ.
I watched the Palin speech. I kept wondering when she was actually going to say something. This morning I found out why I didn’t hear anything when I visited Chicago Carless. I never heard what she was really saying. Mike did. Sarah Palin’s Inner Acceptace Speech is his translation of Palin’s speech into what her inner voice was really saying. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Palin: “Two decades and five children later, Todd’s still my guy.â€
Inner Voice: “Damm, 1, 2, 3, 4, oh ok, 5.â€Palin: “I grew up with those people.â€
Inner Voice: “I want to get out of Alaska for a reason.â€Palin: “I got rid of a few things I didn’t think our citizens should have to pay for.â€
Inner Voice: “Condoms and family planning brochures.â€Palin: “John McCain, the kind of name you find on war memorials.â€
Inner Voice: “And probably a headstone before 2012.â€Palin: “For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.â€
Inner Voice: “If he dies in office, does that make me Queen?”
I was disgusted with most of this speech because of the way she personally attacked Obama and trivialized his career after he was very civil about her daughter’s pregnancy. Ogre at Street Prophets said what I was thinking:
No shame. Â Obama came out and defended her and her daughter–directly attacked those who were jumping up and down on Bristol’s being pregnant and went so far as to bring out his own mother’s pregnancy at 18 to cover for her (giving her cover behind his own mother). Â Sarah Palin’s reaction? Â Vicious personal attacks on Obama, belittling his service, distorting his record. Â The woman has no class–the stories of her ruthless climb to the governor’s office in AK sound plausible now.
Lie after distortion. Â Grotesque.
But not that badly delivered. Â However… I think she made two serious errors. Â The first was failing to “take control” at the very beginning. Â “Ready to lead?” Â Well… she let the crowd lead there–she’d have stepped on the applause for her (but applause that was utterly content-free, just rah-rah…) but would have shown a degree of I’m in control and I have things to say that she ended up giving away–it ended up feeling like “You really, really like me!” Â The second error was in the lengthy introduction of her family. Â Just noting that they’re here, naming them, affirming them… would have been enough. Â (And they hauled Levi in to be there with Bristol, but didn’t acknowledge him… even though he was on camera over and over. Â Odd, that.)
Net effect: She threw away any claim to “don’t pick on me, I’m a girl!” that the campaign’s been waving around. Â Having come out as a pitbull with lipstick (her image, and self-claimed…), AND having unleashed all kinds of attacks on Obama and Biden and sneered at Michelle Obama… she’s fair game, politically.
I absolutely agree. And the pundits better go after her the same way they did Hillary. As Russell likes to say over at The Street: Liberal Media my a$$. I’ve also been saying all week that if it was Obama or Biden’s 17 year old daughter that wound up pregnant, the Republicans would be tearing them apart. “Loose morals!” “No family values!” The GOP sure wouldn’t show them the same courtesy the Democrats have shown Palin. They proved last night my hypthesis was right.
The least McCain could have done was pick a woman who had years of experience and is qualified to take over as president if he keels over six months into the job. Senator Kay Bailey Huthison is one of many Republican women that comes to mind. Hopefully, this time, cow-towing to The Relgious Reich, uh, I mean Right, will cost them this election. Speeking of The Religous Right, I love James Dobson’s “flip flop.” That’s right the man who wasn’t going to vote if McCain was the Republican nominee has now endorsed him: Dr. Dobson: “If I went into the polling both today, I’d pull the lever for John McCain.” Once again affirming that he’s a Republican first and a Christian second. I can’t wait to count how many times Daddy Dobson accuses Obama of “flip-flopping” from now until the election. He’s looked like a fish out of water gasping for his last breath over McCain, so it should be fun to watch.
And yes, I will put this disclaimer: I am voting for Obama/Biden.
The photo is from MSNBC.com.
On August 8, 2008 Amy Krouse Rosenthal invited people to come make an 18th lovely thing with her after posting 17 beautiful things she had made. She told them to meet her at The Bean in Millenium Park at 8:08 p.m. Over a thousand people showed up. The film of what they did that evening can be found here (I have yet to figure out how to embed video). She and her friend, Steve Delahoyde decided to make a film of lovely things that we have made, and they are accepting submissions at Amy’s website. They literally want you to submit something you have created that you think is lovely: fim, art, poem, stories, dramas, music, photographs, and journal entries, to name a few.
I am going to submit my poem, “I Want These Things Written on My Body.”
What lovely creation can you submit?
Hat tip to Gapers Block.
Singing Owl says, This is a Friday Five about LABOR. All can play. Put down that hammer, that spoon, that rolling pin, that rake, that pen, that commentary, that lexicon, and let’s have some fun.
1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.
Working at the call center for The Disney Catalog. I have repressed most of the memories and refuse to dig them out of the dark hole they are in.
2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.
I’ve had two: writing and pastoring. Right now I’m just writing, but there are ample opportunities to serve at my church, and they do have lay pastors and preachers.
3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.
I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to do what I want to do. I’ve always wanted to be a full-time writer, and I have been for the last two years. Woot!
4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?
Yes, I took mini-breaks here and there, exploring Chicago and getting together with friends. My mom was also up earlier this month, and we had a lot of fun.
5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?
I’m anticipating it. Fall is my favorite time of year, and my creativity soars. I should get lots of writing done. Plus I will be working on my novel, and I know Fall will give me all sorts of wonderful creativity for that.
I have a habit of reading seven or eight books at the same time. I really try to just read one fiction and one nonfiction at a time, but that never happens. It starts with two books, and before I know I’ve got a stack I’m reading. Here’s what I’m reading now.
Non-fiction
10 Lies the Church Tells Women J. Lee Grady
Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages (Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA) by Caroline Walker Bynum
Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories by Tikva Frymer-Kensky
The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Life by John Assaraf and Murray Smith
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson
Fiction
The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel by Salman Rushdie
In a Glass Darkly (Oxford World’s Classics) by Sheridan Le Fanu
Quite the collection, huh? What are reading?
Photo by ijsendoorn.
My husband does not wear the pants in this household. Neither do I. That honor goes to the Queen Diva: Victoria.
The Diva lounging on one of her royal subjects.
No, I am not moving. I don’t care how many times that thing flashes in my face.
Today I found out where The Diva gets her human-care training: Guidelines for Cats. I’m onto you now.
So what furry, feathered, or scaley creature rules your household?
I’m very disturbed by some of the things I’ve been reading lately. It’s nothing that is in the news. I’m researching the opposing side for my book proposal, the complementarian side (I am not putting in links because I refuse to refer traffic to their sites. If you Google “complementarian,” you will find plenty of sites). This is a group who thinks that men and women were created equal as humans but that they have different roles due to their genders. They believe that woman was created to be a helper to her husband and must always submit to a man’s authority. They believe men were created to be leaders, protectors, and guardians. Women are to be helpers, nurturers, and mothers. A women’s place should be in the home, and she shouldn’t aspire to work outside of the home to keep herself free for ministry. When she doesn’t work then after she takes care of the kids and the house, her free time will be left for building God’s kingdom. Some of the voluntary suggestions for “ministry” are:
These are all full-time jobs, which take education and training to perform. Now they also suggest the truly voluntary ministries of music in the church, Sunday School teacher, PTA, and volunteering for organizations that work with the poor, abused, and addicitons. But several of these “voluntary” ministries are full-time positions and careers. So it’s okay for a woman to technically work full-time as long as she doesn’t get paid?
In her book Equal to Serve: Women and Men Working Together Revealing the Gospel, Gretchen Gaebelein Hull points out that once something that women did becomes something men do, then it’s worth charging for. How much did midwives make? Really? When men took over medicine then money came into play. Things that women do are normally seen as less valuable economically than what men do. Women having been cooking and feeding their families for years. But a small percentage of women are chefs who bring down big money.
When you consider the careers that women had in the Bible, I do not understand this “you can work as long as you volunteer” mentality. Deborah was a prophet and judge. The Proverbs 31 woman made and sold textiles and materials plus bought and sold land. She was a merchant. In the New Testament Lydia was also a merchant, and Priscilla worked with her husband Aquila to make tents. None of them volunteered their services. They worked, made money, and helped support their families economically.
I think Christians need to reclaim the word “vocation.” At one time Christians believed that you brought God with you on any job you had, whether you were a priest or a blacksmith. You did your work as unto God because God governed all of life. You built God’s kingdom in whatever career you had. It did not have to be a church position. We need to reclaim vocation, especially women. God calls women, as well as men, to work in the secular world in business, schools, government, and a myriad of other careers. We are called to bring God with us, and build God’s kingdom where we’re at. Just as the women in the Bible worked outside of the home, so can women today.
Related Posts:
Why Career Women of the Bible?
Does It Really Mean “Helpmate”?
The 12th Century B. C. E. Career Woman
Made in the Image of God: Female
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In an op-ed in last week’s New York Times, Paul Krugman describes the “Me Caveman, you be scared” tactics of the Republican party, and how the GOP wants to make anyone who doesn’t agree with them look weak and not able to lead the country. He quoted Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann saying that Democrats
want Americans to move to the urban core, live in tenements, take light rail to their government jobs.
Dear Rep. Bachmann,
First I’m an Independent and not a Democrat. Second I’m a middle class white woman who lives in the urban core of Chicago. I do not live in a tenement, but in a condo with a great lake view. I do not have a government job. I am self-employed, and I take Chicago’s L and busses all over the city to research and work. I don’t have a car. I don’t need a car. And I don’t want a car.
I think you need to get out of your cookie-cutter suburban neighborhood (and off Capitol Hill) and take a look at what urban cores actually look like.
Sincerely,
Shawna R. B. Atteberry
P. S. Since you haven’t seem to notice: D. C.’s public transit rocks. I loved taking it when I visited earlier this year.
Hattip to Rachel Frey.