RevGal Friday 5: Taking in the View

1. How important is the "big picture" to you, do you need a glimpse of the possibilities or are you a details person? i would say that i'm good with the "big picture" and imagining the possibilities. sometimes i enjoy the details but mostly that's just not me. i tend to get more excited about the big picture and it seems that often the details keep us from being able to see it. details can be fun and interesting but we have to be careful not to get hung up on them.

2. If the big picture is important to you how do you hold onto it in the nitty gritty details of life? that's a great question. it could definately explain why i'm always running late--the nitty gritty details simply pass me by. i'm terrible with them--my house for example is a disaster (which we've got to change since we'll be moving into a parsonage!) because in the overall scheme of things it simply doesn't matter. to be honest, i probably use the big picture to dismiss dealing with those things i'd rather not do. that said, when it comes to the messiness of people's lives i try to listen and be attentive to those details and just be alongside them as they process it.

3. Name a book, poem, psalm, piece of music that transports to to another dimension ( one....what am I thinking....)
Cup of Life by Joyce Rupp--this is the best book to work through, it's actually the only book that i have ever worked through the entire thing on a daily basis. not the only book i've read all the way through but the only one of those types that i've done all of the work and became totally grounded in it. it has been extraordinarily helpful for my spiritual life.

4.Thinking of physical views, is there somewhere that inspires you, somewhere that you breathe more easily?
almost anywhere that has a beautiful view and a spot for me to sit and be quiet and/or write. Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs used to be this place for me. i would go and hike off the trails and once ended up on someone's porch (man, those folks had a great view!) it's funny how some parts of GoG is totally touristy (even more so now) but there are still some sections where it is quiet and serene. i don't know that there is much better than sitting on an enormous red rock, breathing, and watching the world go by.

(not my picture)

5. A picture opportunity... post one if you can ( or a link to one!) this is from a mission trip i went on several years back--it's off the Gulf Coast in Louisianna. it was amazing.