Groove.

Although I'm not usually a huge fan of World Magazine, I found this article and was glad I did. U2 has been a formative force in my life, especially in the last few years.

Walk On, a book I've wanted to read for quite a while, tells about the spiritual journey of U2. If you've read it, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion/discussing it, once I get my hands on it. And if anyone in the JC/Hoboken crowd has a copy, I'd love to borrow it.

Some of U2's strongest lyrics, IMO...(from the Window in the Skies album):

The rule has been disproved.
The stone it has been moved.
The grave is now a groove.
All debts are removed.

It's fascinating to me that the interviewer referenced in the World Mag. article seems to be totally unacquainted with the concept of grace and how central it is to Christianity. Unfortunately, he's probably not an exception. Especially when there are so many people that are the face of Christianity that seem to be unacquainted with the concept of grace as well. Hopefully that will change, with people like Barack Obama and Jim Wallis getting a leeeetle more screentime these days.


And yes, I am supporting Obama for president. I've decided. Not that I couldn't change my mind down the road (I like Richardson as well...and Clinton would be OK), but something about Barack Obama is very reassuring to me.

I recently watched a speech that his extremely eloquent wife gave...she claimed that every major decision we've made as a country during the past decade has been based on fear. And while I don't believe every decision has been based on fear, I do think it is becoming the tendency. Listening to her talk about the freedom we can have from fear was so different from any other politician or politician's wife I've heard speak...somehow chock full of common sense, knowledge about the world and people, and throughout the whole thing the undercurrent of her refusal to give in to fears.

My colleague Melissa is organizing some events in support of Obama this fall...hopefully I'll be involved in some way. This is the first time I'm going to be actively involved in a presidential election, apart from voting...no one candidate has ever intrigued me quite as much as Obama does...and I've realized lately that I'm willing to work to get him nominated and elected.

Smoothie King

Smoothie King
Originally uploaded by grbecca

My cousin Michael came to visit for a few days...and here he can be seen using my one high-quality kitchen appliance (a red Kitchen-Aid food processor) to make some peach smoothies. Yum!

Red probably was happy to be used to make something other than hummus...that's basically what I've been eating most of the summer. I think I might have made it about twice a week while my grad classes were happening. And who could blame me, with the farm market providing fresh NJ broccoli, red peppers, and tomatoes to go along with it?

treeline

treeline
Originally uploaded by grbecca

So, back from my trip to North Carolina. I was supposed to fly from Charlotte to Cleveland to LaGuardia and get home by 11ish PM, but in Charlotte the agent called for volunteers to go on a different flight, in exchange for a flight voucher...and she was able to get me on a direct to LGA, which got me back in my front door by 7:15. Woo! So now I have time to put up my pictures and blog a little on the blog. AND I have a free flight!

Did some lovely hiking in the Western NC area, enjoyed some spectacular views, wished I had more time, and definitely will be returning.

Pictures posted on flickr (just click on the above photo)...this one is from Thursday's hike to the Roan Highlands...a unique place where the tops of several peaks are covered with long grass, boulders, and little blueberry shrubs. Makes for very pleasant hiking and unobstructed views.

Now, I love trees. But before I hiked along the AT at Roan, I did a short (steep) 3-mile round trip on the Raven Rock Trail in Roan Mountain State Park. (Sidenote: Michigan and New Jersey, I want you to take notice: Tennessee State Parks are free to the public.) Anyway, one of the main selling points of the Raven Rock hike was not its steep ascent and therefore good cardio workout but the promise of a great view at the top.

Well, after reaching the top of one hill, the trail began a steep descent. I stopped, looked around, and could not find any place (at least, that didn't require scaling a tree) that afforded the advertised view. I found what might have been a lookout point, but only when the leaves were off of the trees. Oh well. I guess I'll have to do the hike again when the leaves are off the trees. Anyway, I enjoyed the hike anyway, nice and cool in the shade of the trees. A little garter snake crossed my path as well as several caterpillars...or maybe I should say I crossed their paths.

Oh yes....And although I love backpacking and spending the evening, night, and early morning in the woods, there was definitely something nice about going back to Kevin and Marian's house where the hot tub was waiting for my slightly sore muscles.

Married

Married
Originally uploaded by grbecca

After the weeklong rush leading up to Martha and Jason's wedding, I zipped home on Saturday morning in time to catch Abby and Sam's wedding in the afternoon.

It was a beautiful, community-organized wedding....from flowers bought the morning of....to food provided by church and school people... to popsicles at the end of the receiving line...and the toasts done with diet coke....and it all took place at Grace Van Vorst.

For those of you who don't know, Abby has been my colleague at Mustard Seed for two years, and my co-youth leader at Grace for one. Sam, her now-husband, will be the 7th grade teacher at the Seed. She and Sam also will live just a five minute walk away from me in Jersey City Heights.

Becca and Kassi

Becca and Kassi
Originally uploaded by grbecca

This weekend I went to two weddings--my sister Martha's in Michigan, then flew to New Jersey for Abby and Sam's wedding at Grace Van Vorst. All flights went well, and I enjoyed both immensely.

Of course, after a week of wedding preparations and two weddings in less than 24 hours, I took a nap, watched a movie, and slept almost around the clock.

And next, off to North Carolina for a few days. I'm actually looking for hiking buddies while I'm there, since the friends I'm staying with probably won't be available during the day to hike...so if anyone has contacts in the Boone, NC area that would be interested in hiking with me, I'd much prefer to hike with company than without it, at least some of the time...

Kayaking the Reservoir

Kayaking in Chacos
Originally uploaded by grbecca

A couple Saturdays ago, Reservoir #3 in Jersey City was open for kayaking, sponsored by the Downtown Boathouse in Manhattan. I spent the afternoon registering people, and got to take a kayak out a couple times myself. It was a beautiful day...although I got a bit burned.

It's lovely, though, to realize this is right around the corner from my house. I can't wait until it's open during the week as well as on weekends...hopefully that will happen soon.

lots of lilypads

lots of lilypads
Originally uploaded by grbecca

Mary Beth and I went camping at Promised Land State Park in Pennsylvania, about two hours away. We decided to leave on Friday evening as soon as MB got home from work, and we arrived at our campsite in time to set up the tent in the pitch dark. That was ok though.

The next day we hiked a bit and then rented a kayak for the afternoon. We paddled through this patch of lilypads. The part of the kayaking trip that came directly before this (a very mucky portage situation) made the loveliness of the lilypad patch even more lovely.

It was a great trip, even though being at a higher elevation made it a little bit cooler...so the swimming part of the day wasn't refreshing as much as it was chilling. Oh well.