Beauty Tips for Ministers

Something To Look Forward To

February 22, 2008 on 7:45 am | In Self Care, Theological Reflection On Your Fabulousness |

SIGH, my powder pigeons, am I right?

Christmas is long gone and we’ve recovered. Easter is coming but we’re deeply into Lent and although the days are getting longer, we’re still… well… deeply into Lent. It’s not that we want to skip Lent, but Lent can be so Lent-y, and a girl can only spend so many hours a day in prayer, penitence and self-denial. The round of visits, meetings, newsletter columns, sermons, advocacy, rites of passage, potlucks, classes, continue unabated (thanks be to God) and although we might be dutifully taking care of ourselves in the most basic ways (eating well, resting enough, exercising, engaging in spiritual practice, getting out for some fun with friends/family now and then), we can feel in a bit of a rut, wearing the same four or five outfits every day, eating the same sandwich for lunch, and even thinking a lot of the same kinds of thoughts. We haven’t made a new recipe in eons, we haven’t put time aside to noodle on the piano (or banjo), we haven’t painted or thrown a pot since Advent, and we just know that our calendar won’t allow for any creative pursuits for awhile yet. It’s too early to garden, and although we’re grateful to God and mostly content, we just want a little zippy something to look forward to.

It’s when PeaceBang starts to feeling this way that she tries to breathe deeply and embrace the season, to listen to the same meditation music every night, stay the course, and to see God in the ordinary — but also to make sure she walks the fine line between Lenten interiority and just plain Drab Winter Doldrums carefully lest she tip over and get a whopping case of the blues. And therefore, somewhere between her mid-January birthday and Mardi Gras, she likes to tuck a few fun things away that she can pull out come early spring that will put a huge smile on her face and give her a little shot of the girlie joy. Yes, it’s materialistic and shallow, perhaps, but it’s also about celebration, hope and anticipation of warmer and sunnier days ahead.

This year, my Mardi Gras put-it-away-for-later-because-life-is-not-just-a-vale-of-tears purchase was made at the Dillards in Naples, Florida. You can blame Rali if you hate it — (mine is a bit of smaller print and has different, cuter buttons) — it was on major, major, major sale (like 70% off) and she convinced me that it looks great on me:

The other purchase was a small one, a little rock-and-roll girl eyeshadow by Urban Decay called Narcotic that is this exact color:

It looks good, I promise. Not as trashy and saucy as it does on her,
but dramatic and gorgeous for a date night out (not, for heaven’s sake, anywhere near church!).

These are my two little give-me-a-giggle fashion treats to look forward to. The fact that some friends just gave me a ukulele as a gift just adds to the glee. A UKLELE!! I am SO excited!! Of course I will happily play it like a 6-year old, but it’s a beautiful instrument, have you seen this exquisite video?

God knows ya gotta have some glee, children. PeaceBang thinks that glee can be worn by pastors, and should be, as long as they
know what they’re projecting, and are doing it with confidence, panache and a sense of whimsy. Go get you some glee.