Friday Five: Word Association, Redux
This one is patterned off an old Friday Five written by Songbird, our Friday Five Creator Emerita:Below you will find five words. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem or a story.1. vineyard2. root3. rescue4. perseverance5. divided(Each of these appears in one of the readings from this Sunday's lectionary.)

Vineyard... I don't have a whole lot of experience with vineyards - around here they supply the rich and famous with getaways and tourists with leisure activities. My favorite vineyards are probably the grape vines my midwestern uncle and aunt and grandmother have in their gardens - a supply for some of the sweetest and strongest homemade wines you've ever tasted, which grace family gatherings with tastes of sun in a glass.

Root... there's that saying about giving your kids roots and wings. I'm so not ready for any wings, but that's because they're still little. Roots are terribly important to me. Tremendously important. Especially after recent deaths in our extended family - I want to dig as deep as I can, for me and my kids, to anchor us and connect us. Strong roots make for greater growth and more blooms and fruit.

Rescue... is something I resist having done to me or doing to others. In most cases. Then I lose my mind and think I'm Jesus all over again.

Perseverance... is a word that makes me want to take a nap and eat some carbs.

Divided... is a depressing word that describes my community and world too aptly, and I'm irritated that Jesus uses it this week as part of his self-description of his mission on earth. Ugh. I'm UCC and I'm all about unity so this stinks. The message version says "disrupt and confront" instead of divide, which isn't any easier but still somehow better for me. I'd look up the Greek but I have a funeral today and a wedding tomorrow and a sermon the next day that are not prepared yet.

whoo- hoo - my First Friday Five. Here's to many more to come!