kristinsdóttir

We should be constantly mindful and aware of our Orthodox Christian calling in all circumstances. How do we facilitate this in the workplace?

For what it’s worth, it’s hardest for me to remember that I’m Orthodox (and that I should act accordingly) in our weekly book selection meetings. We librarians meet and read snippets of book reviews aloud, and I am mercilessly sarcastic in my reading. When it comes to reviews of books in Certain Subjects, politics and religion, for example, I try to clean up my act and play it straight.

Sometimes I succeed.

I pray for more consistent success!

I have a CD of morning and evening prayers from the Jordanville Prayer Book; mostly I listen it in my car. There’s one part where they say ‘raise me above this world’s confusion’ which I of course hear as ‘raise me above the squirrels’ confusion.’

I should start an online archive of misheard prayers (along the line of The Archive of Misheard Lyrics). Heh. Or not.

Anyway, I continue to mis-hear the words of this prayer, and it makes me smile every time.

“To imagine Mary’s response to that news of the Archangel Gabriel is beyond our comprehension. We have become so accustomed to hearing the account of the Annunciation that we forget the power and the wonder and the godly fear that must have overcome this young virgin. She was only about fourteen years of age when she said “Yes,” and when all creation began its rejoicing at its salvation….”

A Home Church is actually quite a simple thing: it is the place wherever a Christian happens to be standing, where he freely accepts his role in the royal priesthood.“

You can also hear Nancy Forest deliver this essay as a speech by renting or purchasing the tape from Orthodox Christian Cassettes.

Nancy Forest makes her living as a translator, and The God of Grandma Forever is a Front Street book she translated from Dutch. She lives in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, with her husband Jim Forest.

Jon lost, at the instant he was conceived, one of life’s lotteries, but he also was lucky: his physical abnormalities do not impede his vitality and his retardation is not so severe that it interferes with life’s essential joys — receiving love, returning it, and reading baseball box scores.

Once a month, I read a story aloud to adults at the library where I work. Today was “The Scarf” by Joyce Carol Oates.

(that’s a butterfly mandala from EarthMandalas.com)

Through a fellow librarian, I discovered a very cool “Make Your Own Kaleidoscope” tool at krazydad.com. I’ve been having so much fun translating pictures into kaleidoscopic designs!

I’m told there’s something like this in PhotoShop, but obviously I’m out of the loop.

KrazyDad will also point you to wonderful kaleidoscope screen savers.

As you know, I’m a librarian in a public library. One of my jobs is digging up cool new books and adding them to my library’s collection. The librarian whose book recommendations I most trust is named Nancy Pearl and I subscribe to a wonderful newsletter featuring books she recommends.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Librarian Action Figure? Yup. Based on Nancy.

As someone who has suffered from depression most of my life, I was interested to find JoyinSorrow.com, a site for Orthodox Christians who struggle with depression.

One of the articles at that site is “Tragedy, Depression, and Grace,” an account of depression by Father Andrew, who was severely injured in a car accident. And there’s an amazing story from one of the people who put together the site.

Did you know there’s an Orthodox Wikipedia?!