I'm sick. But it's not fatal.

So Paul told me that he told everyone last night that anytime I feel bad I worry that it's terminal. It's true that I'm a worst case scenario type gal. But I'm pretty sure this is just the stomach flu.

I'm sorry not to have kept the blog a little more up-to-date. I've been meaning to add an entry all week. And now I'm just too yucky-feeling to write much more than this. This. See?

Hope to see you all soon....

What do Alabama, Argentina, and Egypt have in common?

Three of our folks are gone to these far-flung places, that's what.

Laurel is in Argentina for the whole semester; we won't see her till next fall. Maybe she can show us some great tango moves then.

Paul is in Alabama this week. He went to Birmingham to help his mother look at assisted living facilities, and he was going to come back tonight. But our sister-in-law's mother died yesterday and the funeral is Thursday in Auburn (2 hours from B'ham). So he is staying and will return on Friday. Which means I'm leading his study tomorrow night. Please, no hecklers. ;)

And Lindsay has made it safe and sound to Cairo. Today she was scheduled to take the train to her dig site. Imagine her in her hijab, riding the rails, speaking in Arabic, and headed towards who knows what adventure.

Let's keep her in our prayers.

I look forward to your comments on this very exciting, very insightful blog entry.

[and could someone explain to me what the heck a trackback is?] edited to add: Thanks, Becky!

Millions.

First of all, it must be said: props to Nate! Millions was a fine movie, and we all enjoyed it.

Tonight we gathered for our first Faith-and-Film of 2006. Attending this premiere were Gad, Gaius, Becky, Adam and Lauren, Dave and Lauren, Rob and Charlie, and me. As usual, I ordered way too much pizza. But it was all good (thanks, Pizza House). After a minor disagreement over subtitles versus no subtitles, we settled in for the movie (yes, Millions is in English. But it's not in good ol' Midwestern American English, and some of us took awhile to comprehend it [the no-subtitles faction won]).

The movie is about a young boy in England who finds a pile of money and wants to give it away to help poor people, while his older brother dreams of spending the money on jetskis and iPods. Mix in a grieving father, a house full of Mormons, a talking trashcan, and a series of dead saints, and you've got yourself a mighty good flick. We had a great discussion about the complex issues surrounding money, especially for people of faith. Does money have a place in the spiritual realm? How does God work through how we use our money? How can we have a commitment to simplicity and to generosity and still live in the so-called real world?

And is it possible to fly to Ethiopia in a cardboard box or not? [hint: the Director's Commentary does not shed light on this conundrum]

Intrigued? Come to the next Faith-and-Film. Time, place, and film TBD, of course.

So. Here's our new blog.

Well. Here we are. Blogland. It took some doing to find a blogsite that didn't already host someone with the name The Gathering. But I finagled my way in.

Not much time to write right now, because I've got to get ready for Faith-and-Film, hosted in the Duke home - which right now is a complete mess.

So. That's my first blog post. There.