A random Friday Five

RevKarla @  RevGalBlogPals brings us today's Friday Five:  "So here we go, another random Friday Five!"

1.  What’s up?  How are you?

I just finished teaching the 9-month, in-depth Disciple Bible Study to a great group of women.  Besides committing 5-6 hours a week studying the whole Bible, they were willing to add extra work (and weeks) for themselves by reading and discussing two books from the Apocrypha (Tobit and Susanna) and three of the books discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt (The Thunder: Perfect Mind, Gospel of Thomas, and Gospel of Mary).  Best study group ever! 

2.  If you were a Panda Bear that could speak    O.k., that is too random even for me.  You are moving to a new office.  You can only take five books with you (pretend there is no thing such as kindle, nook, etc.).  What would they be BESIDES the Bible, which is already written on your hearts, yes?

Since I have a pretty good memory, I have the important books I've read "written on my heart" along with the Bible.  So I choose five books I have on hand, some of which I've already started reading.

(i)  Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You: Universal Spiritual Insights Distilled from Five Religious Traditions ~ by Joan Chittister, 2007 ... The five religious traditions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Because I bought this book "used," I'll be in dialogue with whoever added the thoughtful notations.  It's like having two conversation partners, the author and the first reader of the book.

(ii)  The Enoch Factor: The Sacred Art of Knowing God ~ by Steve McSwain, 2010 ... A book that unites people, an author who understands how religion can subvert a spiritual life, a testimonial to the innate dangers of fundamentalist thinking, a book that reassures those disillusioned by faith that they can navigate their way back to God and even experience a profound spiritual awakening.

(iii)  Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth ~ by Reza Aslan, 2013 ... sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived:   first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor.

(iv)  The World's Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions ~ by Philip Novak, 1994 ... A world Bible for our time from Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and primal religion sources.

(v)  Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim: A Personal Manual for Prayer and Ritual ~ by Edward Hays, 2008 ... Urges readers out of the narrow mindset of praying for one's personal needs and into a way of prayer that is both global and cosmic.  Poetic psalms, poignant blessings, and original rituals provide creative prayer experiences for the days of the week, the seasons of the year, and the extraordinary days of life.

3.  If you had a superpower that could give you a five hour retreat, and you could go anywhere in the world to spend those five hours on retreat (because you have superpowers, ya’ know?), where would you go?

I'd stay right here in Chattanooga, where the only superpower necessary would be driving my car up any mountain for a view like this one (photo by my sister-in-law, Carol).

4.  What piece of music, song, hymn, etc. are you diggin’ right now?

As the closing "Last Supper Together" service of my Disciple group, we went to a nice restaurant to a reserved table in a corner (so we could spread out our books).  We were there for two-and-a-half hours! We'd already learned this song — "Bind Us Together" — so we were able to sing it a capella, without being heard by even the nearby tables, because of the busy lunchtime hubbub.

Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together,
Bind us together with love.

5.  Use the following words in a sentence (or two):  Tangle, dribble, hook, Panda, shark, smile, worry, island.

I smile because you think I'm going to sit here and come up with a way to use "tangle, dribble, hook, panda, shark, worry, island" in a sentence or two.  (Oops!  I just did!)