Progress on all fronts

All of the computer swapping and rebuilding is finished. I can see great patches of the desktop and I'm cautiously optimistic that by week's end it could actually reach a state that one could honestly call tidy.

I had the day off and it was a great one to spend indoors. It's just not supposed to be 95 degrees in October. It's was lousy weather to be outside, but it was also perfect weather for discharging--HOT. I worked on three pieces with thickened thyox (and a good many drops of sweat). You could practically see the stuff working as I was applying it. Everything is still drying on the clothesline and it's took dark to see outside, so no pictures until later this week.

On a completely different topic, I heard a very interesting sermon yesterday. The two points that remain with me are:

• That we should periodically assess how much our life reflects our values; and
• That our creeds--those doctrinal statements of belief for which people has died for centuries--need to be considered thoughtfully.

For example, the opening words of the Nicene Creed, "We believe" are most recently translated from the Latin word, "Credo," which can be read as "to believe" or to "trust in." We've lost touch with that latter meaning. At least I feel that I have. On some level, "believing" is about acknowledging facts, while "trusting" requires an element of faith. Taking it further, I would even say that in the post-modern sense it's possible to trust in the essential truth of something even in the absence of all facts.

So, in what do I trust, and am I living my life in a way that reflects that value system? I'm not going to answer that question here and now. Suffice to say that I feel that I've still got room for improvement, but I'm working on it.

I have to give credit where it's due, the sermon was by The Rev. Martha Wallace, the new interim rector of St. Andrew's, College Park. So far she seems like a very good addition to our community.