My Breakup with Jen Lancaster

Here’s the thing…because of a trusted friend’s recommendation, I purchased Such A Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster. I was struggling with weight loss, and her chubby girl memoir was like a mirror’s reflection of my life, and, was maybe the funniest thing I’ve ever read. So, now I adore me some Jen Lancaster!

Down the road, I decide I must read Ms Lancaster’s previous works, so that I can fully appreciate her other books as they are released. Cut to me purchasing Bright Lights, Big Ass and Bitter Is the New Black (great titles, right?).

So, after putting off my reading for pleasure for some now totally forgotten reason, I finally pick up Bright Lights…and begin to read. Once again, I find Jen L. to be hilarious. I scream. I cry. I cough. I moisten furniture. AND THEN…

Out of the blue, like a kick in the shin or a slap in the face, she declares that she is not merely a casual watcher of Fox News, but is in fact FNC’s BIGGEST fan! She lovingly invokes Sean Hannity’s name. Really???!! How can this be? How can the new love of my life be one of THOSE people???

Now, before you judge me too harshly, I remember in the earliest days of Emperor Ron Reagan’s reign when it was super cool to be a young Repub (or so the brilliant marketing campaign would have had us believe). And, my grandmother (and her father before her) were Republicans (and quite horrified by my Chief Union Steward, workers’ rights, Democrat father).

And I remember before the Right Wing takeover of the world (you remember when Pope JPII, Ayatollah Khomeni, Maggie Thatcher, and Ronnie Reagan all swept into power, practically on the same day) when there were actually moderate (and even a few liberal) Republicans. Betty Ford was all about the ERA, and the once liberal Supreme Court was almost single handedly created by Richard Nixon. So, one might have disagreed with a few points of the “other” party, but neither party was the face of evil.

So, one might have one’s reasons for being Republican...those reasons might be valid, even excellent. But we aren’t talking sane political philosophies now…we’re talking friggin’ Fox so-called News!!! My heart breaks. My soul shrivels. Somewhere, a unicorn dies. The baby Jesus weeps.

I decide to forgive her…maybe she likes Fox the way I like vampire fiction. Maybe the gore is allegorical for her; maybe the hate and venom are comedic for her. Maybe they remind her of unfortunate, cave-dwelling relatives who still beat their food to death with clubs, and that is a way she copes with/laughs at said relatives. I read on…

A chapter or two later, she now admits to not only reading Ann Coulter (hey, reading is good; I’m not at all the censorship guy), but to LOVING her and of fantasizing about them having sleepovers together and being best pals. I vomit. I seize. The room goes white. I’m certain when I regain my composure I’ll find that I’m in a straight jacket being spoon fed jello.

I loved her! I thought Jen Lancaster was super-groovy. She’s smart. She’s witty. She doesn’t seem to be racist or homophobic. I even forgave her (about 83% anyway) for Fox.

But Fox and Coulter (and, BTW, making fun of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Kennedy, AND defending George “Dubbya” Bush…the man who with Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin decided to make mediocrity, meanness, and stupidity cool???!!!!!!!) is just too darn much. I may now hate her. I certainly will hate me for once loving her. Republican? My sainted grandmother was Republican…that’s not the issue. But part of the Far Right Cult of Bile and Buffoonery, that is something else.

Meanwhile, I’ve got to finish this book (it’s a rule by which I live), AND read the other one (which, please gods, let it be as apolitical as the first one I read)…but I’m afraid there will be no new Jen Lancaster purchases. She may not be homophobic, but if she supports and endorses those who want to write homophobia into the constitution, then for my own safety, I can’t put any more of my queer money into her designer purse. I did once love her…but as it turns out, I love me more.

Still, she is very funny.

Durrell Watkins

Get Full of the Feeling

Healing Rays: A Progressive, Positive, Practical Weekly Reflection
by Durrell Watkins April 21, 2010

Get Full of the Feeling
"Whatever Good you want, get full of the feeling." Rev. Ike

When I was about 20 years old, I said to a friend, "I want to have my doctorate degree by the time I'm 40." I don't know why I said it out loud at that time, or why I chose that age, but I said it with such conviction, I knew that my words had power. Well, I was actually 42 when got my doctorate, but I earned a bachelor's degree, completed requirements of ordination, and then finished two master's degrees along the way! I did earn my doctorate degree, and other degrees as well, and all within two years of the originally stated goal.

When I was 36, my partner and I were visiting Florida. One day while biking and canoeing we turned to each other and said with strange determination, "We'll live here when we're 40." We actually moved to Florida when I was 39 and he was 38, this time ahead of the stated goal.

The point is there have been times in my life when I declared something with such authority and conviction that I knew it would come true; indeed, I knew it was already true and only the details had to be sorted out. Whenever I have allowed myself to "get full of the feeling," dynamic forces have consistently flowed toward me to assist me in the achievement of the clearly stated and fully felt goal. I had to do my part, of course, but the achievement actually began by saying and feeling that "such-and-such" was true or was becoming true for me.

Do you have a dream? Is there a goal you hope to achieve? Imagine it. Intend it. Feel it. Declare it. Allow it. I bet amazing things will happen for you.


Healing Rays is a weekly email reflection. To subscribe to Healing Rays, simply email Durrell@sunshinecathedral.net and ask to be added to the subscription list (it's absolutely free!).

Eternity

Spirit & Truth

Eternity
“Are you not from eternity, O my holy and immortal God?” Habakkuk 1.12

Eternity isn’t something that begins at point A and just never quite reaches point Z. Eternity is like a circle…it has no beginning and no ending. It is infinite is-ness, all-ness. It not only lasts forever, it is from forever. Eternity is the All-in-all, perfect Wholeness, Infinity. It is divine. And we are part of It. We are made in the divine (infinite, eternal) image, which means we not only always will be, but we’ve always been! If there is a beginning, there is an end. But eternity has no ending, which means it had no beginning. And we are eternal beings because we are one with Eternity Itself. Isn’t this one of the messages of Eastertide?

I am one of the perfect ways Eternity is expressing Itself!
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral

Spirit & Truth is Sunshine Cathedral's daily devotional magazine.

We See What We Are

Spirit & Truth

We See What We Are
“The ignorant believe that what they see is how it is. The wise understand that what they see is how they are.” Rev. Ellen Grace O’Brian

On Easter morning, who found Jesus’ tomb empty? Mark 16 says Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and Salome found the tomb empty. Matthew 28 says Mary Magdalene and “the other” Mary were the first Easter witnesses. John 20 says Mary Magdalene was the first. And Luke says the “women” from Galilee were the first ones to experience Easter. People who loved Jesus experienced his resurrection. Not everyone had their experience, but as they continued to love Jesus, he remained alive to them. Some people saw Golgotha and thought that was the end of the story. Jesus’ friends saw the impact he had on their lives, and that impact could not be killed. We see things as we are, and as we allow ourselves to be uplifted, uplift (resurrection) is what we’ll see more and more in our world.

I am uplifted and I am an uplifting presence in the world.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral

Life

Spirit & Truth
Today is Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Life
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” Rev. Dr. King, Jr.

In the spirit of justice and liberation, Dr. King spoke out often, powerfully, and prophetically against the Vietnam war. As a minister and activist, he used the power of the pulpit to lift people up, and to name and resist whatever might hold people back or down. Of course waging war for political or financial interests would be something he would question. God is Peace, not conflict. In this season of Resurrection where we focus on the victory of Life over death, shouldn’t we do all we can to always support what lifts up and enhances life rather than what might needlessly harm it?

Prayer: Let Life be abundant for all people! Amen.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral
Spirit & Truth is Sunshine Cathedral's daily devotional magazine.

The Dance of Life

Spirit & Truth
Today is Thursday, April 15, 2010.

The Dance of Life
“In the darkness of your deepest prayers, know that with you [God] is playing Hide-and-seek. And in the midst of the dance of life… if you keep calling… undepressed by [God’s] seeming silence, you will receive [God’s] answer.” - Paramahansa Yogananda

We waited for centuries for a messiah. We thought we had found him. But he was cut down in his prime. Some people say that somehow he did not stay dead! And some say in some way he may return. Such tenacious faith! No matter how circumstances appear, some dare to hope! Some dare to believe there is more to come. Some dare to affirm that miracles are still possible. The on-going, miraculous, indefatigable dance of life… that’s what Eastertide promises.

Affirmation: I look beyond appearances to the Truth that Good is always possible.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Sunshine Cathedral

'Spirit & Truth' is a daily devotional magazine published by Sunshine Cathedral's Light University Press

Get Wrestling With God...

Hello! I want to make sure that you've heard about my new book, Wrestling With God Without Getting Pinned: Old Stories, New Thoughts, & Progressive Spirituality. It's available at www.amazon.com and you can find out more about it at my website, http://www.kweerspirit.com/ (there's something about it on all 5 pages of the site).

Whereas my other books have been devotional in nature, 'Wrestling With God...' looks at bible stories and applies critical thinking, snarky humor, and a genuine attempt to reclaim the ancient myths in a meaningful way for 21st century spiritual seekers. In the book, I try to demonstrate that creative literature can be "true" without being factual; in fact, because readers make meaning, new truths can be discovered every time a creative text is read! 'Wrestling With God...' is an affirmation of truth that does not demand the literary symbols of scripture be taken literally.

Rather than asking religion to redeem people, I'm asking thinking people to redeem religion so that it can be relevant in the 21st century.

If you haven't already, I hope you will get a copy of my book and I hope you enjoy it. If you like it, I also hope you will post a positive review of the book on Amazon and recommend the book to your friends.

Thanks and best wishes!

Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv, DMin

http://www.kweerspirit.com/