Bob the cat.

                                                  Bob: Lagomorpha Killer!!!

Meet Bob, the cat.  Bob is HUGE... I should have put down a quarter or something as a reference.  He is also STRONG.  His paws are mammoth.  He is also VIOLENT!  And what's worse... he has a reputation for killing little bunnies!  AHHH!

Skip is so far completely unaware of this feline danger.  But, the other day, Bob came by the door sniffing and leering... I think he's on to my little furry friend.  Pray for Skip's safety... I'm worried what I might do to a cat that hurts my rabbit.  That's not a threat per se... just sayin'.

Let us just be honest about this.  Animals that kill animals are part of the problem in the animal kingdom... bunch of bullies, really.  And humans are the worst.  What exactly is wrong with a creature that desires to harm this wonderful furry friend?

Operation "Know your neighbor to love your neighbor"

Warning: Boring yet informative blog post.

Wednesday, I moved up to New England to embark on a crazy adventure.  The plan has been in development for months and now...  I'm here!  For the next 9 months, I will be working on and completing a post-graduate degree in Theology.  The program is a somewhat self-directed research degree that allows you to focus on one area of study. 

My research will involve understanding Neo-Pagan subcultures (particularly, Neo-Pagan spiritualalities found in Asheville) with the goal of finding better ways to foster dialog between Neo-Pagans and Christians.  In the end, I hope to demonstrate (through a long, boring thesis!) how the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the incarnation serve as both the content and method of meaningful dialog with this subculture.  Then, I plan to go back home next summer and flesh this whole thing out in the city I love so much!

Fittingly, the graduate program has me located minutes away from Salem, MA, a city that boasts a title as bold as "Witch city USA."  Let's hope some research this year comes up with better alternatives to Christian- Pagan interaction and a re-defining of what it means to communicate the gospel as truly "Good News."

Where I am right now.

In the last 7 days...
1.  I left my job of 9 years
2.  Moved out of my own house
3.  Relinquished my car temporarily to the Volkswagen people
4.  Handed my beloved bunny over to my parents for safe-shepherding

Sounds like a great start to an adventure story...

... or the beginning of the craziest thing I've ever done...

... or both.

8 more days...

and I will never have to wear tights/hose again... like for the rest of my life ... unless I want to... on my terms...

Out with it, already!

I hate goodbyes. They are my least favorite thing in the whole world. I think goodbyes are hauntingly post fall-ish. Very, leaving the Garden of Eden-ish. Most evil and suffering in the world can be linked to some kind of goodbye.

Anyway, the point of this little entry is to communicate a big goodbye that is coming up. I resigned from my teaching position of 9 years last week. That's some hefty goodbyes and I've got 2 months to do it. The parents, the kids, the administration, the faculty... Ms. Vann the teacher herself. Goodbye.

It'll probably be messy and I'll probably have a lot of facial leakage in the process (already have.) But, I have to remember that this side of the kingdom, the cycle of goodbyes will happen. And this one I've chosen. Building the kingdom in Ruth's little life just took a big turn. Wish I knew the landing spot up ahead but at least I can see a little bit and it looks all yellow and happy.

Yellow and happy are not incongruent with tears and challenges, though. So I expect them with all the rest of the newness. And I pray for courage to know I'm not alone in the mess of it all... even though I'm saying goodbye.

Confusing when you're in it.

Sometimes courage looks a lot like idiocy. Or, maybe idiocy can be prettied up to look like courage. I've seen it both ways. Sure hope I'm on the right side. Beats me.

Preparations.

I've been craving "Jesus" music recently. It's because of life. Scary changes in life, I mean. Whenever I start listening exclusively to "Jesus" music I know I'm in for some challenges. It's a sure sign.

I also like staring when I'm in for it. And that's been happening a lot too... endless staring. Sometimes it is broken for a moment or two of Skip chasing. And... then... staring again.

Sad, I know. But, everything I do is slow and the bigger the task is, the slower I am at it.

So, in the meantime, I'll just keep staring and listening to Jesus music... until "action" stands up and says, "Ruth, let's get going!"

You'd think I'd at least get my taxes done...

I talk too much...really, really too much...

Resolved:
Must start blogging more frequently. Failure to blog leads to a burdensome and overwhelming volume of "Ruth talk". This must be stopped for the good of mankind. Think of the poor unfortunate souls subjected to the debris of Ruth's jumbled mind... the sorting out of disjointed, often unexamined ideas. Protect these poor unfortunate souls from the mental tornado by funneling the talk into blog format. This ensures that "Ruth talk" is confined to a medium designed for people to read or not read at their own whim, desire, leisure. Must start embracing the introversion again.

Signed,
Ruth Vann (the talking lady)

Rabbit entertainment.

A rabbit sheep herder.

http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_oddities/2012/02/rabbit-herds-sheep.html#mkcpgn=fbapl1

Enjoy this.

Special announcement.

Today is Herb's birthday. He's my brother.

I love him.