Truly, it’s a miracle to be here. And I don’t mean that in any philosophical way. Getting this blog thing set up just about did me in. By the time I will actually get this posted, if in fact, I do, I will have ignored my children, stomped around the house growling, delayed cooking dinner and questioned whatever small dose of techie acumen I thought I had, as well as any qualifications that would allow me to even think about having a blog in the first place.
Thanks for coming.
Well, let’s start with the ridiculous title: The Fulcrum Chronicles. Again, I’d like to underscore the extent to which I do not enjoy being overly philosophical about anything. It’s obnoxious. However, I do think about faith, and God, and church…..a lot. I kind of have to. I’m a pastor’s wife, and a ministry director at our church (oddly, not my childhood goal).
I’m not an engineer type, but I keep coming back to the idea of the teeter totter & the fulcrum. Life moves you in both directions, but the thing that keeps you in motion is that one ever – important point – the fulcrum. I like to think that’s where God is….encouraging you to kick off really hard with your feet when you hit the ground, and then celebrate with a whoop when you reach the sky. I also like to think that God would kindly re-direct the big mean kid on the other end of the teeter totter who keeps you trapped on your end with your feet dangling. In my imagination, it’s a scratchy pencil-drawn kid, and a pencil drawn teeter totter, and I have freckles and a bow in my hair, but that’s beside the point. You can picture how faith and God keep you balanced/centered/grounded – or not – in your own way. A beautiful bird? A sturdy boulder? A mighty oak? I don’t know what that would signify – it’s your visualization technique.
The Chronicles part. Well, my kids (there are two) and husband (one of those) are really funny. My career choice, and our life choice – or calling, as they say in the biz -lends itself to wacky misadventures, an eclectic collection of friends, poignant moments, and instances where you’re ready to altogether give up on humans. So I’ll probably write about that stuff…to the extent where I won’t actually be outing anyone specific as being a jerk.
So that’s it for now. Fingers crossed, and a little prayer that this works, that it posts without incident and that I won’t have to break out my own personal brand of swearing that makes my kids laugh. “Jimminy Christmas!!” happens to be their favorite. (The thing is, I am REALLY mad & frustrated when I say that stuff – so the tone & fury with which it comes out is actually super-, I think, -offensive, but nobody else does, which is almost, well, offensive.
Colleen Weems 
I can already tell that your blog will be one of my all-time favorites, can’t wait to read more. 🙂
Wow – thank you Patty! I hope I don’t disappoint!
ah, weems; I love it
STEWART!!! Thx, man.
You have such a gift and make me always want to come back and read more. I’m looking forward to more installments!
Thanks Jody – can’t wait to read yours!
Keep ’em coming!
Thanks so much Marcie!
Oh, Colleen, this is going to be marvelous! I always look forward to your fb postings, and this will be even better!
(Let me know if I can help you with some of the techie stuff. I set up a wordpress blog for Elton about 6 weeks ago and manage it for him. If you can find the little widget called “Blog subscriptions: Email subscriptions” that would be good to add as an option for people.)
Thanks so much Katharine! That means a lot! I may take you up on your offer…I still have some more tinkering, and am stumbling through it! Thanks for the widget suggestion!
love it – you made me smile and sigh. A good way to start today.
Thanks so much Laura!!
I have never gotten into the whole Blog thing – but I love this. Can’t wait to read more. “Jimminy Christmas” is one of my favorite sayings.
Thx Corrin!!! so glad to have a jimminy christmas buddy!
Outstanding!! Go Colleen!! 🙂
Thanks Birthday Girl!!!
I love this blog already! Keep it going-I am another blogette and will help you get your sweet message out!
LAURA! Thank you, thank you! That means so much to me – I really appreciate your kind words & support. Surprising even myself, I might actually have one for tomorrow.
Colleen – This is the most awesome blog! You are a wonderful writer. Thanks for sharing your adventures…. I look forward to reading more.
Ena, thank you! You are to kind and have always been so encouraging!
Yay, yay, yay, Colleen. Of all the people not blogging who should be, you’re tops of my list. I’m so glad to see you’ve decided to venture off the devil, I mean facebook. Hee.
And that swearing… we call that Faux Swearing and Jack is the master. I’m afraid I’m far seedier. Such a bad influence.
Love this and you!!
Wende! Thank you thank you! That means a lot…ESP from a talented gal such as yourself! Thx for reading and for your super sweet encouraging words!!
Colleen–I just read through all of your postings to date, and I’m so excited to keep up with your blog. Thanks for all of the sweet things you said about us in Zimbabwe. I think it’s eminently more challenging to be altruistic (and get up to work at 5am)in the midst of one’s daily life, rather than halfway across the world.
Your comment about the fulcrum made me think of the amazing playground equipment in Zimbabwe–here’s a fulcrum we enjoyed using!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=14395359&id=587710102&ref=fbx_album
THANK YOU SO SO MUCH BECKY!!!
So I didn’t spend enough time on your blog the day I found it to learn about the ministry thing or the fulcrum thing (which I really dig). I read the “about you” section this morning after seeing your way better than average responses to the comments I had left you. I thought I might just go ahead and read all of your posts until I saw how many there were. I mean, I want to read them all but I am at peace with my attention span and realize that it will take some time clicking around your archives here and there. Does “clicking your archives” sound vaguely dirty to you too? That was not my intention. Did I just write a dirty joke to a pastor’s wife? Ok, what my intent was in this derailed compliment was to say good stuff and I look forward to clicking around your archives, in a completely innocent wholesome Christian type way.
I meant to get back to you on this. I thought this was hilarious! I think back there in the archives somewhere, Land of Plenty maybe, where I compare looking for a spot to sit at a Vegas pool to what the Israelites went through in the desert, if that makes you feel any better.