Austin bloggers meet-up!

Shirt - thrifted
Shorts - '80s Levis, thrifted
Shoes - vintage, thrifted
Bag - vintage, thrifted at Goodwill a couple of days ago. And thank goodness! I was getting tired of carting the same bag around.

Last night's get-together of Austin bloggers was lovely! And not even dampened by the torrential rain that decided to drench us all five minutes before we arrived. LOML lent me his umbrella, luckily, or I would have arrived looking like a damp paper tissue. With heels on. Within seconds of walking in to Annie's, however, I was warm and dry and completely at home. Everyone was so welcoming and warm - I got the chance to chat to some lovely ladies, like Joanna, Grechen (who organises these gatherings), Diya, Cathy, Joyce, Jeannie, Sarah and Maureen. I'm looking forward to getting to know these ladies better, and to meeting the others at the next Ladies Who Lunch/Brunch/Happy Hour. Ooh, and I was also photographed by the lovely lady behind Austin Street Style (it's over here), which launched recently. I'm so glad that Austin has a street style blog, because there are some truly inspiring people round here. Please excuse my expression in the photo - Zoolander has 'Blue Steel', I have 'Awkward Smirk.'

Of course, I forgot to take a single photograph - I was too busy talking (and occasionally introducing myself to the same person twice - sorry, Joyce!). I'll see if I can poach some in a sinister manner from some of the other ladies if they post them later on. Evil laughter.

This afternoon we're off to get our Social Security Numbers, which seem to be The Most Important Numbers Ever and possibly have magical powers. Wish us luck.

DIY Altered Lace Dress

This is a gorgeous and simple DIY to a lace dress done by Queen Michelle of Kingdom of Style. She took a sheer lace dress and altered it - following the pattern of the lace to create a gorgeously detailed hemline. I always see slightly dowdy lace dresses in charity shops, this ia a perfect way to update them!

Image: Kingdom of Style

The Mutual Burdens of Discernment

I'm currently reading Eugene Rogers's book Sexuality and the Christian Body. In reading I came across this quote from NT scholar Luke Timothy Johnson regarding the burdens facing liberals and conservatives in thinking about same-sex marriages, particularly as they relate to the church:

The harder question, of course, is whether the church can recognize the possibility of homosexual committed and covenantal love, in the way that it recognizes such sexual/personal love in the sacrament of marriage. This is a harder question because it pertains not simply to moral attitudes or pastoral care, but to the social symbolization of the community. The issue here is analogous to the one facing earliest Christianity after Gentiles started being converted...

Such witness is what the church now needs from homosexual Christians. Are homosexuality and holiness of life compatible? Is homosexual covenantal love according to "the mind of Christ," an authentic realization of that Christian identity authored by the Holy Spirit, and therefore "authored" as well by the Scripture despite the "authorities" speaking against it? The church can discern this only on the basis of faithful witness. The burden of proof required to overturn scriptural precedents is heavy, but it is a burden that has been borne before. The church cannot, should not, define itself in response to political pressure or popularity polls. But it is called to discern the work of God in human lives and adapt its self-understanding in response to the work of God. Inclusivity must follow from evidence of holiness...

To me, this assessment seems to find a good balance, placing burdens of discernment upon both the Christian gay community and upon Christian conservatives. But I'm wondering what you think about it. Specifically, the burden upon the gay community is to demonstrate holiness in the form of committed covenantal love. The burden upon the conservative community is to make room, in peace and fellowship, as gay marriages attempt to become "grafted into," by the work of the Holy Spirit, the sacrament of marriage. How else are we to discern what God is up to in the world? Such a model of discernment seems to follow the thrust of Scripture, particularly the model of discernment found in Acts 15.