Friday Five: Word Association Redux

This one is patterned off an old Friday Five written by Songbird, our Friday Five Creator Emerita:

Below you will find five words. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem or a story.

1. vineyard

Martha's. I visited there several times early in my marriage, including one trip with a 7-month-old Larry-O, who got to travel everywhere on the back of my bicycle. It is a place that evokes a curious mixture of longing and nostalgia... a place where I envisioned a life that never quite took shape the way I intended. And, always, there is the ocean... my true spiritual home, wherever and whenever I am.

2. root

"I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love." Truly.

3. rescue

Oh, Aretha, baby, and "Rescue Me"!

Rescue me
Oh take me in your arms
Rescue me
I want your tender charms
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too
Come on and rescue me....

4. perseverance

When I was growing up my mom had a little poster on the wall of the kitchen. It asked the question, "What will ensure success?" It went on to list all the things we think will ensure success... for instance, talent. It then dispelled the myth that those things are the key. ("The world is filled with unrealized prodigies...") The last line was "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

Not grace, so much. But that was my mom.

5. divided

Abraham Lincoln, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

(Each of these appears in one of the readings from this Sunday's lectionary.)