All Smiles!

We're all smiling because of the delicious dinner that MJ and boy friend CS cooked for us tonight! Homemade lasagna with their own garlic bread and a salad. We all had seconds! Their nutritious meal ended with chilled watermelon. What a lovely evening.

Think of God as the Hinge

You brood in the night in its fearfulness,
You dawn the day in its energy,
You move at the edge of night
into the margin of day.
You live at the hinge between fear and energy.
You take the feeble night and give us strong day,
You take our fatigue and bestow courage,
You take our drowsy reluctance and fashion full-blooded zeal.
What shall we say?
You, only you, you
You at the hinge--and then the day.
You--and then us,
from you in faithfulness,
us for the day,
us in the freedom and courage and energy,
and then back to you--in trust and gratitude.
Amen.

Walter Brueggemann, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, 5.

A Mirror of Questions for the End of the Day

At the End of the Day:

A Mirror of Questions

By John O’Donohue (1953-2008)

What dreams did I create last night?

Where did my eyes linger today?

Where was I blind?

Where was I hurt without anyone noticing?

What did I learn today?

What did I read?

What new thoughts visited me?

What differences did I notice in those closest to me?

Whom did I neglect?

Where did I neglect myself?

What did I begin today that might endure?

How were my conversations?

What did I do today for the poor and excluded?

Did I remember the dead today?

Where could I have exposed myself to the risk of something different?

Where did I allow myself to receive love?

With whom today did I feel most myself?

What reached me today? How deep did it imprint?

Who saw me today?

What visitations had I from the past and from the future?

What did avoid today?

From the evidence—why was I given this day?

Tuesday in Corpus Christi

Husband CB and I ate dinner at the Yardarm Restauarnt tonight, which is in a house on the water side of Ocean Drive a few blocks from our house. We went out because MJ was not going to be home for dinner.

She and her boy friend CS cooked dinner for his family tonight: almond chicken, zucchini and rice. I wonder if they'll ever do the same for MJ's family (us)?

I have a date for the arthroscopy surgery on my right knee--August 27. That will be after we get back from Washington State and have moved MJ into her dorm at Trinity University in San Antonio.

AND the mosquitoes are starting to swarm when a mammal comes outside!

"I cannot live without books."

With so many blogging friends and the ease of the internet, I just ordered more books, as if I needed even one more. My "excuse" is that I want to have them to read on the airplane and during our trip to WA State, which starts next Thursday, August 7.

So I just ordered:

Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy
which Quaker Dave is reading on his vacation right now.

The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
which Sherry recommended.

And then I happened to see a new book by Macrina Wiederkehr-- Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day which I can only blame on myself.

I have been saving a book Yolanda suggested for the trip, too--
When Crickets Cry, the only novel of this bunch!

They say confession is good for the soul, so there's mine for literary greed!

Prayer

"Do not place your happiness in what you can hear or feel of God in prayer but rather in what you can neither feel nor understand. God is always hidden and difficult to find. Go on serving God in this way, as though God were concealed in a sacred place, even when you think you have found God, felt God or heard God. The less you understand, the closer you get to God.

"Prayer will teach you, too, that God is nearer to you than you are to yourself. After passing the fiery crucible and stepping through the narrow doorway where you can bring nothing with you, enter the cave of your heart that contains God, whom the universe cannot hold."

~~Pierre-Marie Delfieux
The Jerusalem Community Rule of Life

Life After Life

"Meister Eckhart says emphatically, 'There is but one NOW.' In other words, This is it! For Eckhart, to limit the understanding of eternity as life after death is rather strange. When we pray, are we not in the presence of God's eternity, God's fullness? Rather than life after death, it would be better to speak of life after life. In other words, the God who is present now, and the God who will be present then (i.e., after death) is simply present--now and always. God is not limited to time and space. It is not that God lives an endless number of years and can be everywhere at the same time. The eternal presence of God is like our very breath. We cannot touch it or measure it, but without it there is no life." (18)

Pierce, Brian J. We Walk the Path Together: Learning from Thich Nhat Hanh and Meister Eckhart. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006.

**Another quote from this book is in the post below.

Listen attentively under the tree

Brian J. Pierce, OP, author of We Walk the Path Together: Learning from Thich Nhat Hanh and Meister Ekhart, writes:

"I was invited to take part in an indigenous religious ceremony with the Lenca Indians in Honduras several years ago. Mixing ancient Lenca rituals with Christian prayers, the elderly rezador, or shaman, performed the ceremony while holding a freshly cut pine bow in his hands. I later approached him and asked about the symbolism behind the frequent use of pine branches in Lenca worship. He looked at me with his wide, dark eyes, and said:

"Oh, you do not know? Then let me tell you. If you sit quietly beneath a pine tree in the early morning hours, before the sun rises, and listen very attentively, you will hear the pine tree singing to God." (9-10)

Psalm 96:11-12
"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lenca Indians
"The Lencas are one of the seven largest ethnic groups in Honduras. Numbering 100,000, they live in the central department of Las Paz, and the western departments of Lempira and Itibuca, as well as in some smaller communities in the northern part of the country. Their homes are made form bahareque a mixture of mud and bamboo. Their communities lack all of the basic services such as running water. Roofs are made of clay tiles or nylon. In a twenty square meter room there is a bed and a kitchen. The bed is made from pieces of plywood tied to posts and sunk into the dirt floor. Eight people usually occupy one bed. At night the cold mountain air seeps through the cracks in the walls and results in frequent respiratory illnesses. Many Lencas work on coffee plantations and harvest. "

Green Faith

A Powerful Mission

GreenFaith is New Jersey ’s interfaith coalition for the environment. Founded in 1992, we inspire, educate and mobilize people of diverse spiritual backgrounds to rediscover their relationship with the sacred in nature and to restore the earth for future generations.

Founded on Shared Beliefs

GreenFaith’s work arises from beliefs shared by the world’s great religions:

• Caring for the earth is a religious value. Environmental stewardship is a moral responsibility.
• Spirit - We grow spiritually through our relationship with the earth.
• Justice - Everyone has the right to live in a clean, safe environment.
• Stewardship - People of faith have a vital role to play in restoring healthy ecosystems around the world.

Our programs are built around these three core values: Spirit, Justice and Stewardship in relation to the earth.

Making a Difference

GreenFaith makes its impact by:

• Inspiring: We help people of faith rediscover their relationship with the sacred in nature.
• Uniting: We bring people of diverse traditions together to care for the environment.
• Supporting: We provide practical tools to help religious institutions put belief into action for the earth and all life.
• Transforming: We help faith communities grow through deepened spirituality and a renewed commitment to a healthy environment.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Although Green Faith started in NJ, they have resources for the USA. I typed in my zipcode on scorecard that showed pollutants and conditions for Nueces County, where I live in TX.

The link to this scoreboard was found on their JUSTICE page, which has other resources, too.

My priest sent me the link to Green Faith, and I urge you to check it out! Scroll down on this main page and you'll find a site index.

Anglican Church Around the World

About ten days ago, the BBC News put out this info about various Anglican churches worldwide. I'm a little late, but being way off in Texas in the USA, where the only news I hear about the worldwide Anglican communion is through various blogs, I found this to be quite interesting. To see the world map, go here.

This may be too elementary for most people, but it helped me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Anglican Communion - the Anglican Church around the world - is in turmoil over the issue of homosexuality.

Traditionalists are strongly opposed to the ordination of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex relationships whereas liberals are urging tolerance and change.

A rift developed in 2003 after the consecration in the US of an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson. The ordination of female priests is also a contentious issue.

In June 2008 some 1,100 traditionalist Anglicans gathered in Jerusalem at the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) to form a network to combat modern trends in the Church.

---

England
Primate: Dr Rowan Williams
Number of Anglicans: No figures are available for England (rather than the UK) but the most recent national Social Trends survey found 22.2% of people identified themselves as Anglican when asked. This would give a UK figure of about 13.4 million. However, the Church of England puts the number of regular churchgoers at 1.7m.
Total population: 50.8m (60.6m UK)
History: English Christianity emerged from the missionary work of St Augustine, sent from Rome in 597, and from the work of Celtic missionaries in the north. Separated from Rome in the 16th Century and became Protestant.
Stance on gay issue: The issue came to the fore in 2003 when a gay canon was elected Bishop of Reading. Before he could take up his post there was an outcry and he was persuaded to resign by Archbishop Rowan Williams. Some senior clergy voiced dismay at this. Under Church of England guidance, gay priests can enter civil partnerships as long as they remain celibate.

---

Australia
Primate: Dr Phillip Aspinall
Anglicans: 3.9m
Total population: 20m
History: Founded in 1788 with the arrival of the first emigrants from the UK.
Stance: No official stance on homosexuality however Dr Aspinall said he felt "sadness" about the Gafcon rift and added that there was room in the Church for different views.

---

Canada
Primate: Fred Hiltz
Anglicans: 642,000
Total population: 32m
History: First church building was St. Paul's, Halifax, in 1750.
Stance: A statement issued after Gafcon says: "We are committed to constructive dialogue on all issues facing our beloved church and the Communion, including the blessing of same-sex unions. We remain convinced that as contentious as this issue may be, it should not be a Communion-breaking issue."

---

Central Africa
(Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
Primate: Post vacant
Anglicans: 600,000+
Total population: 36m
History: The first Anglican missionary to Malawi was Bishop Charles Mackenzie, who arrived with David Livingstone in 1861.
Stance: Former Archbishop Bernard Malango said the appointment of Gene Robinson "brought darkness, disappointment, sadness and grief" to his province.

---

Kenya
Primate: Benjamin Nzimbi
Anglicans: 2.5m
Total population: 32m
History: Mombasa saw the arrival of Anglican missionaries in 1844. The first Africans were ordained to the priesthood in 1885.
Stance: Archbishop Nzimbi has consistently and strongly spoken against admitting homosexuals into the church.

---

New Zealand
Primate: William Brown Turei
Anglicans: 584,800
Total population: 3.9m
History: The Anglican Church in New Zealand had its beginnings in 1814 when the Maori chief Ruatara agreed with the Reverend Samuel Marsden to give protection to three missionaries and their families at Oihi in the Bay of Islands.
Stance: No stated policy.

---

Nigeria
Primate: Peter Akinola
Anglicans: 15m
Total population: 134m
History: The rebirth of Christianity began with the arrival of Christian freed slaves in Nigeria in the middle of the 19th Century.
Stance: The church remains strongly and vocally opposed to homosexuality, regarding it as taboo and contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

---

Southern Africa
(S Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland)
Primate: Thabo Makgoba
Anglicans: 2m
Total population: 65m
History: British Anglicans met for worship in Cape Town after 1806 and the first bishop was appointed in 1847.
Stance: No official stance. Archbishop Makgoba attended Gafcon but said he hoped for reconciliation within the Church on the "thorny" issue.

---

Sudan
Primate: Daniel Deng Bul
Anglicans: 5m
Total population: 38m
History: The Church Missionary Society began work in 1899 in Omdurman. Christianity spread rapidly among black Africans of the southern region.
Stance: The previous Archbishop Joseph Marona, who retired in December 2007, said the Church should tackle the effects of war and poverty before homosexuality. "We have much worse things to face," he said.

---

Tanzania
Primate: Valentino Mokiwa
Anglicans: 2m
Total population: 36m
History: The Universities Mission to Central Africa and the Church Missionary Society began work in 1864 and 1878 at Mpwapwa.
Stance: Archbishop Mokiwa has said homosexual practice is a sin and has spoken of a "leadership failure" at Canterbury over the issue and the ordination of women priests.

---

Uganda
Primate: Henry Luke Orombi
Anglicans: 8m
Total population: 26m
History: After its founding in 1877 by the Church Missionary Society, the Church grew through the evangelisation of Africans by Africans.
Stance: Strongly opposed. The Ugandan church severed ties with its US counterpart over the election of Gene Robinson.

---

United States
Primate: Katharine Jefferts Schori
Anglicans: 2.4m
Total population: 290m
History: Anglicanism was brought to the New World by explorers and colonists with the first celebration of the Holy Eucharist in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
Stance: The first church to elect an openly gay bishop - but only after long and heated debate.

---

West Africa
(Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Sierre Leone)
Primate: Justice Ofei Akrofi (Ghana)
Anglicans: 1m
Total population: 31m
History: The Church of the Province of West Africa divided to form the Province of Nigeria and the Province of West Africa in 1979.
Stance: The Church broke ties with its US counterpart over the confirmation of Gene Robinson. The archbishop called homosexuality "unscriptural, unnatural and totally incompatible with Christian values".

---

West Indies
(including Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago)
Primate: Drexel Gomez
Anglicans: 777,000
Total population: 5.3m
History: The Anglican Church arrived in the West Indies with the original English settlers in the early part of the 17th Century, the clergy for the most part being state chaplains to the English officials and planters.
Stance: Archbishop Gomez has said the confirmation of Gene Robinson is incompatible with scripture.

Road Crossing

"We become neighbors when we are willing to cross the road for one another. There is so much separation and segregation: between black people and white people, between gay people and straight people, between young people and old people, between sick people and healthy people, between prisoners and free people, between Jews and Gentiles, Muslims and Christians, Protestants and Catholics, Greek Catholics and Latin Catholics.

"There is s a lot of road crossing to do. We are all very busy in our own circles. We have our own people to go to and our own affairs to take care of. But if we could cross the road once in a while and pay attention to what is happening on the other side, we might indeed become neighbors."

~~Henri Nouwen

Copied from Roberta at Spiritually Directed.

Cat Tail Signals

I've always been a "dog person," but when little daughter MJ wanted a kitten from her first grade teacher, I relented. That kitty (named "Pumpkin" by MJ but "Psycho" by older sister AE, which is the name that stuck) suddenly died when she was 7. So we got another kitten for MJ, thinking she was heartbroken--that is Gracie. Oddly, Gracie likes me best of all, especially when I'm reading--that's when she wants me to pet her. MJ and Gracie are indifferent to each other.

So I need this info about what signals cat tails give you, as I don't really know!
Your cat's tail is an indicator of its mood and if you observe the tail's movements, you can learn many things from these signals. There are a number of tail signals that the cat can display:

• Tail curves gently down and then up again at the tip:
  This is a peaceful, relaxed cat.
  
  
• Tail raised slightly and softly curved:
  Something has caught your cat's interest.
  
  
• Tail held erect but with the tip tilted over:
  Your cat is in a friendly, greeting mood but may have some reservations.
  
  
• Tail fully erect with the tip stiffly vertical:
  This is a very intense greeting display and has no reservations.
  
  
• Tail lowered fully and possibly even tucked between the hind legs:
  The cat feels defeated or submissive.
  
  
• Tail lowered and fluffed out:
  The cat is showing fear.
  
  
• Tail swished violently from side to side:
  This signal indicates that the cat is very angry.
  
  
• Tail held still, but with tip twitching:
  This signal shows the cat is mildly upset.
  
  
• Tail held erect with its whole length quivered:
  The gesture appears to show happiness or friendliness usually given to its owner as a greeting. It is also the same type of gesture used in territory marking (used by whole males).
  
  
• Tail held to one side:
  This is displayed by a female cat in heat.
  
  
• Tail held straight and fully bristled:
  This signal is one of an aggressive cat.
  
  
• Tail arched and bristled:
  This signal is one of the defensive cat.

Found here.

Friday Five: What you absolutely, positively can't leave home without

Singing Owl wrote the Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals today:

We will be at a chaplain's convention when you all are answering the Friday Five Questions. I'll look forward to reading your answers next week when I get home. At the moment we are trying to get the car loaded so we can hit the road, so this will be a simple F.F. This running around madly in order to leave has me wondering: what are the five things you simply must have when you are away from home? And why? Any history or goofy things, or stories?

You all remember having kids continually ask, "Are we there yet?" With four children, one is still known for doing this frequently and continually on trips--third child and son BJ. We all remember him at 4 or 5 years old, asking insistently,"Are we there yet?"--and we had not yet left the Corpus Christi city limits!

Family car travels these days are only with husband CB and me. So we do not need all the snacks and activities from by-gone days.

1. Cooler with water and cans of soda--I have to have my TAB, and CB wants his Diet RC and/or Fresca. Trash sack is necessary, because on any and every trip I save all the cans and bottles to recycle when I get home. (I was thrilled on a trip a few years ago when rest areas in CA had recycling bins at them.)
   
2. Books--I always take two or three just in case I finish one! For the car, I also need my "reading" sunglasses for my old eyes.
3. My pillow--I only like to sleep with this pillow.
4. White noise machine--because CB snores very loudly.
5. Notecards and address book, because I like to send mail, especially POSTCARDS on trips.
   

USA visits and beyond

Though I've seen this before, I got the idea this time from Fran.


visited 39 states (78%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president

Then I continued to copy Fran by trying out for the world, but my daughter AE would have many more countries to check off.


visited 14 states (6.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president

Aftereffects of Dolly

Dolly is a tropical storm in Mexico now and is waning down. Last night the power went off again at about 9 o'clock. It was hot and muggy as rain pounded and thunder sounded. The front right quadrant of the hurricane came over us and dumped lots of water. Sometime during the night electricity was restored, though almost 100,000 people in south TX lost power. Further south crews are still working on restoring electricity to homes and businesses. We had 7 inches of rain yesterday!

No ill effects in our area, EXCEPT for the forthcoming crop of mosquitoes! The bugs with the extremely high humidity will make outside ventures unbearable. (With the sun shining right now, the humidity is 82%.) I may not even hang laundry out on the clothesline!

Now? What is happening now?

I am still researching and reading books about listening. Once having learned that one of my gifts is being a "Gatherer," I see how I love to gather information and new learning! That is also a weakness, because I'd rather do that than put everything together and WRITE!

One of the people I keep seeing referred to is Brenda Ueland (1891-1985), who was a writer. I like that her mother was a suffragette (for womens' votes!), and my mother's mother was one, too. She wrote a short essay entitled "Tell Me More," which is in her book Strength to Your Sword Arm. (A pdf of "Tell Me More" can be found here.)

So here is a wonderful paragraph from that essay about listening:

"In order to learn to listen, here are some suggestions: Try to learn tranquility, to live in the present a part of the time every day. Sometimes say to yourself: 'Now. What is happening now? This friend is talking. I am quiet. There is endless time. I hear it, every word.' Then suddenly you begin to hear not only what people are saying, but what they are trying to say, and you sense the whole truth about them. And you sense existence, not piece-meal, not this object and that, but as a translucent whole."

~~Brenda Ueland

NOW--that describes how to live, listen, love.
Contemplative listening=contemplative prayer.

Lots of rain!

Dolly

---

from NOAA at 3 pm in Texas

Lots of rain, some minor street flooding, but we're lucky in Corpus Christi. Storm bands are still circling around without too much wind (30-40 mph gusts). We've been in the "orange" area most of the time today. The only problem was an hour with no electricity around noon.

All the rain makes us very glad that the high school campers got back last night. MJ slept late and is now napping again. It's always nice to nap or read in bed when it's raining, which hasn't happened much here lately.

I am getting my last sources noted for my Shalem paper on listening and spiritual direction today, so writing should start in the next day or so (finally).

Meme ME ME!

In a spontaneous way, I've been tagged by I am Chorus for another meme:

Here are the rules:

1. List these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.

1. My husband and I bought the house we are living in two different times--in 1987 and again in 1994.
2. I can say "This is a beautiful fish" in Japanese.
3. My husband and I were in the first graduating class of Sehome High School in Bellingham, WA.
4. I love to eat cold salmon, especially for breakfast.
5. Several friends here think this is odd, but I don't--In my entire life, the vehicles I have ridden in or driven have never run out of gas.
6. In college it took TWO female undergraduates (friend NM and me) to equal ONE weekend (MALE) manager of the student union coffee shop.
7. I am the shortest member of my nuclear family; at 5 ft. 6 1/2 in. my four children and husband are all taller than I am.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

1. Fran of FranIAm
2. Sue of Inner Dorothy
3. Katherine E. of Meaning and Authenticity
4. Sara of Much Ado About Something
5. Presbyterian Gal
6. Ruth of Ruth's Visions and Revisions
7. EmJayDee of Set the Bird Free

It is a silly meme, but I am very interested in the new facts I'll learn about each one of you. If someone else wants to do it, comment here and go ahead!

Tuesday at our house

• MJ and all the high school campers are on a bus coming back to Corpus Christi from Leakey where CAC was held. Due to Hurricane Dolly, they are coming home a day early. So they had the traditional Prayer Trail last night where the signs of all the seniors were somehow arranged. They'll be back around 7 o'clock tonight. I'm glad.
  

• Do you remember that I had an MRI on my knee about a week ago? Today the doctor called me up and said he wants to do arthroscopy on it. He recommended doing it earlier than later so no more damage is done. However, we're going to Bellingham, WA on Aug. 7 and when we get back I want to help MJ move into her dorm. So it looks like this will be done in September.

• The Wisdom Class was not argumentative today, because only five people were there, including me. Only one man came. We had a lovely discussion and sharing about chapter 8 in Richard Rohr's Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality. That chapter is entitled "The Rejected Banquet," and how we refuse to accept the love of God lavished upon us.

• The uncertainty of Hurricane Dolly continues. That's why so few came to the Wisdom Class today. It looks like it will land south of here, near Brownsville. We'll get some wind and rain, and our area sorely needs rain. Bands of rain clouds will start appearing in the morning (Wednesday).
  

Logo lost!

Yesterday I started wondering why my comments didn't have a picture, but I thought Blogger was just messing up. Nope, my picture had disappeared!

I guess the copyright law took away my logo by Gretchen Markle, which is disappointing. I loved that painting, but someone bought it. I also see that her paintings are no longer featured on Project Laundry List, so Gretchen must have exercised her legal rights and pulled her paintings. If you go to that first link, you can see what my logo was for about 14 months. I loved it.

Although I am devoted to using the clothesline to hang out clothes to dry, my very favorite possessions of all are BOOKS, so that's my new logo, for the moment anyway. Maybe someday I'll get a picture of me that looks okay. . . .

Hoping not!

We're watching Tropical Storm Dolly. . . . Crown Weather Service.

Summer cold

I have a nagging summer cold. Blah with a drippy nose. Not really sick, but not wholly well either. And it's hot, with Tropical Storm Dolly brewing in the Caribbean.

Emptiness & Spaciousness of the Present Moment

“I also try to remind myself of what I know from experience: the two most important facts about the spaciousness of the present moment. No matter how full of wonder or how empty and barren the moment seems, it is always sufficient. And no matter how much exquisite joy or pain I may feel in the moment, it will never be more than I can bear.

“The emptiness of the spaciousness of the present moment is sufficient. It contains everything that is needed for lovingly beginning the next moment; it seeks only our own willing, responsive presence, just here, just now. And we can bear whatever experience we have in the spaciousness of this present moment. If we project it into the future it may seem impossible, but just here, just now, it is not too much. There are no exceptions—not physical pain, not in psychiatric disorder or emotional agony, not in relational strife, not in war, not in oppression, not in loss, not in spiritual aching, not in dying. Love is too much with us for there to be any exceptions.” (109-110)

May, Gerald G. The Awakened Heart: Opening Yourself to the Love You Need. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.

Which is it? Weekend

Enjoy your Friday Night!

Friday Five: What's in a name?

RevHRod asked the Friday Five questions at RevGalBlogPals today:
1. So how did you come up with your blogging name? And/or the name of your blog?

I don't have as much imagination as other bloggers (and e-mailers) and just have my name--Jan, though I do like my clothesline icon that goes with my name. The name of my blog (Yearning for God) is my greatest desire and so is expressed here.

2. Are there any code names or secret identities in your blog? Any stories there?

I just use initials for family's names, which is not very inventive, but is more easily remembered by me! I usually will try to label the initials with a term of "daughter" or "oldest son." Here's a rundown on my family:

• CB--my husband for almost 37 years
• DC--first son, who lives in Austin and just turned 29
• AA--DC's wife--they have Sampson, the calm miniature Bull Dog
  
• AE--second child, first daughter who lives in Seattle and is 26
• KA--AE's partner
  
• BJ--third child, second son who lives in Houston, is 23 and has Troy, the hyper Brittany Spaniel
• MJ--youngest child (and daughter) who just graduated from high school and is 18
  

3. What are some blog titles that you just love? For their cleverness, drama, or sheer, crazy fun?

Talking to Myself, Episcogranny, Seeking Authentic Voice, and Much Ado About Something. There are so many creative people--and many, many more!

4. What three blogs are you devoted to? Other than the RevGalBlogPals blog of course!
FranIAm, Faith in Community, and Meditation Matters. (And of course my daughter's blog, though she doesn't post regularly.)

5. Who introduced you to the world of blogging and why?

Katherine E. of Meaning and Authenticity (another good title!) was a friend I met through the Spiritual Formation Academy #17 in San Antonio. We were in the same covenant group for all two years. She emailed her various friends when she started her blog last year. I discovered that she and I were growing reconnected through her blog posts and my commenting, and so I decided that I would try blogging, which opened up a whole new world to me. Due to Katherine's connections with RevGalsBlogPals, I met others in this organization, which I could then join after I had been blogging for three months.

Bonus question: Have you ever met any of your blogging friends? Where are some of the places you've met these fun folks?

I haven't met Katherine since we started blogging, even though we live in the same big state of Texas. I met Serena in Edmonds last summer when we made our annual trip home to WA State; I hope to see her again next month! When I went to the Episcopal Relief and Development conference in Minneapolis in April, Diane and her husband took me out to dinner at a wonderful jazz restaurant!

Crossroads

I seem to be at a crossroads in my life. My oldest child turned 29, and my youngest is going off to college. And in a few months I will be 58, which means I have been a mother for HALF my life. Since my mother died at 72 and my father at 79, I am not sure if I will live another 29 years. But even so, what will happen in the remaining time after 2 X 29 years?

Empty nest. Final paper for the Shalem Program of Spiritual Guidance to write, which I am working on now. Three final scholarly papers for my master's degree in theology at Oblate School of Theology, as next spring is my deadline. Closets to clean. Books to either find shelves for or get rid of. (AND 40th high school reunion in August!)

There is lots to do. Average or memorable? Love makes life memorable, so I hope I remember to live with love and gratitude as I learn to live more fully in the next phase of my life.

Christian Adventure Camp (CAC)

Today MJ left with the other high school graduates for Christian Adventure Camp (CAC), the summer camp FUMC sponsors every year back near Laity Lodge Youth Camp, where MJ spent the previous six weeks as a counselor. (I wrote about CAC in #3 of a recent Friday Five.)

These kids are called JACITs, which stands for Junior Adult Counselors in Training. It is traditional for the graduating seniors to be specially situated there. In fact, this year they have t-shirts that label them as "sneakers"--but good ones they were told.

Each JACIT was supposed to paint 3-5 signs with Bible verses, quotes or aphorisms painted on them. MJ and boy friend CS painted them late into the morning the other night. The ones they did are in the picture above. Evidently these are posted along the Prayer Trail, which is a traditional last night activity at CAC.

Luckily, the rest of the high school kids and parents will be going up on buses tomorrow. It turns out that MJ's sleeping bag and stadium bleacher seat with back rest were left in our trunk. At least, she'll get them tomorrow when the other buses arrive.

Spiritual Experiences

"A helpful rule of thumb here is whenever a spiritual experience or the search for spiritual experiences become the overriding focus of attention, things have gone astray. Although spiritual journeys often begin in the context of experience, and although experiences constitute major vehicles of insight, growth, support, and service along the way, the goal of the journey can never legitimately be experience itself. The goal is beyond experience, and has to do with our actually becoming who God means us to be and doing what God means us to do. Experiences can sometimes be helpful means towards this end, and they can sometimes get in the way. But they are never the end in themselves."

~~Gerald May

May, Gerald G. Care of Mind, Care of Spirit: A Psychiatrist Explores Spiritual Direction. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992. 46.

Clothesline accessories and info

Project Laundry List is making air-drying laundry acceptable and desirable as a simple and effective way to save energy. In other words, CLOTHESLINES!

They now have a store, too, where you can buy clothespins, clothespin bags, clotheslines, books, and other things related to drying laundry outside. (And remember, my mother-in-law dries things on a clothesline in her basement in rainy WA State.)

I find it hard to find a clothespin bag, so today I ordered a new one for me.

God's Love

You have first loved us, O God, alas. We speak of it in terms of history, as if you have only loved us first but a single time, rather than that, without ceasing, you have loved us first many times and every day and our whole life through.

When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul to you, you are the first. You have loved us first; if I rise at dawn and at the same time turn my soul towards you in prayer, you are ahead of me; you have loved me first.

When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul in thought towards you, you are the first and thus forever. And yet we always speak ungratefully as if you have loved us first only once.

~Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

And from Meister Ekhart:

"The love by which we think we are loving God is actually the love
by which God first loved us."

This last quote of God loving us first was found in Richard Rohr's book, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, which is the book we discuss in this morning's contentious Wisdom Class. How I hope this love can guide us all in listening and speaking. (That's why Kierkegaard's prayer posted above is this morning's class meditation--before the book discussions starts.)

Richard Rohr writes:

"Our lovability is not a moral achievement on our part, but God's pure gift on God's part. To paraphrase Meister Eckhart, 'The love by which we think we are loving God is actually the love by which God first loved us.' All we are doing is completing the circuit, and allowing the flow (see John 15:16). You cannot really get there; you can only be there. God does all the loving." (165-166)

July 14

Being both a baby boomer and an only child, I seem to mark dates with sentimentality. Today is the 16th anniversary of my mother's death, which I wrote about last year. I'm not that sad, just remembering.

When she died, I called to tell a close friend (JJ), and she replied, "Not on MY birthday!" So it is JJ's birthday today--we went to high school together and were bridesmaids in each other's weddings. Because of JJ's birth and my mother's death being on July 14, I especially notice people with birthdays on this date. I now have four friends celebrating their birthdays today. I really like knowing them connected with today.

If it's your birthday today, leave a comment.

"The Life of Meaning"

I buy way too many books. I have scads I have not read yet. I love books. And today I found a treasure that is a collection of essays that sixty contributors read/spoke on PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly program. The Life of Meaning:Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World has 67 different offerings, and I am finding it lovely to skip around the book and read whichever one catches my fancy. And I'd "lost" it since February, when I ordered it!

I enjoy this thought from Phyllis Tickle so much that I will copy it here. It's from her short piece entitled "With or Without Religion":

"People talk about life being a gift. I think that's probably a crock. It's not that it's a gift to you--it's that your life was created to serve God. It is God's life. The fact that your awareness dwells in this life should not be confused with who owns it. You know, my awareness, perhaps, will die when I die. Who knows how much of it is neurological and how much of it is real? My obligation--my joy, my gift--is to see that this part of livingness that is me learn truly to celebrate its maker and to serve him (her)." (182)

The very first essay is by Thomas Lynch, who is a funeral director, essayist and poet, and I liked how he described his idea of God:

"But the older I get the list of things that I have to worry about is getting shorter and shorter. And if I just turn those things over to God (whoever God is these days, and she or he changes a lot for me from day to day), God seems to be taking care of them." (15)

I'm glad I found this book today, especially for the times I am cooling off from being out at my clothesline!

Hot Sun

Personally, I think it's both. It is HOT. It is 90 degrees F, but feels like 99 degrees, probably because the humidity is 61%.

One good thing about the blasting heat is that all MJ's towels from camp dried in only three hours on the clothesline--while I was at church. I keep taking things off the clothesline that have dried to dry more today; I'm on my fourth load of wash to be dried outside. (MJ brought several bags of dirty towels, sheets, and clothes home from camp.)

MJ is off with her boy friend CS and his two younger brothers to play soccer, even in this heat. They are all Texans, after all. The bonus is that they will go swimming afterwards.

Coming Home

I was only trying to find an image evocative of MJ returning home after six weeks of camp. We are very excited that she's coming home this evening!

*Painting: 'Coming Home' Beverley Grant, 2007.

The one above is so beautiful that I had to post it, but it is relating to much more tragic and traumatic leave takings in Australia--the removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

1897 The Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act (Qld) allows the Chief Protector to remove local Aboriginal people onto and between reserves and to hold children in dormitories. Until 1965 the Director of Native Welfare is the legal guardian of all ‘aboriginal’ children whether the parents are living or not.

Photograph: School, Mornington Island, 1950. Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland and the community of Mornington Island.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Artist: Beverley Grant
Title: ‘Coming Home’, 2007
Symbolism: Brown, reds and black represent the people and the land. White represents the spiritual connection between the people and
the land.
Story: The family sitting around our circle, participating in a smoking ceremony down by the Lachlan River, NSW. Footprints signify return to family, people and homeland.

~~
And this reminded me of seeing the movie "Rabbit-Proof Fence" which is worth renting, if you have never seen it. It's based on the true story of Molly Craig, an Aboriginal girl who was taken away from her family and found her way back by walking 1500 miles along the rabbit proof fence.

Self-Awareness

Iced Butterscotch Brownies

Although I am pretty sure I posted a picture of this old children's cookbook before, I cannot remember when. This is the cookbook that has our tried and true recipe for Butterscotch Brownies, which we always have to make 4 X the recipe, because the original makes such a small batch.

For my Friday Renovare Group, I promised to make a little dessert for a member's birthday and so I tried a new Butterscotch Brownie recipe, which is basically the same one that's in the Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls, except that nuts and coconut are added, plus a thick layer of icing! (I should have taken a picture, but we ate them all up hours before I thought of this.) So here is the yummy recipe:

Butterscotch Brownies

From The Best from Helen Corbitt’s Kitchens, p. 366

4 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
¾ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ cup coconut
½ cup broken nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together until they are light. Mix in the slightly beaten egg. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together and add them to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in the vanilla, coconut and nuts. Spread in a buttered 8” x 8” pan (though I used approx. 7” X 11” pan) and bake fro 25 minutes.

Cool and spread with Caramel Icing:

½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup milk
1 ¾ to 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter until brown, add brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly until sugar is completely melted. Gradually pour in milk and stir. Cool. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla; beat until thick enough to spread.

~~~~~

Did I even think about the doctor's warnings about pressure on the knees?

Friday Five: Summer Camp

Well, I never went to summer camp, but since my youngest daughter is still at one being a camp counselor, I thought I'd do this Friday Five.

Mother Laura at RevGalsBlogPals brought forth these thoughts about summer camp:

1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
Growing up on military bases, I don't remember hearing about camp or about anyone I knew going to one. Somehow, camp was not in my consciousness.

2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
Probably because my dad was in the Marine Corps, we were not a family who ever camped out.

Then living in Texas with our children, it always seemed too hot to go camping anywhere. Plus, I had not experience, and we had no camping equipment. CB never even suggested it.

3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
Only MJ has worked as a camp counselor this summer at Laity Lodge Youth Camp in Leakey, TX.

First United Methodist Church here in Corpus Christi has an annual summer camp called CAC--Christian Adventure Camp, which is up near LLYC. In 1995 I attended the Junior High CAC as one of the cooks, with DC and AE there. It was my one year to go to camp, and I discovered that I like to sleep too much to be there. I get very grumpy without enough sleep, which is not possible to get while at camp.

Our introduction to CAC and to FUMC was oldest son going to CAC unexpectedly in 1992. He was visiting friends in Corpus Christi when my mother suddenly died. In fact, he was on the flight there the morning we discovered that she had died. We decided that 13 year old DC should stay in Corpus Christi with his friends. One family got him to go with their son to CAC, and DC really liked it.

I'm not a camper, but my kids have all gone to CAC (though AE did it only that one time that I did). MJ is going again next week as a graduated senior to be a JACIT (junior adult counselor in training).

4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
My only experience camping out was when CB and I lived in Oregon; he was going to grad school at OSU and I was teaching at Eddyville School (250 kids in grades K-12). With two other couples connected to the Chemistry Department graduate school, we went on a backpacking trip in the mountains. All I remember about it was the plethora of mosquitoes. They were everywhere, and we did not have a good bug repellent. I remember going out to pee in the "wilds" at night and being swarmed and bitten by mosquitoes. That was over 30 years ago, and that's all I can remember. Too bad.

5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
No points--I don't know what songs are camp songs.

Pressure on the knees

Well, today I learned that all my years of being overweight have caused some damage on the cartilage in my right knee--probably the other one, too. It's been painful off and on for the past year or so and has gotten so it hurts to walk down stairs--so I go one step at a time, instead of alternating my feet. To rule out the possibility of a tear, I am having an MRI on Monday. Somehow having the DOCTOR tell me that the immense pressure on knees can only be diminished by loss of weight hit me more than me knowing that in the back of my mind. He even gave me the formula to figure out the amount of pressure on each knee:

1.7 X body weight = knee pressure

I need to lose 30-40 pounds, so that would be 51-68 pounds less from each knee. I'd hate to carry that much individually, so this has really hit home.

Interestingly, it also goes along with one of the books I am currently reading: Thoughts Matter: The Practice of the Spiritual Life by Mary Margaret Funk, which was recommended at the Anamchara website. Chapter 2 is "About Food," something I dwell on and eat much too often during the day!

"John Cassian's teaching on fasting is that we should simply put food and our thoughts about food into proper balance, eating only at meals and not in between." (26) Wow--what a revelation--only at meal times! I am trying that. . . .

"When food becomes my dominant thought, it becomes the center of my interior life." (27) Sometimes that must be true, I hate to admit, and I yearn for God to be at the center of my life.

"'Excesses meet,' say the ancients. Eating too little or eating too much are equally harmful. Extremes are indicators of thoughts being out of control." (28) Doesn't this sound like the "golden mean" that I remember from schools, all the way from elementary to college?

If I lose weight, would it mean I could sit cross-legged again without it hurting? Until recently, I often read and wrote letters sitting cross-legged. No more though.

Lists of books to read!

Summer is the time for reading! ANY time is the time for reading!

NPR.org has lists of books for summer reading. Some sound really, really interesting.

Carry-On Books to Take You Up, Up, and Away by Nancy Pearl

Booksellers' Selections for Summer Afternoons by Susan Stamberg

Summer Books to Feed Your Literary Addiction by Alan Cheuse

And for the complete list of NPR's summer book recommendations, go here.

The Soul

The soul,
having gone out at the word of her Beloved,
looks for him
but does not find him.

She calls on him,
though he cannot be reached
by any word,
and she is told by the watchmen
that she is in love with the unattainable,
and that the object of her love
cannot be apprehended.

But the veil of her grief is lifted
when she learns that the object of her desire
consists of constantly going on with her quest
and never ceasing in her ascent. . . . .

~~Gregory of Nyssa
(335-395)

Anglican Women Bishops! YAY!

From God's Politics blog by Jim Wallis and friends:

A Woman's Place is in the House ... of Bishops (by Joy Carroll Wallis)

It was almost 16 years ago that I sat in the debating chamber of Church House in Westminster and voted as a member of the House of Clergy to ordain women to the priesthood in the Church of England. At the time I was one of the youngest members of the House of Clergy, and I was in the first group of women ordained to the priesthood.

On Monday, July 7, the general synod meeting in York, England finished the job. At long last they have approved that women may also be consecrated as bishops--jettisoning the custom of a male-only episcopacy.

When women were first admitted to the priesthood in 1994, the synod passed various "safeguards" and "provisions" that included "flying [male] bishops" to serve those opposed to ordaining women. That year, I made an impassioned speech against those "provisions." This time, the women clergy made it clear to the House of Bishops that they wanted women to be bishops, but not at any cost. In a statement issued in May 2008, the women clergy said:

The price of legal "safeguards" for those opposed is simply too high, diminishing not just the women concerned, but the catholicity, integrity and mission of the episcopate and of the Church as a whole. We cannot countenance any proposal that would, once again, enshrine and formalize discrimination against women in legislation. With great regret, we would be prepared to wait longer, rather than see further damage done to the Church of England by passing discriminatory laws. ... If it is to be episcopacy for women qualified by legal arrangements to "protect" others from our oversight, then our answer, respectfully, is thank you, but no.

This incredible and historic decision that the synod has made is all the more wonderful to me because the legislation contains no "safeguards." It has simply a compassionate "code of practice" to be worked out over the next few years. No women will be consecrated as a bishop until the year 2014 and in the meantime, "arrangements" will be embodied in the code of practice for those who feel bereaved and betrayed by the raising of women to the episcopacy.

It is finally done! And this time I trust that the legislation will pass the test of theological integrity. I doubt that the fallout will be as bad as some have predicted. Many who threatened to leave the Church of England if this legislation passed have already decided to reconsider. Over the past 14 years of women in priesthood, many gracious and wise women priests have gained a lot of experience in building trusting relationships with those unable to accept their priestly ministry. I have no doubt that those eventually appointed will take this experience into the episcopate. They will do their jobs as shepherds, teachers, and unifiers with prayerful compassion and generosity.

On a more personal note: Whoo hoo!

Joy Carroll Wallis was among the first women to be ordained to the priesthood in England in 1994. She's the author of The Woman Behind the Collar: The Pioneering Journey of an Episcopal Priest. Carroll Wallis lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband (Sojourners editor-in-chief Jim Wallis) and their two sons, Luke and Jack.

An Award

On July 2, Fran awarded the Arte y Pico to five bloggers, including me (to my shock and amazement). This award is given to blogs who "deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language." Oh, my! Thank you, Fran.

1)Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award which is here: "Arte y Pico".

Already so many of my favorite blogs have received this award, but I'll try to be somewhat original:

1. Ruth's Visions and Revisions
Ruth has a gift for writing in prose and in poetry that captures my imagination and my heart. Sometimes she writes of spiritual things and other times just ordinary life, which coincide nicely. I treasure her faithfulness in visiting her blogging friends, too.

2. Wounded Bird with Grandmere Mimi
From the hilarious to the holy and from politics to the Episcopal/Anglican Church, you will find interest here. Grandmere Mimi was one of the first people to welcome me to the blogging world when I started last May. She is true and faithful in a feisty way!

3. The Quaker Agitator with Quaker Dave
Dave's passion for justice comes through as he broadens the areas of concern for all his readers. He shares as a middle school teacher at times and often brings me to awarenesses I know I need.
His humor and outrage are equally strong--pointing me to admiration for the Quaker witness and action.

4. Does Not Wisdom Call? with Ellie
I visit Ellie's three different blogs almost daily. This is the one where she shares her spirituality with beautiful art and quotations from various traditions. I always find sustenance here.

5. The Mercy Blog with Mike
Mike shares what he is reading with quotations and also his own reflections. By writing about his spiritual journey, especially in contemplative prayer, he guides me on my faith journey.

Many more deserve such an award; I hope you receive one soon!

Almighty God, we pray. . . .

Today in the Wisdom Class, a member brought the prayer that our supply priest closed the service with this past Sunday. (Our interim priest is on vacation.) The priest is David Wendel, and this is what he wrote about the following prayer:

"I found this prayer in the back of my father-in-law's Prayer Book, which I used when I assisted at his burial service at Christ Church, Glendale, Ohio, of which he was the Rector for many years. His death left a great void in my life and the prayer has helped answer it."

Almighty God, we pray that because we have met together here: Life may become more meaningful for some who see no purpose in it; more secure for some who are frightened by it; more serene for some who are disturbed by it; more forgiving for some whose hearts have grown cold and hard because of it; more joyful for some who have been saddened by it; kinder for some who have been hurt by it; brighter for some who are engulfed in the gloom of it; made whole and redeemed for all of us who have been broken and fallen because of the sin of it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. . . .

Troy kept trying to chase our cat, Gracie. Things are much calmer at our house with Troy gone and back at home in the house that BJ and two friends share in Houston.

Gene Robinson Speaks on God's Love

True Listening

“In every experience of true listening, especially to God but also to another person, there is a mysterious moment in which the one who listens steps out from a fortress of self-concern and dwells silently in the truth of the one who speaks. This is a moment of great risk and great courage, for it ushers us into a different way of being in the world. Over time, we may even cease to be people who listen and become people who are listening, people whose very being is shaped by the posture of listening. This is the posture of the servant, whose attentiveness is not a sign of cringing compliance but a mark of human life lived ever more fully in the Spirit of love (see I Sam. 3:10).”

~John S. Mogabgab

Editor, Weavings magazine

I Samuel 3:10

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Keep on Smiling!

My daughter AE sent this to me, and I want it to be true for me--especially as I remember my first child being born 29 years ago today. That memory has me smiling.



Happy Birthday, DC!

In the Doghouse!

Not the accurate dog picture, but this will give you the idea of how Troy, BJ's Brittany Spaniel, is in the doghouse!

He ripped apart husband CB's new grill cover. I forgot to close the garage door, so he got into the garage and chewed up CB's knee pads (for tiling floors), paint brushes, and a huge sponge. He got into a toy basket when he was left alone for 15 minutes and chewed up some stuffed animals.

Troy is a wonderful dog, who needs more exercise, attention, and training--at least, at our house. When he is with his master (BJ), he follows commands to "sit" and "lie." Not for us though. Plus, he was constantly teased by our cat Gracie.

But BJ and Troy have driven off to Houston and the home that is much more dog-proof than ours is these days.

I enjoyed BJ being home and sometimes liked Troy, too!

Do something to make the world more beautiful!

Miss Rumphius is one of my most favorite children's books. I often give it as a baby gift or a young child's birthday present, because I think it has a message for each person in the world! This is the story of how an adventurous young woman came to understand her little way of making the world more beautiful after her many travels and then illness. In her old age, she urged that each of us must do something to make the world more beautiful.

Barbara Cooney loved Miss Rumphius, too, and said this about her when she received the National Book Award in 1983:

“Miss Rumphius has been, perhaps, the closest to my heart. There are, of course, many dissimilarities between me and Alice Rumphius, but, as I worked, she gradually seemed to become my alter ego. Perhaps she had been that right from the start.”

Although author and illustrator Barbara Cooney did not name God in the book, I know her message is what God wishes each of us to do. I recently found this same message from Mother Teresa in an essay written in 1997:

"Two foreigners who witnessed Mother Teresa's life and works of mercy have written a book on her. After the book was written, they wondered what the title should be. They asked Mother Teresa's advice. She said they could give the title they liked to a book they had written. The authors insisted that Mother should suggest a title. After a minute of prayerful reflection Mother Teresa said, "Something Beautiful for God".

"The authors then wanted to know why she chose this title. Mother Teresa's answer was something that threw light on the inspiration underlying her works of compassion: "Everyday on awaking, my desire and my enthusiasm is this: today I must do something beautiful for God. What is there that I can do better for God than to console the distressed! Wipe away the tears of those who weep, be a refuge to the abandoned, pour love into the hearts of the unloved." Mother Teresa had understood that these are the things that are beautiful in the sight of God (cf Mt 25:31-40)."

He's back!

Troy, son BJ's Brittany spaniel, is back. So is BJ, but he's off with friends. Troy continues to be as hyper as ever; he's acting age appropriately, which is too active for our older dogs (and us).

Troy badgers our dog Cisco by biting and jumping on him. Cisco will only take so much. At least, Troy knows that 12 year old Baillie, the cocker, won't put up with him and so leaves Baillie alone.

We know that Baillie and Cisco get nervous with fireworks going off. Tonight we'll see if Troy is affected.

This morning at 3:20 am, ALL the dogs barked and barked and woke us up--a stranger was in the yard! That was BJ coming home from being with friends. So you can guess that we'll see Troy much more than we'll see our 23 year old son this weekend. This is pretty typical. Still, it's nice to have BJ around.

Poor Troy needs MJ (who is still at Laity Lodge Youth Camp as a counselor), because she'll go out running with him, which Troy really needs. I walk pretty slowly for Troy.