Maisie Pictures

These pictures are from yesterday, before it got so cold (for south TX). I did not know which sitting picture to post, but now I think I'll put them both here, even though the only difference was that one was taken inside and one out.

Today

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

How Community Lives

from 2007 Special Olympics in SC

"A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the hundred-yard dash.

"At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry.

"The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked over their shoulders. Then they all turned around and went back.

"Every one of them.

"One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed the fallen boy and said, 'This will make it better.' Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.

"Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes."

Gafni, Marc. Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment. NY: Simon and Schuster, 2001. 129-130.

Friday Five: Social Media

KathrynZG offered today's Friday Five at RevGalBlogPals:


1) What have been the benefits for you of social networking (blog, twitter, facebook, etc...)
Meeting and connecting with friends I might never have known. This started with blogging in 2007 and continues somewhat on Facebook. I only blog or Facebook.

2) Which medium do you use the most? Or if you use them all, for what do you use each of them?
I used to blog more, but find that my blogging friends (like me) are not posting as much. So to get info, especially about puppy Maisie, I do that on Facebook. I still prefer blogging and visiting blogs.

3) If you could invent a networking site (with no limits on your imagination), what would it provide? What would it not provide?
I don't have much imagination about this. . . .

4) Who have you met that you would not have met if it were not for the 'miracle' of social networking?
Physically, I have met Diane, Ellie, and Serena.

Too many people to enumerate, many of whom are on the sidebar. I love finding someone new who enjoys blogging frequently, like Altar Ego and always MomPriest.

5) Who do you secretly pray does not one day try to 'friend/follow' you?
Not sure. . . .

BONUS: What was the most random/weird/unsettling/wonderful connection you made that would not have happened if it were not for the ease of which we can find each other in the computer realm?

Geese Above

Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.

by

Wendell Berry

Maisie report!

Maisie today by CB's feet

Maisie had her second check-up today, and we approximate her age at 3 months or 11-12 weeks. When she was so little on my profile picture, she was only 7 pounds. Today she weighed 17.9 pounds! She is almost the same size (not weight) as our cocker spaniel Baillie, who is fluffier and pudgier.

CB holding Maisie today

I'm such a proud mama! AND CB is a loving papa.

NoH8 campaign

I'm about a week late with this picture of Cindy McCain, but a friend only reminded me to look for it today.
The NoH8 Campaign has this to say about the above picture:

"In the year since we've started the NOH8 Campaign, we've often been surprised at some of the different individuals who have approached us showing their support. Few, though, have surprised us more than Cindy McCain - the wife of Senator John McCain and mother to vocal marriage equality advocate Meghan McCain. The McCains are one of the most well-known Republican families in recent history, and for Mrs. McCain to have reached out to us to offer her support truly means a lot. Although we had worked with Meghan McCain before and were aware of her own position, we'd never really thought the cause might be something her mother would get behind. We have a huge amount of respect for both of these women for being brave enough to make it known they support equal marriage rights for all Americans.

"Aligning yourself with the platform of gay marriage as a Republican still tends to be very stigmatic, but Cindy McCain wanted to participate in the campaign to show people that party doesn't matter - marriage equality isn't a Republican issue any more than it is a Democratic issue. It's about human rights, and everybody being treated equally in the eyes of the law that runs and protects this country.

"Meghan McCain was asked to be the keynote speaker at next month's National Equality Week at George Washington University for her advocacy. In an odd bit of timing, a student Republican organization has become upset that she'll be giving that speech -- and have publicly voiced their disapproval over the ordeal

(you can read more about it here:

http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/meghan_mccain_is_redefining_republican)."

Today is Tuesday!

Cisco and Maisie

We think Maisie grew during the four days in NM! She is so busy that it is hard to get a picture, but here she is with Cisco, whom she harangues. I am surprised at how long her ears are becoming.

When I was at the dentist today, he told me how his three granddaughters received a yellow lab puppy on Christmas morning as a surprise from Santa and they named her Maisie, just like our puppy!

(I was pleased with my dental appointment, because I did not have to get a crown. My wonderfully conservative dentist said I could choose between a crown and a filling, which would last for an unknown amount of time. Since we no longer have dental insurance, I chose the latter.)

near Albuquerque

This picture was taken on Sunday when it was only 34 degrees F. with a windchill of 24 degrees F. and we walked a short distance in the Petroglyph National Park.

I'll write about the Richard Rohr/James Finley conference soon. It was especially nice to be there with my husband, plus three other members from our church. James Finley talked about the progressive "narrow gate crossings" on our spiritual journey. The overreaching message was that God loves us overwhelmingly into being and into each moment.

Expensive meal!

This is cute, though not necessarily pertinent. When CB and I were having a wonderful dinner last night in Corrales, NM I found something hard in my mouth as I was eating some bread before the meal. CB thought it was a seed, but somehow I knew it was part of a broken tooth!

One side of a top molar broke off, and I am seeing my dentist about it early tomorrow morning. Is this another crown?

As CB said, last night's meal could be the most expensive one we ever had! (It was delicious.)

Coming home again

Today we'll fly back to Corpus Christi from Albuqerque. I bet we'll be surprised at how much Maisie has grown!

Last night in Albuquerque

The conference was wonderful, especially with my husband with me. Three others came from our church to it, too! It was good for all of us to hear that the overwhelming message of the mystics is that God loves us into being and continues to love us so overwhelmingly for all time--this means each person, not just each Christian.

The weather looks good for our travels tomorrow, so we should arrive back in warmer Corpus Christi, TX in the late afternoon. I wonder if Maisie will remember us?

Death of a self

The Shell of a Man by Martin Askem

"Death is what takes place within us when we look upon others not as gift, blessing, or stimulus but as threat, danger, competition. It is the death that comes to all who try to live by bread alone. This is the death that the Bible fears and gives us good reason to fear. It is not the final departure we usually think of when we speak of death; it is that purposeless, empty existence devoid of genuine human relationships and filled with anxiety, silence, and loneliness." (4)

Soelle, Dorothee. Death by Bread Alone. Fortress Press, 1978.

God's Love

Here are some quotes about God's love that are from a book I read soon after my first Walk to Emmaus in 1994.

"God is always moving out from himself towards creation and, with a graciousness which makes us gasp with wonder, strives to love you and me into a relationship with himself." (24)

"Because God is, we are: because God will be, we will be. God moves us into the future towards himself. God creates us moment by moment." (24)

"Our spiritual life flourishes not when we realize that we love God but when we start to take in some of the enormity of the love that God has for us." (72)

Budd, Rosemary. Journey of Prayer. Upper Room Books, 1990.

Friday Five: Travel

Songbird at RevGals proposes thoughts about transportation and travel for this Friday Five:

And I am participating in it because our flight to DFW was cancelled this morning. Possibly we will be able to catch a plane in three hours, thus arriving in Albuquerque right when the conference begins, though we'll be far away at the airport. So this is a very opportune FF for me!

1) What was the mode of transit for your last trip?
For Thanksgiving, it was our car--going to Austin to spend the holiday with our married son and his wife, plus DC's two siblings.

2) Have you ever traveled by train?
When I was a child, that was one of the main ways of travel between my dad's base postings when we visited relatives. The last time I was on a train was when I rode it from Seattle to Bellingham decades ago.

3) Do you live in a place with public transit, and if so, do you use it?
There is a limited bus service, but I do not use it.

OOPS--the last time I was on a train was when I went to Minneapolis in 2008 for an ERD conference and rode the train between the airport and downtown, which is where I met Diane and her husband!

4) What's the most unusual vehicle in which you've ever traveled?
Probably a DUCK this past summer in Seattle on the Duck Tour. That's a WWII amphibious vehicle.


5) What's the next trip you're planning to take?
To Albuquerque for the Richard Rohr conference TODAY!! (I hope)

Surrender our problems to God

"God loves our weaknesses and he desires that his love will bring them into wholeness (that is, heal them). However, he wants and needs our trust to do it, and that is the greatest gift we give him when we sacrifice our weaknesses to him. For we would only reveal our weaknesses to someone we trusted. . . .

"Therefore, when we sacrifice our weaknesses to God telling him all about ourselves, we are paying him the greatest compliment. We are trusting him not to turn his back, laugh at us, or hurt us further as we make ourselves vulnerable to him. We are trusting his love.

"When we sacrifice our weaknesses to God we are also giving him something more--our attachment to our weaknesses." (69)

Dobson, Theodore E. Say But the Word: How the Lord's Supper Can Transform Your Life. Paulist Press, 1984.

Off to Albuquerque!

Tomorrow CB and I fly to Albuquerque to attend the conference there: "Following the Mystics Through the Narrow Gates." It is exciting to attend that, especially with my husband coming along with me!

• We leave in the morning, when it will probably be foggy. We hope to get to the conference by the time it starts at 2 pm.

• A friend is staying at our house to take care of the dogs, especially puppy Maisie. That is a great relief to have someone here who will nurture them for the four days we are gone.
  

• I am pre-posting some inspirational quotes for the days that I am gone, so I hope friends will stop by to read these short thoughts each day. In that way, I'll still be connected to you all.

• I am looking forward to buying a cd set another friend recommended, which is about the theology of Duns Scotus, who was first recommended by my old spiritual director.

• Even with the Kindle, I am taking a "real" book along--The Eye of Spirit by Ken Wilber. Between the two, I should have enough to read on the plane rides.
  

Intercessory Prayer

by Donna Rathert

"Catherine of Siena stands as the classic example of the renewing power of intercessory prayer. She discovered that when her interior prayer was dry, if she held others in the light of God, her own heart was warmed and her spirit took fire." (67)

Freer, Harold Wiley and Hall, Francis B. Two or Three Together: A Manual for Prayer Groups. NY: Harper and Brothers, 1945.

Clicker training

AE and KA sent us two dog clickers, a puppy training book, and treats from Seattle for Maisie. I was not sure whether to try using a clicker before our four-day trip to Albuquerque this weekend or not. However, for two days I have clicked for Maisie sitting, and she seems to be getting that command. So we will see how much she remembers after the trip.

I was also pleased today that she is getting the idea of going towards the crate when I say "crate," which happens when I leave the house. No clicking with that, but treats are put into the crate when she gets in it.

I get a little confused about clicking when all three dogs are around, because a click for Maisie is also a click for Baillie and Cisco, no matter what they're doing. My timeliness is not very good for giving them all treats for the same click.

Just like for humans, food is an ideal reward! Both CB and I enjoy our cups of hot chocolate every night, which seems like a bonus for eating (mostly) nutritiously throughout the day.

Eternal Spirit

Ken Wilber writes:

"And who knows, we might, you and I just might, in the upper reaches of the spectrum of consciousness itself, directly intuit the mind of some eternal Spirit--a Spirit that shines forth in every I and every we and every it, a Spirit that sings as the rain and dances as the wind, a Spirit of which every conversation is the sincerest worship, a Spirit that speaks with your tongue and looks out from your eyes, that touches with these hands and cries out with this voice--and a Spirit that has always whispered lovingly in our ears: Never forget the Good, and never forget the True, and never forget the Beautiful."

Wilber, Ken. The Eye of Spirit. Boston: Shambhala, 2001. 32.

Be the change!

Our weekly book group at church, The Wisdom Class, is almost finished with our reading and discussion of The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See by Richard Rohr. We've been meeting since September on this book and have had lively sharing each week.

The last chapter of the book is entitled "In the end, it all comes down to this" (159-162). As Rohr writes at the beginning of this section, "Be the change you want to see in the world" by Mohandas Gandhi. So here are some of the changes that Rohr suggests:

• If you want others to be more loving, choose to love first.

• If you want a reconciled outer world, reconcile your own inner world.

• If you are working for peace out there, create it inside as well.

• If you notice other people's irritability, let go of your own.

• If you wish to find some outer stillness, find it within yourself.

• If you are working for justice, treat yourself justly, too.

• If you find yourself resenting the faults of others, stop resenting your own.

• If the world seems desperate, let go of your own despair.

• If you want a just world, start being just in small ways yourself.

• If your situation feels hopeless, honor the one spot of hope inside you.

• If you want to find God, then honor God within you, and you will always see God beyond you. For it is only God in you who knows where and how to look for God.

Rohr, Richard. The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See. NY: Crossroad Publishing, 2009. 161.

Now these points can sound like platitudes. At times, wisdom looks like that. I remember viewing Al-Anon sayings during one period of my life, such as "Live one day at a time" or "Let go and let God," as old sayings that didn't really mean anything nowadays. But they do! Anything looked at superficially or dismissively seems insignificant; looking slowly in concentration reveals much more.

So I challenge you to choose one point of Rohr's and sit with it for a few minutes or hold it in your mind for awhile longer.

Maisie and Baillie

This morning I was surprised to find Baillie in the crate with Maisie. We originally bought that huge crate 17 years ago for BJ's Lab puppy Licorice, who died a few years ago.

Friday Five: IF

In EFM this week, our question was, "If you were a color, what would you be?" So that's where this Friday Five comes from, at least its jumping off place.

1. If you were a color, what would you be?
I had a headstart on this one, so what I explained in EFM was this:
I often think I blend into the background and so I picture the outside as being beige, but with a pulsating and spouting center of red. The unexpected bursts of scarlet are my surprising comments (to some), especially concerning my theological viewpoints or beliefs about breastfeeding or LGBT issues.

2. If you were a flower (or plant), what would you be?
My favorite flower is a pansy, partly because that was my mother's favorite. As a little girl, I remember her pointing out the "faces" on each pansy. I would imagine them being little people. Pansies are cheerful, which I hope I am.

3. If you were an animal, what kind would you be?
When we were first dating, my (future) husband told me my hair looked like a cocker spaniel's--long and wavy. That seems rather like an insult, but cockers are usually my favorite kind of dogs. I like to be loved and loving, which is what a cocker is like.

4. If you were a shoe, what type would you be?
Sensible! I loved getting mary jane shoes when I was a little girl, though I had to wear saddle shoes to school. Now I want comfortable and sensible shoes, as I have reached a phase in life where I don't have to be "fashionable."

5. If you were a typeface, which font would you be?
When I was the Lay Director for an Emmaus Walk in 2001, I loved the Lucida Calligraphy. It is simple but elegant. I'm basically a plain person, so now I realize that I've always liked (hand) printing because I was an elementary school teacher, plus I print nicely. So a font should go along with that characteristic: Arial, which is what we use on most of our word documents. I don't know the hype about any font, so this is purely off the top of my head.

Bonus: Anything connected with metaphors that you'd like to contribute.

Who are you?

How to help in Haiti

The Quaker Agitator posted a link to all these NGOs we could donate to and where the money donated will go to help the people of Haiti. So go here.

Slideshow: Haiti earthquake damage and recovery efforts (photos, video)

Slideshow: Haiti earthquake damage and recovery efforts (photos, video)

Posted using ShareThis

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF HAITI.

Maisie keeps growing!

Maisie and MJ before MJ left for school on Monday

Look at my profile picture, which was taken when we first found Maisie and you will see how much she has grown! Last night CB was saying that she must have been very young when we found her, because she's gotten so big AND her feet keep growing! She's really looking like a Lab, even with her white feet, which show that she's not a pure-blooded Lab.

CB and Maisie before the choir program on Sunday

New puppy Maisie and Sampson

Son DC sent me the pictures he took at Christmas here, and this one of his dog Sampson and the surprise puppy Maisie is his favorite. I am putting it here to show you how little she was 2 1/2 weeks ago!

This makes sense to me

"There was no 'before' the beginning of our universe, because once upon a time there was no time."

-- John D. Barrow

(My "best" thought for the day. . . .)

More Maisie pictures--with friends!

CB holding Maisie with Cisco in the background.

When I was leaving for church this morning, I found both Cisco and Maisie in the big crate that has been here since we had our first Lab who died a few years ago. Cisco was lying in the back, and Maisie was lying in the front.

Maisie and Baillie playing tug of war

We bought this toy for Maisie, but Baillie always wants it--ONLY when Maisie has it though. Lately, they've started playing tug of war with it, which is cute.

Maisie looking at Baillie at the end of tug of war

Words for the Year

Christine at Abbey of the Arts asked readers to contribute words of their intentions for the New Year. I wanted this to be bigger, but it's not. Click here or on the above image for a larger view.

And I am grateful to Mary Beth in directing me to find this at Abbey of the Arts.

What word would you choose for 2010? I'm in between "listen" and "mindfulness."

Saturday Stuff

• Sun is out and it feels warmer than it is; 41 degrees F., which is unusually cold for Corpus Christi, TX.

• Daughter MJ and I saw "Avatar" today. I'm so glad I saw it; without her, I never would have seen it in a theater. 3-D is a must! It was fun, beautiful, and mythic--and reminiscent of a video game with the fight sequences. This is the fourth movie I've seen in two weeks, which is probably more than I'd usually see in an entire year in a theater!

• I am praying for my church All Saints Episcopal Church. We've had a difficult 2 1/2 years: pastor of 17 years left; interim priest; wonderful new priest; clergy misconduct of first rector comes to light; and now wonderful not-so-new priest is being considered as a candidate for Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming. Sandy is so exceptional and also beloved in Wyoming (where she used to be) that I cannot imagine she would not be elected on March 20. I dread the whole interim/search process again so soon, but I don't want to hope or pray that Sandy is not selected.
  

• MJ goes back to school in San Antonio on Monday.
  

• Husband CB is in the All Saints Choir. Tomorrow afternoon there is a special choir performance at church. Following that is a choir party at one of the members' home. Potluck; I am taking the easy Symphony brownies, where you put Symphony chocolate bars in between two layers of brownie mix, like this. Very easy recipe, but so good.
  

Wyoming Bishop Search, which includes my parish priest

WYOMING BISHOP SEARCH UPDATE 12-22-09

Two New Nominees Join Slate for Bishop of Wyoming

The Oversight Committee for the Search, Transition & Election has certified the petition nominations for The Rev. Canon Margaret Babcock and The Rev. Sandra Casey-Martus to join the slate for the 9th Bishop of Wyoming, making a total now of six nominees. These two candidates will be officially added to the ballot for the Electing Convention once their Oxford background checks have cleared.

Margaret Babcock is presently an employee of the Diocese of Wyoming, serving as the canon for congregational and ministry development. Sandra Casey-Martus is rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Corpus Christi, TX and has roots in Wyoming. She was the executive director of the Alta Retreat Center for 10 years and the vicar of St. Francis in the Tetons from 1996-2005.

[I announced that Sandy would be our new priest at All Saints Episcopal Church about one year ago here.]

Petition nominees Babcock and Casey-Martus join the Search Committee nominees:

- The Rev. Rebecca “Becky” Brown, Rector - St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Foxborough, MA / Diocese of Massachusetts

- The Very Rev. Canon F. Michael Perko, Ph.d., Dean – Diocesan School for Ministry; Regional Canon; Assisting Priest, Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, NM / Diocese of the Rio Grande

- The Rev. Canon Dr. Clark Michael Sherman, Rector – St. James Church, Bozeman, MT; Regional Canon; University Chaplain / Diocese of Montana

- The Rev. John Sheridan Smylie, Rector – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Casper, WY / Diocese of Wyoming

Nominee walkabouts will take place around the state from February 24 to March 4, 2010 with the Electing Convention scheduled for March 20, 2010 at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Laramie.

http://www.wyomingbishopsearch.com/

Transform!

Gratitude is the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos. When we offer thanks to God or to another human being, gratitude gifts us with renewal, reflection, reconnection.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

To receive such quotations every day, subscribe to Word for the Day at Gratefulness.org.

Maisie pictures

Maisie this morning

Maisie and Cisco playing

So many pictures, and we've only had Maisie for 13 days now! She keeps growing.

In the upper picture, you can see shreds of paper from a book she started to chew and also the lever of the reclining chair shows both her and Troy's teeth marks. (Troy is my son BJ's Brittany Spaniel.)

I'm such a proud mama!

The best soup!

Gypsy Soup

About 45 minutes to prepare: a delicately spiced Spanish-style vegetable soup.

2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

(I used a 28 oz. can of petite-diced tomatoes, drained)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

3 medium cloves garlic, crushed

1 stalk celery, minced

2 cups peeled, diced sweet potato

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp milk paprika

1 tsp. tumeric

1 tsp. basil

dash of cinnamon

dash of cayenne

1 bay leaf

3 cups water

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas

(I used 1 can of drained chickpeas)

1. (Optional) Heat a medium sized saucepanful of water to boiling Core the tomatoes, and plunge them into the boiling water for a slow count of 10. Remove the tomatoes, and peel them over a sink. Cut them open; squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the remaining pulp and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, celery, pepper, and sweet potato (I also added two diced carrots) and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and sauté 5 minutes more. Add seasonings and water, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.

3. Add tomato pulp and chickpeas (and I added frozen green peas). Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until all the vegetables are as tender as you like them. Taste to adjust seasonings, and serve.

**The vegetables in this soup can be varied. Any orange vegetable can be combined with any green. For example, peas or green beans could replace—or augment—the peppers. Carrots, pumpkin, or squash could fill in for the sweet potatoes. Innovate!

Mollie Katzen’s Recipes: Soups. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2007. 10-11.

Pictures

Cisco and Maisie

MJ with wiggly Maisie

Compare these pictures with the puppy pictures I posted about ten days ago. Maisie is growing and growing. She is so quick that my pictures are often blurry.

Tonight I tripped over one of the three dogs and fell flat on my stomach on the tile floor in the laundry room. Luckily, I have strong bones. I landed mostly on my knees and left hand, which is slightly swollen (but I can still type!). I lay there for a few minutes, and when I moved my head, I saw that the puppy was sitting very quietly in the crate looking at me.

Today we took down all the Christmas decorations, nativity scenes, and tree. The house looks bare.

CB is off to choir practice, and in a few minutes MJ and I are going to see a movie--"Up in the Air." CB doesn't like to go to movie theaters, so I am glad I get to go out to see a movie tonight!

Shine, Glow, Be the Candle!

By Trudy Kenyon

Quote from Edith Wharton

Matthew 5:16

Thus shine your light before the people so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

“Having compared us to salt and light, Jesus now moves on to make sure we understand. This verse is usually translated by some variation on the anemic, ‘Let your light shine.’ However, the verb Christ uses is imperative, the tense used for a command. This isn’t a suggestion. ‘Shine your [pl.] light!’ Jesus orders. We are to shine in the presence of other people, not to glorify ourselves but to help others understand why we behave as we do. The phrase ‘good works’ might perhaps be better understood as the beautiful, useful service we do for others.

“If our light is shining—if we are not shy about who we are and whom we serve—then what we say and do will be seen by others and cause them to think well of the God we serve. We need to remember that at all times we are God’s ambassadors to this world, always in the public eye and always living our God-centered lives for the good of those around us. . . . .At the same time, we can take heart that all the yous in this verse are plural. Christianity is meant to be a community affair. Many grains of salt make people thirsty. Many different kinds of light make the city glow. When we work together with Jesus as our guide, we can do great things.” (47)

Oberst, Karen L. But I Tell You: Jesus Introduces a Better Way to Live. Newberg, Oregon: Barclay Press, 2007. 47.

Lord, teach me

Lord, teach me to live today.

Help me to see that love and holiness have dirty feet

through dancing joyfully about the earth, hands joined in yours.

That life with you is whole and holy;

That everything I do

can bear your imprint,

can be colored by your love.

Eddie Askew (1927-2007)

from "Breaking the Rules" in The Leprosy Mission, 1992.

Today's BEST

The best thing about today is our new puppy Maisie. She is sweet and energetic (and chewy) all at the same time. We love her, though Baillie (13 year old cocker) and Cisco (5 year old mixed breed) could do without her, but at least they tolerate her.

One Minute Shift!

January NaBloPoMo postings of BESTs

Well, since I've posted every day in January so far, I thought I might as well commit to posting every day for the rest of the month. That may only be difficult when CB and I go to the January conference in Albuquerque of "Following the Mystics" with Richard Rohr, James Finley, and Cynthia Bourgeault speaking, but I'll try to stay committed.

I still cannot believe that CB agreed to attend the talks with me. The last time he came with me, he would not pay or go to any of the lectures on the enneagram. So that is one of the BEST things that is happening: the Richard Rohr conference with CB!

Of course, one of the other BEST things is Maisie, the new (lost and found) puppy!

A puppy lesson for me!

This morning I hung sheets on the clothesline for the first time in weeks, because it has been cold and rainy here for awhile. Holding the laundry basket as always, I dropped it to shut the backdoor. I was so surprised when I heard the puppy yelp and disappear. So I thought Maisie had run off into the yard.

After I hung the clothes on the line, I started looking for the puppy who appeared to be lost again. I searched behind every bush along the fence in our backyard and kept calling and looking. Then I got worried, because after the second and third times around the yard I could not find her. I even prayed for Maisie's safety.

Then I worriedly called CB, who is working at one of the Habitat (for Humanity) houses, as he does almost every day. Speaking to him, I realized I had not looked in the house. When I came in, there was Maisie asleep by the love seat in the family room. She is lying just as she was last night when I took this picture:

So today I learned (AGAIN) how quick puppies are!

New Year Puppy

Maisie on Jan. 1, 2010

Friday Five: Starting out in 2010

I completely forgot that today was FRIDAY until an hour ago! So here is a belated participation in the RevGals Friday Five, which was offered eloquently by Sally:

As I prepare this post I am aware that it will be posted on New Years Day. We stand at the beginning of 2010 looking not only at a New Year, but at a new decade full of promise and possibilities. For some of us this will be exciting, but others will approach it with trepidation and probably most of us stand on this threshold with a mix of emotions and reactions.

It is at this time of year that many (British) Methodist Churches celebrate their Annual Covenant Service, a service that will include this prayer:

I am no longer my own but yours,
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now glorious and blessed God,
Father , Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
May it be so forever.
Let this covenant now made on earth
be fulfilled in heaven. AMEN

This prayer is said every year, and offers every member an opportunity to renew their covenant with God. This is no soft or easy prayer, it states in the company of others our willingness to worship God come what may, not that we should become doormats, but that we place God above all else. ( And every year if we are honest we have to acknowledge that we fail).

With this prayer in mind I bring you this Friday Five:


1. What will you gladly leave behind in 2009?
All I can think of right now is 20 pounds that I'm glad to have left behind.

2. What is the biggest challenge of 2010 for you?
The biggest challenge is losing more weight and also completing my scholarly papers for my master's degree in theology before it is too late.

NO, the BIGGEST challenge is training the new puppy, Maisie!

3. Is there anything that you simply need to hand to God and say "all will be well, for you are with me"?
Perhaps this is where I should put those scholarly papers.

I also have to tell myself with my twice daily times of meditation, since I have no idea whether I am doing this "right"--even as I know a value judgment doesn't even apply!

4. If you could only achieve one thing in 2010 what would it be?
See above. Losing 25 pounds.

5. Post a picture, poem or song that sums up your prayer for the year ahead....
Connected to the Covenant Prayer of Wesley's that Sally put above, here is another thought from John Wesley:

O, Begin!

Fix some part of every day for private exercises. . . .

Whether you like it or no, read and pray daily.

It is for your life; there is no other way:

else you will be a trifler all your days. . . .

Do justice to your own soul;

give it time and means to grow.

Do not starve yourself any longer.

~~John Wesley

2010