Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving

"The Ibo in Nigeria have a proverb that says, 'It is the heart that gives; the fingers just let go.' Giving is something only the heart can do. And this is true not only of gift-giving, but of all forms of giving. There are three preeminent forms: giving up, thanksgiving, and forgiving. The heart knows that all belongs to all. And so, when we live from the heart, we are free to give up without fearful clinging. The heart is at home in belonging. And so, when we live from the heart, we celebrate the bond of mutual give-and-take through thanksgiving all we do. The heart fully affirms that all belong to all. And so, when we live from the heart, we forgive from the heart, from that center where offender and offended are one, where healing has its roots. Forgiving is the perfection of giving."

Steindl-Rast, David. Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer. NY: Paulist Press, 1984. 200.

Small Things Challenge

Alleviate world poverty? Isn’t that impossible?

There is so much grinding poverty in the world – how could just one of us possibly make a difference? The reason it seems so impossible is that we tend to focus on the immense number of people suffering from poverty – and on how little we can do individually. So we give up trying.

But there are two points to remember when we think about global problems:

1. Every action counts;
2. We are not alone.

Taking action is like planting a seed. Watch this short video to see how small thing can become big: (Here’s a link to the video if you can’t see it below.)

Do you believe in evolution?

In February 2009, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a report "Darwin Debated: Religion vs. Evolution" from which this graph was copied. It is shocking to me that less than 50% of Americans believe in evolution.

I learned from a friend that I am a believer in Theistic Evolution. Here is a detailed chart comparing characteristics of evolution and creationism.

What is it?

A dear friend sent me a belated birthday present, which I opened this afternoon. I am not sure what it is. All I know is that it originally was a fork.

What do I say in my thank you note?

The only thing I can think of is that it could (?) be a holder for reading glasses. . . . The nice thing about the silver pattern is that it was the pattern of my mother's stainless steel flatware.

The (silly) Goose

The Goose

Do you want to know why I am alive today?
I will tell you.
Early on, during the food-shortage,
Some of us were miraculously presented
Each with a goose that laid a golden egg.
Myself, I killed the cackling thing and I ate it.
Alas, many and many of the other recipients
Died of gold-dust poisoning.

Muriel Spark

Spark, Muriel. "The Goose." Good Poems for Hard Times. Ed. Garrison Keillor. NY: Penguin, 2005. 14.

Friday Five: Thanksgiving Thoughts

The Cure

Lying around all day
with some strange new deep blue
weekend funk, I'm not really asleep
when my sister calls
to say she's just hung up
from talking with Aunt Bertha
who is 89 and ill but managing
to take care of Uncle Frank
who is completely bed ridden.
Aunt Bert says
it's snowing there in Arkansas,
on Catfish Lane, and she hasn't been
able to walk out to their mailbox.
She's been suffering
from a bad case of the mulleygrubs.
The cure for the mulleygrubs,
she tells my sister,
is to get up and bake a cake.
If that doesn't do it, put on a red dress.

--Ginger Andrews (from Hurricane Sisters)

So this Friday before Thanksgiving, think about Aunt Bert and how she'll celebrate Thanksgiving! And how about YOU?

1. What is your cure for the "mulleygrubs"?
Eat some chocolate. Think of the ABC's of gratitude. Sometimes visiting blogging friends helps!

2. Where will you be for Thanksgiving?
This will be our second Thanksgiving spent in Austin, which is a 4 1/2 hour drive north of Corpus Christi. Son DC and wife AA are again hosting us at their house. Her family will be there and ours will be there, except for daughters AE and KA who live in Seattle. And son BJ will also bring his Brittany spaniel Troy who is much too active for DC and AA's bulldog Sampson. (Pictures of pets here.)

3. What foods will be served? Which are traditional for your family?
Our family traditions mix with AA's family's. Turkey, of course; CB and I are making the stuffing on Thanksgiving morning. I don't think there will be sweet potatoes; instead mashed potatoes and gravy. DC insists upon a green jello salad, which surprises me, but is a tradition from my mother. I am also baking a pecan pie and am not sure that pumpkin will be served or not.

I always enjoy this traditional meal for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I'll be cooking it for Christmas. Then it's usually turkey, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, green jello, broccoli, and rolls. Lots of carbs!

4. How do you feel about Thanksgiving as a holiday?
For me, it is mostly an eating day--and a cooking day. When the kids were growing up, we would always go and see a movie while the turkey was cooking, but that stopped last year when I wasn't cooking the turkey. If we had lived closer to extended family members, it would have been more of a big family event, but we have always lived away. For the Aggies of the family (DC, AA, and BJ), there is the big football game between Texas A&M University versus the University of Texas.

5. In this season of Thanksgiving, what are you grateful for?
I am glad that most of my family will be with us for Thanksgiving. I am glad our family is healthy and stays connected.

BONUS: Describe Aunt Bert's Thanksgiving.
I hope the snow has stopped for Aunt Bertha and that her neighbors will bring over dinner for her and her bedridden husband. Aunt Bertha will wear her red dress again and offer them some cake and pecan pie (in Arkansas, of course!). Aunt Bert loves to bake.

Today is God

In the beginning was God,
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is the word which comes out of your mouth.
That word! It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God.

~~Pygmy

Tutu, Desmond. An African Prayer Book. NY: Doubleday, 1995. 8.

Queer Bible Commentary

A friend who is a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church loaned me her copy of The Queer Bible Commentary. I dislike the adjective "Queer" in the title and might never have looked at it if CL had not talked about it and/or lent it to me. I am impressed by the scholarship in this book. It is interesting and informative.

The book cover is by modern icon writer Robert Lentz.

The Day

When the Day Came
by Kabir

English version by Andrew Harvey

When the Day came –
The Day I had lived and died for –
The Day that is not in any calendar –
Clouds heavy with love
Showered me with wild abundance.
Inside me, my soul was drenched.
Around me, even the desert grew green.

This is from Poetry Chaikhana, where you may subscribe to a daily email.

Tired Tuesday

I feel kind of like this hedgehog in the fog--bleary and tired. I had three church meetings today, which lasted for 2 + 3 + 2 = 7 hours. I am not a meeting person; but to be honest five of those hours were two classes. I'm just tired, maybe because I took benadryl a few hours ago. . . .

Prayer from Nan Merrill's "Peace Planet"

The prayer in Nan Merrill's Peace Planet: Light for Our World that I am praying for today is specifically for Burundi, which touches me since I just read Tracy Kidder's latest book, Strength in What Remains. That is about a refugee from Burundi who is now a medical student in the US; what an amazing story of strength and resilience.

But this is also a prayer for our world:

If planetary peace seems
beyond our reach, recall:
Miracles are natural when
we rely on the Source of All
to carry our burdens with us.
Then, even peace is possible.

We are asking,
May
Miracles
flourish on Earth.

"Snow Cake"

Since I recommitted with nablopomo.com to blog every day in November, I have to post something. So I will recommend a movie I already suggested on Facebook: Snow Cake.

The movie is so good that I've bought it. The acting is excellent, especially with Sigourney Weaver playing an autistic woman.

Here is the story line (from here):

"Alex Hughes, an ex-convict, is on a road trip to Winnipeg to see an old friend. Along the way, he meets the annoying, but vivacious, Vivienne Freeman who manages to bum a ride with him. Just as he begins to warm to this eccentric girl, Alex's vehicle is in a serious automobile accident that kills Vivienne. After his meeting with the police, Alex decides to speak with Vivienne's mother. Upon arrival at her home, Alex discovers that the mother, Linda, is a highly functional autistic woman who convinces him to stay long to take out the garbage the day after the funeral he agrees to arrange. In those few days, Alex discovers new friends and learns more about the uniqueness of Linda even as he struggles to come to terms with his own grief."

Silence and duct tape?

This struck me as funny this morning. I remember how my dad would fix things with duct tape, even holding his suitcase together when locks wouldn't work! I look at those memories fondly now, while at the time I felt critical and frustrated.

Friday Five: Friday the 13th!

Sophia writes for RevGalBlogPals:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear). The term triskaidekaphobia derives from the Greek words "tris", meaning 'three', "kai", meaning 'and', and "deka", meaning 'ten'. the whole word means three and ten. The word was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953. (Wikipedia)

With thanks to my dear spouse TechnoGuy for the great suggestion, it's a Friday the 13th Friday Five!

1. How is this Friday the 13th looking for you?
A friend I have not seen for several months is taking me out to lunch to celebrate my birthday from two weeks ago.

2. Have you ever had anything unlucky happen on Friday the 13th?
No

3. Did your family of origin embrace or scorn superstitions?
My family just thought the superstitions were funny.

4. Are there any unique or amusing ones from your family, region, or ethnic background?
The only story, which I tend to believe is true, is about a ghost visiting my mother's aunt when she was young. Aunt Lally was my grandmother's younger sister. While they still lived in Scotland, she and her mother talked about people returning after they died and the mother told Aunt Lally that people would be too frightened and so that did not occur often. The story goes that after her mother died, Aunt Lally was awakened one night by the appearance of her mother and screamed. Then her mother said, "I told you so."

5. Do you love or hate horror movies like "Friday the 13th"?
I HATE horror movies and avoid them at all costs.

Our hungry yellow dogs

"Sufis speak of their nafs, or the false self that takes the place of the soul. Somewhat more complicated than the concept of the ego, the nafs refers to all that is in ourselves which has become an object for others or for ourselves. It is our visible self, the tangible, public aspect of a personality. It is what we see when we look at ourselves, it is what we present to others to be seen by them. It is what stands in the way of our oneness with others, with ourselves, with the Divine. The nafs in each of us has a life of its own, logical, powerful, real. Sometimes the Sufis describe it as a hungry yellow dog that stays begging at our side until we learn to drive it away."

Carse, James P. Breakfast at the Victory: Mysticism of Ordinary Experience. San Francisco: Harper, 1994. 114.

THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION

Watch the video!

Charter for Compassion

Charter for Compassion will be unveiled tomorrow!

CHARTER FOR COMPASSION TRAILER from TED Prize on Vimeo.

Dualistic Cartoon!

Richard Rohr writes in The Naked Now:

"With dualistic minds it is always one or the other--it can never be both. The result is that we still think of ourselves as mere humans trying desperately to become 'spiritual,' when the Christian revelation was precisely that you are already spiritual ('in God'), and your difficult but necessary task is to learn how to become human. Jesus came to model the full integration for us and, in effect, told us that Divinity looked just like him--while he looked ordinarily human to everybody!

"It is in our humanity that we are still so wounded, so needy, so unloving, so self-hating, and so in need of enlightenment. We seem to have spawned centuries of people trying to be spiritual and religious, whereas our record on basic humanness is rather pitiful." (69)

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

By Bob Seal

The troubled mind cannot decide between "good/bad" or "right/wrong." That's how we automatically think in dualistic terms. It is much harder to observe non-judgmentally, as the dog is thinking in the cartoon.

READ this poem aloud! Beautiful!

The Messenger
by Mary Oliver

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over how it is

that we live forever.

Oliver, Mary. Thirst. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006.1.

Marine Corps Birthday

During the American Revolution, many important political discussions took place in the inns and taverns of Philadelphia, including the founding of the Marine Corps.

A committee of the Continental Congress met at Tun Tavern to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore.

The resolution was approved on November 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines.

As the first order of business, Samuel Nicholas became Commandant of the newly formed Marines. Tun Tavern’s owner and popular patriot, Robert Mullan, became his first captain and recruiter. They began gathering support and were ready for action by early 1776.

Each year, the Marine Corps marks November 10th with a celebration of the brave spirit which compelled these men and thousands since to defend our country as United States Marines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I always think of the Marine Corps birthday, because I grew up on Marine (and Navy) Bases until I was in 10th grade in high school. My parents would always go to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, dressed very elegantly.

Hungersite donations

30.1 million cups of food were donated in the first six months of 2009 by individuals clicking on that site every day.

I remember because I signed up on that site to be reminded. Every day I receive an email with a link, which causes me to click. It only takes seconds, and it actually helps.

Consequences of Gay Marriage

Serenity Prayer

Gift of Today!

Brother David Steindl-Rast tells us about the gift of today:

Z end of gratitude of ABC's!

Zambia

I will always be grateful that I spent one month in Zambia in 2006 on a trip sponsored by Oblate School of Theology. In the group of five (four Roman Catholic religious) I was in the minority for being a layperson, a wife and mother, and a Protestant. Otherwise, in Zambia I felt in a minority for being a healthy older person, being white and from America. It was good for me to experience that, as well as to meet the wonderful people of Zambia, especially in the outreaches beyond Lukulu where I saw extreme poverty and much evidence of HIV/AIDS. My heart belongs to the Zambian people and the missionaries there.

zoo

I am expecially grateful for the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo, which has continued to expand its grounds into natural habitats for the animals. As my children grew up, we went there every summer. This past August, we went again!

DC and wife AA with MJ and X-boy friend CS

zippity-do-da

Zippity-do-da, I'm done with the alphabet!

Gratefulness.org

Yes!

As this is posted, I'll be in San Antonio for one of those mystics courses--this time Ronald Rolheiser talking about Therese of Lisieux. That's worth leaving here at 6 am to get to San Antonio in time for the talk's beginning.

So with the gratitude list almost finished, signaled by few comments, I am glad.

Yes

Hearing someone say "yes" or answering that is a positive action to be grateful for. Each breath we take is a "yes" to life and a gift from God.

You

"You" was once my centering prayer holy word. Now that I am sitting in Christ-centered prayer, I no longer use a centering word. However, I am always looking to the Divine You.

yesterday

I am especially grateful for yesterday, which was MJ's 20th birthday.

Meeting you is always a joy.

Pictures from MJ's Birthday

Birthday Girl

On Thursday, Nov. 5 I drove to San Antonio, arriving after MJ's last class at 3:30. We then went shopping and big brother DC joined us. Following the successful trip to DSW, with the purchase of suede low boots and ridiculously high and beautiful pink heels for MJ, we went to dinner at La Fonda, where we ate outside. We learned that La Fonda is owned by Cappy, where we ate for my birthday!

MJ and Jan

MJ, DC, and Jan

All the pictures were taken at La Fonda, the last one by the bartender.

X is almost the end of gratitudes

Although I know gratitude is the way to live and pray, I feel empty at X. Mompriest had little to say about it either.

I am praying "Bless ___________, change me" for someone who seemed dear to our family, but decided not to be. I need to pray this so God will defuse my desire to "X" him from our lives.

Happy Birthday, MJ!!

Today is MJ's birthday. I am baking her a German chocolate cake and then taking it to her in San Antonio. Hopefully our cat Gracie will avoid the cake making process!

MJ is 20 years old today. What a beautiful young woman she is!

Don't hate

Thanks to Ellie.

Who is grateful?

wishing, wishes

I grew up with my mother telling me that old aphorism: "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." It never made much sense to me, but I like remembering it now because of its truth and the connection with my mother and probably her mother (my Nana).

Trying to live in the present moment eliminates wishes and/or expectations, but it is hard to remain there. I wish all my children to feel happy, but that is not always possible. I love them and pray for them.

water

I am grateful for water, especially the plentiful and clean water here in the USA.

I believe this is something that should be guaranteed for each person on earth and it is not. There is an NGO that works for this: WaterAid.

waffles

I am grateful for waffles and the memories of making them for my family, especially the few times we had them for dinner! Most of my children as they grew up requested waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for their birthday breakfasts.

I discovered a recipe that makes very crispy waffles while we lived in Rhode Island in 1991-1992. It has yeast in it and must be made the night before:

1. The night before, combine:

• 1/2 cup warm water
  
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar

Let stand 5 minutes for the yeast to dissolve.

2. Add:

• 2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups unbleached flour

Stir until completely smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.

3. The next morning heat a waffle iron according to its instructions.
Beat together:

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• pinch of baking soda

Add to the batter, stirring until well mixed.

Pour enough of the batter onto the hot waffle iron to cover it and cook until crisp and golden. Serve the waffles hot with favorite toppings.

(makes 6 large waffles)

Sarah Leah Chase. Cold-Weather Cooking. NY: Workman Publishing, 1990. 223-224.

A new creed

Today in our EFM class, a member shared her recently re-written creed. It is so beautiful and true that I'd like to make it my own. She said we could share it with others:

Mary Carpenter's Trinitarian Creed

The Love who gathers the cosmos into her bosom
and sends it spewing forth in chaotic rhythms--
This is our Creator.

The one in the garden, recognized by Mary Magdalene as rabouni;
He is the violin strings connecting each of our hearts to one another.
He is singing to us songs of our laughter and weeping tears of our laments.
He is our Redeemer. Through Him we are reclaiming our perfect pitch.

The Whispering of the Wind, continuously breathing each of our names,
is tugging our heart strings to bring forth their sacred melodies.
This is the eternal Holy Spirit.

We are knowing each note.
We are plucking the tune.
We are a Masterpiece; unfinished, yet fully played.

~~Mary Carpenter
November 2009

Very thankful

visits

I am grateful for visits and visitors. Not many people come way down to south TX to visit, except for my children, who are my very favorite guests.

vases

I have various vases that I really like, most of which were given to me by family. My mother gave me Ken Edwards' pottery long ago, which I love.

videos

I must appreciate videos that can be downloaded onto blogs, because I have 69 under that label!

vegetables

I am grateful for the fresh vegetables we can buy in stores now. I would be even more grateful if I lived somewhere like California and Washington State where there are Saturday markets that sell vegetables and fruits.

The Masai Creed

In our EFM class (third year), our leaders gave us copies of Jaroslav Pelikan's address given on December 5, 2003 and entitled "The Will to Believe and the Need for Creed." It is a long article but is well worth the time it takes to read.

In this piece is The Masai Creed which was composed in 1960 by the Maasai people of East Africa in collaboration with missionaries from the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. The creed attempts to express the essentials of the Christian faith within the Maasai culture.

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light. God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that He would save the world and all the nations and tribes.

We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.

We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptised in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.

Grateful for U!

umbrellas

Umbrellas are useful, especially in south TX for rainfall. I've seen people use them also to keep out of the sun, especially at the beach or at soccer games.

When our children were small and still nursing, I would sit under a big beach umbrella at the beach holding my baby while CB would play with the child (or children) in the sand or water. We used to go to the beach every Sunday, but that was before we started going to church in the 1990's.

upside down pizza

In non-stick skillet heat 1 tsp. oil (or spray with Pam).

Add:

16 oz. ground turkey

½ cup chopped onion

Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender and turkey is no longer pink.

Sprinkle mixture with 1 tbsp. flour and stir quickly to combine.

Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

Gradually stir in:

1 ½ cups tomato sauce (large can)

¼ cup chopped green bell pepper (optional; I don’t but you might want to)

½ tsp. basil

¼ tsp. oregano

½ tsp. garlic salt

some Tabasco sauce

and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook, stirring, frequently, for 1 minute.

Preheat oven to 425. Spray casserole dish with Pam and transfer turkey mixture to pan.

Sprinkle with 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a small mixing bowl, using electric mixer, beat

2 eggs.

Add:

¾ cup flour

½ cup milk

½ tsp. salt

and continue beating until smooth.

Pour batter over turkey mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake until loaf is puffed and golden, about 30 minutes.

Unity/ Un-

I am grateful for my understanding of the unity of all life in the One. Here is a quote (Yes, I should have put "quotes" under my Q gratitude!) by Bede Griffiths that describes this unity:

God "cannot be expressed, cannot properly be thought. It is present everywhere, in everything, yet it always escapes our grasp. It is the 'Ground' of all existence, that from which all things come, to which all things return, but which never appears. It is 'within' all things, 'above' all things, 'beyond' all things, but it cannot be identified with anything. Without it nothing could exist, without it nothing can be known, yet it is itself unknown. It is that by everything is known, yet which itself remains unknown. It is 'unseen but seeing, unheard but hearing, unperceived but perceiving, unknown but knowing.' "We speak of 'God' but this also is only a name for this inexpressible Mystery."

(quoted by author Russill Paul in the book Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway Between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality on pages ix-x)

Totally grateful

time

In the Wisdom Class on Tuesday, an older woman talked about what she used to ask high school students when she was a substitute teacher (and admittedly an "excellent" one): "What do you all have in common?"

She surprised me (and probably those kids) by saying that each person is given the same amount of time each day; it is what one does with it that shapes the person.

Tonight I am so aware of this after reading Katherine's post for today, with her wish to "teach from her heart." How she does this with her life, her ministry, and her writing.

teaching

I trained to be an elementary school teacher, which was the only goal I had growing up. I loved teaching, but gave it up when I had children and experienced TX schools. (That sounds like a gross rationalization, but my experience was stifling.)

Through a fluke, I became an adult Sunday School teacher in 1995. Back then (when I was depressed and extremely under confident) I hesitatingly suggested a class based on Richard Foster's book on prayer, and someone said I should do it--that a shock! Then another man said he would teach it with me, so it was decided. This was a transforming moment in that I researched my talks as I later would write papers in seminary; I amazed everyone and myself, even though I was shaking as I talked.

I am grateful that my love of teaching returned and has endured concerning spirituality and spiritual formation with adults.

trees

I love trees, probably because Washington State is where I went to high school and college and where my parents settled after the Marine Corps. More trees determined that CB and I chose to live in older sections of Corpus Christi, rather than the new developments. After three different moves here, we remain in the same area.

thank you

I appreciate the expression of gratitude. I remember my children learning to say "thank you" and I am happy still when I hear them expressing it.

thank you notes

I really like to write and receive thank you notes. It was important in our family to write such notes after Christmas and birthdays. On Christmas Day, I always made a chart for the six of us (four children and two parents) to check off when a thank you note was written to the friend or relative who had sent a gift. Since we lived so far away from our families in Washington State, it was a good thing for us all to write back to them in thanks. I always told the kids that a good thank you note had at least three sentences:

1. thank you for the gift
2. something you like about the present
3. something interesting in your life

Through the years, people have complimented me on my children's thank you notes. I can see that they write better ones than most people do!

Happy Halloween!

"If the Broom Fits"
by Trudy Kenyon

Death by blogging?

xkcd cartoon

Contemplative Prayer

"Contemplation is the response to a call: a call from Him Who has no voice, and yet Who speaks in everything that is, and Who, most of all, speaks in the depths of our own being; for we ourselves are words of His. But we are words that are meant to respond to Him, to answer to Him, to echo Him, and even in some way contain Him and signify Him. Contemplation is this echo. It is a deep resonance in the inmost center of our spirit in which our very life loses its separate voice and re-sounds with the majesty and the mercy of the Hidden and Living One…."

(New Seeds of Contemplation – by Thomas Merton)

SO grateful!

silliness

I am grateful that our family values silliness. A semi-compliment is, "You are so silly." It is not an insult.

showers

I so appreciate hot showers each morning. I say "thank you" for them, because I remember when I was in Zambia in 2006, sometimes there was no water for a shower and other times the water would be cold. I do not understand taking a shower at night, since I so love them in the mornings.

sitting with God

I call my prayer times of Christ-centered prayer "sitting with God." I am grateful that God has grown my commitment to sitting with him/her to twice a day. God grows our prayers (and us).

sons

Just as I was grateful for my daughters, so am I glad I have two sons. BJ is 24 and lives in Houston; DC is 30 and lives with his wife AA in Austin. They both drove to San Antonio for my birthday dinner on Sunday night. They are honest, hardworking, and fun. I appreciate when they call me to talk.

Pictures from my birthday

BJ, AA and DC, MJ, Jan, and CB

Luckily, DC knew how to set my camera to take an automatic picture of all of us. We met at MJ's dorm before going out to dinner to celebrate my birthday.

AA and DC, BJ, and MJ

I wish I had taken more pictures, so some would be clearer. No one else had a camera, which I find surprising, since I always had a camera at family gatherings with my parents. Maybe because I have always been the main photographer of the family, no one else does it that much.

Ready for thanks?

Read/reading

I love to read. I remember how excited I was to learn to read in first grade with the Dick, Jane, and Sally books, as I mentioned under gratitudes for "L".

For my recent birthday, I received lots of books. My dear husband surprised me greatly by giving me a Kindle! That is turning out to be such fun, because I can download a "sample" of a book I am considering and read a chapter or so before deciding to get the book or not. The first time a Kindle sounded interesting was on a visit at Songbird's blog.

I am definitely grateful that I can read and that I like to read!

rain

I am grateful that it has finally begun to rain again in TX, which has had a severe drought. I like rain, though I am not sure I would like the frequent drizzling rains of the Pacific Northwest for long periods of time at this point in my life.

raspberries

I am grateful that I have tasted Northwest grown raspberries, which are supremely better than anything sold in stores in TX. My mother grew raspberries in her backyard in Bellingham, WA. My children grew up picking them on summer trips there.

recycling

I am glad that recycling is becoming more normal in the USA. When we first moved to TX, there was no community recycling, which was a shock as we moved here from Oregon. Now there is twice monthly recycling pick-up in our city, but no glass recycling.

On trips, I save aluminum cans and plastic bottles and sometimes cardboard to bring home and recycle.

roof

I am grateful that we have a new roof on our house.

rhubarb

I am glad that my mother also grew rhubarb in her backyard. I like remembering how she made rhubarb sauce for my children to eat.

I am grateful I know what rhubarb is and like to cook with it. It is not found too often in supermarkets here, but when I have bought some, a few clerks have asked me what it is!

I used to make a rhubarb cake that called for one cup of vanilla!

Any Q's for gratitude?

I am not feeling creatively thankful for Q's, except for:

quiet

Probably because I am an introvert and a practitioner of contemplative prayer, I am grateful for quiet, for silence. I especially became aware of this desire for quiet when the workers were putting on our new roof for three very noisy and chaotic days a few weeks ago.

I want to be thankful for PEACE

prayer

I am grateful for prayer and for my renewed commitment to sit in Christ Centered Prayer twice a day. I remember reading a long time ago in one of Roberta Bondi's books about the desert mothers/fathers that even the thought of prayer is an invitation from God to pray.

I am grateful that my concept of prayer has widened to be more about relationship with God than mostly requests to a "magician God." And Richard Rohr writes so well about this concept in his newest book The Naked Now:

"Western culture has tended to be an an extroverted culture and a 'can-do' culture. Prayer too easily became an attempt to change God and aggrandize ourselves instead of what it was meant to be--an interior practice to change the one who is praying, which will always happen if we stand calmly before this uncanny and utterly safe Presence, allowing the Divine Gaze to invade and heal our unconscious, the place where 95 percent of our motivations and reactions come from. All we can really do is return the gaze." (74)

And as you can see with labels for my blog, I have many posts on prayer and prayers.

prayers

I am always grateful for the prayers of others. Every Wednesday at our lectio divina group, someone always prays for me. In our group, after all our reflections, each of us prays for the person on our right.

pecan pie

I am grateful for a wonderful recipe for pecan pie that my children love. It's a very pretty pie, too, because the final touch is to place whole pecans in consecutive circles on the top of the pie. I like remembering that pecan pie was my father's favorite, too.

poetry

I've always liked poetry, which is probably one of the reasons I was an English major in college. I have many poems posted here on this blog.

peas

With "peas in a pod" at the top, I feel like I should add "peas," even though I don't like them much. Daughter MJ likes to eat frozen peas, just like she did when she was a toddler. I gave frozen peas to all my kids when they were young; I think she's the only one who still prefers them icy.

puns

I'm not clever about creating puns, but I appreciate them. Here's one I've always liked:

Me Today

I feel much wiser than I used to be; but I still have a far way to go! I am grateful that my children in TX will meet me for dinner at Cappy's Restaurant in San Antonio tonight! CB was so nice to plan all this for me. Everyone, except MJ, have a 2+ hour drive to San Antonio (BJ from Houston; DC and AA from Austin; and CB and me from Corpus Christi). I'll miss AE and KA, but they'd rather be in Seattle than (anywhere) in TX, which I totally understand.

I am also very happy to be 59.

Only gratitude

ocean

I love the sound of ocean waves on the west coast, so that is the Pacific Ocean. I cannot remember that from the east coast, but I'm sure the waves look and sound just as beautiful on that side of the USA. I am grateful for the latest memory of waves while we stayed at Moclips, WA this past August.

Oblate School of Theology

I am grateful for the seven years I went to Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. In that time, my faith and knowledge grew (just as Fran's is now), as well as confidence in myself. Often I was one of the best students in classes of mostly male Roman Catholic seminarians. I am grateful that I got to go to Zambia for a month in 2006 as a member of a class entitled: "Global Ethics, with a concentration on Zambia."

opals

Opals are my birthstone as my birthday is in October. My mother gave me a fire opal ring and a fire opal pin, though the pin was stolen when the other jewelry was taken in 2003 (while I was in San Antonio going to school at OST). I've been told that there is an old wives' tale that it is bad luck for people to wear opals if their birthday is not in October, so I am grateful the opal is my birthstone.

oatmeal

I love oatmeal for breakfast cooked with raisins and peanut butter stirred in when it is cooked. Creamy and delicious! How grateful I am for the idea of putting peanut butter in my oatmeal.