For the New Year

Found on Pinterest.

Coconut Curried Chickpea Soup

Son BJ gave me a soup cookbook (300 Sensational Soups) for Christmas, and today I cooked my first one from that book. It is both vegetarian and vegan. Chuck and I liked it a lot, much more than I anticipated.

I will put the recipe below with my changes/additions in italics and parentheses.


Coconut Curried Chickpea Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. curry powder
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1-lb. small red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4-6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup (1 can) unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 zucchini (yellow squash), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
(2 large carrots, scraped and sliced)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. lime juuice
2 cups packed baby spinach



1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add curry powder and saute for 10 seconds. Add potatoes (and carrots) and stir to coat.

2. Add stock and coconut milk; cook for 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and zucchini (squash); cook for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in brown sugar and lime juice. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. If desired (I didn't), garnish with toasted coconut.

Snyder, Carla and Deeds, Meredith. 300 Sensational Soups. Toronto, Canada: Robert Rose, 2008. 124.

Just Keep Swimming!

My friend Nancy gave me a beaded bracelet with a fish for Christmas. It is entitled the "Just Keep Swimming Bracelet," which struck me as being odd at first. A day later, in our very quiet house, it is helping me to focus.

With our children back in their homes (in Austin and Houston, TX and Seattle, WA)--and at work today--I can see beyond the holiday to my commitment of finishing my master's degree in theology, a mind-boggling task for me in narrowing down topics to even begin. Nancy's gift is a physical reminder to keep on keeping on.

The bracelet came with this little aphorism:

"Life can be as hard to live as swimming against a tide. But at the worst of times, if you will just remember to keep swimming, sooner or later you will develop the ability to swim through life like a fish through the ocean."

It is too easy for me to sink into a muddle of doubt followed by old patterns of denial. My piano teacher points out that I start such waffling when I make a mistake while playing, which throws me so completely off-track that I am lost and can't find my place. This is a huge awareness to help me learn a new pattern of behavior. I think the fish will remind me!

Emma's First Christmas

20 Different Ways to Be in Silence

This was totally written by Samuel Gentoku McCree and lifted from Tiny Buddha. I was so impressed with it, I had to post it here. I need these reminders today as I easily slip into "Panic or cinnamon"! (Excitedly getting ready for all my children to start arriving tomorrow.)

“Silence is a source of great strength.” ~Lao Tzu

For over two years I spent one out of every four weeks in silence. At the time I was living at a Zen Monastery and every month we would have a week-long silent retreat.

During this retreat we sat meditation in silence, ate in silence, worked in silence, and only communicated through hand gestures and written notes.

At first living like this was hard, but over time I learned to grow to appreciate silence. By the time I left I learned that silence was my friend and teacher.
What did silence teach me?

1. Satisfaction

I used to think I needed to watch TV every night. But at monastery I went without and discovered I didn’t need it.

Silence taught me to be happy with less. Pick something that’s weighing you down and let it go. Your life will thank you.

2. Expression

When you can only talk by writing a note, you only say what’s important. Before the monastery I talked a lot but said little.

Silence taught me that a few simple words well spoken have more power than hours of chatter. Think of one simple thing you can say that would help someone feel better and say it.

3. Appreciation

Being able to speak makes life easy, but when I couldn’t talk I learned how much I relied on others.

Silence taught me to appreciate the value of relating to others. The next time you see your friends or family, try to really listen. Deep listening expresses deep appreciation.

4. Attention

Several times at my first retreat I thought my phone was vibrating. But then I would remember I didn’t have my phone. It showed me how my phone divided my attention.

Silence taught me how important it is to let go of distractions. The next time you are with someone you care about, try turning off your phone and putting it away. It will make paying attention easier.

5. Thoughts

I once sat a retreat next door to a construction project. What amazed me was how easily my thoughts drowned out the noise. I realized if my thoughts were this loud, I’d better make them as wise as possible.

Silence taught me the importance of shaping my thinking. Take time each day to notice your thoughts and let go of thoughts that don’t serve you.

6. Nature

Because I sat retreat in every season, I know that the sound of wind in fall is different than it is in winter.

Silence taught me to notice nature. Take a short walk outside in silence and you’ll discover the wisdom and peace that nature has to offer.

7. Body

During retreat I noticed that whenever I got lost in thought, I lost track of my body. And when I focused on my body, my thoughts would calm down.

Silence taught me to be in my body. Close your eyes and ask, “What sensations do I feel in my hand?” Learning to feel your body can calm your troubled mind.

8. Overstimulation

Whenever I went into town after retreat, the world seemed so loud and fast. I came to realize how much our senses have to process most of the time.

Silence taught me the importance of reducing the stimulation. Enjoy some quiet time everyday. The less you see and hear, the more settled your mind can become.

9. Sound

People would come to the monastery and remark how quiet it was. But living at the monastery I knew all the noises, from frogs, to owls, to the sound of sandals on the sidewalk.

Silence taught me that the world is a rich texture of sounds. Sit in front of your house and close your eyes. You’ll be amazed at what you hear if you listen long enough.

10. Humanity

During retreat I was surrounded by imperfect people who were doing their best. Some were happy, some were sad, but all were wonderfully human.

Silence taught me that people display great beauty. Find a good spot to people watch with an open heart. What you see may inspire you.

11. Space

For a long time anytime something difficult came up, I would just distract myself. But retreat taught me that if I avoided something it would never go away.

Silence taught me that space helps me face hard times. The next time you face something difficult, pause and honor whatever’s arising.

12. Love

I used to think love was this big thing. But in retreat I found that I felt love for so many things.

Silence taught me that love can be simple. Think of someone you haven’t said I love you to recently and tell them.

13. Courage

I used to think courage was about facing danger, but during retreat I realized that real courage is about facing yourself.

Silence taught me the courage it takes to be still. When we stop moving everything we’re running from catches up. The next time you are afraid, stop and wait for it to pass. There is immense courage inside your heart.

14. Perseverance

Every retreat reminded me that speaking is easy, but staying quiet is hard.

Silence isn’t flashy, but it has an immense power to endure. The next time someone doubts you, instead of disagreeing, silently vow not to give up. Action is speaks volumes.

15. Faith

I often ask for reassurance or feedback. But living is silence meant I had to trust my instincts.

Silence taught me to have faith in myself. The next time you begin to feel anxious, sit in silence and see if you can find the space of deep faith that lives in your heart.

16. Honesty

I used to lie so I wouldn’t have to explain myself. But when I couldn’t talk I began to notice this impulse and how much it degraded my integrity.

Silence taught me the importance of telling the truth. Notice times where you tell little lies and try telling the truth instead. It isn’t always easy but it’s the first step to trusting ourselves and others. 

17. Gratitude

During retreat I didn’t have a lot of comforts. It helped me see how much I took for granted and how much I had to be grateful for.

At the end of every day sit in silence and ask yourself what am I grateful for. You’ll be amazed at the blessings you discover.

18. Simplicity

I used to love drama and conflict. But at retreat I found I was happier when I kept it simple.

Silence taught me that simplicity and joy are close companions. Pick one space in your home you could simplify. Keep it simple for one month and enjoy the ease it offers your life.

19. Connection

I used to think I had to talk in order to feel connected. I realized during retreat that I can feel connected just by being near people I care about.

Silence taught me that words can get in the way. Do something in silence with someone you love. It will be awkward at first but eventually you will see what it means just to be in someone presence.

20. Truth

I studied philosophy in college and I thought I could read about truth. But retreat taught me that truth is found in silence.

Silence has taught me a deeper truth than words ever could. Sit in silence once a week and feel the truth in your heart. It’s there whether you can express it in words or not.

Cinnamon or Panic?

Remember God

"At any time in the day, take a break and remind yourself of God's presence. . . say a prayer. Or just pause and create silent space inside of you. Feel God's love filling you. Remember God when you see a child laughing or witness a stranger's kind words to another. Remember God when you hear tragic news or observe a friend's sadness. Remember God when surrounded by a crowd, sitting alone, or lying in bed in the quiet of early morning. Remember God when you check your email or when you receive a text message. Remember God. God is there, waiting for you to remember."

~~Beth Richardson, The Uncluttered Heart: Making Room for God During Advent and Christmas

Church Christmas Pageant--in the 21st century

Stop!

I love Cocker Spaniels and here are some cute pictures of someone's Cocker with good quotes:

The Best Prayer

"The best prayer is to rest in the goodness of God, 

knowing that that goodness can reach down 

to our lowest depths of need."

~Julian of Norwich

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.     

Sweet Baby

Emma, almost 2 months old

Advent: "Something is on the horizon."

"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. . . . What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God's (back) fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."

~~Jan L. Richardson

Journal Prompts for Advent

 

Today is the first day of Advent and also the first day of December. Here are some journal prompts for each day of this month until Christmas.

The 2007 post at  ExploreFaith.org , which is no long available on the website:

 I found these suggestions for journaling each day of Advent. I'm not sure that I'll do it, but I may pick and choose a few. Here they are for your perusal:

Journaling Daily During Advent

Day 1 When I see someone in pain, I respond by… Day 2 When someone is being spoken of in a mean-spirited way, I respond by… Day 3 When I see a child laughing, I respond by… Day 4 When I feel my heart is heavy, I respond by… Day 5 When I encounter someone I dislike, I respond by… Day 6 When my activities are more numerous than the hours of the day, I respond by… Day 7 When I see a handicapped person, I respond by… Day 8 When someone is unkind to me, I respond by… Day 9 When I am asked to do an unpleasant task, I respond by… Day 10 When I have questions about my faith (or lack of it,) I respond by… Day 11 When people disagree with me, I respond by… Day 12 When I am surprised by grace, I respond by… Day 13 When my child or grandchild misbehaves, I respond by… Day 14 When I partake of an excellent meal, I respond by… Day 15 When things aren’t going my way, I respond by… Day 16 When a decision I make turns out to be wrong, I respond by… Day 17 When someone I love is thoughtless, I respond by… Day 18 When I feel warmed by another’s presence, I respond by… Day 19 When I lack what I need, I respond by… Day 20 When God seems far away, I respond by… Day 21 When I meet someone completely different from me, I respond by… Day 22 When others don’t listen to me, I respond by… Day 23 When I hear bad news, I respond by… Day 24 When I hear good news, I respond by… Day 25 What is the gift of my life that I will offer heaven this day?

Friday Five: Advent Confidential

Mary Beth brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:

Good morning, all! In the United States we are waking up from our annual turkey feast, a day and meal surrounded by traditions of all sorts.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving morning traditions is listening to a National Public Radio program called “Turkey Confidential,” in which Lynne Rossetto Kasper and a selection of celebrity cooks take calls from people with problems like, “I put too much cayenne in the cranberry sauce!” and get advice like, “Add a little fat, like cream, to cut that heat.” It’s folksy and amusing, and celebrity chefs join in as well. And I do it every year, so: it’s a tradition.

Waiting for us, just around the corner, is Advent, which almost all of us observe in some way…whether by that name or no, we are all preparing for the coming of the Christ.

Today’s Friday Five, following that line, is Advent Confidential. What are your favorite traditions, observances, hymns, or memories of Advent? Is there something you remember from childhood that you’d like to do again? A funny story you can share about the time the Advent wreath got a little over-lit?

1. Advent Candles: I did not grow up celebrating Advent or having an Advent wreath,probably because I grew up in a family that went to church only on Easter and Christmas. Chuck and I did not see or know about Advent candles until we started attending church in the 1990's. Thus, my children did not grow up with lighting Advent candles, except for being chosen several times in both the Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church to light a candle during the service.

2. Advent Calendars: My mother sent Advent calendars for the children to open daily in December. For a long time, I did not connect this to "Advent" but only to the month of December and the countdown to Christmas.

Being much more aware of the Christian implications of Advent--preparing for the birth of Light in our hearts--I have posted in past years about online Advent calendars (and other Advent resources).

And here is a site that offers easy homemade Advent calendars for children: Super Easy Advent Calendar.

3.  2013 Advent: This Advent I am taking an on-line Advent course conducted by Cynthia Bourgeault using the Gospel of Thomas. I am looking forward to this opportunity, especially as two dear friends, Nancy and Paige, are also participating.

Another thing I love about this Advent is learning to play Christmas carols on the piano!

4. Advent Books/Studies: Elaine reminded me of the book The Advent Conspiracy, which I would like to look at again this year.

5. Christmas Books: From 1979 with the birth of DC, my mother sent Christmas books to my children until her death in 1992. I started that tradition with granddaughter Avery in the last few years with the board books:
Christmas in the Manger
Who Is Coming to Our House?
Both of these are lovely stories to prepare for the birth of baby Jesus with small children and so are good for Advent reading.

They are not all religious books, but the tradition of having Christmas books is one I treasure. One of my favorite books is Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, which gives the message of sharing among the animals and Mr. Willowby! I look forward to giving that to Avery, probably next year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grace

Thanks & blessings be
to the Sun & the Earth
for this bread & this wine,
this fruit, this meat, this salt,
this food;
thanks be & blessing to them
who prepare it, who serve it;
thanks & blessings to them
who share it
(& also the absent & the dead).
Thanks & Blessing to them who bring it
(may they not want),
to them who plant & tend it,
harvest & gather it
(may they not want);
thanks & blessing to them who work
& blessing to them who cannot;
may they not want - for their hunger
sours the wine & robs
the taste from the salt.
Thanks be for the sustenance & strength
for our dance & work of justice, of peace.

~ Rafael Jesus Gonzalez ~

(In Praise of Fertile Land, edited by Claudia Mauro

A Different Thanksgiving

In honor of my vegan and vegetarian daughters:

And here is an article about new trends in the American diet concerning such holidays as Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

It's Cold Enough for Soup!

An arctic cold front blew through TX on Friday, dropping temperatures precipitously. It was 83 degrees F. in the morning, and later in the day it was 40 degrees colder. We drove to Austin to visit our son DC and his wife AA and their two daughters Avery and Emma. It was also Avery's third birthday!

When I got there, I made soup. I love to make soup, which is not a common occurrence in south TX. (I made it so much in New Jersey when we lived there 1991-94 that oldest son DC told me he'd be glad if he never had soup again when we moved away.) Well, I made enough hamburger vegetable soup (from the old LLL cookbook) that he'll be stuck with for several days.

So we came back to Corpus Christi, and I was excited to try a new recipe for soup tonight. Chuck and I both liked it a lot. I am glad that it also is a vegan recipe--for my two Seattle daughters. It is also from a cookbook that I learned about when I visited them this past summer: New England Soup Factory Cookbook (although we were on the opposite coast).

So I am going to copy the recipe here for Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup, which is the second good recipe I have tried in this cookbook:

VEGETARIAN MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups (16 oz.) canned diced tomatoes (though I used a larger can)
1 can (16 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 16 oz. bag lentils
8 cups vegetable stock
2 cups tomato juice
3 tsp. yellow curry powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 can (16 oz.) coconut milk
2 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 cups cooked basmati rice
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the oil, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 7 minutes.

Add the lentils, tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, tomato juice, curry powder, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk, honey, rice, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Makes 12 servings.

Druker, Marjorie and Silverstein, Clara. New England Soup Factory Cookbook. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. 101.

Delicious!

Wake up!

"A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
"All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
"Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
"The eagle looked up in awe. 'Who's that?' he asked.
"'That's the eagle, the king of the birds,' said his neighbor. 'He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth--we're chickens.' So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was."

~Anthony de Mello. Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality. NY: Doubleday, 1992. 3. (originally published in Song of the Bird by de Mello.)

My Prayer

Give me the strength that waits upon you in silence and peace. Give me humility in which alone is rest, and deliver me from pride which is the heaviest of burdens. Possess my whole heart and soul with the simplicity of love. Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity, but for You alone. 

Thomas Merton
Source: New Seeds of Contemplation

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.    

Later? NO!!

My daughters AE and KA in Seattle like to create letterpressed items. They even have a shop on etsy.com.

They have spurred me on to be interested in such items, especially in cards, which I intend to write and mail off to friends and family. . . that is one aspect of my tendency to procrastinate lately, which includes blogging, exercising, letter-writing, working on my master's papers, and on and on.

I am stuck, but am earnestly sitting in meditation about the conflicting desires to proceed and to delay. Cynthia Bourgeault in her new book The Holy Trinity and The Law of Three: Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity advocates that the law of three produces an entirely new idea/way when opposing forces are held in tension. As I see the spring deadline for the papers completion approaches, there will be no alternative but go ahead!

Back to the picture--Unfortunately, the humor of these letterpress files listed are too true (but probably too much trouble to use):

1. maybe
2. sometime
3. never
4. unlikely 
5. later

Friday Five: In the Middle

November 15 is the middle of the month and also the day for our Friday Five. Think about the term "middle" which indicates various ways of looking at things: middle of a project; middle of a consensus; midpoint as the golden mean; middle of a dilemma (of which its spelling is indecisive); middle of a family; middle of the state and on and on and on.

For today's Friday Five, write about five experiences you have had being in the middle. It will be interesting to see how many different ways we see the middle in our lives.

1. Being an only child, I was in the middle of my family: in between my mom and dad.

2. I am in the middle of learning most of my piano pieces right now: "What Child is This?" and "Angels We Have Heard on High," plus "Siciliana" and "Sunrise at San Miguel." The music is recognizable, but I need to get even with my playing and quicker.

3. I am in the middle of writing a piece about myself for our annual Christmas letter, partly because I have not completed some things in my life, seeing like I am "in the middle" of lots of stuff. Since 1992 our family has compiled a communal Christmas letter to send to friends and relatives; each person writes a section about him/herself. I am grateful that our adult children still like to participate.

4. I am in the middle of reading too many books:  
Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth
by Robert A. Johnson;  
Gandhi: A Spiritual Autobiography
by Arvind Sharma;
The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three: Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity
by Cynthia Bourgeault;
The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age
 by Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD;
Talking About Death Won't Kill You
by Virginia Morris.

5. Tomorrow we are going to the middle of Texas (to Austin) to visit our two granddaughters and their parents. (And tomorrow is also the official day for Friday Five, but I am doing it this early as we'll be leaving in the morning for our 4-hour drive.)

Kindness

My Parents

Today is Veterans Day, and I remember my parents. They both served in the Marine Corps during WWII; they met in Hawaii.



David R. Cowling, USMC, 24 years in Marine Corps; served in three wars: WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.



Margaret F. Cowling, USMC, served during WWII.

If Prayer Would Do It

If prayer would do it
I’d pray.

If reading esteemed thinkers would do it
I’d be halfway through the Patriarchs.

If discourse would do it
I’d be sitting with His Holiness
every moment he was free.

If contemplation would do it
I’d have translated the Periodic Table
to hermit poems, converting
matter to spirit.

If even fighting would do it
I’d already be a black belt.

If anything other than love could do it
I’d have done it already
and left the hardest for last.

Stephen Levine
Source: Breaking the Drought

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.   

Beyond Words

Yahweh, Jesus, Allah, God,
I do not suppose You are very tied to titles;
You seem to revel more
in creating and loving
Than arguing like we do.

You are beyond any name,
Beyond this group or that,
Beyond ideas or any ability to
Control You by definitions.

You are the Utterly Free One.
You are the Eternal I
That always allows me to be a Thou
Whenever we meet.

You are the Speaker, I am the spoken,
So Love must be Your name!
Which is always beyond words.

~~Martin Buber

Friday Five: Randomness Galore

RevKarla brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:

Wow, this second Friday really snuck up on me!   But it is here, in all of its glory, right?  So…here we go, another random Friday Five!

Jan holding Emma

1.  What’s up?  How are you?
Last week I spent in Austin happily holding new grandbaby Emma, and this week I have felt exhausted. What has developed is that my RA probably was reacting to the Humira shot being three weeks apart instead of two.  (Go here to see the story of that experiment that began on Sept. 30.) I successfully managed to go several periods of three-week intervals until this week. Fatigue and pain in my hands and feet were returning, so I am back to the two-week schedule.

I am glad my rheumatologist encouraged me to try this experiment. I am also grateful that these miraculous drugs (methotextrate and Humira) are available to relieve my RA symptoms.

2.  If you were a Panda Bear that could speak  O.k., even that is too random for me.  You are moving to a new office.  You can only take five books with you (pretend there is no thing such as kindle, nook, etc.).  What would they be BESIDES the Bible, which is already written on your hearts, yes?
Five Books:
Praying with Psalms by Nan Merrill

Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird

Beyond Words by Frederick Buechner

The Awakened Heart by Gerald May

Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer by David Steindl Rast

3.  If you had a superpower that could give you a five hour retreat, and you could go anywhere in the world to spend those five hours on retreat (because you have superpowers, ya’ know?), where would you go?
 I can't be specific and should be--someplace with an unobstructed view of Oregon beach or tall trees in a simple setting. I guess I'm too realistic and can't imagine anything right now.

4.  What piece of music, song, hymn, etc. are you diggin’ right now?
As I am still taking piano lessons, I was surprised that my piano teacher had me choose two Christmas songs to learn to play. In retrospect, it makes sense to start learning them now! So I am reveling in the learning of "What Child Is This?" and "Angels We Have Heard On High." I keep singing them to myself.

5.  Use the following words in a sentence (or two):  Tangle, dribble, hook, Panda, shark, smile, worry, island

The worried Panda is tangled in the net hung by a hook from the wharf on the island as the smiling shark circled around. In contrast, his oblivious owner dribbles a ball down the walkway.

Change in Perspective

This past Monday was my father-in-law's 88th birthday, which is truly amazing in my perspective because neither of my parents lived to be 80. The very next day was our youngest daughter MJ's 24th birthday.

Maybe because I spent all week last week in Austin helping and holding sweet little Emma and maybe because Emma looks a lot like MJ looked as a newborn and maybe because I always remember my baby's births on their birthdays. . . . BUT I realized that when my MJ was born 24 years ago, Chuck's dad was only 64. . . . THAT is my age (almost) now!

As a new parent, I did not think of our parents as being anything more than "parents" and "older" and now I am in that position. It is so weird for me to realize that I am the same age as Chuck's dad when MJ was born.

I am appreciating both sets of our parents much more now. It is interesting to see another perspective.

Grand baby Emma

Today I drove to Austin to visit oldest son DC, his wife AA, and their daughters Avery and Emma. Such a joy to be here!



Here is sweet Emma who is 2 1/2 weeks old and is being held by her daddy. I was lucky enough to hold her tonight; my heart overflowed with love.

Our Spiritual Path

“I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We’re here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don’t have time to carry grudges; you don’t have time to cling to the need to be right.” 

~ Anne Lamott

Thanks to Quaker Dave for bringing this beautiful quote to my attention.

All Together Now!

This is only 1 1/2 minutes long and is so funny! Watch!

I am so excited!

I am excited because I get to spend the next week in Austin, helping with my new baby granddaughter, Emma. I hope I'll be able to hold her frequently and often.

Plus, I want to help Momma AA and Daddy DC in any ways they would like. There may even be some fun time with Avery, the new big sister.

I'll be going to Austin on Sunday after church, leaving Chuck behind.

We have a new hybrid car, which has bluetooth capabilities, so I could talk to friends while I drive. That looks like it will be fun, too.

I feel so lucky that it is my turn to go and help!

My son posted a picture of baby Emma with their dog Sampson tonight:

 

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.”

NOW

“Presence is what we are all starving for. Real presence! We are too busy to be present, too blind to see the nourishment and salvation in the crumbs of life, the experience of each moment. Yet the secret of life is this: There are no leftovers! There is nothing -- no thing, no person, no experience, no thought, no joy or pain -- that cannot be harvested and used for nourishment on our journey to God. “

~Macrina Wiederkehr

Sweet

Avery holding baby sister Emma, almost 3 days old

Emma's Grandparents

Thanks to son DC taking pictures of the grandparents!

Blessing of a Second Granddaughter!

Today at 12:40 pm daughter-in-law AA had Emma Faith in Austin, TX. Emma was 6 lb. 5 oz. and 17 inches long. Chuck and I are rejoicing that she and her momma are doing well.

Son DC posted this picture of his two girls at birth. They look pretty similar though one picture is almost three years old.

Emma and Avery

Democracy: The Process is More Important than the Outcome

Fair and eloquent assessment of the current impasse in Congress of the USA by Fareed Zakaria:

Why Cats Purr

As a woman, did you ever wonder?

By using Zite on my iPhone, I found the formula for a woman's BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). It was startling to find out the rather low number of calories (1300+) I could eat to maintain my weight--if I sat around all the time. Still, it gave me a baseline idea of the number calories for a non-active day.

"The National Institutes of Health reports that the best way to lose weight is by taking in fewer calories than you use. That does not mean you shouldn’t watch what you eat. In fact, by not limiting your calorie intake to a number formulated to suit your age, height, activity level and gender, you could sabotage your chances of getting to an appropriate weight.

"Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
The Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, which is sometimes interchangeable with your resting metabolic rate, is a calculation of the number of calories you burn when using the least amount of energy, such as when you’re asleep. By determining how many calories your body uses when doing nothing, you can establish how many calories you need to take in each day to maintain — not lose — your current weight."

How To Calculating Your BMR:
To calculate your BMR use this formula, which is specifically tailored for women:
655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years ) = BMR

From here.

Soon, Very Soon!

Soon Avery will have a new baby sister! We are waiting for this October baby to arrive.

Avery, AA and DC

Church Rummage Sale

Tomorrow is our church's annual rummage sale, For two days they have been accepting donations.

We got rid of some things, but I am most pleased with getting rid of clothes. I finally gave away most of the too-small clothes I wore 15-20 years ago when I was the thinnest I have ever been in my life--when I was suffering from clinical depression and was walking 6-12 miles each day. I guess I finally accepted that I will never be that thin again! (But I am a much happier person now.)

I also cleaned out our odd assortment of sheets and tied up "sets" with purple ribbon (that curling ribbon that I don't use much any more). There was quite an assortment of twin sheet sets that our four kids used over the years and left here at home when they moved on.

I know of two Methodist churches that are having rummage sales tomorrow, so there will be three in close vicinity to each other. Hopefully, all the churches will sell most of their stuff!

Humanity Is An Ocean

I loved this so much on Facebook that I had to post it on my blog. This image is a gift with all the disruption in the U.S. government right now.

Namaste Cafe also posted a lovely piece about Gandhi, so go here to read it.

Waiting for a Sign

In so many ways in our lives, we wait for "a sign" for action or even non-action. Guidance! Where is it?

I have RA, and my two medicines are controlling it so well that I only see my rheumatologist every two months for a check-up. The last time I saw him, I had delayed my Humira injection by three days because of a late return from a vacation.

He suggested that I might want to continue to try a longer time period in between the shots, even up to three weeks (instead of every two). For the last two injections, I have waited 2 1/2 weeks, with no ill effects.

This week I decided to try waiting for 3 weeks, which will be on Friday. I am taking it a day at a time. Four more days to see if there is a sign of swelling or pain in any of my joints.

If not, I will keep trying to go for three weeks in between shots. I like the idea of taking the least amount of medicine needed, especially with such an expensive one. It is much easier to schedule the injections with complete week intervals, rather than half-weeks--3 1/2 days added on makes it too difficult for me to keep track of!

With my doctor's guidance, I reduced the weekly intake of methotextrate in the past year from the maximum to half of that. However, after a few weeks, I discovered that I needed one more pill than that. By jockeying the dosage, I learned what works best for me. (The reduction also stopped my hair from curling which you can see here.)

I am hopeful that my physical signs/symptoms (pain-free or not) will indicate the path to follow. It worked before, so I am confident that this will happen again.

As Julian of Norwich said, "All shall be well; all shall be well; all manner of things shall be well."

Friday Five: JOY

Today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

RevPal Mindy recently shared this quote:

Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction.

Break the habit. Talk about your joys.

~Rita Schiano

What are your joys? Places? Food? Activities? Books? Season? Hobbies? Smells? Colors? To inspire you, Mindy came up with THIRTEEN things that bring her joy or make her happy. So go for it! 

~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Books! 
And reading to my granddaughter Avery is something else that brings me joy.

Avery and Jan, Christmas 2012

Avery and Jan, Christmas 2011

This picture is already two years old, but it also predicts the future because soon Avery will have a baby sister, for whom I will love to read!

2. Family
I have four adult children and a husband of almost 42 years, but there are few pictures of all of us together. With DC living in Austin, AE in Seattle, BJ in Houston, MJ in Salt Lake City, and Chuck's parents in Bellingham, WA, we rarely are all in one place these days.

I found one of three of our kids (but not DC's wife or child) and Chuck and his parents.

Friday Harbor, WA; August 2012: MJ, BJ, DC, Chuck's mom, Chuck, and Chuck's dad

3. Texting/iPhone

Getting an iPhone this year opened me to the texting world. It's a quick connection, especially when pictures are shared. When MJ received the teapot I sent her, she texted this picture to me:

MJ in her kitchen in Salt Lake City

4. Creches, which I collect.

Over the years, I've created a cache of nativity scenes. Many were given to me by members of my family. I have pictures of seven them here.

This is one Avery can play with! AND notice that Mary is holding baby Jesus!

 This picture also points to my love of the Harry Potter books, which I've read at least three times. I think of reading the series over again, but the task is too time-consuming and long-term right now.

5. Learning to play the piano!

Jan

I started taking piano lessons from a friend in August 2011 and keep on keeping on. It is a joy to play what I can, which diminishes when I don't practice.

That's true of anything, like prayer. Remember the old adage: The more you pray, the more you want to. That's how it is with practicing the piano, too.

Prayer

“Prayer is the voice of longing; 

it reaches outwards and inwards 

to unearth our ancient belonging.”

~John O'Donohue

We Build Walls

“We build walls around our hearts, around our homes, around our land, around our borders to keep out strangers, the different, the other; to protect ourselves from getting hurt or from having to share our space with others. We guard our hearts, our land, and our country with great vigilance until the very guarding obsesses us and we become so outwardly focused and defensive that we lose touch with ourselves and our humanity. In our efforts to protect and defend we become disconnected and fragmented.”

Edwina Gateley
Source: A Mystical Heart

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.  

Fall!

Officially, Fall or Autumn is here. That lovely time of year rarely appears in all its glory here in south Texas. Here is a lovely picture I found on Pinterest of fall in Bulgaria. I miss the leaves on trees turning yellow, orange and red.

However, we are unusually fortunate because yesterday a cold front blew through, which often occurs a month from now. Instead, we have much less humidity and cooler temperatures for today. This can be "fall" and "summer" will return tomorrow.

Clothesline of Love

Since there is a long-going drought in Texas, we have appreciated all the rainfall we've had in the past few weeks--mostly from tropical disturbances moving north. But today is the first day there is muggy, steamy sunshine, so I get to hang clothes on the clothesline again, which I love to do. Yay!

The image of hanging love out reverberates within me. That is how I feel as I handle clothes of my family. It was especially true when there were children at home, when I also had to wash clothes much more often. I am glad I can hang clothes on the line almost year-round in Texas.

Internet Changes

In two days we will have a new internet provider. We are glad and hope it will be more consistently available. I am also excited that our home (landline) phone will have free long distance to the USA and Canada, which we have never had before.

Since I am also changing my regular email address, I am asking you friends to email me before the weekend, so I can send you the new email address! This way I won't miss hearing from any of you.

Be Here Now!

 

"Peace is the result of

retraining your mind

to process life as it is,

rather than as you

think it should be."

 

-Wayne Dyer

 

With thanks to Roberta at Spiritually Directed.

Friday Five: Randomness

RevKarla brings today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals, which I am going to do as quickly as I can because we're leaving for Austin to visit grandbaby Avery and her parents, who just happen to be our oldest son and his wife.

1. How are you?  What’s up with you?
I am fine and am hurrying to leave with Chuck for the 4-hour drive to Austin, TX to see Avery and DC and AA. We are looking forward to this and are grateful that two college girls will stay at our house and take care of our three dogs and one cat.

The other good news is that my RA seems to settling down. My rheumatologist suggested moving to 3 weeks between shots of Humira instead of 2. I've gotten to 2 1/2 weeks with no blips, so in the future the time may grow.....

2.  Last Saturday, I went to the outlet store and stocked up on underwear for the year.  I love a bunch of new fresh underdrawers!  I also love a cabinet full of paper towels.   What silly thing makes you happy?
Cute and unusual cards! I love to go to different places, like Seattle, Portland and Austin, and find shops with unique cards. Due to my daughters AE and KA, I like to find letterpress items, too.

We loved visiting the Oblation Papers store in Portland, Oregon, which prints letterpress cards and invitations.

3.  Give a shout out to someone you love, appreciate, or want to thank!
Thank you to Martha for organizing the new RevGal blogging site!

4. Miss Kansas has the Serenity Prayer tatooed on the side of her body.  I sadly do not have a tatoo, and maybe you do, but if you were going to get a prayer tatooed on the side of your body, what would it be? 
Bless ___________, change me.

5.  Use some or all or a form of the following words in a sentence:   jello, kittens, mercy, dump-truck, tabuleh, terror, skipping, monkey, Rev. , health, and snoring.
(I'm glad you wrote "some")
The Rev. was snoring peacefully, while the kittens were skipping over the jello in the health room where the monkey was lying on the toy dump-truck.

No Internet

No Internet all day. This spurred us on to sign up with a different Internet provider. However, that won't happen until Sept. 19. I hope we will have Internet service back before then, as pecking this out on my iPhone's keyboard is not very convenient or easy.


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