My father's girlfriend of the past twenty years has recently found out she has cancer. The journey to this diagnosis has been time consuming and tiring. Both of them have had to take quite a few days off of work. Her mother came down for 10 days to help bring her to her doctor's appointments and I am here now for the next 10 days to bring her to more doctor's appointments. My father told me, while we were washing the after dinner dishes, that two men from his work gave him some of their vacation days. My dad knows that once chemo appointments hit, one cannot know what to expect. He imagines he will need to take off quite a few days in anticipation for any event.
To think that two people would give my dad such needed things--time and money--seen in this incredible act of kindness of "Vacation Days" brought tears to my eyes. It's all part of grace.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Enter my small life.
"Lord! Give me courage and love to open the door and constrain You to enter, whatever the disguise You come in, even before I fully recognize my guest.
Come in! Enter my small life.
Lay Your sacred hands on all the common things and small interests of that life and bless and change them. Transfigure my small resources, make them sacred. And in them give me Your very Self."
Evelyn Underhill
In praying this prayer, I am not asking for grandiose things. I have felt the small life that Underhill prays for here. I have felt me get the oil change for the car, make the cookies for the party, paint the bathroom walls, sweep the porch, mow the yard, send the thank you card, go on a walk, pray with a friend. I have felt the issuance of time, and a lot of time at that, given to my days, and I am asking just how we may best use this day and be in this day.
I have heard the message of insight, given by the scholar Mary Gordon in her book Reading Jesus, when she retells the story of the rich man in Luke 16, starting with verse 19. The rich man knows the beggar Lazarus is by the gates of his home, desiring to be fed. But as Gordon points out, "The rich man's sin is not only a failure to share his wealth, but equally important, a failure of attention...He doesn't seem like the worst person in the world: he's not cruel or dishonest or hypocritical. He just doesn't see." Gordon goes on to say, "This parable expresses the genius of Christian charity: that is must be personal, personalized...For Jesus, what is required is an encounter. What is insisted upon is the personal responsibility of love. Jesus asks of Peter, 'Who do you say I am?' When Peter reports what others have said, Jesus isn't satisfied. He repeats, 'Who do you say I am?'"
So in the midst of all my common things and small interests, in my desire to pay attention, I hear God asking me what he asked of Peter, "Who do you say I am?"
Come in! Enter my small life.
Lay Your sacred hands on all the common things and small interests of that life and bless and change them. Transfigure my small resources, make them sacred. And in them give me Your very Self."
Evelyn Underhill
In praying this prayer, I am not asking for grandiose things. I have felt the small life that Underhill prays for here. I have felt me get the oil change for the car, make the cookies for the party, paint the bathroom walls, sweep the porch, mow the yard, send the thank you card, go on a walk, pray with a friend. I have felt the issuance of time, and a lot of time at that, given to my days, and I am asking just how we may best use this day and be in this day.
I have heard the message of insight, given by the scholar Mary Gordon in her book Reading Jesus, when she retells the story of the rich man in Luke 16, starting with verse 19. The rich man knows the beggar Lazarus is by the gates of his home, desiring to be fed. But as Gordon points out, "The rich man's sin is not only a failure to share his wealth, but equally important, a failure of attention...He doesn't seem like the worst person in the world: he's not cruel or dishonest or hypocritical. He just doesn't see." Gordon goes on to say, "This parable expresses the genius of Christian charity: that is must be personal, personalized...For Jesus, what is required is an encounter. What is insisted upon is the personal responsibility of love. Jesus asks of Peter, 'Who do you say I am?' When Peter reports what others have said, Jesus isn't satisfied. He repeats, 'Who do you say I am?'"
So in the midst of all my common things and small interests, in my desire to pay attention, I hear God asking me what he asked of Peter, "Who do you say I am?"
Friday, June 1, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Grand Rapids Rocks!!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
The List is Getting Longer
I sorta pride myself on being a pretty simple woman. Low maintenance. I don't need much to make me happy. I really do enjoy the little things in life, etc., etc..
But I have this one great dream. I have said before, IF Ess Gee and I had the money, I would seriously consider having a weekly massage.
That then became, IF Ess Gee and I had the money, I would seriously consider hiring a masseuse to come to the house weekly.
Then my "dream" expanded when I realized my love for chocolate cake:-).
...And I would love to have a fresh baked chocolate cake every week.
To, I would love to hire a personal baker.
And now, as I am getting ready to dry my really annoying long hair, my list expanded and I thought, I would love to add a personal hair dresser to dry my hair after it is washed." I totally skipped right over the weekly visit to the salon and went right to the actual professional in my house.
What am I becoming?!?!?!?! I hope there is still hope for me!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
www.cdrecyclingcenter.org
If you are like me, you have a slew of CD cases tucked into storage with all the music burned onto your ipod/laptop/computer. And then all the actual CD's are in the CD travel case or in our case, CD travel cases:-). I was looking online for creative ways to use these plastic cases--and while some ideas were cute, ie., using them as picture frames, or travel cases for your necklaces, or desk calender holders, most ideas were more about the storage than the actual usage of the plastic case itself. I don't want more things in storage, however awesome the Danish, Teak-wood, mid-century modern shelf might be:-). So, I found this instead: the cd recycling center site. Because of the kind of plastic cd cases are made out of, they need to be recycled at places other than our typical run-of-the-mill recycling centers in the city in which you live.
I found out North Carolinian's can send their cd cases up to New Hampshire. No fee required, but you pay for the shipping. (You can make a donation on their site if you'd like though!)
Address is: The CD Recycling Center
CD Recycling Center of America
68E Stiles Road
Salem, NH 03079
When sending your shipment, put a slip of paper in the box with this Recycling Center address on it. I think they refer to this as their packing slip. And then send the box filled with CD cases up to the same address!
If you don't live in this state, use their site to see where you might send your recyclables and then send away!! It will feel great!!!
I found out North Carolinian's can send their cd cases up to New Hampshire. No fee required, but you pay for the shipping. (You can make a donation on their site if you'd like though!)
Address is: The CD Recycling Center
CD Recycling Center of America
68E Stiles Road
Salem, NH 03079
When sending your shipment, put a slip of paper in the box with this Recycling Center address on it. I think they refer to this as their packing slip. And then send the box filled with CD cases up to the same address!
If you don't live in this state, use their site to see where you might send your recyclables and then send away!! It will feel great!!!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
A bit of Ireland...aaaaah!!!!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Young people's observations...
For four days this week I get the delight in bringing my neighbor's grandchildren to the Boys and Girls Club down the street in the mornings. It's the children's Spring Break and the Club gives them great things to do while the parents are at work. The three kids, two girls and a boy, ages 10, 5, and 13, come over to my house for about 30 minutes and then we head on over to the Club.
I had to share some of their observations of Ess Gee and I, along with our home, because it's always interesting hearing about what other people think of you and your belongings.
The 13 year old boy said Ess Gee and I reminded him of ManWomanWild. Now, I had no idea where he was going with this because I had never heard of the show. I had a brief moment of "Oh, My Gosh, I hope he's not meaning Girls Gone Wild!" The young man goes on to explain that ManWomanWild it is just like Man vs. Wild...which I have heard of...whew!!! He said we look like the couple on the show-me being blonde and short, and because of Ess Gees accent and build he looks like the guy on the show. SO, of course, I had to look these people up! It's a show on the Discovery Channel, you can watch a few snippets online. And strangely enough, Ess Gee and I kinda do emulate this couple in appearance:-). I can't say I'd ever want to be stuck in a limestone cave with only a Bic lighter for heat and have to make it through the night, BUT if you squinted and looked at us about 30 feet away, you might think we are Ruth and Mykel:-) living in Raleigh.
The ten year old girl said our home was "unique".
And then it was observed that our house was like a vacation house:-), because of all the wood. We have wood floors, a wooden desk, a bookshelf made of wood (albeit painted). I asked if they had carpet in their home, to which they responded yes. It's sooo sweet thinking that wood floors remind them of vacation homes. The boy said our house kinda has a beach feel. The vibe of that is alright by me:-)!!! We have only had two days of observations. I wonder what the next two will be:-)!
I had to share some of their observations of Ess Gee and I, along with our home, because it's always interesting hearing about what other people think of you and your belongings.
The 13 year old boy said Ess Gee and I reminded him of ManWomanWild. Now, I had no idea where he was going with this because I had never heard of the show. I had a brief moment of "Oh, My Gosh, I hope he's not meaning Girls Gone Wild!" The young man goes on to explain that ManWomanWild it is just like Man vs. Wild...which I have heard of...whew!!! He said we look like the couple on the show-me being blonde and short, and because of Ess Gees accent and build he looks like the guy on the show. SO, of course, I had to look these people up! It's a show on the Discovery Channel, you can watch a few snippets online. And strangely enough, Ess Gee and I kinda do emulate this couple in appearance:-). I can't say I'd ever want to be stuck in a limestone cave with only a Bic lighter for heat and have to make it through the night, BUT if you squinted and looked at us about 30 feet away, you might think we are Ruth and Mykel:-) living in Raleigh.
The ten year old girl said our home was "unique".
And then it was observed that our house was like a vacation house:-), because of all the wood. We have wood floors, a wooden desk, a bookshelf made of wood (albeit painted). I asked if they had carpet in their home, to which they responded yes. It's sooo sweet thinking that wood floors remind them of vacation homes. The boy said our house kinda has a beach feel. The vibe of that is alright by me:-)!!! We have only had two days of observations. I wonder what the next two will be:-)!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
O-V-E-R-C-O-M-P-E-N-S-A-T-I-N-G
Going through customs at New York's JFK airport on Saturday night, returning from Ireland:
Customs Agent: What is your occupation in North Carolina?
Me: I have worked for three years as a part-time private duty aide for an elderly woman who has an indiscernible neurological disorder.
Customs Agent: Welcome back.
He's thinking, "She has to be an American citizen, you can't make that $#!& up;-)."
[I really wasn't that bad, but it felt pretty close. It had been one long 36 hours. I just wanted to be home:-).]
Customs Agent: What is your occupation in North Carolina?
Me: I have worked for three years as a part-time private duty aide for an elderly woman who has an indiscernible neurological disorder.
Customs Agent: Welcome back.
He's thinking, "She has to be an American citizen, you can't make that $#!& up;-)."
[I really wasn't that bad, but it felt pretty close. It had been one long 36 hours. I just wanted to be home:-).]
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Lenten Season
It has been one month today since I had last posted. I am not quite sure what I will write here, but I do feel the need for it.
For Lent this year I decided to set aside 10 minutes everyday for God and I to spend intentionally with each one another. We can do whatever. Sing. Dance. Listen. Pray. Laugh. Read. Drive. Paint. Rest. But it's intentionally together. He's great, because he's always down with this. His daughter on the other hand is usually not so intentional. For every day that passes in this Lenten Season I will add one more minute to each day to the time I sit with God. It's not such a big sacrifice, one could hope for more, but it's a little and that's something. A friend of mine introduced to me a long time ago a website called www.pray-as-you-go.org. I have used this beautiful tool twice during these time. On this site is a calender and every day of the calender holds a scripture reading, a question, sometimes a song, and a time of meditation. All done in a British accent, so it feel especially holy;-).
As I sat there listening, meditating, I asked that the lifeblood of God would fill my veins. I sat there being myself...no great expectations, just me with all my life. He sat there, simply being himself and in those moments it was more than I could hope for. It was good. All of it. And God wants to do this with me and in me so much more.
For Lent this year I decided to set aside 10 minutes everyday for God and I to spend intentionally with each one another. We can do whatever. Sing. Dance. Listen. Pray. Laugh. Read. Drive. Paint. Rest. But it's intentionally together. He's great, because he's always down with this. His daughter on the other hand is usually not so intentional. For every day that passes in this Lenten Season I will add one more minute to each day to the time I sit with God. It's not such a big sacrifice, one could hope for more, but it's a little and that's something. A friend of mine introduced to me a long time ago a website called www.pray-as-you-go.org. I have used this beautiful tool twice during these time. On this site is a calender and every day of the calender holds a scripture reading, a question, sometimes a song, and a time of meditation. All done in a British accent, so it feel especially holy;-).
As I sat there listening, meditating, I asked that the lifeblood of God would fill my veins. I sat there being myself...no great expectations, just me with all my life. He sat there, simply being himself and in those moments it was more than I could hope for. It was good. All of it. And God wants to do this with me and in me so much more.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The un-Valentine Valentine's day.
This is a thing I love.
POEM HOLDING ITS HEART IN ONE FIST
by Jane Hirshfield
Each pebble in this world keeps
its own counsel.
Certain words--these, for instance--
may be keeping a pronoun hidden.
Perhaps the lover's you
or the solipsist's I.
Perhaps the philosopher's willowy it.
The concealment plainly delights.
Even a desk will gather
its clutch of secret, half-crumpled papers,
eased slowly, over years,
behind the backs of drawers.
Olives adrift in the altering brine-bath
etch onto their innermost pits
a few furrowed salts that will never be found by the tongue.
Yet even with so much withheld,
so much unspoken,
potatoes are cooked with butter and parsley,
and buttons affixed to their sweater.
Invited guests arrive, then dutifully leave.
And this poem, afterward, washes its breasts
with soap and trembling hands, disguising nothing.
POEM HOLDING ITS HEART IN ONE FIST
by Jane Hirshfield
Each pebble in this world keeps
its own counsel.
Certain words--these, for instance--
may be keeping a pronoun hidden.
Perhaps the lover's you
or the solipsist's I.
Perhaps the philosopher's willowy it.
The concealment plainly delights.
Even a desk will gather
its clutch of secret, half-crumpled papers,
eased slowly, over years,
behind the backs of drawers.
Olives adrift in the altering brine-bath
etch onto their innermost pits
a few furrowed salts that will never be found by the tongue.
Yet even with so much withheld,
so much unspoken,
potatoes are cooked with butter and parsley,
and buttons affixed to their sweater.
Invited guests arrive, then dutifully leave.
And this poem, afterward, washes its breasts
with soap and trembling hands, disguising nothing.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The lost case of common sense.
"You can only be so open-minded before your brains fall out."
A qoute by someone in Walled Lake Michigan.
A qoute by someone in Walled Lake Michigan.
Oh, I am so not even lying.
My husband and I will be travelling to Ireland come March! Whoohoo! One of the stops on the map is Cork City. While I was looking through Frommer's at the list of attractions to visit in Cork, I see the usual Blarney Castle and Stone, but all of a sudden my eyes stop. Cork Butter Museum. It could be the baker in me, but I knew right then and there that we would be paying the 4 euros to visit inside! (My poor husband:-)!) Turns out that Cork was the chief producer and exporter of salted butter in the world (what!?) for over one hundred years starting in 1770. I noticed at the gift shop (gift shop?!?!) they have one of my favorite items to buy anywhere in the world---postcards:-). Hee hee, those of you who know who you are, be expecting one:-).
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Oh, yeah!
I always consider it a Day of Triumph (!) when I do not get in the car and drive someplace. It feels like the most luxurious thing in the world. Here's to one of those days. Aaaaaah.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Quantum Physics--Heisenberg Uncertianty Principle
"...there are no disinterested observers in the world, only engaged participants.
...In 1927 the German physicist Werner Heisenberg demonstrated that it is not possible to measure accurately all the properties of a single subatomic particle because the action of making measurements causes unpredictable changes in the very system being measured. In order to make any kind of measurement, an observer has to add some kind of energy somewhere--for example, if we want to use a ruler to measure the length of a piece of wood, we need to shine enough light on the ruler to be able to read the scale. We do not normally notice the effect of such a simple act, but at the incredibly tiny scale of atomic physics even minuscule infusions of energy cause dramatic effects. So the energy used to measure the location and speed of a moving electron causes it to change course, which means we can only determine the speed and location it had before we touched it.
Until Heisenberg's discovery one of the fundamental assumptions of science was that good researchers would always be objective, uninvolved, standing outside the systems they sought to study. It was almost as though the entire universe were sealed in a sterile bubble while scientist somehow stood on the outside--looking in, observing, making notes, learning, but never interacting. Any involvement of the researcher in the system might invalidate the results of the experiment.
But the Uncertainty Principle, although it essentially applied only to the very limited field of quantum physics, blew a hole right through this assumption. The effects of this simple discovery are still being felt across the natural sciences to the present day. Heisenberg had demonstrated that, in the end, pure objectivity is impossible. We are involved in the universe, intricately bound into the whole system, and our every act affects both us and the universe around us--even the act of trying to study the universe disinterestedly and objectively. We cannot help being engaged. We are never silent watchers on the sidelines, but always participants, whether we like it or not."
an excerpt taken from The Fire of the Word by Chris Webb
...In 1927 the German physicist Werner Heisenberg demonstrated that it is not possible to measure accurately all the properties of a single subatomic particle because the action of making measurements causes unpredictable changes in the very system being measured. In order to make any kind of measurement, an observer has to add some kind of energy somewhere--for example, if we want to use a ruler to measure the length of a piece of wood, we need to shine enough light on the ruler to be able to read the scale. We do not normally notice the effect of such a simple act, but at the incredibly tiny scale of atomic physics even minuscule infusions of energy cause dramatic effects. So the energy used to measure the location and speed of a moving electron causes it to change course, which means we can only determine the speed and location it had before we touched it.
Until Heisenberg's discovery one of the fundamental assumptions of science was that good researchers would always be objective, uninvolved, standing outside the systems they sought to study. It was almost as though the entire universe were sealed in a sterile bubble while scientist somehow stood on the outside--looking in, observing, making notes, learning, but never interacting. Any involvement of the researcher in the system might invalidate the results of the experiment.
But the Uncertainty Principle, although it essentially applied only to the very limited field of quantum physics, blew a hole right through this assumption. The effects of this simple discovery are still being felt across the natural sciences to the present day. Heisenberg had demonstrated that, in the end, pure objectivity is impossible. We are involved in the universe, intricately bound into the whole system, and our every act affects both us and the universe around us--even the act of trying to study the universe disinterestedly and objectively. We cannot help being engaged. We are never silent watchers on the sidelines, but always participants, whether we like it or not."
an excerpt taken from The Fire of the Word by Chris Webb
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