I haven't dropped off the face of the earth...

I just haven't slowed down enough this week to blog much. Well, I was miserably sick until Wednesday...but have returned to the living. Since then, I have been living double time.

I leave for Israel-Palestine on Sunday afternoon for a week. I am not taking my laptop, but will have my tiny iphone wireless capability. I will post pix on facebook...and write about everything in my journal.

Mostly though, I just wanted to say Hi ya! to everyone out there...it seems that so many of us are dealing with deep and vulnerable issues, situations, wonderings, hopes, and fears....
and my prayer for all
is that
the One we know as dear and loving
would reveal
that tender love and care
to all in tangible, real, and simple ways.

More later.....

why I might need a spiritual director.

earlier this week:

me: (at three in the morning, while on vacation)
I can't get A out of my mind. She has been on my heart and in my thoughts incessantly. I can't sleep, because I am thinking of her and her family constantly, and wanting to pray always for her.

God: (at least, I think it was God) Why don't you give her up to me...let me care for her in my arms and constant care and love....

me: You???

God: Well, I am the ONE to cast all your cares on....

me: I don't know....

God: You know I Am.

me: well, o.k., but don't mess up again. A has been through a lot.


Later, about 5 in the morning. I think to myself, did I really tell God not to mess up again???
Oh my.

sightings...

mama and baby moose
young bull moose and deer (on hike)
elk and more elk...no elk babies, though....
grizzly bear (huge guy!)
grizzly mama and two cubs (very far away, but oh so adorable)
bison, bison mamas and many bison babies
pronghorns
black bear (another big boy)
mountain goats and babies
big horn sheep (with big curled horns!!)
osprey nest and family
bald eagle (in tree, looking very, very wild and proud)
many chipmunks
and squirrels
countless hawks
and beautiful birds
still holding out for
wolf and coyotes...
xoxoxo

insomnia...

on vacation.
sigh. what's with that?
beloved and I are having a ridiculously wonderful time just unwinding from a very busy program year...

but even so, a beautiful earth mother woman friend of mine lies in the hospital...in recovery from a hip disarticulation (removal of her entire leg at the hip--like how you used to take off your barbie doll legs?) due to a giant recurrence of cancer.

going in, she and her beloved were happy that they wouldn't need to take any of her pelvis, which meant that she would be able to sit straight rather than slump...
but during surgery, the doctor needed to take that important pelvis bone because the tumour in her prosethetic femur was so high up and close to the pelvis that....well, the whole point was to get rid of the damn cancer.

hasn't she been through enough?

taking her pelvis means that some of her other organs will be compromised in the long run...I don't need to whine about that....because she sure isn't.

her mantra is, I can't be a mother from the grave, but I can be a mother with one leg.

she has a lot of recovery and rehab in front of her. I can't get her out of my prayers and my mind...even while I relax...

prayers for dear A..
for her husband, her children, her doggie companions...
oh sweet Jesus,
you know the pain of suffering,
of physical anguish,
and you bore it with grace and hope...
you have already given A unbelievable grace and determinedness (is that a word?) and relentless hope.
be with her on this journey...
surround her with strength...
please, please, please,
bless her with an uneventful recovery and rehab...
she has been dished so many blows...
and yet she keeps getting back up with fierce resolve
because that is who you made her to be.
please...grace her with an army of healing angels to take care of her....
amen, amen, amen.

MY HAIR IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!

The transitional style between bob and something else my style-guy did last week
IS. NOT. WORKING.
Since the receptionist can't work me in...
I think an ambush at the salon is in order.

Seriously. My dearly Beloved who adores me even admitted reluctantly that it
LOOKS. LIKE. SH...I mean CRA...TERRIBLE.

just tuesday.

I have a routine for my weekdays.
I get up, brush teeth, and then walk doggies.
Then, when I get home, I turn the coffee on...
and clean the kitchen--
washing pet food bowls, loading the dishwasher if needed,
wiping down the counters,
and sweeping and mopping the floor. Mopping as in wet-jet swiffering.
I actually love this routine...
especially time in the kitchen...
I clean not in a rush, but at a slower pace...
and it creates for me a space for meditation and prayer.
I get some good prayin' God time in that space.

And then, I am ready for my day. Or not. But at least I have had some quiet slow time within it.

Friday Five: Change!

Sally, over at RGBP, talks about all of the change happening in their family across the pond--interviews, new positions, oh my! Prayers for Sally! With that in mind, she offers the following Friday Five:
Changing location also means packing, so next month will be a month of clearing and sorting, deciding what comes and what gets left behind...

So with change in mind I offer you this Friday five; ( if you've never moved here's a chance to use your imagination)


1. A big move is looming, name one thing that you could not possibly part with, it must be packed ? My mother's jewelry box that her brothers gave her when she was 16. As a child I loved picking through all of the costume jewelry she had in it, and I just love it. Even though I don't really use it for my stuff...it's precious to me.

2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind...
uhhhh...so much. for starters, everything that is in our attic that isn't used or isn't luggage.

3. How do you prepare for a move

a. practically? I have moved alot. So, the packing thing is very organized for me, and I cull as I go.

b. spiritually/ emotionally? That is harder. De-nesting is difficult for me. When it is time to say goodbye, I walk through the house, or the office, or whatever is involved in the move. Saying thank you and goodbye is something really important for me.

4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place? The grocery store and a place to walk on a trail, or at least a wooded park.

5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location? IF it is a new location totally (e.g. different town, new job, etc.) it takes me at least two years, plus. Jus' sayin.


The bonus for today; a new opportunity has come up for you to spend 5 years in a new area, where would you go and why?

Five years is a long time. Maybe living on a farm, living closer to nature. Whimsically, I could say....Ireland or the Galapagos Islands...

Books I ordered.....

"Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers"
Christian Smith

"Thank You Prayer"
Josephine Page

Life Of Jesus For Children (The Light Of The World)"
Katherine Paterson;

"Because Nothing Looks Like God"
Lawrence Kushner

"Joan of Arcadia - The Second Season"
Amber Tamblyn;

"The Holy Twins"
Kathleen Norris


"Journey to the Heart: Centering Prayer for Children"
Frank Jelenek;

"The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow"
Sanjay Patel;

"Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story (Festival Time)"
Jonny Zucker;


"Hideandseek With God: A Collection of Stories for Children"
Mary Ann Moore;


"Meet Jesus: The Life and Lessons of a Beloved Teacher"
Lynn Tuttle Gunney

"After the Beginning"
Carolyn Pogue

"This Is What I Pray Today: Divine Hours Prayers For Children"
Phyllis Tickle; Hardcover

"God's Dream"
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"Psalms for Young Children"
Marie-helen Delval

"Book, Bath, Table, and Time: Christian Worship As Source and Resource for Youth Ministry (Youth Ministry Alternatives)"
Fred P. Edie

"Seasons Growing Faith Board Book Set"
Donna Scorer

"Daybook for New Voices: A Calendar of Reflections and Prayers By and for Youth"
Maren C. Tirabassi

"Where Does God Live?"
Holly Bea

I just ordered....

a slew of books for our CE library to honor our amazing teachers and volunteers of our Sunday School program.

ahhhhhh, love Amazon.

ahhhhh, love picking out books.

ahhhhh, how fun is that?


p.s. makes the administrivia worth it.