My kids saw Amanda their babysitter three nites last week. That's pretty hectic for home bodies like us. It was all good stuff but still busy.
Friday we had a staff/elder Christmas party. I laughed so much that my body hurt when I left the party. We were asked to bring a "marriage enhancement" gift. It got pretty interesting!
Saturday morning the kids and I played in the snow with Jake, then ventured back into the woods behind the pond. It was freezing cold but a lot of fun. We went to the Dalhem nature center, saw Trixies the Turtle. She's our favorite. She rolls over, stays and runs! We picked out our Christmas tree at Gwinn farm, then came home to decorate it. Chelsea my neice who attends Spring Arbor came over and decorated the tree with us and ate a home cooked meal before heading back to SAU to study for finals.
Randy hung all my bird feeders just outside the kitchen window. At one time I counted 7 male cardinals along with some females, 3 bluejays, a tuffed titmouse, a black junco, and a red-bellied woodpecker. I just love to watch the birds come and go. Beyond the bird feeders it is not uncommon to see the deer. Friday morning, I counted nine deer in the yard.
On the weekends the kids like to sleep together. Which means they go to bed extra early so that they can play longer. Using every blanket they could find, they built a fort in Jeff's bunk bed, then fell asleep with their flashlights on!
We all watched a movie on Sunday night. And I finished my paper and emailed it to Sister Joann. Still have lots of reading and studying to do, but it will come.
Sometimes I almost feel guilty I am so blessed. I can't even begin to count the "good things" I enjoy. I don't think God wants me to feel guilty, just grateful and loved.
It was a great weekend!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Holy Spirit - named Sally
Like lots of guys, my husband loves electronic toys and recently purchased a GPS. And like many wives, I don’t always “appreciate” the new toys. I can read maps and have a great sense of direction, why do we need another electronic toy? So....
We’ve only been to my friend’s lake house once or twice, and my husband decided to use the GPS and see how it took us there. The GPS’s voice “Sally” tells us to go beyond the road where we have turned before. Then it takes us on a dirt road/path that is a dead end. “Sally” failed. All the while, I’m thinking why are we going a different way, when we already know the way. While I did not verbally say "I told you so" after 10 years of marriage, my husband knew what I was thinking.
In all fairness to my husband’s love of electronic toys, I did steal “Sally” the GPS unit when I went downtown Detroit searching for some obscure streets. “Sally” recalculated every wrong turn I took and still got me to my end distinction. I was very glad to have her with me.
Silly as it may sound, I think that there are some similarities between “Sally the GPS” and the Holy Spirit.
I program in my desired end destination, to become my true-self in Christ. Then I follow the directions provided on the monitor. But frequently I ignore the route provided for various reasons. The kids and I are talking and I honestly get distracted and miss a turn; or I consciously chose to make a detour and stop somewhere else; or I know of a better way and ignore her directions.
Amazingly “Sally” recalculates my route with my end destination in mind. No matter how many times I take wandered off the prescribed path, “Sally” recalculates or re-orients me to my desired destination. “Sally” never yells at me, “Hey stupid, you just missed your turn again;” or complains, “Why bother to have me if you are going to ignore me?” She never comments on my decisions, she gently and non-judgmentally, guides me so that I am re-oriented back towards my end destination.
We’ve only been to my friend’s lake house once or twice, and my husband decided to use the GPS and see how it took us there. The GPS’s voice “Sally” tells us to go beyond the road where we have turned before. Then it takes us on a dirt road/path that is a dead end. “Sally” failed. All the while, I’m thinking why are we going a different way, when we already know the way. While I did not verbally say "I told you so" after 10 years of marriage, my husband knew what I was thinking.
In all fairness to my husband’s love of electronic toys, I did steal “Sally” the GPS unit when I went downtown Detroit searching for some obscure streets. “Sally” recalculated every wrong turn I took and still got me to my end distinction. I was very glad to have her with me.
Silly as it may sound, I think that there are some similarities between “Sally the GPS” and the Holy Spirit.
I program in my desired end destination, to become my true-self in Christ. Then I follow the directions provided on the monitor. But frequently I ignore the route provided for various reasons. The kids and I are talking and I honestly get distracted and miss a turn; or I consciously chose to make a detour and stop somewhere else; or I know of a better way and ignore her directions.
Amazingly “Sally” recalculates my route with my end destination in mind. No matter how many times I take wandered off the prescribed path, “Sally” recalculates or re-orients me to my desired destination. “Sally” never yells at me, “Hey stupid, you just missed your turn again;” or complains, “Why bother to have me if you are going to ignore me?” She never comments on my decisions, she gently and non-judgmentally, guides me so that I am re-oriented back towards my end destination.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Be
I use this prayer to draw myself and others into a contemplative frame of mind:
Be still and know that I God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be. Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs
Be still and know that I God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be. Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs
Monday, December 1, 2008
Be Still
The Spirit
can influence and guide me
only to the extent
I am in touch with my inner self.
Richard Hauser
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