Laughing Wind Production Company

First Fruits

2011-11-04T20:24:00.001-05:00

According to the Candidacy page, I have been in the LLP process for most of the year. In fact, I probably talked with Matt around this time last year. After my chat with Matt, I was off to visit with the district superintendent for a howdy-do to kick off the process. We chatted and decided I should go ahead and start the process. He encouraged me to get out and visit some of the smaller churches in the district to get a feel for what was going on.

I got started working with my wonderful mentor pastor. I got the Workbook and started on that. Along the way I bought other needed books, some required by the Workbook, others recommended by Maxie. In the past quite a few months, I have met multiple times with Maxie, been to the installation of the new DS, and enjoyed the entire process. The one experience I had ignored was visiting churches more typical than my home church, FUMC Denton. Rev. Milton Guttierrez had even recommend FUMC of Pilot Point as a start.

We almost went on the week-end of the 16th of October, but we had an Emmaus pilgrim coming up and needed at be at church at do some last minute business. That put us there on the 23th. I only relate all the lead up to underline that we have had months to attend church with Rev Penny Mitchell and congregation. Believe me, I wish I had gone much sooner. ;)

First, Rev. Mitchell had a lot to say in a short time. Being October in a United Methodist church, you know the message had to do with stewardship in one way or another. She went from preaching to meddling though when she started talking about shoes. Earlier in the morning, I had gotten dressed and had some extra time while Suzanne finished her Sunday morning preparations. With some extra time, I decided to polish my boots. This was not just any old pair of boots. I got them last year at the beginning of December, my first pair of real western boots, all leather, carbon fiber shank and the whole deal. Well back to church. We were doing just fine until this nice preacher lady (sorry Penny if that sounds a bit, well you know) steps out of her shoes. She proceeds to tell us that she almost did this portion of the service few weeks back. She did not know that she was waiting for me to be in the congregation. She was waiting for me to have to decide which I counted higher, God's challenge to give of my best or to go home in my best boots. Yes, I even had the discussion in my mind, "How can I go forward to ministry when I balked at a simple challenge over a pair of boots. Granted, the internal argument did not last long. The winner was not obligation but the desire to express my devotion to the One Who Means all to Me. Suzanne & I both left our shoes on the altar to go to a local ministry.

I know someone in Pilot Point is enjoying a new pair of boots and I am enjoying knowing that I can, when I am ready, get a new pair. What I cannot replace is the joy of giving when asked.

His Name Shall be Called Emmanuel

2010-12-18T21:00:00.003-06:00

Before we dig into the text for today, I want to try to give you some idea of the setting for the events. What we now think of as first century Israel was not even called Israel. The rulers--the Romans--referred to it as Palestine. Although the Romans allowed limited self-rule, they were the final authority in everything. They were even the final authority with regard to the temple. You have all heard of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the ones Jesus gave all the grief to about how strict they were with the Law. While we think of them as being the most important group amongst the Jews of Jesus time. The Sadducees were the ones in charge of the temple. They held to a much older interpretation of the Law. They did not believe in angels or the resurrection.

Now let’s go from there to think about Joseph. Joseph was a man who simply wanted to get his work done and take care of his budding family. We know from modern reports about war and civil strife that most people simply want to be left alone to raise their children in safety. Let the politicians settle things. Joseph like so many people today, lived in a place and time of civil and religious tension. Like so many people today and throughout the centuries, Joseph hoped and prayed for G-d to step in and solve the problem. Like so many people today, Joseph did not plan on being part of G-d’s deliverance of G-d’s people.

Let’s look now to the Gospel reading for today:
Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took pace in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
The word of G-d for the people of G-d. (Thanks be to G-d).

The first attribute of Joseph's character that leaps off the page for me is that Joseph went beyond acting justly to acting righteously. Until the story got out years later, only two people knew the truth about Jesus’ birth. Joseph knew he was not the father and Mary knew she had had a vision about the baby being born of the Spirit of G-d. My guess is that their home town at the time was not much different than any other small town. Some girls went to visit family out of town for a while. What people did not know publicly, they could only guess at privately. Luke gives us a glimpse of Mary visiting a distant cousin, Elizabeth.

At some point in the process Joseph decided he could not look the other way. As much as he loved Mary, he knew the truth; the baby was not his. He began to think about acting justly. A man who was more concerned about his damaged pride than the life of his intended could have spoken up and no one would have blamed him. Some would congratulate him for upholding the community standards. Some would be the first in line to shake his hand and help him find an honest maiden to take the place of the harlot. Some would be first in line to pick up a stone to send the loose woman to the early grave her behavior merited. Joseph, on the other hand planned to be first in line to send Mary quietly away so that each could start a new life and forget the mistakes of the past.

At about this point, G-d decides to get into Joseph’s business. Matthew records the conversation one way. I can imagine it going a little differently:
G: Joseph, Hey, Joe. Wake up. I need to chat for a few.
J: Huh, who's that?
G: Joe, you know me well. We talk all the time. You talk to me; I listen.
J: But I don’t see you anywhere.
G: Look inside.
J: Huh?
G: You have been talking to me for years about how you and your people are under the thumb of the Romans. “Oh, Lord our G-d, pray pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray you would deliver us as you did our fathers from the land of Egypt. Almighty and Most …
J: Wait a minute, you are the LORD? -- I’m dead.
G: Well yes and yes, but not today. Yes, I am the LORD today, but you are not dead today. You get to be part of the answer to your prayers, you and you lovely bride Mary. All that “nonsense” about her baby being of the Spirit, right on the mark.
J: LORD, I …
G: Joseph, your turn to listen. You and Mary are to take care of a very special child and raise him in the way that leads to life eternal. Teach him about Me. Teach him about life. Teach him to stand up for the least of these. Oh, by the way, he should have a name that points back to his calling. Call him Jesus.
Once he got over being tongue-tied, Jesus Dad could have talked with the Father on into the night about how his life would bring, joy, challenge, sorrow and celebration.

Joseph not only believed, he behaved. Here is a second trait of his that stands out; he was willing to put his beliefs into action. There is a chasm between “Yes, G-d, that’s a great idea” and “Not my will, O Lord, but yours be done.” Let’s forget for a moment all the speculation about scandal and Jesus birth. We know Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to be dedicated. We know two prophets are recorded speaking over Jesus. We know Jesus was not in a rich family owing to the sacrifice given at his birth -- a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. This was the alternate offering for those who could not afford a lamb. Had Mary been marked with scandal, she would not have been allowed entry even the outer courts of the temple. Joseph could not have taken Jesus to the temple as his son if Joseph had any doubt as to the true nature of the child he called his own. It’s one thing to accept the congratulations of his neighbors about his new born but quite another thing to stand in the dwelling place of the living G-d and offer this child as his son. Joseph lived out his belief in real and powerful ways. Had he a shred of doubt about the nature of G-d's grace in their lives, Mary and Joseph would not have been Mary and Joseph.

I want to leave Joseph for a few minutes and take up another of the texts for today.
Isaiah 7:10-16
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Notice that phrase we heard in the earlier passage: the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. In this passage the prophecy is for the near term not some future messiah. Ahaz was in a bit of a pickle. He had a situation not unlike Joseph’s. He was facing a group of foreign conquerors. His problems were bigger than Joseph’s because Ahaz was the king. Isaiah as the prophet of G-d came with an offer. Ahaz was king of Judah, the southern kingdom. The kings of Israel and Syria ganged up to conquer poor little Judah. Ahaz looked everywhere but to the LORD for help. When Isaiah came to him to offer help, he was much like the voice of G-d in the vision of Joseph’s. G-d offered help and Ahaz, although he may have sounded humble, basically turned G-d down flat. Hear Isaiah’s tone in reply, “Is it too little that you weary mortals, that you weary my God also?” Ouch! Ahaz does not need a sign from G-d because he just does not need G-d.

In response to Ahaz’ total rejection of G-d’s offer and of G-d’s power and presence, Isaiah points to a young woman and states quite clearly that before her child reaches the age of discernment, the threats currently facing Ahaz will disappear. Isaiah could just as well have said, “See that woman. She will have a child soon and her son will be a daily reminder that you turned your back on the LORD.”

We do not know if Joseph lived to see Jesus’ death and resurrection. We do know that Joseph is not mentioned during the recounting of Jesus’ ministry years. Had be lived to see the day, he would have been able to celebrate his son was a daily reminder to all that Joseph had not turned his back on G-d. In fact, Jesus is a daily reminder that G-d has not turned his back on us either.

So long ago, when G-d decided to step into the limitations of time and space, G-d knew that the entire human race waited in hope for a day when all humankind would no longer live in a land dominated by foreign powers, powers of hatred, greed, strife and indifference. Regardless who rules our lands and who writes the laws, G-d has found a way rule in out hearts. Now do not think for one moment that I think G-d is any less concerned about our lands being governed justly, G-d does, but lands are ruled justly when G-d rules in the hearts of the people. My prayer for this Christmas is the same as the message I see in the two Immanuels. I pray that people all over the globe would join together this Christmas with Joseph and believe G-d when life’s impossible challenges come. I pray that like Joseph, we would trust G-d’s word enough for that belief to change how we live and move and have our being.

Charles Wesley had much the same prayer is this poem that someone later paired to a familiar hymn tune. And with that we close:

Come thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver, Born a Child and yet a King.
Born to reign in us for ever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

I gave blood the other day.

2010-11-14T13:56:00.003-06:00

I got the email in the morning and gave at noon the other day. I thought you might like to hear the voice mail I got from Carter BloodCare. With three grandchildren born since mid-September, this hit that much closer to home. Find your local blood bank and make a deposit. Not likely that you will ever know the names of the people your contribution touches, but you will save lives.

The Last Week - Borg/Crossan

2010-07-02T14:33:00.004-05:00

From the chapter "Thursday" on page 118 of The Last Week in a discussion of the Last Supper--hence the reference to "a table"

"If, as God asserts in Leviticus 25:23, "The land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants," then of course the food the land produces belongs likewise to God. If we are all tenant farmers and resident aliens on an earth not our ow, then we are also invitees and guests at a table not our own. But, if one lives for a divine justice in a world that belongs to God, one will usually die a violent death from human injustice in a world that refuses recognition of such ownership.

Wednesday Lenten Message

2010-03-03T21:19:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago, Lisa invited me to participate in our Lenten Wednesday Communion Services. The theme for the several messages was the Saints. I took my turn this evening. I enjoyed this time much more than last. I could speak for one without the horrible cold during Advent. I also stepped out of my comfort zone and was much more personal than academic. The text follows. Yes, I hit a few emotional moments, but they all waited more me to regain momentum. I guess I can't preach close to home without a few bumps.

Heb 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

2 Cor 4:7-9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Continuing on with our focus on saints, I had to think for a few minutes about what makes a person a saint. Growing up in the American Baptist Church, we did not have saints that I remember. As I tried to focus on what a saint even was, I remembered a conversation I had a few years back with my cousin Trudy. We chatted on line (actually posted comments back and forth on her blog) about what a saint meant to her from within the Orthodox Tradition. She could not find the blog entry and neither could I. Here is the summary she provided for me in a recent email:

The term "Saint" in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition is given to a person who has achieved theosis - returning to the holy state of Adam prior to the Fall while in the Garden of Eden. It is something that all Orthodox Christians work towards but few attain. Upon their "falling asleep in the Lord" (or death), they become Saints Triumphant.

Until she brought that delightful phrase "Saints Triumphant" to my attention, I did not know that many faith groups within the Church refer to those who have gone before as the Church Triumphant and those of us still trapped in space-time, still alive if you prefer, as the Church Militant, the ones wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

I found one reference to "saints" at the American Baptist website, but it referred to being a redeemed people living a life as visible saints. The best I can summarize from the United Methodist information is that "we" believe in people with saintly behavior, but not in "Saints." I further poked around on the Internet and found that the Anglican tradition has saints, or at least provision for saints, but they have only acknowledged one. They do have a “calendars of commemoration” including people like C.S. Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King. So if we lean to the Methodist "saint" of "saintly" people, then I can pick my saint.

Oh, I did find this extra tid-bit about the Orthodox tradition on Wkikipedia:

"All persons currently in heaven are considered to be saints, whether their names are known or not. There are, however, those saints of distinction whom God has revealed as particularly good examples for us. When a saint is revealed and ultimately recognized by a large portion of the Church, a service of official recognition is celebrated. This does not 'make' the person a saint; it merely recognizes the fact and announces it to the rest of the Church."

For me the key phrase is "This does not make the person a saint." We turn to the lives of saints for inspiration for the same reasons we turn to anyone else for inspiration and guidance. So for my saint, I want to share about Saint Jim the Younger whose feast day is his birthday, February 10th. I know the title of the message says "St James the Lesser" who is an acknowledged saint, but I want to find my saints a little closer to home. I have known about Saint Jim from the days he was my older brother Jimmie. We are both the sons of Saint Jim the Elder (that would be my Dad). We grew up together in the quintessential childhood tucked away in the Northern border state of Montana. As we got older and life got busier, Jim moved to the neighboring state of North Dakota while I moved further into the state of frustration and confusion. I had a hard time settling into adult life. After one conversation about my woes, Jimmie told me "You can self-actualize at night." Jim established himself in a good job in oil fields while he self-actualized at night finding the girl next door and two kids, one of each. Thanks in part to Jim's simple admonition; I finally found my niche in life. I found a steady paycheck and happiness in the computer industry using gifts I did not know I had until I got outside my comfort zone.

Now a phrase like "You can self-actualize at night" may not mean much to you, but to me it freed me to run the race set before me rather than worrying about the race I thought I should be running. I settled into my race and Jim into his. On one visit to Dickinson, I learned another valuable lesson. Jim had been an athlete of sorts in school. While we were all doing the normal school sports, Jim discovered weight-lifting, competing one year in junior nationals. The trophy still sits on display at the family home in Billings. On my visit, I went with Jim and his wife Cec to watch then in a softball game. They played in a local league with a twist. Not only were the teams co-ed, but at least half the team had to come from the local community of developmentally disabled adults. Yes, Jim knew how to compete, but he also knew when compassion was the greater goal.

Along the way, Jim picked up a bad cough. The first doctor did not hear or see anything to alarm him. About a year later, in 2004, the next doctor used that fateful word, cancer. We knew heart disease in my family, but cancer, that was something new. We did not know how what to do. Jim learned the hard way. By October of 2005, he wrote these words in an email to friends and family:

I am feeling OK, which for me is really pretty good. I have not had a treatment for several months. I still have limited desire to eat but do so on a regular basis. Plan on starting a pill to keep the cancer at bay soon.

I have not gone back to work. TMi is still taking fantastic care of me. I have applied for social security disability and two other plans I am enrolled in. So I should come out OK. Praise to God for all the things we did right before this happened.

I should mention that until he was on disability, Jim never missed a paycheck from TMi, even though he had not been able to work for months. Jim's email continues quoting a cousin who had to deal with the ravages of a local flood.

Throughout the entire catastrophe I never once believed that we had been abandoned by God. Even in times of alarm I clearly had the sense that God was with us and that not one of us was going to be lost before our time. I believe that God was never in the storm, that God was never in the flood. God was in the few simple, loving acts of kindness that we witnessed.

This is exactly the way I feel. God did not give me cancer; He did not want me to have cancer. He is not testing me because he knows I can handle it! When God learned I had cancer, a tear was shed and a plea to let God help. I believe that God has helped me through all of you.

The last time I saw Jim was in April of 2006 at my daughter Stephanie's wedding. Jim was there with his entire family. A ghost of his healthy self, he was there to share in a family moment, the wedding of our parents' first grandchild. While there, Jim and I found some private time to talk. He told me how much Cecilia had meant to him over the 20 years of their marriage. He talked about drawing away from the family emotionally, forcing them to think about the problems he had solved in the past so they would not be totally lost when he was gone. After I moved here to Denton in June of 06, I remember a long phone conversation we had talking about when it was okay to stop fighting the cancer and take the next big step. In August, I was on my way to Billings to meet up with the rest of the family to drive to Dickinson for the celebration of his short, powerful life.

Not only had Jim taught me many important lessons about living, he also taught me what it meant to die with dignity and grace. At the celebration of his life, their pastor told of talking with Jim about dying, about sharing his fears. Jim's response was something like "Why be afraid, I have no reason to be afraid." Why be afraid indeed.

This takes us back to the words from Paul's letter to the saints in Corinth. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; Jim taught me what it meant to put flesh to these words. In the face of cancer, Jim was afflicted, but his spirit was not crushed. He did not understand why he had to face cancer. While we were at Stephanie's wedding, Cecilia told me that not even the doctors were quite sure why Jim was still alive. Perplexed yes, but Jim knew that G-d was with him all the way. In that final week-end, they took Jim to the hospital for a treatment to ease his breathing. Knowing all too well the consequences of his decision, he chose to end his battle with cancer on his own terms. Death held no fear for Jim and falling asleep to being present with the Lord held promise of great joy.

I am now two years older than Jim when he passed over to the Church Triumphant. The Church Triumphant! What a great way of framing the church. The Church Triumphant being those of the great cloud of witnesses who have passed from the confines of space-time into the glorious Now of G-d's presence. Those of us in the Church Militant continue to draw strength and courage from the Saints who have gone before. Thanks be to G-d.

Yes, it will be a Happy Birthday.

2010-02-09T19:13:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, we went over to Suzanne's folks house for the Big Game (read:the only one we really watch all year) and brought over a little dinner. Little did I know, they also planned a little cake to celebrate my birthday. Momma handed me a birthday card which Bobpa had made on the computer. As she turned, I started to say "..." the words caught in my throat. I was about to say "This is the first birthday I can remember when I did not expect to get a card from Dad. Thank you for thinking of me." Talk about being hit by a brick and such a small brick from such a small event.

Remember "Our Town?" Emily went back to a birthday and was overwhelmed by all they missed as a normal day passed by. I am sure when Dad sent me a birthday card last year, he never guessed he would not be sending one the following year. Come to think of it, back in 2006 was the first year I got a birthday card from just Dad. In 2007, I could not call Jim on our shared birthday to wish him "Happy Birthday." Now, in 2010, they are all together in the Church Triumphant. I will look for their birthday blessing tomorrow. Will it be a special sunrise? (Not that I will be up that early.) Will it be a flock flying by in power and grace? Will it be the warm assurance in the depths of my being that regardless of which side of the Veil we celebrate, we will always celebrate our lives together.

Techo Rants, Etc. (Ramblings)

2010-01-30T13:56:00.012-06:00

This past week or so, I have been handed a tether to work. I now carry their cell phone rather than the one I am still paying for monthly. I also have a laptop with a webcam. The one we have at home, paid for, does not have a webcam but the iMac does. Said laptop also has a Verizon cellular modem. Did I mention that the Blackberry (BB) is through AT&T. Good thing. I can still call Suzanne and Geoff on the plan I pay for without adding to "used" minutes. My BB is unlimited but the plan I pay for is not.

So the Sony-Ericcson I pay for has a built in radio and counts my steps for me all day long. The BB cannot do FM let alone streaming radio, so no KERA or KEMC on the fly. I have yet to find a pedometer for the BB. The health fair at work passed out analog pedometers of a much better quality than a year or so ago. I can get Pandora, but they cut me off at 40 hours per month. KERA doesn't even do that. Guess what I listened to while I worked on the garage door opener (see below)? I listened to KERA using the Sony-Ericsson.

Speaking of tracking my walks, I have given up on the Nike+ system. I don't know if the receivers were bad, my arch is too high, or the shoes have the wrong insoles, but my walk the other night was all off. I was well past the 1/2 mile mark when the voice told me "1/2 mile completed." Each lap is about 1.3 miles. First lap was .94 according to the iPod. (No, I cannot imagine taking an iPad for a walk). Before I was half way through the second lap, I shut down the Nike+ stuff, too messy. At 20 bucks a pop, I am not going to try a new receiver each time the system burps. I have the Sony and the analog. What I don't have is an automatic way to track my progress. I guess I could put it all in a spreadsheet if it really mattered, which it doesn't.

See below: I think it was before we dashed up to Montana to celebrate Dad's passing that the garage door opener broke. Okay, before I broke the garage door opener. Often enough to fool me, the door would sometimes not open all the way. Push button down, push button back up. This time the up and down ritual did not work. When I got in the garage, I found that someone had almost locked the door. We have never turned that handle. Must have been some neighborhood alley walker.

Bob and I finally got to the store to buy a new one. He helped me get the old one down--mounting hardware and all--and get the new one up. Then I hit the wall. I could not get the sensors lined up. The manual told me that a blinking sensor indicated bad wiring or misaligned sensors. The wiring was right. Two days, a purchased laser pointer, many "Christopher" words and no luck. Back to the beginning. Since I had reused the old wiring, I double checked. Red here and black there. Oops. The new black is the old red. Switch the wires and Bingo! I am avoiding the 30° weather today, but I still need to adjust the down limit so the door with auto back up when it hits a something that is in the way of the set down limit. At least Suzanne's car is in the garage. Mine will have to wait the sorting out of the stuff that is no longer in the house.

Oh, the watch. Before Suzanne and I left Billings, we were talking about watches with Pete. "I am tired of pulling out my phone to check the time. I guess I need to start wearing a watch again." Pete disappears and comes back a moment later. "Here, I never wear watches." he says handing me Dad's most recent watch. Not only does it have value far beyond its price, it was Dad's. Dad was a gadget guy. This watch phones home in Fort Collins several times a day to adjust itself. Now I have no excuse being late. Yes, I picked up one of his caps from the closet too. I need to protect the places that once had hair or I will be joining Matt at the dermatologist having stuff removed.

And on That Day

2009-12-12T21:23:00.002-06:00

Prepared for Dec 13, 2009.

Before I get started, I want to take to thank Matt and Lisa. Matt is the one who called me on Tuesday morning to ask me if I would like to preach at the Jazz Service on Sunday. Of course I accepted. I also want to thank Lisa for encouraging me in the Lay Speaker program. Keep in mind, Lay Speaker training is not just about preparing to speak, it is all about equipping you for the work G-d has called you to do. I happened to be asked to speak, but you would all benefit from the chance to learn in the basic Lay Speaker classes.
Prayer:
The ones I am not sure I want to thank are the members of the Lectionary committee. For the third Sunday in Advent, they did not give me much of the birth story to go on. They did not even give me any of the traditional messianic prophecies from the Law and the Prophets. What I did find has much more to do with the reason that we celebrate the First Advent.

The Gospel text comes from Luke, just before Jesus’ baptism. Let me start at the beginning of the recommended reading. Just before John makes his bold statement about the Messiah, he has answered people’s questions about what repentance looks like. Boiled down, his response was, “Share with others, do our job faithfully and honestly and don’t bully people.” Even to the tax collectors and soldiers, he did not tell them to quit their jobs and do something else. He encouraged them to do their jobs fairly and graciously.

Luke 3: Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

When asked if he were the Messiah, the Anointed One, John tells them just how radical the Messiah will be. You see, baptism for repentance had been part of Jewish tradition long before John. According to Wikipedia, “Immersion in the mikvah represents a change in status in regards to purification, restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the community, ensuring that the cleansed person will not impose uncleanness on property or its owners.” The people of John’s time would have been very familiar with water baptism and yes, the Greek word baptizo means to immerse. Now he is talking about something wholly different. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” To be immersed in the Spirit! To be immersed in Fire! What would that look like? How would that feel?

Here I want to pause so we can come back to those questions after we have explored some of the other writings in today’s lectionary list. First, let’s stop off in Isaiah 12. When you think of the Day of the Lord, my guess is that many of you think, like I once did, about a day of judgment as in the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

Isaiah 12: You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

On this Day of the Lord, the focus is not on judgment but on grace. “Your anger turned away, and you comforted me.” Because of who G-d is, G-d has chosen to turn anger aside. Notice that we did not turn G-d’s anger aside. It was a sovereign act of grace. And on that Day, we will celebrate as we draw joy from the fountains of deliverance because the Lord is our strength and our might. The Hebrew words for “wells of salvation” translate just as well to “fountains of deliverance.”
I love the image of an artesian well rather than still water at the bottom of a deep pit having to use rope and bucket to pull water from the depths. Remember Jesus words from John 7. On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Isaiah looked forward to the same day when G-d’s love and forgiveness would spring up within the Messiah’s loved ones like an artesian well.

Zephaniah called G-d’s people during a troubled time in their history. King Josiah was the first godly king for several generations. The people had stumbled far from the ways of the Lord. The first chapters of the book talk much about the people’s shortcomings and the consequences of their behavior. But by the end of his message, he turns back to give the people hope for a day when the Lord will come and celebrate with them.

Zephaniah 3:14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth,

The Day of the Lord has turned from judgment now into a festival day and the Lord is the one celebrating. “He will rejoice, he will renew, he will exult!” Now remember, exult is not exalt. “Exalt” means to give praise or honor and “exult” means to be extremely joyful, to leap for joy! I can hardly wrap my brain around the image of the G-d of the universe leaping for joy in our presence. Look who else will be in our presence, the lame and the outcast. And how will G-d treat the lame and the outcast? “I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.” We all know what shame means. We have all known times when we are ashamed of something we said or did or left undone. If you are like me, you may have even had times when you were too ashamed even to attempt to come to the Lord of Hosts to find forgiveness.

There was a time in my life when I faced two equally painful options about what I needed to do regarding a problem I was facing. After I had made the choice I thought would bring the least amount of pain to the fewest people, I worried about facing G-d’s judgment. When I came to the Lord with a broken heart, I found refuge in G-d’s grace rather than shame under G-d’s judgment. Yes, the choice I made had tough consequences for me and many people I loved, but, because I stayed open to G-d’s presence and forgiveness in my life, I did not have to face the consequences alone, in my own strength. The grace-filled presence of the Spirit in my life has sustained me and enabled me to grow in my relationship with the Lord Almighty.

Let’s push this passage in one more direction. Think of all the miracle births between to two covers of the Bible. From what we know of the ancient world and its traditions, a woman without children was not just unlucky. She was considered to have been judged by G-d and found lacking. Each day, she faced the shame of not having a child, of knowing she was shunned by the Author of all Good Gifts. Sara was one such lady back near the beginning of the Hebrew story. She even laughed when she heard the Lord’s messenger telling Abraham about the coming child. Yet to this day, we know the story of the Holy One lifting her shame and turning it to renown. We celebrate the wife of Abraham’s youth as the mother of many nations. Sampson’s mother and Samuel’s mother, Hannah, were both blessed by the Lord’s intervention, lifting their shame and giving to the world with sons who would judge Israel through hard times.

Jumping forward to John’s life, his mother Elizabeth had been barren for many years. Yet today, we celebrate her life due to her son John’s ministry as the one who came to prepare a way for the Lord. Elizabeth’s cousin Mary had a miracle birth of a wholly different kind. The child within her came not almost too late but much too soon. Had not an angel intervened, Joseph would have divorced her quietly and her shame would have been increased. As it is, her shame must have lurked in the corners for decades until the son for her shame became the first born from the grave to live forever at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. (Acts 2:33) The birth that cast off Mary’s shame when our Savior rose from the tomb is the reason we continue to celebrate the birth of the child in Bethlehem. And this takes us back to John’s story in Luke.
From Isaiah we learned about water flowing from the fountains of deliverance. From Zephaniah we learned how G-d wants to deliver us from shame and exult over us with loud singing. That still leaves us with the questions we asked about John’s writing, “To be immersed in the Spirit! To be immersed in Fire! What would that look like? How would that feel?” Paul talks much about the evidence of the Spirit by its fruit in our walks of faith. I want to go back to John, though, and play with fire for a bit. We know lots about fire, so what we know about fire must somehow transfer to what we can know about the Spirit.

Fire has great power and if not respected can bring about great destruction. The Spirit has great power and when we use that power for selfish means, we can cause great harm to the body of followers. The fire from a single candle when passed from one to another can turn a dark room into a place of celebration. The refiner’s fire takes the metal trapped in the base material and separates the two leaving the purest gold or silver. We take that the pure gold, strengthen it and forge symbols of love and commitment. The fire in a glass blowers furnace takes sand and a few minerals to form a clear chalice we can use to hold what has become for us the blood of the new covenant. The fire in a baker’s oven takes wheat from the field along with water, sugar, and oil to make the bread we break in remembrance of the One until he comes again. Fire has great power to transform the simplest substances into food, tools, and art to grace our lives. How much more can the Spirit of Him who Lives Forever take our lives and form them into vessels fit for G-d’s glory.

How does this happen you ask me? How can I allow the Spirit to mold me and make me after his will? I am just finishing a delightful book by Marcus Borg “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time.” In the opening chapter he makes this bold statement that I think informs our search for how the Spirit will touch our lives. “That life (the Christian life) is ultimately not about believing or about being good. Rather it is about a relationship with G-d that involves us in a journey of transformation.” I know, you are saying to yourself, “That sounds great, but how do I do that? How do I have a relationship with G-d, let alone one that transforms me.”

Living a life based on rules is easy. You win or lose based on the rules. You are naughty or nice and you get what is coming to you. Living a life based on a set of beliefs you can ascent to is easy. You believe or you don’t’. Living a life based on relationships is hard work because you have to be fully involved in the relationship each and every day. Think about all the time you spend working at the relationships of those closest to you. All the time listening, even being quiet in one another’s company. The walk of faith based on a relationship with the Living G-d through the power of the Spirit that Borg defines for us is much harder and much more rewarding that a simple set of rules or beliefs.

What will that life look like for you? I will let you in on a secret. I don’t know. I know how the Spirit has touched my life, but I don’t know how the Spirit will touch your life. Only the Spirit knows what you need today and tomorrow and for the hundreds of tomorrows you will celebrate in G-d’s grace. You can look at how others have done it in the past. You can practice what Wesley called the means of grace, but at the end of the day, you are the only one who can work out your relationship with G-d through the access Jesus made available for us by the Holy Spirit. My best advice for each of us is to throw caution to the wind and go out and play with Fire, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pausing When We Eat

2009-11-26T10:31:00.000-06:00

Here are some methods for helping yourself to slow down your eating by creating pauses:

1. Pause before beginning the meal. Look at each item of food, taking it in with the eyes. Notice colors, textures, shapes, arrangement on the plate or bowl.

2. Take a moment to say grace. Thank the animals, plants, and people who brought this food to you. Be aware of their gifts as you eat.

3. Begin the meal by pausing to inhale the fragrance of the food. Imagine that you are being nourished by just the smell.

4. Eat food like a wine connoisseur tastes wine. First sniff the food, enjoying the bouquet. Then take a small taste. Roll it around in the mouth, savoring it. What ingredients can you detect? Chew slowly and swallow. Take a sip of water to cleanse the palate. When the mouth is empty of food and flavor, repeat the process.

5. If you notice that you are eating without tasting, stop and pause to look at the food again.

-Jan Chozen Bays, "Mindful Eating," Tricycle, Summer 2009

So Glad I Did Not eBay the Old One

2009-11-25T16:56:00.006-06:00

Back in 06 when I bought my iMac, I also picked up a converter box (TVMax) to allow me to record old video from 8mm to computer format. The process worked okay, but no one seemed all that interested in the results. I suspect the grandchildren will enjoy seeing Mommy or which ever Daddy when they were kids. As long as I have the tools, I can do it when ever.

This year, Chris is directing a show with a local independent theater. (Yes, I like "theatre" but spell check does not.) He used the 8mm to record the video rather than digital to give it that old-school feel. My task was to do what I had done before and capture the analog to digital. Since 2006, the government in it's wisdom has decided to change the us all to digital television as well. I think it was for Christmas last year (2008) when I got the new and improved converter (eyetv hybrid)--no longer a box, but a mere overgrown USB stick. It had all the same connections, so I fired up all the systems last night and imported (is dubbed still even a word to use for this process?) the three clips. I then exported the video out of the EyeTV proprietary format to one Chris could use. Not only did the audio come on before the video, it was totally out of sync! Interesting, but completely unusable. I tried 3 or 6 more formats and then went back to the wedding video dubbed back in the TVMax days and reexported it to MP4 format.

When it worked like a charm, I retreated to the garage to find Max (yes, I had considered selling him on eBay). Max was not to be found. Lest you think we are sloppy-garage people, you need to know that John and Leah have a bunch of their stuff store there waiting the closing of their house yesterday. I went out in the light of day after work today and found ... the empty box. Max had been hiding behind some stuff in the computer cabinet the whole time. With Max and Mac reunited again, I started over. Dub take one, export take one, review take one. Celebrate!

Be assured, I will now box up Max and store the whole kit and caboodle in a safe, rememberable place. When Chris gets back from "over the river and through the woods," he can pick up his 65mg of video and edit down what he wants.

Away In A Manger

2009-11-21T10:20:00.003-06:00

I thought of this after reading Trudy's recent post. Dad shared it with us earlier in November. I am not sure of the connection, but wanted to share.

Jesus is always a baby at Christmas. And God is a parent. When I was young, "father" language for God always communicated something about my relation with God---one of love, hopefully, but also of dependence, deference to the larger and wiser.

Not until I became a parent did it come to me that this language was not only saying how it looked from my end. Suddenly I thought not of the stature of a parent looming above me, but of the helpless fear with which I watched our toddler daughter begin walking and falling, knowing I must not hold her back and feeling sick with the possibilities. It dawned on me that to call God father or mother was to attribute that sort of seasick vulnerability. It was not just to bow down but to cry out with shocked empathy.

How can God stand it? We have only a few children to keep out of the traffic and sometimes just the thought is enough to stop your heart. We see the infant in the manger and shiver for him to be warmed; hear the soldiers in the street and squirm for his safety.

This is the primary "authority" we receive as parents, the power to be endlessly delighted and wounded by love, hostage to our little ones' good. A parental name for God announces that authority expanded beyond measure, awesome, terrible.

S. Mark Heim
Samuel Abbot Professor of Christian Theology
Andover Newton Faculty

Too many words.

2009-09-19T20:06:00.002-05:00

The assignment was take the lectionary texts nearest our birthday's and write a five-minute message. I hit 5:21.

Today’s lessons come from the 5th Sunday of Epiphany. We will touch on each one in our fly-by today, but before we do, I have a simple question. Do you want to stop at good enough or push on to the best?

Isaiah comes at this as he considers the greatness of G-d compared with the plans of people. Princes and rulers approach life with considerable confidence in the power of their sovereignty. From the Lord’s time frame their plans “are like grasshoppers.” For the One who stands outside of time Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. We wither not under the wrath of the Divine, but because of our temporal nature. G-d is beyond time; we are wrapped in it. G-d’s nature is to be above all things and yet in all things. How does the Unsearchable One treat grasshoppers trapped in time, He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. … those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

The Psalmist celebrates G-d’s nature in much the same way in Psalm 147. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. We have yet to count all the stars in our every expanding universe. We have yet to plumb the depths of the ultramicroscopic world. G-d not only knows all the stars by name, but also knows the names of the basic building blocks used to speak all of existence into being. With intimate knowledge of the “verses”—the universe and the microverse--we might glory in our power sitting smugly back to watch the story play out. Listen to these additional thoughts from the Psalmist: * He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds * The LORD lifts up the downtrodden * the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him. With knowledge and power, the Lord reaches out to hold us and nurture us.

Turning to Paul, we hear him explaining the nature of a servant in his first letter to the Corinthians. If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! Paul talks at length about being all things to all people, hardly sounding like one true to his best. He claims to be as a Jew, as one under the law, as one not under the law, as one weak. He goes so far as to state: I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. The uniting thread for Paul is his calling as a servant of the Most High. For him, spreading the Gospel is not just his highest calling; it is life and breath.

We have seen how G-d’s singular focus not only draws us to worship and adore the Ancient of Days, but also causes the Father of Lights to shine his life-giving presence into our lives healing, strengthening, and freeing us. We have seen how Paul found his mission in being Christ’s servant. How does it look when we combine the all-encompassing presence of the Divine with the immediacy of humankind? Mark recounts an episode in the life of the Lamb of G-d that reminds us what purpose is all about.

Early in his ministry, Jesus finished a long day of teaching in Capernaum, Simon and Andrew’s hometown. Simon and Andrew invited everyone over for dinner, but the forgot the check with Mom who was down with a fever. Think about this from Mrs. Bar Jonah’s point of view. She was most likely shamed to have friends over and not be able to provide hospitality. By lifting the fever, Jesus also lifted the shame. If you thought that after dinner, they could kick back, read on: … they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons… In the morning, what would you want to do? The disciples wanted to heal the sick and deliver the unclean. Why interrupt a good thing? When the good thing keeps you from the best thing, then the good needs to be set aside. …Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."

For me the take-away from all this is that I need to stay focused on find my calling. Paul preached throughout most of the Western world of his time. Jesus stayed true to his purpose from Capernaum to Gethsemane to Calvary to the right hand of G-d the Father Almighty. Each day we all have the choice to do the next good thing in life or follow G-d’s highest.

Beam me home, iPod!

2009-09-13T17:29:00.004-05:00

Apple recently did a refresh of my favorite walking companion. Well at least my favorite nonhuman walking companion. Nothing bets walking with Suzanne. Better yet,my favorite nonliving walking companion. I enjoy walking with Emma and Patti as long as they keep up with me and do not get side tracked by odd smells or other dogs. Okay, so a companion implies a relationship and I do not have a relationship with my iPod. Being a device it can only respond to my input.

Can I start over again? Apple recently updated a tool I use often while walking to track my progress and supply great tunes. They did not add any features that scream at me to drop $150 plus tax on the table. Sure, the new features look great, but I don't need them right now. My phone does most of what the new Nano can do and it's paid for. There is a feature that would entice me to drop even more and $150 plus tax on the table.

The current script has line at the end of the desired distance, "Press Menu to end the work out." I normally set the distance for 2 miles even though my lap with each beast is closer to 2.25 (or 2.21 or 2.28 depending on my gait that day). Just think how great it would be to be able to press Menu and really end the work out as in "Beam me home, iPod." One moment and I have just crossed Bell and Windsor and a nanosecond later, poof, I am walking in the front door instead of walking the other four minutes home.

Think of the possibilities. I could walk in any direction and just "finish the work out." Think of all the new markets and accessories. Talk about "Wow" factor. I guess I need to file a patent on the idea now and simply wait for the technology to catch up with my vision of the future. Remember, you read it here first.

Don't Eat Your Spinach

2009-09-03T19:20:00.002-05:00

I enjoy my Daily Dharma. I learn much about my Christian faith in the Buddhist mirror. "Practice" I think translates to spiritual practice which translates to faith walk. I have always had problems with other people telling me what I needed to do to me a "good Christian." I love the freedom Pat brings to Practice.

Now, if the practice is so good for us, why is it so difficult to maintain a steady practice? It may be that the notion that practice is "good for us" is the very impediment—we all know how we can resist what is good for us at the table, at the gym, and on the Internet. This mechanical notion of practice, "If I practice, then I will be (fill in the blank)," leads to discouragement because it is not true that practice inevitably leads to happiness or anything that we can imagine. Our lives, like the ocean, constantly change, and we will naturally face great storms and dreary lulls.

How, then, to put our minds in a space where practice is always there, whether our lives are tumultuous or we are in the doldrums? It requires a completely radical view of practice. Practice is not something we do; it is something we are. We are not separate from our practice, and so no matter what, our practice is present. An ocean swimmer is loose and flows with the current and moves through the tide. When tossed upside down in the surf, unable to discern which way is up and which way is down, the natural swimmer just let's go, breathing out, and follows the bubbles to the surface.

–Pat Enkyo O'Hara Roshi, from "Like a Dragon in Water," Tricycle, Summer 2002

Either end of life is a lot of hard work.

2009-08-13T21:43:00.011-05:00

I am in the middle of a class on End of Life Issues taught at Blue Mound UMC here in Denton. This week we had Rodney Bolejack from American Hospice as our speaker. As a hospice chaplain, he sees lots of families with someone at the end of life as we know it. Here are some of the take-aways from the class tonight. They are part Bolejack and part Taylor.

Just as it takes a village to raise and child, it should take a village to help someone die.
Dying is hard work. We need to help in the ways the loved one needs us to.
Meaning in life is want we make of it
We all have parts of our lives no disease can take away.
Grieving people do not needed fixed, they need help to grieve; it can be hard work
Hospice is a special branch of medicine in the same way pediatrics is a special branch, Both deal with transitions in life.
Dignity and quality of life are similar at both ends of life. We can't care for all our own needs, but loved ones can.
We need to equip people with the tools to face death gracefully while they are still full of life.
The way we grieve has a lot to do with how the one we are grieving accepted the end of life.

Dr. Bolejack ended his slides with this 15th century definition of medical care: To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.

I am glad to be live!

2009-08-10T22:11:00.003-05:00

Today, I was on the way to pick up Suzanne to see Dr. Christy. He is the chiropractor recommended by the pain management specialist recommended by the back surgeon recommended by the primary care doctor. I drove north on I-35 E and just past the 288 overpass, a car (Oklahoma 609BJE Lexus SUV - cream, light green, tan something like that) crossed over into my lane. I barely caught view of him and dodged just enough to the right so that only our mirrors kissed rather than our fenders. I followed him long enough to know that either he did not even know we had touched or he did not care as long as his Lexus SUV Oklahoma plates 609BJE was fine so why stop. I did stop long enough to see that only my mirror took any damage. It did collapse in as designed, so it did not break. Right good cars those GM's.

I am glad to be alive and thankful I got Suzanne to her doctor instead of her picking me up at the morgue. If you see a Lexus SUV from Oklahoma with plates 609BJE, stay far away.

Predicting the Future

2009-07-30T19:13:00.001-05:00

We don't need a psychic to tell us what our future experience will be—we need only look at our own minds. If we have a good heart and helpful intentions toward others, we will continually find happiness. If instead, the mind is filled with ordinary self-centered thoughts, with anger and harmful intentions toward others, we will find only difficult experiences.

- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

The Breastplate of St David

2009-07-14T21:42:00.003-05:00

Yes, we all saints, set apart for G-d's glory. :) I wrote this at class tonight.

Overlord of Many Names, be in my heart and soul today so that I may serve you with all grace and power. May the one who called all of being into being surround me with the vibrant power of creation to make my life a loving offering, celebrating your presence. May the one who stepped into time to reflect the full glory of the Divine Love well up within me to overflow living water on to a thirsty world. May the one who joins us to one another and to the Holy Presence burn away all in me that does not bring joy to You, Most High.

Bring Your Spiritual Traditions Together

2009-06-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

Many Westerners attracted to Buddhist practice have abandoned their own spiritual traditions. They reject the churches and clergy of their own traditions because they feel constricted and uncomfortable with the attitudes and practices they have encountered there. They have suffered within their own tradition and so have sought another. They approach Buddhist practice with the hope of replacing their own tradition and may wish to break away from their own tradition forever.

According to Buddhist wisdom, such wishing is in vain. A person severed from her own culture and traditions is like a tree pulled out by the roots. Such a person will find it hard to be happy. Buddhist practice can offer effective means to heal, reconcile, and reunite with one’s blood and spiritual families, in order to discover the precious gems in one’s own traditions. Thanks to the practice, people will see that Buddhism and their own spiritual tradition have many things in common, and therefore it is not necessary to reject their own spiritual tradition. They will see that there are things that need to be transformed in Buddhism as well as in their own tradition.

–Thich Nhat Hanh, from Teachings on Love (Parallax Press)

The Kingdom of Heaven is like ...

2009-06-06T16:28:00.009-05:00

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (ESV Matthew 11:1-6 )

Now that I am done with the Disciple 1 Bible study, I am back to the Taylor Bookmark Method. The other day, my bookmark made it to Matthew 11. What struck me about this passage was what was missing, nothing about doctrine, nothing about rules, nothing about tithes or gifts. The hallmark of the Kingdom was liberation. Those bound by physical bonds were freed. Those who had crossed the boundary of life and death were given the chance to come back. The poor learned that G-d had not forgotten them. Their freedom gave them hope. No longer were they bound by the laws of the Pharisees. No longer were they bound by the rules of sacrifice and the Temple. Did Mary and Joseph feel shame when they had to bring the last of the list offering at Jesus dedication? The system of offerings and sacrifices would soon fall away to a new covenant, a covenant requiring the same offering of all, a broken and contrite heart. The Kingdom is about freeing people.

Take Pride in Your Tears

2009-06-03T20:30:00.001-05:00

People often talk about trying to hold back their tears, but as human beings, we should take pride in our capacity to be sad and happy. We mustn’t ignore the preciousness of our human birth or take it for granted. It is extremely precious and very powerful. We cannot ignore our basic human endowment.

–Chögyam Trungpa

As It Is, Not How We Want It to Be

2009-05-20T21:37:00.001-05:00

Rather than worry or obsess about enlightenment, why not be honest and accept that we will have our good days and our bad? We will have some enlightened moments of loving-kindness, as well as some dull ones. This encourages all of us to stay real and experience the moment as it is—not how we want it to be.

–Donald Altman

Technology is

2009-05-10T16:34:00.003-05:00

Amazing! This week, I sat and watched my two grand-daughters look at each other on screen in a Skype video-phone call. What ever John had done to adjust the webcam on their end worked. The picture was bright and clear. Granted the girls at 5 & 7 months had no idea that they were over 900 miles apart. I am not sure they had any idea of what was happening. Arianna and I chatted for a few minutes before Sophie and Chris arrived. After he left for his end-of-the-semester decompression, we chatted for a while longer. Skpye is amazing.

Durable! This week Suzanne found my missing blue-tooth headset. She spent Wednesday morning in the flower beds and decided to move some errant monkey grass. Nestled in the grass, apparently safe from the 10 inches of rain we have had this year and who knows what else has happened in the months it has lain there, the device survived its exposure to the elements. By the time I got home, I saw the blue charging light when I plugged it in. After a full charge, it worked! Now I have a Borg-unit for the car and one for the house, until I misplace one or the other. Motorola makes durable equipment.

Frustrating! Recently, they sent us a link at work allowing us to buy the Microsoft Office Suite (the full version) for home use at a substantial discount. Suzanne has expressed the desire to be able to work on a few projects using Publisher. Yes, we could upgrade the iMac to Leopard from Tiger to be able to run Windows on the Mac. By the time we spend all the money on software costs, we could have purchased most of an inexpensive notebook. (Netbooks have tiny screens, so no go.) The mistake was buying an inexpensive Dell from Best Buy. I did have to spend an hour on the phone with Apple Care to walk me through the problems in the setup. Once I had to iMac talking to the Dell, I thought I was home free. Apparently, there is some "problem" with Vista that keeps it from recognizing other files systems. I talked to the Geek Squad, "Sorry, that will be a house call for $130." Dell wants your credit card number before you even can ask them the question and the web has all kinds of advice that has not worked yet. For now, all Suzanne can do if she wants to print a copy from the Dell is a) unhook the printer from the iMac and then hook it back up when she it done or b) print the file as a PDF to the public folder on the Dell and then print it from the iMac since Apple is smarter than Dell. Apple makes great products and has wonderful support. Dell, not so much.

Healing is

2009-04-28T07:43:00.000-05:00

Healing is coming to terms with things as they are.

–Jon Kabat-Zinn

great faith and great questioning

2009-04-25T11:25:00.002-05:00

There is a paradox between great faith and great questioning. We need faith to anchor us and questioning to open us. With faith only, we might stagnate and become narrow-minded, with questioning only we might become disturbed and agitated. These two qualities balance and support each other.

–Martine Batchelor

You can't catch yourself.

2009-04-11T14:46:00.013-05:00

Last week-end while I was banished from the house for the morning while Suzanne and company had their Reunion Group, I spent some time at the public library (across the street from the house). I perused all the magazines to see what might be interesting. I settled down first with The Tricycle.

I don't remember the article, but one paragraph stuck with me. The basic points were something like 1) you did not call yourself into being, 2) a power higher than your own sustains you in life, and 3) you cannot catch yourself (when you pass from life as we know it). Talk about putting me in my place. I love the simplicity of the ideas.

No matter when life begins --with the first mitosis or the first respiration-- I had nothing to do with it. I cannot take credit for the miracle of birth and life. Since all of us earthlings have the same control over our birth, we are united in our helplessness to incite our conception.

I understand that the 12 step programs use the "higher power" phrase to keep from locking people into one box for the power I understand as G-d. I have just started reading Armstrong's The Battle for God. (The was a review in The Tricycle.) Based on the little I have read, I can see the absurdity of the question "Which G-d do you mean, the Christian god, the Jewish god, the ______ god?" I understand the Divine to be the Divine. Can there be more than one? The higher power who sustains me, sustains all life. The Divine sends rain on the just and the unjust, on the believer and the infidel. My life and the lives of all us earthlings (or mud people if you will) is upheld by the one and the same One.

"You cannot catch yourself" to me implies that there is someone who can catch me when I fall through the veil that separates this existence locked in time and space into an existence beyond all time and space, beyond conception and understanding, beyond all boundaries! The one who went on ahead came back for a time to tell us that he had conquered the final fear. Death no longer had hold on him or on those who he leads free from the chains of fear. On this Holy Saturday, the space between the torture of Good Friday and the tumult of the Resurrection Day, I thank my G-d with all that is in me that before time began, the path that would lead me to be had been planned with joyful anticipation. I thank the Living Presence of the Living G-d who dwells within me that I am sustained each day, yes, each moment by the indwelling assurance that no matter the path before me, I am not alone. I thank the one who went before me, the One who conquered death and separation from the One in Three that there is no pit so deep that loving hands will not be able to catch me when I fall. I thank the Divine that even when I fall out of time, that I will fall into the Love the never ends.

I'd walk a mile for a paycheck

2009-03-27T21:34:00.003-05:00

Well, wouldn't you? Funny how nit-picky work follows me. While I was at the school district, I had the pleasure (responsibility) of taking boring computer printer reports and dressing them up using a tool from ICS. I did paychecks. I did report cards. I did bilingual enrollment cards. The results may be great, but the work is tedious. The tools are a report, a desired report and a ruler that measures millimeters. The old tool let you lay out the new form (boxes, lines, shading, text) using millimeters, but required you to take the content from the existing report in spaces based on characters per inch. Print, test, correct, print, test, .... soon you have the new report that can print on plain paper with all the elegance of a pre-printed form. Fun. Depending on how far away the laser printer is from your desk and how many reams of paper you have to feed it.

Well, now at Sally, some state has decided that a paycheck for an hourly worker must have the pay rate on the check. Our payroll software can do the job, but who ever set up the paycheck forms in the new software did not plan for the pay rate. I spent a goodly number of steps and sheets getting the project nailed done today.

What I have now that I did not have in Tyler is a phone that measures my steps each day. I worked on the project today and yesterday. On Wednesday, I walked about a mile and a half for the day. Thursday and Friday, I walked just under 2 and a half each day. Was it all back and forth to the printer? If even half the extra each day was for the project, then, yes, I would walk a mile for a paycheck.

Actually, today was payday and since I direct deposit like any sane person would who had the option, my paycheck (pay statement really) came to me. :)

The Theology of Grey

2009-03-21T21:17:00.004-05:00

So I have to admit that marriage has changed some of my habits. I watch TV more than before. Lost in a book, lost in a show (as long as the show is not Lost) is still lost. I guess you could say that Suzanne and I get lost together.

Last Thursday, we are watching this doctor show with a good ensemble cast, one of the docs is even a red-head. Well the one doc (with the scruffy beard-not the red-head) is all twisted in his own emotional knot due to the death of a patient. He felt he botched the procedure (I missed that episode or at least that scene). He withdraws into a lightly drunken pity-party (as opposed to a drunken stupor). As he draws more members of the medical profession into his arboreal refuge from the world, each doc tries to talk him out of the woods with stories of their own failures. Finally, the chief (no I do not remember his name--I am still a newbie at this) comes out and says something like "She died. We all do. That one is not on you."

The statement hit me. He is right, not matter what we all die. When even G-d took on humanity for a time, the end was clear and inevitable. Even G-d could not escape the fact of death. Yes, in facing death he was able to conquer it, but he still had to face death.

So as long as I am talking about death and doctors, a friend at work pointed out a study saying that religious people were more likely to receive advanced care in the last week of life. After reading the article, sounds to me like they really are not sure what is going on. One statement jumped out at me

But researchers say these patients may be less likely to believe their doctors when they are told there is no hope.

Of all the gifts G-d has given us, I think common sense is near the top of the list. Clutching on to the last minute miracle instead of preparing for a peaceful passing seems like a waste of precious time. And, yes, I have lost family and friends to cancer. I watched from afar as family faced death courageously. Did I pray for a last minute miracle? Yes, of course I did. Was I willing for that last minute miracle to be a peaceful passing and a lasting testimony to G-d's love and grace. Yes.

Not sure how I go from Grey to Reality, but I am glad that my confidence is in G-d and that I am thankful for his servants of the white collar and the white coat.

Thanks be to G-d.

Back to blogging

2009-03-14T16:33:00.002-05:00

I have been off blogging for awhile, been at Facebook. They keep changing their interface and layouts. No one has changed my interface and layout on this blog but me. Yes, Facebook is nice for finding people. I have found high school classmates I have not seen in years. I will probably troll Facebook now and then to keep up. Anything thoughtful, any new pictures, and new granddaughter stories will be on the blog.

Ten years ago

2009-03-02T20:44:00.001-06:00

Ten years ago this week, I started work in Texas, Tyler to be exact. The last ten years have been eventful.

New ways to waste time.

2009-01-10T17:23:00.003-06:00

I have found new ways to waste time (as if I needed them). Picasa has a find and name face feature. I was supposed to be walking a while ago, but I have been labeling people for way too long. Some to the pictures are priceless. See for yourself. I still have some work to do. :) The other time waster? Get a new cell phone and learn to drive all over again. Does all (and more) that I need (want) it to do, just differently.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T07:35:00.003-06:00

Okay, so the picture has nothing to do with Christmas, really, but you laughed. At least I did when a guy at work passed this on.

So much to be thankful for this year as the celebration on the One made Flesh comes to us. The family has grown this year. Suzanne and I tied the knot in February and then in October and December, Arianna and Sophie took their first breaths. Now Leah is sporting a highly compressed carbon art object on one of her digits. Life is amazing.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a New Year filled with Grace and Peace.

Sigh, I guess I should have better attention

2008-11-14T21:41:00.002-06:00

You paid attention during 89% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Take More Quizzes

So my first reaction to getting less than 100% was to want to see the answers. I guess the only way is to take it again and again until I get them all right.

Quick trip up North

2008-11-13T07:54:00.003-06:00

We took a quick trip up North over a long week-end last week-end. We had a great time and took a few pictures along the way. I think the snow was there just for Suzanne.

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

2008-11-01T11:58:00.003-05:00

Dad sent this an an email. Okay, so this is all over the web, but I decided to post (and tweak it) anyway.

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

1. The Bible will still have all the answers for the walk of faith.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. G-d will still inhabit the praises of G-d's people.
5. G-d-anointed preaching will still challenge and comfort us in turn.
6. G-d's people will still sing of praise to G-d.
7. G-d will still pour out blessings and challenge upon G-d's people.
8. Room at the Cross will never be full. (SRO, but never full)
9. The hungry will still need feeding, the naked will still need clothing, and the sick and in prison will still need someone to share their pain.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him in the fullness of time.

The Pumpkins Won!

2008-10-22T20:00:00.003-05:00

At work, we have a social committee who plans all sorts of silly things to do. For Halloween, they decided to have groups do houses, kind of like gingerbread houses at Christmas. We have a gingerbread "haunted" house. To make a long story short, ours fell apart due to the moisture in the walls. We finally gave up and tossed the victorious pumpkins all over the place.

Give me a witness

2008-10-19T18:16:00.002-05:00

Monday, Matt called me from the church to see if I were available on Sunday to give a short testimony. The subject was inclusiveness. Here is what I had to say.

When Matt called me about the opportunity to share my witness of G-d's grace in my life, I was glad to say yes. I am thankful and humbled to be asked. You see I have not always been a United Methodist. I did not even get here as fast as I could. Looking over my shoulder, I can see myself in the pews of almost a dozen different flavors of churches growing up in the American Baptist Church and ranging from the Episcopal Church to the Assemblies of God, before I finally came home to the United Methodist church four or five years ago. Over the years, sometimes the change was due to moving from one city to another. Sometimes the change was due to moving from one place in my heart to another. Like a set of clothes that looked great on the mannequin but just did not fit well over the long haul, I needed to set some ideas aside to find ones that fit me better.

Even before I settled in the United Methodist Church, her ministries profoundly had touched my life. I took my Walk to Emmaus in 2003 with the Grace Emmaus community in Tyler on Men's Walk #26 and sat at the table of Stephen. I took my walk while I was attending a nondenominational church in Tyler and my sponsor was attending one of the Baptist denominations. No one asked me at the door if I were one of them, the United Methodists. They opened the door of G-d's love for me and reminded me of His abiding grace.

You can ask my wife, Suzanne, I can be intense at times. If you need two or three witnesses, you can ask anyone in the various small groups and Sunday School classes I have enjoyed since coming to FUMC. I feel strongly about those things I am sure about, and as a young man I had many things I was sure about. The big change over the years, is that the number of things I am sure about has shrunk to very few. I used to be willing and ready to argue many points of theology and the Bible for the purpose of winning another convert for my side. As life got more complicated, I found I was moving toward the same words of early church thinkers that attracted John Wesley, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." What freedom I have found in these simple words. Now I can discuss my relationship with my Lord and the record of His reaching out to His people with the same joy I talk about my best friend. The spirit of contention was swallowed up by the spirit of celebration. This freedom is central to what draws me to this community of faith where I can bring joy to G-d's heart with my prayers, my presence, my gifts, my service, and my witness.

In necessariis unitas,
In dubiis libertas,
In omnibus autem caritas,

In essentials unity,
In doubtful things liberty,
But in all things love

Helen, a story of beauty, war, and story

2008-10-11T11:50:00.004-05:00

Suzanne and I went to see Helen last night at TWU. The story was an old one, but then what story is not an old one. The play told an ancient Greek story in the trappings of modern life. So much of the play could have be conceived today. The emptiness of celebrity, the futility of war, our uneasy relationship with what we worship. We were enriched by the experience.

I Played with Power Tools

2008-09-24T20:54:00.006-05:00

I guess most people would say I mowed the lawn tonight. I think I played with power tools. First I walked to the shed to retrieve the gas-powered weed whacker. After getting it started, I walked around the postage-stamp portions of the front yard. The deal is that we are doing the neighbor's (in the duplex) lawn as well since she paid for the guys in the orange truck for a couple years. Once I had walked the perimeter of the sections, I moseyed back to the shed to drop off the string trimmer in exchange for the gas-powered lawn mower. The front yard has small sections that are shared by the neighbors on either side of the duplex. Silly to stop mowing in the middle, so I actually mowed more than just our yards - but then I trimmed more too. After using the lawn mower, I pushed it back to it's resting place beside the shed. There is only so much floor space in the shed.

Last time I tried to store the mower in the shed, it ended up tipped too far forward. Oil got where it was not supposed to be, so the engine would not start. Thankfully, Bob was able to help me with the problem and get the mower started. Did I mentioned that we were storing the mower for Leah, the mower a neighbor gave her a few years back, the mower that had hardly been used? But, I digress.

After trimming and mowing, I found the blower (electric, not gas powered) in the darkening shed. I didn't start until 7:02 p.m. I had to take a side trip to the hose to rinse off what ever it was that slipped on me when I pulled the power cords from their shelf, some kind of insect poison. Yes, I rinsed well. By the time I had the sidewalks clean, it was all of 7:43 p.m.

In the course of the 40 minutes, I figure I spent more time walking back and forth and starting tools than I did really working on the yard. At least the job pays well based on how proud the guys in the orange trucks are of their work.

My Shirt, My Candidate.

2008-09-14T16:44:00.005-05:00

And now we have a blustery day.

2008-09-13T17:59:00.003-05:00

The rain has gone it seams. The wind has a steady 18 mph (per the web) blow. I am thankful we appear to have dodged the main storm and pray for the safety of those whose lives were greatly impacted.

Nothing Right now.

2008-09-13T12:30:00.002-05:00

I just looked out to let Leo outside and (He did not go) saw that the rain has stopped for now. I see plenty of clouds and stuff. We expect lots of rain. I did get my walk in today. The steady drizzle started while I was just under a mile from home. By the time I got home, I was very glad that Suzanne greeted me at the door with a towel. We need to get out to the store and the station before everything is gone and gas goes up another 50 cents a gallon.

If I hear "Hunkered Down" again I will scream!

2008-09-13T07:34:00.002-05:00

We have been watching the news last night and today. Yes, we are fine, but I will keep you posted as long as I have power today. Every time we turn in, we hear that the reporter and crew are hunkered down. I am as tired of that phrase as I am hearing about porcine makeup practices! Please people, the English language must have more that one way to say that we are taking shelter from the storm. Find them!

Sour dough for Dummies

2008-09-08T21:46:00.003-05:00

I promised to post this recipe. ( I can never spell that word right. It always has a red line under it!)

I make this every now and then. I usually make waffles. I posted the recipe for that earlier.

Nike Human Race 10K

2008-08-31T22:09:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago, I saw a link to a race sponsored by Nike, the Human Race. I have been walking with my ipod since some time in April. Some weeks are better than others, but a 10k was not even on my horizon. My longest walk to date had been just over of 6k, but my normal walk was closer to 4.5k. Since I signed up, I have been walking about four 5k's a week -- during a good week.

This morning was the race. I was on the way before 7:00 and by 8:00 I hit 6.88K. Now I walked the whole way, so I was on the trail over an hour longer than the 27:51 top run so far. My 10k joins others around the world for over 4,803,753 kilometers so far. People have a few more days to upload, so I may slip from number 21346. Of course now that I have done 6.2 miles in one walk, I will have to start pushing that up a little each month with a monthly 10k. If you look at my run, you can see where I stopped to tell Suzanne that yes, I was still walking and that I was fine.

Black Bean Sandwich

2008-08-16T17:19:00.004-05:00

So here it is. David's World Famous Black Bean Sandwich.

Take a can of drained and rinsed black beans. 1/2 bell pepper, green, red, whatever (diced), 1/2 minced onion, 1 cup cooked rice (brown or not), 1 cup dry old-fashioned oat meal, two egg whites (or not if you want vegan sandwiches). Spice as you like. I last used some Mrs. Dash Chipotle and some garlic powder. Toss everything in the mixer and slowly increase the speed without tossing the whole shinola on out on the counter. Stop before you get a paste of one color.

You can serve cold as a salad-like sandwich or George-Foreman 3/4 cup patties as a hot sandwich. I tried a new trick this time. I used a large piece of parchment paper sprayed with olive oil and cooked them between the folded sheets. This kept the grill from eating the top layer.

And on a side note, did you know that you can sand-paper off the top layer of your headlights when the lens gets cloudy? The kit beats spending $90 and up!

Variable Star

2008-08-02T16:12:00.005-05:00

If change threatens you, you become a conservative in self-defense. If it thrills you, you become a liberal in self-liberation. He says the Threateneds are frequently more successful in the short run, because they fight dirty. But in the long run, they lose, because Thrilled people learn and this accomplishes more.

Sol Short - from The Variable Star by Robert A Heinlein and Spider Robinson.

How much is a used PC worth.

2008-07-19T15:16:00.008-05:00

Here in Denton, we live north of University Drive on what starts out as a one-way street. By the time Locust gets to our part of town, it is a two way though. The sister street (going back into town) has a place I have driven by too many times without taking advantage of the services. We had an old computer and monitor in the garage taking up valuable space. That and an old printer, old fax, and an old phone. We thought we might have to pay to have them disposed, but Superior said that they bought computer scrap.

Today was the day. Suzanne and I had busy mornings and caught up with each other about noon. She needed to finish an errand that took us down Elm. "Hey, let's see how late they are open!" "Ok!" "3:00 on Saturdays." Once we got back home, I loaded up the car while Suzanne loaded up lunch. Well - it turned out to be dinner, but that's another story.

The monitor was $1.00. The printer, fax and phone were called ABS and brought $.72. The computer, which probably cost $1200 to $1500 back in the day brought the highest at $.14/pound $4.48 total. I am glad I am not worth my weight in computer scrap. At least I don't think I am.

Come to find out, I did some quick web-searching. Someone calculated the value of the elements in the human body at $4.50. This number has been spread all over the Net, so I am not sure of the date and the inflation adjustments, but I am now certain that I am worth more than a used PC. The PC started out at $1200 and I cost $89.50 to get out of the hospital. I may not be worth much more than computer scrap, but at least I have depreciated less. :)

New Post.

2008-07-13T15:50:00.001-05:00

Annie,
It worked for me at 15:50 on Sunday.

David

Four things and a Tag.

2008-06-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

I got tagged by Louise (While back). I have not done many tags, so here goes.

4 Jobs I've Held:
1. Shoe sales
2. youth pastor
3. teacher
4. computer programmer

4 Movies I've Watched Over and Over Again:
1. The Incredibles
2. Princess Bride
3.
4.

4 Places I've Been:
1. Yellowstone Park
2. Niagara Falls
3. Taiwan
4. Calgary, Alberta

4 Places I've Lived:
1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. Montana
4. Texas

4 TV Shows I Watch:
1. House (on-line)
2. Eli Stone (on hiatus)
3. Monk (On-line)
4. Late news (on occasion)

4 Radio Shows I Listen To:
1. Morning Edition (on air & on-line)
2. Performance Today (on-line, except that now I can't get it)
3.
4.

4 Things I Look Forward To:
1. coming home to Suzanne
2. talking to kids on the week-end
3. being a grandfather (or grandpa or grand père or a Poppi or what ever)
4. Sabbatical

4 People I email regularly:
1. Family
2. People at work (but that doesn't count since most of it is CYA)
3.
4.

4 People to Tag:
1. Chris
2. Stephanie
3. Nathan
4. Ruth

What a Great Day

2008-06-15T18:03:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's Day to one and all. This has been a great week-end/day for me. I have seen all the Texas kids this week end (Chris & Kristi, Geoff, and Leah) and talked to most of the hither and yon. I skipped Sunday school to talk with Nathan and visited with Stephanie after the play. I asked her to wish John a "Happy Father's Day" for me. I had a chance visit with Dad yesterday on the phone and Suzanne & I took Bob and Winona out for lunch after church. With all the wished going back and forth, I guess we had three generations of fathers in the chain what with Dad and Bob being G1 and Chris and John as G3. By this time next year we should have some G4's around. (No not G4 fathers, just G4 children :p )

Great Week-End

2008-06-14T16:37:00.005-05:00

Geoff got to connect with a local band last night. Here are a few clips.

This is a great story of connections. Back when I did Tartuffe, I worked with Polly. Later she invited me to a show for her band. This was back when Suzanne and I were on the border of hanging out and dating. We both knew we were dating but did not admit it yet. They play fun music that is family friendly. One show they had a fiddle player and the next they didn't. When I knew that Geoff was going to be in town and the band had a show, I emailed Polly and she got back with a yes! One of the players in the band is Link.

Suzanne and I planned to see MPHTBB at the Blues and Jazz fest this year. Suzanne mentioned this to a guy she worked with during a sub-gig at the school across the street. "I play in that band," was Link's reply and sure enough he does along with some other bands and his own collections of "used tennis shoes he picked up along the way." He never mentioned the name of the band Friday night, so I guess is must be Link and his Used Tennis Shoes. Why not? Keillor has the Guy's All Star Show Band. But I digress (as usual). At the MPHTBB gig, Link asked Geoff if he wanted to play with them on Friday night. We all had a great time. Thanks, Link!

Nike +

2008-05-17T15:47:00.002-05:00

When I logged into Nike+ today, I saw that I am just two walks short of 50 miles. I started with the timed/logged walks just after we went to see Geoff for the concert on his birthday. My goal is to walk over 2 miles at least six days per week. No weight lose yet, but I do see my pace dropping. Maybe I will get under 16 minutes to a walked mile soon! Cheers!

Hedda Gabler

2008-04-19T06:40:00.004-05:00

Chris and Company from TWU present Hedda this week-end. It is a shame they do shows only one week-end. We both enjoyed the show. The review really does not address Chris' character. I thought he did a great job of the clueless George.

The iMac Gets a New Home.

2008-04-08T20:43:00.009-05:00

Since, I moved in to our wonderful home, the iMac has been sitting in the back bedroom. Now I guess some would call it the front bedroom because that room is nearest the street. I call it the back bedroom because we spend most of our time in the living room end of the house. That make the main part the front of the house, right. For that matter, there is no door back there so you come into the front and way to the back.

Well, I have been looking for a computer station for a while. With the menagerie (two medium/large dogs, three cats, and a dozen fish), we needed a place with door to keep the ambulatory beasts from exploring the system and pitching it to the floor. I could see the cats walking past and gently nudging the whole things to the tile floors. I found a cabinet that would work on-line, but I wanted to see and touch. I also wanted it now instead of when it comes. I finally gave up the first avenue of attack and went straight to the manufacturer's web site. No one in the area carried the one I wanted, so I found another one a Staples thanks to their handy "where can I buy it" feature.

Saturday,it took way to long to do the project. We started by putting the gently used blue sectional on the street. Why haul something off when a willing passer-by will do it for you? We put it on the sreet by 11:00 and it was gone by 3:00! The Computer Armoire I found came in a box too big for us to carry in from the car, so I brought it in piece by piece. The instructions were good. I only had to take two pieces off and switch them. After I put it all back together, everything fit just fine. The printer shelf pulls out, so I can now use the scanner without breaking my back or crawling on the floor

Tonight, we even watched and episode of Nova using the TV receiver I have for the iMac, then we watched Chris and Kristi's wedding.

I took the test too.

2008-04-05T17:22:00.008-05:00

Tigger
You scored 20 Ego, 9 Anxiety, and 18 Agency!
And as they went, Tigger told Roo (who wanted to know)
all about the things that Tiggers could do.

"Can they fly?" asked Roo.

"Yes," said Tigger, "they're very good flyers, Tiggers
are. Strornry good flyers."

"Oo!" said Roo. "Can they fly as well as Owl?"

"Yes," said Tigger. "Only they don't want to."

"Why don't they want to?" well, they just don't like it
somehow."

Roo couldn't understand this, because he thought it
would be lovely to be able to fly, but Tigger said it was
difficult to explain to anybody who wasn't a Tigger himself.

You scored as Tigger!

ABOUT TIGGER: Tigger is the newest addition to the Hundred Acre Wood, and he lives with Kanga and Roo, because Roo's strengthening medicine turned out to be the thing that Tiggers like best. Tigger is bouncy and confident -some of his friends think he is a little TOO bouncy and confident, but attempts to unbounce him tend to be fruitless.

WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are a positive and confident person. You feel capable of dealing with anything and everything, and funnily enough, you usually ARE. You don't worry about much, and you love to go out and find new adventures.

Your friends and family might sometimes be a little exasperated by your boundless enthusiasm. You don't like to admit your mistakes, and when you find yourself in over you head, you tend to bluff your way out of things. You would be surprised, however, at how happy the people around you would be if you would actually admit to a mistake. It would make you seem more human, somehow.

This test tracked 3 variables. How the score compared to the other people's:

Higher than 85% on Ego

Higher than 11% on Anxiety

Higher than 75% on Agency

Link: The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test

The Clean Energy Scam

2008-03-31T20:45:00.003-05:00

I read the cover story of Time this week and I am in shock about our misguided science behind ethanol and in awe of the power of the Farm Lobby. After finishing the article, it seems to me that the cure has must worse than the problem. I guess the problem is that we need to find a replacement for fossil fuel instead of a substitute! The internal combustion engine must go away and the sooner the better! My next three emails will be to my congressman and my senators! We have to stop this biofuel lunacy before we destroy the planet!

MS Walk update

2008-03-29T18:27:00.007-05:00

I decided to put the MS Walk update on a new blog! I will post my ramblings and rants here, but I will post stuff related to us together at our new blog.

Edit: Here is the video clip Suzanne did.

Shedding a New Light

2008-03-19T21:47:00.009-05:00

I remember the first time I came to Suzanne's (now our) house. It was dark and I spent a long time finding the address. The other day, the next door neighbor had some health issues and had the emergency people come. They too had a hard time finding the address. A couple of days ago, I went down to Home Depot to find a solar light that would shed some light on our address. I needed both lights in the box as they are not that bright. But you can see, from the shot taken in the front yard, that the numbers are now visible. I checked from the street as well. Now some day, I might run the wires out to the numbers to have a light that will be on all night. For now, I will be happy knowing you can read the numbers when you come to visit for dinner some night.

MS Walk

2008-03-08T14:56:00.005-06:00

In case you missed the email, here is a link to the MS Walk Donor page so you can help Suzanne and I raise money for the Cure. I have learned a lot about MS in the past year or so. Never knew much before. Never needed to. Go, click, donate!

We also have a blog on the Walk page. You can check that too.

Edit: so you can help Suzanne and me raise money

We Really Had Snow!

2008-03-06T20:16:00.013-06:00

We had snow today. Not wimpy stuff that passes for snow to most Texans, but honest to Snowman, really rollable, throwable, packable snow! If you click on the snow sculptor, you can see a few more pics. I took one about 1:30 in the afternoon. You can almost see some detail, but you can see some snow on the cars. By the time of the tree shot, when Suzanne picked me up from work around 4:00, we had a real life, winter wonderland. After we had a call from Chris that they were safely home (see his blog), we drove over to help Leah get her car unstuck. Our last stop was at Bob and Winona's (Momma and Bobpa's) to say Hi and built an impromptu snowman. Camera phones are fun; I suspect my next one will be a better camera or none at all.

The sound is better than the video

2008-03-01T09:25:00.003-06:00

We did take some video. The light must have been a little too low for the auto focus. You can enjoy the sound at least. I will post some more when I have time.

We did it!

2008-02-25T21:56:00.005-06:00

It has been more than a week now, but I am finally getting down to writing a short note about the wedding! We had a wonderful time and were so thankful for all who could make it. I cut the photos up into smaller chunks so you can look at a few at a time.

More later. I got tired of pasting links to the folders in the post. Just go to the gallery and look for Wedding folders.

Next post about the wedding!

2008-02-16T08:23:00.004-06:00

Yes, I guess this makes me a blogger. I will be in front of the pastor with my bride in less than three hours and I am here telling the whole world about it instead of getting showered and dressed and out the door. The picture is from the MS Valentines banquet last Friday. We had a wonderful time. Look here for links to wedding pictures.

Happy Birthday, Jim

2008-02-10T17:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday, Jim. Hope you and Mom can share a dance today to celebrate our birthdays.

Tag, you're it!

2008-02-02T08:55:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged by Ken who was tagged by Trudy.

The Rules:-
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

As there, I had to go to the book shelf to get a book and picked the one I am reading, "The Whistling Season" by Ivan Doig. Ken gave me "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" a fe years back for Christmas. Since my memory is of reading it Lakeside, that was about 20 years ago. (No, I did not just check the Net for the copyright date of the book to see if that memory is even possible. Memory is memory and fact is fact.) My book mark is at page 124, so page 123 is the last page I read in the book; how fun is that?

Father was the first to find the power of speech.
"You can cook?"
"Certainly."

Not much typing, you will love the book. I plan to finish it some time. Have not done a lot of reading lately.

BTW, I tag Suzanne, Stephanie, Geoff, Ruth, and John.

We have the paper

2008-02-02T08:44:00.000-06:00

If you look at the count down timer, you will see that we have fewer than 15 days (quinze jour) as the French would say. Yesterday, the 1st, we meet at lunch time and raised our right hands to affirm a whole bunch of things. We then pinned on our Bride and Groom to Be pins. Suzanne had found them at the store where she had the napkins printed. Those of you how can attend the wedding or the open-house we plan to have later, will love them. We did take a picture to two. If you are counting, this is one of the last Saturdays before we get married. This Saturday and next and then the wedding!

Now back to raise your right hand. I looked on the wed for a few minutes, but I could not find the origin of the "raise your right hand" tradition. Any one know?

New glasses

2008-01-27T16:36:00.001-06:00

I got some new glasses the other day. Friday to be exact. So I had to take a picture to show you all. While I was taking a picture, I grabbed Suzanne to take a few snaps as well. We had a lot fun mugging for the camera.

Once I got the new glasses on, I noticed that the progressive part of the lens worked much better than the old pair I have since retired. I thought I would simply have two pair to exchange like shoes or ties, but I see so much better with the news ones at so many more distances. Using the old ones would be torture.

On another note, we skipped seeing a first run movie with some friends yesterday and went to a fantasy at the cheap seats. We saw Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Yes, as a cineophile, I had some problems with the film, but the kid in me loved it. I was profoundly touched by the simple message that Life is Magic. We need to believe. I would go so far as to echo the father in the New Testament narrative when he says, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief." Yeah, its a stretch, by heart was touched.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

2008-01-15T14:26:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Pockets are a problem.

2008-01-12T09:16:00.000-06:00

Christmas came late this year. I needed a new pair of jeans, so I took Suzanne and my Discover card out to get a pair of jeans. We went to Macy's instead of Target. I have been shopping for clothes at Target for years, so I have worn mostly Wranglers and Target brand jeans for a long time.

We found a couple pair that were on sale. One cut did not fit as well as the other. Now because I could, I handed Suzanne my wallet so I would not have to worry about it in the dressing room. I tried the pants and a shirt or two. Suzanne had my wallet the whole time.

Friday morning I put on my new jeans and my new red shirt (Sally red on Fridays). When I put my phone and wallet in my back pockets, I realized that Izod pockets are lower than normal pockets. The dent in my backside will have to move to accommodate my new pants. I should tried on my wallet with the new pants. Alas and alack.

She cries, big deal!

2008-01-07T22:05:00.000-06:00

So Hillary has a heart. Is that newsworthy? She can go cool, calm, and collected to teary without warning. Well so can I. I have been know to have my voice give out due to emotion in front of an entire congregation more than once. I have been so touched by the words of a song that I nearly lost my composure at work one day just translating the song to someone. I have looked into the eyes of a loved one and been overcome with the simple gratitude of shared love.

I want to here about want she had to say, not the minor road-bump on the way to the main point.

They are too cute for words.

2007-12-12T19:47:00.000-06:00

As often happens, the littlest choristers are the cutest. The were fun live too.

Recent Sermons

2007-12-04T20:29:00.000-06:00

I have enjoyed Matt Gaston's messages since he came to us almost a year ago. Matt strikes a great balance between inspiration and erudition. He finds the difference between justice and mercy and clearly proclaims how they are two flavors in the same pot, not sides of a coin or opposites in balance. Two recent message have stood out for me. You can take your pick from the church website. Back in November, he had a clarifying message on the prosperity gospel. You will have to watch the website for last week's message when he quoted from the Bible, a general from our recent history, and a modern-day prophet about the futility of war. Enjoy.

big, the musical

2007-12-01T18:01:00.000-06:00

Not much time to write. It has been a busy week-end. The Denton paper had nice things to say about the show.

The Flying Counter Cat

2007-11-22T13:06:00.000-06:00

Suzanne's house is a bit of a menagerie. The fish died off the other day, but there was a tankful. Once the water balances out from cleaning and refilling, I suspect new fish will replenish the tank. The two dogs are both rescue dogs, one from the street. Emma, the street rescue, is mostly Dalmatian. She has the coloring. Pattie is a black something. Leah had rescued her from being dumped on campus one day. Since Leah rescued two that day and had one already, Suzanne helped lighten the load.

Now the cats follow the pattern. Suzanne only planned to get one that day, but the place was apparently too scary so she took the two, Katy and Leo. After a while "Katy" became "Katy-boy." When Gracie entered the mix, I am not sure, but she does not want to deal the dogs and the boys (the other cats) bully her, mostly Leo. All this to say that Gracie lives mostly in the kitchen -- on top of the fridge and across the tops of the cupboards. I was amazed one day to see the counter cat on the non-fridge side of the one-butt kitchen. She jumps. Now I did not have the tools to edit the clip when I was ready to upload, so you can slide to 0:42 to see the jump if you want, but she is a master jumper. She usually jumps without coaching, but I wanted to get the jump recorded.

Yes, I know I have been allergic to cats in the past, but these seem to be O.K. as long I don't get too sure of myself. I take drugs some days when I am around them and some days I don't. Life is too short to be stopped by little things like allergies.

I Love the Arts

2007-11-17T11:51:00.000-06:00

I have had a wonderful week or so. Suzanne and I got the tip off that the performance for Alice in Wonderland might be sold out. Our names were thankfully first of the waiting list. I have seen a lot of theatre in my time, but I have never experienced an evening like that! When I say puppet show, I don't know what comes to your mind, but it would be wrong. Chris may know of a link to some pictures. The master puppeteer who created the show drew from several ancient puppet traditions, hand-held (as opposed to hand-up-the-inside) puppets, shadow puppets, people as puppets (the caterpillar was three people working together - amazing), puppets as stand-in's (Alice big and small - Alice small was a puppet handled by the actor Alice along with the rest of the three person team). Alice big and small were in matching costumes. According to Chris, they will be doing a reprise later in the season. Come see it! It will be worth the price of the flight.

Thursday of this week, Chris and I went down to see Geoff in the B5 concert. You will need to have a Facebook ID to see the video clip. Suzanne was dealing with a major sinus infection and so was unable to join us. She sent cookies though. Mr. Moon has a rotating principal idea, this concert was Geoff's rotation to the concertmaster slot. Not only that, but they had a recruiting trip to Houston early in the week. Geoff had a great time learning all the responsibilities that go with the concertmaster slot. I enjoyed that concert. They did the best I have heard from the Chamber Orchestra yet! I know some of that we due to all Geoff's hard work. Go Geoff!

[Edit] By the way, the concert was late starting because the place was already sold out and there was still a line half way down the hall. I remember telling Chris that they did not open the house until about ten minutes before the start time. What ever time it was when we went in, the place was almost full. Had we waited another five, we would have been in the standing room,

Beauty and the Beast

2007-10-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

I got an email from a friend the other day. She tracked down the link thte pictures from Beauty and the Beast that the costume shop had taken. IF you have a MySpace ID you have go to the link she sent me. If not, you can got to the link to my folder.

Go Geoff!

2007-10-10T20:44:00.001-05:00

I guess Geoff's comment on my last post means that I get to share his news. At the SFA Chamber Orchestra Concert coming up in the 15th of November, Geoff will be the concert master! Yeah Geoff! We are all very proud of you! See you at the concert!

Now wait a minute

2007-10-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

So here is the latest dating website hook, simply quizzes. BTW, when I played with this and adjusted my resting heart-rate up, I produced more electricity. All of you health nuts out there know that the lower your resting heart-rate, the better. So, I would rather listen to my iPod while walking down my rate than power more iPods with my self-produced power. :)

254 WATTS

Nerds galore

2007-09-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

I sold it!

2007-09-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I sold the scooter. Well, I let someone steal it from me at the price I sold it but it's gone!

Ring Trip - Take Two

2007-09-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

We took a trip down to Austin over the week-end and picked up my ring. We stopped on the way home and our former pastor now in Georgetown offered to do the job right there after Sunday services. Yes, it was very tempting. :) We did run into an old friend from Tyler, Emily (no longer) Becker. She and her husband own a sandwich shop in Austin. Great lunch!

That's my Church

2007-09-02T08:26:00.000-05:00

This morning, Suzanne saw this article in the local paper about our church. I think about Mom's many years serving children within the shelter of the church. I am thankful our church is part of that long tradition.

What fun we had in DC!

2007-08-24T19:46:00.000-05:00

I finally have time to write about my trip to DC (Yes, Suzanne is out of town on a women's retreat if you must know. :-P ) I had a wonderful time with Nathan Thursday evening and Friday. Then I had a wonderful time with Nathan, Stephanie, and John Saturday through Monday. Steph and John stayed longer. Thursday, Nathan and I mostly eat and hung out. He was king enough to meet me at the Metro station. By the time I finally had to ride the Metro on my own on Monday, I was a seasoned tourist (as opposed to Nathan who is a seasoned pro).

On Friday, we walked all over the place. My picture of Nathan and me at the Summer House was blurry, so you will have to use their picture. Actually, most of their pictures are better. :) Click the picture to see the rest of the album. Nathan took us to some of the best tapas (several small dishes instead of one) places to eat. Oyamel was fun for Saturday lunch, but Zaytinya for Sunday dinner was amazing. Just that dinner was worth the trip. (Well and hanging out with the kids.)

I plan to write more, but right now I have some errands to run.
Blogger now has a button to upload video, so I added this clip of the grotto in the summer house.

We Found a Ring

2007-08-09T20:33:00.001-05:00

Last week-end we went down to Austin since we didn't find anything we liked in Denton. We had seen some things on the web we liked at a shop in Austin. Since Diane and Bill live there, that made for a great meet-(more of)-the family find-a-ring road trip. We started at Clarksville and found some beautiful rings. They did not have the matching ones we wanted, but they had others that were nice. Down the mall from them was another store with a beautiful men's trident knot work band. After a leisurely lunch at Central Market, we went on to the store Bill recommended. There we found the beautiful ring shown here. If you click on the picture, you can see some more pictures from the trip. Small rings do not yield pictures easily. We did not take time to clean out the fuzzy ones. We look forward to October 27th and all who will be able to join us for the celebration!

Thanks Geoff, Thanks Chris

2007-07-28T11:03:00.001-05:00

Last Fall, Geoff and I made reservations to see the DSO play the Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade. He got so tied up with rehearsals for his break-through recital, that he stood me up. I knew immediately who I wanted to call, but I called three other people first because I did not want to appear (even to myself) to be chasing her. Three people were just as busy as Geoff; Suzanne was not too busy. That was the first of many social events with my friend from church. Going places is so much more fun when you are not alone. With Suzanne, I was not alone. Over the months and months, I realized that my friend from church had become my close friend.

Sometime between the start of dating (that we never called dating) and falling in love, we were part of a care group within the church. We had a chance to grow together as members of the community of faith. As brother and sister in Christ, we prayed for each others joys and sorrows.

By the end of May, we hit a string of events, plays, concerts, dinner (home-cooked and not), that ran six weeks in a row. On the way to the last event (part of the Walk to Emmaus), I confessed that I had run out of events and that next week was up to her. That was June 23rd.

On July 16th, I had dinner planned with Chris. He got tied up with a theatre project, so I called Suzanne to see if she wanted dinner. I had the letter writtenbut was not sure when to use deliver the proposal. With Chris cancelling, I had a free night earlier in the week that planned. Evan then, I was not sure I would propose that Monday until I did. We are now happily, tearfully, on the road to "as long as you both shall live."

We have both prayed long and hard about this. We acknowledge our own pasts and embrace G-d's grace. We approach the altar with joy, fear, and trembling, most likely at the end of October in a small family service. We will celebrate with friends at a reception after the bustle of the holidays, during the doldrums of January or February. We covet all your prayers.

Harry Potter and the I Have Not Read It Yet!

2007-07-26T18:18:00.000-05:00

People!!!! Watch the spoilers in your posts! My life is too busy to bury myself in the book! Even when I finally get caught up, I will read it a little at a time! Stop telling me your favorite parts and who this worked out or who is friends with whom! ACK!

You are a Sage

2007-07-05T07:52:00.000-05:00

I found a new test that is not at a dating site. I found it at The Upper Room while I was subscribing to a daily devotional series. On-line save money and resources. :) The test says that I am a Sage. So what are you?

Here is what they had to say.
You are a Sage, characterized by a thinking or head spirituality. You value responsibility, logic, and order. Maybe that's why you were voted "Most Dependable" by your high school classmates. Structure and organization are important to you. What would the world be like without you? Chaos, that's what! Your favorite words include should, ought, and be prepared. What makes you feel warm and fuzzy? Like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof it's tradition! tradition! tradition!

Because you love words, written or spoken, you enjoy a good lecture, serious discussions, and theological reflection. Prayer for you usually is verbal. You thrive on activity and gatherings of people, such as study groups. Sages on retreat likely would fill every day with planned activities, leaving little time for silence or solitude.

We need Sages for your clear thinking and orderly ways. You pay attention to details that others overlook. Sages make contributions to education, publishing, and theology. You often are the ones who feel a duty to serve, give, care, and share with the rest of us.

On the other hand, sometimes you seem unfeeling, too intellectual, or dry. Can you say "dogmatic"? You may need to experience the freedom of breaking a rule or two every now and then. God's grace covers Sages too, you know!

What a Treasure to Read

2007-07-02T19:39:00.002-05:00

I am working on Teresa of Avila's The Book of My Life. I am lazy tonight and decide to simply scan this paragraph. You will have to click to read. Enjoy.

Rain Damage

2007-06-30T16:32:00.000-05:00

I may go by later and take a better picture, but I snapped this with my phone (not the best for pictures). You can see how the retaining wall has collapsed. There is a huge earth mover in the middle of the mess. When I first saw the large piles of rock and dirt in the parking lot, I thought maybe the Home Depot was selling the rock, etc. Then I followed the line of barricades and people working until I saw the gaping wound in the wall. Yes, I have seen pictures of the damage from the rain and flooding, but this the first I have witnessed first hand.

Blessings, St. Richard the Uncertain.

2007-06-29T21:39:00.001-05:00

About a month ago, I listed a quote from The Character of Physical Law. I finally finished the book, but want to share a little more before I take it back to the library. First, let me say why I refer to one of my favorite Nobel Laureates as St. Richard the Uncertain.

First the Saint. I have yet to read anything by Feynman that did not leave me enriched and in awe of the intricate ways in which G-d created the universe. I have laughed and cried with the stories from his life. He has drawn me in the Sacred Presence where I know that G-d in His creative genius is beyond all the little boxes where we try to confine His Glory. Now the uncertain. From chapter six,

If science is to progress, what we need is the ability to experiment, honesty in reporting the results---the results must be reported without somebody saying what they would like the results to have been-- and finally--an important thing--the intelligence to interpret the results.

We must be willing to be uncertain. we need some idea of the way to know how to proceed, but we must be willing to be wrong, to be uncertain.

Now, to the main point. In chapter five, he discusses the wonderful problem of past and future. The physical laws themselves have no inherent problem working forward or backward. Toward the end of the chapter (page 118 in the imprint I have), he states "For example, we have the fundamental laws of physics. Then we invent other terms for concepts which have, we believe, their ultimate explanation in terms of the fundamental laws." He goes on to describe how we then use the higher terms like "refractive index" and sometimes forget how they are grounded in the basics. As I read, I thought how the same is true in the arena of faith. I am not sure which is the fundamental law and which is the abstraction sometimes. Is "substitutionary atonement" or "Jesus loves me this I know" a fundamental law? I chased that rabbit for a while then decided to get back the St. Richard and his écritures (french for "writings"). He asks the question "Which end is nearer to God; if I may use a religious metaphor? Beauty and hope, or the fundamental laws." And I thought to myself, which is nearer to G-d's heart, justice or mercy? I wish I had the patience to type the whole next paragraph from Feynman, but then you would have no reason to read it for yourself.

Was any prophet ever nearer to G-d's heart than this (page 119)

And I do not think either end is nearer to God. To stand at either end and walk off that end of the pier only, hoping that out in that direction is the complete understanding, is a mistake.

Bless you, St Richard. May you explore the intricacies of the interconnectedness of G-d's handiwork for all eternity!

2007-06-28T07:35:00.000-05:00

Wow! We have had a lot of water. Remember a couple week ago, I mentioned that the lake was two feet above normal. Now, it ia almost 8 feet. Chris and I had dinner the other night and he mentioned that there have been fewer days without rain than with rain since they moved here. Welcome to Portland of the West.

Okay, I am not a colon.

2007-06-26T18:28:00.000-05:00

Your Score: quotation marks

You scored 69% Sociability and 76% Sophistication!

PICTURE OF QUOTATION MARK (removed as it was also a link the cheesy dating site)

There is a lot more to you than meets the eye. You certainly get plenty of "action," but you'd be happier if those who lusted after you were more selective. You hate being used as a general intensifier; haven't these people ever heard of underlining? Italics? And yes, you remember the cruel words Mr. Joyce directed at you.

But you let none of this get you down; those who abuse you are destined for a "special" reward, sooner or later. You feel particularly warm toward periods, commas, exclamation points, and question marks, and usually wish to have them next to you. Parenthesis can sometimes trouble you.

Note: I took off the gratuitous advert for the dating web site the sponsors this test. I guess that where the "those who lisuted after you" nonsense comes from. Yikes! What kind of pick-up line would that be. "Hey, baby, what's your mark. I'm a colon."

I missed the Dance

2007-06-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

A friend invited me to join her and some others at a Dragon Dance on Saturday (today). I thought about it and got the general idea of the location. I did not get an address. So, today with enough time, I went downtown in the neighborhood she described. I drove right past the set up. I did not see any dragons. I drove around some more and then called her. She did not answer so I called another person invited. I got the call back after I had gotten back home. "Sure come on down. Looks like it will be fun."

Now equipped with the address--at least the intersection--I raced back downtown only to find out when I got there that I had missed the actual celebration of the dance. I say celebration because they explained that is was not a performance, but a celebration. My friend, Janie, asked the leader if I could at least see the costume. Two of the boys inhabited the dragon and showed me how it moved. I was thankful.

Win, Lose, I still had the walk.

2007-06-16T20:28:00.000-05:00

This time of year is always a gamble when you take a walk. Rain is often in the forecast and as often as not this year, on the ground. Lake Lewisville, near here, has gone from just over 8 feet below normal in January to almost 2 feet above normal on June 1st. That is a lot of water. A friend last night talked about needed to water a vacationer's plants if it did not rain. Last night's rain started between 23h00 and midnight. This morning's rain started before I had to help set up a yard sale at the Habitat recycle store. I did stop by on the way home from my voice lesson to see if they decided to do anything since the rain had cleared up. No sale, but they were helping with the weekly hot dog lunch for the customers and volunteers. They get a lot of community service "volunteers." So after lunch and a nap interrupted by a pesky alarm clock, I worked on some reading until just after seven. Since Geoff is at Bonnaroo this week-end, I had the webcast in the background for noise. Looked like fun, lots or people, and no rain. So, about 19h15, I decided I did need a walk before dinner. I grabbed the iPod but passed on the umbrella. I was ten yards past the parking lot when I saw the first spits of rain. Last time I saw this little bit fo rain at the beginning of a walk, I walked back to the apartment, got my umbrella, and finished my walk (just under three miles round trip according to Google Maps. I picked up a menu for Pei Wei on the walk. I will have to try them sometime. They looked very busy, but the new place always is.

So I made it most of the way home, I had crested the last hill when the light rain started. This was more than a spit; this was a light steady drizzle. By the time I got inside with a stationary roof over my head (as opposed to my portable rainbow-colored roof), my shirt was soaked through. By the time I got my wet shirt somewhere to dry, the rain had picked up. By the time I took this picture, it had backed off from full monsoon deluge to hard steady rain. Looks like it will continue for the next little while.

So, did I lose because I forgot the umbrella and got a little wet, or did I win because I got a little wet instead of washed down the gutter by the down pour? I won because I had my walk.

Now that's funny!

2007-06-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

I walk to work most days (not Wednesday). This morning I got up, did my reading, did my eating, did my voice work-out, did some editing, and then looked at the clock. I had pushed past my comfort window. I did not have time to walk to work. No big deal; I hopped in the car and had plenty of time to spare.

Tonight, I walked home as I do on most Monday's. I got to the complex and noticed that Chris and Kristi must both be at work or parked on the other side of the lot. Then I noticed that I was still at work too. Oh well, guess I know where I will be walking tonight. :)

(Edit: I took the picture when I went to get the car. Those vans on the bare edge are company vans that are there all the time.)

My Lovely Midi

2007-06-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

Chris, it works! I finally made an appointment with a voice coach. I have been complaining for a year or two about not being comfortable with my voice. I am fine at church, but in the choir (as a tenor now) I still get lost on occasion. I worked with Gwynne in Beauty and the Beast. She sang well and has the degrees to teach (and she has cats -- I will take drugs next session). I scootered up there on Saturday for my first session. We worked for about an hour and picked out a couple songs to work on. I will bring my Broadway book next time, she had lots of jazz I did not know. She did give me a couple classical songs to work on. With my piano skills that will be hard work. Chris suggested I look on line for the songs.

Bingo! I found the first one right away. I down loaded the MIDI file. Rats, a brass arrangement and in the wrong key. Garageband to the rescue! I dragged the file into Garageband and was able to change the starting note for the piece and replace the horns with keyboards. I can even tweak the tempo without impacting the pitch. The other one was easy to find as well. Now I can practice without worrying about my terrible keyboard skills.

Another Quiz

2007-06-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

I am not sure how they think they can have anything approaching validity in just five questions.

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal.
You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk.

You should major in:

Philosophy
Music
Theology
Art
History
Foreign language

What Should You Major In?

Once in a Blue Moon

2007-05-31T22:08:00.000-05:00

Now they have taken away my blue moon! I listen to too much radio during the day. KEMC for Chrysti the Wordsmith and Performance Today in the morning. Streaming radio is wonderful. After lunch, I am off to Red River Radio for classical, show tunes, and other eclectic combinations. I like to save All Things Considered for dinner at home, so I have been listening to KNTU is the late afternoon for Jazz (sorry Brad Edwards) and horribly mispronounced world news.

So yesterday, I heard Robert talk with someone from Sky and Telescope about the fact that they got their facts wrong back in 1946 and are just now fessing up. Now the little bit of Earth and Sky I heard did not seem to quibble about calling tonight's beautiful moon I enjoyed during my walk in the park a Blue Moon. To be fair, Wikipedia does go into a lot of detail. If I wanted an authoritative source, I would search Chrysti's site, but she does not have a search tool. BTW, congrats on the new sponsor!

I will continue to refer to the second full moon as a Blue Moon, at least until Mr Bush correctly pronounces "nuclear," and long after that. For all my life, this has been true (and Pluto was a planet). Give us a term that works (blog, rendez-vous, cyberspace) and we will continue to use it and give it new meaning - regardless of what the word or phrase used to mean. (Note: this last paragraph has no hyperlinks to go stale when the link breaks.)

The Character of Physical Law

2007-05-28T19:53:00.000-05:00

reading: The Character of Physical Laws by Richard Feynman. from chapter one.

Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.

Richard P. Feynman