This’n’that

Bird funerals

Photo from Wikipedia

I found a dead baby bird as I left work last night. I hate finding those. I always want to blame the careless mother. But that’s not quite fair, after all maybe she had nothing to do with it. It was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, right on the path. I didn’t want anyone to step on it so I took a napkin out of my purse and layed it under a tree nearby out of sight. I did it because all life is sacred, even a little baby bird.

My Grandmother once gave my parakeet Peppy a funeral. We left it in her care when we went on vacation and it died. She was very upset, so upset that she saved it for me! She lovingly rolled it up in a papertowel and laid it in a green plastic strawberry basket. Maybe I get my bird obsession from her.

But God cares about them too, after all…..”Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.” Luke 12:6

All of life is sacred. I was thinking about this on the way to work this morning. Why is it that so many professionals recommend counseling before marriage (a very good idea) but not require it before bringing another eternal soul into this world?

Just wondering.

Some days……

This was my day yesterday….Mary Engelbreit captures it perfectly with this image!

I left a five dollar bill on the lunch counter after dropping the snack I bought…..luckily someone turned it in to the cashier. Then after work I started to water the roses and forgot the hose was running. For an hour. Someone came to the door and said, “Your neighbor must have left the water running because it is flooded all the way to the clubhouse.” I ran out, ready to check the neighbor’s hose and remembered it was mine. I hung around in back pretending to shut off their water, and I noticed the car wasn’t leaving. As I sheepishly came around front she said, “Oh, was it YOURS???” I wanted to tell her to go home and mind her own business, but I smiled and thanked her. It was just that kind of day!

This is what I needed to tell myself this morning on the way to work!

I was grousing about things, little things….which is kind of unusual for me because I usually feel like this, for the most part.

Then I thought about this little boy that is still missing in Oregon, and his poor parents, the Dad is an Intel employee like me…..all of a sudden my little complaints vanished into vapor….I prayed for them the rest of the way to work. I can’t begin to imagine the agony of what they’re going through. Our world is going on, but theirs has stopped.

The Red Swing


My Mom does not believe in hiding in the backyard. She does not like closed, shrouded windows and shades drawn tight. She once visited me in New Mexico and she almost ran down the street chasing strangers she was so desperate for someone to talk to. It was a “nice” neighborhood but nobody ever went out in the front except for the little girl who brought her guinea pigs out. It really was almost comical, now that I look back on it. It could have been set to music…..everyone came home, garage-doors came up, swallowing entombed drivers and sucking them into the abyss, never to be seen again. “How does anyone expect to get to know each other when they’re all hiding in their backyards?” She has a point.

Back home, life is lived out in the front. There is a picnic table between their house and the neighbors, and it is used by about four families nearby. Mom’s new neighbor sometimes brings homemade scones out in the morning to share. Bible studies have been held on it; and lots of playdough has been pounded into it with little fists, it is also a jumping launch for the kids.

Mom decided she wanted a deck out in front, plunked right on the lawn so she could sit out there. She has a hard time sitting on the uneven ground due to humongous tree roots. So it was built. Then she saw it……The Red Swing. She has been painting everything red for the past few years or so. Her latest acquisition before the swing was the Red Sink which she is very proud of.

My Mom mentioned it to Yvonne, her grocery checker. Now her friend. One day my Mom started talking to her at the store and a spark was ignited, something shared. Something that drew them close as only the Holy Spirit can. She told Yvonne about her new deck and the swing she wanted. Well, it was close to Mother’s Day, and Dad was doomed from the start. Yvonne came by after work with a bouquet of red flowers and made him promise to get her that red swing.

Now everyone uses it. The other night my Mom was getting ready for bed and she heard the neighbor girl singing softly….out in the swing. Another night, some other neighbors were walking, whispering, with another child. Pretty soon, they were quietly swinging as well.

It is a real neighborhood, not without its squabbles, disagreements or differences. But something profound takes place there called life. Community. Shared dreams, heartaches and hopes. When I recently went back, we had a party for my brother’s Birthday. Invitations were sent word of mouth, the best kind. People came bringing food, wine and smiles.

Mom made sure she had her tunes, Big Band blasting forth from the top of the clothesdryer. The firepit was lit….hands were held in a circle of prayer. Grace was there in that gathering of neighbors, and a feeling that we were not just neighbors and friends, but family.

With a red swing out front……

Grateful for our freedoms…..


“Lord, we pray for these brave men and women standing in harm’s way so that we can live freely and continue to enjoy the blessings you shower upon us in this land. May they all come home soon. Forgive me Lord for not praying for them more often, I sometimes forget they are still over there, but they are. There is so much we don’t see. So much of their daily lives that we have no clue about, the sacrifices they make for us. May we join with them in prayer today…..”

Counting the tremendous blessings of freedom and those who have paid the ultimate price with their lives, now and in years past. Their courage in the face of fear, death and destruction is unimaginable to me in my safe little life.

#323 walking about freely in my own neighborhood, #324 freedom to worship where I please without fear, #325 being able to sleep without fear of someone coming to throw me out of my own home, #326 free to live and work without fear of someone taking away everything I own, #327 free to shop in stores where food is plentiful, or to grow my own food…#328 being able to take a breath and know I won’t hear gunshots, bombs outside my window, #329 enjoying the freedom and privilege of learning and knowing our children can go to school unthreatened #330, being able to enjoy the luxury of time off and vacations……I wish those in the military could take a long one right now. They deserve it!

Most of all, I celebrate the true freedom we have in Christ today, for it is His grace, His love, His sacrifice, that makes us free indeed! What an unspeakable gift.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

Continuing the gratitude counting daily….
holy experience

The best gift….

Ready to go to Yosemite!

I didn’t know how she would respond when she saw me come down the escalator on my arrival. Being a special needs kid, you can never be sure. I was hopeful, I was expectant. Mom had told her I was coming and she said her face had lit up in response. She is my wonderful niece, Lauryn. Now 7, she was a late talker, and has some of the characteristics of autism, but is also very demonstrative, loving and engaged with those she is closest too, so no one is quite sure. She does have a fear of floaties in pools, balloons and popping gum and for a long while, men with beards.

One thing we know, she never misses a thing. She may not have a full vocabulary yet, but she makes herself known in every other way. Every new word she speaks is full of wonder for us all.

She saw me when I was at the top, coming down, and she ran to her poppa (Grandpa, her all-time favorite) excitedly. She was holding her doll, jumping up and down, running to and fro, not knowing what to do. When I got to the bottom she ran up, holding out her baby with her eyes closed, (what she does when she is embarrassed but still wants to make contact) and held her out for me to take, which I did, overjoyed to have received her most precious possession! I can’t think what would have happened if I had rejected her gift….left it lying, the thought is unbearable!

She didn’t say “I love you,” audibly but she gave me what was closest to her heart. She is very attached to her “babies” right now. They are not just dolls to her but her very own babies. She talks to them, feeds them, takes them everywhere….and she didn’t hesitate to trust me with them. I will never forget that one most precious moment at the airport.

On my last day, when I left her in her classroom, I wanted to wail like a baby myself. But I swallowed my grief for another time. The time was this morning….in prayer. We bonded again these past two weeks, her love is won with repeated attempts at closeness. At not giving up. Little by little trust is gained. I wait for the day she will throw her arms around me and say, “I love you, Aunt Lori” and hug me tight, I admit, I want that for me, when she is ready. But for now, I am happy with all the little ways she shows me.

God wants us too, when we are ready, to give Him our most precious possession too, our hearts!

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Home


I am back home in Arizona! Soon to be blogging again and getting all caught up with everyone…..Can’t wait. What a blessing to be missed in two places but what emotional turmoil as well, part and parcel of having family and friends in more than one place. Due to some winds and tempurature variation, my landing was bumpy. I am not in love with flying so I was very glad to get back on the ground! Look for a new post tomorrow!

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27

In the stillness…


As I was swinging in the twilight, the patio lights flicked on. My folks have always had lights around the back deck, sometimes they change, but always they are there. Dad turned them on for me because he knew I was sitting out in the swing to reflect, to end the day…..Something tells me like the breath in the trees that this moment will not come again. The particular wind in the trees, snatch of neighbor girls singsong voices, in them I hear my own voice mingled in from years ago. The gentle clink of windchimes, the single bullfrog, only will happen just this way, tonight. Circumstances may be similar, but my feelings, thoughts, sentiments, frame of mind, just this way, just tonight.

The stillness envelopes me as I remember things of long ago. I see the spot in the yard where the clothesline stood. I see the sheet drapped over it and I see us fishing for prizes at my birthday party once. My brother and his friend Doug attaching prizes behind the sheet…..I feel the sadness that comes when past and present collide, and a bit of joy too. This is life, and the breath of God flows through every moment we exist.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.” Ecclesiastes 3:10-15

Traveling….


Once again I am on my way to California to see friends and family….Hopefully I will get some posts up during the next two weeks! Here is a good “flying” verse:
I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and let your glory be over all the earth.
Save us and help us with your right hand,
that those you love may be delivered. Psalm 108:3-6
I am glad the He will be watching over me up there….I am not crazy about flying!

The joy of creating


“Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

Sometimes all we need to do to find peace is to go back to that one activity we have loved to do from an early age. You know what it is…..the one that makes you smile without even realizing it, the one that makes you forget everything else, the one where you find yourself whistling or humming along with it.

It could be re-painting a fence, digging in the garden, puttering in the shop, baking cookies….But this simple thing, when lifted up to God can become an act of worship, consecrated, blessed. Then when we do it for someone else He smiles because He knows we have found the secret.

It is healing, it is cleansing, it is good for the soul. It is the joy of simple work.

When we create, God joins in. He can’t help it, it is part of His character and ours and it is how the whole world started! My act of worship today will be chocolate chip cookies…..I will send them with a prayer and a smile, knowing a bit of God’s love goes along with them.

What act of creation brings you joy today?

Sometimes silence is best


Went out to dinner last night and three young people came in and were seated close by. One of the guys proceeded to talk non-stop for a solid hour about himself and his particular way of eating. It was obvious that he thought his way was superior than everyone else’s and it seemed like he was trying to convince his audience of two, well, four if you count my friend and I. He proceeded to tell them about the evils of things like red meat, as his friend, unfazed, went ahead and ordered a rare steak.

It was an interesting evening.

Have you ever went out with someone and had them talk non-stop about themselves?

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” Proverbs 17:28