Renewal and Dog Hair

Today's view from the porch is one of renewal...and fluffy bits of fur from my weekend bed partner...no, there's no new man in my life...

My mother and stepfather came to visit this weekend, hauling their trailer behind them from the great north like Santa and Mrs. Claus. A new recliner wrapped in a blue tarp looking like Granny Clampett could have been strapped in, came into my living room. It is huge. A chair and a half recliner, they call it. My kids think it is the greatest thing that has happened to them in the last several months. Topped only by a new television...

The recliner IS pretty great...but better yet was the other seat they brought with them. A brand-new high rise WHITE toilet. The color is really important because the one that was replaced had only one problem. It was pink. Otherwise, it is a perfectly fine fixture for one that is more than 55 years old. Bob and John worked their tails off...replacing the toilet and laying new vinyl flooring...in between fixing the leak under the kitchen sink and a new sink disposal.

I even got a new to me bike out of the deal. Mom's arthritis doesn't allow her to ride it any longer, so I will. Maybe it will keep the arthritis at bay in me.

While Mom and Bob were houseguests at a lovely local motel, their sweet puppydog stayed with us. I awakened on Saturday morning with my darling daughter on one side of me and this big lug at my feet. I've had my dog fix for a while, but very pleased with how responsible the kiddos were with him. Maybe a dog will be in our future at some point...

A time to celebrate new life

From us to you...Joy of spring and rebirth to each of you.

The "Mad Men" of the Early Church - Advertising at its best

I've worked in public relations for 25 years. Just like other professionals, I read journals and other articles to learn more about how others do this work for inspiration, ideas, and more. Never have I seen better marketers and PR people than early church leaders.

They were great marketers and experts in rebranding and repackaging. Honestly. As they worked to spread Christianity, they adapted what worked and made sense from religions that were already present and made them their own... Of course, sometimes this was often a hostile takeover.

Two stunning examples come to mind. The Europeans who decided that Advent should happen when their world was the darkest, when the Pagans celebrated Yule, were geniuses. How reassuring it is to hear the words from John that remind us that the darkness will not overcome the Light at a time of year when the nights are much longer than the days. And miraculously, the light begins to return to the world at that time...daylight comes back slowly to our hemisphere.

When we look a little more closely at the beloved story of Jesus' birth, some have suggested that shepherds were usually in their fields during lambing, in the spring.

There is nothing biblical about when to celebrate Easter. The first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. The only constant is that Easter is on a Sunday. When we have been through forty days of personal spiritual spring cleaning and our inner life reflects the outside world of drab, a bright, sunny spring Sunday morning is a wonderful way to celebrate new life and resurrection.

I understand from my friend who lives in Michigan's Upper Pennisula that they have awakened to snow on the ground on this Holy Saturday. Now, those people are looking for a little green grass and evidence that there is life after death.

The lush green of the lawns, the eye-popping yellow daffodils, the beautiful magnolias, all remind me that just a month ago, it was drab, brown, and new life was hard to find. It fit with the difficult journey of the wilderness of Lent. But this week, this Holy Week has shown that even when it looks like it is the end, as if death has the final word, the world in all its green, shows that life and love have been there all along. We just haven't been able to see it.

It is genius, really.

Mindful and present

Today's view from the porch is deceiving. While the grass is certainly greening and there are little sprouts of tulips and daffs in the flower beds, it is chilly out there this morning. There are snow showers in the forecast and I am missing the warmer days of last week when it was wonderful to walk outside. Those days will return soon. The weather is giving me the excuse to have a "sweatpants Saturday." The kids are on spring break now and, boy, do we need a break.

There's a lot going on in our family these days. The kids' dad is in the hospital in Iowa City and its a serious situation. We're being very gentle with each other, finding a lot of strength in ourselves we never knew we had, and feeling both grounded and lifted by the love and support of family and friends.

The last gasp of winter weather draws us to stay in today. It calls for movies and basketball, naps and cups of coffee, homemade waffles like Auntie Ar makes, and freely giving hugs. I think it also calls for a big pot of "end of the week" soup. Whatever I find in the veg bin is going in the pot.

In light of the serious nature of what we are dealing with, I am struck that we are simply living, mindful that life is a gift. It can be messy and it is often not what we expect. But the best part of this gift is found in the everyday moments of life - laughter, tears, work, sleep, and love. Living with a new focus on gratitude for this most amazing life.

Life is full of surprises. Expect them.

The world's axis shifted in more ways than one these past several days.

These days, one needs to have multiple personalities to keep up with all that is going on in the wider world, the country, the state, the community, and my own family.

Mother Nature had mercy on us this week and gave us some warm and sunny mid-March days to remind us that, yes, Virginia, there will be a spring. More daylight in the evening has allowed us to get outside after dinner. The early spring air smells so...muddy.

My vices of comfort this week have been the delectible taste of spring spinach and the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Honestly, the events of the past several days on all fronts have been life-changing. No whinging about my life - my family and I were not buried alive under a tsunami of mud.

But...there have been some very, very close calls this week with those closest to me. As my son John says, "Life is full of surprises. Expect them."

Always Look On the Bright Side of Life...

Somethings I love...

My daughter did not blink an eye or even ask a question when she came in my room this morning to find her big pink plastic box of crayons on my bed next to a drawing pad where I had left them.

My son turned the kitchen upside down this morning to find his great-grandmother's recipe for coffee cake. We're still looking, but Bisquick did the job in the meantime.

DaVinci blend coffee at Saints Rest in Grinnell on a winter February afternoon with a good book and 45 minutes to myself.

Friends who Facebook with me while they are in church and I am at home.

This week, I read that some people think Facebook is making us depressed. I'm thinking they don't have the right friends. I'm living through some of the most challenging days of my life right now and I am buoyed by the network of friends, both those from my childhood and those who are relatively new. Just this week, my friends and I had moments of sharing love and memories of amazing women from my home church. From England, Iowa, Minnesota, even Kenya, we all were united in one big roll call of admiration and celebration of the lives of these women and how they touched each of us.

Look for the hate and anger in the world and you will find it. You will feel worse for it. Look for the love and potential in this world, the little things that make you smile, and you will feel the divine.

January Saturdays

There is something about this time of year that compels me to spend hours cooking. I know I am not alone in this. Even the lady at the checkout counter said that she loves to bake at this time of year as she placed the flour, sugar, chocolate, and nuts in my shopping bag. And Mrs. Sundberg's post this week nearly echoed my past weekend. I made three soups for the week and a pan of dinner rolls...

This weekend, I have a reason to bake. It's my turn to bring treats for coffee hour after church. Two pans of brownies made last night - use the recipe on the Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate box. Yes, making them from scratch is worth the extra step. On the baking roster today will be chewy date nut bars and chocolate chip cookies. All the while, soup will be going in the crock pot and on the stove. Tomato, lentil and barley, a split pea, and I'm going to see what I can do with broccoli...

This week, my home-body self was affirmed when it was revealed to me that I am in fact a Cancer and not a Leo. I have never really followed astrology - I know my sign and the traits of my sign, but it never really fit me - ambition, the spotlight, devouring my enemy... anyone who knows me knows that is not me. 

But, I do have a highly developed sense of intuition. I am an emotional and sensitive person. I am trusting, to a fault. I seek the good and positive in every situation. I am a homebody and love to spend time in the kitchen. I knit more than half of the gifts I gave at Christmas this year...As I read the traits of Cancer, I was gobsmacked how they fit me so much better than a Leo ever did. That has been a fun surprise of the week.

Time to put on the coffee, to pull out Grandma Pearl's measuring spoons and get the oven started. Stay warm today.