Days
Where has the time gone? Days have creeped into years. What is this in the mirror; brown hairs have changed colors overnight and what was smooth around the eyes seemed to have found lines of directions.  It is time now to collect and reflect, time to discard and forget.  Now a look backwards along with a look forward. Here we go.. in this day an age “I needs to be you” is a theme that opens some doors and closes others.

Passion Week

What better time to focus on someone, besides ourselves, then the Passion Week. This will be one of the the few years that I will not be able to attend any of the services because of work. So I decided to really take some time then to just reflect on what the passion was like, what would it be like if I was in Jesus shoes, (sandals). I had the gift of being in the Holy Land this year and what a gift that is turning out to be. You really don't realize the impact it has on you until you get home and the different events that come up and you reflect, wow I have been there, in that spot, walking that same walk. Just to think that Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life for us, then showed us the Resurrection to seal that love. He not only suffered for us but then invites us to come be with him. Oh if I could only have such a love, such an unconditional love. As I walk this walk will I be the one on the side spitting and cursing, the one hiding, watching from a distance, or will I be the one underneath the cross with Mary. I wrote a little prayer in my prayer book that went like this; fail I shall, recover I must, Christ fell and I kiss the wounds upon His most sacred knees, because those wounds were caused by me. As He got up, so shall I, to walk again until I die. Jesus you are my strength, you are my hope, with love.
May this Passion Week find our footsteps in union with his, and maybe, in His mercy, we will come into the Kingdom with Him.

Rounded picture

Have you ever tried to get a point across to someone, but instead they try to get their point of view across to you? What usually happens is both points of view may have their own merit yet neither party is willing to give an inch in fear of appearing to be giving in. I was discussing this same issue today and I came to a new point of view. So here is a thought to ponder; we are standing outside a building, we will say a church , and looking through the window in the front door we begin to share our view. Another person is standing outside the same church looking through a different window sharing their view, while still another person is standing outside the same church looking through the window in the side door sharing still another view. Ah yes same church 3 different views. Lesson I learned, share my view, but listen to the other views so that I get a better picture of the whole. Yet still, take the time to look into those other windows so that I might have a better understanding of the view they are expressing.

ah yes, time passes but yet certain things never pass. Our annual tree viewing brought us into someones front yard this year. Out of the corner of my eye as we were zipping up the highways of northern Iowa I caught sight of this familiar face. Up the hill and a quick u-turn brought more question then I was beginning to think the adventure was worth. After several rubbing of my ears and shaking my head my mother came to the conclusion that I had found a new road to follow. Actually and old road that if some of you remember started way back. My earliest reflection was at the zoo in St Louis, but the earliest picture I believe was with her friends at the zoo in Pittsburgh, Pa.. So it goes as we rounded the corner and into the drive the big burly figure greeted us with his picture perfect pose. You just never know what you might find unless you adventure out and keep your eyes open. The road you follow may be were you want to go but the side trips along the way are what memories are made of. As the saying goes, take time to smell the roses or in this case to visit a friend. :)

Communion Calls

Here it is a couple days after Thanksgiving, people are on the run before the turkey is back in the refrigerator. Christmas lights came on automatically at midnight Thanksgiving Day and now illuminate the streets. Cars are streaming up and down the streets with bags of Wal Mart, Target, K-Mart, JC Penneys to mention a few, crunched between the back doors or scrunched in the trunk. Credit cards are flying threw the scanners like an open fire hydrant getting cleaned out. We are on a mission, and if you look up that word it has various meanings. Which mission are we on; a task given to carry out, or communicating our faith?
That brings me to the subject of Communion Calls. Tonight was our turn to go to the homebound, of which I was dragging my feet on going. I thought it has been a full week already and I have several things I need to do and Communion Calls, which should be on the top of the list, was not on the top of my list tonight. I put myself together and forced myself out the door. I knew once I got started I would be fine but lots of forces were not wanting me to get started.
My first call was a senior lady that I have know for some time, she was not doing well and asked that we pray that she would just die. I tried to redirect her thoughts that Jesus must have felt the same way but that suffering has a great meaning and to use it wisely, maybe directed towards some member of her family.
Another stop was to a house on a two block long street, dimly lit and speckled with cars. I knocked on the door and was greated by a overprotective dogs barking. A younger lady answered the door and invited me in stating that her father was not able to receive Communion. I prayed with him and did a Spiritual Communion as he took every effort of energy he had to make the sign of the cross. His daughter exclaimed, well dad you finally got me to go to church, of which he follow with a weak drawn smile.
The final call I was greated by several people in a room maybe made for four. They directed me back to a back bedroom, there a lady laid in a very weak state who smiled and greated me. She who was very likely a cancer patient as well. She prayed with me and received Communion after I moved her hand to bring her back into awareness. I departed after an onstage walk through the living room again and bid all farewell as I progressed to the car.
This was an unusual night and I had a hard time putting together the season with the event. Is there an answer to this, I don't know. Maybe it is like the Church year, today is the end and tomorrow begins anew, Advent. Maybe it is an awareness of what is or is not important. Maybe it is nothing for me but that Jesus wanted to come to them in their time of need, to feed them to comfort them, to fill them with His love. Maybe in reading this you see a reason just for you. In any case, I pray for those people I was blessed to visit tonight, and ask for your prayers also, that they be filled with the peace, and strength they need at this time.

What do I have to offer???? can normally be found in "what do YOU need?"

I received a letter from a sponsor boy the other day and would like to share that simplicity of his life with you. His is about 13 years old and he writes; Cordial greeting full of love and happiness hoping may God always protect you. He continues on with a school report that classes are getting harder but he is doing good. He is learning English and enjoys it along with working on computers. This is the part that caught me; everything is turning green and giving new life to all the plants and the trees. This is the season on which my brother and I go to look for fruits in the afternoon. All the afternoons are great because I enjoyed from all the nature of that surrounds me.

As I had time to spend with my sons this last weekend that same thought crossed my mind. I remember taking that breath of fresh air, listening to the trees and feeling the warmth of the sun. I thought what a beautiful day (which overshadowed the pain of the ball going into the trees).

How often we rush through life, missing those simple gifts God has given us to experience His love for us. Thank you Yony for reminding me to take time to enjoy the beauty of not only nature, but of our family as well.

Pride/Humility

Not a story I would normally share, but worth the humility for the lesson it taught. The story starts off as a normal day when (I need some little ones to help put some color in this story) I decided to venture to the garden to reap my toils. As pride has it, boy this garden looks good, and over the fence I go. Picking the choice goods and back over the fence, except this time, left foot out first. Even as I did it I thought; not a good idea, but no problem, except when I went to lift the right leg over the fence, now a problem. Pant leg caught on the fence and as the world moved up to meet me, or was it me moving down, I remember the adjusting thought of how exactly was I going to land. The sound my shoulder made on impact suggested that my previous decision was not a good one. Doctor visit, Xray, Doctor visit, and how about some therapy. Ok I can handle that, does that include golf, I think you know the answer to that.

Well, first to the computer for some research, shoulder therapy, ah yes, I will get a jump on things. A week goes by and the phone call comes in to schedule my therapy. Set up with a nice young lady, Jill, who is new to the field but very good. She did all the checks then came the time for the exercises. As she dished them out I informed her I have been doing all of them already. She was good with that and made a couple suggestions on the procedures.

After a couple weeks working with me I decided that I was done. Jill asked me how I was doing and then had me do some of the exercises. Naturally I did more, longer and harder that she asked for. She suggested I take it easy as it was not a good idea to go overboard on these exercises. I informed her that I did not have much patients for inabilities and she laughed and said that she could see that. From that point on she took me through several different exercises and did her own pushing. When we got done she said I will see you in a couple days and I said lets stretch it out. We came to an agreement of ten days with the understanding that if I was having any trouble I was to call and come it, (that aint going to happen).

Now to the meat of this blog. My ten days passed but not without their problems. For the first few days I could hardly move my shoulder and I did not exercise it because it was so tender. After a few, I can't believe I am taking pain pills, I knew I had to start exercising before I had to go back. My arrival was greeted by Jill's friendly question of how I was doing. I smiled at her and said not bad but a little sore. She smiled, and I asked her if she was trying to teach me a lesson, again a smile. I told her she really worked me over on the past visit and I was really sore, again only a smile. I guess I know who is in control here. She worked with me and I backed way off. She asked me how I was doing and I told her I wasn't going to tell her, after what she did to me last week, I had learned my lesson. She responded with her normal smile and suggested some exercise along with the comment not to overdo it.

I left that day with a different outlook; a respect for her and what she was doing and a more humble look at me and how I should be doing it. So the saying goes; never to old to learn, and I add never to young to teach it.