Outside the Pigeon Holes

It was cold out. I'd been inside all day and so had the mutts. Denny said I should take Sketch for a walk. He was restless. After a little while I decided Denny was right. So I bundled up and took Sketch, all bouncy and excited, for a stroll around the block. As we were turning onto Overlook there was a man coming toward us and as usual Sketch yapped at him. I smiled and said "Sorry" and then shushed Sketch. As the man passed us he said with a nasty tone "You should be sorry." It was so mean the way he said it. I felt like a child who had been scolded by a bully teacher. I wanted to say something back but tried to take the high road and retorted "God Bless you!". I'm sure that was effective. The next part of my journey was all about the cognitive dissonance in my head. I thought of all the things I could have said. I tried to tell myself he'd had a bad day and after all, Sketch probably did startle him. Still. He didn't have to be MEAN. I...

I had just stumbled through a prayer for political things. Things I really just don't know all that much about - including how God really feels about politics and our current presidential election. I sense this is an important time in our history. I sense that there is someone God has in mind and I sense that God might show up in the middle of all this and make all of us drop our jaws. I pray for that and I pray for a huge healing in our country. Still, it all seems like so much. Just when I think I understand or I think I know exactly what God would want, I find out that I don't. So needless to say it was a really ineloquent prayer. I felt kinda stupid. Words had failed me. Just after I finished it, there was a message in my gmail inbox. This is what it said: I don't concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and q uieted myself, just as a small ch ild is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O Israel, put you...

We tuned in last night to be complete geeks and watch the new Knight Rider series movie. I watched this series faithfully as a kid and was looking forward to some good, old-fashioned 80's-like fun with a modern technology twist. Dream on! Within 5 minutes we were introduced to our first protagonist: a man in bed with not one, but two women! Yeah - he's sooo cool. This segued into a shot of a bikini clad woman hosing off her breasts on the beach. Then to a scene introducing us to our other fearless hero: a female cop who is bidding farewell to a woman in her bed who she'd met the night before. Woohoo! What awesome people to call heroes! They have no respect for themselves but by golly, if there's a bad guy out there these two will get 'em! We turned it off. If we'd wanted to watch the devaluing of the gift of sexuality we'd have visited the Hustler store. Sigh.

I am beginning to believe something that I once would have found totally preposterous... Could it be that while we're all responsible for accepting our own salvation, that everyone is already forgiven?? I grew up believing that to "repent" meant to ask for forgiveness. But it doesn't. It means to turn back. In Christian-ese it is used to mean turning back to God, following His ways, living our lives in the footsteps of Jesus. Forgiveness has already been given. To everyone. In pratical terms, if I have to ask for forgiveness for every infraction I make in my daily living I am in deep doo-doo. I'm bound to miss something somewhere. God knows this. I keep finding Scriptural examples: Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. His forgiveness was given to us AS we were sinners, before we were "saved". When Jesus was dying on the cross and the people were ridiculing him, killing him and in es...

I'm in an online Book study group that just started. We are reading a book about the importance of praying for people who don't yet understand the awesomeness of knowing the authentic Jesus. I have squirmed some with this book because it seems to place more emphasis on human effort and righteousness than on God's grace and Jesus' work on the cross. But that's a post for another time... Theological issues aside, the book has gotten us thinking about the inarguable importance of "going to the mat" for lost loved ones. I am all about praying even if I think it's hopeless - because with our God nothing is hopeless. But I never really thought about what power those prayers might very well have. And before now I have kind of glossed over a lot of prayers. I don't always take the time to pray meaningful prayers for my loved ones. I send up breath prayers or "bless them" prayers. Those are good. But there must be value in really pressing in on an...

OK... I think I am a pretty tolerant mom to my fuzzies. I let them sleep under my covers, sleep ontop of my head, perch on my back and I even share my leftovers (in their own bowls, never from the table, of course). But momma has to draw the line with peeing in the house. Sketch used to be housebroken. But Bentley has been a bad influence with his unfixed, lasix-takin' self. I tried putting down puppy pads and newspaper. Bentley uses them but he also uses every corner he can find. Sketch usually goes right next to the papers...infuriating! Crating doesn't work because Sketch literally pulls the door inward with his teeth and escapes. I have confined Bentley to the bedroom when I am not here and that has worked. The problem is when I am home and he's galavanting around the house while I write, read or surf. So the decision was down to greatly restricting the movement of my beloved - albeit rotten - mutts or finding another solution...Enter Petsmart's cleaning and hous...

Tomorrow is ash wednesday. The beginning of Lent. I used to think I had to find something to give up. I have given up food items and even listening to my favorite band for lent in the past. Then my friend Elizabeth said that she sometimes adds something rather than gives something up. One year she added praying for her enemies. She took time everyday to pray for Osama Bin Laden. Ouch. That one is tough for me. But I am following in E's footsteps this year and doing the same. I won't choose one person in particular. I think I'll include people who aren't necessarily "enemies" but maybe folks like the parent we have in our program who beats his wife in front of his kids...Or the EGRs in the school office...Or Hillary Clinton who scares the bejeebers out of me...Anyone who stirs a negative feeling in me who I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than to extend love to - like Michael Vaillete (sp) who killed his family in Mason. Easy as pie to pray blessings an...