“Following Jesus means to incarnate an attitude, a disposition, an openness,
and a receptivity to the divine offer of grace actuated in loving service;
it means taking up a new way of being in the world for God and for
the flourishing of all God’s creation.” ~ M. Shawn Copeland
Found in The Ignation Solidarity Network Blog
On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah:
“A strong city have we;
he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.
Open up the gates
to let in a nation that is just,
one that keeps faith.
A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;
in peace, for its trust in you.”
Isaiah 26:1
“…speak my name to
the open skies
share your secret with me
so I can see…” ~ Casey Breves, Speak My Name
“He’s actually really small….I use him like a crutch.” ~ Bella
I’ll give fair warning – yes this post is eventually going to lead to another opinion about the recent mayhem of reactions to terrorist attacks in Europe and Africa and the Middle East…but not until the end.
Now,
first – please watch this video – I don’t think it is more than one and half minutes. If it doesn’t make you gloriously happy and astounded with hope, I’d so appreciate knowing why. I don’t mean to judge, I want to know! Actually, with the career that I’m wanting to develop – I need to know. I need to know why stories like this make some people sad or afraid.
Ok – do it, please. Watch this one:
Did you hear her say:
“He’s actually really small…..I use him like a crutch” ?
I grew up with a great dane – they are not small! They are nothing less than ginormous.
My goodness – this story – this family, this mobility access project – it’s a beacon.
This success story is proof that the world has not yet totally gone to hell in a handbasket.
If we take care of ourselves – we get to choose who and what is
going to limit our perspective
about who and what is the…
can’t find another word, who and what is the enemy.
But, come on America! I’m fed up – stop rolling over to and hiding behind your shallow and selfish and vain points of view.
Stop the cover up – take your hands away from your mouth so we can see you and hear you, and for God’s sake – stop interrupting each other. Insane. It’s insane these days.
Take care of yourself – and no, I’m not referring to Botox and man scaping – I’m referring to morals and ethics and decency and intelligence.
I read an article just now that echoed exactly what upset me so much in the past week. I was upset so much that I considered quitting everything that I’ve worked so hard for the past three years. I went into the week – even after having had a most wonderful, fun, and relaxing weekend away with a dear friend, I went into my classes feeling…yet again – ready to just quit.
I’m registered to at last start the really meaty classes in the American Sign Language – English Interpreting degree that I am seeking. By the time the crocus bust through the now frozen ground – my brain will once again be playing the language two step. I’ll be learning to hear my first language, put it through a quick spin cycle in my head, and according to my instructors hopeful words, my hands will learn to respond with a visual representation of what was said in English.
However, a few days ago I asked myself: why bother?
“You are gradually losing your hearing – this makes absolutely no sense. Hearing aid or no hearing aid – this makes no sense. If you can’t hear it, you can’t interpret it.”
The doubts passed though – and it’s all going to be fine. I don’t have to know for sure where all of this is taking me – I’ll graduate from the program and I trust my gut that the purpose of these efforts is to pull together work experience and education from the past.
It’s okay that I’ll be in my 50’s by the time I graduate. Lucky am I.
And, the saying I hear often among interpreters is not “if you can’t hear it, you can’t interpret it.”
The saying is “If you can’t understand it, you can’t interpret it.”
And, going back to Bella and George – understanding is a very complicated thing. That little girl is full of depth and I’m going to be careful to not give up my freedom to perceive the world as safe.
Here’s another link to learn more about the accessibility program that connected Bella and George:
http://servicedogproject.org/ – check out their donation project – it involves chicken poop.
And here’s the article that I loved this morning:
So – that’s it. No more avoiding the weekend full of homework ahead. And yes, it snowed in Iowa last night. A big, whole lot.
Be well – Kate.
This is the sunrise in Ripley Ohio today.
My stomach has been in knots for several days now – in no small part to the terrorist events in our world – far and near.
For me, my sadness is only in part about the bombings in Africa, and Beirut, and Paris – it’s about noise. Our world is so full of superficial noise. I don’t want that for my grandchildren.
That is not what I want for them. I want more than for them to know that Granny’s new favorite phrase in ASL is “my hear is your heart.” I want more than to teach them to say that to me in silence. I want more than to sing them to sleep. I want far more than to hear their squeaky little voices. I want them to trust the world beyond the front door…beyond the village borders.
I want them to trust the feeling of joy – but if I don’t – how can they? And I don’t.
As I get older I question joy, all….of….the….time.
Every year at this time I have the same dilemma, one that is shared with the couple of weeks that come before Lent: how will I celebrate Advent this year?
“What do you need this year?” I ask myself – “Where are you hurting? What do you need to deepen? Question? Celebrate? Learn? Strategize?”
Don’t know about you, (you who do the Advent thing that is….) but it’s a matter of setting up routines. Likely, most people fall into the comfort of old routine – pull out or make the wreath, gather a prayer book, set aside a few extra minutes.
But of all church seasons….Advent means the most to me because it is about quiet. I love quiet as a way of life more, and more, and more….every day.
Neurotic am I though….part and parcel of not coming into the world as a pumpkin in a patch or a set of shoes on a store shelf – I worry.
So, every year at this time ruminations are about what routine will be set forth in a week or so for the next month of preparations for……drumroll…
the
holidays.
This year I’m going to try and write.
My prayers, unless they go in a different direction…will be about abandon. The process of finding work, making friends, committing to a bit of a career shift, and enjoying the luxury and privilege of yet another educational gig – it has softened me. I hadn’t realized how lonely and bitter I’d become because…well,
because I’m not a pumpkin or a shoe.
So, that’s that….here are the flagship words that sit by my desk and tempt me to walk out the door as I do these days….
“What We Need is Here” ~ Wendell Berry
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith; what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.
Lord have mercy.
Litany by Billy Collins
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine…
~Jacues Crickillon
You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine,
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the houses of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general’s head,
but you are not even close
to being a field of cornflowers at dusk.
And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman’s tea cup.
But don’t worry, I’m not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and – somehow – the wine.
Everything is Here
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.
The “photo of the week” word is windows. Saturday chores start in just a few minutes and I look forward to working on that project.
I do most of my good thinking while staring outside.
In the meantime, I found some interesting quotes.
Poor Tennessee…always a scardy cat:
“We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call;
no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down
with us trapped, locked in it.”
― Tennessee Williams, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
A “Come to Jesus” perspective that I prefer:
“Bare heights of loneliness…
a wilderness whose burning winds sweep over glowing sands, what are they to HIM?
Even there He can refresh us,
even there He can renew us.”
― Amy Carmichael
This quote brings images to mind that remind me of the hours and hours of BBC dramas that I watched over the long winter school break:
“Every face, every shop, bedroom window, public-house, and dark square is a picture feverishly turned–in search of what? It is the same with books. What do we seek through millions of pages?”
I like this quote the best. Windows are about feeling safe, eh? :
“It is not real,” he whispered.
“This place is only a thought that has grabbed hold of you.
It cannot harm you.
You are not of this place, and it has no power over you.
You do not need it, nor do you owe it your allegiance.”
I nodded,
listening only to his words and not to the rattling of the windows,
which had begun as soon as we stepped inside.”
― Rita Murphy, Bird
Did you read the snippet I found on the internet yesterday?
I put it in this post:
Does Change Have to Happen All at Once?
How does change look in your world? This is a topic that my husband and I have always differed on.
Actually. I drive him kind of crazy.
I say no, all at once can be good…but not as a rule.
He says yes, all at once is the rule…and is good.
Another difference between us is reflected in my unwillingness to talk about this or to have a debate.
I don’t care. Seriously. I have other fish to fry at the moment. If sweeping change is what floats your boat, then keep on truckin’! Bully for you!
Same token, I’ve done some serious thinking of late and have sobered up to the fact that if I don’t grab these last several “working” years that my body will hopefully give me, I will have missed an awesome boat ride indeed.
When we first moved to Iowa I was certain that I was interested in anything that did not include working in a school. My years as a sub, and various teaching jobs of many sizes and colors never left me disappointed in the magic of children or the power of falling in love with an idea or a letter of the alphabet. (Seriously? You’ve not had a conversation or contemplative moment about the bold roundness of the letter “O”? Odd.)
I arrived to our new city life sorely let down by the adult world though and it’s bitter, whining approach to what we as educators should feel lucky to be doing each day.
Iowa being a writing mecca, I wrote. Day after day, blog post after blog post. I read, fed the dogs, wrote, deleted, read, fed the kids, and reread my way into being ready to step out the front door and actually talk to people.
And then there was the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, soon after at a religious temple, and shortly after at Sandy Hook.
I went from afraid, to sad, and continue to feel intensely angry about these events.
During that same time period my family was saying: “You seem bored, how about a job?”
No change.
And, “You seem cranky, how about a job?”
No change.
Then, “We can’t take it any more – get a job!”
As luck would have it – a ruby of a job I landed indeed. I’ll spare you the details of how I stumbled into the one I had in the Spring, and the one that I have now – but lucky I am indeed. And, now I know that the computer dying as the spring blossomed was a gift as well.
I had no time or way of processing how happy I was to be working with the hard of hearing Kindergartener for whom I was a communication coach. Being unhappy became a most boring and lonely consideration. Written, or even spoken words not needed.
I was trapped, smitten, and humbled by his eyelashes, wit, and ornery moves. And, I’m now eagerly re-enrolled in school to help increase the odds that I can keep on working in a series of best jobs ever.
As my cousin said on the phone the other day, “This is my last job, and I plan to make it the one that is the most fun!”
How timely to find this old post from the fall of 2011. Two years ago, is just a few winks of time for my friend (the mom of this girl) and I. For her though, much growing and changing has happened in the two and 1/2 years that have passed since I asked her if I could use her sweet photo.
She is clothed in strength and dignity,
she can laugh at the days to come.
Psalm 31: 25
(I found this on Pintrest, not managing to find a link to the artist)
My friend and I are celebrating her birthday today. We’ve just now decided that our party needs to become a weekend long event. Originally, my idea was that we would go for a walk in our respected cities at some point today, July the 19th. I thought we could then report back to each other. Last week I got confused about which Friday of this month is her “real” birthday, and this gave me an extra week to look forward to the event.
Then, while cleaning out and reorganizing our small home office, I found two empty packages that were addressed to my birthday pal 
and one to a common best friend who is a bird watcher as well. I felt terrible. The package intentions were to make three copies of some great music as a token of my regret that our friend’s brother had died very unexpectedly.
Clearly, I never even sent him a card.
So, on my desk was a sealed and ready to mail birthday card that included a cute cow finger puppet and some raspberry flavored dark chocolate. A sad reminder of the mounting grief of each of our adult lives: the music-less and card-less packages are from, I’d guess, a year ago.
(copyright protected image by Kathy Hare, which can be found on Pintrest or at www.moongazinghareillustration.blogspot.com)
The news is good despite my failed condolence effort. Along with the birthday card, I sent quick and goofy birthday party invitations to both friends inviting them to try and do some birdwatching today as a sort of global birthday effort. I spoke with our friend yesterday when he called confused and said, basically: “Kate…what are the two of you up to now?” and, “you are inviting me to do what? when? are you sure that….”
It was great. I’d not heard his voice in well over 25 years and the friendship dynamics are the same as when we were teenagers: he is sweet and a bit wary of our complicated and some times outlandish ideas for a fun time, and she and I just go about our merry way and laugh at what a job it can be at to distract him from his tasks at hand.
For me, sweet memories of being the age of my young adult sons are experiencing now, is condolence enough. I should be so lucky that, despite the gaping hole of time and life which has kept the three of us from a lazy evening together watching a sunset on Lake Erie, cliff swallows will certainly swarm back to their nest holes this evening. Even better, we each remain nature lovers in our respectively hectic households.
While I am not at all positive that any of our three work and family lives will allow more than a brief stroll, or a few moments of window gazing today,
I have faith that in her wisdom, the Holy Spirit will interrupt our day, and hopefully weekend, with some lovely and surprising bird sightings, and a moment of laughter to preserve the moment. This I believe.
Attendance Please 