FGHart

I love making things for my parents. I gave my parents the very first afghan I ever crocheted. It wasn’t “square” – it was really a trapezoid. They still have the afghan and it is used regularly (even if it is irregular). I made it about 30 years ago.

A few years ago I decided to experiment with cotton yarn and homemade dishtowels and potholders. I love how my Mom never fails to admire my handiwork. Even when things are less than perfect. I could easily believe that she’s just trying to be polite, but when I visit, I find evidence that my gifts are all in use. Nothing could delight my heart more!

One dishtowel protects the counter under a bread basket. Another protects the counter from coffee drips (I could do an entire post on the challenges of pouring coffee from automatic coffee maker pots, but we’ll save that for a rainy day). Another is used in a drawer to protect the Teflon lining on often-used pots/pans. One, one of the original ones, a Christmas gift from years ago, shows definite signs of wear & tear.


My Dad is not exempt from my forays into the land of domestic creativity. Years ago (Middle School? Maybe 9th grade) I was trying my hand at needlework. I monogrammed a few handkerchiefs for my Dad. He proudly put them to good use. This year I gave my Dad a few more. For the sake of comparison, he humored my request to bring out the old to mingle with the new so I could snap a shot for posterity.

I love making things for my parents. Not just because they clearly enjoy my gifts and use my gifts. It gives me joy to see their delight that I’ve devoted time and dedicated attention for them. Outside of their presence, I’m thinking of them. When I give them one of the “treasures” I never have to worry if they will criticize or point out the flaws. They always accept these gifts graciously.

I see the same in my relationship with God. I imagine God’s pleasure when he knows that I am devoting time and dedicating attention to Him. Whether it is prayer time, bible study, daily devotionals, ministry work, fellowship in His name…more than just the face time spent in His house. More than “duty.” He is not looking for perfection in our acts, in our thoughts. He is pleased by our efforts to please Him.

It gives me joy to know that I have delighted God with something I have said or done. Can we live our lives to please the LORD? I am certainly trying. With a joyful heart. And like my parents, He graciously accepts my gifts, my love, my acts of faith….all that I do in His name.

Amen.

It has begun. The ailment commonly known as cedar fever. I won’t bother to describe it myself. Here’s a quote “From December through February, many people experience an itchy, runny nose, sneezing, nasal blockage, excess tearing and itchy eyes. Others complain of itching of the palate, throat, or ears, and postnasal drainage. Some have fatigue, mild headache, facial discomfort, sore throat, partial loss of sense of smell, and sensation of ear plugging. If you experience the above symptoms every year during these months, the chance is great that you have Mountain Cedar allergy. “

Articles abound: 1, 2, 3, … If you’re not familiar with this “scourge” all I can say is – it’s truly a beating. I woke up from a bad dream at ~4:30a.m. and I could tell immediate there is something in the air and it’s not the scent of roses. The antihistamine that keeps the symptoms relatively at bay keeps me up so I take something else at night. The something else only lasts 4 hours. I had put additional doses by the bed for just this situation. I popped a pill and lay back down for some additional shut-eye. Ten minutes later, my brain is in high gear. In part trying to shake the images from my bad dream, in part because I have 999,954 things left on my to-do list and in part because the medicine doesn’t offer immediate relief from the maddening sinus-itchiness of this plague.

So I shouted (in my mind) “Curse the cedar!” And it is so. Our house backs onto acres of undeveloped land that is COVERED in cedar trees (when the sun finishes coming up I’ll add “Take a picture of cedar,” “download picture of cedar from camera,” “upload picture of cedar onto ‘Curse the cedar!’ post” to my list of things to do, bringing the total up to 999,957). An “upscale” development is going in behind our “not so upscale” development and the cedar in my immediate vicinity will be eradicated.

I will miss the trees during the 9 months they don’t irritate the snot out of me (literally), but I won’t miss them during the December-February trial of powdery pollen. And for the tree-huggers out there – this is NOT a native tree. It is a weed that has come in and caused problems for natives like Live Oaks. It is a water hog – exacerbating our periodic drought conditions. It chokes out flora and fauna alike. It should be eradicated. But I’m sad that with them will go the oaks and other assorted survivors from the acres behind us. My view from my office will be forever altered. Somehow, I suspect my future holds a smaller home, back in Xurbia, back in the woods, surrounded by more of the cursed weed. {sigh}

Peace,

The puzzle is complete. Ta da!

This is the toughest puzzle we have worked on in quite a while. ~Saturday I declared my contribution at an end.

“That’s it! I’m not putting in another piece. I’m done.”

For a couple of reasons. 1) The puzzle was taking up time I couldn’t afford to spend zoned in the undersea world of jigsaw, 2) it was almost finished and 3) it seemed other members of the family might benefit from increased participation. I kept my word and they stepped up and got the job done.

I’m glad. T did most of the final effort, and he takes great pride in the fact that he finished the puzzle. I don’t remember what we paid for the puzzle. I didn’t count the hours spent on the puzzle. The end result is priceless.

After a few days of admiration, we’ll pull the pieces apart and begin anew. It’s a lot like life. We find ourselves tangled up in a mess of emotions, perceptions, conflicting desires. We take the time to study the elements, the context, the possibilities. We untangle and realign the pieces of our interwoven lives. We enjoy a respite. And one day we find ourselves tangled up in a new mess. If not, we’re probably stagnant, stale, not challenged, not growing.

I am working through some challenges in several of my personal relationships. Relationships with people I love. People I trust. People who share my faith. “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.” (Psalm 55:12-14)

I’ve spent the last few months in earnest dialogue with God, my counselor. For my friendships, there is no running or hiding, no fighting, no quarreling. There will be peace and love abounding. I trust the Word.

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)

Like an almost-completed puzzle, the picture has become clear. I am no longer vexed by the situation. It is only a matter of time. Patience. The remaining pieces are not mine to place. I can rest in the assurance that I have done the will of God. I must let others do their part to complete the picture.

Peace,

I have been praying for a young lady, A, who was injured in a head-on collision ~mid-December. I’ve been tracking her progress, privileged to be included in the Caring Bridge updates. Initially the site was open to all, but apparently someone left some unkind remarks in his comments and the bridge was closed. Gated and guarded. A’s father sent me an e-mail (I’m assuming he poked on anyone who was leaving kind comments) asking “friend or foe.” I explained that I only knew of A through her cousin’s blog. Thankfully I was let in.

Last night there was a prayer vigil for A, led by an uncle on the west coast. I prayed for A up until bed time and was praying for her when I awoke. What I didn’t realize until later was that my waking coincided with her uncle logging off. Praise God for the 2 hour time difference. My 5am was their 3am. God has been listening to our songs of praise and pleas for intervention and healing, words lifted throughout the night without missing a beat.

During the course of the last month I have found my prayer life evolving. Not my one-on-one prayers between myself and God, but my “evangelical” out-there prayers that other people can hear and read. What I now think of as “extroverted prayers.” Not so private. I started here, but I can feel this growing within me.

Yesterday I attended “Eucharistic Visitor” training. I’m already trained as a Eucharistic Minister, but now I’m licensed to go to hospitals, homes, wherever I’m needed to visit those who are sick or infirm, to include them in the blessing of Communion. A natural part of this role is praying aloud with people. For people.

It’s humbling to know that God has a purpose for me and He is intent on helping me fulfill His purpose even when I’m clueless. I pray for my own obedience. His will be done.

Amen.

This post is dedicated to A and her family.

After the passing of Mama Guppy there was an appropriate period of mourning. Something on the order of a day or two. Papa Guppy and the boyfriend are oblivious to the world of hurt (and true desperation) they inflicted on MG. Bless her heart, she just gave up. “Done” to death. Maybe it was the shock of the cyclical isolation every three weeks, then the sudden return to the amorous attention of the fellas. Regardless, she gave her all.

By this time, the eldest guppette was maturing into a beautiful, alluring young guppy. Pretty clearly a “she.” And she was not escaping the attention of the adult males. In the absence of MG, they began to pester and pursue the lovely lady. For one of the males, most probably the boyfriend, the worst accusation to be made was inappropriate behavior with a minor. For the other, clearly this was incest! The whole scene quickly became very disturbing. In an effort to thwart their attention, two new adult females were introduced into the mix. Lady Gray looks like a mature version of our young guppy. MG Junior looks just like a junior version of Mama Guppy. Papa Guppy began pursuing her immediately. Boyfriend began chasing Lady Gray. By the end of their first day in the tank, both females were trying desperately to get out of the tank! This was almost as disturbing as the incestuous behavior. Poor little virginal things were getting quite the welcome.

Now that some time has passed things have settled down. Everyone seemed happy in the aquarium. Except for the town Mayor, who swept in and swept up. Today was spent in an environmental overhaul. An “Extreme Makeover.”

Each of the Mayor’s recent travels involved leaving a little brick of time-release dinners for the tetra & guppy inhabitants. Each of those little bricks left behind unsightly white flakes of gunk. And the algae is ridiculous. Photos are currently prohibited due to the Mayor’s embarrassment at the implied neglect. Because the Mayor has many duties beyond tank maintenance, the job was not finished in a day. The extreme makeover will be completed tomorrow. Photos to follow.

Side Note: The cory (bottom feeder) is hiding behind the heater. It is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. I doubt I can get a picture (because he’s hiding – it would just look like a picture of the heater). I thought I might have accidentally pulled him out with the “green” greenery because after all of the decor was removed, he was MIA.

Peace,