Today is the fifth Tuesday of the month
so we followed our Usual Fifth Tuesday Rhythm at Espresso.
(Actually it is our first every fifth tuesday
so it is a very new rhythm!)
Anne talked about her job,
and we reflected on it in terms of
God as creator, sustainer and redeemer.
(I will leave Steve to blog more about this)
And then I introduced a saint
in this case the patron saint of biotechnology
(as Anne is a scientist working in the biotech industry).
Actually he is the patron saint of ecology
but that was the closest I could get!
St Francis of Assisi
(sorry, link-followers, annoying music).
I talked a little about his life and ministry
(more on that on Sunday morning, I think)
and ended with the challenge to be peace-makers.
Some good tips on how to do so here. Little, achievable things.
It is a gorgeous time of year.
Whereever I go I get to enjoy seeing
splashes of colour...
plum blossom out the girls window
camellia from the lounge,
polys, poppies on the walk to school
violets on the way home.
Shrubs coated in tiny flowers
in every shade of pink, purple and white.
Daffodil, crocus, irus, snowdrop.
Brown branches bursting blossoms.
Beauty.
To be noticed, enjoyed.
To lift one's spirit.
And a Creator to be thanked.
Went rock climbing last night at The Roxx
as Espresso (and here), following our fourth Tuesday social rhythm.
I got 2/3 up my first climb
(my first climb ever)
and realised I could stop and have a wee cry(!)
or carry cheerfully on to the top.
I opted for up to the top
and the others wisely sent me straight back up
on my arrival at the bottom.
Next climb (diff one)
I got stuck again
was about to bail
and was encouraged by J telling me where I could place my feet,
S telling me to reach just a little further.
And so I made it to the top
(and got to come down again - I like that coming down bit!)
It was a great night.
And there are loads of parallels to life in general:
the times when we are so caught up in the moment
that we cannot see a way forward.
Relying on others to light the way
To give strength from a distance.
To instill hope and determination.
need i say more?
Should be laundwet floor.
I need a new category for my blog, called Washing Machine,
where I can put all my entries re the blighter.
Like this one, the first, a happy one.
And then a series of happy,
sad, happy (optimistic methinks) .
And now today.
Bother.
Bother
Bother.
I think this may be one of the worst things
about being a grown up...
(clearly I lead a very charmed life if this is the worst)
...making decisions about Large Appliances.
Sigh
Will call my friend at Appliance Works.
I have just coined
"LIS"
as an introverts LOL.
I rarely LOL online,
but I often LIS (Laugh InSide)
So how about it?
An introverts LOL
suitable for people like me
who would be lying to say they are laughing out loud
but are certainly enjoying a quiet internal chuckle.
Wha'd'ya reckon?
I guess it is good,
a compliment, even,
that the fish and chip shop person
didn't offer ME a free drink.
It was a slow day in the fast-food lane.
The reason I phoned through my order at 5.40
was that the girls needed to be out at 6pm.
I had been home for a total of 5 minutes all afternoon
(that was the time it took to dump the grocery shopping on the floor
put some stuff in the fridge
grab lunch for Steve and I and be out the door).
I opted for fast food for dinner
cos i mistakenly believed it would be faster
than cooking myself.
So by the time it got to 6.10pm and it still wasn't cooked
I was less-than-pleased.
But, unlike the man served just before me,
I clearly didn't look cross and grumpy enough
to warrant being given a pacifying freebie.
And that is good.
Isn't it?
Yes.
Good.
For the last long while
(no idea how long, but think several months)
someone I email quite frequently hasn't been getting my emails.
This is a problem, especially when they are important emails!
However it was less of a problem once we realised there WAS a problem!
Today she said that she got the emails I had sent last night
but that they had all appeared in her deleted folder
(that's the deleted folder which is set to automatically empty every time she closes the programme)
I had a moment to have a look,
and I am happy to report
that I am no longer in her banned senders box
and now the emails are flowing to and fro very nicely!
No idea how I ended up there
but I came home and checked mine
to make sure no-one who ought not to be was in there!
Twas OK.
Phew!
Don't cha love modern technology!
Amy's idea of a successful person is someone who:
Loves God and has a solid deep relationship with him
Has good healthy relationships with their family & friends
Has a good balance in their life
Is fulfilled & enjoys whatever they do - using their gifts & talents aligned with their passion
Is content with who they are
Follows their dreams - sets goals & achieves them
Is good to people
Is always growing
Sounds like a good thing to aim for in life!
Another beautiful day.
And my washing machine has stopped making puddles.
(All by itself, no additional help from The Washing Machine Man)
That is GOOD.
Long may it last.
So says my latest MS Word doc.
I am beating the Opawa database into submission.
Winning, finally.
Hooray!
One of the things
Shannon-from-America
introduced me to
was clever tricks with tiles.
We had a workshop one Saturday morning.
I quickly realised this was a play
and I was NOT going to produce a marvellous piece of art.
I was learning Useful Techniques for later.
I ended up with some heart-shaped petals,
cut from flower pics.
With the words,
"May love surround you".
To be honest,
it looks like the sort of thing that you could buy
in a store that also sells nearly arranged stationery,
all individually packaged in alltogether too much plastic.
(do you know the sort of store I mean?)
So I took it home, wondering what to do with it.
It was later that I realised it is a prayer.
A prayer for someone
who needs to know they are valued and loved
who needs to be valued and loved.
A prayer that they WILL be surrounded by love
and that they will know
a very deep and strong sense
of love, acceptance and warmth.
So, loved one,
i know who you are...
May love surround you.
This would have to be my most embarassing netball moment to date.
I am catching the ball
My partner is obstructing me
arms waving in face, too close.
(umpires won't call it, I know this, it has been a bad-umpire game)
I am convinced she is going to tip the ball.
so convinced that i stop trying to catch the ball
and start getting my hands ready for where she will tip it to.
She misses the tip
I miss the ball
the ball bounces off my face
and to an opposition player.
Bother
Duh
Bother
My washing machine is STILL making puddles.
Must ask nice kind (expensive) man
to come back for another look.
:(
It IS a beautiful day
My windows are cleaned - inside and out -
thanks to Elizabeth B and a missions-auction at church.
The sun streams in, no longer having to dodge the dust particles.
My washing machine is behaving
(no puddles)
The stereo is playing above song loud
(nah... not loud enough...
that is better)
AND U2 are rumoured to be coming to Wellington.
See you there!
(I shall start saving my pennies...
hmmm... actually i should start work now)
The hills are green-tinged this morning.
Rolly and textured
with brave round and straight trees marking the skyline.
They are paintable
sketchable hills
that make me yearn to be able to draw, to paint.
Puffy grey clouds lean over the top of them
keeping close.
Friendly grey clouds, that don't mean any harm.
And I walked to school admiring them
and home appreciating the elderly couple
holding hands and feeding ducks,
she in red gumboots.
Last night at Espresso
we discussed the question,
"How do we make sense of tragedy in our world?".
We were aware of sadness and tragedy in some of our own lives
and in the world we live in.
Two thoughts:
Jesus wept.
when he encountered personal tragedy
in the form of his good friend Lazarus' death.
his gut response was gut-tears.
It is comforting to imagine Jesus
as our friend
weeping with us in our hardest times.
(He also got to raise L from the dead
as a foretaste of how things could be
how things will be).
And the other thing that especially struck me
was the U2 song, Grace.
Grace finds goodness in everything
Grace finds beauty in everything
Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.
It is easy to victimise suffering/tragedy
be it our own or others.
i want to
... i choose to...
be one who
finds beauty, finds goodness, makes beauty
...out of everything.
To be watchful for the gracelets
that may be hidden by the gloom.
To see the love of families
in the horrific famine images on our tv screens.
To celebrate life and light and goodness,
wherever it is encountered.
And to hold a candle for those
who at times struggle to hold their own.