Go

The time has come for us to go out and bring peace to everyone.

Where you go and what you do is your choice. But in order to make the world a better place, wouldn't it be nice if we each took the time to share peace? And not just share it with those we know and love, but to share peace with those we don't know.

It's not always easy. In fact, most days it's a pretty big challenge for the average person, but we have to try. We have to go and do. Sitting here, complacent, will do nothing and things will continue to degrade.

Go is my benediction for this journey. It's not the end, it's the sending forth with a mission. Go and reach out to help each other. Go and love one another. Go back and read each word from the last forty days and insert it after, "go…"

Go on, what are you waiting for?

Refuge

For me, going to my parents house is a refuge.

Until we play euchre. Then it's more like a stronghold.

Going back home to our house is also a refuge.

Our church is another place of refuge.

Campgrounds are always a place of refuge. The only exception is the one down in southern Indiana that used to be part of a mental facility. The large living quarters were still there and it was creepy. That place was not a refuge for me.

Where do you find refuge?

Prosper

I suppose writing this blog should help me prosper in many ways.

Perhaps make me a better writer.

Or teach me patience.

I could make money and prosper through advertising. Perhaps that would help my blog viewership prosper too.

How much do we prosper in our lives? What is worth living for?

I know that I look for joy, finding ways to help others to the best of my ability. That is how I look to prosper.

Peace

It's been awhile since I wrote a haiku, so what better time to share one? Here you go, enjoy.

I sit in silence.
Peace and quiet surround me.
Peace I share with you.

Call

Being a child of the 80s, of course the first thing that comes to mind is,

"Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!"

But since this blog is currently about Lent, I should focus on God's call. Or when I call out to our Almighty Creator.

Yes, I have heard God call me. I ignored the call.

Wouldn't it be nice if it were as obvious as a phone call? A ringing bell, or some kind of sound that we couldn't miss. Instead, God's voice can be small and quiet.

The call I received was repetitive. Some people hear their call through another's voice. I heard God calling me, and then listened to several people tell me to answer the call. Finally I listened.

Did you know that I can be stubborn?

Of course, so were several (all?) of the Disciples. And Moses, he tried to back out a couple of times.

Warning: I'm about to flash-back to the 80s again.

It's sort of like Arnold saying, "What'chu talking' 'bout Willis?"

What are you sayin' God?

Okay, insert a ridiculous amount of movie quotes, you get the gist.

Me? Are you talkin' to me?

That's it, I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Sometimes we have to stop, focus, and listen to hear God's call. Other times, it's a loud gong. Either way, are you listening?

Live

This Lenten journey has been side-tracked by the death of my grandmother. She lived a good, long life. Ninety-four years old says so.

Forgive me for being distracted when the words for this journey are like today's word, live. During the funeral today, the pastor said that Grandma will continue to live both through each of her family members and in eternal life.

Isn't that what we all hope for? To be remembered for how we lived and what we passed on to those who knew us.

Grandma will continue to live in me through her faith, her love of gardening, and her propensity of writing in a journal every day. I have a strong faith, a love of gardening, and a propensity to write in my journal every day for the last several years.

Bill was a little unnerved as he listened to the pastor describe me in my grandmother.

What can I say? It's in my genes.

And I say, live life to it's fullest. For me, that's spending time in my garden, writing, and sharing my faith.

Meditate

Yes, I was too busy meditating yesterday to write about meditate.

That's sort of true.

When I got home from work, I worked out (I ran a mile without stopping). By the time I finished my workout, Bill was home.

We went to dinner and the theater.

It was a high school production of "Curtains". It was very funny. We enjoyed the show, even though we got home way past our bedtime.

So it was as I was lying there, almost asleep that I realized I didn't blog.

I'm a week away from the end of Lent. Only missing one day ain't half bad. That's a 2% error (or however you want to look at it).

Excuse me, now I have to go write today's post before I forget or get too busy.

Truth

The truth will set you free.

Unless someone is asking you if that [insert piece of clothing] makes them look fat.

Which means the truth will set you free from their friendship if the truth is yes.

Yikes.

If I were you I would say no. Telling the truth is for everything else except questions like that. Can we all agree?

Thanks.

Mercy

One of my favorite verses is from Micah 6:8

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God."
                       -New International Version (NIV)

I had to search different versions to find the one that uses the word mercy instead of kindness. Obviously either word will do but for today mercy is what I'm writing about.

I first remember hearing this verse when we lived in New Jersey. Pastor Greg preached on the verse. Then, I heard it again here in Grand Rapids when Pastor Jennie preached on it.

Pair this with what Jesus said is the greatest commandment and I bet things would be different. People would be different.

This goes right along with the book study I've been participating in, "Whose Gospel?" by Dr. James Forbes. I wrote about his visit and his visionary, or progressive, teachings.

This last Sunday we were challenged by Pastor Bob to reach outside our comfort zone. When we are comfortable we are not changing. When we're not changing things aren't getting worse, but neither are they getting better.

It's uncomfortable to ask someone what's their name. It's uncomfortable to offer someone your umbrella when it's pouring down rain. It's uncomfortable to invite someone to church. It's uncomfortable to sit next to someone you don't know.

And we've gotten use to being comfortable.

We show kindness, or mercy, to those around us when we treat them as we would want to be treated. Do you want to be ignored? No, I hope not. Don't you want to know that person's story? Even if they talk your ear off, maybe they just needed someone to listen. Or maybe they talk everyone's ear off; show them mercy and listen.

We are too ego-centric. We are too self-centered. We care about ourselves and our comfort too much.

This verse reminds me right at the beginning my flaw. "O mortal", it says. Oh, right, I'm reminded of my limited time on earth. I start to ask; what matters here, the sweater I'm wearing? How many pairs of pants I have hanging in my closet?

Or does the "pay-it-forward" mentality mean more? Sharing with someone in need, not want. Cooking a meal out of love? The immortal and intangible things we share matter more then the materialistic and consumeristic things that just take up space.

We are call to show mercy to others and show mercy to our planet.

Forgive

Last week on, "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" they were talking about cats. They said cats don't forgive. Paula Poundstone begged to differ and offered an example of her own cat.

I completely agree with Paula Poundstone. Our cats forgive us. I've stepped on Atticus' tail, he forgives me by sticking his wet nose in my face.

Yesterday, I sat on Juliette! She has forgiven me, because she's sitting next to me right now (not to mention that she came right back and sat on my lap after I tried sitting on hers).

We have started shutting the cats out of the bedroom at night to prevent any more mice incidents as well as giving ourselves a good nights sleep. If you have a pet (and you've let them into the bedroom at night), you know what I'm talking about. The tiniest pet will suddenly be able to take up the entire bed. Leaving the humans a sliver of space, a strip of covers, and either fart in your face or breathe directly into your face.

We should all try to forgive as freely and lovingly as our pets.

Still

I'm going to have to write about the opposite of still. Because I wasn't still all day.

From the time I woke up this morning, to this moment now, I have not been still.

I went up and down the stairs doing laundry. It's clean sheet day so I undressed and redressed the bed. I baked a cake for Sunday school. I washed dishes. I made a birthday card for my Grandma (she'll be 94) and a thank you card for a friend. I cleaned up my scrapbooking/card making stuff. Bill and I placed the furniture in the guest room (pictures are coming). We also put all the books on the bookshelves. I cleaned the bathroom and ran the vacuum (upstairs, Bill ran it downstairs). We made and ate dinner (burgers and fries). We went to the Adoption Ministry Hoe-Down at church. I danced.

And even now I'm not still as I type.

Did you see the moon tonight? It's not still because it's orbiting around Earth, but it sure looked still when I saw it. It was a giant sliver. That's a good oxymoron.

I would like to be still. I have practiced that off and on in my adult life. I appreciate being still. Maybe that's what I'll do next year for Lent.

Light

Tomorrow marks the first day of spring. It will occur at 6:45pm (EST). I don't know how the Almanac figures that out, but that's what the website says.

There will be equal parts day to night. Or dark to light.

Days will be longer. The sun will continue to warm us with her light.

We will need to adjust the lights in our home that are on timers.

I hope that through my blog I am sharing a little bit of light. Which I hope is then shared by you, which is then shared by others.

I saw darkness tonight and I object!

Where is the light? Where is the hope? Where is the love?

I know we're all human and some days are just not good days, but we have to try. We have to reach for the light.

When I catch myself driving with a scowl on my face, I start looking at other drivers (which is easy driving in the city, not so easy driving in the suburbs, or the country, or the highway) and I look at their expressions. It often makes me smile, if not laugh a little. I can't help it, I like to smile.

Share the light!

Believe

I believe I can make it through Lent, blogging everyday.

I believe that I will be able to run 2.5 miles again without stopping.

I believe in Hope.

I believe that believe is one of those words that stops looking like the word after you type it a few times.

I believe that Atticus will eventually kill all the mice living in our house. (Seriously, how many can be left?)

I believe in Faith.

I believe that God answers prayers.

I believe that Bill and I will finish the guest room this weekend.

I believe that Love wins.

Endure

Last night, I made stuffed cabbage rolls for our St. Patrick's dinner tonight.

It was quite an involved process. And before you are disgusted by the thought of cabbage rolls, they were stuffed with bratwurst and covered in a spicy bacon, tomato sauce.

Bacon makes everything taste better.

I cooked the bratwurst in the morning with the rice. Then, after work, I steamed the cabbage. While it steamed I cooked the bacon, onion, red pepper, and simmered those all in tomato puree.

After the sauce was ready, and the cabbage had drained, I took the bratwurst and rice mixture out of the fridge and started stuffing the cabbage leaves.

As if all of that wasn't involved enough, the next part got more so.

The recipe instructed me to cut the main vein out of the leaf, scoop one-third of a cup of the bratwurst/rice mixture into the leaf, and then roll it like a burrito. Except that I just cut out part of the leaf and rolling it as suggested was next to impossible. No matter which way I rolled, stuffing kept falling out through slits. Or I was rolling it in such a way that the stuffing to rolled cabbage ratio was uneven.

But I knew I could endure. I continued stuffing and rolling. I eventually filled my 9 x 13 baking dish with ten rolls. I covered them with the sauce and tucked them away in the refrigerator until this afternoon when Bill took them out for me.

We were also able to endure the forty-five minute wait while they baked.

Bill and I agreed that the cabbage rolls were worth the process.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wilderness

I'm having a difficult time trying to think of something to write about in regards to wilderness.

I could talk about the summers I spent at camp where I hiked through the wilderness. I saw God there, but truly it was more in nature than wilderness.

We live in an small urban jungle. Sometimes going to work is like being in the wilderness. In the wild you fight rushing waters, and wild animals only to be beat down. At work you fight deadlines and multi-tasking only to be worn out.

Temptations find us in the wilderness. We found out what we're really made of.

Clearly, I have not overcome using prepositions at the end of my sentences. My wilderness is climbing through words and language only to fail.

But I will push on, just keep swimming, and not give up.

Ha, I had to end with that one.

Celebrate

There are things happening around us (Bill and me) that may not give us reason to celebrate.

My grandmother had a TIA last Friday and is still in the hospital.

Atticus brought a half-dead mouse into our bedroom last night.

I did not get a good night's sleep after that.

Bill's car is still in the shop and will hopefully be ready by the end of this week (if the part they need to fix it arrives).

However, there are things to celebrate.

My grandmother will be turning 94 this month.

Atticus is a good hunter and Bill is amazing because he removed the half-dead mouse from our bedroom.

Juliette has been with us for thirteen years on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, we will celebrate my parents' 48th anniversary.

Bill will start his new job a week from tomorrow.

We finished the guest room and we are moving in the furniture.

Search

Today my search will involve how to work Pi into my post.

Hm, I guess I just did, so that search is over.

But my search during Lent is still going.

What am I searching for?

I keep asking myself that question. The answer is constantly changing. I'm searching for love. I'm searching for answers. I'm searching for guidance. I'm searching for truth. I'm searching for acceptance.

I will search for these things in my friends, family, neighbors, and strangers.

The search will continue past my Lenten journey.

Practice

I was just saying the other day that the practice of writing this blog has made me a better writer. There are times when I have written more consistently and maintained a practice schedule as it were, but nonetheless I've kept at it for eight years now.

As it stands I have written 1220 posts. This one makes 1221. That's a lot of practice.

Are you asking yourself, "is she practicing to write a book?"

The answer is a plain and simple no. (Unless someone offered me money, at which point I would think about it.)

We practice as a way to improve a skill or ability. Therefore, each time I write, I'm practicing.

I didn't set out to practice writing. I set out to share the random things I bake, cook, craft, photograph, or think about. Yet it turns out, all along, I was practicing my writing too.

Stop

I think it would be wise to talk about the things that need to stop.

Racism needs to stop.

Gender inequality needs to stop.

Homophobia needs to stop.

World hunger needs to stop.

Human trafficking needs to stop.

But when I write all of these things in one post, I can't help but wonder how do I make a difference?

How can I make this suffering stop?

In some cases, I don't know how. But I know that being kind and doing right is going to make a difference.

Being honest and doing justice will make a difference.

By standing up and doing these things together we can make a better world. And maybe, just maybe, we can stop these things one at a time.

Wise

Wisdom follows knowledge.

Many people in my life have said that as they grow older, they have gotten wiser. I believed them when I was younger, and I believe them now.

I don't claim to know everything (read my post from yesterday, I'm still learning) but I do know that I am wise. I am wiser now than I was ten years ago, and wiser still than I was twenty years ago.

To be wise doesn't necessarily mean to be smart. Being wise means making good choices. It means doing the right thing. It means helping others.

I think the ultimate goal of being wise is to achieve the greatest commandment, to love; love God and love thy neighbor. The wisdom comes with knowing who my neighbor is and remembering that my neighbor is everyone I come in contact with.

That is a tall order. That is what it means to be wise.