Rock Dogs

Given the recent actions of our 12 month of labrador retriever this new, handy list came into existence. "What to do in case your dog eats a rock?"

1. Panic and call someone you know who has a dog to ask questions they cannot answer!
2. Call the vet to find out if your dog desperately needs some sort of mineral that he/she is not getting from the very expensive dog food you purchase every month.
3. Follow the dog around with a fishing net to see if the rock comes out the other end.
4. Give the dog some sort of stuff to make him vomit up the rock.
5. Hope that the dog will create a pearl or diamond while the rock is in his stomach so that you can sell it on Ebay and make some big $$ for the college fund.
6. Remove all rocks from your yard.
7. Have your dog sit on any papers that might blow away and refer to him as a 'paperweight'.
8. Go back to the '70's and try to revive the 'pet rock' pheonoma again.
9. Rename the dog, Rocky!
10. Pray that nothing bursts and causes internal damages because you don't have pet insurance.

Something to write about...

Usually I share material in my blog form my life and/or ministry. Not often do I allow you folks into the memoirs of my past, but today it seemed appropriate.

Do you know how powerful the sense of smell is? It is so powerful that it can code a memory into your brain that most likely will survive any sort of brain trauma. Anyhow... on spring days like this one in central Indiana there are certain smells that take me back... in time.

I can recall the smell of my grade school when I lived in Muncie, Indiana. It had a distinct spring odor. Same is true of my other grade schools in Bulter, Pennsylvania and Dubuque, Iowa.

There was a unique smell to our desks, chalk, and the old building themselves that said, "Hey kids, this is spring... can't you smell it? And you know what that means?! Summer is coming. So, drive your teachers nuts by being even more silly in class!"

Yep- that distinct smell of spring that was a warning shot to teachers that there is nothing more than can do to instill knowledge into our brains... only memories of being silly and giggling in class while gazing out the windows into meadows of dandelion fields.

Take a big sniff outside today and see what memories come back to you... just watch where you step.

Confirmed- Confirmation is accomplished

Well, if we did our jobs properly and with joy, enthusiasm, and passion (with a heavy dose of the Holy Spirit) - nineteen new disciples of Jesus Christ are now launched into the world to share their love for Jesus, talents & abilities, and spiritual gifts.

Now, it is up to the nineteen new disciples to follow through on their freshly made public commitment and confession of faith. They were launched with fanfare and joy! They were sent off surrounded by prayers of the faithful and the flock. What a joy to watch and witness what God will do with and through these young lives.

All in this class are called into ministry! Yet, there is someone in this class who is set apart and called to vocational ministry. I cannot wait to see what happens next!!!!!!

Shared Quakes

The news this morning was a buzz with everyone telling their story of waking to the quake that rocked the Ohio River Valley. So, I thought I can share my story blog-style.

Woke to the shake and tremble of our bed and the creaking of the roof beams. Our pup only stirred after the experience and our preschooler sleep through it. I had no fear just a calm sense of "Oh, this is what an earthquake feels like!"

What is odd for me is that yesterday morning (which is now yesterday's yesterday in Japan) my husband awoke in Motegi to a 5.8 quake at about the same time in the morning! Amazing that we were blessed to share similiar morning wake up calls although we are thousands of miles apart!

Touch of Technology

Last night we did what any techologically advanced family would do. We did our bedtime ritual together. Reading books, asking what everyone was thankful for, sharing prayers, singing songs, and giving hugs & kisses. All of that with our 90 pound labrador retriever attempting to lay in someone's lap.

What was different about last night was that one of us was 6,000 miles away in Motegi, Japan and the rest us were in the States. The power of technology is incredible! With our web camera on and the laptop propped on a chair...we remained connected as a family for our night time tradition with Daddy on the other side of the dateline.

It was awesome watching our daughter tickle the laptop screen trying to 'touch' her daddy... we waved, blew kisses, and shared our prayers for one another.

The touch of technology is a treasure to savor...

Continuing Education

Our North and South Conferences of the UMC here in Indiana met today and yesterday for a continuing education event. Great preaching, small groups, workshops, and lunches were a part of the two day event.

Mostly folks found opportunities to chat and visit with long lost colleagues and friends... imagine a sanctuary full of preachers! Lots of chatter!

Amid all the stuff I snuck out back, yes, you guessed it, to walk a labyrinth. Young green day lilles were pushing up through the mulch, birds were singing, a water fountain was splashing water, the sun was bright with not a cloud in the sky- it was a perfect moment to walk, pray and reflect...

This labyrinth walk in the midst of the continuing education event was the perfect chance to listen to God and not my chatter or anyone else's. Who better to learn from than God's very self...

It's that time of year

It is that time of year again, here at Calvary, when Faith Statements starting sprouting amongst our confirmation students. Actually, it is faith that is sprouting through the type-written words, personal stories, and favorite scripture verses of the students.

Today, I sat down and read all of the Faith Statements. We have nineteen confirmation students. As is now my annual custom, (having taught confirmation for 11 years in a row), I cry, laugh, marvel, shake my head, and scratch my head in awe and amazement at these sixth and seventh graders.

This year we have an unusual amount of very funny faith statements. How these young people have combined humor and a serious examination of their faith is something to marvel at!

Every year I find myself grateful for what the students have learned from my and our feeble attempts at teaching. And I also make notes of what we have obviously failed to teach effectively. Always more to teaching work to do!

Mostly I sit and watch God's handiwork in these young lives. Each one unique. Each one wired differently spiritually. Each one anointed with different spiritual gifts. I feel so blessed to be in the position I am to witness what God is doing in young men and women's lives. I wish everyone could see what I see...from God's point of view.

Sometimes, as I pray over these students and their faith statements, I catch glimpses of their future... what their walk with the Lord will be like...how they will make it through difficult times...how they will use their spiritual gifts in the betterment of the church...and again I pray prayers of gratitude for how God's spirit continues to move in the world today... This truly is a great time of year!

Spring Break re-cap...

So, Spring break has sprung around here and the hustle and bustle of things are getting back to normal. Most popular question is, "How did you spend your break?"

I entered into the imagination of a three year old, played with an almost 12 month old 90 pound pup, and did a lot of scrapbooking. On sunny days we played outside or went to the park. On cloudy and rainy days, closets were cleaned out and my daughter enjoyed playing in the 'new pile' of toys she invented amongst the messy stuff.

Best part of vacation- being together and living at a slower, different pace. Had a chance to really pause and abide in a sense of gratitude for all of my blessings from God.

Least favorite part of vacation- being without my other favorite person, Eric because he was working out-of-state. We missed him.

Now we are back to our regularly scheduled busy lives: work, daycare, and evening events... at least the seasons are shifting now and we can enjoy ourselves on mini-vacations throughout the days to come...

Light and Darkness

I did something last night that I haven't done in a long time... boy, was it fun! Stayed up light into the night reading a book I couldn't put down!

In the wee hours with tired eyes I finished reading the new book about/by Mother Teresa, Come, Be My Light. The book is a narration through Mother Teresa's letters. These are her personal letters written to her spiritual directors over the years in which she experiences what St. John of the Cross called, the dark night of the soul. She felt no sense at all of God/Jesus' love for her. No sense of consolation. Just emptyness, dryness, darkness and aridity.

I have always been inspired by Mother Teresa, but now I am even more so. As a spiritual director myself, it was fascinating to peer into her interior life and listen in on her intimate conversations with God.

Very inspiring and thought-provoking. Mother truly is/was/will be considered by the church as yet another mystic.