Thoughts on Shifting Time and Learning Names

Posted on November 12, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Thimble Peak in morning light in north east Tucson

Good Evening, God!

Another lovely S L O W day here in Tucson. How is it, God, that we (well me and most of the working folks) lead such busy lives. Lives in which we rush from one To Do to the next.

This morning, my grandson Ian and I left for school 5 minutes earlier than we usually do. And mid-way through the drive I thought — gosh, this is so much more relaxing! Just five minutes early made everything better. Please help me, God, shift my time back 5 minutes!

But, on to this photo. I’m in Mark’s bedroom as he is away in college. And I love looking out his window at the Santa Catalina mountains. This photo of this peak is my favorite part of the lovely mountain range. And last week I discovered that the pointy “thimble shaped” peak had a name! Thimble Peak i I was delighted.

I think names are far more important that we realize. Names make us “findable” — they confirm our being-ness. You, God, know us all by name! And the Morning Stars are known by name. I even enjoy the small pleasures of knowing and using the names of the people working around me.

Then yesterday, while I was sipping my morning coffee outside and gazing happily at Thimble Peak I thought about how American mothers teach their children the names of nouns first, while Japanese mothers teach verbs first. An America mother might hand her child a ball and say BALL — while a Japanese mother would hand her child a ball and say I GIVE you the ball. Hmm. Might the emphasis on nouns make our culture a bit more THING focused?

Might I possibly be too thing focused?
Perhaps GIVE is a perfect “first” word to learn.
Please help me pray about that.

Tagged with: Being Early, busy, Giving, Names, Naming, Rushing, time, Timing
Posted in authority over my life, busy, busy as an attack strategy, connecting, recovery time, relaxation, rest

Valuing Slow . . . and Living it

Posted on November 8, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Cactus in sunlight

Good Afternoon, God!

I’ve been reading the story in Discover magazine about Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe. My Goodness! Expanding faster?

Sigh, then there is me. I’m so slow to grow and make changes that I feel more like the Stones in this photo than the Cactus.

What was I thinking that life is about fast? Hmm. Fast has always been one of my favorite values. I was a sprinter as a young person — how I loved to run fast!

And, perhaps, it is part of what draws me to my wonderful husband, Kit, who is a marathoner. Given that he is a Lark and I am an Owl — he is an ant and I am a grasshopper — he listens to the music and I listen to the words . . . and so forth . . . it should be no surprise that I’m a sprinter and he is a

a saguaro with my grandson Ian down below

marathoner.

Now, having listed what I “am” I can see that because of Kit — and You too, God — I HAVE become more responsible. There HAS been growth. It’s just too slow for me to see or notice. It reminds me of the quote: “Permanence is unobservable change.”

So, being here in Tucson — alone with just my oldest grandson — I have had a chance to gradually relax into slow. I am loving it. I feel as if I am giving myself a chance to unfold and expand into something a little bit more.

This afternoon as Ian and I went for a walk in Sabino Canyon I found myself wondering just how old the very tall saguaro cacti were. It turns out they can live to 150 and grow to 40–60 feet. Saguaros continue to grow in measurable ways. Human growth isn’t so easy to measure or notice. But, I am hoping, God, that with Your help, we can keep on growing, too.

Tagged with: changing, expanding, fast AND slow, growing, life, saguaro, Unfolding
Posted in compassion to care for myself, Expand my Heart, interspecies contact, lying fallow

Traveling . . . and Trusting

Posted on October 28, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Walking toward the Light — morning walk at Camp Mokuleia

Good Evening, God!

Ah, my suitcase is packed . . . I leave early Thursday . . . off this time without my wonderful husband, Kit. He has things to do at home. I will miss him, but I know he will be absorbed in training for the Honolulu Marathon in December. And I will have time with our daughters!

My stuff — which just got unpacked yesterday — is somewhat strewn about. Ah well. I may get everything all sorted out tomorrow — or maybe not. It’s only physical stuff. Meanwhile, the stuff inside me is more settled.

I was at our church’s annual Women’s Retreat this past weekend and I declared — after a fairly long period of wrestling with You, God — that I had settled in on trusting. That was true. And I was thankful. But, oh foolish me, God! Because it was not more than a day or two before another Concern rose up. I’m trying to give it to You, God, but worries are so sticky!

Of course, God. Life is designed to show us we need You and we need one another! Even though we worry, our lives are relatively safe and secure compared to other times and other places. We have so much to be thankful for! Yet, in the dead of night, worries circle.

I am learning to stop and take each fear to You. I want Your help in Releasing them. But, I also realize that there are Real Concerns that I need to seriously consider and pray over — pray for gifts of wisdom and gifts of knowledge. And, not just to pray by myself, but to speak my fears out loud — sharing them in prayers with others.

Fears seem to lose a lot of their power when we face them and name them. Sharing does seem to be part of the healing process.

Tagged with: praying, sharing, trust
Posted in connecting, fears, gratitude, Prayer, Praying together extemporaneously, Sharing, Trusting God

Sunrise in the East

Posted on October 7, 2014 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Sunrise — over Maine waters — going into Bar Harbor

Good Evening, God!

This was sunrise this morning. Tomorrow will be too busy for photos . . . or at least blogs . . . as we rise early and leave the ship. We are off for home via Portland, Maine, Chicago, and San Francisco. We are checked in and soon I go to print off our boarding passes.

For the last 20 days or so we have lived as the 1% . . . hm . . I fear that in the world as a whole we ARE the 1%. Scary!

The good news is that we rest upon a vast interconnected web of technology and cooperation. And, that’s the bad news, too. We depend upon cooperation . . . and mutual trust . . . hopefully, even, good will. And they require effort to maintain.

Going from small town to village to small town — I have seen the power of Community. The Power that comes from caring for the group and not just the self. These communities have survived disasters of all kinds — and rebuilt . . . reinvented themselves.

Those are actually two kinds of ability: 1) to endure and hold on 2) to re-evaluate and reinvent. They are difficult to combine . . . or is it coordinate?

The first can be called stubborness . . . or resilience . . . or loyalty. The second one — the ability to reassess and recreate might be seen as disloyalty or being a quitter . . .

Sigh. While we NEED both abilities — they tend to distrust and disrespect each other. Like the gifts of the Left Brain and the Right Brain . . . the question is How Well Do They Work Together.

In truth . . . I guess, God, that all Virtues are balanced by an Opposite Virtue. BALANCE is the Key . . . and the Great Challenge.

And it seems — in the ongoing struggles to Change — what works best is wrapping Change Up in the Cloak of GOING BACK to our ROOTS . . . our TRADITIONS . . . our PAST. So. God, we are going home. My prayer request is that ALL of ME will respect, each other and cooperate together. With Your Help, Please!

Tagged with: Balance, changing, communities, Hard Work, Loyalty, rebuilding, Reinventing, trust, Virtues
Posted in Balancing and adjustments, Caring, Changing, connecting, cooperation, Endurance

The joy and challenges of coming home

Posted on October 6, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Looking toward home

Good Morning, God!

HOME . . . we are docking in Maine today, God. And, while I have loved Canada, I am filled with joy at coming home. Yes, we have levels of Home . . . our country, our state, our community and our family . . . including our Family of Friends.

And, this morning, at breakfast on the ship we shared more fully with another couple — a new couple who had both lost children — and we gave them one of Patty’s books. New friends and a reminder that we are all Your Children.

Having our faces set toward the U.S.A. and home feels right. Our traveling has indeed tugged at me . . . stretched me . . . reminded me of several changes that I want to build into our daily lives. I say reminded because getting an idea from either my Head or my Heart — out into my feet and hands and daily life — requires Time and Focus and Grit.

I must embrace — not so much the ongoing failing but the importance of Getting Up — trying again and again.

How good it is, God, that You designed us to Get Back Up. Failing is just that first stage of Learning. And, as we watch our grandson tackle Multivariable Calculus — perhaps the first time learning has not come easily for him — I am reminded that Life is about Hard Work too.

It is Hard to fail and fall and flail around — and yet return to the fight. Of course, God. We also have to include periods of re-evaluation. We must come to You for redirection . . . as well as renewal. After all, to repent means to Turn Around.

Hmmm. To come before You and ask: Am I on the right path for me? That’s really hard. Please help me seek Your Help again and again!

Tagged with: challenges, embracing hard, getting back up, growing, Learning, periods of re-evaluation, seeking help, trying again
Posted in a series of molts and upgrades, accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my need for help, being a Slow Learner, Changing, Cherishing our Bodies, choices, choosing HARD, connecting

Changing directions — a Helpful Tug

Posted on October 5, 2014 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

A tugboat puling our ship around so it can leave the harbor in Halifax

Good Morning, God!

Oh my! Once again I am getting a lesson on the importance of BEING THERE. This is hard for my Mind to “remember” as my Mind still Dominates me . . . and my Mind treats my Body, Gut and Heart as Inferiors. Oh, foolish, foolish me.

Actually, God, Minds seem wired to judge others as inferiors. I see it in Class Conscious Cultures where “lower” classes or castes are seen as second or third class humans . . . and I am shaking my head. That misperception I can see.

My own failure to Value and Respect all parts of myself is taking me a very long time to see . . . and all of me is hollering to my Mind — “You STILL don’t understand!” True . . . but let me continue.

So,God, here we are —my wonderful husband Kit and I — at sea. We are on the Atlantic ocean going from Halifax, Nova Scotia, (a provence of Canada) to Eastport, Maine. Our seas are not that heavy. But, the crew has put covers over the dining room windows. And many of our shipmates are seasick.

Being here — AT SEA — has gotten the attention of ALL of ME. The waves, even more than the Halifax museum’s displays of famous shipwrecks, is making me AWARE of the power of the sea. The power of Mother Nature. The power of the elemental FORCES of Nature. We are in Your Hands, God!

Sigh. We are ALWAY in Your Hands. But, my Mind turns away from that fact. . . my Mind turns away from anything that might shake its sense of superiority or independence. I’m smiling, God — smiling ruefully. I’m AWARE of my Mind’s determined desire to lock out anything and anyone that would challenge its “superiority and dominance.”

Yes, God, I am aware. But, am I CHANGING? Ah, to do that I must connect myself to You — throughPrayer and Worship — to You, the Loving Tugboat!

Tagged with: asking for help, awareness, changing, Connecting, help, Prayer, The Helper
Posted in a matter of scale, acknowledging my need for prayer, Centering Prayer, Changing, connecting, Humility or Needing Help!, Possibilities, Prayer

It’s the STORY, Stupid

Posted on October 3, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Geraniums in the window of Anne of Green Gables “home”

Good Morning, God!

And a lovely morning it is, too! I am thankful. Thankful to be here on Planet Earth . . . now. What with history giving me a View back — and Science and Science Fiction giving me Views forward — I stand in the Present.

Just this morning I was recounting how a speaker to a convention of Science Fiction writers was exhorting them to imagine more positive futures! Sigh. It is so EASY to imagine dire and disastrous futures . . .

But, yesterday as we toured the “home” of Anne of Green Gables (a 1908 creation of Lucy Maud Montgomery) I was reminded of the POWER of STORY.

The book written primarily for little girls — has maintained a hold on people even to this day. Girls in Japan start saving money to pay for a pilgrimage to Green Gables on Prince Edward Island, Canada. They and many others arrive just to see the PLACE where the STORY took place. We were among them and felt the power.

Interestingly, the government of Canada had a hard time grasping the power and importance of fictional historic sites. But, finally Green Gables is part of the park system.

Of course, God, the Canadian government is not alone in failing to grasp the power of story. I think it was George Sorrel who said that what matters in history is not what happened — but what people think happened.

So, God, You have given us the Best of Stories . . . one of forgiveness and redemption and love.

We, of course, have given it twists and turns and missed the point . . . STILL, it remains. Full of Power. Full of Love. Waiting for us to be embraced by it.

Thank You!

Tagged with: forgiveness, Love, Redemption, Story Power
Posted in Books, Forgiven!, growing toward up, Help me to see, hope, LOVE

Traveling in Time and Space

Posted on September 29, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Inside a Repurposed Church in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Canada

Good Evening, God,

Generally, I find the repurposing of churches rather sad. Ah, but this church has been put to such a glorious purpose that I cannot be anything but glad.

The morning’s outing from our cruise ship was entitled “Garden of the Glaciers” . . . done in this old church. I almost didn’t go. But is was a fabulous immersive media presentation . . . in which folks in front got misted, as in slightly damp.

It was created by XYZ Cultural Technology out of Montreal. Very Impressive! It began with a view of Quebec as it might be viewed from the International Space Station. Our group of 30 or so, after descending in an oversized elevator — acting as a sort of Time Machine — emerged into darkened space. Then dazzling special effects took us back to the time when the glaciers were at their maximum. Actually, they only went to the maximum of THIS ice age (#5 I think).

They showed the extent of the glaciers and how the land bridges between Asia and the Americas was opened by the drop in ocean levels. Then they moved us forward — showing the retreat of the glaciers over the last 12,000 years.

But then they moved FAR FORWARD in time and flashing the word DANGER they showed what the continuing melting of the glaciers would mean in a rise of sea level.

The compete melting of the glaciers would mean a rise of 70 some meters . . . 210 feet . . . UNIMAGINABLE!

All of this was overwhelming. This, God, is information we do not want to receive or retain . . . not at all.

Still, it did make me wonder if my brother would be willing to share some of his 20 acres at 2,300 feet in the Sierras.

Ah, but that is NOT planning. . . I suspect, God, that You have given us the capacity to plan. But the timeline is so uncertain. So most of us say . . . oh well . . .NOT in MY lifetime! Still, I hope someone . . . somewhere — is planning.

Tagged with: ice ages, melting glaciers, planning, rising seas, time
Posted in accepting my ability to REDESIGN, accepting my need for help, adjusting, connecting

Resisting Hopelessness

Posted on September 23, 2014 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A Serious Dog — Responsible to the Max

Good Evening, God!

This was ME the other night! Kit and I had watched 60 minutes and I was overwhelmed by the horrifying events stirred by ISIS in the Middle East. Oh, God! I was overcome with Worry and Fear and Visions of what could lie ahead.

It was way too much for me to handle. Way too much. I did pray . . . but, as You know, it is hard for me to trust. I was like this dog. Alert! Watching! Protective. Still, sigh, only a dog and a small one at that.

I can understand how it is that most of us throw up our hands and sink into hopelessness . . . I was in the Depth of Despair . . . but then my wonderful husband woke up and comforted me.

Yes, we are small. But I feel so clearly that we are called to ask You to show us what we CAN do. We can start by giving money. The American Friends Service Committee, for one, does very good work.

And surely I must PRAY for those who are doing such horrific things. I am asking You to help me do that because it’s HARD!

And please show me what else I can do . . .

Hmm. You have told us in many ways and at many times what we can do . . . and You have told us what NOT to do. Please help us remember and follow.

Tagged with: actions, dispair, doing something, helping, Hopelessness, hoping, resisting
Posted in a prayer for healing, becoming the change I wish to see, caring for the widows and orphans, complexity, connecting, Expand my Heart

Wow! I’m HERE, NOW!

Posted on September 10, 2014 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Missing Microbes by Martin Blaser M.D.

Good Afternoon, God

I confess, I started out today — or maybe it was yesterday — really angry at You. Partly it was because of the horror of ISIS actions — atrocities in the Middle East — and partly it was frustration at how we humans are seemingly unable to take a step forward without a few steps back.

For example, information in the book Missing Microbes was horrifying. Yes, we NEED antibiotics. But, we are now learning that even one dose can change a child’s microbiome — and make a child fatter, more susceptible to allergies, asthma, GERD, IBS, and on and on. YIKES!

But an hour this morning with June, my spiritual director, helped. Sigh. It was a long exercise of continuing humiliation. I realized that I am only lacking opportunity — that my drive to FIX things and make a “better world” could be subverted — just as I feel has happened to humans over and over again. History offers a painful look at our species. As St. Paul said so many years ago: All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

Yet You LOVE us. You love ALL of us. And so I gathered up my shattered sorrowing self and sat in Your Love. I cannot fix me. I cannot fix anyone or anything. But, I can come humbly into Your Presence and ask You to put me back together — bit by bit. Thank You!

Then, this afternoon I was reading an article in Discover Magazine and learned our brain has 85 billion neural cells, 150 trillion synapses and an almost infinite number of ways of combining synapses. As the article said, “Possibilities are always wildly, insanely greater than the number of things around us.”

And, all of a sudden, HOPE returned. And I felt how incredibly wonderful it is to be a human — here now — as we are. Wow! Thank You, again!