Lover

About four years ago, I stuck a yellow post-it note on my white kitchen cupboard that read (in red ink), "Everyone, remember to love." It was meant as a reminder for my kids and myself. A lover is someone who is an affectionate and benevolent friend while a hater feels extreme enmity toward something or someone. Granted, sometimes enmity is warranted, but overall a love or graciousness toward others opens up friendship and opportunity. I believe it also heals us. We all have wounds or hurts. We all have an understanding of life that varies depending on our experiences and understanding. Still, I choose to be a lover.

As I prepare to leave those I love, I am cognizant that love travels wherever you go. So I will take it with me, but I ask that you, my friends and family, keep loving each other. Be a friend to those who need it.

Happy Birthday, Josiah!

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)


i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you



here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart


i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e e cummings

Happy quarter century, my son.

Explorer

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
T.S. Eliot "Little Gidding"


Africa calls me back. I want to dance and sing! This time my celebration will be tempered with mourning, not because I grieve the journey, but because I will see the face of sorrow. This face is the child who lost both parents to AIDS, the face of the woman dying without medication. These faces demand dignity and hope.

I have a new job. It will be to support an organization who knows this child and this woman and hasn't passed them by. I am humbled and ready. Until next year at this time, I will be preparing from a distance. Then Mozambique, here I come to join in the process of restoration already unfolding.

Iz NOT Fun-neey!

Ten Random Thoughts About Our Family Vacation:

#1 It's not a good thing to smile at the Policija!

#2 The gelato in Croatia is as good as it gets.

#3 All mountaintop towns and coastal islands are eerily deserted except for the ever present town dog and town cat.

#4 Polka music is alive and well!

#5 The game, Rich man/Poor man, mimics life. So unfair!

#6 Muesli and yogurt are the breakfast of champions.

#7 My nephew, Austin, is a great sport on vacation with a bunch of "old" people.

#8 FKK means clothes optional beach. It was too cold for anyone to try this out.

#9 We have lots of leaders in our family. Good thing most of the decisions were already made for us.

#10 My brother, Dan, mimics "The Scream."

Extra #11 Thanks, Dad, for another fun adventure!

Unpruned and Dormant

I've been doing some more housesitting in Martha's vineyard. This time of year, the vines are dormant, but in need of pruning. I find a great similarity between the vines and my own life. I am in a waiting period...waiting for a public health job, waiting for a relationship, waiting for my children to be self-sufficient, waiting on the Lord. I'm not always so good at waiting. It helps me to see nature imitating life. Not always are we moving forward, sometimes we are resting and replenenshing for the next spurt of growth. Have I ever told you Spring is my favorite season?! Bring on the growth...it's coming, and I will share with you as it unfolds. However, the pruning part might have to come first. I hope it doesn't hurt too much.

I'm Proud to be an American (African)!

“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility.” President Barack Obama

What do those words mean to you?

I realize former U.S. Presidents took the responsibility of their job seriously, but in my lifetime I can’t remember a president evoking so much unity in our people. So how are things different today? There are ramifications for our world both near and far.

What do these words mean for a white, middle-aged woman? They mean that I do not give up my dreams to work among the poor and vulnerable and that my hopes for my children, my country and the world are not in vain. They mean that my county, not of my birth, but of my citizenship, will help me shoulder this responsibility. God bless America.

I'm Dreaming of a (Fill in the Blank) Christmas

Dreaming of a WHITE Christmas? It may not stick around that long, but look at the bounty of snow we have floating down in my yard! My kids are stranded at their cousins' house so I entertained myself by playing fetch with Jasmine and Bunter in the yard. Curiously enough, they love the snow. It may remind them of plowing through the waves at the ocean, another favorite pastime.







Dreaming of a PEACEFUL Christmas? For many this is a stressful time of year with broken relationships, bills piling up, and little hope in their lives. Our Christmas will be very simple this year, but also peaceful. I am reminded that Jesus was foretold as the Prince of Peace in Isaiah.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Even though Jesus was probably really not born in December, Christmas is a time to be reminded of his birth and teachings. My favorite Christmas song of all time is O Holy Night declaring Jesus' birth. Here's Jewel doing a pretty good version of it:



If you need more...there's a great gospel version of O Holy Night done by Mariah Carey.

So whether you be friend or stranger, may you experience a lasting joy and peace this Christmas. I'll be thinking of you as I romp in the snow.

Not to be redundant or anything, but...