When Grandma Flew Home

The night sky was crystal clear, the morning she flew home. The finger prints of God stamped all over the heavens. The comet's heavenly trail displayed His handiwork. But bound to lower plains, the mourning doves cooed softly. They did not mourn, but heralded the presence of the Spirit. At their coos, the noisy crows flew away. No more chaos. No more pain.

I sit and see pavers, etched with the word peace, lining her path to heaven. A peace pathway laid by prayer and His presence. Her journey to peace guided by the one true Peacemaker. But first, family cheered for her, just as she had cheered for them on our earthly plains.

And little ones, learning it was time for her to leave, joined praying hands, after a day of water and laughter, and asked Jesus to share their love with her. “Meet her at your gate Jesus. Tell her how much we love her. Please thank her for all she did for us. Thank her for loving us.” He heard them and as the doves coo, I hear, "I told her. She knows little ones.” She was greeted at the gate with words of love and grace. Truly, she met Grace and Love at the gate.

That evening, the boy sees yellow foiled chocolate chicks and starts to say, "Grandma would love..." but he pauses. He knows grandma is in the land in between. He's unsure. Can she like earthly things anymore since she's heavenly bound? No longer with us, she's back in the fertile crescent, the land in between the waters, where dust came alive and she's becoming alive again. I finish his thought for him, "Yes, you are right. Grandma would love these chocolate chicks, she really would." Big smiles all around. Cause we know she really would love them. She delights in chocolate chicks and her children, grandchildren, and great-grands too!

She always delighted in you. She who sent Easter cards and saved Easter stickers. She always remembered you. She added color and love to our lives. She was not perfect, but she had time and an encouraging word for all who would listen. She weathered many troubles in her life and yet her face was so unlined. She gave her troubles to God. She folded her hands together and she made Jesus her stronghold. Psalm 46 was her favorite passage. Her Bible was always near and her Jesus never far. He now holds her hand. This Easter season, she is rising with her Lord.

Why It's Hard to Get to Mars

 The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

Did the stars align or was God having a whole lot of fun tonight? I think both. He knows what He's doing with the stars and us, and He sure knows how to have a good time.

We had a Mars adventure tonight and here's how it began: Last week, brother had the privilege of author Liz Rusch coming to talk at his school. We had the option of buying her books ahead of time through pre-order, but you know us, we'd already read many of them by the time she arrived, thanks to our local library. So we passed on purchasing and simply enjoyed her visit and an after-school writing class she offered.

Saturday arrived and we made a trip to OSU. While on campus, I saw a flyer for a campus visit by Dr. Stan Love of STS 122. We just had to go! I talked to the kids and they were game. And then I started wishing we had a Mighty Mars Rover book for Dr. Love to sign. Ack! All the local sellers in the area were out of copies. Liz was awesome about making two books available, and we went and made a memory.

His one hour presentation about the difficulty of getting "men" to Mars was fascinating. Great slides and a good sense of humor made the information accessible. Especially, for those of us with earth bound bums lacking boosters beneath our britches. 

His figures about fuel, Mars, mph, and transit orbits were staggering. Further, I might actually be able to dialogue about it next week! Or, maybe even in 8.2 months, which is how long it would take to get a team of astronauts to Mars, then there's the return home. Psychologists are convinced six astronauts might be able to handle a 32 month Mars mission without killing each other. Two didn't fair so welling in testing, but they did make it out alive. I can't imagine 32 months in mini-van sized Mars messenger machine. (The moon takes 3 days with a rocket under you rear :-)

One of many funny points: The kids loved learning about recycling on the ISS. As Dr Love shared, "Today's coffee is being recycled to become tomorrow's coffee on the ISS." (Don't think to hard about that or you might never drink coffee again.)

 

Liz was also sweet to sign our books. She wrote in brother's, "Follow your dreams-you never know how far they will take you!"

Coming home the night sky was crystal clear. Tomorrow may be rain and clouds, but tonight was clear and cool, very cool.

I'll head back to my quiet place now :-)

Lenten Listening

As fresh blooms begin to push their way up from the earth, we seek stillness. We are hard at work on our Lenten listening. Around here, listening is hard work and requires a lot of effort. We are asking God to help us fast words and to listen well in those newly opened spaces. 

It's been hard to lay down words. Words, we so often use to defend, interrupt, or explain our position. However, I'm excited about what we see happening in our lives. God is encouraging us with new ideas and much more peace in our abode. 

We take heavenly and holy Lenten words and pray to have the courage to live them out in our lives.

~

The finest thing we can do in life is to grow a soul 

and then use it in the service of humankind. 

Mary Pipher 

I'm taking a blogging  break. God willing, I'll be back around Easter.  Blessings to you this Lenten season.

Words Wandering in the World

I like to think of the blog as my giant bookmark in the world. 

Reading this week:

Sticks and Stones (Bullying)

 

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children. 

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Manifesto of Motherhood and Feminism

I had to cast a bigger vision for my daughter, than what was cast for me.

Whatever You Do, Don't Let Them Take Your Faith

Happy President's Day

Here's sister and I, on our DC trip a few years back. The kids were so little and we were crazy to take them sooo young, but we did have fun!

It was drippy wet the whole time. They were troopers...

I had all kinds of ideas for Lincoln's Birthday and President's Day but sickness derailed our best intentions. We did read a lot of books. On Abe's birthday, brother read us the Gettysburg Address and we talked about its' significance. I don't remember all our discussion, but we covered what was happening at that time in history, the Civil War, and why Lincoln's words still matter today for our nation.

Until, they were not!

After the Lincoln Memorial, we walked to The Air and Space Museum. Arriving sopping wet, I locked the kids and I in the family restroom, undressed them and promptly blew dry all their clothing in the super sonic dryer. An attendant finally let herself in to check on us. I didn't care; we were finally dry! We then promptly paid $48 for four hamburgers, 4 fries and 4 cokes at the McDonald's in The Air and Space Museum. Never again. Yet, it felt like money well spent at the time!

The Gettyburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ~ President Abraham Lincoln

 President Books

Lincoln Tells a Joke

My Best Friend, Abe Lincoln

Buttons for General Washington

Lincoln and His Boys

Who Was George Washington?

George Washington's Spy

Abraham Lincoln Comes Home

Looking at Lincoln

Presidents by Fandex

Sister has also enjoyed First Ladies this year. 

Classical Conversations Fun

 The kids have been working hard on the President's song this year. I had to prompt them at Garfield, but otherwise they did it on their own!  However, I cannot figure out how to get Blogger to find the Youtube we created, so here's a link:

Watch us sing our President's Song

Sister has also been enjoying a great unit on Oregon Government at school. We will revisit the topic of our government and leaders this summer in the weeks leading up to the 4th of July.

I am looking forward to picking up these two products for summer work at home. I love how this copy work includes essential information and art.

Classical Conversations Prescripts American Document Writing

Sample Pages American Document Writing

Classical Conversations Prescripts Sentences

Sample Pages Medieval to Modern Sentences

George Washington's Church, and I think pew at Christ Church, Alexandria, VA

Happy President's Day to you!

Easter for the Undecided?

The Reason for God (at Amazon)

From Amazon:

Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics and non-believers bring to religion. Using literature, philosophy, anthropology, pop culture, and intellectual reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand against the backlash toward religion spawned by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.

The remarkable New York Times bestseller by the "C.S. Lewis for the 21st century" (Newsweek).

I read this book last year and highly recommend it.  Timothy Keller is both intelligent and inspiring. He desires his voice represent his Lord. Your local library will have this book on hand. No need to buy it.

Lent in the Land of the Living

Image from www.stainedglassinc.com/

Lent is for those in the land of the living, to remember there is a living hope, among us.

Ash Wednesday has come and gone and we are sick and not very into Lent. It's hard to tell if we are grasping a spirit of repentance. Who's thinking of repentance? We just want to lay our weary heads back to rest. Valentines is here, pushing back February blues, and little boy hangs a sign to wake, and "remember it is Valentines!" Today, we will do our best to embrace, give, and receive love, but will it be a Lenten Love?

We have devotions and talk about how to take earthly distractions out of our lives to make space for heavenly gifts, but mostly we just want to sleep off sickness. We pray, "Let us begin Lent in a posture of listening, not listless indifference."

And all around me, like buds pushing their way up in early spring air, I see Lent blooming in lives as they go about daily living. Lenten people who shine Jesus, no matter the pain they are facing in our imperfect world. They serve healing in the form of food, both for the body and the spirit. Emergen-C for the inner and outer man. They seek to serve up wholeness. They feed all God's children, not just a select few. They feed their Lord. Because being sent out is as simple as serving a cup of water.

I used to think these Lenten people were glass is "half full" people, but now I know they are people who lean into their Lord. They are lenten listeners, leaning into a grace and abundance that has no limit. Leaning into Lent is living daily dependent on the Lord. Choosing to listen for my Lord in a land of loud voices. Choosing to create space for Him, when everything around me says, "create space for yourself."

And Sarah Bessey writes about Lent and a drop of water and I get it. Water. Living, giving water. We drink spring water and every drop of water we drink is pure grace. And we have drunk from the spring of bitter water and the spring of sweet water. There is a difference. He alone makes water sweet. He's knows the taste of bitter water and He still swallows it anyway. Am I willing to swallow what is bitter and trust His sacrifice to make it sweet?

In Oregon, we have liquid sunshine and we drink it up, drop by drop. In Lent, we have the opportunity to listen to our Lord, and drink Him up, drop by drop. Every drop we receive has the potential to brim up, over and out, and overflow into our thirsty land. Living water. Sweet water.

We will be praying about where to give a cup of water in the world this Lent, both locally and globally. Who do you need to give a cup of love to this Lent, or maybe just a cup of water?

And the little boy awakes and remembers it is Valentine's.