Being whole....

That involves a whole whack of stuff, doesn't it.  We are unique and intricate and there are so many sides to life as a human being.

We are physical beings that need sustenance...water and food...probably some kind of shelter, but without water and food we shrivel up and die.  Our bodies are made to be sustained...like every other living being.


Then too, we are emotional beings.  We grow up needing care of our emotions.  We need to be nurtured and loved and held and encouraged in who we are as people, from the tiniest of babies to we who are old folk and everything in between.  Our emotions involve so many other things too, like how to handle life when these things are not given to us, especially as children.  How do we handle a crisis or a great disappointment even a death.  The things we have been given to help in our emotional state as children do us well when we face real life and the ability to deal with all we go through.

We have a spiritual life too.  Some of us acknowledge that there is something else beyond all we know as human beings, something in another realm.  We commonly call it the realm of the spirit...invisible yet real.  It's how we seem to connect with God...on that spiritual level.  We at times connect with others on this level as well, when we seem to "know" the other person in deep, personal ways.  We don't always understand how this happens, but it does.  We find ourselves desiring to reach out to the Divine in various ways.  In many of the great religions of the world, people close their eyes in prayer and meditation, or they raise their hands and arms upward in praise or bow down low as a sign of acknowledging God or as a sign of repentance.

Being whole is so much more than this but those are some of the things that make us whole, as human beings.

When son came home this weekend, I was reminded again of how our physical bodies take on the role of seeking the Divine, of the importance of keeping our bodies in good shape so that we are able to appreciate these bodies as gifts from God.  There is so much we can do with them....for the good.  Both our children and granddaughter have a very good sense about caring for their bodies...something I could learn!  They eat healthily and they exercise regularly....and it shows!  They inspire me.

Each morning while he was here, Matt took to the river bank, following an hour of meditation.  He used his body to acknowledge God's presence and to give it a good stretching workout.  Shannon and Brittney go to Yoga classes too and enjoy what it does for them.  I happened to look out the laundry room window and this is what I saw each morning....before his shower and breakfast.....

The riverbank is a beautiful spot to see creation all around you and to let God know how thankful you are to be alive....and whole!

Cat nap...

Shoot.  I fell asleep watching TV a little while ago!  I don't normally do that.

I probably won't be able to sleep tonight...properly!!

Today consisted of a morning breakfast out with children, running errands, putting up my plant hangers and doing laundry and ironing for two hours!  I managed to get in a few rays while reading my book, too.  Perhaps I stayed in the sun tooooo long...hence my sleepiness.

And it's supposed to freeze tonight.  Gotta' run and bring those little babies in the house or they'll freeze their little pistols off.

Hope son and all his unmarried guy friends have a great time at Rob and Courtney's wedding.  Who knows.  This just might at least get them thinking along these lines!!!  We can only hope.....:)

And a good night to you out there in cyberspace.  If you're not doing anything in the morning, why don't you come along to church....10 a.m.  15th and 15th East.  You may find it even more inspiring than this blog!:)

Guests for the summer....

We shall have two guests for the entire summer.  I really don't mind as they won't be much bother.  Both of them are really outdoor enthusiasts so they shall be out enjoying the sun and enjoying a Prince Albert summer.  I really hope the weather does cooperate for them too.  It's supposed to be above average, temperature wise, so I know they will enjoy that....as will I!

But what do you do with guests...especially in an apartment like ours.  I mean, it's not overly large but they indicated they wouldn't care about a room, as long as they can just hang out.  One even suggested they could sleep on the balcony as they're used to being outside most of the time.  We laughed at that but if son comes home at some point, they may well be sleeping on the balcony!  They didn't seem to care either when I said that the crows start pretty early around here and the mornings do get somewhat chilly.  They were not deterred!

They're water drinkers too...naturally, being outdoorsy and all, and I said that they'd fit right into our family.  Our kids and granddaughter drink water constantly....as do Ken and I.  We stocked up just today.  They asked if we saved rain water, as it is so nice to wash and keep clean in and I told them that we really don't have a place to store it, let alone collect it but they said they might try and do that anyway.

I guess all we can do is treat them like part of the family and make them feel very much at home.  Perhaps we shall bring them with us to the lake, not sure.  I do think they would enjoy that but we shall have to see. I took pictures of them when they came today of them sitting on our balcony.  They may just sleep there after all!!!

 

Come to think of it, I don't think we'll take them to Waskesiu...the last guests we took up there were eaten by deer.

Fixed...

Looks like Blogger is up and running again!  First time I haven't been able to post anything due to their problem.  I guess a virus got into an announcement they were making on their Blogger Website and everything went to pieces....temporarily.  Scary stuff!

Now to wait for son to arrive sometime this evening.  Then he has a wedding in Saskatoon tomorrow so we may see him for a short time tomorrow night...then Sunday morning he's back on the road to Winnipeg once more.

Short visits are better than no visits!

May God protect them on their journey...and may Rob and his fiancee have a beautiful wedding tomorrow.  The weather shall cooperate, so the weatherman sayeth!

The two Amy(ie)s.....

Kind of like the Three Amigos, minus one.

Two good friends of ours (couples), who no longer live here, whose eldest children are daughters, whose names are Amy and Amie, just gave birth within two days...to daughters.  Our friends became grandparents with their first grandchild the same week.  I don't think that would happen too terribly often. Also, another couple who pastored our church here a couple years back became grandparents for the first time when their eldest daughter had a daughter in late February.  Uncanny!

Not sure what all those girls are about but it may be time to get crackin' on producing some sons....all you gals of child-bearing age!  (hint...hint...hint to 'you know who':)

Just good news all around.

Getting back to that sermon on Sunday, where Pastor Stacia spoke on being 'cut to the heart', I was reading in my book I've been plugging through for who knows how long entitled "The Heart of Christianity" by Marcus Borg, where he speaks of that very thing.  He speaks of it as being a 'thin place'...a place where soul and spirit meet, where God becomes real, where we know he is present, where we see in nature and people the part of them that is good and God-like and spiritual.  I have been to those 'thin places' many times in my life, some more intense than others but as I go about my day, I can see God everywhere, in everything, in places and people and experiences.  Those times are difficult to explain but there is a sense of fullness, of sacredness, of being able to see with new eyes and hear with new ears.  It's a time when I feel most human and when God is within me, breathing in and breathing out, looking out of my eyes and hearing with my ears...his presence intertwined with my being.  I love those 'thin places'.  I grow in those times, grow and change and become more responsible and grown-up in my faith.  If we are to live a Christian-centered life, then those times are vital.  We cannot keep on being Christians without some sense of becoming better people, and being more in tune with what Jesus set out for us to accomplish.  One major task is being watchful for social injustice and doing what we can to make it right.  It may be voting a particular way or becoming involved in organizations that attempt to make a way for the poor, or seeing that everyone is physically cared for when they are ill.  We must be watchful when governments begin to become greedy and insensitive and power-hungry, making the poor get poorer and the rich....get richer and more powerful.

We need to be about the business of love....loving...those who are marginalized, unlovely and who do not have a sense of pride in themselves.  Jesus said we are to be about the business of loving our neighbor.  Not sure how I shall do this, but I know when I get to that 'thin place', I will find a way.

Sleep well, my friends.

Walk like Long John Silver....

I'm beginning to think I will never walk properly again.  Of course, I'm just running out of patience.  I want this knee to be rid of the pain and I want to walk without limping and without a cane and I want to go up and down stairs like I used to and to be able to crouch down and sit for a time without putting my leg up.

That is what I want.

What I NEED may be totally different.

Funny how that goes.  We think what we want IS what we need.  So often we are mistaken.

So, I am beginning to fashion my thoughts around folks who walk with a limp and who use a cane to carry some of the load.  Suppose I could get a fancy cane, all shiny and new and slim and fashionable.  But the one I use was my grandmothers and was passed on to my father who used it when he was recuperating from his heart surgery.  Now I have it.  It's wooden with a big rubber end on it to keep me from falling...not pretty at all, but I remember grandma using it always and dad too.  The old wooden cane did them well....and so, it will for me also.  These days, Long John Silver has my sympathy. Arrrrrrrrrrrgh matey!!!

We visited a bit with brothers-in-law and a sister-in-law today.  She announced she is now 80 and couldn't believe it herself!  She has lost over 100 pounds since I saw her last year and dementia has set in but we chatted and I attempted to help her in our conversation to remember people and words when she struggled hard to find the right ones.  I sensed her frustration.

Life continues on and I continue to be thankful at the end of each day that I am not worse off than I am.  So many folks are suffering badly.  How could I even complain!

And my lilies continue to bloom....the last one today.  The roses and carnations too....

So much to enjoy....so little time....:)

Footwork in old movies....

I think one of the reasons I love silver screen movies is because I love the movies that have dancers....lots and lots of dancers.  Busby Berkeley movies in particular are always a favorite.  He choreographed many movies  from "A Connecticut Yankee" in 1929 to "No, No Nanette" in 1971.  A long career.  He made famous the chorus line of beautiful men and women usually tap dancing in kaleidoscopic form throughout the movie.  I have always loved tap dancing!  I used to tap when I was a child.  I loved making the shiny, black shoes click and shuffle on the wooden floors at home.  But our family was not affluent and with only one income, it became necessary to 'quit show business'.  I continued to watch shows on TV that had chorus dancers though - Perry Como, Ed Sullivan, Frank Sinatra Specials, etc. etc.  Such good stuff!!!

Then there are 'old movies' with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Jane Powell, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Jimmy Cagney, Eleanor Powell, and in the '50's.... Leslie Caron, Gene Kelly and Doris Day.  All superb talent!

So it does not surprise me that I continue to love the tap dancers of today - Riverdance in particular.  Their choreography and foot movements are unbelievable to watch....and so very rooted in the Celtic dance form. I watched particularly the height of their standing jumps and the amount of footwork in one single jump.  The hours and years of practice would be unimaginable.  It is one profession I admire greatly.

Not sure what 'heaven' will be like, but perhaps I could learn some fancy footwork when I get to wherever 'heaven' is...and by then I hope my knee will be good to go!  I think everyone must dance in heaven....in fact, I'm counting on it!  Seems like God put rhythm into our being, just so we could enjoy the dance.....

Even geese have pretty good foot work!