Lenten Experiment - Day 18 (Thoughts on Springing Forward)

What would Spring time be without a reminder of longer, sun-filled days, green shoots and buds-a-blooming?

Tonight when we go to sleep and try to slumber, our internal chronometers will hardly realize what's happening. Then suddenly we will wake up tomorrow and 8 a.m. will reallly be 9 a.m. "Spring Forward" it's called. Or for the scientists among us, it is Daylight Savings Time.

What are we really saving though? Daylight? Time? Electricity? Personally I don't look forward to losing an hour's sleep right now. I much prefer the extra rest that comes in the Fall as we move our clocks backward.

But Spring is nearly here--there's no stopping it, despite the fact that it isn't truly official until March 21. However, this year Spring has been with us most of the Winter as well. This week's forecast here in Kansas calls for highs in the 80s. Unbelievable for mid-March. I can remember many a March when snow still covered the ground and icy winds blew across the prairie hills. Craziness!

But, then I enjoy a little craziness now and then - it keeps life interesting. So, with that said I guess I had better quit being crazy and get to bed now that it's really 1:23 a.m., not 12:23 a.m. like my computer's clock is trying to tell me.

Oh, and I almost forgot - enjoy the extra light tomorrow - it should raise your spirits. I know it will mine.

Lenten Experiment - Day 17 (The Refreshment of Friends)

This week, I tortured myself once again with several late night and one all-nighter in the continuous pursuit of 1) sticking with my Lenten commitment to write each day and 2) fortifying my eBay store with new treasures to sell.

Thankfully I truly enjoy both these pursuits so don't feel sorry for me. :-)

So, with all that said, it's why I'm lagging behind in my writing because last night I just couldn't keep my sleepy eyes open long enough to write. I'm really not at my best when I'm overly tired. I went to bed at 9:30pm and slept until 8:00am this morning. Guess I needed some refreshment.

Even more refreshment came in the form of friendship last night as well. And I'm so very grateful for our dear friends Donna and Craig. We have walked beside them since our college days and while we rarely see them only upon occasion because they live two hours away, they are always there with us in our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers.

That's who true friends are - they are very precious and many times words simply cannot describe how deeply they touch our lives. "A friend loves at all times . . ." (Proverbs 17:17)

As we were sitting at Olive Garden last night talking, I realized how quickly time passes. Dinner was over in just a couple of hours and those moments can never be recaptured. While we relive the joyful times we spend with friends and they give us comfort later, it's so important to reach out and continually seek new opportunities to love. For a friend loves at all times . . . through the joy and the tears, through times of sorrow and across the miles that separate us.

Lenten Experiment - Day 16 (Reaffirm Your Love)

Our couples' Bible study is currently studying the second letter to the Corinthians from Paul. Tonight was the second session--we missed the first night.

What a refreshing evening of engaging conversation, encouragement, and challenge. I'm so thankful to learn from a group of humble, experienced believers. Several of us share commonalities of where we came from spiritually and that brings thoughtfulness and understanding to the mix.

The chapter heading of 2 Corinthians chapter 2 is "Reaffirm Your Love." It begins with Paul sharing his determination to refrain from causing sorrow to his fellow believers, instead praying that they would know his special love for them. He further acknowledges that sorrow can affect a whole body of believers - how I've seen that in action in my past life. Sorrow can tear us apart.

Instead put on love--the perfect bond of unity.

"And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." (1 John 4:16)

Lenten Experiment - Day 15 (An Irrisistible Glow)

Night before last when I got home from work I went through my nightly ritual of letting the three dachshund girls outside to roam a bit and "take care of business." On those days when they endure a full day locked in their "jail," they are full of energy and an unstoppable need for adventure.

Unfortunately for me, at the end of my work day when I'm wanting to wind down they are ready to wind up. All the more reason to open that outer door to freedom for them. And, all three welcome that freedom with full abandon, running as fast as those four-inch long legs can carry them. I've always been amazed at how fast they bound across the fields.

And, this most recent night as darkness settled onto the prairie, I began to worry about their whereabouts. The youngest one, mischief-maker Suubi, for some reason never ventures off with the older two. Strange, she is always the one to stay close to the homestead and this night was no exception. I had already let her back in at the kitchen door.

The other two seem to know they have 80 acres of wilderness in which to frolic. So, dinner was put on the back burner--literally--and I changed into some sweats to begin my search.

These dusk excursions have become commonplace with my two half-sister hooligans--Cocoa & D.K. Each time it occurs again I'm reminded of one search that ended very badly for little D.K. just two years ago. You see she was attacked by a coyote near dusk and lay at the bottom of a boggy stream in freezing temperatures. Poor little one - God saw fit to save her life that night and it has always reminded me how God loves even 10-pound long-haired black & tan dachshunds who stray too far from home.

As I set off with my flashlight, calling their names, it struck me how the Father must feel when I wander from His loving arms. He carries the Light of His Word and diligently calls my name, all the while hoping I will give up my wayward ways and follow Him home. That Light--the Light of the World--beckons and reaches across the darkness with an irresistible glow.

My little four-legged girls were safe that night. They finally responded to my calls but it took effort on my part to seek them out, just as the Father pursues us with His powerful light of truth. It's up to me to be obedient, to respond and to follow, just like Cocoa and D.K.

Lenten Experiment - Day 14

Every morning on my way to work I drive cross-country through the Kansas Flint Hills, rounding checkerboard fields ripe for Spring planting, past limestone homesteads, and following the meandering Kansas River for a short time. Cattle ranches linger and chickens peck peck peck in the dirt. Abandoned rusty cars litter the landscape contrasting with newer hill-top homes which strain to reach the sky. I see many of the same familiar cars passing me each day on their way into Manhattan, as I leave it for my job 30 minutes west.

It's a dichotomy drive--old & new; dilapidated and fresh buildings; tender green grasses fighting out of the deadness of winter; rolling hills surrounding deep scarred valleys.

And, if you know me well, you know that my eye tends to capture the rustic, the old and hold them in my imagination. I guess that's what brought me face-to-face with the old house pictured here that seemed to have collapsed in upon itself. Textures and colors and lines askew create a web of intrique amidst wooden sentries guarding a windswept prairie home.

Behind the house a ramshackle barn mirrors its partner. What manner of disaster had fallen upon this home, this farm, this family? A tornado? Old age, perhaps? What story does it whisper to its passersby? So many each day speed by without even a glance through the grove to the turquoise roof standing end on end.

What do they miss in their hurry? What do any of us miss in our haste each day? Opportunities to learn, to explore, to see beyond our harried world?

What will it take to slow down?

Lenten Experiment - Day 13 (Blooms Eternal)

Well, to the outside reader, today's entry might appear a bit strange, maybe even intrusive into my daughter's life. However, it was her idea and since I was once again struggling with what to write, I'm going to take her idea and run with it. Let's all just hope she doesn't regret her suggestion later. . .

July 1 is her birthday and last summer she turned 19. For months before her birthday she made comments about all the potted orchids we saw at the local grocery store. They came in a a variety of pretty colors - white with purple spots, mauves, yellows. Their delicate blooms teetered on splindly green branches and she was entranced with their beauty and simplicity. I determined that one of those graceful beauties would brighten her birthday celebration.

Who would have thunk that her young man would also have the same thought. Like minds think alike (ssshhh, and our minds do run in parallel universes, strangely enough).

So just a few days before her birthday my youngest daughter, Brinna, & I surveyed the selection and picked a lovely white flower (Phalaenopsis) with mauve accents.

The night before her birthday her young man drove in from Kansas City long after she had gone to bed so he could surprise her the next morning for her birthday. Yes, you guessed it - he toted a large pot carrying another Phalaenopsis orchid in bright pink with dark pink spots. I snapped a photo of it outside her door--patiently awaiting her discovery.

The two plants bloomed for about a month, then shed their colorful ornaments. The last several months, these two orchids have adorned our kitchen counter--dormant spiky stems sticking hither and yon. We trimmed them back as instructed and kept up our regimented ice cube watering but month and after tortuous month, the stems still taunted us with their barrenness. Everything we read said the flowers would be dormant for three months, but after six months my poor daughter was becoming distraught.

Then, all of a sudden a couple of weeks ago, tiny buds began to form on one of the top stems. We watched in wonder each day hoping for the blooms to open, but the bulbs only got bigger. Then last week, my lovely daughter faced several challenges that threatened her very soul. By week's end, she was worn out, only to greet a lovely pink bloom that grew and expanded as Friday matured.

And, sweetly enough, it all coincided with another visit from her young man - just as it did 8 months ago.

Guess I'm just a sappy old romantic, but I can't help thinking about the joy that bloom brought to my daughter. It continues to be a symbol of patience, love eternal, and hope.

Lenten Experiment - Day 12 (Brinna's Water Story)

On the way home from church today, I asked my 8-year-old daughter Brinna how her Lenten project was coming. She's been so faithful to work at her commitment to only drink water for the 40 days of Lent. Today is day 8 for her because a couple of days went by before she heard about Blood: Water Mission through K-Love's morning show. This organization, founded by the band Jars of Clay, is working across Africa to bring clean water to those in need. It's unbelievable, but $1 will provide a year's worth of water to someone in Africa. Such a simple task for us, yet in Uganda 30% of their total population of 32 million souls do not have access to clean drinking water.

Nearly immediately upon hearing of the project, she wanted to get involved and try to drink water every day. The first couple of days she had juice or milk a couple of times before she realized she had promised to drink only water. I told her, "That's okay. Just do your best." And, it was then I decided to challenge her to stay true to her commitment by promising to donate $1 to Blood:Water Mission for every day she drinks only water. My proposal is a bit different than the original intent to donate the money saved buying coffee, juice, milk, soda and donate that, but I thought it would be easier for her to understand $1/day.

If you want to read more about it check out the website at http://40days.bloodwatermission.com/how-to-take-part/

Follow Brinna on her journey this Lent - I'm so proud of her. I'll keep you posted on her progress.

Lenten Experiment - Day 11 (A False Sense of Peace)

Friday & Saturday have been an adventure in patience and perseverence--the larger than life "P's." While I'm not reticent to reveal all the details of the past 48 hours, suffice it to say that life's always full of fun & interesting challenges. And, life can be very messy and crumbly.

And, I'm sooooo glad that God places people in our lives who show us joy and love despite ourselves. Isn't it grand how God does that?

He even places 10-pound, spotted dachshunds in our lives to humble us, to bring us a good laugh every now and then, and to teach us that there's more to life than a spotless house, a well-ordered day and, well, just about anything else I can think of that spells "the perfect life." As you can imagine, that little phrase doesn't fit my life very well and I'm sure it doesn't fit most any of our lives too well if we're really honest with ourselves.

There they are - my three little angels (or three little musketeers)begging to be let in at the back door. I LOVE dachshunds - from their independent spirits to their loyalty and cuddly natures, I have been hooked since I received my first dachshund when I was six years old.

They are comics through and through. And, when they are sleeping their angelic ways can lull you into a false sense of peace--believing them incapable of any infractions.

However, their mischief-makin' ways are legendary and the last three years our family has discovered that our youngest little piebald short-hair named Suubi is definitely full of shenanigans. If meat or any delectable treat is on the kitchen counter, I've seen her jump as high as any NBA star - at least proportional to her 10" off the ground. Her vertical leap many times exceeds the 36" counter height. While she has never had success with stealing a bite from the counter, she has come close - it's like she has springs for legs. She tends to find more success with food left on the dining room table or somewhere nearer her field of scent. Dachshunds are scent hounds and let me tell you this girl can smell - I've never seen anything like it.

Lenten Experiment - Day 10 (My Drivel Needed a Little Sharpening)

Today, Friday, March 2nd I have struggled all day with the focus of my blog entry. Is it because I lack the creativity to day-after-day churn out meaningful drivel? Or have I tapped the minutia of data in my brain already? It's probably a combination of both. LOL

So, at the suggestion of someone close to me (you know who you are) and without further ado, I will begin today's entry rambling along without much purpose or direction. You, the reader, will probably lose interest quite quickly when you become frustrated with my meanderings. Or, you might just become curious and follow along because you have nothing else better to do on a lazy Saturday morning. I promise I'll keep it short.

I was discussing my blog entry this evening with this same dear friend and he suggested simply that this day's blog entry could actually evolve into a purposeful meditation on the lack of purpose or some such thought as this. I'm probably not getting his complete thought quite right because I doubt at this late hour if I am thinking in the same dimension. However, he has a wondrous gift for deep thinking that many times challenges and encourages me to think deeper myself. So, here goes nothing . . . and we're already on the third paragraph. phew . . .

The writer of Proverbs reminds me that "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." And, that is what a good friend does - he or she sharpens us - making us think beyond ourselves, stretching our faith, challenging us to go deeper in thought and relationships.

Uh oh, as crazy as this sounds, it looks like Nick was right - the blog and my ramblings actually turned into something meaningful. And, above all it demonstrated to me once again that most times to see results we have to just jump in there and "do it." Persevere, have a little trust, don't give in, look beyond yourself. Another Lenten life lesson learned.

Lenten Experiment - Day 9

Today, March 1, one of my Facebook friends posted a beautiful photo from outer space that inspired my imagination. I couldn't help thinking about it all day and marveling at its beauty. The diversity of colors, imagery and patterns were awe-inspiring. I encourage you to discover the beauty and wonder that is depicted at www.space.com. This website isn't just about images from space, but it educates on science, astronomy, technology, space flight, the search for life outside our galaxy, and even robots.

Credit: ESO/T. Preibisch

As I gaze into these magnificent photos I feel really inadequate and not quite up to the challenge of day-to-day living. I see how very, very small I am in the scheme of things--in comparison to the vastness of our universe. It gives me an appreciation for who I am and who created me and this world in which I live. The technology capable of discovering these areas so far away from Earth overwhelms me. Visualizing the intricacies of a nebula will take your breath away.

Credit: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/Coelum

Space truly is the beginning of wonder - awe of the unknown, awe of creation, awe of something so much larger than ourselves. Sit back and be amazed!