"Hot enough for ya?" is no longer even slightly amusing. It is hot. And dry. And dry. And did I mention dry? I am so weary of watching the plants die, our normally lush pastures turn into barren lands, and the hay situation is enough to make me want to cry. Yes, I know, there are others worse off than us. I have never quite understood why that is supposed to make me feel better. I don't want anyone to endure what Texas is enduring not to mention Africa. Uggh. It all starts to feel a bit heavy.
So, on the lighter side, I thought I would turn away from deep spiritual matters or politics and just share some fun stuff that has helped us to endure this hot summer:
Herbal Iced Tea
If you have a garden, odds are fairly decent you have some mint. Prolific is a word that just goes naturally next to mint. If you are lucky enough to have some lavender then you have the makings of a really refreshing drink. I put a sprig or two of mint, and a sprig or two of lavender in a pitcher of water and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. Believe it or not this makes an extremely refreshing drink on a hot day. Feel free to be creative with the herbs you use. I have added rosemary for variety and today I am trying the addition of lemon thyme.
Fun with Berries
The fruit along with most other produce is going to be pretty punk this year in this area. But for some reason I had a bunch of boysenberries. Berries aren't just for jellies anymore. I made a berry crisp and my personal favorite was Berry Shortcake topped with Homemade Ice Cream. YUM! I had some gooseberries earlier,too. I let them ripen to almost black and tossed them in a fruit salad. So,if you have some fruit that has managed to survive the drought (or flood or whatever the conditions are in your area) try using it in your favorite fruit recipe even if that is not the fruit you would normally use. It doesn't have to be Strawberry Shortcake to be delicious.
Turn a Chore into a Treat
Weeding is not my favorite task. It has been dry enough even the weeds have suffered but in the spots where I water, the weeds are grateful for the moisture too. They express their appreciation by growing with enthusiasm. Being freshly watered, these weeds are greener and juicier than much of what is in the pasture right now. So, I put the weeds in a bucket as I do my weeding and then take them as a treat to the goats or bunnies. It is satisfying to see them slurp it all up and provides a little bonding time with the animals. In fact, if I were a little quicker with the camera I would have a great picture of my daughter with a big pile of weeds in her lap and the bunnies nibbling away. I realize not everyone has the critters to be able to do this. But maybe there are other ways you might be able to make life more bearable for the animals who are suffering in this heat. Let your dog run through the sprinklers when you are watering. Set out a pan of water for the deer. I don't know. Or maybe when you do your weeding you can simply derive satisfaction from how quickly the pulled weeds dry up in this incredible heat.
What do you do to make the hot summer a little easier to endure? We could all use some good ideas. Please share.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
GPS Stomping and Common Sense in Politics
We took vacation last week. Always an occasion for fun and frustration, family togetherness and family annoyance, aggravation and hilarity. We were fortunate in our travels although the GPS chose interesting roads for us to take. We were traveling winding, twisting, turning, up and down roads that began to make me carsick though that is not something to which I am prone. Three carfuls of strangers persisted along the same trails and we began to suspect that we were all headed for a similar destination. Suddenly, I got this vision in my head of all four vehicles arriving, pulling into the parking lot at our hotel and each driver simultaneously leaping from the vehicles, throwing our GPS systems to the ground and stomping on them. It may be a sign of the wear and tear of the drive that this image made me laugh until I cried.
It is not that I don't appreciate technology, there were many times on this vacation that technology was helpful: finding the nearest grocery store or ice cream shop. But computers are lacking in a sense of common sense. A GPS can determine the shortest route to where you are going but cannot factor in the carsickness of those in the backseat when the trip bears a distinct resemblance to a roller coaster ride.
It seems the politics in our nation are short on common sense too. We currently have politicians arguing over whether we should close loopholes or not. The very definition of the word loophole could provide a very clear answer to that question. A loophole is an ambiguity that allows one to avoid the intent of a law or piece of legislation. Why would we not want to close a loophole? If we want a law to be avoided we should delete the law, not make it so that those with the means to do so can avoid it. It also seems to me that common sense dictates that companies who make billions of dollars do not need to be subsidized. Common sense would dictate that such issues as these should be embraced by both parties.
But, then common sense would also dictate that someone who is afraid of heights should not go on a roller coaster. Yet some big beautiful brown eyes talked me into it. I survived. Perhaps we will all survive our politicians lack of common sense too. Let's hope so. Better yet let's join together and demand that they come to their senses. If not we need to close some loopholes in our voting habits that allow people bereft of common sense to get elected.
Well, that's enough of that. I think I have some lingering carsickness. All this talk of loopholes is making me queasy.
It is not that I don't appreciate technology, there were many times on this vacation that technology was helpful: finding the nearest grocery store or ice cream shop. But computers are lacking in a sense of common sense. A GPS can determine the shortest route to where you are going but cannot factor in the carsickness of those in the backseat when the trip bears a distinct resemblance to a roller coaster ride.
It seems the politics in our nation are short on common sense too. We currently have politicians arguing over whether we should close loopholes or not. The very definition of the word loophole could provide a very clear answer to that question. A loophole is an ambiguity that allows one to avoid the intent of a law or piece of legislation. Why would we not want to close a loophole? If we want a law to be avoided we should delete the law, not make it so that those with the means to do so can avoid it. It also seems to me that common sense dictates that companies who make billions of dollars do not need to be subsidized. Common sense would dictate that such issues as these should be embraced by both parties.
But, then common sense would also dictate that someone who is afraid of heights should not go on a roller coaster. Yet some big beautiful brown eyes talked me into it. I survived. Perhaps we will all survive our politicians lack of common sense too. Let's hope so. Better yet let's join together and demand that they come to their senses. If not we need to close some loopholes in our voting habits that allow people bereft of common sense to get elected.
Well, that's enough of that. I think I have some lingering carsickness. All this talk of loopholes is making me queasy.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Burdened By Confusion
I conducted an experiment last week in which I asked for input and reflections upon the gospel lesson for this Sunday (Matthew 11). I asked, "what makes you feel weary and heavy laden?" Then I promised that I would weave those responses together into a sermon. So, thank you to all who responded and here goes:
What makes you feel weary and heavy laden? For some of you the answer was apparently "responding to blogs." But for others of you a recurring theme and one echoed by my heart as well, was feeling burdened by not knowing what we should do with our lives. One person said she feels torn between what she feels she should be doing, what others expect her to be doing, what she enjoys doing and then she feels guilty for the choices she makes. As I pondered this gospel passage in that light, a little two letter word struck me “my”. Many people have expectations of us and we have our own expectations of our selves. But Jesus does not talk about these burdens. Jesus says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we feel weary and heavy laden it might be worth asking whose burden we are carrying.
Of course, this doesn’t always apply. There are tragedies that strike and hardships in life that are unavoidable and heavy indeed. But, when it comes to the choices we make, if we struggle under a heavy burden that seems to be going nowhere, it is worthwhile to ask ourselves, “whose burden am I bearing?” Is this something Jesus asks of me?
Still, it is not as simple as that. Jesus sometimes asks us to do difficult things. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34) This does not sound like a walk in the park. Furthermore, there are many situations in life where our fondest desire is to know what is right and what God wants us to do and yet we do not always know.
What makes you feel weary and heavy laden? For some of you the answer was apparently "responding to blogs." But for others of you a recurring theme and one echoed by my heart as well, was feeling burdened by not knowing what we should do with our lives. One person said she feels torn between what she feels she should be doing, what others expect her to be doing, what she enjoys doing and then she feels guilty for the choices she makes. As I pondered this gospel passage in that light, a little two letter word struck me “my”. Many people have expectations of us and we have our own expectations of our selves. But Jesus does not talk about these burdens. Jesus says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we feel weary and heavy laden it might be worth asking whose burden we are carrying.
Of course, this doesn’t always apply. There are tragedies that strike and hardships in life that are unavoidable and heavy indeed. But, when it comes to the choices we make, if we struggle under a heavy burden that seems to be going nowhere, it is worthwhile to ask ourselves, “whose burden am I bearing?” Is this something Jesus asks of me?
Still, it is not as simple as that. Jesus sometimes asks us to do difficult things. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34) This does not sound like a walk in the park. Furthermore, there are many situations in life where our fondest desire is to know what is right and what God wants us to do and yet we do not always know.
Sometimes it is difficult to know what God wants us to do. Much of the time we don’t even know what we want. The gospel of Matthew talks about children arguing over what to play. Some want to play the flute and dance while others want more dramatic action; wailing and mourning. This is such a vivid image for me. I often see it acted out by my own children and clearly it is not only children who behave this way. Jesus reminds us that people complained about John the Baptist not drinking and not eating and then complained that Jesus was drinking and was eating. It often seems, as one responder pointed out, that we don’t know what we want except that we know it is not what we have.
I was contemplating the difficulty of knowing the will of Jesus during a bike ride a few days ago. Just as I was getting pretty cranky about it all, a big, beautiful Monarch butterfly flew across my path. A sense of wonder overtook me, the frustration left me, and I remembered how marvelously wondrously mysterious and transcendent are the ways of God. Who was I to doubt the wisdom of one who created the beauty of the butterfly? This lasted for about 10 yards, I am not one who can easily maintain an attitude of submissive trust for long. But for that one moment I caught a glimpse of a great truth. Jesus tells us that the Father and the Son are intricately intertwined. Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27) The story of Jesus tells us of a much larger truth that is beautiful beyond our comprehension.
We are called to live our lives by this truth. For all that Jesus is offering rest in this passage one person pointed out that there are still many actions we are called to here. Jesus calls us to come to him, take his yoke, and learn from him. All of these actions are about immersing ourselves in the story of Jesus. So we pray, read scriptures and we go to our places of worship and hear words of scripture spoken and sung. We hear again the story of Jesus who healed and loved and taught and then died for our sakes.
Church may seem pointless at times but it is part of how we immerse ourselves in the story of Jesus with the support of others. For Jesus calls us to take his yoke upon ourselves. A yoke is usually something that binds two animals together so that their combined strength might pull the burden. We are claimed by God and yoked together so that our burdens are shared. We are yoked together so that we need not struggle in our confusion alone but can contemplate and discuss together how the truths of scripture guide us in our daily lives. Jesus invites us to take his yoke, giving us purpose in our lives. God claims us as God’s children so that even our struggles and confusion become part of the story of God. We may not always get it right, the path ahead may be murky indeed but always we are children of God yoked together to live God’s love in the world. We rest in the promise of Jesus that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, trusting that somehow these are words of truth in this world of many burdens. In this truth and in the promises of God, in the body and blood of Christ Jesus and in the hope of the resurrection we surely will find rest for our souls. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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