Finding Dudley

I was on my way home today in a hurry. I left work a few minutes later than I meant to, and I had to get home, let the dog out, change, throw some garden tools in my Volvo station wagon, feed the dog, and get to the church community garden to meet a friend all within a half-hour. But then I saw him.

I'm a sucker for dogs. If you hang out on my blog very long, you'll figure that out. When I see a stray dog wandering around, I want to stop, to pick it up, to find its home. I know some family is probably missing their pet, and I know how distraught I'd be if it was my dog. Sometimes I stop, sometimes I just can't. Today, I was in a hurry, but I stopped.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye while slowing down for a school zone. A gorgeous Old English Sheepdog was running alongside the sidewalk, with no owner in sight. I did a double take, to make sure there wasn't a runner or biker or mom and baby jogger city mini behind him, then headed him off at the elementary school's driveway. He, thankfully, slowed down and hesitantly peeked around my driver door when I opened it.

He obviously had owners, because he looked newly groomed- shaved for the summer. He was a very gentle dog- the fluffy type you want to give a big hug. Luckily, he had a collar with his address, phone number, and name- Dudley. I opened my back door and lifted him in- unlike other dogs, he didn't seem super-eager to go on a "ride". He was a polite rider, though, and sat patiently in the backseat as I looked at his collar again and started heading out of the school's parking lot while calling the number on the collar and looking for the address.

As I looked to turn out on the road, another Volvo station wagon slowed for the school zone. The driver was looking around- then spotted my car with the large dog in the back and excitedly pointed. No one was answering at Dudley's house- I think his owner found me! We both turned back in the parking lot, and I handed over Dudley to his family. The mom thanked me profusely, and I told her I had a sheep dog at home too, so I understood. I was excited to see the family reunited!

Dudley's owner had four kids in the car with her- I can imagine the scene as all the kids are playing outside, and the dog takes off after something. She can't chase the dog because she can't leave the kids. Getting the kids all loaded up in the car isn't an easy task, and Dudley got quite a head start on them. I was glad I was able to slow him down, and help out the family. I'd hope someone would do the same for me & Casey!

Totally unrelated to anything.

This is just stuff I found interesting. Totally unrelated to anything.

President Obama looking at mundane things
President Obama looking at awesome things
Also, did you know the President reads his mail? Well, not all of it.

Also, girls in the news talking about the mommy track at work and opposing pink toys.

Even more unrelated: April Fool's posts are already out in the wild, including the Plano cosmetic dentistry reform plan. Don't believe what you read tomorrow.

blue + yellow

This blue-glass Ball jar is awesome. These bright yellow daffodils are even more awesome, especially since they're growing in my yard. Well, these particular flowers are no longer growing in my yard, because they're now decorating my table. but there's plenty more flowers where these came from. And they make me happy.



I'm discovering there's no use for fitness equipment or gym memberships this spring, as the warmer temperatures are getting us outside and active. Saturday, after I finished starting some seeds, Josh had been working on our bikes, and said "Wanna ride to lunch?!" I started thinking of the restaurants within two miles of our house (yes, our house with a walkscore of 12/100) "Well, do you want to go to McDonalds, or Wendys, or Subway, or Mudsocks- though after a bike ride, we won't be dressed for that, or..." "How about Chipotle?" "Um, isn't that kind of far?" "Nah." And so we did it, and took a meandering trip there through neighborhood roads, and a much more direct path back, resulting in a 9+ mile round trip. Not that bad, I suppose, but it reminded me how out-of-shape I am! As usual, Chipotle did not disappoint, and was delicious.

What have you been up to as spring has sprung?

Repost: The Breastplate of St Patrick

I posted this prayer 3 years ago for St Patrick's Day, and wanted to share it again- to remind myself that the holiday can mean more than green beer and corned beef.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Spring Cometh

Spring is my favorite season.

Snowdrops are the first signs...


The daffodils haven't bloomed yet, but they're a sign of life fighting through dead twigs and leaves.


The crocuses and trying to bloom.


Other greenery makes me happy, even if it's just a little bit.




And the garlic! In the food garden! I can't wait for scapes.


Forget the gym- I think I've found that, for me, the best fat burner is good weather in the Spring- I spent an entire evening last week joyfully cleaning out a flower bed, hauling sticks and branches to the compost pile, and getting my hands dirty, just because I finally could. This is normally a hated chore I put off (hence why it wasn't done in the fall) But now? I'm excited for the privilege. Spring makes me so happy.

Recording the Journey

I've journaled my whole life.

When I was just an elementary schooler, I had a spiral bound square journal that allowed you to circle a face reflecting your mood and gave you room to write about your day. In those days, I just wrote when big, new things were happening- my first trip to an overnight camp, or changing grades, or moving. Well, "big" and "new" to a third grader, anyway.

When I got into junior high, everything was big and new, it seemed, and feelings about the changes were more intense than ever (Also: hormones.) I started journaling pretty much every day- about my friendships, school, church, prayer concerns, family, everything. This continued more or less daily through much of high school. Writing was therapy, and allowed this introvert to process her feelings in the midst of adolescence. Journaling is a discipline I needed.

Toward the end of high school and into college, I reverted back to only writing when big, new events happened. Often this was as semesters or school years ended, and I was reflecting on all that had happened over the last few months. At some point, I started this blog, and some (but not all) of my journaling showed up here.

Since being out of college and being married, my paper-and-pen journaling has been nonexistent. I think this is partly because of my blogging here, but mostly because I've now got a trusted soulmate who I can talk to in order to process my feelings, rather than just my trusted journal. But, somtimes, I miss writing.

Last Saturday, I attended a journaling workshop put on by the women's ministry at my church. I was a bit apprehensive, as I'm not really a 'women's ministry' kind of gal, and the lacy, flower-y stuff doesn't really appeal to me. Also, I'll admit, large groups of girls scare me. But, I signed up. And even showed up, and brought a friend. Thankfully, there were no souvenirs resembling wedding favors, just a book by the speaker and a couple CDs by Sarah Scharbrough. So far, so good.

The workshop was led by author Mindy Caliguire, founder of SoulCare. She talked about a lot of good reasons to journal, and ways to think through your day and spiritual life to process what you're learning. Two small nuggets that she shared have stuck with me, and helped me process why I journal, and why it's been important to me for so long.

The first is- who journals? What professions have journals? Scientists and explorers. Why do they journal? Because, as they discover new things, they want to record their discoveries. She said a professor one told her, "The weakest pencil is mightier than the strongest memory". So, why do I journal? I thought about journaling over my life, and realized I mostly wrote when I was experiencing new things- "breaking new ground" or "making new discoveries" about life, or moving into uncharted territory, literally or figuratively. What can I say, I'm a scientist at heart.

The second, related nugget was- where does the word 'journal' come from? Just like 'journey' and 'soup du jour' - it comes from a root meaning 'day'. I like to think of my collected journals as chronicling my days, and my journey- the distance I travel in a day.

From the workshop's ideas, I'm slowly starting to get back into journaling. Will it be every day? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps when I'm in a stage of life where more is changing every day, I'll feel the need to journal more. Right now, I still want to start the discipline at least periodically, to reflect on what I'm learning and how God's working in my life. The women's ministry blog has started a series on journaling, too, beginning with Lectio Divina.

My journaling probably won't show up here- there's too much I need to process internally before making it public in a nicely wrapped "story" to tell you guys. I'll save the half-stories, boring stories, and random ramblings for my own paper journal.

What's been your experience with journaling?

Thankful #5

Thankful for sleeping in (to almost 7!) even though I got to work later.
Thankful for the sunshine this morning.
Thankful for the chattering birds on the walk from the parking lot.
Thankful for the entire pot of mint tea on my desk.
Thankful finally getting a seller for our craigslist posting - one less thing to store!
Thankful for the snow drops that are peeking up out of the ground in the flower bed.
Thankful for the gardening bug that has bit me the last few days- Spring is imminent!
Thankful for a new Nokia cell phone- Nokia phones are my favorite, and I haven't had one in a while.
Thankful for friends and a husband who encourage me.
Thankful for a God who loves me even when I forget.