Below you will find five words. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem or a story.
1. vineyard
Hmmm... first thought that comes to mind is my favourite workplace: the vineyard into which my Savior has sent me, and where I am privileged to serve His people. Second thought, of course, is Virginia Wines... yum... :-)
2. root
The Root of my Being... my Lord Jesus, His Father, and Our Lady Sophia. These roots strike deep and wrap lovingly about the heart...
3. rescue
Oddly enough, makes me think first of my Dad, who was a radioman in the Coast Guard during WW2... but theologically speaking, rescue of course leads to thoughts of salvation. Rescued by grace, and saved...
4. perseverance
That lovely old poem, "Don't Quit"; Daddy had it hanging on the wall over his desk, and from time to time I have either thought of this poem as a lifeline in time of trouble--an inspiration, if you will--or a supreme annoyance, much like St. Hildegard's repetitive but true "all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of thing shall be well..." *g* Here's the poem (author apparently unknown):
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!
5. divided
Hmm... the obvious ones come up first: divided loyalties, divided cities (Berlin...), divided families or friends... a house divided... but there's a lot of proto-positivism in this word. Jesus DIVIDED the bread and gave it to His disciples. He DIVIDED the loaves and fishes, and fed the five thousands. DIVIDED highways make for faster commutes, implying as they do more lanes in each direction... :-)
I guess the lesson there is, it's all in how you choose to look at things. Glass half full, or half empty? I have decided to champion it being half-FULL! So I can divide the contents among my friends, and share!
Happy Friday, y'all!
Blessings,
Sharon+
17 August 2007
11 August 2007
Yoda Bumps
I'm sitting here with my back trying to put the kibosh on everything I do (three compressed discs, no waiting... *sighs*), clearly being taught some lessons in Intentional Living. As in, it ain't easy to stick with the intention of Living Intentionally when everything in the world suddenly turns into a Yoda Bump... *g*
Let me define and explain a bit. A "Yoda Bump" is some object, person or situation (size matters not! *g*) that suddenly seems to appear out of nowhere to try and mess you over when you've just done something virtuous (decided to be kinder, not eat too many desserts, quit slugging back so many empty-calorie sodas per day, or Live Intentionally--just as utterly unrelated examples, of course! *whistles innocently*). Yoda Bumps try your patience, push you, stay in your way no matter what direction you turn--until you face them, handle them, pull up your Big Girl Collar and deal, or whatever. If you ignore them or whine, they grow--like Pinocchio's nose. Once you let go, face them, hug them or spit in their eye... they go away.
Making room, of course, for the next one... *wry smile* But that's no nevermind.
Like all the pain-in-the-keester things Yoda did to Luke in the swamps of Dagobah before Luke KNEW this was the Jedi Master he should have been making nice to... Yoda Bumps try you. It's a test. Sometimes it's a bit harsh--like one's back going out on one, on the same day one had promised to help wrangle many entrants to a horse show. Sometimes they're downright pathetically nasty (sorta like locking yourself out of your house completely, barefoot, no contacts in, with only your cell phone to rely on--and the only person with a key who can be reached is your son, who is in bed asleep... at the house he shares with your ex, who is the only one who drives... and you live an hour and change away... again, not like, umm, that has anything to do with ME!! *whistles some more and toes the dirt a bit*).
In short, they exist to find out if you are serious. When you lit the candles on your personal altar and made Big Promises in front of God and Everybody, were you serious? When you said you wanted to manifest into your life the Big Dream you've had since you were a kid--and swore that you know it's not going to be easy--were you sucking up to the Jedi Master? Or do you have the Right Stuff to pull this off with the help of the aforementioned God and Everybody?
Cuz if you are... one crappy little Yoda Bump isn't going to stop you.
Is it?
I had a crawful of Yoda Bumps last weekend, but many blessings came my way once I stopped whining and kicked back. Or didn't, as the case may have been. The fair thing about Yoda Bumps is that whatever form they may otherwise take, it's usually pretty obvious how to handle it. If you're stuck and the only person who can help you is someone you've broken up with, or that you socially despise, or who has hurt you in the past--you have to suck it up and accept help from something other than a nice knight on a horse. If you're overwhelmed and the key to breaking the logjam is to say or do something you otherwise would rather pull out your entrails than do--take a deep breath and say or do it. And always, always remember what Eleanor Roosevelt once said: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent...
The thing for which I requested prayer on July 19 is still in progress, and I still feel very strongly that it will somehow happen. It is very near to the realm of miracles in terms of what will be required--but it is not impossible. However, because it IS so unlikely, and yet feels so right, there is much that I must personally attend to--and trust about--and thus, I am facing a veritable minefield of Yoda Bumps in every direction I look. IF I were to look at them as a whole, I'd give up now. *g* But I'm not going to DO that.
I will take them one bump at a time, one hurdle, one step, one breath... because that's the only way to do it. And somehow I will persevere. And it will be good. But at the moment, I think I shall go look at some nice pics of Amidala, or Leia, or (skipping fandoms slightly) Susan Ivanova, or maybe even Qui-Gon Jinn--because I'm really, really tired of looking at Master Yoda's little green visage. :-)
That's how things stand today at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, Aerodrome and Miracle Manifestation Factory... that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. See you soon!
Let me define and explain a bit. A "Yoda Bump" is some object, person or situation (size matters not! *g*) that suddenly seems to appear out of nowhere to try and mess you over when you've just done something virtuous (decided to be kinder, not eat too many desserts, quit slugging back so many empty-calorie sodas per day, or Live Intentionally--just as utterly unrelated examples, of course! *whistles innocently*). Yoda Bumps try your patience, push you, stay in your way no matter what direction you turn--until you face them, handle them, pull up your Big Girl Collar and deal, or whatever. If you ignore them or whine, they grow--like Pinocchio's nose. Once you let go, face them, hug them or spit in their eye... they go away.
Making room, of course, for the next one... *wry smile* But that's no nevermind.
Like all the pain-in-the-keester things Yoda did to Luke in the swamps of Dagobah before Luke KNEW this was the Jedi Master he should have been making nice to... Yoda Bumps try you. It's a test. Sometimes it's a bit harsh--like one's back going out on one, on the same day one had promised to help wrangle many entrants to a horse show. Sometimes they're downright pathetically nasty (sorta like locking yourself out of your house completely, barefoot, no contacts in, with only your cell phone to rely on--and the only person with a key who can be reached is your son, who is in bed asleep... at the house he shares with your ex, who is the only one who drives... and you live an hour and change away... again, not like, umm, that has anything to do with ME!! *whistles some more and toes the dirt a bit*).
In short, they exist to find out if you are serious. When you lit the candles on your personal altar and made Big Promises in front of God and Everybody, were you serious? When you said you wanted to manifest into your life the Big Dream you've had since you were a kid--and swore that you know it's not going to be easy--were you sucking up to the Jedi Master? Or do you have the Right Stuff to pull this off with the help of the aforementioned God and Everybody?
Cuz if you are... one crappy little Yoda Bump isn't going to stop you.
Is it?
I had a crawful of Yoda Bumps last weekend, but many blessings came my way once I stopped whining and kicked back. Or didn't, as the case may have been. The fair thing about Yoda Bumps is that whatever form they may otherwise take, it's usually pretty obvious how to handle it. If you're stuck and the only person who can help you is someone you've broken up with, or that you socially despise, or who has hurt you in the past--you have to suck it up and accept help from something other than a nice knight on a horse. If you're overwhelmed and the key to breaking the logjam is to say or do something you otherwise would rather pull out your entrails than do--take a deep breath and say or do it. And always, always remember what Eleanor Roosevelt once said: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent...
The thing for which I requested prayer on July 19 is still in progress, and I still feel very strongly that it will somehow happen. It is very near to the realm of miracles in terms of what will be required--but it is not impossible. However, because it IS so unlikely, and yet feels so right, there is much that I must personally attend to--and trust about--and thus, I am facing a veritable minefield of Yoda Bumps in every direction I look. IF I were to look at them as a whole, I'd give up now. *g* But I'm not going to DO that.
I will take them one bump at a time, one hurdle, one step, one breath... because that's the only way to do it. And somehow I will persevere. And it will be good. But at the moment, I think I shall go look at some nice pics of Amidala, or Leia, or (skipping fandoms slightly) Susan Ivanova, or maybe even Qui-Gon Jinn--because I'm really, really tired of looking at Master Yoda's little green visage. :-)
That's how things stand today at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, Aerodrome and Miracle Manifestation Factory... that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. See you soon!
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