Every Drop

This great little film won second place in a video contest sponsored by Kentucky Waterways Alliance where kids were encouraged to address Why We Should Love Our Waterways. This film, Every Drop, was made by the elementary Sunday School class at my church.

Fidelity

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Today’s word was Fidelity.

I, having loved ever since I was a child a few things, never having wavered

In these affections; never through shyness in the houses of the rich or in the presence of clergymen having denied these loves;

Never when worked upon by cynics like chiropractors having grunted or clicked a vertebra to the discredit of these loves;

Never when anxious to land a job having diminished them by a conniving smile; or when befuddled by drink

Jeered at them through heartache or lazily fondled the fingers of their alert enemies; declare

that I shall love you always.

No matter what party is in power

No matter what temporarily expedient combination of allied interests wins the war;

Shall love you always.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Cindy used a sweet story from one of my favorite books ever- Fidelity by Wendell Berry- as a part of her sermon which she entitled A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Fidelity.

8 Things

8 Things I will miss about the Winter Olympics

1. Something to look forward to every night!

2. Figure skating- those minutes of being transfixed. It is such the perfect mix of emotions with the tension and the relief and the disappointment and the triumph. Love it.

3. Enjoying looking at snow from afar.

4. I love it when they show the parents of the athletes as they watch. They must just be so proud and so nervous.

5. Yeah, I’m a sucker for that little Olympic refrain with the drum beat at the beginning. So exciting!

6. I love the glimpses I get of some international camardaerie.

7. Laying on the bed with Willow and Kendra every night. I found me some good Olympics buddies.

8. Well, I must say it……..Apollo Ohno. Am I too old to say that?

Wednesday Link Love

So simple, so fun!

Loving these poppies. Well, loving anything that offers more hope than piles of really dirty snow!

I once happened upon a huge box of old slides at the thrift store and have kicked myself a zillion times for not buying them and giving them a good home. Could have made these curtains!

Well, if you’ve been around here long, you know I love all things granny square, blackboard paint, and tiny house-ish…so have a look here and here and here and here and here .

Short list this week- I’ve been watching a LOT of Olympics!

Intention

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Our word for today was Intention. We had been invited to bring something that represents Intention to place on the alter, whether that be a personal intention or just a symbol of the word itself.  A few folks explained their symbol, most just left them there (and all of us to wonder!).

I loved this good word from Ken Sehested and his book In the Land of the Living.

Bright Sadness

(In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the season of Lent is described as a “bright sadness”)

In the madness that surrounds us,

our lives, our community, our world,

we give thanks, nevertheless.

More is at work than we can see.

Lent is a time for clearing and cleansing.

Dustballs happen.

In the midst of life’s crippling failures,

we still give thanks.

In the midst of Fox News’ deceptions,

we still give thanks.

Nevertheless, nevertheless.

Lent is a time for checking appetites.

Longings and desires, created for pleasure

in God’s bountiful creation

have come unleashed.

Nevertheless, the bright sound of earth’s promise

brings joy to our lips.

Tether us anew to your Provision.

During Lent we follow Jesus into the desert,

grappling with the distorted longings and lusts that

corrupt the world and even our own hearts.

Even so, more is at work than we can see.

The Spirit is not quenched.

How can we keep from singing?!

Bliss

There are some nights when we’re all together and we go out and do something really rich and fun, and it feels like when we drive home that we are this big rainbow cloud-y warm fuzzy car slicing through the night.

Such was the case last night. The girls and I enjoyed dinner and a concert with a big group of great friends. The concert was just so so so good, the pizza was great, our friends were wonderful, and I felt like we rode home in THE HAPPY CAR.

Could this be a Coke bottle??

Did you ever see that movie The Gods Must Be Crazy? A village of bushmen are living a normal happy life, working and getting along and satisfied with all that they needed. A coke bottle dropped from an airplane lands in the village, and life for the village takes a drastic turn. Suddenly there is something that everyone wants to possess resulting in jockeying for position and trickery and fighting, all over this gift they believe was sent to them by the gods.

About 15 years ago DH and I made a choice to give up tv. We had a tv, we just turned it off and let cable go. It has still been here. When we became parents we decided to wait to see if it became an issue with the kids, and it really never did. On occasion they may have missed it, but for the most part I’m happy with our decision and with the books that have been read and relationships that have grown in the time that might have been spent in front of the tv. The old tv worked well for watching videos on, and in times of something big like presidential debates and such we could hook it up and get a snowy picture.

This fall our baby goes off to college. Maybe it’s goofy, but I started thinking about how very quiet this house was going to be with them all gone. I’ve been trying to remember what DH and I did around here before kids. A tv kept popping into my thoughts.

So, guess what I got for Valentines Day?! DH knows I’m a sucker for the Winter Olympics and he surprised me. K and I have had a blast watching every night. So far, that’s all I’ve watched. But then there was the night DH needed to go to bed early, and the coke bottle television is in our room. I couldn’t watch the Olympics! I got myself all in a snit for a moment. Well, for a while. And then I realized how much I do not want my life to be centered around a tv. He slept, I read, and we were all just fine.

I do not want to have to worry that I’ll have to lug that thing across the country to try to throw it off the edge of the world like the bushmen finally did with their coke bottle!