SWB: Stale Bread and just from the oven fresh

Image from beingboring.com

Stale bread:

In the last week or so, I've been dealing with car trouble. First replacing the fuel filter to stop chugging uphill, then having to go back and have the gummed up fuel pump replaced. In the process of replacing the pump, the gas tank was discovered to be rusty in places and was replaced in order to prevent fuel leaks in the future.

I went out to start my car this morning in all 9 degrees of warmth, and it would not start.

I wanted to cry, but feared if I did the tears would freeze on my face.

As I sat in my frozen ice box of a non-moving car I could not help to think, "This situation is like stale bread that is too far gone, even for croutons".

I'm waiting for AAA to come and jump my what seems to be a dead battery. I feel like a broken record in blogging about my car. Stale bread indeed, sorry. I even confessed to my Sunday kids that my goal for lent was to stop worrying about my car, and pray when problems came. I'm not doing so well with this. Somehow, I wish I could be as hopeful about my car as the picture above, the oldest bread has a use - a menu holder!

On to fresher bread:

About a week ago a editor for a local arts newspaper emailed me and asked me for some submissions for the next edition. I was so excited by the possibility of having my work published I sent him twelve poems and a short essay that were blog posts here at one time or another. At first I thought I may have sent to much or seemed to eager, but Saturday evening I opened my mail to find a request for a bio to go along with the things I'd sent to him. Wow! I'm getting published!

Here are a few thoughts that I jotted down after sending a bio back to him:

Heart-racing,
face-blushing,
and pride - the good kind - swelling!
The remaining unsure 5 grader that first wrote that poem describing the color red is dancing all around like a football player who scores the winning touchdown.
I feel like dancing!

Image from what we're eating

Even on this cold morning, while I wait for AAA, I feel a little more like dancing when I read my own words responding to this bit of good news. To me, this is like the aroma of home made baked bread wafting though the entire house.

Something I made, is good.

Sunny and rainy day friends

There are two kinds of friends in the world: Sunny day friends and rainy day friends. This is a statement that my Mom used to remind me of when I was in the midst of drama or conflict with one school friend of another. There are lots of people that we define as friends, but they are really acquaintances. Two men were out hunting in the northern U.S. Suddenly one yelled and the other looked up to see a grizzly charging them. The first started to frantically put on his tennis shoes and his friend anxiously asked, "What are you doing? Don't you know you can't outrun a grizzly bear?" "I don't have to outrun a grizzly. I just have to outrun you!" This story is funny, but it does help define the distinct difference between a rainy day friend and a sunny day friend. The sunny-day-friend is more concerned with watching out for their own health and wellness, than their friends' wellbeing. On the other hand, a rainy day friend is willing to take risks, work fo

FCE - Dog stroke in spine

Kahlúa is our 15 year old dog that we adopted from the Humane Society when she was four. She joined our family and has been with us for eleven years so far. This morning we found her laying on the carpet in the dining room and was unable to get up and go outside. After letting her rest for a few hours, I gave her some bread to eat and she got up. She was wobbly so I scooped her up and took her outside to go to the bathroom. She managed to remain standing for a few minutes, but was back down quickly. Her back legs did not want to support her even though she was trying to walk. By this point, she had begin to cry so I called the vet and they said to bring her in for an evaluation. My kids and I tearfully wrapped her up in a blanket and drove to the vet. It seemed as if we were sitting in the waiting room forever. The vet told me that her heart, eye function, and lungs were great - also taking into consideration her age of 15! The problem seemed to be FCE - firocartilanginous embolism: w

Gifts we have to give

So often people will think of the areas of life that they fall short or what may need some improvement. I think there is some wisdom in knowing where we need some work as humans, but I also feel it is equally important to learn, foster and use the gifts each one of us are instilled with. So here is the challenge or question that I'd like to present: "What gift(s) has God given to you that can be used in the care and ministry of loving others?" How have you seen that gift used in the past? How would you like to use it? If you dream big and I dream big together - how could God work in that big pool of gifts in the lives of others??? Let's share our gifts today and dream of what they can accomplish for God's purpose! 1 Peter 4:8-10 (New International Version) 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

Uphill idealist

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