Blessings

BENEDICTION -

It is forbidden to taste of the pleasures of this world without a blessing.—The Talmud

As someone who has been paid to pronounce blessings at weddings and funerals, at baptisms and house blessings, at soup kitchens and foxhunts—as well as at lots and lots of weekly worship services—I think it is a big mistake to perpetuate the illusion that only certain people can bless things. Not everyone is vulnerable to this illusion, I know. Plenty of people say grace over meals in their own homes, asking God to bless the food they are about to receive from the divine bounty. A number more bless their children at bedtime, asking God to bring those children safely through the night. Where I live, you can sneeze in line at the post office and receive half a dozen blessings from people you do not even know.

Yet there remain a great many people who excuse themselves when asked to pronounce a formal blessing. They are not qualified, they say. They are not good with words. They would rather jump off a high diving board than try to say something holy in front of a bunch of other people. My guess is that even if you asked them to bless something in private—thereby separating the fear of public speaking from the fear of pronouncing a blessing—they would still demur. If you are one of those people, then only you know why. All I can tell you is how much the world needs you to reconsider.

I think that the best way to discover what pronouncing blessings is all about is to pronounce a few. The practice itself will teach you what you need to know...

...All I am saying is that anyone can do this. Anyone can ask and anyone can bless, whether anyone has authorized you to do it or not. All I am saying is that the world needs you to do this, because there is a real shortage of people willing to kneel wherever they are and recognize the holiness holding its sometimes bony, often tender, always life-giving hand above their heads. That we are able to bless one another at all is evidence that we have been blessed, whether we can remember when or not. That we are willing to bless one another is miracle enough to stagger the very stars.

(Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/An-Altar-in-the-World-Excerpt-Barbara-Brown-Taylor_1/4#ixzz2HE4SD7T2)

Today was the annual Blessing Service at church.  The first Sunday of the year, our congregation participates in communion together and Pastor Penny, I, and a guest pastor get the immense pleasure of praying blessings on our individual congregation members.  I get the opportunity to hold people's hands, look in their eyes, and bless their new year with hope, love, and faith.  I get to remind them that they are loved, valued, and never alone.  I get to pray for health, employment, love, and healing relationships.  And I get to share God's love with them...  Thought tears and hugs.

It's a pretty amazing way to spend a morning. 

Go ahead.  Give it a try.  Bless someone today.  Send them a note or tell them in person - but bless them with affirmations, hopes, prayers, and love.  The world needs more blessings!


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Sunshine.
2.  Friendships.
3.  Being back to work!
4.  My youth group kids learning from our elders.
5.  Tears and hugs.
6.  Dinner in the crockpot.
7.  The hubby grocery shopping.
8.  Naps.
9.  TV shows returning tonight!  ("Once Upon A Time" and "Downton Abby")
10.  Blessings.

Interesting...  Today's Question of the Day:  "Today was tough, because..."  In the midst of giving blessings, I also hear what worries people most.  I see the fear and insecurities in their eyes - and hope for the faith to carry them through.  It's hard to see in people that always "have it together."  But those are the moments that make us even more lovable, right?  When we're human, broken, vulnerable?  That's the moment we open up to what God can do!

Restaurants

QotD:  What was the last restaurant you ate at?

Hell's Kitchen - started to eat breakfast on New Year's Day.  Never finished it.  (The stomach flu settled in.  Buggers.)


McDonald's - roadtripping to Milwaukee on Dec. 28th.  (Only time we eat fast food is when we're in the car.  The best part about it?  Watching our dog wait, plead, and beg for french fries!  It's pretty darn funny.)

Red Stag Supper Club on Dec. 27th.  A tradition shared with our friend, Amanda.  Every year when she visits we go for dinner...  So yummy.  And it always snows - and is beautiful from within this cozy place.  I love it!


rePUBlic on Dec. 26th - celebrating Kayla's 21st birthday with Mike, Amanda, and Jessalee.  Delicious food, tasty beer, good company.  Great way to spend an evening!


Good stuff.  Good memories.  We're lucky to live where we do - so many good places to share meals, and break bread, with others!

Where is your favorite place to go out to eat?  I love hearing suggestions!


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  A lazy Saturday morning - not because I didn't feel good - but just because!
2.  Hanging out with the hubby.
3.  Deep cleaning the rest of the house.  I can relax again.
4.  "Purging" our kitchen.  Going through every drawer and cabinet and getting rid of anything we don't use.  So therapeutic!
5.  An "actual" dinner!  Swordfish, green beans, and bread.  And it tasted good!
6.  Packers are winning!
7.  Looking forward to church tomorrow!  It's the special Blessing service we do every year.  One of my favorite services!
8.  Listening to the hubby getting excited about brewing his own beer.  I love his excitement!
9.  Thinking about making some changes... 
10.  Enjoying writing on here again!

Best Part

Question of the Day:  What is the best part of today?

I'm feeling better!!!!  I'm up and moving around.  Washed the sheets, blankets, towels...  Cleaned up the kitchen.  Picked up all the piles we've created this week.  Took down the Christmas tree and decorations... 

Life is looking up!  I even ate...  wait for it...  Pizza tonight!

There's nothing better than starting to feel normal again.  Gives you hope.  (Grin.)

What was the best part of your day?

(Psstt...  Since I'm feeling better, I'm guessing very soon I'll be doing real blog posts again!  Woohoo!)


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Being able to eat real food.
2.  Getting stuff done!
3.  Clean sheets and towels.  Lovely.
4.  Putting Christmas away (this normally makes me sad...  But this year, I've been sick since we put the tree up!  I'm done.)
5.  Excited for Kayla's visit to Idaho with Emily!
6.  Low gas prices!  (Filled up for under $3 a gallon!)
7.  Lotion.
8.  2 more episodes of "Downton."  Almost ready for season 3!
9.  Finding out we can watch "Portlandia" OnDemand.  Awesome.
10.  Going to bed at a normal time.  Life is getting better by the hour!

Books

Ever had the kind of sick where you can barely focus on anything?  I'm not battling the stomach stuff anymore, but still fighting headaches and body aches...  and soooo tired!

I've watched many episodes of "LOST" over the last few days, and the hubby and I have been catching up on "Downton Abby" in the evenings (we watched FOUR episodes tonight!)...  It's all I can concentrate on! 

Books haven't worked for me lately...  I doze off!

I do have a stack I'd like to be reading, though...  All kinds of stuff - mystery, historical fiction, spiritual, humorous, thriller...  My bedside table is stacked high!

Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution?  Or one of them, anyway.  Give myself half and hour every night before bed to read.  Imagine that!  So many books I could get through if I actually did it!

Worth a try!  (But I better wait til I'm feeling better...  Tonight, I'd disappoint myself already by falling asleep - this blog post is hard enough to focus on!)

What are you reading right now?  Any suggestions?


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Hot tea.
2.  A stop at the office - nice to feel normal for a few minutes, anyway!
3.  Receiving a couple more fun Christmas presents!
4.  Amaryllis plants - so fun!
5.  Fever broke!
6.  Eating something other than toast and saltines.
7.  Time cuddled up to the hubby and watching "Downton."
8.  Friends who gave us the gift of seasons 1 and 2 of "Downton!"  (I thought I'd be watching it by myself, but it turns out - Mike loves it, too!)
9.  Candles. 
10.  Fantasy - whether in books or TV or movies.  The escape from real life is a wonderful gift sometimes!

Change

Still sick...  Very.  Icky. 

So...  Question of the Day:

Can people change?

 

Hmmm...  My answer would have to be "Yes."

 

When Mike and I met, he was crazy organized, everything had to happen a certain way, at a certain time, and had to meet his expectations - no exceptions.  I, on the other hand, was the free spirit that never worried about expectations - it was all about living in the moment and enjoying life.  Who cares if I was on time or did what I was expected?

 

Yeah...  Over the last 13 years, we've met in the middle.  He's more spontaneous and laid back, willing to accept people and situations for what they are; and I'm more organized and responsible, expecting accountability and respect from myself and others.

 

It's a process.  It's not easy.  But I do believe people can change.  I see it in my job all the time - people who seek to do better and be better - with the right support and lots of faith, make it happen.

 

Life changes us.  Love changes us. 

 

So...  Yes.

 

 

Things I am thankful for today:

 

1.  Saltines.

2.  A comfy couch.

3.  A cuddly poodle.

4.  Watching old "LOST" epidsodes!

5.  Sleep.

6.  My new pillow.

7.  Flexible schedules.

8.  The hubby telling me I'm "not scary."  And me responding, "I'll breathe on you!"

9.  Friends checking up on me.

10.  That we can - and do - change!  My life is better for it!

New Year... New Post

Happy New Year!  (Or not...)

Hubby and I attended the funeral of his uncle yesterday (New Year's Eve) and drove back to the Twin Cities in the evening.  Our New Year's Eve consisted of a frozen pizza at 8pm, and episode of "Downton Abby,"  and being in bed by 10:30pm...  Exciting stuff, I know.

Our tradition is to then get up on New Year's Day and go out to breakfast at Hell's Kitchen.  It's kind of fun - there's great live music, yummy food, and the waitstaff are in their PJs.  My kind of place!

Well, this morning we slept past the alarm (never even heard it).  Eventually woke up, realized our mistake, and rushed to get ready and make our reservation!  We brought along our little notes that we wrote throughout the year (things that would be fun to remember), so we could read them in the car on the way there and back.  We were ready to celebrate!

So we get there, get a table, are enjoying the music, drinking coffee, and our food comes...  I was so excited for my lemon-ricotta pancakes!  I took a couple of bites and realized we were headed for trouble.  I managed to finish 1/3 of my breakfast before I told the hubby I needed a doggy bag and it was time to go...

We made it home in time for me to come down with the stomach flu.  Gross.  I've been sick and miserable all day...  Hoping this isn't an omen for the New Year!

Anyway...  I thought I'd write a post - trying to get back in the swing of blogging.

Someone gave me a funny little book for Christmas - "Q&A a Day" - there is a question for everyday of the year, and you fill it out for five years in a row.  Kind of a fun idea!)  I thought maybe when I have writer's block, I could pull it out and answer the question of the day here!  We'll see...!

Here's today's question:  What is your mission?

Way to start with something easy, huh?  This is going to sound cheesy - and I fully accept that - but... I think my mission is to live fully in God's light and love...  And to make a difference in the world through small kindnesses done in love. 

What is your mission?  I'd love to hear it!


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Warm, cozy beds.
2.  Traditions.
3.  Not getting sick in the car!
4.  Our little notes throughout the year - so fun to look back on!
5.  A hubby who is a good caretaker.
6.  Sprite.
7.  Hot showers.
8.  Tylenol.
9.  DVDs.
10.  Not needing to be anywhere today!

Thoughts on the Newtown, CT Tragedy

I don't know about you...  But this last week, I haven't been able to stop thinking of the families and community of Newtown, CT.  Like many other tragedies in our history, this will be one that years from now, I will remember exactly where I was when I heard the news.

I had been out grocery shopping - buying ingredients for the cookie-baking extravaganza that I do each year.  This is an errand I dread every year - grumpy people at grocery stores, ladies grabbing the last ingredients right out from under my hand, men driving carelessly through the parking lots splashing snow on innocent passersby, and children screaming for every sugared item they reach for...  But this year was different.  I don't know what was special about that morning, but people were smiling, holding doors open for each other, helping to reach for items that were too high, wishing each other a "Merry Christmas!"  I was all smiles, full of the Christmas spirit, and looking forward to an afternoon of baking and listening to Christmas music!

I got home, realizing I could actually catch the one soap opera I watch (yes, I too have a guilty pleasure!), and turned on the TV.  The first thing I saw was, "Special Report" and I almost turned it off again.  I didn't care to hear any more politicking this close to Christmas.  But then I saw the word "shooting" and was disappointed in myself when, at first, I didn't flinch.  The Oregon Mall shooting was last week...  It's become so common, I almost didn't even look to see where it happened...  But then I heard "school" and "children dead."

I stopped putting away groceries and turned my attention to the TV.  Twenty children dead, 6 adults.  I literally fell to the floor and cried.  And couldn't stop.  Mike came home early from work that day to surprise me - ready to help with cookies and cleaning and preparing dinner for a guest...  And he found me crying the "ugly cry" in our kitchen.  He hadn't seen the news yet, so I filled him in.  We hugged and cried, heartbroken at the horrible evil that took place that morning.

I will always remember where I was at that moment.

The question is, how will I go forward, doing what I can to help this never to happen again?  Will I become an activist for gun control?  for a better mental health system?  for teachers to carry guns?  All of these things have been focused on in our media as ways to "fix the problem."  But I think there is no easy fix - this is so much bigger than one "issue."

Instead, I will focus on my faith.  I will focus on the two greatest commandments that were ever given:  Love God.  Love each other. 

I will be even kinder to those I meet.  I will look for more ways to serve and bring joy to others.  I will practice more random acts of kindness and smile at more strangers.  I will try to understand where my "enemies" are coming from - and see the good in their lives, even when it's difficult.  I will love even the hardest to love.

In these last few days leading up to Christmas, and in the coming New Year, I invite all of us to take a look at our life.  Be thankful for the blessings we have - homes, families, transportation, jobs, clothes, food on the table...  And so much more.  What can we do to share these blessings with those around us?  To bless the lives of others?   To bring joy and love and kindness to a world that is hurting so very badly...?

Talk to your kids - about the blessings they have in their lives and ways to give thanks by serving others.  Do some things as a family to share love and kindness with neighbors and beyond.  (Get the kids away from video games and movies - long enough to realize there are real people out there who could use a smile and a conversation!)

As families, as groups of friends, as couples, and individuals - what can we do to help heal a broken world?  What can we do to honor those twenty small children's deaths - to make the world a better place in their memories? 

Ann Curry is suggesting 26 acts of kindness for each person killed in the tragedy.  I'm ready to start - how about you?


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Fresh snow...
2.  Warm tea.
3.  A kind husband.
4.  A cuddly dog.
5.  Faith.
6.  Facebook posts that bring smiles.
7.  My nephew, Zion.
8.  Christmas cards.
9.  Parents with amazing kids.
10.  Hope.