Merry Christmas!

It is a beautiful morning here at St. Francis Farm, with a little dusting of fresh snow and sun trying to peek through the clouds. Last night we celebrated with Wil and Scott, played a little "Pass the Pigs" to stay awake before heading to Midnight Mass. Since I've been here with my parents through Advent, I joined the Choir at St. Joseph's in Grand Junction. They were quite welcoming and it was good to sing with a small, but well prepared ensemble, despite being on the tale-end of a 3-week cold that has been making the rounds of our family, and the Grand Valley. Between the cold and computer issues it has taken much longer to get back on-line than I expected after the retreat. But I have missed the practice of posting and hope to be back more regularly now. Last night at supper I shared this poem that resonated again this year when I recieved it from NALM and I'd like to share it with you this morning. It is
by Howard Thurman entitled “The Work of Christmas”...

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The Work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among brothers,

To make music in the heart.

Wishing you much love, music and peace this Christmas Day!

'til November

It really does all fit!

Team Work

This morning is my last post until after retreat. Once I get the car packed I'll be on the road for Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario for the 40-day Spiritual Insititue. As I was driving back to Joan and Don's from the abbey, a theme that has emerged in the past month has been 'team work.' The monks living in community create a beautiful space for visitors, but as those of us in the retreat business know, that doesn't happen without a lot of work in the background holding and creating that space. I read "The Shack" over the weekend in Louisville and a lasting image for me is of the Divine as embodied in a community of love. It occured to me during the soccer tournaments that the players on the field aren't the only team involved. The parents have a parallel team, supporting each other's children and each other. And as I was getting ready to be out of communication for almost 6 weeks, I appreciate all those supporting me in this endeavor. Those who have shared their hospitality, encouragement, support and prayers, especially Joan and Don who let me move in for the last month and use their place as a home base in Cincinnati, and Cathy and Jodie in Chicago who have been coordinating my mail. This is a team effort and a tangible experience of living in the heart of the community of love. Peace, blessings and see you sometime in mid-November.

St. Meinrad Archabbey

Had a wonderful visit with Br. John, OSB at St. Meinrad Archabbey overnight Monday. Tuesday was the anniversary of the dedication of their abbey church, Our Lady of Einsiedeln. Here's a little quiet from on of the many courtyards:

Time and attention

All of a sudden a month has gone by since I left Chicago and I realized this past week that the blog has been more adventure than insight.  Part of that was finally figuring out how to post something remotely that was more than 160 characters (the limit of my text messaging) and pictures, so today I figured out how to post from email.  "Baby steps" as they say.

After catching up on sleep and the wonderful hospitality of friends and family, I realized the other thing I have appreciated about being off has been not rushing through my days, not feeling like I have to cram everything into a day or and evening or a weekend.  My weekend with Bart really helped me to slow down.  Our walks were quite meditative.  I was able to pause to consider a bee with orange shin guards, the interior of a tree split apart by the high winds, or help out a turtle who had high centered on a limb that had come down across the path.  Without his hearing, and diminishing vision, Bart likes to follow behind so he can keep his eye on you.  His sense of smell is still keen which I suppose means the world to him.  It led me to consider how in rushing from one activity or commitment to the next, there is a lot I miss.  And when I do happen to pay attention, I have at times relied on external signals, sometimes true and helpful, and other times false and misleading.  This upcoming retreat is a chance turn my attention with greater intention to interior movements, listening deeply for the Spirit and where those movements will take me next.

Louisville Cup

UPDATE: Caroline's team won by PKs (penalty kicks) to break the 0-0 tie after two 10-minute overtime periods. What a finish to the tournament!

Caroline (on the right) goes for the ball. If Mockingbird wins this game they will be in the finals this afternoon. Collin and friend Asa cheer her on.

The Hermitage, 7th POTUS Andrew

The Hermitage, 7th POTUS Andrew Jackson plantation home, provokes lively conversation: race, privilege & general hardship of life in 19th century

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Art Museum

hermitage butterfly

nashville

on stage with joan & don at the ryman auditorium, home of the grand ole opry from 1943-1974 (hat tribute to miss minnie pearl)

Nashville sights: Fort Nashborough, Printers

Nashville sights: Fort Nashborough, Printers Alley, TN State Capitol & Bicentennial Mall, Hermitage Hotel, Ryman Auditorium, & the Grand Ole Opry

Bart says: I love Pup-peroni!

This is my canine friend Bart celebrating successful completion of his treat puzzle. We are having a sleep over this weekend while G & C are at a wedding in Wisconsin. Bart does not go as far or as fast as he used to, but we are looking forward to strolling in the neighborhood and perhaps schmoozing with the other pups at the new dog park nearby.

Music to my ears

Thanks to Joan and Don's patronage of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Marie and I had box seats at the "Donor's Only" special concert on Tuesday evening. We had a great dinner at JeanRo, a French Bistro and then headed to Music Hall. The donor's had voted on their favorites, so Paavo Jarvi conducted a crowd pleaser, including selections from Mozart, Mussorgsky, Grieg and Smetana. The symphonic poem Die Moldau, No. 2 from Ma vlast was particularly sublime and captures a walk along the Moldau river (YouTube rendition). Visiting Music Hall brought back wonderful memories of many concerts, opera and Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion - lovely!

Perhaps I should play the numbers?

This was the fortune I received last Friday night when dining with Amy before the theater (a delightful musical rendition of Jane Austin's Emma). While we laughed at at the time, my Cincinnati visit turned even more adventurous over the weekend. The real disaster is of course the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Texas, but Greater Cincinnati caught the tail end of the winds that came through at hurricane strength of Sunday. At one point during the storm, 90% of customers were without power and all the local TVstations continue to lead with "Blackout 2008." Sharon and Jeff were still out Wednesday and don't expect power to be on until the weekend.

I was on my way Sunday afternoon to catch up with Pam when the wind really picked up. By the time I reached their place, the power was out. Pam pulled out flashlights and candles and when Kathy returned from P&G's Dividend Day at Kings Island, we settled in for a great scrabble game. I peaked early - all vowels makes building big points difficult! Monday evening Brett invited me down for dinner and use of his shower which was much appreciated and I got a bonus visit with his daughter Holly whom I haven't seen over a year. I lunched with Joan R on Tuesday and we had a good chat over dishwashing (I washed, she dried and put away) while a Duke Energy crew was stringing new wire for their Kenwood neighborhood, and by Tuesday afternoon the power was back on in Mason.

Power restored! Few refrigerator casualties:

Power restored! Few refrigerator casualties: inconvenient, not catastrophe. Beautiful day replanting marigolds & charging solar camping lantern.

Yes, no power, 24 hours

Yes, no power, 24 hours so far. Winds whipped thru Cintii yesterday. O'nighted with Pam & Kathy. At Starbucks charging phone. Latte c/o Leigh : )

Where in the world??

A quiet moment in the courtyard of the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Just making sure I've figured

Just making sure I've figured out mobile posting!

Prayer and Politics

With all that troubles the Catholic Church, I find I'm grateful for the feast days that fill the calendar. It helps me keep focused on the long arc of history and the faithful presence of God and God's people. Today commemorates the Birth of Mary. Perhaps not surprising in light of the past weeks' focus on the Democratic and Republican conventions, but I found my reflection on the daily readings this morning meandering toward politics.

The first reading from the prophet Micah says that the ancestors of 'One who shall be Peace' are a nobody tribe. Peterson's translation in "The Message" says that from 'the runt of the litter' whose 'family tree is ancient and distinguished' will come 'the Peacemaker of the world.' Matthew's gospel picks up this theme with the genealogy of Jesus: 3 x 14 generations who had been faithful to God through all kinds of scandals and heroism, in-laws and outlaws, exile and return, culminating in his birth to Mary and Joseph in an out of the way place in a dirty mess of a stable to parents who would soon be displaced people and on the run. This little God-with-us is the ultimate Peacemaker.

The conventions each had their turn on the 'life issues' of war and abortion.The Democrats want to bring a peaceful end to the war in Iraq, but are still rattling sabers and loosing lives fighting the Taliban. And while they would see that access to abortion is kept safe and legal, they are not strong enough promoting policy changes that would lead to women with unexpected and untimely pregnancies keep their child with their own families, or place with adoptive parents. Then there are the Republicans who on one hand want to continue both wars that cannot be won while loosing more lives on all sides, and on the other hand, would flat-out make abortion illegal. This would undoubtedly result in the death of women and their unborn children, especially the poor who won't have the economic access to medical alternatives, and return to back alley procedures. And what of the other life issues so closely tied to the differing economic policies and poverty in our country and elsewhere. On balance, my vote will be for Obama and the Democrats. He at least seems to be trying to lead us to collectively find a 'third option' through issues that have become polarizing to the point of paralyzing.

A moral theology teacher once challenged our class with the idea that you can't legislate morality. War and abortion are moral issues, life issues, justice issues. Aren't all these lives worth saving? Worth living? And even into this mess, Jesus is born. It helped me to be reminded of Jesus' roots, shaky beginnings, and God's continued faithfulness through all generations.

Catching Up & Serendipity

Catching up on sleep, catching up with friends. The simple way to describe last week. I even took advantage of a 'professional development day' thanks to an inviation from Lynette and Susannah from AHHA! who were leading a storytelling and visual analysis workshop. As many of you know I'm a big fan of using images as metaphors for consumer understanding, team building at work, and for discovery of deep personal insights, so I was happy to say 'yes to serendipity' last Thursday.

At the beginning of the workshop we each chose a single picture to capture our professional and personal desires for the day. The image I chose incorporates vibrant color and culinary elements that looked like music sounds. Being 'between professional activities', I was interested in attending the workshop to connect with a part of my past as I sort out what I want to 'cook up' for the future. Skillfully combining favorite ingredients, like muscial notes into a new song, into a tasty new dish that will be vibrant and feast for myself and others.

Last weeks, first days

Hi all, after five months of planning, hiring, training and completing various others tasks associated with ending my five years with Charis Ministries, and four weeks of packing (with lots of help from family and friends) and finishing projects, I've at last arrived at the Stouffers' and moved into their lovely garden-level suite more or less for the next month. Last week was a whirlwind. Packing went on concurrent with having the place repainted (Andrew did a great job - let me know if you want his number), and then Tom and Jo's wedding (which was wonderful - perhaps more reflections on that to follow). It feels good to have landed in a place with excellent food, lively conversation, and taking an afternoon naps is not frowned upon.

So many of you have been interested and encouraging about this adventure, and one of my hopes is to do some writing while I'm off, so I decided to enter the blogosphere. I expect that how often and what I write about will unfold as time goes on. And let me know what you'd like to hear about as we go along too. And we're off!