BIG PROBLEMS IN PUPPYLAND

My dog is seven years old, weighs in at eight and a half pounds, and because my 'boys' are grown and out of the house, Gabriel is my delight. He generally sleeps in the crook of my bent legs during the night. He prefers that I walk him but has come to tolerate Bill holding the leash -- if he is desparate enough. I always prepare his food unless I am away visiting my sister. He is MY dog and I love him beyond reason. When he lost sight in one eye I opted to have a false eye implanted so that he would look the same. In fact it is hard to tell that he doesn't see with the false eye. If you didn't know, you wouldn't know. He is such a good dog that I take him out on the property (1/5 acre) without a leash. He stays right with me and follows simple commands: this way, wait, in, no. And so we have a relaxed walk around the yard.

Enter a big, bad dog. Next door. Next door with the neighbors that do not speak to us. Two days ago I had Gabriel out for a routine walk down the driveway and into the front yard. And then. AND THEN. Suddenly he turned and looked next door. And there in the driveway was a huge, HUGE, dark Lab. On a leash. But the human at the other end of the leash was struggling and being pulled forward. Gabriel is a friendly dog. He wants to play with everyone and so he charged right over to 'play.' The big, bad dog is straining at the leash, barking, snarling. Gabriel is right in front of him barking. Wagging his tail. Wanting to play. Fortunately, I was able to walk up behind Gabriel, scoop him up and take him into the house before the jaws of the lab closed over his tiny little head.

So now we walk him on his leash ALL the time. Even in the yard. Better safe than sorry. BUT, this afternoon when Bill took Gabriel out for a walk, the big, bad dog was pulling the next door teen ager on his sake board. Pell mell down the street and when the big bad dog saw Gabriel, he headed straight for him. The teen ager couldn't get off the board to stop the dog. Bill kneed the dog to fend him off, and finally the kid got off his board. A few choice words were exchanged. Harsh words from Bill. And the kid is laughing. Bill is furious.

I don't know how this is going to play out. It is really an awful situation.

LENT DAY ???

Well, I gave the ERD Lent Meditation a try and just couldn't do it. The scripture was so sparse that I couldn't get my teeth into it at all. Just a few lttle words hangng out there with no context at all whatsoever. And I just could NOT get past the pasty faced, middle class people in the illustration-cartoony things. Even brought down my gel pens and gave them blue kinky hair and orange skin and bushy eyebrows and heavy mustaches. Didn't help. Not one bit. And the ERD message was alright but not 'Lenty.' Whatever that means.

So I am forging ahead on my own. Still reading the Old Testament and the Gospel reading appointed for each day. Still trying to keep myself in prayer. Not spending money by going out for dinners or even ordering in -- although we never do the latter anyway. AND, I am keeping to my own personal Lent discipline. It is hard but it is making for a better relationship here. I promise to let y'all know how I fair come Easter.

Soup Suppers continue at church on Wednesday evenings and Saul Hoffman is going to be talking about Wisdom Literature for the next four Wednesdays. That should be really good. Last Lent he did the prophets of the Old Testament. Not ALL of them, just some of them. My contribution will be chicken noodle soup that I have been doing in stages since Sunday night.

And so Lent moves along. Not with as much religiosity as I had intended. But, hey, I'm still hanging in there with scripture and prayer and my own brand of fast and a new discipline. So I'm not doing too badly. I might even be doing well.

BURRS

....or something. Gabriel came up on my lap tonight after dinner, as usual. Settled in for some loving and companionship. And then I discovered burrs, or something, on his chest. I stood him up and tried to work them out to no avail so took him into the grooming table -- my vanity in the bathroom. Now Gabriel HATES grooming. Tolerates it because he knows he will get a treat. But this time not squiriming or nipping. He stood calm and quiet while I worked the pesky things our of his hair. They really must have been bothering him he stood so still and quitely. Patiently and tolerantly, actually. It didn't take too long and so I did the hair around his eyes too.

And when I finished, I just picked him up and carried him back to the chair where we had been and he settled right down on my lap. No treat. Those pesky things must have really been a bother. Strange how we can tolerate the intolerable when it is necessary to remedy an uncomfortable situation. Sort of like undergoing knee surgery to eliminate the pain . Suffering pain to get rid of pain. I could probably relate this to a lot of other stuff but I'm too tired.

JOSEPH THE JERK

Now that we are past the First Sunday in Lent, we are back to the Genesis readings. The story of Joseph being the current thread. Joseph is in the pit -- Genesis 37:12-24. Alone. Stripped of his beautiful coat. What did he expect? Dreams sometimes need to be remain undisclosed. But, oh, no, not Joseph. In his first dream he and his brothers are binding sheaves; his stands upright, the others bow in homage. In the second dream, the sun and the moon and stars are bowing to him. Stupidly he relates both dreams to the brothers who already hate. Stupid kid. Really! Not a good plan. His brother, Reuben, however saves him from death by putting forth the idea of the pit, thinking that he will come back and save him. But the pit has no water and the outlook is not good.

This whole Joseph story is strange. He is the favorite of his father. His father makes no bones about that at all. And then the 'long robe with sleeves' is given to him by his father. A coveted gift no doubt. No wonder the brothers hate him. Then the flaunting of the dreams. These stories are always difficult for me when there seem to be obviously bad choices being made by ALL of the players. Perhaps that is the point. Scripture frequently points out to us that there are frequently choices to be made. Not always, but many times. Maybe the point is that there are consequences.

LENT - DAY 6

I won't bore you with three, four and five or wherever we are. Suffice it to say that the ERD 'Seeking to Serve' is not sitting well with me. The all too brief scripture is not enough to sink my teeth into, not enough to mull, not enough to rile, just plain NOT ENOUGH. The illustrations are from white middle class America. Now really, does the white middle class America still exist? Not here, not in my part of the country. Not any more. So what could these people have been thinking?

I have taken my gel pens down to the dining room so that I can jazz up and give some color to the daily illustrations -- maybe give those white faces some ethnic character. I still read the dissertation aloud to Bill but they are not challenging or energizing enough for any conversation. I am truly disappointed. I shall keep at it for a few more days.

We have not gone out to eat. That is still ongoing. And I am doing pretty well with my own personal behavioral discipline. It may even turn into a permanent behavior. This is a boring Lent. I do not feel prayerful or -- can't remember what the admonition is -- better get out the Prayer Book and see if I can get into a groove of some kind or another. AND having Valentine's Day come in right here is not at all helpful. Really!

MILLINNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Lent - Day 3
IMing with Jeffri last night about this and that and touched on Lent and that led into a discussion about the Millinnium Development Goals (MDGs). Yes, these came out of the United Nations and were adopted by the TEC at General Convention in 2006. Jeffri pointed out to me that these are NOT domestic goals but goals set by the United Nations for third world countries. I was so bummed out with this information that I wonder how many other receivers of the Seeking to Serve booklet have no real idea that this Lent study is all about the third world countries of the world.

The day two scripture was: These words which I command you today shall be on your heart. Deuteronomny 6:6. Meaningless pulled out of context. But a context was provided both in the daily illustration and the paragraph below it: Memorize the eight MDGs. Interesting how scripture is pulled and used -- but that's a whole 'nother issue for me.

Bill and I are reading these together. Or rather I am reading and he is listening. So when he left the breakfast table he went to his computer and made business size copies of the MDGs so that I could take them and hand them out to Vestry at tomorrow's retreat. I am still out to lunch on the necessity of memorizing these things. But I took his nicely prepared miniature list and made it huge -- two sets to a page and printed them on card stock so I can put one in each bathroom and in each of our cars. Maybe that way they will get memorized. And the point is? I didn't get there yet. It may take some time. I'm struggling here, people.

Conversation during dinner preparation that evening (Day 2 of Lent) was about whether we were going to go out for supper the next evening. We usually do on Fridays. A couple of beers and a shared burger and salad. I said, 'What if we don't go out during Lent?' 'And save the money and give it to somebody,' replied Bill. Well, yes, but who. We immediately thought of the local food pantry or soup kitchen. I thought of Episcopal Relief and Development. Bill is reluctant to give to big organizations because we don't know who's getting or taking what.

And today I was thinking that the money that is being spent on the current campaigns could feed an awfully lot of hungry people, inoculate a lot of children, provide goats and pigs for numerous families to start farming projects. And the war? Don't get me started on the money there, let along the lives lost.

Day 3 scripture: Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7 Sounds like a great stewardship admonition. The teaching is a good one. Underneath the illustration of an out of balance scale -- the down side being our wordly possessions and spending habits, the light side a big question mark -- the discussion is worth noting. Keeping a balance of spending in our lives. While enjoying our pleasures remember to share a portion of our bounty with others. And we don't always do that. Not in any kind of proportion anyway. So something to think on anyway. The study isn't a total loss -- yet.

ASH WEDNESDAY

All this hype about 'fasting' and I have been ravenous all the day long. Not that I ate, but I sure was feeling hungry much of the day. But when I read Episcopal Cafe's Fasting 101 and 102, I discovered meanings about fasting that I didn't even know about. And when this evening's sermon repeated the eating half as much for two meals and then a substantial but not overly abundant third meal -- say a hearty soup and some crusty bread -- I heard, but with the same despair as I had previously read. No way. It has taken me two years to establish an eating habit that maintains a healthy weight. I certainly do not want to mess that up. So food fast is just out for me.

There are other Lent disciplines, of course. I did do the Seeking to Serve reading this morning. Is not this the fast I choose... Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house... Isaiah 58:6-7 I have been mulling that over today without it having influenced me. The day's 'illustration' is not great. But the discussion below it was a little more helpful -- hinting that praying that the Holy Spirit might help me to address the needs of the poor in some way. The whole thing can be down loaded on the Episcopal R&D site. I did that yesterday thinking I might copy some of it here but I don't know what the copyright issues are. I'm checking into that.

So, Lent no longer looms. It is here. We are "in" Lent. I have established a discipline for myself. It is going to be very hard to manage. It is personal. It is between me and God. Already messed up twice today but I am looking at it as ONLY twice. I will report in now and then how it is going and mayhaps at Easter I will be able to relate success. I can try.