"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." Saint Francis De Sales

Friday, March 22, 2013

My Slow Takes (Vol. 91)


1. My good friend Tony has been getting our group together on St. Patrick’s Day for the last few years. There is a local restaurant and pub called the Capital Ale House that we have adopted for this festive day. Sunday was no exception and we gathered a crew of fifteen. I always wear my kilt, my mother was Scots-Irish, and it’s interesting the looks I receive. This year Dee thought it would be a good idea to bring my “portable” kilt. As each of the men arrived she made them put on the kilt and took pictures. Here is Tony, Lou, Jack and me.




2. Sunday’s Gospel, John 8: 1-11, is a story of sinners, forgiveness and atonement. The woman in question was a sinner, but so were those that accused her. The question asked of Jesus was direct and was based on the law as well as proof of guilt. However, Jesus didn’t answer the question. He just started writing in the dirt. He knew why they asked and He knew they waiting for Him to condemn Himself. There is no mention of how long they waited. This brought to mind a sales lesson I learned some time back. When you present a proposed buyer with an offer, keep quiet. Let the buyer speak first. Once they do that you have command of the situation and will usually win. Jesus just kept quiet and they continued to speak. Once they did that, Jesus had won and answered with a response the Pharisees were not prepared for. He went back to His writing, kept quiet and they all left.

He eventually looked up and spoke to the woman. 
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Jesus forgave her for her sin but told her not to sin again. There was forgiveness but she was required to make atonement for her sin. This is a powerful part of John’s Gospel. An awakening moment for me in my Lenten journey. 

3. Jennifer’s blog, “A few odd things about me, and a question for you,” shares things that affected her life. My life was affected by things that I didn't understand. When I was in high school my mother spent a lot of time in the hospital. She suffered from depression and Psychoses. I could not comprehend what mental diseases were. I hid this from my friends and never invited any of them to my house because I was embarrassed. After high school things really didn’t improve and I had a hard time dealing with it. My main concern was that I would suffer from the same disease. So my outlet was to avoid any type of pressure from work or relationships. If something was not going well I would leave. I was not an easy person to be with. Relationships were questionable and always temporary. My various jobs, questionable social skills and mood swings limited the number of people I could call friends. There was a continual search for anything to keep me sane, make me a normal person. Eventually, through God’s love and my Earth Angel, I learned to manage my fears and strengthen my faith.

4. I have written before about my quest to go paperless. So Dee sent me a video about Emma. It is in French but you’ll get the point.


5. The first day of spring was sunny and warm. Dee and I spent the afternoon working in the yard. Raking, leaves, cleaning bushes and picking up acorns. It is a good start to getting the yard ready for summer.

Robert Frost wrote a beautiful prayer about spring.

A Prayer In Spring

“Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.”

6. One of my favorite jingles and also my favorite cookie.

“Little girls have pretty curls  
But I like Oreos. 
Oreo's the best because  
It's the very best cookie ever was. 
Girls are nice but oh what icing comes with Oreos.”

7. It's been a great week. I think I'll go outside and play .....


Read other "Takes" at Conversion Diary.

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