The Christmas Song/Story

I love Christmas!  I love the feelings it evokes, I love the food, I love the gifts, I love the decorating, I love the music.




But it also brings up some pretty crappy thoughts.  I, personally, acknowledge Christmas as a time when we remember that there was a baby born who was the savior.  With the word savior comes thoughts like, 'saved from what'???. With the concept of savior  comes the fact that we're living in an imperfect world; a beautiful world, but imperfect. Usually where I get into trouble is  the thought that something we once had is now lost. Something went dreadfully wrong in this world as we know it, and I believe, we all as humans, genuinely know it!



"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." He was the radical, he was the strange Jew, he was the Savior of all human kind.  





Yet in my heart, knowing that I believe in his constant presence in my life, there is an ache, a dull, continuous reminder, that we still struggle, we still suffer, and we still are not that perfect being we want to be.  




Animal abuse, human abuse and abusing the earth is a glaring example of the emotional and political deformities in our world. Yet Christ came to set us free.  My Christian upbringing says that "we" are saved.  But if we look around, on a global level, saved from what?  When I made the choice to become a Christian, it was very, very straightforward as to what I, personally, was saved from; the hell of my own choices, the pain of things that had shaped my life, and the fact that my depression and life style was on a constant spiral down, down, down.  And then, there he came, into my life....glorious, bright and all the other descriptions you can think of when it comes to God.  JESUS!  Yes, I LOVE that name.



I still have no answers on how to 'save' our beautifully flawed world, and  it really does grieve me.  But apparently, it's not my problem, although my awareness shares the pain. I love the way Rob Bell thinks, and I think this quote fits nicely in this part of my blog:

“Salvation is the entire universe being brought back into harmony with its maker.” 
― Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith 






To be able to articulate all the thoughts that go through my head would be close to heaven for me, but alas, it's not happening.  I'm doing the best I can.  Christmas is about Jesus' birth in my house.  And Jesus' birth was bitter sweet.  He came, and knew from the start, all he would have to suffer.  Whether he saw the big picture from the time he was a young kid, or whether the nagging realization was a feeling that appeared slowly, he knew! His life might have been about how much he loved this life, but also his life might have been clouded with the sad reality of how hateful society can be.  I think he sees that hate today, and is terribly sad.  Especially around election time.  The mud slinging, the disrespect, the overall negativity of it all:  if God weeps, it's about that, it's about our lack of love for one another.




"Father up above, why in all this hatred do you fill me up with love?"  dmb


I always told my kids that St. Nick was where the idea of Santa came from.  I honestly don't think they suffered much by knowing there was no Santa.  I  like honesty on all levels.  I told my kids that we give gifts because God gave humanity a gift; a gift of God's only son, Jesus.   There is so much that was a part of Jesus' birth....The fact that Mary told Joseph she was pregnant and still was a virgin.  Yeah, right.  People are people, no matter where or what times you lived.  Can you imagine Joseph's thoughts?  I'm sure some of his friends might have labeled her a slut.




 But God came though.  He gave Joseph a dream.  (Dreams are really God's secret language.) And seriously, I can NOT imagine what Mary was thinking and feeling about the fact that some very strange being came to her in whatever form, and said, hey, you''re going to get pregnant.  It will be  a boy, and he will be the savior."  OMG!

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

I always wanted a son, and 32 years and some months ago, I had one.  He is my heart.  To think of any harm whatsoever coming to him, would kill me, literally, I don't know if I could live if either of my children were harmed in any way.  And yet, Mary had to go through that.  I wonder what happened to her later, after Jesus died.  

There is so much about Jesus life and death that amazes me.  It has caused me to know in my heart that HE is the man, he is the one, he is my love.  

I have a little idea why I think about all of my loved ones who have gone to the "other side' around Christmas.  It's been like this for a while now.  At Christmas I think of dead people.  I feel them sometimes when I let myself.  And I feel their love.  This has compelled an even deeper faith in Jesus because hey, if my dead relatives and loved ones can see me, how much more is that true for Jesus.  

Ahhhh, and yet again, I am rambling.  To put feelings and thoughts into some art form is, in my opinion, prodigious. My attempt to express my feelings, at this time of year, is not an easy task.

I am grateful!! I am grateful that Jesus was born, and lived and died and came back from the grave to prove there's something beyond.  I'm soooo grateful that 2013 has been very good to my family.  I am grateful for ever so much! 

With that, I hope you all have wonderful Christmas and I hope that 2014 will be as good to you as 2013 was to me.  Let's raise a glass of red to that.  If you're reading I'm sending a huge amount of love to you.  I hope you feel it.  

The Meanderings of a Very Fortunate Woman....Who Doesn't Like Rain

It's an ugly day in the desert.  People who have lived here for a long time "just love the rain" and are "so happy" when it rains.



Why do I find that annoying?  I guess I was like that about sunny days when I lived in the Midwest.  I totally realize now, how the lack of sun altered a happy, cheerful attitude in the years I spent living in the middle of the country.



Sitting here typing, the rain is spitting down, the dark clouds feel like an atmospheric depression, especially when I look out at my beautiful mountains.  (I use the term "my" loosely.) We are doing construction on our home so when I got home from work today, the dogs were wet and smelly.  They had access to the house, which was strategically partitioned off to protect the workers from our over protective, over assertive four legged family members.  So, I quickly try to lead them upstairs as they are barking, jumping, and being overjoyed at my return.  Usually it's a delight to be greeted with such enthusiasm. Not today, nope, it was almost unbearable; trying to keep the chairs where they were so as not to attack the men, but yet trying to herd them up the steps to closed off safety, free from the wet, free from causing any over zealous harm.


So, we're still here, in the bedroom upstairs, all four of us.  The room has the undeniable smell of wet dog,





 everything sort of feels damp, and fortunately I was able to suck up the dust and dog hair with my little electric broom.

But the good news is, my loving dogs are all worn out from, well, from everything. They are quietly lounging around, probably happy to have some comfy place to lie, instead of concrete or tile floor.  (Except of course, Milo, my only male.  He keeps trying to look out the window, if he hears a noise he paces the floor, and he is very needy for my attention.  Figures right?  The only male! Restless!)

Did I mention we're having construction done on our house? Yeah, well, it's been going on for a month, a month today.  Try to get the whole picture; the rain, the dogs, the small space, the smell, the insipid grey we and the temperature. It's not "cold", nor is it "warm".  It's that damp, yucky feeling you get when you just can't get warm, but if you put on too many clothes, you're uncomfortable.


 I've gone on enough...It feels really good to just get it out.  The house is actually starting to take shape, I can pretty much see glimpses of that dream house I wanted before we started demolishing and getting drywall dust in our food, hair, clothing, and of course shoes. It's the weekend and I'm out of my old friend red, gotta go to the store.  If there are any type-o's here, please forgive..I just don't really want to edit.  Have a great weekend!

Finding Your Way Home!!!

Jesus said, " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”


There was a time in my life, which wasn't so very long ago, where I realized I didn't even know myself, let alone love myself.  How can you love someone you don't know? I found a fantastic counselor and thus began my long journey to find out if I liked me.  First, I asked myself what really makes me happy?  I had to dig deep to see if I was actually telling the truth too.  At times I would just sort of do things because I felt that's the way life is "supposed" to be, that's what I'm "supposed" to want, and this is the way I am "supposed" to live.  The list goes on.  





But one day, I realized it wasn't working.  I still disliked people, (I would always go for prayer at church so God would give me the ability to love people.  They annoyed me constantly!) I found out that all the stuff that I "thought" was supposed to make me happy really didn't, and I began believing that I could never be the person I really wanted to be.



I would look at beautiful women and think to myself that I was "once" like that, but I'm older, and it's okay, I will never be thin and beautiful again.  I would reason that I had other qualities that were just as attractive.  And I sort of did, but I always fought the idea of my desire to be beautiful because I felt it was very vain, and not very virtuous. So I gained weight, a lot of weight.  The downhill slide was going faster as the years went by and I was getting increasingly unhappier.  


Fortunately my life blew up in my face.  When it happened though, you wouldn't have been able to convince me that anything would turn out okay, let alone good.  It was one of the most painful things I've ever been through. The good news is that when I'm upset, really upset, like "feeling threatened" upset, I can't, for the life of me, eat.  Needless to say, I lost a lot of weight and began to enjoy my tiny new body even though my world was still pretty screwed up. 




I read so many self help books that I probably could have written my own.  And they all helped, they helped tremendously.  I started with a book by John Eldredge called "Sacred Romance".  My journey began and as I read, the light started to shine on my soul; I would learn  a little more about myself every time I read. 

The more I searched for peace, the more of myself I found.  




Some parts were very difficult to accept; but I knew I needed to accept even those parts of me, just as I was.  I had to learn to be my own best friend.  My amazing counselor gave me a great idea;  she told me to console myself when I felt down, alone and trapped in pain.  To talk to myself, or talk to the woman, young girl, or little girl that is hurting inside.  






That was an awkward idea for me to put my mind around.  Wise as she is, suggested that I talk to my hurting self the way I would one of my students, or my own children or grandchildren.  So I did....guess what????  Yep, you guessed it!  it worked.  


Sometimes I would get gobsmacked by an emotional uproar my husband and I would have and it was difficult to do, difficult to get in the role.  But I did, and I found out that I was, indeed, my own best friend.  


Another thing that really helped me was trying to see myself as others saw me when I was most insecure: a young girl.  It was interesting how it began.  Of course I would go over pictures of myself and see this young, vivacious, sassy girl and realize that she wasn't really that happy with herself.  She couldn't get outside of her own skin to even imagine how strong and beautiful she really was.




 Funny thing though, things have a way of happening just when you need them to happen.  A friend I had when I was twelve or thirteen found me via the internet.  










We started to connect again and began to reminisce.  She wrote once, in an email that I was the coolest friend she ever had and didn't know why she didn't let me know at the time.  But she always remembered me like that; "one of the coolest".  I actually was surprised at first that she had that opinion of me. I began realizing who I really was.  I started to see the sassiness I had and I liked it!

My family noticed this new "self interest" and frankly, didn't get it.  We'd  be having a conversation and I'd say something about me, or contribute to the subject with my feelings. Many times I would hear, "It's not about you".  Of course I wasn't so good at letting myself be heard and I made many mistakes.  The mistakes I made affected my family as they noticed my changes, but in the end, their patience and love for me helped me figure things out 



It's been twelve years since I first began the quest to find out who I really am.  It's been a good journey filled with all sorts of twists and turns. It hasn't turned out how I thought it would when I would pray for my emotional wounds to be healed.  It's turned out much better.  I never thought I'd be saying that.



I did a fantastic zumbathon today and saw a friend I haven't seen for while.  She is probably one of the most genuine, beautiful women I have ever known. 






 She's the type of friend that I can cut the small talk with, and get to the heart of the matter in a short amount of time.  She has started this journey of knowing herself, loving herself  and being her own best friend early; she's only in her mid thirties.  How fortunate is that??? I can tell she's totally on her way to what Carl Jung called "self actualization.




My advice to young women is never give up seeking truth; about the world, others, and themselves.  And when you find out who you are, the good the bad, the beautiful and the ugly......love yourself anyway, accept yourself just as you are.  That's what God does...God loves us just as we are and never, ever rejects any of our efforts to love and know him.  





I don't feel the need for prayer that I can love people anymore.  Now when I look at people, I see a reflection of myself.  Whether it's something not so easy to see, or whether it's a beautiful image of who I reall am; I have more compassion on others, on myself. So,with God's grace, we all will have a happy, peaceful ending to our story. 

Remembering???

My brother in law posted a video on facebook and I have to say, it spurred  something deep inside of me; almost like a long, lost memory.




  I suppose those "deep inside" feelings are there, crying, waiting, and longing for something to trigger  them to be set free with expression, and that is what this video did for me.  It showed the work of  a photographer who posed total strangers as if they were long lost lovers, brothers, sisters, family.




 The moral or essence of the story is that these total strangers, if only for a brief time, cared for one another as if they always have.  Just posing as if they were actually in these close relationships with one another, caused the feelings to emanate, allowed that love to be real if only for a short time.



Humanity is  a strange species isn't it?  Full of mystery, contradictions, love, hate, peace and war.  Although I am part of this curious collection of life, sometimes I feel uncomfortable in my own skin only because I see what could be, I see our potential for goodness...or maybe even the goodness that  was.  Who knows? And because I am a part of the human condition, my heart aches for what has become of us.  I know, I'm not being very positive here.




 Positivity is my motto.  It has to be or I'll go under. Yet tonight it isn't positive feelings that I'm experiencing.  It's a sort of nostalgia that seems to be flowing through my veins. It's almost like remembering better days.  It's like I've seen the best and the best is not yet to come, but only was.




I have no idea where that comes from, but I do have this mysterious feeling that humans, in all of their complexities, have, can or will be able to (if they try really hard) love one another and remember that we all belong to each other.

You know what? Sometimes I just need a pep talk!  Thanks kid!!!!

Reflections

Sometimes I have to start all over again on this sojourn of my life.




At least it seems as though I do. It seems as though I'm back at square one.


 But I know I'm not really.  It just feels that way.  Life has a way of letting things meet up with you that take you by surprise.  I have been enjoying so much outside of myself: my house, shopping etc.  Those joys are fading fast and I'm realizing, once again, that life is about one thing; relationships, loving and accepting, and of course being loved.  For no apparent reason I have been feeling a sense of dread.  You know that feeling when you just know things are not right, or that something dispiriting will happen? I personally think it's anxiety.  It's not a cordial feeling, not a healthy feeling, but if I try, I can maybe, just maybe, find some use in it.

Maybe, just maybe this feeling will cause me to go back to the roots in my heart and I will intentionally question the things that trigger the foreboding.




 I really think it's a drag to have to take my focus away from such pleasant things as a remodel, parties, and my wonderful life, and have to do some inner work of the soul.

Questioning myself  and asking myself why I feel the way I do when gloomy feelings arise and scare the you know what out of me, is like lancing an infection in my skin...very painful.





But when it's cleaned out, there is healing, and my energy returns. I always talk about being tenacious, and I view myself as strong and confident, but in the secret places of my being, there is that ole' antagonistic part of me that peers it's grey little head out from a hiding place in my soul and laughs, mocks and jeers at me. Sometimes it charges out instantly and totally freaks me ..other times, like lately, it ever so slowly creeps out, tiny step, by tiny step.  The aberrant element about this Antagonist is that the closer she gets to the exterior of my life, of my heart, the more prodigious she gets. And she brings with her a hovering grey cloud that sort of nests all around me, and sometimes even seeping into the depths of my soul.Her voice lulls me into a weary defeat when I haven't even fought.


The good news is, I know who I am.



Other factors may test that confidence, but they fail. There may be hidden shadows of myself that come up after being held down for a long time, but they are just that, shadows.  When the light of truth about me shines on those shadows, they disappear. That's why I am back at this starting place.

(dedicated to Sherry who always has comdedic relief to my drama)

Negative Ramblings On Society

I'm on a roll.  I'm angry about the stupid government shutdown........... I'm angry about animal cruelty............and............This is probably not a good time for me to write, as I'm so up in arms about the shape of society.  I really do try to keep my mind free of such upsetting and negative conditions. But by chance I read about a pit bull who, for some reason....probably the guidance of angels, wound up finding an animal lover to take her in.  This pit bull was used as bait for dog fights.  That means they filed her teeth down so she couldn't defend herself, tied a rope around her neck and used her to bring out other pit bulls aggression.  She was in bad shape when they found her.  Fortunately, she is doing much better and is loved by someone who will change what evil people did to her.


This totally triggered an angry helplessness in me about the torture of animals.  People I love turn their minds and hearts away from the fact that $%^#@*& corporations keep animals in such abhorrent conditions,





strictly to produce almost an impossible amount of food, or flesh or whatever you want to call it, so that humans can feed their greed.





 It is inhumane and obscene to say the least.  I'm not sure I'm opposed to the small farmer who does this in a humane way.  I know that fellow christians will say something to the effect that "God gave us the animals to eat, and do what we want.  Remember the scripture in Acts when God gave Peter the vision that he could eat it all?"  At about that point in our conversation I  say, "Remember that scripture in the bible that talks about how blood was shed ONLY because of sin."  That's right....God doesn't want us to eat animals.  It was us who sort of told God we wanted to do this and apparently he sort of said okay.  But I"m still not sold on that either. Especially if God is who I think he is.


And then of course the stupid government shutdown.  I swear, it's like school yard bullying.  It's disgusting. My husband, who is very political, says that the tea party clan "forced this".  And that may be true.  However, why not go to work anyway?  Why not just for once, break the rule and go?  At this point, if you were with me, I would be looking sad, disgusted and powerless, just shaking my head, or staring into space.

What I need to do is change my thoughts, look out my window where I'm sitting, at the beautiful clear blue sky, the wildness of the mountains, and maybe just sort of dwell on this.  Lately, at night, I wake up to the noises of coyotes, javelina's and other wild animals.  It's eery and seems to always be in a minor key.  Interesting that minor key! Yet it's a scary, beautiful sound that reminds me of something bigger and more iimportant than government or humans evil ways.

When I figured out that the coyote's killed my cat for food, I wanted to shoot every one of them in my sorrow.  But my friend Annette reminded me that they don't do it for spite...she said, "Peggy, they're hungry and desperate for food."




So be it. And yes, it's the circle of life..but it's not the circle of a corporation that is greedy and obese.

Ahhhh...redirecting my mind to positive ideas about this whole thing will be a challenge today.  Humans, we sure mess things up don't we?




Someday, maybe in the sweet bye and bye we will be free from the pain of bloodshed.  I believe that the dead can see us.  Some don't believe that.  I mean, I believe Jesus sees us and so the christian religion teaches that.  If he does, he has to be unhappy.  Why does he, as well as other dead people, if indeed they can see us, have to suffer because of our screw ups? Catholics believe in something called purgatory.  This is a place where dead people go to sort of see things more clearly and maybe make up for their screw ups here on earth. I've thought about that long and hard and can see that it's possible.

In any case I'll end on this scripture:

¶ The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6