I am – not

I have missed visiting these pages and have some information to share.  Lady Bird, the Dog of God of a few posts back, will be going to a new foster home in ME in about 2 weeks.  Though I will be very saddened to see her go, it will be better for her mental and emotional outlook to be with only one other large male dog. youngsters who will be able to run w/her, a treadmill with beaches and dog parks nearby .  Those of us in rescue need to remember we do what we do for the betterment of our dogs, not ourselves.

I was reminded of this when my application for a Bloodhound was turned down as they wanted him to go where he would get much more one on one attention than in my rescue.  My reply was essentially, hey, what is good for Copper is good for me.  Unexpectedly, I reaped a reference for the future, the good will of his shelter and some new friends.  Do what is best for the dog.

Not unlike for people in and out of the church.  I have been much reminded lately of the overwhelming need for love – shared w/those we like and even more w/those we don’t, who have little in common w/us.  God showed us the ultimate in humility when He submitted himself to human form and thus, to our limitations.   Think about this.  This is so much more than a gentle baby in a manger.  This is God, THE God, I AM, moving himself into his Son, into a child who will need human years to grow and then die, DIE, by the most humiliating means of the time He appeared on our earth.

Who then are we to whine and quibble when we don’t get our way?  Whose way are we supposed to be getting?  Certainly not ours; my life no longer belongs to me; it never did – I have been deluded for most of it.  I don’t even need to seek His will for my life since it isn’t mine!  HA.  I no longer work for my company or boss but all my life, my healing work as an RN, my dog rescue work, my prayer work, my lazy day work (like today!) – all, ALL, of it is to the glory of God on High, whose earthly birth we celebrate this next month.  Nothing he asks of me is too small anymore – not when I recall and try in my feeble way to appreciate the humbleness to which he allowed himself to be subjected because of LOVE.

Not so Random Acts of Kindness

Within the past several weeks, two vehicles stopped while I was walking Lady Bird on leash to be sure I would not be “jumped” or harmed by Spanky, who was off leash up ahead.  I assured them she was my dog and quite safe.  Whether it was because Spanky was a loose dog or a Pit Bull, I don’t know but these kindnesses touched my heart.  Then today, I was simply overwhelmed.  One never knows where one will meet a person whose heart and soul beats along a similar path as your own: different enough to lend a thoughtful ear and constructive suggestions yet close enough to know when nothing needs to be said.  My new friend J. is that type of friend to me – and she has brought her wonderful family along.  This morning, her family and some Fransican Key club members came to Silverwalk to clean crates and kennels, love on the dogs (who were in heaven), re-organize my garage so I could get my car in and the dog food up off the floor where some had gone (a big no no in rescue work) and prepare my breezeway windows for the framed plastic sheeting which will cut down on drafts tremendously this winter.  It helped us all, thank you, God, to have weather which was sunny and warm into the high sixties at the least!  We all worked hard for at least 3-4 hours.  When I put the crates back in the breezeway, I was able to stick my head in and smell the clean.

The afternoon was spent at Petco promoting Fostering Hope, a new program geared to seeking out homes who would be willing to foster dogs in need – not adopt.  This was the first weekend of the program.  People are so accustomed to being accosted by rescues seeking adoptions, many were taken aback when I said I wasn’t talking adoption.  I believe this will be an ongoing process as truly we educate the community to what fostering is, is not and how crucial it is to rescue and animal welfare.

I left Shiloh, the token dog at Fostering Hope, who is utterly well behaved and totally gorgeous, w/the Petco groomers while I went for my supper.  Again, the weather was warm enough for me not to want to leave him in my car – though it cooled nicely by the time I was done.  I took longer than anticipated as the activities caught up w/me and adrenalin subsided.  When I got home, the dogs were all ready to eat after having eaten at 0530 this morning – so they were all tucked in by seven o’clock, I am polishing off supper as I type and plan to read, then go to bed early myself w/hopes to rise early.

So, where is God in all this? EVERYWHERE!  He moves people to reach out to strangers, he urges friends to help friends, he works through those of like mind to reach those whose minds need prodding and he gives us love to love and care for those who have no voice.  Thanks be to God.

Lost and Found

I have let myself get lost.  Now that I realize this, am I found?  Burn out is an overworked phrase but this week I found myself not able to do one more thing without some true rest.  Unfortunately, this meant missing a shift at work as well as dog class.  The week had started a bit ominously with my being bored with eating.  Now, I don’t eat normally – can’t swallow, so use a stomach tube.  I do “drink” coffee, juices and cocoa through my tube with my tube feeding; things I can smell and enjoy vicariously.   But last weekend and then as the week went on, eating became a major chore – and bore.  Then, Thursday, I hit the wall.  Yes, I was busy both at work and at home.  Did I get enough sleep?  NO.  Did I get enough to eat?  NO.  Did I spend enough time in prayer?  NO.

So, the conclusion I have reached is to stretch back and review my personal creed and to start to listen more.  “Silverwalk: dedicated to God, serving in prayer (FIRST), healing (SECOND) and animal rescue (THIRD).”  That which is in parentheses is my added emphasis for this entry.  I lost track of prayer.  I didn’t keep myself prepared to be a good healer and I let animal welfare overwhelm the priorities.  Now, what to do.  Again, re-order my life so PRAYER is first and foremost, trusting everything else needed will fall in line.  TRUSTING, FAITH, WALKING WITH GOD.  He will ensure my ability/compassion for healing and animal rescue.  He will, especially when first honored, will secure my life – HAS secured my life by the sacrifice of His most beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  Now, it is up to me using His strength to honor Him, my God and Savior.   So be it.

Lady Bird, the dog of God of several posts back, is still here and doing well.  She takes a lot of effort, yet the effort is being returned in a dog who looks at me in a very communicative manner, who is thriving despite her continued fears, who is still alive and beloved.   Thank you, God, for this ministry – just help me not let it overwhelm the prayer to which I am first called.

Intention

I had planned to go to TX yesterday, then did not.  Made it to Serenity Mass at 6:15 PM.  A very quiet, small mass at the end of the weekend.  The Gospel was where the disciples were arguing over who was greatest – and Jesus talked about how the least shall be first.  Humble pie.

Today, I read the OT lesson about Naamen, a commander accustomed to being obeyed yet now suffering from leprosy.   He was guided to Elisha in Samaria, the current prophet of Israel of whom even the king was minimally aware.   So, this great commander and his retinue go to Elisha’s house.  Elisha doesn’t even come out to see him – he sends a servant to tell him to wash in the Jordan 7 times and he will be healed.  What!  Are not the rivers of Damasus mightier than any river in Israel?  Huge temper tantrum.  His servants convince him to follow through.  Now, Elisha does not ask for faith or belief or a change of heart – he asks for obedience, humility, in following simple directions which are, to Naamen, bizarre.  Naamen  finally washes as directed – he is healed.  He is astounded.  He BELIEVES.  Now, to me, comes the part of which I don’t recall ever being in a sermon or treatise, though I am sure it has been.  As he professes his belief in the Lord of Israel, he asks a dispensation – that when he accompanies his master, who leans on his strong arm,  into the house of Rimmon and bows down, he asks to be pardoned by the Lord God of Israel.  Elisha grants him this pardon and tells him to go in peace.

WOW.  This brought to mind Jesus’s handling of the Roman coin – render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and render unto God that which is God’s.  Naamen’s function in helping his master worship in the house of Rimmon had now become a “rendering unto Caesar” while his heart was with the Lord God of Israel – and YHWH knows that.  How many of us struggle with activities demanded by our jobs which do not honor Christ per se yet do not break the law though are expected of us as a matter of course?  Yet, we are obedient to our workplace or whatever as we need to be even more obedient to God.  It is our HEARTS that are owned by God and through which we honor Him.   Yes, what we do must also honor Him but as for me, I need to sometimes work or travel on Sundays, the Sabbath to me.  Intention – why are we doing what we do?  Are we keeping God in our hearts and intentions?  Are we listening to and respecting Him?

I am unable to swallow – anything.  My priest understands that when I participate in church service, I take Communion by intention.  A wonderful abbot in IA had a small prayer for me, most of which I do not recall except he used concept of receiving the Eucharistic gifts by intention.  Check your hearts.  Check your outer lives.  Where and how can we bring them more in line w/Christ and if we cannot, if we need to render to Caesar, let us recall Naamen’s request – and go in peace.

Temple – Then and Now

The Old Testament reading for this morning is from Kings, where Solomon brings the objects David had prepared for the house of the Lord to the new Temple to the one true God.  Kings 8 speaks of the dedication of the Temple to the Lord, the sacrifice and the worship of His people.   As I read, I listened to the background story – the years and centuries of wandering, of being a divided people finally united under David and now, being “at home” in the House of the Lord – the tent is part of what is brought into the Temple.  Now, it is time to be still, to worship, to listen, to know God fulfills His promises even as we go our own ways only to return to Him contrite, yet forgiven.

How do younger people know they have a call for the monastic life?  I felt a call at 16 yet followed my own path for way too long – in the past years as an adult finally appreciating what the Lord has done and is doing in me.  The Israelites, too, wandered and strayed like their beloved King David whom God loved, only to return time and time again to the One who holds our lives.  Here is an evollution – from wandering tribes to a united kingdom to a house for our God in which they could worship.  “Be still and KNOW that I am God.”  What a change, adjustment for that ancient people; what a change and adjustment for us “moderns” when we grasp that God means what He says – be still and know.  Contemplative prayer is more listening, making oneself available to the God of the Ark, of the Old and New Covenants, the Father who sent the Son as the ultimate Sacrifice through Whom we may live and have our being. Amen.

Prayer and walking the dog

God does indeed work in weird ways – or, more traditionally speaking, mysterious ways.  A while back, not too long ago, I put the question to myself – don’t know “where” it came from – “what was THE most important “thing” in my life?”  My answer was unhesitating and surprising to me – “Prayer.”  Not dogs, not nursing, not reading, but prayer.  Whoa.  So, I obviously need to place more time in my life for prayer.  It tends to get shoved to the back from everything else happening.  I remember being counseled by an abbot to set time aside and make no appts for that time; that people will not understand why you have time aside but are not “doing” anything.  The world, I believe, has much benefited from the dedicated prayer of monks, nuns and laypersons in daily prayer.   So, I am making more time and using other time as “prayer time.”  A friend of mine also has dogs to walk – she prays as she walks her dogs.  What a wonderful way to be present to the moment, out in the fresh air, one foot ahead of another on the Earth, praying and attending to creatures of God.  I, too, do this – it is not a substitute for prayer time, it IS prayer time.  Brother Lawrence found prayer even as he did the kitchen work of his monastery.   In fact, in almost any rule you read from St. Benedict to St. Francis and between,  there is the juxtaposition of formal prayer time with work; to me, prayer occupies the entire time .  Now, I will depend on God to help me put this concept into better practice.

Dog of God

Lady Bird, English Coonhound, dog of God

I was truly humbled this past week.   I finally listened to what I did not want to hear – and what was said was the truth.   I didn’t appreciate the language used, I wanted to be right – but, I was wrong and this person was gracious enough to help me see that I needed to change or the neighborhood would be up in arms about one of my dogs.  What she also tried to tell me was this dog needed to be put down as she was fearfully aggressive.  I know when she is loose, she won’t hurt anyone but no one else knows that – they simply see a very loudly barking dog coming stiffly toward them – all signs of aggression.  I almost took her to heart.  I did on my failure to confine this dog  – she will no longer be loose in the neighborhood.   I am going to keep her alive, though.  My dog rescue is a sanctuary.   How can I call myself that if I let a very timid dog live and work with her, yet not this fear-filled dog from who knows what kind of life before coming to Silverwalk Beagle & Hound Sanctuary?   Do I just save and work with the easy dogs?  Does God just save and work with the “easy” people?  He used Jonah, he used Moses, he used David – all very imperfect people but who allowed themselve to be perfectly used by God.   He used St. Peter, who denied Christ three times after being warned by our Lord he would do so!   When Jesus was taken into captivity in the Garden,  the band of disciples RAN!  But, wow, how God used them after the Resurrection and Pentecost.  The church exploded because Jesus/God/Holy Spirit used these imperfect men and women (and yes, there are a lot of woman in the army of God) to spread the Good News.

So, who am I to throw up my hands and declare, “I don’t do difficult dogs!”  Hogwash.  This sanctuary is a part of Silverwalk Hermitage and thus, a part of God’s plan.  Lady Bird is beloved by our Lord no less than I am; she came here for a purpose of which I may just be getting the starting glimpse.   Remind me to let you know in a month how she is doing – I am hoping to see a born again dog – along with her daily born again owner.  Daily?  Maybe hourly!  God bless the beasts and frank speaking neighbors.

Dog Days and Peace

Dog days of summer – time for reflection, resolution, preparation.  Although I have been out of formal school for many years, my calendar year still revolves around September to May.  I was born in September.  This is when I make my “new year’s resolutions” on my birthday, not on the New Year.  Then I am too busy corralling panicking dogs who hate firecrackers and guns going off at midnight.  Most of my rescue hounds are probably failed hunters – few appreciate the sound of a gun.  Neither do I.  Oh, I have shot some skeet but on the whole, strive to be a pacifist.  If we simply stopped responding to threats, real and imagined, with violence, perhaps the threats would stop.  Not right away – Gandhi and MLKing proved that – but they also proved major social reform can take place in a non-violent manner.   We, all of us around the world, need courage to step up and do what is right, despite the cost.  Easy to say, terribly hard to do.  The founders of our country did – and lost fortunes, lives, livelihood – but built a new country.  I need to more and more “be still, be silent, be at peace” so I can better listen to God, then act on what I hear from Him.

Prayer, Changes and Adjustment

I again seem to be at an impasse. Sometimes I think God takes me along so far, then has me sit and mull things over. This would drive my late friend Tom nuts – he was of the school “make a decision and do it – you think too much!” And I probably do. I have been thinking this past week of how people get things DONE and how others (myself included) don’t – the others just do it, quoth Nike.  My friend Alice has overseen the doubling of her cat sanctuary in 4 years w/the addition of a thrift shop organized and set up by a dynamic volunteer Board member; another friend, Judy, is now waiting for a response from the IRS re: her tax exempt status…..So, in my now turvy world w/o home internet, I am trying to get my mojo back and restructure so I do get things done – not just the day to day stuff; BIGGER stuff – like the tax exemption for the dog rescue, my tax return (yes, I am behind), research for my CNIII at work (more hourly $ plus more input to the nursing process) and most important, my prayer/study/office time with God. After reading True Prayer, I am accepting and focusing more on varied prayer styles – like intentional walking with or w/o a dog, using the Jesus prayer as I drive to work – understanding that God knows I am praying for my patients, colleagues, the work ahead and safe travel – and simple down time – even on the lawn mower – contemplation in the midst of small engine noise; God can meet me anywhere if I simply attend to Him .

OK – so I am borrowing but Literacy is a good cause!

I am a bibliophile who loves Charles Dickens, non-fiction and dog/horse stories…so I couldn’t resist this article on my iGoogle site and wanted to share it….though I know the “scholarship” of Wikipedia is, at best, suspect – this has good suggestions in it.  I have been in a book club – was a charter member, in fact – and now, with Sundays off, am trying to get back to it….Enjoy a light entry – and read through your summer .

How to Become Literate

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Do you sigh with envy when you find yourself chatting with a guy who seems to have a quote for every occasion from some book or other? Or maybe that girl attracted people’s attention because she was able to talk about everything under the sun, saying, “I read about that once…” These people are literate – they are probably also charming and skilled at conversation, but the basis of much charm and good conversational skills is… being literate, or well-read. Being literate is not just about knowing how to read – it’s about knowing what to read, and how to talk about it when the time comes. Want to know their secrets?

Steps

1. Read. First, read what interests you. Maybe you aren’t really into big novels – you find them too unnerving, too much. Instead, why not try magazines at first, or graphic novels? Or pick up a book of short stories – read in small, easy to digest bits at first. But the most important thing you can do is simply commit to reading, even just a little, each day.
2. Progress to more challenging reading. After a month or two of reading a snippet here or there of this or that, try moving up to things that are a little more challenging. For example, choose a modern classic, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s, depending on where you live) Stone or one of the Lemony Snicket books. These are not just for children – they are books that have been read and enjoyed by millions of people. If you try one of these and still have trouble committing to the longer length of the read, try Reader’s Digest – it offers condensed versions of regular books, along with newsy, chatty articles from lots of different magazines.
3. Find a book group. Once you’ve begun reading, you will want to talk over the books you’re reading. Lots of people join or form book clubs. It can be simple – call your sister or brother, or a couple of friends. Meet for coffee, and there, agree on a book that you will all read. Meet again a month from that date, and hopefully you will all have finished the book, and can discuss it. Talking over things you’ve read can really enhance your experience of the book, as you share with friends the feelings the book evoked, or the fun you experienced as the story unfolded. Not only that, but a book club keeps you reading – you know you will be talking about this book in just a few days, so you have a goal in mind as you read.
4. Set personal goals for reading. Lots of very literate people do what is known as “parallel reading” – or reading several books at the same time. Maybe you will keep one in the bedroom and read for a bit before you sleep each night. Maybe you will keep one in the bathroom and read there for a while, or one in the den, etc. Even if you don’t wish to get this crazy, you can still set goals, like, “I want to spend this next year reading classics” or “I will read all of Shakespeare’s comedies this year, and next year, maybe I’ll tackle the tragedies.” Even if you don’t achieve the entire goal, you will have still read some of what you set out to read. And that’s good. Try setting a time frame within which you want achieve your reading objective.
5. Choose well-known books. If you enjoy reading offbeat things, that’s fine. But if you want to become more literate in the conventional sense, you will want to choose books others have heard of. Ask your librarian to help you. Reading well-known works has two benefits: First, it gives you a common frame of reference for things you may hear from lots of other people, and second, it educates you in ways you may not have thought of. For example: Most people have heard of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” At a party, one of your friends might express distaste for racial bigotry. While none of your friends are bigots (hopefully), this friend is the one who publicly took a stand against it. Saying, “You’re the new Atticus Finch” is a tremendous compliment to such a person, plus you will seem very literate saying it.
6. Enjoy reading. Perhaps your taste runs more to science fiction than to classic literature – there’s no shame in that. Or maybe you like more romantic fare. There’s plenty to be found in literature. Or maybe you will find that you like English poetry, but are not so crazy about American. Whatever. Anything you read makes you a more literate person. It exposes you to new words, and to ideas from people all around the world, and from different times in our history. Whatever you like to read, there will certainly be plenty of reading material. So you aren’t a Shakespeare buff, but you know all of Asimov’s Laws of Robotics – you’re still literate, and you will gain more enjoyment from your choices if you read what you are interested in.

Starter Reading Lists
Here are a couple of reading lists – they’re just suggestions to help you begin your adventures:

• For Classic Literature:
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Paradise Lost by John Milton, Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, My Antonia by Willa Cather, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• For Modern Literature:
  • East of Eden by John Steinbeck, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• For Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature:
  • I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick, Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
• For More Romantic Literature:
  • Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Tips

• Don’t be afraid to look at the Cliff’s Notes on books – especially if you’ve already read them. It’s enlightening, and you may learn things you didn’t realize while you were actually reading, which may make you like the book more or less once you know them.
• Feel free to quote from the books you’ve read – it’s what the literati do.
• If you are from an English speaking country, the vast majority of books you will come across in bookshops will have been originally published in English. However, a very good way to expand your culture is to tackle foreign literature as well! Examples of major non-English writers include Gustave Flaubert, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Milan Kundera, Yasunari Kawabata, Federico Garcia Lorca… Not only is this a great way of becoming literate in a truly eclectic way, it will also earn you a great deal of respect from foreigners, who are seldom used to meeting English-speaking people with an interest in non-English books.

Warnings

• Once you start reading, it’s hard to stop, and it’s hard to part with the books you love.

• After you have been reading regularly for a while you may be tempted to think that you know quite a lot and feel that you can “show off” your newfound knowledge. Behaving in such a manner is a sure way to end up being “put in your place” by someone who has spent a life time studying and who will be able to spot a neophyte a mile away. To avoid this one should always bear in mind how much there is to know and allowing oneself to be humble in the face of this knowledge. You can also help prevent embarrassment by acknowledging up front that you are not an expert but that you have formed a partial opinion on a given topic through some exposure to the subject matter. Remember that it is generally better to be smarter than you initially look than to look smarter than you actually are.

Things You’ll Need

• Books
• A reader’s journal (make notes about the things you want to remember)
• Time and commitment
• A dictionary

Related wikiHows

• How to Improve Your Reading Skills
• How to Understand the Book You Are Reading
• How to View Literature Objectively

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Become Literate. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.