Lawn Mowing!!!

Ok.. This isn’t mine.  I stole it from NPR, but it so perfectly describes a big joy I have in life.  Enjoy!!!

SEAN HURLEY: It was 7:15 in the morning, a Saturday, when the lawnmowers came back. Two of my neighbors, one near and one far, had seen the checkered flag of summer and were off and cutting. I awoke to what I thought were a pair of lions on the higher plateau, singing like crickets in a constant roar. All winter long the grass lays crushed beneath the boot of snow. When the snow stomps off, the grass stands up. And when the grass stands up, flash green and luxurious, the lawnmowers come stumbling out, dazzled as bears from their cave of sheds.

Then we push or ride them along the invented maze of our backyards, shaping out geometries, squares of tall trouble, triangles to harvest.  The improvised poetry, the made up math of it. Like motorized rivers, we glide down our lanes. Rolling the left wheels over the silvered path they made the last trip down. So convenient you can see where you’ve been. The green cuttings fan out over the road like a fallen fence. The birds whistle long and short, and flicker and fly and find their chairs in any tree or anything high to watch and ignore us at the same time, as they do, like everything wild.

All summer long the lawnmowers spin around our heads like homemade bees, cutting the grass, keeping the wildness tight and runable(ph).  Nipping about the rooty napes of our small trees, grasping under the wide dresses of our rhododendrons. The sound of the lawnmowers is the hypnosis of summer.  As we ladies and gentlemen start our engines, the earth obliges and starts up its grass.  Softly, over the old flat earth we rove and love and try to keep well in the way we imagine best.

It is a race of sorts with a finish line of snow. But this is just something we like to do, side by side, when it gets hot. Pretending our pleasure is our work, and finally when the lawn is cut and the mower stopped - standing for a moment in the quivering silence, as though we’ve turned ourselves into the purest air.

For NPR News, I'm Sean Hurley in Thornton, New Hampshire

Down In The Dumps

This was supposed to be something others struggled with.   You were the one who saw the glass half-full.   Then a treasured job is lost, an illness strikes, the empty nest comes, divorce happens, debt engulfs, care-giving overwhelms, or a thousand and one other things come trying to devastate.   Perhaps you have too much to do, accept undue criticism, require more help with an illness, or just need to end a relationship.  

The other day, I saw this picture of a depressed brain and it astonished me.  I’ve always known that depression is your body’s way of slowing down your brain, yet the picture is dramatic.  Today I’m sitting here waiting for the Lawn Mower repairman to open so I can have him look at an engine problem.   I’ve changed the spark plugs, but one still isn’t firing efficiently.  That’s the perfect analogy of what happens to hour human machine (the brain) when we allow ourselves to continue living in a state of depression. 

There is a way out.  Find a trusted friend who can really listen and accept you.   That someone needs to be able to identify and help you explore options.   If you don’t have a friend like that ask a Pastor to help you find a “someone” who can also introduce you to their friends or support group.  God doesn’t want us living down in the dumps.  He wants a relationship with us.   His goal is for us to share and show His love to others.  Why not let the God in others assist you?  Why not search out a facet of God with Skin-On?   

Here’s the link for the dramatic picture: Have a great day! 

Celebrating Milestones:

Last weekend, we commemorated our son Bradley’s high school graduation and launched him into adulthood.    He will be attending the University of Central Florida in August and studying Bio-technology, hoping to complete a Masters in that field.  In addition to working at Chick-Fil, securing the full Bright Futures & UCF Scholarships, he has also qualified for two grants.   In our eyes he is a very astute young man with a good sense of vision and strong character.   Please keep him in your prayers as he pursues his life’s profession. 

To make Bradley’s very special day even more significant Kim Lovejoy (Bradley’s birth-mom) joined us for the celebration.  (See the distinct similarities in the picture below.) Although we exchange Birthday cards, pictures, and email addresses this was the first time we have had face-to-face contact with her since Bradley’s forth birthday, so he was really excited.   It was an amazing day of fun and sharing that I’m sure will be followed by many more.   My Mom was also able to spend the day with us making it even more noteworthy.  Proverbs 10:1, says, “A wise son brings joy to his father,” (NLT).  We have boat-loads of joy!

Thank God for Dip Sticks!

By now many of you guys have patiently endured the continued laments I’ve given about my transmission leak.   That dip stick has been pulled more times than a train whistle, yet this past week I lost it!   Not the transmission, the dip stick.   Panicked, I called my mechanic buddy and he borrowed one from a friend.   Then George began a frantic search of the junk yards for me.   (I have an old 97 Ranger.)   For the last few days I’ve been adding fluid, but unsure I was getting the right amount.  I had no standard to go by.  If I put in too little it could burn up the transmission or even the engine.   Yet, if I put in too much I could have created a fireball or inferno. 

For us Christians, The Bible and The Holy Spirit serve as our guides and standards for life.  Without them both we waiver from the principles and values God has for our lives.  I had to ask when was the last time I panicked that much missing my morning quiet time, church, hour of prayers, or even grace said at a meal.  In the gospels Jesus is always either reminding or declaring what the scriptures say.  They were His gold standard.  In Acts 17: 11, we see that the apostles searched the scriptures often to get God’s council on a matter.  In Acts 18:28 we see them using the Word of God to refute teachings of the Jews.    2 Timothy 3:16, reminds us that all scripture was given to correct and teach us.   

I’m so thankful I found my dip stick this morning. wedged between the battery and the fan.   All day I found myself instinctively making the spiritual analogy and thankfully choosing to direct my thoughts to devotionals, a Christian song, or verses I could remember.   Without the scriptures our lives loose their sense of what is ordinary and normal.    You may think it’s dorky to be thankful for something so lame as a dip stick, but without such things both my work life and spiritual life hits a tailspin.   How are your dip stick readings lately?   Have a great evening. 

Going it ALONE:

Last fall, I sensed God leading me to get a small group of guys together and study the book called, “Healing is a Choice,” by Stephen Arterburn.   Two old friends and I agreed to meet each week for that purpose.  If you’ve never read the book you should.   In a nutshell, the book helps you examine your hurts and issues of the past, confront or grieve them, and then become a better connector with people.

Even though I had read –“Healing Is a Choice” a year ago, it was something I wanted to share with others.   Little did I know before we began our study that my Dad’s health would take a nose-dive and that he would pass away in three short months.   Now almost eight months later, words can not express how God used these two fine men and the book HIAC to support me during my time of grief and loss.   A dear Pastor once said, “Friends multiply joys and divide sorrows.”   A synonym for the word divide here is to “carve up.”   Making a choice to bring my issues and pain to these guys helped me slice up the issues and my grief.   My problems became less intense though the process of sharing and becoming venerable.   These brothers, Dennis and George were part of a men’s group from many years ago.  We no longer see each other often, yet still keep in touch.   As Christian brothers we often refer to ourselves as the Brothers-Of-Another-Mother.”   We all need friends.

I’m often amazed that Christ, as our leader, was an emotional man.   He made our entire universe and yet wept over the fate and wrong choices his creatures were making.  He cried when his friends died and celebrated at wedding feasts.    In scripture, this mighty creator and sustainer Jesus is often found running to Father God in prayer.    What kind of losses have you experienced lately?   Are you processing and grieving these with others so that healing occur – Or do you just kick the can down the curb waiting hoping your problems will go away over time?   I challenge you to make the investment and choose connect with God and others.   Choose to heal!