Dance In the Rain (Rewrite)

I published “Dance In the Rain” on July 11, 2010. The blogs I read this week kept bringing pieces of this work back to memory. I hope the rewrite blesses you!

In the course of life I have learned that almost nothing remains the same. Life is a stormy mistress. If we are honest the stormy days outnumber the calm ones. In life, lightning strikes and lots of times in the same place. Life changes and right quick. Wink and tragedy comes on you unawares. Blink and blessed moments may pass you by. Usually tragedy and blessing are mixed together in fast-moving squalls that roar across the surfaces of our existence; But whether winking or blinking we have to learn to enjoy where we are at and stop waiting for the world to change in our favor.

There is a dish displayed on the bookcase in my office. Written in the center is this saying: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

We’ve all got “stuff” going on. You have money troubles. She may have a close friend who is dying. The guy in the corner over there is going through a divorce. But if we let those things take our focus, we miss opportunity to dance between the rain drops. And it’s the dancing that makes life on this planet tolerable. If you listen close enough the rain offers a good beat; So friend spend some time today dancing in the rain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ujj0FNxl8g&feature=related

Pastor Wrinkles: What I Learned From Pictures

2011 was a year of many changes for me. It was also the first full year of learning how to put pictures on “Reinventing the We’ll.”  Let’s see what happened shall we?

In January I moved back to my childhood home.

You may remember my fight with the black berries at Muddy’s house. in the spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the building of the “Pseudo-Elizabethan” garden. I learned that reclaiming and rebuilding territory is not a quick process.

 

 

 

 

 

In June I was relieved of my duties as interim youth pastor by one of my students who was newly credentialed and married. I am so blessed to have Pastor Brad and his wife Cassie on board!

 I got a great gift out of the deal and a name that has served me well since! I learned God wastes nothing, not even a good joke.

 

All three kids came home for a brief visit this summer. They still call this home but more and more their lives seem to be elsewhere.

 

 

I got to visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law at their home in Maine…my first alone vacation. Weird! Yet in the midst of all the changes I learned that  family will always be family.

 

 These lessons all came between the wild storms of course!

 

 

 

I have wondered often about the clouds this year. What do they speak about our future? I can only say that change is definitely in the wind!

 

That notion of course was totally borne out by the fact that Christmas came at Halloween both outside and in. We had to celebrate early! After all Duddy was moving to Amsterdam to begin her career as a missionary.

So lots of changes in 2011. Virtually nothing went untouched. Some of the changes I am barely ready to look at…others I have embraced and walked into; Most I am still on the fence about. Truthfully though how I feel about ’em doesn’t really matter. I can take the snapshot and freeze forever the memory of the moment but in the end the picture is not life. No… life is that thing that draws us on into the unknown. It’s the thing we haven’t seen or photographed yet. Life makes us stand on the precious resources of memory and experience so that we may reach the hopes and possibilities it holds out to us.

     As I look at the year in pictures I see a year I never could have predicted. I guess I have learned to better hold my breath because prophet that I am I have no idea what adventure lies around the next corner.

When the Night Seems Long

       Have you ever had a moment where the command of God comes through so strong you simply know you have to do what He is telling you to do right then and there?

I had such a moment last week. I felt I needed to call a lady from our church. The business I had to speak with her about was hardly earth-shaking but I knew it had to be done at that time on that day.

I called.

She answered.

Turns out she was on her way for a biopsy to find out if she had breast cancer ( not at all why I thought I was calling).

In the last year this sister-in-the-Lord has sat by the bed-side of one son severely wounded in a motor cycle accident, walked with her father through a major heart attack, stood beside her mom through breast cancer treatments, and her sister who nearly died of renal failure. Now her daughter may have celiac disease, and her seventeen year old has been experiencing mysterious black-outs. It’s been a long year by anyone’s estimation.

I hate to say it but she is not alone. So many are going through so much. This present darkness of night seems to be closing in more and more with each passing day. What can we do when the night seems so long?

First, remember Christian you are the light of the world. No one needs to walk in darkness when one of us is near. Inside of each one of us is an inextinguishable light. We carry within us the hope of the ages.

Second, when the night seems long shine your light. Be practical in your spreading of hope. Call someone and offer prayer. If you are suffering ask someone to pray for you. Don’t just go to church. Be the church! It may be midnight out there but it’s time for the sleeper to awaken!

Finally, speak to this darkness and command it to leave. Sing and make music in your hearts to silence this foe and this avenger. Antichrist’s spirit may be strong but it is not stronger than the worshippers of Jesus Christ. We are the victors in this battle brothers and sisters! I’ve read the end of the Book. We win! Don’t you forget it!

How can I pray for you today?

Postaday 2011 and What I Have Learned

      Dear readers,

      I am sorry I missed yesterday. I spent 18 hours in bed sleeping! Something got a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I crashed. Anyway I am back today though I have to admit I am still a little pekid.

     I tend to look at life from the view-point of a student.I believe everything that happens has a purpose, a lesson to teach. When I took up the challenge to post every single day I knew it would teach me something about myself and about the world. I didn’t realize what it would bring out in me.

     Like most things in my life now blogging is on a schedule. A schedule I have been sort of unfaithful too. If I had been faithful to it my post for yesterday and today would have been done well before I succumbed to the plague. I have learned that God is calling me to a new level of discipline.

     I have also learned that I am given to perfectionism. Every time I woke up yesterday my first thought was “I should be blogging! Everyone’s going to hate me!” I know stupid…right? But not getting it right the first time really frosts me. That’s why I give up.

     I was really tempted this morning to give up the challenge and tell you all I was going back to posting three times a week; But then I thought, “No way! I am going to rise above this challenge and learn the lessons God has to teach me through postaday 2011.”

What lessons has God been teaching you?

How To Make Crab-Apple Jelly Err…Sauce

      Muddy’s property has some wonderful crab apples.

 

So this year I decided it would be fun to make some wonderful crab apple jelly sauce for Christmas presents.

Below are step by step instructions for crab apple jelly sauce!

Step one: Pick the apples and put them in a pot. Contrary to popular opinion these suckers don’t hop off the tree into a basket. If you wait for them to fall they get really nasty!

 

Step two:  Put the pot on a stove and cook them to mush.

 

Don’t forget to stir. Burnt mush could ruin the flavor of your jelly sauce.

Step three: Strain the mush!

 

 

Jelly sauce is great with little chunks of apple in it but leaves and stems sort of ruin the experience.

 

Step five: Totally disregard the instructions on the pectin box and add all the sugar (9 cups to 7 cups of apple mush) before you add the pectin. Bring to a rolling boil.

Step six: Add your pectin and boil for one more minute making the pectin totally ineffective.

Step seven: Ladle  the mush into jars. Close the tops and put in your hot water bath for 10 minutes.

AND TADAHHHH! YOU HAVE PERFECT APPLE JELLY SAUCE! 🙂

Autumn Trek Pt.7: Long Journey Home

      Since seven is the number of completion I end the tale of my autumn trek with this post.

Monday morning I awoke and took breakfast with my son in the dining commons at VFCC. Aftrewards Joe invited me to his Isaiah class. Since I had his professor 23 years ago I thought it would be fun to see how things had changed. Professor Brubaker did not disappoint! I had an awesome time learning about the OAN’s (oracles against the nations). Then my son and I went to chapel together.

     God has brought Psalm 23 to me over and over again for the last three months. Just before I left on my trek an old friend sent me an e-mail detailing a portion of the Psalm. In the chapel service a message in tongues and an interpretation reminded us that “we were not to fear evil because God was with us. His rod and staff would comfort us on the journey!”

     I learned many years ago that there are no coincidences. God is teaching me something through this Psalm.

      As I drove out of the parking lot at Valley Forge Christian College I thought about all the things I learned in my autumn trek:

1. I learned that life is supposed to follow a rhythm a slow, constant, and intentional rhythm.

2. I learned that when you follow the rhythm other people may not appreciate it. It will go against their rushing spirit.

3. I learned that slow, constant, and intentional can make you just as tired as fast, intermittent, and unplanned but that the satisfaction level of slow and constant is far greater.

4. I learned that God is in charge of the schedule. Not me!

     So following the leading of the Spirit I stopped at Valley Forge National Park on my way out of PA for pictures:          The George Washington Chapel

The Chapel Inside

George Washington’s Headquarters

I also made one more stop on the way home in Sleepy Hollow, New York:

 And of course I had to walk out a creepy path which the town calls its public park.

Can you feel the Headless Horseman on this path. Of course only in Sleepy Hollow would a walk in the public park lead you to a cemetery! No kidding!

Needless to say, I didn’t stay very long in Sleepy Hollow. My long journey home ended at eight and by ten P.M. I was in bed getting my Zz’s for staff meeting the next morning.

What did you discover from my autumn trek?

Autumn Trek Pt. 6: The Ren Fest

     When I asked my son what he wanted to do when I visited him in PA I really expected him to say “Let’s go to Philly” or “Let’s see a movie.”

     I wasn’t prepared for him to suggest a Renaissance Festival; But he had seen the ad for a family friendly fair down in Manheim. So we made the plan for Sunday after church.  I prayed in the morning because the sky was threatening rain. For a while I thought we actually might ditch our plans and head to the art museum in Philadelphia instead; But when we got out of service the sky was clear; So we set to the drive an hour across country.

    Joe slept most of the trip because he was skyping until four A.M., with a missionary from the other side of the international date line he’s planning to intern with next summer .

     Once in Manheim though there was no sleeping. Only picture-taking. 

and eating

and more eating!

This was followed by fire eating.

And of course Shakespeare in the park.

Now slow, constant, and intentional as it was, by the end of this day I was ready for a nap. So I learned slow, constant and intentional does not necessarily mean non-tiring.

Have you ever been to a Ren Fest? Did you like it?

Autumn Trek Pt.5: The Audubon Loop

     My son saved me hundreds of dollars in hotel costs by letting me sleep in his dorm room. He let me have the bed while he took the floor, because I’m old (according to him) and he’s going to be a missionary; So he needs to practice. I, of course, was entirely compliant not wanting to rob him of his missionary training. 🙂

     We slept well and by next morning we were both ready for action. After donuts and coffee we decided to head out to Mill Grove to walk the trails before Joe had to be back to work at 1 P.M. 

       When the kids were little Tina and I went camping at Lamb City in Phillipston MA. They had a loop trail there too! It was a beautiful trail around the lake, but poorly marked.

    Tina had gone shopping in town. Joe and Amanda were really needing something to do. So leaving Melanie with my brother and sister-in-law I headed out with my three and four-year olds for what was supposed to be a short jaunt around the lake. I knew we were in trouble when I wandered into an apple orchard an hour or so later some two miles from the camp ground. By the time a van loaded with strangers offered us a ride, two hours further into our walk, I really didn’t care if they were axe-murderers the kids and I needed rescuing.

      I share that little story because history has a way of repeating itself. At first Joe and I were only going to walk half the trail and turn back the way we came. Half way in we changed the plan and decided to do the whole loop which was a four and a half mile walk. I thought “I can do this. Let’s impress the whippersnapper!”

The forest trail was beautiful. We found the remnants of an old lead mine and stopped for pictures.

     Of course, being part of the Audubon estate the trail was dotted with bird houses and duck blinds like this one.

      It was all going so well until about here. Then we lost the trail. Oh, we were on a trail all right. We just didn’t know it was the wrong one until we came to a dog park where we asked some friendly dog owners where the Audubon Loop picked back up.

    To which they replied “You walked here from the Audubon loop? Bummer!”

    So…Yeah…Four miles turned into more like eight or ten. The biggest difference between getting lost with my son at four and getting lost with my son at twenty-two is that this time I didn’t have to carry him. Oh, and this time I had a camera. 

Long story short. We lived. We made it back. Joe was only a half hour late for work. But, I’m thinking  maybe that look he gave me when I first arrived was prophetic.

Autumn Trek Pt. 4: Let’s Get There Already!

Yesterday I left you all at the border of Pennsylvania.

I may have mentioned it took me ten hours to get there. Still, I am sure you are wondering how come I could make it in ten hours and it has taken you three days. Well you can only do so much in four hundred words. Besides we have to take some time for the sycamores.

I had to ask an artist on the street what kind of trees they were because I really liked them. He gave me an “Are you entirely stupid?” look. Followed by a “How dare you disturb the heir of Van Gough!” look.  Then an eye roll… a loud sigh…Then he shrugged and turned his back on me like I had disturbed his nap! I think I broke Mr. Crankypants’ concentration.

He was standing right outside of this shop painting the trees. So honestly I thought he would be the best one to ask! How wroooong I was. Still I liked the trees. I finally found out what they were from a shop keeper who didn’t have anger issues.

I shook it off and bought myself a pumpkin coffee at Dunkin Donuts for comfort and went back to the road.

 In a little over an hour I was close to finishing my drive. I still had plenty of daylight so I opted to stop at Mill Grove, the John J. Audubon estate, just ten minutes from my son’s home in Phoenixville.

It was a great little road trip, and only a tank away! I learned that when you are living the slow, constant, and intentional life it’s your moment. Most people aren’t living the experience with you. So when an artist (or a non-artist) gets cranky with you don’t sweat it. He’s just having a moment among the sycamores. So just keep slow. Keep constant. Keep intentional. Maybe someday the rest of the world will join your joy! 

Oh by the way here’s the reason for my trip!

I know, I know he kind of looks like he’s been hanging out with my tree-artist friend. But I was embarrassing him in front of his boss, going all paparazzi on him…sorry Joe! 🙂 

Autumn Trek Pt. 3: The Drive Continues

      If you remember this vacation was supposed to be about me learning a certain lesson more deeply for the purpose of bringing that lesson to the wider body of Christ. If I had to boil the weekend down into a catch phrase I would have to say, “Be slow, constant, and intentional”.  I really practiced the slow part on Friday. I left Muddy’s at 6 A.M.  Now,Valley Forge can be reached in six hours; But I knew in advance I wouldn’t make it by noon. I sincerely had my doubts I would make it by the time my son was scheduled to work late in the afternoon. I just didn’t have it in me to drive solely for the destination. The journey itself was important; So when I got stuck in traffic outside of Hartford I just settled myself in to talk to God as my van alternated between spurts of 5 MPH and 45 MPH.

     I stopped for lunch in New York before I crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge. I opted for route 202 instead of the Garden State Parkway and pulled off the road at about three so I could grab some shots of the Delaware River Water Gap.

     In that place the river runs between Lambertsville NJ and New Hope PA. This old bridge is the border crossing between two towns that have given themselves to the purpose of promoting the arts. Just up my alley!

    From the bridge the waterway looks like a liquid highway running between the states ready to deliver passengers to the eclectic neighborhoods that join the two towns.

     The river was swollen in its banks from the recent passage of Hurricane Irene and the rains which have dogged the east coast since. Still the barricades were open so that the few brave kayakers on the water could boat along the swift current unhampered.

     Both towns were crammed with tourists making parking tricky. I finally found a spot behind a gallery in Lambertsville that promised if I wasn’t quickly inside viewing and buying art my van would be just a quickly towed. I’m not sure exactly how the gallery staff would know…but since I wasn’t willing to be stuck overnight in New Jersey I made a quick tour of Lambertsville and headed cross-river to New Hope.

    So ten hours in I finally hit the border of my destination state! How’s that for slow?!