Forever Young

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young

The last stanza of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young"

Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/forever-young#ixzz2JbTGbMpN

Rabbi Marc Gellman referred to this song in this morning's "God Squad" column . 

He writes that some popular songs can be considered modern day psalms 

and that this one tops the list.  It was a wonderful blessing to start the day.

Tonight I'm listening to Joan Baez sing it.  I hope it blesses you, too.

May your spirit stay forever young.

Sixty photos a week

My little Canon PowerShot suffered a fatal accident last week.  I thought I had lost it once before when the retractable lens wouldn't open, but my husband was able to cure it.  This time there seems to be no hope.  I was sitting on my heels, taking a closeup picture of a flower on my deck.   My super-loving new dog wanted some affection and he nudged my hand.  Though the camera was attached to me with the wrist strap, it had enough freedom to fall out of my hand and hit the deck with a sharp thwack.  It powered off (with the lens open) and won't power back on.  The Canon helpline suggests that I trade it in on a refurbished model. I think I'll hold out for a new one.

So how is the loss of my camera a blessing?  I'm sure it is, but I'm not sure exactly how.  What I am sure of is that the photos I took with it between August of 2010 and last week are a blessing to me.  The first week I had the camera, I took over 250 pictures.  We were on vacation and attended a family reunion during that week, so there were more than 250 moments I wanted to preserve, beginning with this image of a chilled glass of wine on the lakehouse porch.

and ending with this one of my grandchildren on the mountaintop at Montreat.

I didn't continue that pace of 250 photos a week, but I did average almost 60 a week.  I wish I could say that I learned a great deal about photography with all that practicing, but I can't.  What I can say is that I had a lot of fun and preserved a lot of memories.

My camera wasn't a Kodak, but this commercial from 1977 says it well.

Introducing Marty

“If you don't own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you,

 but there may be something wrong with your life.” 

― Roger Caras

This is Marty and he's as sweet as he looks.  He came home with us Saturday from 

For the Love of Dogs.  We're hoping he likes us well enough to stay.  

We weren't sure if we would get another dog after our beloved Little Bear died last summer.  

Certainly we weren't going to try to replace her.

But we missed having a wagging tail greet us at the door.  We missed the companionship.  We missed the walks (a walk with a dog is an entirely different experience than a walk without one). 

We missed the unconditional love that a dog gives.

Marty seems to be settling in, letting us see more of his personality.  He waited two days before he barked, but he doesn't hesitate to express himself now.  He has a lame leg - he was injured when he was hit by a car before going to live at For the Love of Dogs - but we're taking him out for walks each day and hope he will gain stamina and strength.

May this be the beginning of a long and happy relationship.

Grace

Grace comes into the soul, as the morning sun into the world; first a dawning; then a light; 

and at last the sun in his full and excellent brightness.

Thomas Adams

I read this quote from Thomas Adams on the blog Barnstorming this morning

and promptly wrote it down in my gratitude journal. 

I am grateful for grace, 

for these words of Thomas Adams, though I don't know who he is,

for the turning of the earth, 

for the changing of the seasons, 

for the rising and setting of the sun, 

for the clouds breaking up after a long day of rain,

for the marvel of the universe.

"A practice of the eyes"

“Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.” 

“...life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change.” 

“The practice of giving thanks...eucharisteo...this is the way we practice the presence of God, 

stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes. 

We don't have to change what we see. Only the way we see.”

Ann Voskamp

I recently read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts and was moved and inspired by it in so many ways.  The book is currently #4 in its category on the New York Times bestseller list .   

The video below is a trailer of sorts for the book.

This is a book to read and re-read - to highlight and mark up and quote from, to download to 

your e-reader, to share with friends.  

The book reminded me of  why I started this blog, but it also showed me that what I have been trying to do has only touched the surface of what giving thanks means.  

As Ann Voskamp says, 

“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle.” 

 Giving thanks - it seems simple and easy.  In reality it means changing the way you see.  It means changing your life minute by minute, day by day.  It requires patience and practice.  

 

Here are a few of the things I've listed in my gratitude journal this month:

Warm shower, hot coffee

A hug from my brother

Deja Vu at the pool with Sy

A good long run

Home with my love

Walking into a warm house on a cold night

Crocuses lined up by the walkway

JH's smile, G's batman cape

Glorious, glorious sunset

Bird song in the morning

Sharing a meal with a friend

A full moon through the trees

A good long run

Happy faces and excitement at the park with M & E

Heated car seats on a cold morning

Holy Communion

An afternoon nap and a good book

Tulips on Valentine's Day

Champagne with dinner

Gentle rain

Budding forsythia

Origin of EUCHARIST

Middle English eukarist, from Anglo-French eukariste, from Late Latin eucharistia, from Greek, Eucharist, gratitude, from eucharistos grateful, from eu- + charizesthai to show favor, from charis favor, grace, gratitude; akin to Greekchairein to rejoice — more at yearn

First Known Use: 14th century

from Merriam Webster dictionary

A blessing on the interstate

My eyes followed the sunset as we drove the interstate Friday evening.  It played tag through the trees, hid behind the hills, darted out of sight.  But then there it was, straight ahead.  A blessing to end the day.

Realize how blessed you are

A little over a year ago I wrote about the holiday journal that I started in 2003, the year we celebrated our first holiday season in this house.  (Read that post here.)  Earlier this week, on a quiet evening in front of the fire, I wrote my entry for this season, covering all of the events from Thanksgiving through New Year's weekend.  I realized when I was through that it was about so much more than just those events -  it was about all that had happened in the last twelve months.
In February of last year, my brother was diagnosed with brain cancer.  Since that time he's had surgery, radiation, chemo, the diagnosis of a new tumor, and then gamma knife radiation for that tumor.  Just two days after Christmas we received the news that the gamma knife radiation was successful and that the tumor was gone!  What joy!
In July my husband and I spent a wonderful week in the mountains with his brothers and sister and their spouses.  The weekend after Christmas we traveled to Florida for the funeral mass for our sister-in-law who was diagnosed with stage IV cancer soon after that July gathering.
The time with those we love is precious.  I never feel that I have enough of it, but every second I do have is blessed.
I ran across this video earlier this week - it says it beautifully. "Life is not an emergency." Slow down.  Pay attention.  Hold hands.  Say "I love you" every chance you get.  Cry together, laugh together, share meals and jokes and books and ideas and memories.  Realize how blessed you are.