The Square Peg

What an incredible day! Good coffee, great weather, and lots of fun!

Communion with coffee & donuts was pretty cool. And the sugar was a good fuel boost for the climb.

I wondered on the way to Stone Mountain how long it would take us to get to the top, but after getting out of the car and feeling so small against its sheer size, I figured we'd be doing well just to make it all the way up. We weren't far on the trail when Moose, Drew & Tasha each stumbled within a few minutes of each other.

The view from the top was hazy, but spectacular.

We wondered if the H marked a helicopter landing pad, or the portal entrance to Hell.

Going down was as challenging as going up. I commented as we started our descent that whereas they'd only stumbled and didn't fall, I'd actually fall and walk out of the park with a skinned knee. And about halfway down my left foot slipped on a wet rock, my right knee buckled, and I landed on it.

Beautiful, isn't it? :-)

Stone Mountain info - The top of the mountain is 1,683 feet above sea level. Carving depicts three Southern heroes of the Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Carved area covers three acres, is recessed 42 feet into the mountain and situated 400 feet above the surrounding ground.

For your reading pleasure, I am enclosing bits and pieces of some of our conversations today. Enjoy~

We reached a level area on the way up and paused to enjoy the view.
Brian: "Oh, good Kodak moment."
Drew: "There are no bears here, Dad."
A little while later we reached another nice viewing area and Drew hollered "Kojak moment!" How does he even know who Kojak is?

Tasha (3/4 of the way up the mountain & breathing heavily): "Gosh, this is kind of taxing on my respiratory system."
Drew: "Yeah, it's hard on my reservoir system, too."

Tasha (to Brian regarding his hiking boots): "Are those steel-toed boots?"
Drew: "No, his toes move sometimes."

Drew (dodging a very large mosquito): "Holy crap! That wasn't a mosquito; it was an Apache helicopter!"

Hope you had a good Easter, too!
Peace.

I’m so excited about Sunday! Forty-five days ago I told you about my decision to take part in Lent because I wanted Easter to be at the forefront of my mind this year. I have seen that desire reached. I’ve been keenly aware of this Easter season and have spent a lot of time thinking about different aspects of its meaning. I have also participated in a 28 day challenge to read the book of Matthew, one chapter each day beginning the 28 days before Easter. This challenge was extended by Pastor Pete in Nashville whose blog I read. You can read Without Wax here. This 28 day challenge has been instrumental in narrowing my focus during this time.
Today’s reading was chapter 26 and something struck me as I read.

Verses 40-41When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

Oh, that describes me so well sometimes! I can’t count the number of times I’ve wandered into temptation inadvertently. And like so many others, I’m both eager for God and too lazy to leave the coziness of the fire. But I love that Jesus gave the solution before He even pointed out the problem; stay alert and pray. Since I strive to be a person who is proactive rather than reactive, that’s right up my alley. By staying alert and praying, I can curtail the problem.

I told you I wanted to find a unique way to culminate the Lenten season and celebrate Easter. We decided to go hiking at Stone Mountain in Atlanta on Sunday. We’re gonna find a trail, hike up a hill, sit together and enjoy God’s creation. Don’t tell the kids, but we’re going to take communion in a different way. Since Jesus is the bread of life, and bread comes in many forms, we’re going to pick up donuts (preferably Krispy Kreme) to symbolize the body that was broken for us. I want us to associate the sweetness of the donut with God’s sacrifice for us. I often say that coffee is God’s nectar, and since I joke that it’s what gives me life in the morning, we’re going to use coffee to symbolize the shed blood. Like I said; unique.

Moose & I planted a weeping willow tree in the back yard last Friday. We had to put our dog Willow down that morning and wanted to remember her in a special way. We planted it in an open area near the house that’s easily seen from the kitchen window because that’s where she would lay on sunny days.

When Ryan was 10, he came into the living room and said he needed to talk to us. He matter of factly told us he wanted a dog. We pointed out that we already had a dog, our Yorkie, Dixie. Ryan’s response was that Dixie was an adult dog and he needed a ‘kid dog’. He defined a kid dog as one who would lick his face, sleep in his bed, pull him on his skateboard, run beside him as he rode his bike, and play in the lake with him. We rarely went to the lake, so the last requirement seemed a little out of place to us.

We had 12 fun years with Willow. She went on vacations with us and although she was afraid of water, she eventually worked up the courage to get in our pool and swim with us.

Picture: Ryan, Tasha, & Willow.

Tres Dias is a 3 day non-denominational Christian conference. It’s for single or married folks, and is set up so that married couples go one weekend after the other; men first. I went this past weekend; Moose the weekend before.

Attendees don’t necessarily hear something new so much as hear it in a way we’ve never heard it before. Communion is done every day, in ways I’ve never seen it being done before. It was really thought-provoking & full of power and meaning.

There are 36 attendees on a weekend, and it’s designed to help you have a fresh encounter with God. They have speakers, skits, and singing. It takes team of over 80 people to serve the needs of 36.

In the room where talks are given, you are assigned seats at tables, and each table is named after a male or female character in the Bible, depending on whose weekend it is. You sit in the same seat at the same table each day with the same group.

I was assigned the chair next to a lady named Josephine at the table of Elizabeth. Josephine is my grandmother’s name, and Elizabeth is my mom’s.

Before each meal, a song of blessing is sung, and after each, a song of thanks. Both are sung to the tune of Edelweiss. And to sing them, everyone stands up, links arms, and rocks back and forth while singing. My grandfather’s (Papa) favorite song was Edelweiss, and my mom’s side of the family is German. Linking arms while singing together has a really special memory/feeling to me.

Do I really need to tell you how strongly I felt the spirit of our family’s legacy of love all weekend long? Didn’t think so.

When Olllie (one of the speakers) told us with all sincerity and passion in his voice that our Daddy loves us so much, I was immediately taken back to all the times Papa told me he loved me and how concretely I believed him. I never, ever doubted His love for me; not even once. I always knew Papa was pleased with me, even after I married my first husband (and if anything would’ve tested parental love for me, marrying him was it). I identified as a teenager that I believed God loved me the way my dad loved me…distantly and non-emotionally, but I soon came to realize that belief wasn’t true. But this weekend I wondered why as a little girl I would choose to associate a distant, non-emotional kind of love with God’s love for me rather than a real, never-changing, always present and passionate love for me, like Papa had always shown me. I still haven’t figured the answer to that question. I know Dad loved me in the only way he knew how, but I knew Papa loved me unconditionally and with a love that never wavered. This weekend, the connection with God’s love and Papa’s love was solidified even more strongly. I know my Mom and Mama have always loved me (never doubted that, either), but there is something really, really special about a Daddy’s love for his baby girl. And while I might be 42 years old with grown children of my own, I will always be God’s little girl, whose Daddy is always pleased with her. This fact is true whether I feel it, like it, want it, or acknowledge it.

Seeing all those women working so hard to take care of us (you’re not allowed to get anything for yourself), gave me a new love and understanding of the body of Christ. It was a weekend that exemplified God’s love and service to/for us. I’d seen it before in smaller pieces, but it was so huge this weekend, I was completely & utterly humbled.

The theme for the weekend was “His love is unending, His grace is amazing”. I heard that over and over all weekend long. If it wasn’t ingrained in my head before, it is now.

Peace.

Happy square root day, everybody! (Get it, 3/6/09?)

Zoe and I were driving in the car today (well, I was driving, she was riding) and she was in the passenger seat looking out the windshield. I thought I noticed her head moving in a weird way but when I looked at her to see what was up, she had stopped. A few minutes later, she did it again.

It took a couple more of the weird head movements for me to figure out what was going on. She was "ducking" every time we drove under an overpass. What the heck?!

Later, she was fast asleep in the backseat when a motorcycle came up in the lane next to us. She sat bolt upright, threw her paws on the back dash and perched there, watching him for a few minutes in silence. I guess it took her that long to size him up and decide something was definitely wrong with him, so she started barking like crazy at him. As he passed us, she moved from the back seat to the front and kept barking as she watched him. I wonder what she was trying to tell him.

I'd be curious to know what Cesar Millan would say about this funny (albeit strange) behavior.

I woke up with the thought of coffee permeating the entire essence of my brain. Most days, on a scale of 1 to 10, I’m about a 2 or 3 with regard to desire for coffee. This morning I was a big, ol’, fat 15. I honestly thought (for a few minutes) I was going to break my coffee fast. I don’t need to spend the money, don’t need the calories, and don’t need the sugar. But I wanted it.

I found out last night at dinner that Catholics partake (on the Sabbath only) in whatever it is they gave up for lent. And this morning I wanted to be Catholic. Real bad. But as much as I wanted coffee, I want this Easter season to be more more.

I’m still thinking about how I want to mark this Easter and the ending of Lent. I have an idea but I’m going to keep thinking it over and share it with you later. But I will tell you that this idea involves special shoes and, of course, coffee.

Ciao!