Dear Friends,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Have you ever wished upon a star?
When our son was 7 he wished on a star for a golden retreiver puppy. Two weeks later, Daisy came to us as a stray. She wasn't a puppy, but she was a golden. She smelled like road kill and had blond dread locks hanging all over her. I gave her a bath, brushed her and started calling her Daisy. She licked my hand and stayed.....for awhile. She was used to hunting for fresh meat (such as Bambi or Garfield) and thought that dry dog food was unacceptable. So everytime she got hungry, she jumped the fence and went on a hunting expedition.
We lived in the country and our next door neighbors raised champion sheep and I worried that we could owe thousands of dollars if she got into their pasture!!!! So I called her back and scolded her about staying in our yard, everytime I caught her leaping over the fence like a deer.
She never talked about her past, but the vet guessed that she was about two years old. One thing was obvious; she had been abandoned, probably more than once. I said that she had attachment disorder, because it took her six months to adopt us. But once she did bond, it was for life.
We had a male dog named Moses when Daisy came to us and he fell in love with her at first sight. He licked her, snuggled up to her and played with her endlessly and quite frankly, she never cared a hoot for Moses, or so we thought.
After we moved to town, I took the two dogs with me back to the farm so I could move some boxes. I opened the door to the pickup and Moses jumped out and ran all around the yard. Not Daisy! She stayed in that truck for 45 minutes until I got back into it and took her home with me. She was taking no chances of being dropped off again!!!
I laughed and told her, "You're making me feel better about myself!" I have a reputation for being clingy in a romantic relationship, because of my abandonment issues. In fact I drove all of my boyfriends crazy with it and was blessed to meet my husband who has even greater abandonment issues than me. Our son has them too, from being in a orphanage in Vietnam for five months. So we call ourselves the "cling family!" Even our dog is clingy!!!! We were made for one another!
When Moses died Daisy moped for a month and it wasn't until, I took her to the woods and let her run, allowing her to do every naughty thing that she could think of, before she snapped out of her funk. She waded in the black swamp water, rolled in the dead carcasses and ate you know what. Somehow, all of those totally disgusting activities reminded her that she was still a dog and that life was worth living.
Daisy came to us as a gift from God and now it is almost time to give her back, because she can't get around anymore and my heart is aching. But death is part of life and I must be brave.
I will never forget my amazement at our son's faith when he made his wish upon that star and God granted it. When Seth was little, he could pray for anything and it would happen! I often asked him to pray for my parishioners when they were deathly ill and like clockwork, they revived.
Oh to be able to have that kind of faith as an adult! I think I understand what Jesus meant when he said that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, we must come as a child.
Much Love, Sue
Showing posts with label United Methodist Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Methodist Church. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Handling Stress
Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Our teenage son and I locked horns this morning and I felt uncomfortably stressed afterwards. I needed to forgive him, which was easy, and forgive myself, which was not so easy. I had to find a way to help myself to feel better in order to enjoy my day.
Then I read my friend's blog about issues of control and it helped ease my mind. She said that we all have areas of our lives over which we have no control, and we wish we could, so we try to control other people to make ourselves feel better. Her honesty stung because I was trying to control our son this morning to do things which I felt were important, but he didn't. But the sting went away, because I could hear her voice through her words and she is a comfort to me.
As I went about my business, I thought about how stressful life is for many people in the world and reminded myself that my troubles are small. Plus I remembered that I have a job to do today. My job gives me a sense of purpose and I don't want to allow stress to get in the way of doing my job well.
I pray that you have a low stress, happy day and that you feel fulfilled by your work and play today.
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Our teenage son and I locked horns this morning and I felt uncomfortably stressed afterwards. I needed to forgive him, which was easy, and forgive myself, which was not so easy. I had to find a way to help myself to feel better in order to enjoy my day.
Then I read my friend's blog about issues of control and it helped ease my mind. She said that we all have areas of our lives over which we have no control, and we wish we could, so we try to control other people to make ourselves feel better. Her honesty stung because I was trying to control our son this morning to do things which I felt were important, but he didn't. But the sting went away, because I could hear her voice through her words and she is a comfort to me.
As I went about my business, I thought about how stressful life is for many people in the world and reminded myself that my troubles are small. Plus I remembered that I have a job to do today. My job gives me a sense of purpose and I don't want to allow stress to get in the way of doing my job well.
I pray that you have a low stress, happy day and that you feel fulfilled by your work and play today.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snow Day
Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Do you remember how you felt when you were a kid and you had a day off from school because of snow?
When I was in seminary at Boston University we had 14" of snow on the first day of spring! BU closed and I had my homework done! I felt like a little kid, so I rounded up my friends to go outside and build a sculpture in the snow with me. Now when snow crazed seminarians build a snow sculpture, it's not your run of the mill snow man or even snow woman! We sculpted a lion and a lamb lying together in snow white bliss!
If you have ever lived in Boston or even visited Boston, you know that strangers on the street don't look at you, say nothing of speaking to you. My brother-in-law, who grew up in Boston, says that when other drivers in Boston give you the finger, it's just their way of saying, "Hi! How are you?"
But when we built our snow lion and lamb, our neighbor, who was walking by, stopped. looked and said, "Isaiah 11:6!"
We could hardly believe our eyes and ears!
He stayed and had a conversation with us for a few minutes. We learned that he was a student of Hebrew Studies at BU and lived 2 doors down from our brownstone, which served as the dormitory for Theology students. He was a very nice man.
What made him stop? Was it the fact that adults were playing in the snow? Was it the visual imagery from one of the most cherished scriptures in the Bible? Was it the Holy Spirit? Whatever it was, I'm glad he did, because it made an already wonderful memory even better.
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
Do you remember how you felt when you were a kid and you had a day off from school because of snow?
When I was in seminary at Boston University we had 14" of snow on the first day of spring! BU closed and I had my homework done! I felt like a little kid, so I rounded up my friends to go outside and build a sculpture in the snow with me. Now when snow crazed seminarians build a snow sculpture, it's not your run of the mill snow man or even snow woman! We sculpted a lion and a lamb lying together in snow white bliss!
If you have ever lived in Boston or even visited Boston, you know that strangers on the street don't look at you, say nothing of speaking to you. My brother-in-law, who grew up in Boston, says that when other drivers in Boston give you the finger, it's just their way of saying, "Hi! How are you?"
But when we built our snow lion and lamb, our neighbor, who was walking by, stopped. looked and said, "Isaiah 11:6!"
We could hardly believe our eyes and ears!
He stayed and had a conversation with us for a few minutes. We learned that he was a student of Hebrew Studies at BU and lived 2 doors down from our brownstone, which served as the dormitory for Theology students. He was a very nice man.
What made him stop? Was it the fact that adults were playing in the snow? Was it the visual imagery from one of the most cherished scriptures in the Bible? Was it the Holy Spirit? Whatever it was, I'm glad he did, because it made an already wonderful memory even better.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
When It's Right You Know It
Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
How do you discern God's will for your life?
My husband called me with joy in his voice from work yesterday, because he had been praying (for a week and a half) about 2 bills that we had looming over our heads and the manager of his shop came out of the office to hand out envelopes for everyone at 10:20 a.m.. Roger opened his to find a bonus check for almost the exact amount of money that we owe on those two bills!!! Can you believe it?!!! It had been forever since his last bonus and this came as a total surprise!
My husband has been feeling the call to the ministry all of his life and like Jonah, has been on the boat headed the other way from Nineveh, but since his hours at work were cut recently, he decided to pursue his call. This answer to prayer confirmed for him that he is on the right path.
It feels so good when we are doing what we interpret as God's will for our lives!!!
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
How do you discern God's will for your life?
My husband called me with joy in his voice from work yesterday, because he had been praying (for a week and a half) about 2 bills that we had looming over our heads and the manager of his shop came out of the office to hand out envelopes for everyone at 10:20 a.m.. Roger opened his to find a bonus check for almost the exact amount of money that we owe on those two bills!!! Can you believe it?!!! It had been forever since his last bonus and this came as a total surprise!
My husband has been feeling the call to the ministry all of his life and like Jonah, has been on the boat headed the other way from Nineveh, but since his hours at work were cut recently, he decided to pursue his call. This answer to prayer confirmed for him that he is on the right path.
It feels so good when we are doing what we interpret as God's will for our lives!!!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Haitian Faith
Dear Readers,
Again, thank you for reading my blog. I pray God's blessings on your day and your ministry, whatever that ministry may be.
How is your faith? Mine is challenged at the moment, because my husband had his hours cut back at work, and we are in super-scrimp mode. As I pout about this, I am reminded that half of the world's population doesn't have adaquate food, water, clothing, shelter and access to medical care. Only 7% of the world's popualtion has coins in a jar or money in a bank account.
I also am reminded about a man I met in Haiti, who had incredible faith. He said that Jesus was with him every day; if he needed food, Jesus would give him food; if he was sick then Jesus came and did surgery on him. I was in awe of his faith and the glow from his face!!!
I shared this story at a church gathering one time and someone interpreted it to mean that I was romanticizing poverty. That is not my intent. My aim is to inspire myself and others to have faith when we meet needs in our own lives.
Before I started painting yesterday, I felt depressed about our financial situation, but as I painted my prayers for Haiti, the knot in my stomach eased and I began to feel whole again. This morning the knot is back and I find if I sing the song, "Rejoice in the Lord Always, Again I Say Rejoice" then I feel better.
Do you find it amazing when the Haitian people gather in the street to sing hymns and praise God in the midst of their tragedy? I certainly do!!! It's awe inspiring to me.
Now that I too am facing my own challenges, which are puny in comparison to those in Haiti, I am doing like the Haitians and singing praise in response to my troubles. It truly helps!
Again, thank you for reading my blog. I pray God's blessings on your day and your ministry, whatever that ministry may be.
How is your faith? Mine is challenged at the moment, because my husband had his hours cut back at work, and we are in super-scrimp mode. As I pout about this, I am reminded that half of the world's population doesn't have adaquate food, water, clothing, shelter and access to medical care. Only 7% of the world's popualtion has coins in a jar or money in a bank account.
I also am reminded about a man I met in Haiti, who had incredible faith. He said that Jesus was with him every day; if he needed food, Jesus would give him food; if he was sick then Jesus came and did surgery on him. I was in awe of his faith and the glow from his face!!!
I shared this story at a church gathering one time and someone interpreted it to mean that I was romanticizing poverty. That is not my intent. My aim is to inspire myself and others to have faith when we meet needs in our own lives.
Before I started painting yesterday, I felt depressed about our financial situation, but as I painted my prayers for Haiti, the knot in my stomach eased and I began to feel whole again. This morning the knot is back and I find if I sing the song, "Rejoice in the Lord Always, Again I Say Rejoice" then I feel better.
Do you find it amazing when the Haitian people gather in the street to sing hymns and praise God in the midst of their tragedy? I certainly do!!! It's awe inspiring to me.
Now that I too am facing my own challenges, which are puny in comparison to those in Haiti, I am doing like the Haitians and singing praise in response to my troubles. It truly helps!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Confirmation from God
Dear Readers,
Did you ever have a problem with doubting yourself? This has been an issue with which I have dealt since childhood, so when I received a sense of confirmation from God yesterday, I was and still am overjoyed!!! The doubt was: am I doing the right thing by painting prayers for Haiti and blogging about it; the confirmation is that a friend of mine asked to buy Painted Prayer for Haiti #2 when she gets some money in Feb.!!!
I plan to use the money to open a special savings account to save money to take my husband, our teenage son, and myself on a mission trip to Haiti next winter. My husband, Roger, and our son, Seth, are as just as excited as I am about the idea.
Of course I worry about exposing our son to so much poverty and suffering at a young age, but that is the point of this trip. I know it will transform him into a person who will spend his life serving others in a compassionate way, no matter what career he chooses. He already is a caring kid, but this will make him more so.
Plus it will give him a chance to do some fun things along the way, like snorkeling in the coral reef and enjoying the beauty of the tropics in some of the more remote areas of Haiti.
In our little household, we call ourselves, "The Trowbridge Trio." The dynamic in our family has been especially sweet, since I resolved to give up criticizing others. It's amazing how even parenting a teenager can be done without criticism! I simply ask him politely to do what I would like him to do and to my amazement, he does it most of the time!!!
This dream of taking our trip is bonding us even more closely. There is nothing like feeling close to our kid again after feeling distant for the last year, when I was in a power struggle with him. My loved ones advised me to lighten up on him and I did. Thank you, Jesus for good advice from those who love me!!!
I love my life! I love God and my family and my friends! I love my work! I am in love!!! It feels soooooo GOOD!!!
Did you ever have a problem with doubting yourself? This has been an issue with which I have dealt since childhood, so when I received a sense of confirmation from God yesterday, I was and still am overjoyed!!! The doubt was: am I doing the right thing by painting prayers for Haiti and blogging about it; the confirmation is that a friend of mine asked to buy Painted Prayer for Haiti #2 when she gets some money in Feb.!!!
I plan to use the money to open a special savings account to save money to take my husband, our teenage son, and myself on a mission trip to Haiti next winter. My husband, Roger, and our son, Seth, are as just as excited as I am about the idea.
Of course I worry about exposing our son to so much poverty and suffering at a young age, but that is the point of this trip. I know it will transform him into a person who will spend his life serving others in a compassionate way, no matter what career he chooses. He already is a caring kid, but this will make him more so.
Plus it will give him a chance to do some fun things along the way, like snorkeling in the coral reef and enjoying the beauty of the tropics in some of the more remote areas of Haiti.
In our little household, we call ourselves, "The Trowbridge Trio." The dynamic in our family has been especially sweet, since I resolved to give up criticizing others. It's amazing how even parenting a teenager can be done without criticism! I simply ask him politely to do what I would like him to do and to my amazement, he does it most of the time!!!
This dream of taking our trip is bonding us even more closely. There is nothing like feeling close to our kid again after feeling distant for the last year, when I was in a power struggle with him. My loved ones advised me to lighten up on him and I did. Thank you, Jesus for good advice from those who love me!!!
I love my life! I love God and my family and my friends! I love my work! I am in love!!! It feels soooooo GOOD!!!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Shopping in Haiti
Dear Readers,
Thank you for signing into my blog. I hope you have something special to do today that nurishes your soul.
One half of a suitcase doesn't afford space for a lot of things to take on a 10 day trip to Haiti. Plus I am good at forgetting things, so I found myself without a towel in a compound outside of a village in Haiti and I did not appreciate the value of a towel until I tried to do without one. I was fortunate enough to be able to break rank with our group and go with our Haitian cook to the market to buy one. I was hoping for a beach towel, but what I found was a dinky bath towel with blue and white flowers on it. I didn't speak Creole and the woman with the towel didn't speak English, except to say, "Eight dollars." I had a ten dollar bill and of course she didn't have change so I paid ten for the towel, then found our cook and we walked back to our camp.
When I told my savvy colleagues how much I paid for the towel, they laughed at me. They said that merchants give a price that is four times what they expect to be paid and then the buyer is supposed to dicker with them until they arrive at a price. Buyers are not supposed to ask for a price on something unless they intend to buy it or they will insult the seller.
I argued that the woman was poor and I didn't mind paying the price she asked and they laughed again. They said that it was just not the way things were done.
Despite the laughter, I found that my towel was perfect! When I took my shower with cold water under the mango tree, I looked up and felt like I was in paradise. I dried myself inside of the skimpy four walls with provided a little bit of privacy and put on clean clothes and felt refreshed!
After my snorkeling adventure I used my towel to remove the salty water and wrap it around me for the chilly boat ride back to shore. I loved that towel.
I kept my towel for years and years until it finally turned into a rag. It was a reminder of special moments in the tropics, like showering under the canopy of a mango tree.
I'm glad I paid ten dollars for that towel. Perhaps a family got to fill their stomachs that night, rather than go hungry. Plus I got a keepsake to treasure!
Thank you for signing into my blog. I hope you have something special to do today that nurishes your soul.
One half of a suitcase doesn't afford space for a lot of things to take on a 10 day trip to Haiti. Plus I am good at forgetting things, so I found myself without a towel in a compound outside of a village in Haiti and I did not appreciate the value of a towel until I tried to do without one. I was fortunate enough to be able to break rank with our group and go with our Haitian cook to the market to buy one. I was hoping for a beach towel, but what I found was a dinky bath towel with blue and white flowers on it. I didn't speak Creole and the woman with the towel didn't speak English, except to say, "Eight dollars." I had a ten dollar bill and of course she didn't have change so I paid ten for the towel, then found our cook and we walked back to our camp.
When I told my savvy colleagues how much I paid for the towel, they laughed at me. They said that merchants give a price that is four times what they expect to be paid and then the buyer is supposed to dicker with them until they arrive at a price. Buyers are not supposed to ask for a price on something unless they intend to buy it or they will insult the seller.
I argued that the woman was poor and I didn't mind paying the price she asked and they laughed again. They said that it was just not the way things were done.
Despite the laughter, I found that my towel was perfect! When I took my shower with cold water under the mango tree, I looked up and felt like I was in paradise. I dried myself inside of the skimpy four walls with provided a little bit of privacy and put on clean clothes and felt refreshed!
After my snorkeling adventure I used my towel to remove the salty water and wrap it around me for the chilly boat ride back to shore. I loved that towel.
I kept my towel for years and years until it finally turned into a rag. It was a reminder of special moments in the tropics, like showering under the canopy of a mango tree.
I'm glad I paid ten dollars for that towel. Perhaps a family got to fill their stomachs that night, rather than go hungry. Plus I got a keepsake to treasure!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Out House at Night in Haiti
Dear Readers,
What a priviledge you have given to me by taking the time to read my stories and my theological reflections on them. Thank you!
I had my 30th birtday in Haiti on Dec. 29, 1984 and was grateful for the cake and the birthday song sung in Creole. I don't remember what my wish was when I blew out the candles, but I was at a pivotal point in my life. Like Jesus I was taking the leap from a career as a craft worker to a life in the ministry at age 30. He went into the wilderness for a period of time at the onset of his ministry and Haiti felt very much like wilderness to me at that time.
We were met at the airport and rode in the back of a large pickup truck to our compound in a village a couple of hours away from Port-au-Prince. The air smelled like burning rubber from people who were melting new treads onto bald tires. Everything was loud: dogs barking, roosters crowing, people making music, rickety vehicles revving their engines to climb up steep hills. The colors were bright everywhere! Houses were painted four different colors, taxis (called tap taps) were painted with tropical flowers all over the entire vehicles and women wore brightly colored clothing. It was my first time out of the country, other than Canada. and my eyes must have been as big as saucers.
When we got to our "dormitory" we had cots with lice infested pillows and there was a small turantula spider on the wall, about the size of a quarter. I am not afraid of any bugs, even spiders, but did I mention that I am terrified of rats? That is what we saw in the dining room when we ate supper, not one rat, but a small heard of large ones running across the floor. I started to think, "what did I get myself into?" The ultimate challenge came when I had to use the outhouse in the dark with no flashlight. Why didn't anyone think to bring a flashlight? I didn't even think of it and there wouldn't have been room in my half of the suitcase anyway with all of my snorkeling gear.
I asked the other ladies with me to hold the door open while I did my business, so I could get the light from the moon. That totally dark outhouse terrified me after I saw those rats. I was sure that one was going to bite my butt, so I pushed as hard as I could to get it over ASAP!
I survived!!! I went to bed and prayed a prayer that went something like this: "God, I don't have enough faith for this! Please help me to do this! I'm scared!"
About an hour later, we heard drums and someone asked, "Are those Voodoo drums?" Someone else said, "Yes." I felt afraid and started praying again.
When we left the compound in the morning the sun was up and the foliage was beautiful!!! We stepped out onto the road and saw that someone had drawn Voodoo symbols in the sand at our gatepost. This too frightened me, but nothing came of it.
After a day or two, I had learned how to cope with my fears and felt at ease with our surroundings. I didn't use the outhouse in the dark again and I learned to take a shower with cold water (that's all there was) in the middle of the day when it was hot, etc..
I could not get used to seeing the malnurishished children though. It broke my heart. We were strictly warned and forbidden to give to beggers, because they said that we would be swarmed. I regretted not doing it though and those big brown eyes still haunt me.
In the Bible, Peter steps out of the boat onto the water to walk toward Christ who was walking on the water toward him. I felt like Peter, out of the boat, walking on the water, aware of the wind and the waves and having to keep my focus on Christ in order to proceed. Perhaps those experiences we have that are way outside of our comfort zones are how we grow spiritually. We certainly don't want too many of them, but when we find ourselves in the midst of one, it is a great opportunity to change for the better.
What a priviledge you have given to me by taking the time to read my stories and my theological reflections on them. Thank you!
I had my 30th birtday in Haiti on Dec. 29, 1984 and was grateful for the cake and the birthday song sung in Creole. I don't remember what my wish was when I blew out the candles, but I was at a pivotal point in my life. Like Jesus I was taking the leap from a career as a craft worker to a life in the ministry at age 30. He went into the wilderness for a period of time at the onset of his ministry and Haiti felt very much like wilderness to me at that time.
We were met at the airport and rode in the back of a large pickup truck to our compound in a village a couple of hours away from Port-au-Prince. The air smelled like burning rubber from people who were melting new treads onto bald tires. Everything was loud: dogs barking, roosters crowing, people making music, rickety vehicles revving their engines to climb up steep hills. The colors were bright everywhere! Houses were painted four different colors, taxis (called tap taps) were painted with tropical flowers all over the entire vehicles and women wore brightly colored clothing. It was my first time out of the country, other than Canada. and my eyes must have been as big as saucers.
When we got to our "dormitory" we had cots with lice infested pillows and there was a small turantula spider on the wall, about the size of a quarter. I am not afraid of any bugs, even spiders, but did I mention that I am terrified of rats? That is what we saw in the dining room when we ate supper, not one rat, but a small heard of large ones running across the floor. I started to think, "what did I get myself into?" The ultimate challenge came when I had to use the outhouse in the dark with no flashlight. Why didn't anyone think to bring a flashlight? I didn't even think of it and there wouldn't have been room in my half of the suitcase anyway with all of my snorkeling gear.
I asked the other ladies with me to hold the door open while I did my business, so I could get the light from the moon. That totally dark outhouse terrified me after I saw those rats. I was sure that one was going to bite my butt, so I pushed as hard as I could to get it over ASAP!
I survived!!! I went to bed and prayed a prayer that went something like this: "God, I don't have enough faith for this! Please help me to do this! I'm scared!"
About an hour later, we heard drums and someone asked, "Are those Voodoo drums?" Someone else said, "Yes." I felt afraid and started praying again.
When we left the compound in the morning the sun was up and the foliage was beautiful!!! We stepped out onto the road and saw that someone had drawn Voodoo symbols in the sand at our gatepost. This too frightened me, but nothing came of it.
After a day or two, I had learned how to cope with my fears and felt at ease with our surroundings. I didn't use the outhouse in the dark again and I learned to take a shower with cold water (that's all there was) in the middle of the day when it was hot, etc..
I could not get used to seeing the malnurishished children though. It broke my heart. We were strictly warned and forbidden to give to beggers, because they said that we would be swarmed. I regretted not doing it though and those big brown eyes still haunt me.
In the Bible, Peter steps out of the boat onto the water to walk toward Christ who was walking on the water toward him. I felt like Peter, out of the boat, walking on the water, aware of the wind and the waves and having to keep my focus on Christ in order to proceed. Perhaps those experiences we have that are way outside of our comfort zones are how we grow spiritually. We certainly don't want too many of them, but when we find ourselves in the midst of one, it is a great opportunity to change for the better.
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