Twenty eight days of

 February blown away -

    Now what will March bring? 

 

1) We are having strong wind gusts here in Marquette this afternoon. 

2) It's been quite the February - Valentines, Presidents, 60 degees (at our house anyway)?????

3) Mardi Gras is 4 days away!  Are we ready to "Laissez les bon temps rouler"? 

 Leaving - home, work, friends,

responsibilities - for

     a place called "Away".

 

So I just like that last line - it's from The Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot - and was trying to work into it.  I don't know if it's "going away to college", vacation, dying?  How did it strike you?

 Gold light at day break,

gray clouds as the sun goes down -

      between, we live life.

 Blue sky and sunshine -

wait a minute - it's snowing!

       Feb in the UP?

 

 There the old line about how if you don't like the weather here, wait 10 minutes, but still, it was 52 degrees officially yesterday.  Our thermometer said 60.  I seem to remember when February was 28 days below freezing. 

 Burrito grande(1),

chicken pizza(2), carrot cake(3) -

     can't eat like I could!(4)

 

(1) lunch on a whim at La Catrina 

(2) Papa Murphy was offering a BOGO, so that's an Herb Chicken Mediterranean

(3) Christopher brought some home from Bay Cliff, where he was working over the weekend. 

(4) Feeling pretty stuffed last night!

(5) And if you tuned in to hear about blue sky, sunshine  and warm temps - sorry about that!

Merciful God,

we have received so much in and from life -

   food, homes, friends, church communities -

   indeed a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,

   almost certainly more than we deserve, and we are grateful.

And we are trying to love our enemies,

   to do good to those who hate us,

   to bless those who curse us,

   to pray for those who mistreat us,

It’s not easy. We know you know that.

And we are trying not to fret over the wicked,

  but we are waiting for them to fade and wither and their place to be emptied.

That’s not easy either, and we know you know that as well.

We would like it to happen in this perishable world not just in the imperishable one to come.

Lead us and guide us into forms of active waiting,

   giving to those in need,

   speaking out for justice and righteousness

   lifting up the peacemakers and truth-tellers,

   doing unto others…..

LORD help us and rescue us; we take refuge in you.

 Frozen flower forms,

blue donuts dripping, orange cross -

      life decorated.

 

Walking home there were these "art projects" hanging in the trees - where someone put a pan of water and other things outside and let it freeze.  One blue ring, obviously, and an orange cross.  Temp was around 30 and they were melting in the sunlight.  Not really a very profound haiku - here's a couple of pictures to make up for it -

 

 Not too sure about that last line - 

"hang along the path", "decorate the way", "decorate my life"?

 Clear night and scent of

hamburgers on someone's grill - 

    Rats -already ate!

 Over snow smooth fields

pink sky over bare branches -

    Night falls, moon rises.

 

A little unsure about two "over's" in two lines.  The first carries more the meaning of "beyond" and the second "above".  "Beyond...fields"..... "above bare branches"?  I don't know - I guess I liked the two "over's", even if they have slightly different meanings.  And hey - it's my haiku, I'll do over and over if I want to!  And no, we did not actually see the moon rise.  Would have been really dramatic, and I think it just makes a nice line.  We were driving home from southern Wisconsin, just south of Green Bay.

 Slick road, blowing snow

Catch your breath, a truck - whoosh - phew -

     Driving to Green Bay.

Pink sky through branches,

over rooftops, under clouds -

     winter loveliness.

 

I wanted to say "winter can be lovely" but couldn't find a way. 

 Clear and cold outside,

Cozy, warm, fragrant inside -

     Christopher baking.

 

Cookies!!

 

Eternal God,

   so many advisors advising,

   so many paths to explore,

   so many places to stop and sit down.

Listening to your word

   we find joy even in hardship,

   courage even in darkness,

   rest and comfort even in troubled times.

Standing like a tree planted by the water,

sending roots into your Words of Life,

reaching out to touch Jesus,

   we find peace now and forever.

And give thanks.

 Could go for a walk,

Could read, write, cook, fix something -

     Empty Saturday

 Roses are reddish,

Violets kinda bluish, but -

    I AM your Valentine!

 

Solid. 

(You have to say "Valen" as one syllable)

 I was walking north,

at a cross street he walked east -

     we both said "Hello."

 

I was walking home from the artist reception at The Pete, as we affectionately refer to The Peter White Public Library.  I was going north on Front, he was walking east on Michigan.  It was dark.  We probably didn't know each other, couldn't really see each other in the darkness, and yet as we met at the intersection we both said "Hello," affirming each other's humanity and "personhood".  It was a nice, quiet moment that kept me warm all the way home.

Afternoon sunshine,

Seed catalogue came today -

      spring's still way far off.

 

 Full moon, one bright star,

all else is lonely darkness -

    I'm glad you are here.

 

(And not just "glad", "really glad", but that didn't fit.  Could use "Really glad you're here" but that doesn't seem quite as intense to me.)  

Anyway, walking out of SuperOne last night there was this "one day short of full" moon and one star or planet (or who knows - satellite?)  and the rest of the sky was completely dark.  I don't know if it was clouds/haze blocking the stars (I'm sure they are there!) or the parking lot lights covering them up.  I suspect the latter.

 From late last night -

     Hot dog at halftime,

     Free Starbucks Tall tomorrow -

          Flying with Eagles! 

(Starbucks is offering free tall drinks today after the Super Bowl for Rewards Club members)

 

From Early this morning -

      Sun glowing gently

      through layered clouds as day breaks -

          A moment of hope.

Well, we'll see.  Winter storm watch for the Keweenaw!

 There is this troubling strain in the lessons for these couple of weeks.  

From Jeremiah - "to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" - four destructive words and only two creating;

to Luke last week "they got up, drove him (Jesus) out of the town";

to Malachi (last week was also the Presentation of Infant Jesus in the Temple) - "he is like a refiner's fire and fuller's soap";

to Simeon's words in the temple - "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed."  And (to Mary) "a sword will pierce your own soul";

to Isaiah - "Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips and here I am right next to God"

(I love what Frederick Buechner does with this passage -  "and the Mystery Itself said "Who will it be?" and with charred lips he (Isaiah) said "Me," and Mystery said, "Go."  

   Mystery said "Go give the deaf Hell till you're blue in the face and go show the blind Heaven till you drop in your tracks because they'd rather eat ground glass than swallow the bitter pill that puts roses in the cheeks and a gleam in the eye.  Go do it." 

   Isaiah said "Do it till when?"

   Mystery said, "Till Hell freezes over."

   Mystery said, "Do it till the cows come home."

   And that is what a prophet does for a living and....Isaiah went and did it.)

And finally Peter (back to Luke again) - "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." (I always picture that happening on the shore, but in Luke apparently they are all still in the boat with Peter kneeling, falling down before Jesus in this boat full of fish!)

So -

Amazing God,

we settle ourselves into prayer in your presence

  with a certain caution, trepidation,

  and maybe even fear and trembling.

Or if we don't, perhaps we should. 

There is much still in our lives that needs to be plucked up and pulled down

  if we are to be your pleasant planting.

We listen as if we understood, we cast our nets and catch nothing.

How wonderful then, that reversing the expected (natural? normal?) order,

you plant your words of love and grace in our lives still full of weeds and stones and emptiness.

After the rush of wind and words, help me hear the still small voice of kindness and respect;

 help me hear and see and say, "Here am I - send me."

 Two for the price of one today - we went to see Alice - an immersive experience.  It was fun, very well done, not quite what I anticipated.  We, the audience, stood, and moved as the dancers performed in different parts of the room.  Like I said, fun, and very well done.

 

Lights flashed, dancers danced

We could see, then we couldn't -

    Immersed with Alice

 

Dancers danced, lights flashed

We moved from side to side, then -

    went home and ate tarts!

 

Not too profound, but that's what I got for today.....

 Afternoon sun casts

slender shadows on pavement -

     barcode for my life.

 

Driving along the bypass this afternoon, the bare trees were casting shadows on the road that looked almost like as barcode.

 Soft snow falls gently

out of the mixing bowl sky -

     frosting on the hedge.

Not completely satisfied with this - I'd like the "frosting" in the last line to be a verb rather than a noun and "out of the" could be just "from"  - but that's what I got for now.

 A fuzzy sliver

in a cold, dark, empty sky -

    It's sweater weather.

Even for the moon!  There was just enough cloud/haze to keep all but the moon and a few bright stars and planets from shining through.  And it was cold!

 The day turned sunny -

Splish, splash, purple plop, rinse, rinse -

     Car wash in winter.

The "purple plop" is the soap that comes down kind of thick

 Gong, gong, gong, gong, gong

Clang, clang, clang, clang-i-ty clang -

   If I have not love.

Ok, I think I know what Paul had in mind in this word from yesterday (1 Cor 13), but as I was starting to "write this out" and "listening" to Henri Nouwen, it struck me that if you do not feel loved, if you are not confident that you are loved, this is perhaps how all of life feels to you.  "Gong, gong, gong....."

 

Everywhere and everytime God,

you are always with us,

in our birthing and childhood and youth,

in our adulthood and old age and beyond.

And you put your word and wisdom into the mouths

of many father’s and mother’s daughters and sons.

The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker

are all prophets from time to time

speaking your words of grace and hope and love.

We see them and hear them in the moment

and then they fade back into the crowd and we see them no more.

Help us hang onto their words even after they are gone.

 Like honey on toast, 

Maple syrup on pancakes -

     Sunlight on Thursday.

I love it - I was really struggling with that last line.  

"Sunlight on the yard"?  -  too clunky

"Sunlight on the meadow"? - but it wasn't a meadow I was seeing, it was the back yard, and the park across the road.

Then I was lying in bed last night thinking "When was that, anyway?" - and it was "on Thursday"!  I love the jump from the physical to the temporal.