Tied up in knots?

Cattle ... the word cattle appears 85 times in 83 verses in the Bible (NIV), only 4 of which are in the new testament.  I'm not really sure why that is relevant or significant ... but the difference between the number of references in old vs. new testaments makes anyone take notice.  Cattle clearly were central to the lives and essential to life to people of long ago.  God has entrusted us to care for the earth and all that life herein. 

It is in the New Testament that God calls us forth through Christ to love one another as God has loved us.  Each new day we are given a gift to love again.  Even those mornings when we wake up and feel the knot in our stomach.  Thank God we have only one stomach.  Imagine if the cow woke up one day and had all four stomachs tied in knots!

So if your stomach is in a knot this morning.

Breathe deeply

Stretch out

Walk around the block

Love one another

Stay Alert

Point Reyes Lighthouse Lens, CA

1,000 handcut prisms make up the lens of this lighthouse.  It could be seen 24 nautical miles keeping ships safe. Those in the boats needed to pay attention to stay safe.   

There are easily 10,000 prisms guiding us ... 

God has given us more than we can count

we just need to stay alert ... 

for then ... 

good things will happen.

"You have to stay alert because good things happen"

Anne Lamott

What Lies Ahead?

Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, CA

Every day is a new adventure.  

Adventure maybe sounds a bit too enticing ... 

Every day is a step into the unknown.  

Unknown maybe sounds a bit too scary ... 

Every day we are drawn to walk a path.  

Our days have a certain rhythm and parameters moving forward. 

There that feels a bit more comfortable.  

A bit of predictability ... with some adventure ... and some unknown.

The good news ... we aren't alone.  

Go forth ... 

Step through the opening ... 

You might even be amazed at what awaits!

In Unexpected Places

Wandering along the shore

Crashing waves

Laughing children

Sprinting dogs

 Salt in the air

The midst of fog

Protruding rocks

The tide comes in

A message left

Perhaps for me?

Colors

What color is your skin? Take this lemon for example ... or is it a lime?  I thought my parents had a lemon tree in the backyard but there hanging from the limb was this limon.  It was almost as if someone had intentionally painted it two colors.  But I bet if i were to take it from the tree and cut it in half ... I would taste lemon.   The people of the world ... we too are many different colors ... in fact, our colors change!  Inside?  why we are pretty much alike!  

So as we move forward in our journey we are called to love one another ... 

Its a simple commandment

One with no conditions or stipulations

Just love one another ... 

Why's it so hard somedays?

Might it be that somedays it is hard to love ourselves?

I don't know ... what do you think?

Generations

Y'all are probably a bit tired of hearing of family ... but this is the family week after all.  Here is my dad (again) and his younger sister (Marie).  We did the trek up to where Marie lives and had lunch with cousin Mark and his family.  A good day.  

Today's lesson.  Each day is a gift.  

We are given it freely without asking.

It seems to come with the rising sun.

So here are the siblings which remain.

89 and 86.  

One who could tell stories of the beach at Normandy

The other who remembers us with a laugh 

Yet isn't sure where her purse is.

Each day is a gift

Regardless of where life takes us ... 

We go back to our roots

The good memories ... the not so good

Thankfulness that we don't remember everything

Sit together and laugh

Share the same stories 

The days of no seat belts

When drive in movies still existed.

Crawling from the back to the front of the station wagon (while it was moving of course)

Heading to Giant's games

Being scared of the basement

These memories created who we are ... 

The good, the bad, the memorable, the forgetable.

Close your eyes

Remember the laughter

Remember the joy

Imprint the memories 

Imprint the mind

Feel the smile grow on your face

And tomorrow 

With the gift of a new day

Start with the smile

Imagine what can be 

Become it

The Real Thing

Castroville, CA

Okay, folks, this is perhaps a bit more light-hearted than normal for me ... but it reminds me that there is nothing like the real thing ... the real FRESH thing. An artichoked picked in the morning, steamed in the evening. mmmm mmmm good. There are two, no three food items, that just don't cut it with me in New York: Artichokes, Avocados, Sourdough French Bread. Try as one might, ship them as quickly as one might, nothing beats the freshness and flavor that one experiences locally (in the SF Bay Area). To top it off, this afternoon I will swing by my brother's house and grab some fresh rosemary from the garden and use it for marinating lamb. Should have stopped in Gilroy for fresh garlic, what was I thinking? We did remember to stop for a pound of fresh See's Chocolate, then my mother said she "needed" and In and Out Burger! You know they make milk shakes there with real ice cream.

Guess this trip has been a culinary delight.
Today we drive to Sebastopol ... wonder what we will find there? We're too early for apples (but then I can get great fresh apples in New York).

Did I tell you I had a seafood salad with Crab, Bay Shrimp and Scallops on Sunday?!

p.s. did I tell you about the lemon meringue pie made with lemons from the backyard?

did I tell you I got some fresh rosemary from my cousin's garden ... and mom got fresh rhubarb.  Oh and what about a salad at lunch with greens, onions, and carrots from the garden.  

All this freshness!