Brinca - the great running trainer

Our dog Brinca is 6 years old.  She and I have been running together for six years.  Before this year, I've never really tried to improve my running time, as I've just done it casually - for pleasure...no, really.  But, there have been many times we've run together and we're just not in sync.  She would slow me down! And since she is usually on the leash, it would pull me back. I found it quite annoying. She was especially slow in the summer - a black fur coat doesn't do her any favors.  I would intentionally seek places to run where I could let her off leash, but that's not always an option.  Adding to some of the frustration of her slowing me down, I found that when I let her off leash, she still had plenty of energy to chase after any moving object in the bushes off trail -- a rabbit or prairie dog. But, she didn't have enough energy to keep up!  

  

But recently, I noticed that it wasn't necessarily that she was slower than me, it was just that our pace was different.  My jogging pace was faster than her trot, but her canter was faster than my jog.  

I've never really used anything to pace me, to speed me up, but tonight on my jog, I found that if I wanted to run faster and maintain a faster pace, I needed to run at her canter pace.  She would never have let me onto this, being a good submitting dog not wanting to drag me (and she's a bit lazy, so maybe didn't mind that I would drag her along). 

And just like that, after six years, and several frustrating runs with Brinca "slowing me down", she has all of a sudden become the perfect training partner for me as I seek to improve my running times. 

Life is often not what it initially seems.  So much of our enjoyment of life is simply a matter of perspective. Sometimes we don't realize the gift that others (people and animals) are to us.  

Thanks, Brinca for being a great running dog. 

    

Advent 2- CommunityUnoccupied

Advent1 - CommunityAwake - Isaiah 64:1-9

A video to a dance

This guy's movements (amazing) say to me, "You have a newborn a two year old and aren't getting much sleep."
Sorry I can't embed the video, but worth a 2 minute watch.

http://www.wimp.com/streetdance/

Prayers for Peace

From an interfaith email I received:

Hindu Prayer for Peace Lead us from darkness to the light. Peace, Peace, Peace unto all. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to all. May all things be a source of peace for us.   Buddhist Prayer for Peace May all beings everywhere Plagued with sufferings of mind and body Be quickly freed from their suffering. May those frightened cease to be afraid, And may those bound, be free. May the powerless find power, And may people think of befriending one another. May those who find themselves In trackless, fearful wilderness-- The very young and the very old, The unprotected and those in poverty-- Be surrounded by great compassion and love. Christian Prayer for Peace St. Francis of Assisi Lord, make me an instrument of thy Peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury,pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Zia Lanier Topple - born Oct 29, 2011

Because Trasie was considered a high risk pregnancy, in addition to having low fluid in her uterus during the final week of pregnancy AND the 2 cm growth on the developing baby's bottom, her doctors recommended she go in when contractions were consistent at 10 minutes apart.  When she woke me up at 2 am on Saturday, Oct 29 and told me that this was the case, I said to her, "Let's wait until they are 7 and a half minutes apart?"  Not a great performance on my part; I'm hard to rouse at that hour, no matter the circumstance.  When I came to my senses, we were off to St. Vincent's in a flash.

Labor was fairly mild....from my perspective anyway.  Contractions slowly became more frequent that by 5 am we were moved from triage and to our own labor room.  Different from last time when she was connected to an IV and restricted in movement, Trasie was freer to move about and even get in the jacuzzi--which she did!  Her mother, Suegra, came about 7, and there we encouraged Trasie as she did her thing.  About 11:30am, we became a little restless predicting another false alarm, "This baby's not coming 'til tomorrow," we both agreed.  Trasie was silent on this issue, just reminding us when she was having another contraction.  Suegra and Papa Dale went off to get a bite to eat at noon, and no sooner had they walked out of the room did groans I hadn't heard since Ruby Gene's birth, came, reminding me of hidden memories from 2 and three quarter years ago.  I didn't panic, remembering that these went on for about 4 hours with Ruby. However, I now was convinced that the baby was coming sooner rather than later.  I sent a quick text to Suegra, "Contractions getting more intense."

About 30 minutes later, Trasie requested a revisit to the jacuzzi.  I asked the nurse, Julie Paige, it it would be okay.  "Sure," she said, "after we give her another dose of antibiotics" Trasie would never make it back to the jacuzzi.  Hooked up to her IV, she was limited in movement. Time suddenly began to speed up dramatically.  The moans from room 3619 were echoing in the hallway.  I sent another text to my suegra: "Come asap!"  Trasie yelled, "This baby's coming."  All of us - the nurses, Trasie's mother, the on-call doctor (who was at his child's soccer game), even me - had been incredulous. Now we believed!  Activity picked up in the room: nurses were coming in and out, the cart with surgical tools and the "baby receptical" were brought in, and Suegra came rushing in.  Suegra took her place opposite me, as we were flanked Trasie.  Since no doctor was around, nurses began to debate who would put the catcher's mit on:  "you're in midwifery school" "I'm not done with the program yet; besides you've got more experience."  Had I had my wits about me, I'm sure I would have stepped in and said, "I'll catch this baby!"  But instead, I paniced a bit and shouted, "Where's the....."  I stopped, what good did it do to intensify the already intense atmosphere.  Ironically, we almost moved back to Atlanta out of concern for the well being of this baby, and here we were, about to give birth, and there was no doctor present...

Soft music from Nakai sounded over the iPad.  The room was spinning.

Trasie pushed once, then twice, and a purple head was unveiled.  "The cord is wrapped around the baby's neck," said the catching nurse.  "Cut it!" directed another. Trembling hands held scissors that snipped the tangled cord from the neck.

Another push and out she came!

And just like that, at 1:21 pm, Oct 29, 2011, Zia Lanier Topple nearly became the 7 billionth human being to populate the Earth.

She was handed to her mother.  Is there anything more pure and beautiful than a newborn in her mother's arms? Flesh upon flesh.  Grace upon grace.  God is good.

               

What happens on September 11 after 9/11?

¡Que viva la fiesta!  I've seen many signs up around town announcing events, part of Fiesta, that take place on Sept 11.  Before 10 years ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about having a circus on Sept 11, but now, I had to ask, is that an appropriate way to acknowledge what happened?  My friend, George, was born on Sept 11.  11 years ago this date meant nothing more to him than the date his mama gave birth to him.  Now, he wonders if he should celebrate his birthday on that date.  When I lived in Santiago Chile in the year 2002-3, one of their main streets is named 11 de septiembre.  Had I been there 2 years earlier, I may not have even noticed there was a street with that title (it marks the day the coup de'etat that took place in that country in 1973).  Ignorant of Chilean history, when I saw the name of the street, I thought to myself, gee, that was nice of this country to recognize the tragedy of 9/11.  This year, Sunday Sept 11 before 10 years ago, would have simply be another Sunday in the life of the church.  The first Sunday after labor day; life as usual.  But, the media, and our memories will continue to remind us that we live in a "post-9/11" reality in the United States.  And so we will observe the events that take place 10 years ago, as well as what has come in the aftermath.  And at the heart of the worship service will be the theme of forgiveness (Matt 18:21-35), as we continue our series: The Heaven on Earth Project, A Systemic Overhaul.  As Christians, Jesus is most clear about the necessity of forgiveness.  Yet, in our society, our response when we feel someone has done us harm is the seek retribution, which we call "justice", and we are very good at holding onto bitterness and hatred instead of forgiving. This is another area where we, who seek to be disciples of Jesus, need a Systemic Overhaul.  With this in mind,  and in light of the spirit of Zozobra, we will attempt to ritualize our own need to forgive, and seek to live as more liberated and forgiving disciples in the world.