Sunday Freewrite

I am a freewrite machine this week. :) 

I went to the OSU vs. Stanford game yesterday. Julie was so nice to include me as her Plus One. There are a bunch of very delightful people on their alumni board and alumni association staff. She signed me up to be part of OSU Alumni Association. I didn't know I needed to join. Who knew? 

My life is full. So I don't do a lot of OSU events even though I work there (at least I will again starting in January). I don't feel bad about that. Yesterday was a very full day! Football games take a long time. It was fun though. 

One thing I liked about Julie is that she realized right away that I was an introvert. I wondered how she knew that, and I cannot remember what she said specifically, but she used examples of things I talked about doing. SO many people think that I am an extravert, and it drives me CRAZY when people argue with me about that, but there are certain people who get it. I remember one of my British literature students saying she knew that I was an introvert because of all the books that I read. Introverts can love people, people! It is about what gives one energy, and I recharge while doing things alone. In fact, after constant time with people yesterday, I am HUNKERING down today. I am wiped! I need to recharge. That is what I loved about my recovery. I spent a LOT of time by myself without guilt, with little smatterings of people visiting me for a bit. I liked that. :)

Well, this will be a short freewrite. I doubt if I will have time to devote to volunteering to OSU. One woman called me "pathetic" for not being involved since I live in Corvallis, but there are things outside of OSU events to give your life to honey (not offended by her comment, just amused), and I feel like I am definitely giving to OSU students by teaching them Pilates and helping them to prevent pain later on in their lives. That is my passion.

Sunday will be great. So excited to be back at home, snug as a bug in a rug. :)

Saturday Freewrite

I think I am done planning our November getaway. I have researched ad nauseum. (Technically it is not really that because that infers that it got annoying or tiresome, and I love every minute of planning - watching YouTubes about the place, looking at travel blogs, etc. So fun!) All that to say is that I am uber-prepared for this little Rhine Getaway with my sweetheart to celebrate our 30th Anniversary. That is a big milestone, and it needs to be celebrated! 

Today, I am going to an OSU Football Game after 36 years of not going. I mentioned to my friend, Julie, who was at Oregon State at another sorority back in the 80s. She was a family friend of my friend, Shannon, who passed away in June. We have been in touch lately because of her passing, and she invited me to be her Plus One to the Alumni Center and tour of the President's Residence. It should be fun to go with her. The last person I went with was Shannon back in 1983, and we were totally rained on relentlessly. When I woke up this morning and heard a downpour, I laughed. But this time, we will be INSIDE enjoying food, dry, and warm. :) 

I am almost done with The Decameron, and I think it is quite a feat, to say the least! It is 30 hours of reading, and I have about 8 left. Whew! I have been listening after my time with God every morning, but it makes me so sad: were the clergy really that corrupt and sensual in the 14th century? YIKES!

Anywho, I am looking forward to continuing my journey through Proust. I am tempted to just get rid of all the other books I have checked out in hopes of reading and going great guns into the remaining five volumes. All toll, it is about 2000 pages of reading left. I think my Kindle says it is about 64 hours of reading. I could do that by Christmas, maybe? I wish Audible would just give me a free membership because I am a big reader. :) I would love to listen to the unabridged version of this tome, but I don't think all the volumes are in the American system yet. I think you can get them in Europe though. 

I better get to my day. I have a lot to do before I leave for the Alumni Center at 12:45. TTFN.

Happy Saturday. 

Tuesday Freewrite

I have used the time wisely this morning. I think my primary goals this fall are to:

1) Continue to seek God, hope in God for the things I am praying about. I had almost a full day of prayer yesterday. I was supposed to go for the whole day with Nancy, but she had written down 2-3 hours which is so weird because there was no discussion of that when we set the date. I think it is her Type One going on. When she proposed going an hour up only to stay 2-3 hours, it just didn't seem worth it. So I told her we could just do it at our homes and talk later. I love setting boundaries and finding out if something is worthwhile for me rather than always deferring to the other person's schedule and expectations. There was a miscommunication, and since I have no recording of the conversation, I quickly let it go with no frustration attached and did what was in keeping with God's goals for me. I would not have done that in the past. So it was a 6-noon time for me. I loved it, and I have a Top Ten things I am praying diligently for.

2) Regain my strength muscularly and cardiovascularly - This really is a priority for me these days. Surprisingly, I did not lose that much cardiovascularly or muscularly, but I need to get my muscles working properly together as a unit since I had to do isometrics in bed for two months. I took two walks during my time of prayer, and it was so good for my soul and my body to walk. I am hoping to get this brace off so that walking is easier.

3) Spiritual Direction Supervision - I have five people I will be meeting with on a monthly basis. Three will be face to face, and the other two will be by Skype. With that, I am going to develop a website with the help of Paul. He is also doing some graphics for me to develop my resources that I will put on my website. Eventually, I want to get all the spiritual exercises online. That would be so fun to have something interactive and beneficially for all who would come on to the site. I have to decide between going to Portland or Boise for this next module. I am leaning toward Portland.

4) Enneagram Credential - I am so excited to start Studio E, a 15 session Enneagram Certificate Course with seven other people. I think it will be grand. There is a conflict for the November one, and I was going to go to Boise but realized it was the area I am weakest in on the Enneagram! So I am thinking of not going to Boise for this Cohort meeting and making it up through online interaction with Marty and Sandy.

5) Weight Loss - I have another five pounds to get off that I gained during my immobile stage and people bringing me meals. George is also on a quest. So we are both doing this in preparation for the next things I will talk about. I will probably do 10 instead of five in preparation for our . . . .

6) Rhine Getaway for our 30th Anniversary - We are going in November, and I have had so much fun looking at each city and making plans. I think just being on a boat for 7 nights will be fabulous.

I must go as the timer is done, and I have a directee coming in 22 minutes. BYE!

Sunday Freewrite

I have been having so much fun this last week. I love having made a decision about going on this cruise. It was SO CHEAP compared to our last cruise with free air. It does overlap with four of the same cities, but we KNEW we wanted to come back to Amsterdam to go to the Museum district since we went to Harlaam (and the Corrie Ten Boom) and The Anne Frank House last time and did not have time for the museums. We will ride bikes through the windmill villages rather than go on a tour with our group (the talking portion was SUPER boring IMHO) in Kinderdijk, bike and go to the top of the tower in the Cologne AGAIN because that was so fun. We will also go to other places in the big city. Koblenz is the only disappointment in that they no longer dock at the city that we did not get to see last time because of a tour at Marksburg Castle. Now they go to the city below Marksburg instead. So we might go up to the top for that view and may or may not go on the tour. There is a nice nature reserve nearby. Or we might want to enjoy no one on the boat! We will go through the same castles on the Rhine, but that is something I would see again and again and again. So peaceful and lovely for an afternoon. 

After that, we are in new places. I am so excited to hike up above the Rhine to Eibingen Abbey in Rudesheim because Hildegard Von Bingen founded it! If the boat docks on time, we will get there just in time for Vespers! I talked to a person who went there last November, and that person said it was no trouble walking up the hill in the dark. So I am so game. After that, we will go into the city and look at the Old Town. I guess wine is really big. We won't drink much wine, but I am sure we will enjoy the sites of a lovely city.

Next, it is Heidelberg and it's castle and university town. How fun!

After that, we go to Strasbourg in the Alsace. I would like to rent bikes since we will be there much of the day and have free time after our tour.We also have friends who live one hour away and might be able to see them. It is a full day, and we leave at 9pm. I have wanted to go to the Alsace for a long time! There was a super spendy tour, but it was seven hours with lots of food and wine. We would rather just buy the specialties ourselves and forget about all the wine and save ourselves a heap of money!

Then we go to Breisach. There is a tour of the Black Forest in the morning. We did buy a tour of Colmar for the afternoon because it doesn't look like we get to go there any other way. Maybe I should ask about that. It would have been an hour to get up to Colmar by public transport. So there would have been little time to enjoy it. I hope that was a wise choice. One woman told me that they did end up adding that as a free excursion without the tour. 

Then we go to Basel, but we will only see it in the dark! BUMMER! :) I didn't realize we do not spend a day there at the end.

All that to say, I am very excited about this. 

FIFTEEN MINUTES. 

After that, we dock down on the Rhine in 

91. The Decameron, unabridged

Woops! This posted on 9/20/19 accidentally. I will go ahead and write a review because I am more than halfway through the 30 hours of listening! I did not like the abridged version because it seemed like they selected the most disgusting and lewd stories in that version. The unabridged contains the remaining ones that are not quite as lewd and disgusting! I can see why it is in the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die list because it really is a pre-curser to Chaucer and Shakespeare. 

90. The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I cannot believe I never read this to my children when they were growing up. (I was not read to when I was growing up so I didn't even know this book existed.) It is DELIGHTFUL! This narrator is top notch. I was enthralled the entire book as the Mole goes on an adventure and Mr. Toad goes on a wild ride. I didn't realize that the Disneyland Fantasyland ride by the same name is based on this book. 

This was only a 5 hour book, but it would be great for a car journey with the family. 

(Some people object to the use of the word "ass," but the meaning in British English is very different from American English. Also there is a "demigod" in the very middle of the book that is sort of weird, and it might bother people.

This blog article explores this:

https://lettersrepublic.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/what-is-the-wind-in-the-wind-in-the-willows/

Monday Morning Freewrite

After many months of dithering, George and I took the plunge on Saturday and decided to book a cruise. (I just love the word dithering, by the way. I rarely use it but it so describes thing.) We had been invited on two different tours by Sharre and Linda. They were in Berlin and going to the Christ play. Also there was one in the Alps. BUT both involved LOTS of bus travel. One was five hours on a bus, and even though it would have been really beautiful scenery, I just did not like all the busing we did on the Rick Steves tour. Don't get me wrong, his tours are great, and we had a lovely tour (Paris and the Heart of France).  I highly recommend his tours because you learn SO MUCH from their guides. Christine was ours, and she was my favorite person on the trip. I just prefer not having to pack up and get on a bus every one to two nights. I LOVE seeing things from a boat and unpacking ONE time. I also grew up on boats, and that is my happy place and brings back warm "Madeleine Moments" (see last post) for me. So, there was a HUGE sale with free air and we even upgraded to have a veranda! The other one was WAY more expensive. YIKES. 

I think the other reason this one appealed to me was I did not want to wait until next July to go on a trip. We were going to take a vacation this summer with our kids, and I didn't have a peace about it due to their job situation (praying for a job for them both still - biggest anxiety for this mama bear who loves her children with all of her heart). GOOD THING as I would not have been able to go because of my broken leg. I cannot teach this fall due to my broken leg. So, I thought it would be perfect for us to go while I am off. I am also looking forward to seeing how travel is in the off season. I do not like crowds, and I don't mind cold and rain of fall. 

So we are going on an EIGHT DAY RHINE GETAWAY. Four of the stops are at places we went to on our last cruise, but we wanted to explore more in those places anyway. We did not make it to the Van Gogh or Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (and the Indonesian cuisine there), the biking in Kinderdijk, the city center of Koblenz, and the museums of Cologne.  So, here we go. There is something about me and the excitement of learning about new places like Basel, Switzerland, Alsace region of France, and the BLACK FOREST. I have been reading and planning and emailing. LOVE IT! 

The sun is shining in the window, and I know that this is God tapping me on the shoulder saying, "YOU GO GIRL." Actually, I am so blinded by the light right now, I can barely see my computer screen for this freewrite. I am doing a happy dance. (Well, ,not a total one since I cannot dance quite yet, but I think I get off my crutch either this week or next week). 

I have 1:30 left on my timer. This is what my day will be about:

1) Physical Therapy exercises (rolling and flexibility too)
2) Library pick up of Rick Steves books for the trip
3) Planning for the different cites on our route
4) Little walk in the neighborhood (might go now since thunderstorms are coming soon)
5) Wardrobe selection for the trip 
6) Listen to the Decameron

BYE! No proofreading since the sun has totally overtaken, and I cannot see my screen.

Madeliene Moment Questions

This is from: http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/2019/09/bw38-proust-invokes-past.html

In 1886, when Proust was 14, he was asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding his writing. The original manuscript was recovered and in 2003, it was sold at auction for $120,000. Below are the questions: 

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
What is your greatest fear?
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Which living person do you most admire?
What is your greatest extravagance?
What is your current state of mind?
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
On what occasion do you lie?
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Which living person do you most despise?
What is the quality you most like in a man?
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
When and where were you happiest?
Which talent would you most like to have?
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Where would you most like to live?
What is your most treasured possession?
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is your most marked characteristic?
What do you most value in your friends?
Who are your favorite writers?
Who is your hero of fiction?
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Who are your heroes in real life?
What are your favorite names?
What is it that you most dislike?
What is your greatest regret?
How would you like to die?
What is your motto?

89. The Decameron, abridged

 Is says "complete and unabridged" right above on the cover, but the "selected stories" were complete and unabridged, and I didn't read the "fine print" before I checked it out from library2go. So I knew that a 2+ hour time could not be the actual Decameron because I have the book on my shelf (from the books we inherited from my father-in-law), and it is quite thick. 

All that said, these narrators are all brilliant British actors. So, I enjoyed their narration, but I have the other version now which is about 30 hours, and I will just skip the ones I listened to already which leaves me 28 hours of listening! LOL! The nice thing is that no one is waiting for me to finish with this book, and I can keep it for a while.

The Decameron is 100 little stories. The are raunchy. It is full of sex, adultery, and people of the cloth doing lewd things. It is supposedly a very important part of literature and where Shakespeare and Chaucer got their inspiration for their great works. So, I will endure it since it is on the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. 

Saturday Sweet Sixteen Minute Freewrite

I am on a writing roll lately! I can sit upright more, and I can also move my laptop around the house since I have one hand free since I am on one crutch. That has given me significant freedom to type away, and I am also not preparing to teach like I usually do after Labor Day. But what is funny is I set up both my courses on Canvas in June so I would not have as much work to do in the Fall. GO FIGURE. Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans. I think John Lennon said that? I don't know who said that. I will look it up after the freewrite.

Yesterday was great. My Centering Prayer word was FAITHFUL, and I decided to have a Friday Fast to Feed on His Faithfulness and for Family intercession. My boys need jobs. My husband is looking at a possible NEW job. He is very secure in his current job, but this injury has brought home that if something happens, it is really hard to commute back and forth to Portland every day. As it was, Paul did not have a job. So, he could care for me and feed me and get ice for me every hour. So, I see God faithfulness in him NOT getting a job yet, but now that I am better and have on hand free (I even unloaded the dishwasher for the first time since July 18th!), I do not need someone home to help me. I am so excited that I have taken the last three showers without any help! WOOHOO. I can put enough weight on my left leg to get over the RIDGE that goes into my shower. The first time I needed to pull up on the bar over the door of my shower, but I don't even need to do that anymore! I don't have to wait for George to get home. I used to get pretty mealy taking a shower every three to four days and washing my hair only once a week. So YIPPEE. I have freedom to shower.

Time with God has been very sweet this week. I also had a good balance with people and time to read and pray, etc. Today is going to be a people day in the afternoon into the evening as we are going to my college friend, Shan's, memorial open house at 2:30 and a wedding at 4:30. I am still wondering if it is a good idea to go to it. The wedding is a definite yes, but the memorial service really is optional. 

The rest of the morning I will go to the library and maybe take a little walk with George. Who knows? Maybe I will go to the Farmer's Market and walk around! FREEDOM! 

I am going to also do some notetaking from my reading for Module Two of the School of Sustainable Faith Year Two Cohort. I am 60% of the way through. Only four more times going to Boise. I am so grateful to Debbie for letting me stay at her house during this time.

I hope it does not rain for the wedding.

My body is doing well now that I can do full on physical therapy exercises and self-myofascial release rolling and stretching. My body and back are doing great. I have also lost five pounds of the 10 that I gained lying in bed for seven weeks. I am still lying in bed a lot due to swelling, but I am exercising a bit more and also watching what I eat. Yesterday's fast was for my family, and it also reigned in my eating a bit more. I feel really good about that. I am back on LoseIt! recording almost daily. I would love to beat my streak of about 200 days of recording, but I have days where it isn't feasible to record because I am out and about and not knowing how much I am eating. Today will be a test as there will be food at both places. 

Oh, Michael woke up unable to breath at about 4:30! SO SCARY. I was in a deep sleep, and I could not go back to sleep so I got up and had a lot of good time with God. I do get up about 5, but I was going to sleep in this morning because I didn't fall asleep until 1:30. So it is going to be a very LONG day. But I got a lot of sleep earlier in the week due to feeling like I was fighting something. So I should be OK. 

By the way, I have not lifted my fingers from this keyboard the WHOLE time I have been on here. Seems like it should be about sixteen minutes, but I am not going to ask my timer and just keep going until it goes. It seems like it should be any time.

One more thing. I joined a 1000 Books to Read Before You Die group on Goodreads. I am very excited to have other books nerds to journey with. Most I know here would never want to do this. 

I am going to go now. I think I have about a minute to go, but I want to move on with my day! TTFN. Ohh. I might go out on the deck and sit now that I can sit in that chair!  

88. The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This was my third attempt to read this book. I could not, for the life of me, get into this crazy book the first two times, but I guess "third time's the charm" because I loved it! It did not hurt that Stephen Fry was narrating it too. It also helps that I have been to England. 

I don't know if I will go on reading the whole series of five books. It is silly, comedic, science fiction. 

87. Gilead

This is a classic. It is slow and ambling but beautifully written. It is a letter from a dying father to his son. It is the sweeping story of three generations of preachers. I really liked it! 

Thursday Thirteen Minute FREEWRITE

Thirteen minutes and counting. I did one of these on Monday, but I am going to do another one, by golly.

It was good to review and do an Examen for the whole time in Boise. It prompted me to set up a spiritual direction time on Tuesday with Fran to talk about the weird situation (not the cohort - that was wonderful - it was something that happened after the cohort was over). Fran was super helpful and the word PROTECTION came up again! That word has come up in my time with God more than once over the last month. 

Then I asked Nan to go out to lunch at the last minute (She wanted to go for my birthday, but I was still exhausted from having to crutch everywhere, and my leg had to be straight and locked so it was uncomfortable to sit for too long. Not to mention the swelling.) She was free so we had a nice time; heart to heart which I LOVE. That word PROTECTION came up with that. My cup was pretty full after that. 

Then, I had a spiritual direction time with a new person. She didn't know what it was, and I let it go longer than the normal one hour time because we had not seen each other since the end of July, and it was lovely too. She wanted to set up a regular time to meet. I think that will be really nice.

So, I am writing my freewrite just to get this PROTECTION word documented. I also think the verses for this morning also reinforced this theme, "You are my hiding place; You will preserve me form trouble/And surround me with songs of deliverance./You will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go;/You will counsel me and watch over me" (Ps 32:7-8).  So I had a Centering Prayer time with the words Hiding Place. Thank you, Lord, for being my Hiding Place. You do protect me, preserve me from trouble. You have protected me throughout my life: toxic friendships, a bad marriage (because you gave me such a GOOD one even though I had to wait). So, I am grateful.

Now, I have to decide about recruiting for the School of Sustainable Faith School of Spiritual Direction. My supervisor wants me to get a date down for an informational night. I think it would be better to get the dates for the cohort and see where to go from there. I am wondering if I should even be involved. I would love to see more spiritual directors here in the state of Oregon. There are only two of us in Corvallis with the same values as Sustainable Faith. So, I need to sit in this for a while and pray and listen. You will instruct me and teach me in the way that I should go. 

If anyone is reading this blog and wants more information about a cohort, and what that would involve, here is the web address for the YEAR ONE curriculum overview. I have a more detailed one that I can also send:

https://www.sustainablefaith.com/school-spiritualdirection/


I am not a gatherer, but I am a community developer once someone gathers. I did that with Shelly. She gathered the women. That is not my forte. 

Well, today, I have a PT appointment. 

I am done. Thirteen minutes went by so quickly. :) 

Examen - Thursday through Sunday

I prayed the Examen while I was in Boise, but I want to sum up the whole experience by looking at where God was in it! 

Taking a deep breath and asking God to be with me: I am imagining Jesus sitting at the table with me. I get chills just thinking about that! Exuberant joy might be even a better description of what I feel. 

Call to mind two or three things that you are grateful for: 
1) GORGEOUS GEORGE - I already said this in my freewrite, but he was so helpful to me during my trip to Boise, and I never could have managed everything without him. He even slept on a futon so I could have the whole bed at Debbie's. What a guy. It was also so nice to travel eight hours in the car with him. He appreciates beauty like me. He drives super safely through rain and thunderstorms. He communicates with me. He loves to pray together. He loves to do the Examen together. He loves reflection and pondering big questions today. My soulmate.

2) GORGEOUS GORGE - Once we get through Portland on the way to Boise, the grandeur of the Columbia Gorge does something for my soul. What a marvel of the Maker of heaven and earth. It makes an eight hour drive so enjoyable.

3) RIVERSIDE RESTURANT, Hood River - Oh my. We went there on the way to Boise back in March, and we ate inside because it was too cold. But this time there and back we sat on the deck, ate excellent food, and had this view of the Columbia River that was so peaceful and lovely. 

4) BOISE BUDDIES - (I really was not intending to have the SAME letters for each of my gratefulness points, but that is what has happened). I am so thankful for Marty, Sandy, Pam (made a deeper connection with her on a crutching walk), Val, Marg, Gene, April, Bill, and Kayla. What a lovely group of people. They are all listening to God and growing and wanting to help others grow. What more could a girl ask for? I am also grateful for Debbie, and her hospitality. It is like a home away from home, and Debbie is very warm and inviting. Ralph kept George occupied during the time too, and I am grateful. We ate great meals both nights with them Apple Sausage, veggies, and Trader Joes Baby Grains! YUM. The second night we went out for ETHIOPIAN FOOD that was so great. Love my Boise Buddies. 

5) BACK BOLSTERING - It did not go out with all the moving and shaking and crutching and sitting. That is a miracle, and I am more than grateful to God for that. 

GETTING UP: 
Thursday - We did not leave until 10:45 so I was able to have a really good time with God and also really good rolling and stretching which was important before I folded myself up and got in a car for an eight hour drive. 

Friday - I was actually able to bend down and get my milk frother (I am not getting paid for this link, but I needed to find out if I spelled that right, and I love this frother so much that I thought I would link it for people who love frothed milk. It is the BOMB. I have had it since January, and I love, love, love it.) and tea mix for my chai latte. 

Saturday - I could not do it the second day because my back was stiffer. But I was proud that I did not have to wake up George to help me that first day. I know it sound weird, but my increasing independence because I am walking with one crutch now is so lovely. Anywho.

All days - After my chai making, I sat down to have really good time with God all morning. Friday, I meditated on my 3-4 month examen that I would be sharing with the group later that morning. 

Mornings: 

Thursday - Traveling and loving my time with George. I asked him the Examen questions of the last three to four months that I would be doing with my cohort and then told him what I was reflecting on. Did some prayer for jobs for our boys which is really burning on both of our hearts. 

Friday - George took me to the Boise cohort the first day, and it was the highlight of my day to spend time in the car together. 

Saturday - The second day, I drove myself which was a big thing. I had a worship session (a continuation of my worship from earlier in the morning - I even danced a bit - I am so looking forward to dancing again.) 

Friday/Saturday Later Morning: Both mornings was our stories from the last 3-4 months, and I went first. I liked it. I was not nervous. April mentioned my story reminded her of the song "The Warrior is a Child" by Twila Paris, and she didn't know that was my anthem of the 80s! I liked hearing other people's stories. I see God in each of their stories. That was so nice. :) I wish I could live in Boise to be with them more, but I am praying about building this kind of community here. Lord, make it so. 

Lunchtimes: 

Thursday - Riverside on the Columbia River - PERFECT. Weather, Weaver Man (George), Wonder of God's creation as we ate Wonderful food! 

Friday - Had a harder time following the conversation at lunch time. I think because I had been sitting all morning, and that was 1) the longest I had sat since my injury, and 2) I needed to process all that had transpired by a walk (like I usually do). I did take a five minute crutch walk. 

Saturday - I decided to be bold and get up from the table. I did have a pretty meaningful talk with Sandy and Marty about the Spiritual Exercises, and I now know how to pray for the transition of Sustainable Faith to their new model. The thing I loved the most was being able to just get up from the table to walk because that is what I needed for my back health and continued growth in weight-bearing. I especially liked that Pam went with me, and we had a wonderful talk about BOOKS! I like her. She is so sweet and kind and I think I click with her the most behind Michelle (who is now no longer in the School of Spiritual Direction). I click with everyone though. Really and truly. 

Sunday - Riverside Repeat and same as Thursday. All the "W" were there! 

Afternoons:

Thursday - Traveling and listening to Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Slow and ambling book like our journey through Eastern Oregon and up through the Blue Mountains. Also some rockin' out to my 60th birthday playlist that I didn't get to dance to at my party. 

Friday - That was the hardest part of the cohort time. We had a very long talk on "Kingdom." I am all for "Kingdom," but I have never struggled with Kingdom like many people raised in the church. So, it was very long, and I didn't really like the book we read about that subject. So, that has been the only part of the training I thought was a bit long and drawn out but maybe others really enjoyed it. So I just sat and prayed. So it wasn't a waste. We also did supervision of two people, and that was meaningful. 

Saturday - I like the book by Sue Pickering on Spiritual Direction much more than Friday's book discussion. I was able to tell the story about Sky and the Trappist monastery. I was also able to have an honest discussion with someone in the cohort about something that was concerning me, and she was so delightful to talk to. I really like her. They also did a group supervision on me, and I am pleased to say that I lived in the moment and was NOT ONE IOTA NERVOUS, which is so HUGE for me! It was actually good to reflect on why saying "NO" to people continues to have its moments of struggle. Strange encounter when I left the cohort which I am still processing. 

Sunday - It rained cats and dogs between Portland and Corvallis. We could barely see the road in Salem. George is the best driver on the planet. The trip went so well, and the best part was seeing our kids at the end of the long trip. 

Evenings and Bedtimes: 

Thursday - Settling in with Debbie's welcoming us in.

Friday - Yummy dinner together of Debbie's favorite foods and mine too. Marionberry Moscato is the bomb! Stretching and early bed. 

Saturday - Ethiopian, Lemon Drop, Mango Moscato. Stretching and early bed.

Sunday - Did some mindless TV watching and felt so tired. Could only stay awake until 10 pm because it was 11 pm in Boise.

Was there anything that you regret and maybe have to confess? 
There was! I leave that as a private thing between me and God and will not post it here. It was related to encounters with two different people over the weekend. 

What was meaningful?

I had several "most meaningfuls" so will go by day:

Thursday - Being with George every minute of that day. He is the best in every way.

Friday - April saying my story reminded her of "The Warrior is a Child" so significant since that was my song in the 80s. I had this memory of a roommate (maybe Jodie?) saying, "That song is describing you!" I was over my head in ministry with people and the enemy was fighting hard against me at every turn. I have had not that intense spiritual warfare since. So that was a God thing for April to hear that from him.

Saturday - Meeting of hearts in four situations with five people: 1) I had to have a more intense conversation with at the break. We laughed hysterically later when I said, "You can say 'good'! Inside joke but so funny that you can get passed things so easily with mature people. Thank you God. 2) a lovely walk with Pam and connecting on our love for books and her understanding of the Enneagram. She is also quite mature 3) I also really liked how Gene was so good at tying things together for my saying "NO" difficulty, and 4) Just connecting with Marty and Sandy over lunch on Saturday. I really, really like them so much and know how to pray more for them now. 

Sunday - GORGEOUS GEORGE IN THE GORGEOUS GORGE! 

Now I am listening to what God wants to say to me for each of those things above:

Thursday - George is a gift. The Gorge is a gift of my creation for you to freely enjoy. 

Friday - Keep soaking in the song, Carol. 

Saturday - Supervision cohort  people are another gift to you. 

Sunday - Same as Thursday. I will lead about that getaway with George and will drop it in your lap. Keep waiting for it for it will surely come. 

Now ask for the grace of God to see him in the next day. 

YES LORD.

Monday Freewrite Fifteen

Success! I made it to Boise and back! I could not have done it without my sweet soulmate, George. He did go with me the first day to the supervision, and he was willing to stay downstairs to help me with bathroom things, but Gene had installed a chair height toilet for when April had knee surgery. So, I was able to get down and up again without a grab bar. So YAY! It was all good for me to be there without him. So, he went back to Eagle and went for a hike with Ralph. I came back on Friday night and did rolling and stretching (because I can get down to the floor now and can take my brace off while I am rolling), but I did demonstrate the Theracane on my serratus posterior inferior to Debbie and Ralph, and I think I "woke it up and made it mad." So the next day's sitting during supervision was a bit uncomfortable. I changed chairs and put it on the carpet because Bill said it was more comfortable for him to do that, and it alleviated. When I came back to Debbie's. I propped up my legs on her chair and did a lot of pelvic tilts and iced my knee. Sitting upright for two days made me really swell up. So that was good. I also had a thorough rolling and stretching. SO my serratus posterior inferior relaxed! YAY! 

The supervision was good. I really like this group of people. Marty and Sandy (my supervisors) are letting me skip doing the Spiritual Exercises with their people. I  feel sorry for the rest of the people in my group because they are required to do it with this person who only has limited hours to do it, and they have to stop doing their regular spiritual direction and do it with this lady. It is sort of an impossible situation, and I am glad I will not have that hassle. Praying for Marty and Sandy on this. They are sort of caught in the middle between their supervisors and us. YIKES.

George just went out the door to go back to work. So GOOD to spend Thursday through Sunday with him. I miss him so very much. We had so much time to talk and connect, and I am SO GRATEFUL for him. I love the way we communicate with one another. It is that Type 9 (George) and Type 2 (Me) way of relating that is good. I am so grateful for all his help this weekend. He got up early to help me get ready to go to supervision.

From the day of my injury on July 18th, I had been concerned about making it to Boise. I don't think it would have been feasible if I were not weight bearing bit. But I am on the earlier end of being able to weight bear on my leg. In fact, I am at the 1 1/2 week mark after starting weight bearing, and the doctor said that I could switch to a cane. Last night, I did just that, and it was GREAT. I walked to the kitchen and back with no problem. 

I will not take walking for granted again. It is a gift.

Now, I am back in my happy place at home. I am going to take today to totally rest and get some "I" time because that is the most people contact I have had in 7 1/2 weeks! I am pooped! Last night, I could barely keep my eyes open, and I slept about 8 hours which is 2 hours more than my normal "sleepless elite gene" 6 hours. So, I knew I was really, really tired. 

After Monday rest, I have a spiritual direction discussion with Nicole. I am excited about that. I am not sure if she wants a session or she wants to talk about becoming one. But I love Nicole and meeting with her is always a joy because she is so smart, funny, and deeply spiritual. So it is all so very good. :) 

I do hope to start doing the Exercises with Kim and Anne some time this month, and I think that I am ready for it. I need to get my CPR/First Aid renewed though. I have to figure that out because it is probably happening very soon. 

It seems like it my timer should go. OH THERE IT IS! BYE!

Telling Your Story from the Last Three to Four Months

I have to do this in preparation for my 2nd Year Spiritual Direction Training next weekend, but I thought it would be fun to put it here. If you would like, I can give you a free Spiritual Direction session listening to and helping you reflect on it!

This is the assignment: 

We suggest you prepare for your sharing time by reflecting on, in an examen fashion, the last 4 months (May-September. Note: You can set the time frame, but roughly the summer.)

The point is to garner a picture of the opus Dei, the work of God in your life, and then to bring forward what seems important to offer.

You might consider looking at the list of questions below, sitting with these questions in quiet before the Lord, waiting for responses and insight. You can then sift through the “spiritual data” that emerges and determine what to share.

What spiritually significant events / insights have occurred during the last 3-4 months?

What events has God used as grist for the mill of transformation?

What, if anything, has changed in my context since I was last here?

How have I largely experienced God during this time?

What have I been praying about / for? Are there places I roost?

What has prayer been like, and how has God seemed to me?

What graces do I ask for?

What longings and desires do I notice? What disappointment or disillusionment?

In what ways have I experienced transformation, consolation, desolation?

Where have faith, hope and love been ignited ... or challenged?

What new question(s), if any, do I carry?

Tuesday Morning Freewrite Fifteen

Oh it is like a Monday as we had Labor Day yesterday.

I am not sure what I will write about this morning. I have to say that it is so beautiful outside this morning, and I hope to go for a little walk on my crutches. I took my first real walk on Saturday with George. It felt glorious! I have crutched in and out of doctors offices, and I did go one time to the library in the 6 1/2 weeks I could not put weight on my left leg, but last Thursday, the doc gave me the OK to do 10-15% and adding double that every two days or so. So, I am at 30-45% today! That is pretty exciting. So, walking is not as hard now because, although I still need my crutches for support, I can WALK with the aid of crutches. So, my arms do not get as tired. We even walked on Cabel Marsh at Finley Wildlife Refuge yesterday (see video below).

All told, it was a fabulous day. I am pretty sure I will go to Boise with George's help next Thursday. I am going to have my house all cleaned up today by Valentina and Pieter. So, I cannot do this freewrite too much longer. 

Oh, I had gotten on the scaled, and I was horrified by how much weight I had gained during my recovery, but I forgot about the weight of the brace I wear, my big thick robe, the 32 ounces of tea I had just consumed, etc. Regardless, I did gain some weight, but not as much as I thought. So, I went back on LoseIt! and have already shed some pounds. So, I am hopeful on that front. The two biggest fears I had during this recovery were my weight going up and my back going out. My back has been great, thanks in part to Dr. Myers seeing me for MA appointments every two weeks and doing ab exercises in bed. It seems to do well for about nine days after his appointment, and then it has a lumbar slip. That is my only concern with going to Boise since it is an 8 hour drive in the car and sleeping in a precarious bed. So, I am still not 100% sure I will be going. I want to go though.

So, I better stop writing and get dressed. I am not sure what time they are coming this morning since they are coming on a different day than usual. It doesn't hurt to be prepared. TTFN. 

View this post on Instagram

#tibialplateaufracture #tibiafracturefun

A post shared by Carol Weaver (@carolfoasia) on Sep 2, 2019 at 11:31am PDT

86. Historic Creeds: A Journal by Kenneth Boa

Another Lectio Divina book by Boa. I started this one in October 2005, and I thought I had finished it, but I still had the Athanasian Creed to meditate on. Since its emphasis is the Trinity, it followed nicely with my meditations on the Holy Spirit in the Trinity book by Boa. 

I like these simple books, and God did speak to me mightily in the meditations toward the end. 

These are worthwhile journals if someone needs guidance through the ancient practice of Lectio Divina or wants to, for this one in particular, learn the historic creeds of the church.