Word Wednesday - Syzygy

syz·y·gy   [siz-i-jee]
noun, plural -gies.
1.Astronomy . an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet: Syzygy in the sun-earth-moon system occurs at the time of full moon and new moon.
2.Classical Prosody . a group or combination of two feet, sometimes restricted to a combination of two feet of different kinds.
3.any two related things, either alike or opposite.

Syzygy - The timing for this past week's syzygy made it hard to view the lunar eclipse from an east coast America location.

NOTE: Sorry for the delay in this week's post. I set the time/date for the schedule in correctly. It happens!

Parental Problems

Children hate it when their parents can't get along. So do I.

I wish Google and Apple would play nice. It seems they never tire of finding ways my Apple devices and my Goggle products DON'T work together!

Come on! I love you both! Give a kid a break!!!!!!

Sunday Coffee Cup - A Son's Gift

Frankly, I don’t remember if it was a gift on Christmas or one that arrived during the Christmas season, but it is a gift that captures much of what Christmas is truly about – simple giving in love.

My son crafted a Christmas coffee mug when he was a very young lad. He drew the picture himself on the side of the mug – a Christmas tree, two wrapped presents, and angel on the tree top - and then presented it to me. Every year when we bring out the Christmas decorations we replace our normal glasses and mugs with Christmas ones. His gift is always among them, and all season long I reach for that mug with great love and care.

This Sunday Coffee mug sits around reminding me that I am a most fortunate father, step-father and husband. It reminds me that we never know what act of kindness, no matter how small and ‘imperfect’ will remain permanently in someone’s life. It reminds me how quickly life can change and how important it is to enjoy each simple moment. It reminds me that taking time for a quiet cup of coffee and delicate reflection is important in the busy holidays. It causes me to hear the carols of children singing in church.

Mostly, I see that angel, perched atop the tree and hear an ancient voice speak a timeless message softly through thousands of years, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Merry Christmas.

Poetry Re-Post: Entanglement

By the last micro thread of the spider’s web
Hanging
In a delicate balancing between desire to be free
From the casket of this cocoon
And to be safe from the fall to the ground

How came I upon this entanglement
But by little things, single threads of erroneous
Actions
Quiet discontentment resting feather-light
Clinging unassumingly to the sleeve of my façade

Until

Movement through my own self
Became hindered and slowly, progressed to
Halting proportions lost in one immobile
Case
Suspended by the last filament of my attachment

To you

(originally posted 1/9/09)

Word Wednesday - Suspension

sus·pen·sion   [suh-spen-shuhn]
1.the act of suspending.
2.the state of being suspended.
3.temporary abrogation or withholding, as of a law, privilege, decision, belief, etc.

Suspension: Enjoying the day while on suspension required Teddy to suspend the knowledge of the consequences of attempting suspended animation with a live frog and plastic.

Chuck Berry - My ding a ling

Somethings never get old...

Sunday Coffee Cup - Hospice

Being a pastor. Knowing a founder. Providing logoed hats and shirts. Watching my spouse volunteer. These are the many ways I have come to know the wonderful organization and mission of Hospice.

Our lives have many sacred moments. Births, marriages, rites of passage, countless first times and none more difficult than the sacred moment when we wait with someone who is dying. The demands of this ultimate moment in the culmination of someone's life impacts not only them, but every relationship they have. There is never enough energy of body, understanding of mind or depth of spirit for us to draw upon as we navigate such times. Hospice's mission provides assistance to families and individuals during the last days of a terminal illness.

This morning's Sunday Coffee Cup is from our local Hospice organization and was given to my wife as thanks for the support she has given as a volunteer. Speak with her about it sometime - you will know instantly what a wonderful service we have here in Forsyth county. Grasping the warmth and solidity of today's cup, I am thankful for Hospice.

Steve Jobs - Tasteless Humor

At the risk of premature tasteless humor regarding Steve Jobs:

Did you hear what Steve Jobs' last words were?




"iDead"

Word Wednesday - Knavery

knavery   \NEY-vuh-ree\ , noun;
1.Unprincipled, untrustworthy, or dishonest dealing; trickery.
2.Action or practice characteristic of a knave
3.A knavish act or practice.

knavery - Such an idiotic simpleton is he, always about one
type of knavery or another and mostly getting caught.

Sunday Coffee Cup – The Late, Late Show

They grow up. Kids, in each their own way, grow and learn and become themselves. In 2009, my daughter left her North Carolina home and headed west. She packed what she could into her VW Jetta and with no job and no certain place to live, headed to LA. She was banking on connections she had made during a college internship, the resilience of youthful enthusiasm and a good bit of luck to get her started down her dream path – working in television entertainment in LA.

Maneuvering her way through part time jobs, contract work and a fair share of babysitting she survived long enough for a real opportunity. Today’s Sunday Coffee Cup tells the tale of her success. She now works for The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  This morning’s coffee is about knowing your dreams and tenaciously pursuing them.

Do you have a dream calling you? Is there one you are chasing today?