Fingertips

Bowed head, eyes closed, in prayer, in confession. 

And there comes a hand on my left shoulder. Barely a hand. Fingers. Fingertips. Just barely registering. 

Eyes open, without turning my head a glance to the left, and see the right hand of my neighbor. Not hers. 

It matters not. Eyes close, confess. Confess. 

But who is it? Whose hand is that? 

It matters not. It is an angel. Return to prayer. 

But is it really an angel? Could it dare be. Do I really feel those fingertips. Is it just an illusion? A ghosting?

It matters not. Return to prayer. Confess. 

Physical or spiritual. real or Real. It matters not. The hand, the fingers, the fingertips of God rest on my shoulder. In this comfort, I am invited to return to prayer, to confession. 

Praise be to God, through whom all blessings flow. 

He is, Regardless

At times, life crashes.
               faith crashes.
We go through tough times and rough patches, and crash.

And we respond. Burn through, back out, seek help, go alone.
We experiences times of destruction: internal or external, self-inflicted or happenstance.
And we respond.

Rationally, if God is not in this, not in this world, not in our world, then seek a path through. Seek diligently, desperately. Find a means to get to the other side of the crash, to a point of future peace.

Rationally, if God is in this, in this world, in our world, He, being of a nature above and beyond our own, is in some form of control, a form we don't likely understand. We are to realize, to acknowledge, that we are not in control. And it is rational to embrace (rather than struggle) against this reality.
He is [in control], regardless [of how we act].
He is, regardless. 

Battling against His grain does not bring about our intended outcomes. If God is in it, He will bring:

• the Talent,
• the Brains,
• the Connections to make it happen, whatever it may be. 

The villain of the young professional years is the lack of margin. The go, go, go... 

crashing through life, getting things done.

from Gary Bottoms, Bottoms Group, speaker at Marietta Work Matters

But in these years, older than our youth yet young enough to be molded, we are still developing who we will be in:

• Leadership
• Career
• Family
• Community

Choosing God or not-god effects our reactions to the crashes, our actions in the moments, and in the days, weeks, months that follow.
How we act affects who we are to become. We are to some very real degree the product of our prior experiences and prior actions. We are being molded by our self, whether through our self-driven efforts or through our release to God, trusting in His efforts.

He is, regardless.
And we are not.

Don't Mess with the Alarm

This past week my alarm failed. Never you mind why it failed. It has nothing to do with its age, with my receipt of the AM/FM radio clock just a few short years ago when I myself was granted the responsibility of getting off to school in sixth grade. I must say that after 20+ years of being dialed into 92.9 Z93 (until the Capitalist turds canceled the station), the tuner may occasionally get nudged just a hair, just a decimal degree, with the result of a blazing silence once the waking hour is struck.

With our children now in the school system, now maturing into responsible members of society, the occasional failure of my alarm is now found to spread its effects outwards, with its first victims of circumstances being our lovely 4th graders.

So I took them by car to school one day last week, missing the school bus but arriving in plenty of time before the first bell. All is well with the world...

Until tonight, as we put Elizabeth to bed.

"Mom, is Daddy's alarm working? Did he fix it? Because riding in the car in NOT fun."

"What's wrong," Maggie asked with naive compassion? 

"Well, when Daddy dropped me off, I barely got there in time. I didn't get to do my morning work (translation, "previous day's homework not yet complete and never revealed to my parents"), AND I don't get the good jobs, like writing the date on the board."

"We'll try better," Maggie tells her with feigned sincerity.

Writing the date on the board: it is a mighty fine job indeed.

sok's Certified Fair Trade aftershave

Tonight I mixed the 2nd generation of my elixirs. My first attempt is transcribed here. 

I have both learned lessons from the previous efforts, and been guided by my enduring need to mettle with recipes. For posterity (and to serve as an easy way to find my recipes), I introduce:

The Shop v2, my attempt to capture the soul of a proper barber shop: 1 c white rum, 6 whole allspice, 1 stick cinnamon, 5 drops of orange essence. 

The Shop v3, in my controlled experiment, I added 5 drops of Bay Rum Leaf essence to the above. Traveling to the Caribbean and finding out the historical connection between Pimenta racemosa and Barber Shops in their 1920's glory is what started me on this adventure. This recipe mimics one published in a circa 1860's book and mentioned on the Art of Manliness.

     I should be using orange zest, but I was too lazy to go to the grocer's. 

 

Whiskey Jack v1: ½ c Kentucky Whiskey, ½ c witch hazel, 1 tsp glycerin, 3 cloves, 3 whole allspice, 1 stick cinnamon, 5 drops of orange essence.

Whiskey Jack v2: the above, with 2 pinches of black pipe tobacco. If it works, I shall name it "Grandpa Jack"

 

Mint Tea v2: ½ c white rum, ½ c witch hazel, 1 tsp glycerin, 5 drops of peppermint essence, 10 drops of tea leaf essence.

 

I shall cover with a rag and shake daily for a few weeks. Then I shall bottle and attempt to pawn them off on unsuspecting relatives. 

Never too young

Approaching Louise's birthday, mom and Garrett are parading through Target:

"I want to buy Louise something,” he begins “but I’m broke."

"Well, that's fine. You can always make her something," mom replies, bringing to Garrett's consciousness the battle for which is worse: making crafts, or spending his money on someone else.-

"Problem is," he retorts, "I need to be saving up."

"Really," intrigued mom questions; "what for?"

"Nothing.”

Short pause, then recognition that ‘nothing’ inadvertently revealed him to be a bit chintzy, “I’m saving up for my career."