Month: January 2013

Xander’s Day

Morning
Streeeeetch…
Down, off the couch and pad through the house.
Sniff the carpet.
The cat was here,
and here,
and here, here, here.
Sit. My collar goes back on, as if there were anyone in my world who didn’t know me. Funny thought, that.
Give the door a little nose bump, in case he doesn’t know it’s time for me to go out. Just in case.
Freedom! Whoops, turn around. Gotta eat. Get to eat. EAT!
Hey! Someone is walking by. Bark bark bark bark bark bark bark! My yard my yard my yard my yard.
Okayyyyy maintenance. Do my rounds. Gotta pee on that bush that tree that fence that fence that bush that tree that shoe… whoops! Sorry dude, my bad.
My TOY! Oh blessed God of play, my toy. My most favorite inanimate object in absolutely all the world.
It looks like a big rubbery jack and I am either dropping it and chasing it myself or he throws it for me.
Oh, I would do that for hours if he would let me! Much of the time it just sticks out of the corner of my mouth like the prototype drill sergeant with his cigar. You have to be ready.
Bark bark bark! My yard my yard my yard!
Pee more, drink more, pee more, drink more. It’s good for you, you know.
Wow… time for a break. The sun isn’t out yet, so I’ll go get in my doggy bed under the carport for a while.
Annnd, I’m up! My yard my yard my yard. He says it’s just an airplane, but what do I know? As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a big noisy bird that needs to know it’s… my yard my yard my yard.
A bee! Clop! My massive jaws miss again. Once, I actually caught one and it bit me! I still go after ’em though. Everything has to know this is my yard. It’s my job and I take it seriously. I’m important.
Run run run run run. I love to do that. I’m a gymnast too! Sometimes, when he throws my toy, I jump high in the air, and I could almost do a whole flip. It was easier when I was younger. A bird in the crab apple tree! My tree my tree my tree! They’ll never learn.
Work play eat sleep. Work play eat sleep. Am I getting the order right? It doesn’t matter. I’m a dog and I just do… What was it he called it? Oh yeah, what’s “instinctual.” Where do they come up with these funny words? The sun is out! Oh yeah. Time for a nap. Another stretch, and I’m down.
Back up.
Play
Drink
Sleep
Play
Bark
My yard
Dinner!
After a while it’s time to go inside for the night. I go sit with them for the evening. Sometimes I get to share popcorn. She throws it for me and I pretend it’s a bee. Clop! That’ll teach you, popcorn!
Back to the couch, to dream.
My house! But I say it quietly.

True Wisdom

“How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her.” Proverbs 3:13-15.

Teach me where to find true wisdom, Lord,
the only one who knows my days.
Every time I’ve leaned on what I know, I’ve discovered the error of my ways.
Help me to hold fast your words.
Be my shelter while I’m on this earth.
When I believe I’m too little or too much,
teach me what you say I’m worth.

Help me to not abandon your instruction, Lord.
Help me to not turn away,
for the difference between my mind and yours, Lord,
is like that between night and day.
You who founded the earth and the heavens,
the only source of true light,
when my eyes can’t see what’s before me,
show me the way and the life.

Poetry Blues

sittin’ here on my porch chair
tryin’ to think up a song
I wish I had me some crickets
so they could sing along
but if it’s just me I can’t lose
by writin’ poetry blues

poetry blues is expression
from the earth right up through your feet
words that reveal what you’re feelin’
start a tinglin’ in your teeth

that’s how you know it’s bitin’

ever once in a while then
it start to feelin’ so good
and you wonder if it’s right
if poetry blues should
but since it’s me that is writin’
I don’t mind if I would

poetry blues is expression
from the earth right up through your feet
words that reveal what you’re feelin’
start a tinglin’ in yo teeth

that start to sound familiar

wonder if these words go out
if anyone else will read
will it just be me and myself
that their sentiment feed
and not just me and my muse
enjoyin’ poetry blues

poetry blues is expression
from the earth right up through your feet
words that reveal what you’re feelin’
start a tinglin’ in yo teeth

feel a buzzin’ in yo teeth

it be shinin’ through yo teeth

go ahead son

everbody got da blues once in while

just don’t stay there forever

get up get out say hi

get out yo head

dat right

heh

Earth and Sky at Seven

Lying on my back at the age of seven
while an airplane knits holes in the sky
wondering how far up is and if ladybugs could go that high
the droning sound of that airplane floats me into a trance
and I can feel the earth beneath me as if the planet could dance
just then the earth pauses and some clouds bump together as it does
now tinged red at their puffed edges before moving on again they pause
I ponder if in their passage they ever ask the mountains to move
instead of always making them stop or go around… it seems a little rude
then lunch time starts calling me in
sounding a lot like my mom
with another daytime half over
not a blessed thing in my world is wrong

The First Day of My Love

The day of the birth of my love
love born anew on our meeting
meeting predestined when time was young
young when the first dawn appeared

the sun rising warmed our faces
our faces looked out on the future
the future held our hands took us onward
onward through the mountains and plains

the path ever winding and rolling
rolling through fields and rivers
rivers that flowed into oceans
oceans that rocked us to rest

reaching new shores of adventures
adventures both exciting and hard
hard enough to stretch us to grow
grow enough to start again

Going through the “change”

A friend has three children, two older girls, and a son, who is 13. She was joking yesterday that she wondered when her son’s voice was going to change because he gets mad when she confuses his voice with that of one of the girls. I’m not certain I reassured her when I said, “I think I was 35. I know that sounds bad, but I was really bummed because they threw me out of the boys choir just when I was starting to get solos.”

Your Personal Highlight Reel

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Do you often stop do consider your thoughts? Thinking about thinking, now there’s a deep concept. As Christians, we seem to most often consider our thoughts within the context of sin: Sinful thoughts of one sort or another that drive a wedge between ourselves and God. Thankfully the Bible doesn’t simply leave us there, it also tells us what to think about. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he says, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

So we know generally what God wants us to think about. Under that banner is something I like to call “my personal highlight reel.” If you have ever watched a recap of sports events, you’re familiar with the collection of highlights, or brief films of the plays deemed significant for that particular day. They’re entertaining because they contain the most action, and often illustrate which plays led to a win or loss. I believe each of us have highlight reels that we have racked up, ready to play at a moment’s notice. There are positive and negative highlights that each of us carry around. What I’m suggesting is that we increase the impact of the positive highlights and decrease the impact of the negative. Let’s say you’re a singer, and during a performance you hit a wrong note. Everyone hears it and you’re embarrassed. You might play that episode over and over again in your mind. Your replaying of it may hold you back because you’re afraid to step out and sing solos. Let’s turn the same situation around and say you were in excellent voice that day and got lots of compliments as a result; You would hope to play that back often enough to help encourage great performances in the future.

We can’t guarantee we won’t have bad days. We can’t always hit home runs. But we can take what lessons, if there are any to be learned, from negative highlights and decide not to give them unlimited air-time. We can also use positive experiences to give us the confidence we need to perform well. Our prayer should be to ask God to help us limit the impact of negative highlights. Where healing needs to occur, we should seek help as it is needed. Learn, with God’s help, to control which highlights get played, and how often. Ask God to give you His perspective so that your life’s events are given their proper place in your mind.

For as he thinks within himself, so he is… Prov 23:7