Maizie

At this time of year I pant a lot. The mom person says I’m the loudest panting dog she’s ever heard. Like she’s heard so many…I’m the only canine around my domicile, so how would she know? She doesn’t say this like it’s a good thing. But it is a good thing–it cools me off.

I think, just to make the mom person happy, the dad person gets out these things he calls clippers. (If I were the dad person, I would do everything I could to make the mom person happy, too–I have seen her when she’s not happy and it’s not pretty.) The clippers have a really long “tail,” at least that’s what I think it is. It has a weird end to it that bulges and then has two ends to it. These two ends fit rather snugly into these wall openings at my domicile.

When the tail end is in the wall openings, the clippers make a buzzing sound and they vibrate. I have been around buzzing insects outside and that is usually a bad thing. At the very least it’s annoying. Most of the buzzing insects have wings, like the winged invaders. But, the clippers do not, so I’m not sure what kind of animal they are.

They seem really heavy, too, because if the dad person drops them accidentally, they clunk pretty hard. That’s probably why they don’t have wings–come to think of it. If you are heavy, flying’s tricky. Maybe they’re those really fat winged invaders that I see on TV a lot in the cold weather month (You know…the one right after scary midgets show up at my domicile door begging for people treats to put in their kibble buckets).

After the clippers have their tail in the wall openings (Doesn’t that hurt them?), the dad person takes me outside and makes me lay down in the yard. I was really nervous about this the first time, but those clippers really like to eat my winter fur! And I’m pretty sure my winter fur is part of why I pant so loudly in the summertime.

All I know is that when the clippers are done eating my winter fur, I’m a lot more comfy and I don’t have to pant. I seem lighter, too. So, it’s actually a good thing for me. Now, I just lay down immediately and roll over on my back so the dad person can let the clippers eat my belly fur first. I’m instantly cooler with just that part eaten because that’s the part that touches that really hot green carpet stuff in my back yard.

The dad person noticed that I now like the clippers and so he decided to make me a little like them. I now have a fur bulge at the end of my tail, too. But I’m not letting him put my tail into those wall openings. I don’t want to buzz and eat fur. No sir! I prefer meat and cheese when it comes to eating. I’m a canine cuisine connoisseur.

Yep. That’s me. Maizie Flay. And you don’t see Bobby cooking with fur. He cooks with a lot of weird stuff, but not even he draws the line at fur.

Monday’s Post: What is pandiculation?

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We are officially postponing the Log-Raising Event for our lakeside cabin at the Reserve in Montalba, TX until Saturday, June 11th at 10 am. Please see my post from yesterday regarding directions to the Reserve and email me if you need the code for the Reserve gate along with the number of people in your party. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause for those planning to attend this weekend. Unfortunately, I do not control the weather!

For those wanting to stay overnight, we recommend the Holiday Inn Express and the La Quinta in Palestine, TX. Please bring sunscreen, bug repellent, lawn chairs and rain gear (Hopefully, this will not be needed!). Wear comfortable clothing–this is definitely a casual event!

Questions? Post a comment below.

STAY TUNED! BECAUSE OF HEAVY RAIN, WE MAY HAVE TO CANCEL THE EVENT BELOW. WE WILL UPDATE HERE AND ON THE MIP & LOG-RAISING FACEBOOK PAGES.

You’re invited! We, along with Katahdin Cedar Log Homes, are hosting a Log-Raising at “Solitude” this coming Saturday, June 4th, 2016 from 10 am to 2 pm. This is a totally free event! Have lunch on us and watch the logs go up! Bring rain gear, sunscreen, bug repellent and your favorite lawn chair. 

Solitude is 6 Lakeside Drive of the Reserve, so follow the dirt road in the Reserve until you see a green gate for 6 Lakeside Drive. You will need a code to get into the electronic gate. Please email me for the code, along with your name and the number of people attending. RSVPs are extremely helpful so we plan for lunch properly. 

Directions from Dallas–click here. 

Directions from Houston: click here.

Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s Word of the Week (WOW) was solecism. The daughter says that studying for the GRE taught her the meaning of solecism. She thinks it means “a grammatical error.” Merriam-Webster Online: a mistake in speech or writing –OR–an impolite or improper way of behaving. So, the money spent on GRE study materials paid off!

Conclusion? I didn’t study enough for the GRE.

This week’s WOW is pandiculation. Here are my definition guesses for pandiculation:

pandiculation (pan-ˌdik-yə-ˈlā-shən) 1. speculation by Peter Pan 2. speech that tells the public there will be yet another remake about Peter Pan 3. a totally mind-blowing thought

What’s your guess for pandiculation? Tell me by posting a comment below! Good luck!

Wednesday’s Post: What does styrofoam have to do with building a log cabin?

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As of last Wednesday at Solitude

You are invited! On Saturday, June 4th, 2016 we will have a log-raising event at our lakeside lot in eastern Texas. If you are interested in watching the logs go up, please go here to let me know of your interest and I’ll email you details.

In the last Log Rhythms post I wrote about our process to determine who would supply the logs for our lakeside cabin. I named the “finalists” by letters in an effort to “be kind” to suppliers who didn’t meet our requirements and needs.

After visiting all of the mills for these 7 suppliers, we came down to two choices: Supplier E and Supplier F. Here were the basic differences between the two:

Supplier E was significantly cheaper and specialized in square cut logs (which is what we hoped to use.) They build traditionally, meaning that one has to give serious thought to where pipes and wiring needs to go so that the logs are drilled accurately for these necessary items.

All those who have never heard of examen, post a comment! Until HeartPaths I had never heard the term examen (Merriam-Webster says examen is pronounced ig-ˈzā-mən, although I have heard it pronounced like the word examine, too.). It is a prayer practice initiated by Ignatius.

If I had to guess, most Christians do an informal version of examen without realizing it. While there are countless ways to do it, the essence is this: Review the previous day and find the underlying meaning of the day’s events. Do this every day. Most contemplatives would say that examen is the most important prayer practice.

Thus, my next year in HeartPaths will be focused on doing examen daily and reflecting on what I’m learning. Ignatius also created other spiritual exercises and I will also be doing those. Don’t ask me about these, since I won’t start them until this fall!

Some forms of examen also ask us to look forward to the next 24 hours and ask God for assistance where needed. However, let me be

Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s Word of the Week (WOW) was septentrional. Merriam-Webster Online says that septentrional means: northern. (And that’s probably why septentrional is the bottom 20% of words currently used by English-speakers!) It refers to the septentriones, which means the seven stars of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and the Ursa Minor (The Little Dipper). Since these constellations are normally in the northern sky, septentrional became known as northern or the north. That’s your astronomy lesson for today!

This week’s WOW is solecism. Here are my guesses for the definition of solecism:

solecism (ˈsä-lə-ˌsi-zəm) 1. the study of oneness 2. solemnity 3. examining the bottom of one’s shoes

What’s your guess for solecism? Post a comment below and let me know what you think!

Wednesday’s Post: Examining Examen…

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Happy 4th Anniversary to the darling daughter and her hubby, aka, the DSL! Hope you have a joyous remembrance of that lovely Texas day 4 years ago and a fun celebration!

The MaryAnn In Progress May 2016 Book of the Month is Christian Meditation by James Finley. Finley studied under the much-vaunted (at least in the “spiritual formation/discipline” circles) Thomas Merton. Thus, Finley has authored a book with a great deal of insight from Merton.

I read this book when we were studying Breath Prayer and Centering Prayer. Both forms of prayer are difficult for someone like me, who tends to be a thinker, analyzer, and processor when praying. Both of the aforementioned prayer styles are about emptying your mind as much as humanly possible and allowing God to interact with us in whatever way He wishes.

Labyrinth walking

It’s an amazing coincidence that I’m now to the point in the “prayer exploration” journey here on MIP where it’s time to discuss Body Prayer and today is the 17th anniversary of the day I had my first heart attack due to Prinzmetal Angina.

It may be more than coincidence.

Body prayer consists of a whole list of prayer practices involving the movement of your body to facilitate new ways of understanding God and communicating with him. In HeartPaths we moved our hands for one prayer time; walked a labyrinth in another; prayed the Lord’s Prayer accompanied by certain postures for certain phrases of it; and examined pictures of ourselves growing up to learn more about Body Prayer. While each of these was new to me and each was meaningful, I became fascinated with one practice that demands a little explanation.

For those not familiar with labyrinths, they are NOT mazes. Mazes are designed to trick the human mind; labyrinths only have one path that leads to the center of the labyrinth and then another path or the same path back out. It simply has a lot of turns in it similar to a maze. Labyrinth walking has been around for centuries and the most famous is in the cathedral at Chartres, France. Many new labyrinths are patterned after that one.

Labyrinth paths are now being painted onto canvas so that churches can simply roll them up and put them away when not in use.  Some churches lay them out during Lent and Advent and may even play music in the labyrinth area. Labyrinths can also be found outdoors. One that fascinates me is one where the path is marked by field stones. I’m already getting ideas in my head for how to incorporate a field stone labyrinth into our lot at the Reserve!

First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, TX (FPCFW) is building an outdoor labyrinth in a new meditation garden. This is exciting since FPCFW already has two canvas labyrinths that are maintained and furnished by a “Labyrinth guild.” The labyrinth guild members even undergo training about the use, preparation and care of the labyrinth.

For instance, the day we walked the smaller of the two labyrinths at FPCFW, the room was dimly lit and simple votive candles were dotted around the room. Chairs also bordered the labyrinth at various points, enough for each person about to walk the labyrinth. In addition classical music softly played in the background. A member of the labyrinth guild read an introduction and gave some simple instructions about labyrinth walking. As people walk the labyrinth, a few of the labyrinth guild members sit off to a side and pray for those walking the labyrinth.

For instance, outside the entrance of the labyrinth was a round table with a larger center candle lit and some unlit votive candles. We were told to sit in the chairs and prepare our hearts for prayer. When we felt led to begin, we moved to this round table and lit an unlit votive candle from the larger center candle. Then we formed a line at the entrance of the labyrinth and waited until the person ahead of us had reached a predetermined point in the labyrinth.

We were given instructions on how to work around people obstructing our path and what to do when reaching the center of the labyrinth. Most of us stepped to one side of the center and prayed a bit before heading out of the labyrinth again. When finished walking the labyrinth, we were invited to take our lit votive candle back to the circle where we journal about our prayer experiences and continue praying until all had gathered in the circle.

Here is a little bit about what I experienced while walking the labyrinth:

“I started too soon! That is probably representative of my character–I am eager to jump into a lot of things…without properly preparing myself. In so doing I am probably making my “path” more difficult. Perhaps I am not asking God to prepare me…

“As I passed others on different parts of the labyrinth, I wondered, “How many times am I near others, feel close to them, but don’t reach out to them to hug them or smile at them?”…

“At one point I got off the way out of the labyrinth because of crossing paths with another person and I realized how easily we can get off the path to God. It helped if I took a moment to look at the center of the labyrinth to find where I needed to be again. As Christians, we sometimes should stop and look to “our center,” Jesus, to find our bearings again.”

The entire walk was meaningful for me as well as the other Body Prayer practices and I realized I have a rather large “disconnect” between my body and soul and that’s another “sermon” for another time, but if I hadn’t tried all of these practices, I probably wouldn’t know that about myself and it wouldn’t be transforming who I am, body and soul, at this time. Perhaps the longest lasting lesson from Body Prayer is that all I do with my body can be an offering to God if I just slow down and remind myself to do that.

Some studies show that when we slow down, movement-wise, we are actually more efficient because we can anticipate obstacles that may impede our progress. Slowing down is counter-cultural in modern America, but then again, so was Jesus and so, slowing down is probably the best thing we could do for our “walk with the Lord.”

How’s your walk? Slow? Hurried? Non-existent? Stumbling? Need a road map or GPS? (I now refer to GPS as my God-Positioning System!)

Literally walk with the Lord today and see if the “pathway” becomes a bit clearer.

Friday’s Post: Hangin’ Out with Monks…

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Good morning, Word Nerds! How are you today?

Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was retronym. The definition of retronym, according to Merriam-Webster Online is as follows: a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun. For instance, a film camera is an example of a retronym and there are even web sites dedicated to retronyms. Who knew?!

Today’s WOW is septentrional. My French antennae are going off yet again because sept means seven in French. (In the original version of the Roman calendar, September was the 7th month of the year, not the 9th. Adding January and February to the calendar is why it’s now # 9! You’re welcome for giving you a little known fact that will never be useful Ever.)

septentrional (sep-ˈten-trē-ˌän^əl) 1. purposely grouping things together in 7’s 2. relating to one week’s time 3. having to do with the septum

What’s your guess for septentrional? Submit a comment to this post to let me know!

Wednesday’s Post: Know Your Body…

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