A Case of Lawn Envy

 




This is a picture of the side lawn where we're staying.  The house is an old country farmhouse that's being fixed up

Our family has a lawn. It is a very small lawn that I hardly take care of. I use an electric, plug-in lawn mower and don't have to unplug it once. It takes 15 minutes--and that's only because I have to clean the wet grass out of the mower much more frequently than I'd care to do. It's small.


There are some folks with nice looking lawns in Girdwood, but not that many. Most of our yards are "au natural" with bushes and berries and some grass.  Granted, behind our house in Girdwood is Chugach National Forest.  I'm not complaining.  Really, I'm not.


But, Indiana has some lawns! I don't want to do all the work it would take to get a lawn looking like the ones I see around, but they sure are nice to run on and play on. Our kids are lovin' the ability to run and play on freshly cut grass in the sunshine.

Beautiful Indiana Sunrise

This is a picture taken this morning by our son. He happened to be up early enough to see it and snap a picture. (I even put a watermark on the bottom for him.)

Holy Adventures -- How Can I Look At Vacation Differently?

Image via Wikipedia

Here I am in Indiana.  I sit at my laptop which I've plugged into my mother-in-law's DSL line.  Two kids are watching TV.  One just got up (at 11 AM).  And the two little ones are having fun looking at pictures with their grandma.  The sun is out. It's hot. And I hope to get to a coffee shop a little later to get my latte and coffee shop fix.

So, how can I use this time, this place, this vacation as a holy time?  How can I look at each day a little differently and look at the time I'm able to spend with my family (while not worrying about our building process at Girdwood Chapel) as as renewing time?

I read a post by Bruce G. Epperly over at Patheos that has me thinking this morning.  Epperly posits that life is an adventure and every day is a new opportunity for creative thinking and we don't have to be determined by all that has happened in the past.  We also don't have to be determined by some plan of action that seeks to map out our future with no wanderings from the selected path.  But summer vacation, with its lazier days and more family time allows us the opportunity to live our lives as an adventure.  And, maybe, this can be a holy adventure for me...even if in small ways.

Epperly gives some guidance:

Well, how do we live out a holy adventure this summer in our daily lives – even if it’s only a wee adventure?  First, it’s about attitude – open your heart and mind to new possibilities, and be willing to say “yes” rather than “no” to something unexpected.  Second, look for possibility and growth in unexpected and challenging situations: often our attitude toward challenges makes the difference between health and illness, and joy and sorrow.   Assume challenges will happen, assume that “stuff happens,” but that in the limitations, there are also possibilities for growth and creativity.  Third, think outside the box – do you typically explore new ideas or simply live with the routine without considering change?  What new ideas can you first entertain and then, whether you dive in head-first or dip your toe in the water tentatively, begin to embody in your daily life?  Many people, and I am one of them, believe that imagination is one of the virtues we share with God, in fact, loving and creative imagination may be what’s most special about us as humans, the “image of God,” that makes us unique.

Fourth, go with the flow of life – the Taoists have it right.  Oftentimes when we resist novelty, we resist the energies that give birth to life and which bring health and wholeness in our lives.  Fifth, live with the beginner’s mind: see the world as if for the first time….in fact, you are always seeing life for the first time, since each moment is unique and new.  Sixth, trust that God is the source of adventure in our lives – pause and notice, and prayerfully let yourself be stretched by the divine adventures living in and through you.

And, as I sit here...at my laptop...hooked up the internet...and look outside.  I'm wondering what adventure there might be today.

Indiana is Flat

I understand that there are "rolling hills" in the southern part of the state...and it's really quite pretty.  However, the northern half is flat.   Now, there are some benefits to the flatness of the land:

1. You can see for great stretches in all direction.

2. Many of the roads are straight as there are fewer (none) mountains to go around.

3. I imagine it's easier to ride a bike (although you don't have the benefit of going downhill.

4. "Sunrise" is when the sun actually rises and not when it gets over the mountains.

5. Better cell phone reception

6. No pesky mountains around for those who feel claustrophobic when surrounded by glorious hills.

This "flatness" does not come as a surprise to me, since I lived in Indiana for nine years, graduating high school here and going to college here and serving a my first church here.  However, I've now lived in Alaska for 13 years and I've grown very accustomed to the mountains around me.  I find that they are good for the soul and I think I'd have a hard time adjusting to life without them again.

I can't verify this, and I don't feel like looking it up, but I think there was once a study about persons living among the mountains.  If I remember correctly, it showed that living among the mountains was good for the psyche.  Regardless of whether this has been scientifically prove, I can attest that it's good for my psyche.

Now, don't get me wrong.  There is definitely a beauty to Indiana.  It's very green. It's nice seeing the corn growing in the fields.  You can see a whole lot of sky.  There are some great lawns.  There are a lot of people here who love me and whom I love as well.

But I might have mentioned, Indiana is flat.