7 Quick Takes Friday #65

See more 7 Quick Takes Friday contributions at Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary.

This has been a much better week than last week. I spent most of it visiting our Georgia site, where I could visit with daughter Lizzie; then today, I got to go to my deputy's retirement ceremony and after that to share dinner with a friend from Uzbekistan.

More important, though, were the God moments that pervaded this week. Seven of them are shared below.

1. This week as I have traveled to and from Georgia, I have been reading an interesting book: The Overcomer's Anointing by Barbara Yoder. In spite of the strangeness (to me) of the title, the book has turned out to be enlightening. I purchased it in order to learn more about spiritual warfare in order to help a friehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnd who is in the throes of a dark night of the soul. Yoder's take on the dark night is that this is a period of transformation, that God uses such a period before transforming many things, including the creation of the earth. Although this is indeed in keeping with the works of St. John of the Cross, Yoder's book is more accessible than Dark Night of the Soul.



2. I was accompanied to/from Georgia by a colleague, Sue. We were a little concerned that she did not have a confirmed seat on the flight back. Apparently, the plane had been oversold by seven people. It was important that we travel together because Donnie was picking us up in San Francisco (more than an hour away), and Sue, who lives yet another hour south, was planning to come home with me and stay overnight, then continue home. Not arriving with me would really complicate matters. Luckily, volunteers appeared to give up seats, and she got the third one. Whew! We happily clambered into the plane where I found that my seat, alas, was non-reclining, in the last row (aisle, at least), and right in front of the toilet. I figured it was going to be a long 5.5 hours, but had accepted the reality of the situation, telling myself that someone had to be in that seat and it might as well be me, when the person in the middle seat appeared and asked if I would change seats with his friend who was seated in a B seat in row 20. I concurred -- after all, who wants to separate friends? I figured a middle (B) reclining seat was no worse than an aisle non-reclining seat. Imagine my surprise when I found out that 20B was in the exit row -- and there was no A seat. Was God rewarding me for accepting my lot to begin with and being willing to help out a stranger in the second place? I wonder... (In any event, it was a late evening flight, and I reclined the seat, donned an attitude of gratitude, stretched out, and slept the whole way home!)



3. Once home, it was nearly morning, but I got a few hours of sleep, then quickly looked through the mail that had arrived during the week. One was a note from the new formation director at the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). He will be replacing Goliath. Yes! His note revealed that there would be a place now for God in our formation. Yes!




4. When Sue arose in morning, she took one look out our window at the view of our town and valley and remarked that we are close to heaven here. We are indeed. She agreed that not only the house was a blessing but also that there is likely a reason we are supposed to have it because everything was so "right" about getting it, including the price, which was considerably lower than the house is worth and exactly in the price range that we could afford and were looking for. For that reason, we had no trouble getting a VA loan, and I had, surprisingly, no trouble finding my 1978 (!!) VA certificate of eligibility.



5. I always go to Mass on Friday -- well, almost always. Sometimes events intervene. Today I was going to be late, so I decided to skip Mass. At that point, my admin assistant appeared in my office, reminding me that Mass was starting. I commented that I did not have time to arrive before Mass began, and she commented, "God understands if you are late." I was briefly contemplating whether or not to go when a colleague's admin assistant popped in and made the same comment! Considering that God might be sending me a message, I decided to go. I am glad I did. The rest of the day is always better when I do.




6. My deputy retired today. I will miss him. He brought a spiritual flavor to all our interactions. (A Roman Catholic like me, he wants to study theology in his retirement, and when he showed up three years ago, I knew God had sent him to me.) True to style, his parting remarks left us spiritually rejuvenated -- this in an organization that insists on the separation of church and state.




7. This week I had another go-round with God's credit card. I had not intended to use it for a personal purchase, but I really got stuck two weeks ago. We had to get a special bed for Donnie, who has been unable to sleep in our current bed because of his sleep apnea, gout, and infected leg. He needed an adjustable bed, and those are very expensive, especially one that we can share. We found an appropriate bed in San Jose. I assumed that we would be able to get the bed on credit, but the cost of the bed was such that the company would only allow half the cost to be put on its credit. Stuck there and having God's credit card with me that would easily handle the other half, I hesitated, sighed, then handed it over. Well, as in the past when I have used the card, God changed matters. The company sent a second credit account in the mail this week. Donnie called today and asked what that meant and was told that we can transfer the amount we put on God's credit card to this second credit account and there would be no interest charged as long as we paid off the account on time (in three years). Wow! It seems quite clear that God intends to keep God's credit card open for God's needs, not mine. This is the second time I have been given a new credit card to which to transfer a balance. Unreal!




I wish you a pleasant weekend!

7 Quick Takes Friday #47

See more 7 Quick Takes Contributions at Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary.

It must have been a really full week, and yet it did not seem so. However, as I sit here, trying to remember what I did, I cannot remember a thing except eating turkey yesterday at Old Mission and cleaning BIG pots and pans afterward. Oh, well, I will start with that and perhaps the rest of the week will pop back into my memory. Senior moments already? Or, just an overfilled memory?? (Ooh, I hope the latter...)

1. So, okay, yesterday. Old Mission Church puts on a feast for the entire town with donated goods. It looks like we fed about 400 yesterday, which, counting kids, would be 25% of the town. It is a good place and time for everyone to get together. The mission is the center of the town's life, and Fr. E is pretty much considered the town's father. (I think he looks at it that way, too.) Doah and Noelle came; Shane and his family had their own event in a nearby town with Lemony's family. I was able to snatch a couple of pictures. On the left is Donnie, Noelle, and Doah with a family friend, Bennie, who was working the serving line. On the right is Sr. Delores, who lives at the local convent for Sisters of the Atonement (Franciscan order) along with Sr. Maria, whom I have mentioned before. Sr. Maria was not in town; she went to the central valley to be with her biological sisters. It was, however, nice to have Sr. Delores, Sr. Catherine, and Sr. Mary Catherine with us at the feast. I believe some of the friars came down from the monastery at the retreat center since they usually do, but I missed the first wave this year -- had to pick up Noelle and Doah -- and so may have missed them. Saw some folks from there at Mass earlier in the morning, though.

2. Ah, now I remember Wednesday. It was a day of rubbing elbows with all the folks who work with me, which is really great. Too often I am at meetings at headquarters or at meetings in other cities. Being in Seaside the entire day of Wednesday and in and out of my office gave a different color to the day. All morning, the junior managers presented their programs to all the senior managers and some visitors, telling us of their accomplishments during the last quarter and their concerns for the next. That was a good discussion. The day ended with an all-staff meeting to welcome new faces and say goodbye to old friends moving on to other jobs through promotion or new positions.

3. It's working! Now I remember Tuesday! Tuesday was hell day. I had no less than THREE meetings scheduled at the same time for every hour of the day. None of them were my meetings, i.e. none that I had scheduled for my staff and could therefore postpone or cancel. Some were at headquarters (a 20-minute drive) and some in my building. Some were mandatory financial and personnel meetings; others were entertaining high-level visitors. I passed to my deputy all the visitors. That took me down to two meetings simultaneously, and I found other senior managers to take over those. Whew! Talk about exhaustion! (My sister says that she really likes the idea of triple-scheduled meetings because it gets them out of the way faster!)

4. Monday was a meeting day, as well, but also one of crisis resolution. My boss was grumpy, which did not help because he was trying to solve problems in ways that I knew were not supported by regulation. So, I had to maneuver around that approach. Also, one of my best and most essential senior managers had his pay level (which is about 50% of what he could make elsewhere) attacked by the head of the personnel office who is trying to remove the retention bonus I gave him when he was offered a job elsewhere at double his currently embarrassingly low salary. It seems to be a personal vendetta, and I am still working on trying to fend that off. I was really happy when time came for our prayer group.

5. Our prayer group is as much a faith formation as a time for prayer. We include both, as well as singing. We have just finished reading and discussing Richard Rohr's Things Hidden, from the point of spiritual direction (the co-leader of the group is a trained spiritual director which is likely why we have moved in this direction). We liked doing that so much that we decided to try out another book for the next few months, Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life. Has anyone read this book? It turned out that everyone in the group had the book at home, but no one had read it yet. Good candidate for our meetings! On Monday, we had a new member show up who was really hurting because of very recent trauma in the family. We spent most of the time, then, in prayer with and for her. It was appropriate timing and probably not a coincidence.

6. Sunday -- yes, I am remembering now -- we had a meeting of the Secular Franciscan Order at the St. Francis Retreat Center nearby (well, nearby for me -- I could almost walk the distance, but most members come from much farther away). I brought some sugar-free baklava (yes, there is such a thing -- order it from shilla.com), which everyone liked, especially the thought that it was not causing bad things for diabetic systems. Sr. Delores (yes, the same person pictured with Doah above) is our relatively new spiritual advisor, and she led a beautiful prayer service at the beginning of our meeting before we got into the experience sharing, Franciscan rule discussion, and baklava eating.

7. And then there is Saturday, and I am still pulling a blank. It would have been great had I stayed home and vegged out, but that is not me. Staying home is a vacation; the only time I get to do it is when I take a stay-cation. There is no better place in the world to be than in San Ignatio Since where I really was remains a mystery, at least for now, I am giving you a couple of pictures of San Ignatio to enjoy.

Wishing you a pleasant week -- and one that you will remember!

7 Quick Takes Friday #12

I arrived in Klaipeda, Lithuania just in time to contribute to the 7 Quick Takes Friday meme hosted by Jennifer at Conversion Diary. This, though, is only because while it is near the end of the day Friday here, it is the high point of the day in the USA. It has been an eventful week, beginning with sadness last Friday with the death of Ray, only one day after Shane lost his job, and ending on more positive tones. So, here is a quick round-up, not by day exactly, more like by topic, of this week.

1. Mass. Thanks to Martin Luther King Day being a holiday, I was able to go to daily Mass twice in a row: Monday and Tuesday. I had taken Tuesday off because I had thought I would be flying at that time, but the situation with Ray threw some of those plans out of kilter. I even had time on both (!) days to have coffee (milk for me) with friends who had also been at Mass. I have been traveling so much they had forgotten who I was (not really), but catching up is always fun to do, especially when there is no real time limit.

2. SFO. Sunday I attended our Secular Franciscan meeting. I have not been in a few months. November I was in some state/country or other -- forget exactly where. December was cancelled. For some reason (well, actually because I brought up some requests), it turned into a prayer fest (inspiring), followed by a delayed holiday exchange of gifts (fun). Everyone had brought food donations for a local project, and I offered to take them to the project director. Good intentions rarely going unpunished, I managed to back the car into a tree when I backed up to get closer to the door for loading the food. Inconsiderate tree! It just did not seem to want to move out of my way. So, I have a dent in the back bumper that proves to Donnie that I really am as bad a driver as he thinks I am.

3. Prayer Group. I always look forward to our Monday night prayer group. I co-lead with a spiritual director, Robert, who comes down from the St. Francis Retreat Center. Actually, he does the leading, and I do the shepherding in the sense of networking, reminding people, gathering the clans. Since I had not expected to be in town Monday, I did not send out the routine notices, and I learned how important they are: no one showed up except Sr. M and me. From a selfish point of view, that was great. I love Sr. M and learn a lot from her, and we had two hours or more to share scripture, experience, and prayer. What a great way to end the day!

4. Shane moving forward. Shane has spent the week recovering from the shock of losing his job in spite of just having received a raise for outstanding performance. Although the Human Resource office has forbidden his supervisor, who disagreed with the decision, from telling Shane the reason, it would appear that little Nikolina's $2 million insurance bill accompanied by the significant amount of leave that Shane had to take at one time was the reason. The reason does not matter as much as finding insurance coverage for Nikolina, and surprisingly, Stanford University Hospital offered to try to help. Apparently, there are programs now for people in such dire circumstances. So, Shane spent some time in Palo Alto this week. I will provide an update to the Clan under Siege post on Clan of Mahlou once I get settled in here on the cold Baltic Sea.

5. A Matter of Attitude. The United Airlines plane that was supposed to carry me to Frankfort for transfer to a Lufthansa flight to Vilnius did not leave the San Francisco Airport on Wednesday. Flight 900 was simply a doomed flight, all because of as broken PA system. Apparently, planes cannot fly without a way to communicate between crew and all passengers, not just those in some of the cabins, and since the plane we were on had a PA system that ignored the back rows of economy class, we returned to the airport three times after trying to take off while mechanics scratched their heads over how to fix the system. They wanted to turn off the broken speaker but did not know which circuit breaker to pull. As a result, they pulled us -- off the plane and into seven hours of waiting for another plane. People became cranky, as did some of the customer representatives. (I think I shall send some suggestions to United; Shane used to work the complaint counter at Sears when he was 16 and did a better job of not personalizing the comments of frustrated people than did some of the senior airlines people on Wednesday. Patience is a virtue in such cases.) Of course, it is a two-way street, and not being cranky usually gets one a better deal. For me, it paid off: a hotel room in Frankfurt and dinner. Yes, I was a day late in arriving, but at least I arrived during the day. The alternative would have been to debark the plane in Vilnius at 0001 in the morning, with no place but a snowbank for a bed, Klaipeda being four hours away, the driver snoring away in the comfort of his own home, and the only nearby hotel having closed its doors two hours earlier.

6. Frankfurt. Oh, the lark of it! Yes, I was stranded. Yes, I was supposed to start teaching Friday. Yes, both the students and I would have to make up the missed hours. Nonetheless, there I was in Frankfurt, speaking German. Rusty German, to be sure, but I was able to practice it at check-in, dinner, the ticket counter in the morning. I rarely get a chance to speak German (although a trip earlier this year did help to refresh my memory), and for me the practice and renewal of the language was worth the irritation of an interrupted flight. Oh, and did I mention that the duck dinner was sumptious?

7. Klaipeda. Finally! I arrived in Vilnius in the early afternoon on the coldest day in history for that date's temperature, easily picked out the tall driver from the university, clambered into his station wagon, and proceeded to chat for the next 3-4 hours, the length of the drive from Vilnius to Klaipeda. The driver did not speak much English but was quite at home in Russian. A chance to practice another foreign language although Russian does not seem "foreign" to me. The only difficulty was my lack of a four-hour bladder, four kids having demolished the only bladder I ever had with constant kicking throughout pregnancies. Fortunately, we found a roadside facility about an hour from Klaipeda, and I was much more lively after that.

However, now I have to go to bed (yes, I know it is only noon in the USA), so that I can get up and prepare to teach six hours of class tomorrow (down two hours from the eight hours that the dean had promised (threatened?) the students. We can get in all the hours required for the semester in the next two weeks with only six hours a day on weekends. Only?? It will be interesting to see if the students can match my fortitude for work. And so, without further ado, good-night!