Got milk? Or...

Gina and I finally found a faith community for which we are excited about. Within four weeks of attending their gatherings on Sundays we were invited to go over someone's house for dinner. This is good.

The night was an unforgettable first-time dinner engagement for me. This is why...

First, the weather that night was a the opposite of the weather two days earlier. On wednesday it was a beautfful 70 degrees and Sunny. Friday, the night of the dinner, it was freezing, raining, snowing, sleeting, and there was ice all over the Road. We almost had to cancel.

Second, this is not unusual, but it added to the irony of the night - the third couple to join us was an hour late. It was a good thing that my wife and I ate a bowl of cereal before we left. Also, it was good because it gave us some time to get to know the other couple. Later they said they planned it that way...I wonder.

Third, in light of eating cereal. We discussed the benefits of using organic milk because it typically has less puss than the average grocery store milk. Yes, that is right I said PUSS! It is somewhat common in dairy cows and it is formerly know as "mastitis." It is caused by an infection in the cow's utter. I suggest reading the linked article so that your conscience can be settled.

Finally, previous to our conversation about milk, I started a conversation centered around potty humor, which, sadly, is common dinner-table talk in my circles. I started the conversation admitting that I peed the bed a couple nights ago. You are probably wondering how this conversation led into milk with puss. Or, you are assuming how the conversatiions got linked and are probably wrong. Therefore, I will explain. Peeing the bed led our conversation into health issues, which led into our frustrations with the health system in America, and this led to our conversation on organic foods - specifically milk.

This was Sarah's (one of the people at the dinner) delayed reaction to the milk info as she tried to enjoy a bowl of cereal with average, non-organic milk...".I was so grossed out but drank the milk out of my bowl nonetheless, all the while thinking it might not stay down as I went back to bed and attempted to fall asleep."

::| rumpert |::

We had to run a quick errand around the corner to my in laws on Saturday. So all three of us, Gina, Rumpert (our dog), and I, drove over. While I drive Rumpert often times will sit on my gut nestled in my arms at the same time enjoying the wind and view outside. Saturday, as many may know, was an exceptionally nice day for March, so Rumpert was more than happy sitting in his usual spot with my window wound all the way down.

Well, my dog proved his toughness for which I am proud of because now we know our choice not to get him neutered was a good one! Going 30 mph Rumpert decides to leap from my arms onto the back road that led to his grandmother's house. Immediately I thought our young dog was dead. I quickly look in my mirror to see Rumpert tumbling and flopping all over the road only to spring up and walk off to play in the nearest yard.

I have realized the following:
1. Rumpert, though a made up name by me, is now synonymous with TOUGH
2. Getting your pet neutered is over rated and I would say bad advice. Think of what could have happened if Rumpert lost his manhood, his toughness. It would have been a sad, sad day for Gina and I, and a loss of $175.
3. Lassie is not all that impressive anymore.
4. Maybe I could make millions with my dog???
5. If my dog can jump from a moving vehicle could I?
6. The spiked collar was also worth the $5, it brought out the potential he was storing inside as a little dog

In summary...
A small puppy, $175. Not getting him neutered, $0. A spiked collar, $5. Watching him strut away from jumping out of a speeding vehicle, PRICELESS!

I took this line from Mastercard and in no way promoting getting in dept through credit card services or am I plagiarizing.

peace

::| Arriving |::

This lent season I have discovered something about arriving, or the desire to arrive. On Ash Wednesday, Gina and I went to an Ash Wednesday service. Near the end of the gathering they had us come to the front, kneel on a pillow, and someone else whispered “From dust you have come, and to dust you will return” while they marked ash on our forehead in the shape of a cross. This ancient tradition reminded me of my mortality and humanity, which is not a bad thing. It was a reminder of how far I need to go.

As we (Gina and I) celebrate Lent together this year, I have noticed a deep longing for arrival. For a lot of people arriving is getting that financial break, that new car, the desired weight, or beating the latest video game. For me, it is vocation. I long to be in an environment where my vocation and occupation are one.

Arriving for Jesus was arriving at his unbearable death. Arriving for Jesus was sacrificing himself, giving up rites as God and coming to earth as a human. And then, arriving for him was the arrival for us all, his resurrection. Ultimate redemption for all of humanity.

The way I see it, we all want redemption we just long for it in things like money, a job, a person, an ideal image. Paul said, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. ” (Rom 8.19). All creation groans in anticipation for the full arrival of God’s Kingdom. That is the arrival we truly want because we know it is through his resurrection and return that dust is not the end of the story for us.