cat

The Latest from the Peanut Gallery

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I haven’t done a Peanut update in quite some time, so here you go. Peanut is just as chill and laid back as ever. She still greets me first thing most mornings and is nearly always ready for a belly rub. She can be quite chatty about it if I don’t get to her as soon as she would like.

She is a cat, and that means she likes her naps. I’ve joked before about how cats sleep an average of 23 hours and 45 minutes a day. I think she’s not far off. She takes multiple lengthy naps throughout the day and possibly during the night. She might dash madly about the house for a few minutes in what us cat people call a zoomie. But then she goes right into another nap.

But there’s something special about having a little furry friend to come home to. Our animals definitely make life better. For the record, I like both dogs and cats, but honestly, I think I like other people’s dogs so that way I can pet them and then have someone else take them for walks and feed them and let them out at 2 am and pick up after them. Cats are easy.

I had a neighbor once who said that if he had a next life, he’d like to come back as a cat. I get that. No one asks you to do any silly tricks. You’re not expected to be obedient. You can eat and sleep as much as you want. And the chubbier you are, the cuter you are. Plus, the small size allows you to find multiple spots to hide out and/or nap.

But Peanut really is special. She’s been a sweet, loyal friend for over 8 years. She definitely can be a calming presence when life gets a bit stressful. Basically, everyone should either have a dog or a cat. The end.

Starbucks Beverages and Cuddly Kittens

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I had my first salted caramel mocha frappuccino at Starbucks today after work. Actually, it was an unsalted caramel mocha frappuccino since they ran out of salt. How do you manage to run out of salt? How many more times can I come up with variations on the word salt?

The beverage was glorious. The only improvement that could have made the experience perfect was if the weather was about 10 degrees cooler. But I’m weird like that. I like a little chill in the air to awaken and invigorate my senses. Everything smells better in cooler weather.

Right now, I am in bed and there’s a little torti kitten burrowed under the covers. My old cat Lucy hated to be covered up but Peanut seems to prefer it. It’s funny how different they are yet at the same time they have much in common.

My favorite part is knowing when I go to sleep tonight I can turn off the alarm and not have to wake up at that ungodly hour of 5 am. I still think it should be illegal to wake up before the sun’s out.

Oh, and I always like to have my ceiling fan on when I’m sleeping. Even in the dead of winter. Is that weird?

 

 

I Got Nothing: 2017 Edition

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In the process of writing daily blog posts, there inevitably will come those days when you simply can’t think of a single thing to write. The well of creativity goes dry and that spark of inspiration has a wet fuse. In other words, I got nothing.

Well, not exactly. If you read last night’s blog post, you know that I actually have quite a lot, like a roof over my head, a full stomach, clothes on my back, a job, a car, etc.

Most of all I have God. God plus nothing else trumps everything else this world has to offer without God.

I also have a purring geriatric cat on the pillow next to mine who is having a birthday in 5 days (and my own birthday coming up in 13 days. Hint, hint).

Hopefully your normally scheduled blog posts should be up and running by tomorrow evening.

 

 

Another Saturday in August

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I’m going on record to officially state that I am over summer. I don’t mind heat as much as I mind the humidity that seems to never go away. Lately, even the rain doesn’t help much but only serves to make things even muggier.

I still managed to hit up all my favorite Franklin places on this wet evening. As it turns out, wearing sandals was not the wisest decision I’ve ever made in my life. My feet ended up getting a bit wet due to the constant rain that fell during my whole time in Franklin.

I still managed to spend some quality time in my favorite church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. I’m up to 20 minutes of silence with no interruptions by phones or tablets or anything else electronic. When you’ve grown accustomed to constant stimulation by social media, 20 minutes of nothing can seem like a really long time.

I still think that if I win the lottery or come into an unexpected windfall, I am moving to one of the houses on Fair Street. The whole street is like something out of a fairy tale or a George MacDonald fantasy novel. I’m not picky. I’ll take just about any of the houses there.

I almost forgot to mention that today was Serving Saturday for The Church at Avenue South. I’m not a gardener and I do not have a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination, but I got in some yard/landscaping work in, trying to unravel a tangled vine growing on one of the walls in the Room in the Inn courtyard. That was sweaty work.

My geriatric cat is on the pillow next to me as I type all this. She was snoring softly a little while ago but something woke her up for a bit (and she had that annoyed look before she went back to sleep).

I’m not too far behind her. I think I’ll send myself off to sleep with a little Gordon Lightfoot. See you all tomorrow night.

 

2,200 and Counting

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“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life” (1 Corinthians 7:17, The Message).

I recently received a notification of my six-year anniversary with WordPress. I’ve come a long way since that very first blog way back in July of 2010 that announced my arrival into the wild and exciting world of blogging (said with sarcasm).

I’m still not a fan of the word “blog.” It sounds like something you do that you don’t ever discuss in polite conversation, especially in mixed company. It also sounds like something you blow out of your nose when you have a cold.

In the ultimate irony, I’m slowing learning that to grow up and get to the place God created you to be, the best place to start is to learn to be content with where you are and who you are. The more you strive out of insecurity or envy, the more you find you’re vainly fighting the air while running in place. You don’t get very far that way.

The best way to find contentment is gratitude. Giving thanks makes what you have enough (as Ann Voskamp has said more than once) and it makes your life fuller and richer by putting your focus on what you have instead of what you lack.

Giving thanks opens your hands to receive more true riches from God’s hand. The problem with the prosperity gospel is that it focuses on the temporary riches that rust and fade, but the true riches that come with thanksgiving are the kind that are eternal and changeless.

I’m thankful tonight for a job that I enjoy, a cat who also moonlights as a very affordable therapist, a comfy bed, people who care about me, and a God who is crazy about me even after all these years.

I’d call that the good life.

 

More Lessons from Lent

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It’s been a week since I gave up social media for Lent and so far, I’ve managed to stay away. I’m also trying not to be super-legalistic about it, but I’ve done well so far.

I do miss seeing what everyone’s up to and what their kids and pets are doing. I do feel quite a bit out of the loop when I’m away from social media. I also feel like I’m actually participating in my own life again.

I got to see a good friend of mine in what looks to me like the beginning stages of a dating relationship. I’m to the point now where I can be completely happy and supportive of both of them.

I also was blessed to celebrate the transition of Kairos  leadership from Mike Glenn to Chris Brooks. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of change (as I may have mentioned in passing in a few other blogs), I know that better things are in store for Kairos.

Maybe I’ll actually get back to that novel I started back in December but haven’t been able to get around to in 2016. Imagine that. Reading actual books. It boggles the mind.

I still hope to have more face-to-face conversations and do more of that real life stuff that I’ve been hearing so much about. From what little I’ve seen, I really think I’m going to like it.

In three days, my teenaged geriatric cat turns 16. I almost feel like a parent, wondering where the time has gone from when she was a wee little kitten barely bigger than my hand.

I think at some point in the future, I’d like to take a week or so where I go off the grid completely. No electronics, no phones, TV. Just me getting back to nature and (hopefully) getting my internal clock reset.

I also want to get back to living out of a sense of wonderment. I want to enjoy the moments and give thanks to the Creator not only of the grand universe but also of the smallest details.

There will be more updates as Lent progresses. If you’re pining away without me on social media, you can always reach me at gmendel72@icloud.com (because I get so few actual emails from actual people these days).

 

My Favorite Walks

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In The Hobbit, there’s a passage that references a map that contains all of Bilbo Baggin’s favorite walking trails. I think I’ve found mine.

There’s a street that runs parallel to West Main Street that I’ve discovered that lends itself to walking and thinking. There’s not a lot of traffic on this road so it’s fairly peaceful.

All the houses on this street have been around a while and every once in a while I’ll run across some kids playing in a back yard or some friendly neighbors who will wave as I pass by. Once I even encountered a chatty grey cat who pegged me for being a cat person and ambled up to me for a bit of petting and conversation.

If I had loads of money, I’d like to live on this street. There is a house for sale that dates back to 1900. There’s another house that recently hit the market that I’d be sorely disappointed if there weren’t a ghost story or two to go with its fabled history.

I prefer walking when it’s not swelteringly hot. It’s hard to achieve tranquility when you’re sweating like a turkey that’s about to be Thanksgiving dinner. Or a pig that’s about to be in a BLT.

I’ve never been one to hear God speaking to me audibly, but I’ve found that God often speaks to me during one of my walks. Plus, I do need the exercise.

The Gospels record many instances of Jesus and the disciples doing a lot of walking. Back then, that was the main way to get from Point A to Point B. You walked.

I imagine that most of the memories the disciples carried with them of Jesus were the ones of the conversations they had while en route from one town to another. That’s how Jesus often speaks to us today. Generally not in those special moments but in the grind of daily life while we’re headed from one place to another.

So often in the walk of faith, the journey is just as important as the destination and the lessons we learn most are the ones we learn along the way.

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So There’s That

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It’s Thursday. And I’m having one of those days where I’m not feeling particularly creative. It happens to the best of us writers. And even me.

Let me ask you something. Do you ever find yourself talking and you hear the words coming out of your mouth and think, “I sound like the world’s biggest phony”?

For some reason, that happens when I’m talking about spiritual things. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, “If they only knew some of the other things I think about.”

I’m thankful that that’s not how God sees me. He looks at me and sees Jesus. He looks at me and sees me as I’ll look when I look like Jesus. He can see past all my present mess to the finished product that I can’t even begin to see yet.

Even on those days when I feel like the biggest fraud of all and like I could take on the Apostle Paul for the title of World’s Worst Sinner, God still loves me as much as those days when I feel like I’m super-spiritual and have my theological t’s crossed and i’s dotted.

That’s something that will never get old for me. Well, two things. The love of God that never gives up and the grace of God that never fails to surprise me. Even after over 1,500 of these posts.

I’m also thankful that Jesus loves me the way He found me but refuses to leave me that way.

I’m also thankful for all those people who have been Jesus’ hands and feet to me through all these years.

And I’m thankful for my 14-year old cat who remains the laziest animal I have ever seen who actually has a pulse. Just don’t you dare tell her she’s not human.

So there’s that.

 

 

 

The Odd Blog

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I had an idea or two about what I was going to write about this evening, but at the moment, neither of them seem as compelling. Plus, I’m very tired.

I’m thankful for people. I know it’s an odd thing to say. Besides, people can be disappointing and rude and unkind at times. Even the best of people have their off days every now and then, not to mention periods of grumpiness and bad moods.

But life without people isn’t nearly as fulfilling as life with people. As much as I love my cat, she’s not the most stimulating conversationalist I’ve ever met. She tends to be a little short on words.

The right people in your life can inspire and encourage you to do more than you thought you could. They can keep you going when you by yourself would have given up.

That’s what I want. I want someone to say, “Because of you, I kept going. I didn’t give up.”

I’ve had those people come into my life at just the right moments. Some were only meant for a short season and some are still around. I thank God for all of them.

My assignment for you is this: find someone who needs encouragement and be that encouragement. Find someone who won’t believe that God loves them until they see it from you. Find people who doesn’t see much in themselves and help them to see that they too bear the Imago Dei, the image of God, and are intrinsically valuable.

In short, love people the way you want to be loved. Treat people like you want to be treated. And remember that God loved you at that moment when you were at your very worst, so you can love anybody.

It’s Wednesday . . . Again

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Sometimes, you gotta count the little blessings. So, here I am typing this out on my iPad 3 (which may no be the latest and greatest but works just fine for me).

I have one very sleepy cat in my lap who is consenting to being used as a makeshift iPad desk for the time being.

I woke up this morning. I wasn’t bedridden or comatose. I was able to get out and enjoy a lovely (almost) spring day.

I didn’t go hungry and I had a roof over my head. It’s all good.

Most of all, I have a God who still loves me, who still wants me around, who still roots for me, who still has my best at heart, and who will never give up on me or leave me or stop until He’s finished making me exactly who He meant for me to be.

I may not have everything I want but I have everything I need. I have enough.

I have joy because I choose it and because I choose to see through a different set of eyes. Eyes that see blessings and not lack. Eyes that look for the good and not at what’s wrong.

I think that makes this a good Wednesday. Don’t you?