outWORD by Matte Downey

Image from www.freepik.com I have been reading Paul's letter to the Colossians. The words are joyous, buoyant, effervescent, not the kind of correspondence you would expect from someone in prison. I suppose the words appeared especially bright and bubbly to me this past week because I found myself inexplicably dark and gloomy, not to mention negative, critical, and impatient. It is clear to me now that it was that old demon of control baiting me because, well, things are out of my control. Yes, people make mistakes, unexpected situations happen, and life has a tendency to be overwhelming and disappointing at the same time. But mostly, I believe the trigger was my current state of job limbo. It is scary. So, naturally, being impatient and complaining are the solution, somehow. Demons make no sense. Anyway, there is nothing like a walk outside in the sunshine to put things in perspective, so I pointed my feet to the park and away we went, me and my irritations. I saw trees, I s...

We cancelled our cable television just over a month ago. The idea was that after we returned from our vacation, we would sign up with another provider who was offering a deal on satellite tv that included a free PVR . That hasn't happened. The truth is, we don't really miss it that much. The only times I miss watching TV is when I do my ironing. A home improvement show always made an unpleasant chore much more bearable and helped the time pass quickly. For a few weeks, I ironed in silence, facing the silent, dark TV screen. Not that great. Then I decided to watch a DVD while I did my weekly ironing. Six shirts and three pants were not really enough to get into a movie, so that idea kind of bombed. Last week, I tried something new. I set up the ironing board in the guest room, opened up the curtains, and did all my ironing in front of the patio doors which overlook our neighbourhood. While I ironed, I watched the sky, which is always changing this time of year. It started out...

I am in Naples, Florida right now. Some things are just as I expected. The sun is hot and the weather is beautiful. Some things are different. Golf is pretty much the main past-time here and I am currently the youngest person in the 19 th Hole clubhouse. Interesting. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful place to hang out with Dean for a few days while he works from his boss' condo and we squeeze in some play time as well. On Thursday, one of my friends was talking to me about contemplating lessons from nature, like you find in the Bible: Consider the lilies, consider the ant, etc. There are many thing to be learned just by looking around us. Here are a few interesting observations from Naples: 1. There is a bald eagle on the golf course who watches your every move when you walk by. Comforting and unnerving at the same time. She is guarding a nearby nest, and I am sure she could probably take my arm off if she deemed it necessary. Be watchful, be alert, care for those you l...