Destin Beach -- A Poem

Shoooosh.........
  whisper waves
of slow time
break upon
my aching soul.

Sand----
white velvet---
while orange sun
   slowly....golds.

Warm turquoise
  wets my feet---
a forever moment
---spellbound---

My soul mellows
  under caressing colors
    serenity
        and God.

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
12/7/97

Vacations and Back

Last week we were on vacation in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado with Kathy and Bill James. Kathy is Alan's sweet sister and Bill is her wonderful husband. It was one of those great, restful times when time seemed to stand still and go fast all at once. We took lovely drives in the high country, explored downtown Steamboat Springs, ate way too much, and were pet-free for the week, mostly. Buddy stayed at a Pet Ranch 8 miles from town and had a blast from the sound of it all.

We got to see the best of fall:

Then we got to see winter too:

Overall, it was one of the best vacations I've ever had. We deeply appreciate the generosity and graciousness of Kathy and Bill, without whom we never would have experienced such a great week!

Of course, sick people that we are, we came home and happily settled back into our usual weekend rhythm. We did laundry, cleaned house and welcomed some good friends into our muddled household. (Bless their hearts! I hope they know what they're getting into with us!)

This morning our car wouldn't start and so we had to back it onto the street so we could jumpstart it. Alan was to push it off and I was to steer. Well! I forgot what driving a power steering car without power steering was like. I also never had realized how steep our driveway is! Once that car was moving, it was gone, with me holding on for dear life and praying I didn't hit one of the big trees at the end of our drive! Alan's face was priceless as I ran right into the bricks lining our driveway. As he said, "It was like watching a train wreck and not being able to do anything about it!" Thank goodness we did have the bricks along the drive or...I would have hit that tree!  Finally we got the car moved, jumpstarted, and we made it to the late service at church.

Tomorrow we return back to work and, you know what?  I'm actually excited to be returning! Y'all know what a sick puppy I really am now, huh? Vacations are always nice, but there is something to be said for a regular routine also. I guess we have the best of both worlds for sure. God is good...all the time!  Have a great week everybody! 

Vacation Day 2--Tangled

Tangled Up

 

I awoke early this morning. I spent my time with God in my daily bible reading and in prayer. I was gathering up my various yarns to pack up and take with me on our upcoming journey and realized my beautiful, very fine yarn needed to be rolled into a ball from the loose skein. This is handspun and hand-dyed yarn and so fine it is like a gossamer web. All started out well as I wound the yarn into a ball, but then, somehow, it developed a lovely tangle and became ever more difficult to detangle.

 

As I worked on untangling the yarn without breaking it, I realized that to get it out of its tangle, I would need to do it slowly. I needed to loosen up the big knot and gently follow the yarn through the tangle. Slowly and gently was the way I needed to proceed.

 

Our lives are like this beautiful, colorful, fine yarn. We get in tangles and it looks like there is no way to clear things up without breaking the yarn. If we try to go too quickly through our tangled lives or we just pull and pull it the way we want it to go, our tangled life will never get unstuck. We'll be so tightly wrapped up in ourselves that we will hit a point where we just can't go anywhere or do anything.

 

Thankfully, we have a master craftsman helping us with our lives. If we allow Him to help us and let Him do His work on us slowly and gently, our tangled lives can be smoothed out, put into order, and then knit into something beautiful. It is so tempting to want to grab our lives back and try to go faster or the way we think we should go. We must let go and let God do the untangling. God has promised us, if we turn our lives over to Him, that he will take us and make something beautiful and something good.

Vacation--Day 1

Yep, we're taking a vacation over the next week and today was our first official vacation day. We're actually going further north in Colorado to spend a week with Alan's sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Bill. We are beside ourselves with excitement and can hardly wait! Of course, we had to take a day off prior to leaving town to prepare for Kathy and Bill's impending arrival and for the trip itself. I have a list as long as my arm of things to do and things to pack pre-departure. (I don't have OCD, I don't have OCD, I don't have OCD!)

Of course, Alan has foiled most of my list today in one way or another, starting with the big breakfast. He knows a big breakfast, especially pancakes, knock me for a loop for at least two hours. Sneaky, isn't he? He keeps saying, "Oh, don't worry honey, we'll do that tomorrow before Kathy and Bill get here." What he's saying in the subtext is, "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, sugar! Why don't you rest a while?"  Yep, Alan is sneaky that way. So, I've managed to have a manicure, clean the kitchen, run the dishwasher and...that's about it! Does he not understand the purpose behind my list? It's meant to make me feel frantic when I don't mark things off of it and...I'm frantic! Hmmm....sounds like a twisted plot to me! He likes seeing me get all worked up about things sometimes, just to watch the fireworks. Men!

In all seriousness, however, we're looking forward to getting away for a while into some of God's most beautiful country with two wonderful, lovely people who also happen to be family! I'm, of course, tempted to take another entire piece of luggage just for yarn, patterns, and needles so I'll have plenty to knit or crochet. I won't do it though. Everytime I take a lot of projects on a trip, I end up doing nothing. And if I take no projects, I end up feeling like someone cut off my air supply. I literally start jonesing for my knitting needles and yarn! It's not a pretty sight. In a compromise with myself, I'll take two four projects and be happy. Nothing too big. Just the yellow blankie that needs a little crochet edging on it...and the yellow scarf I'm halfway through...and the multicolor cowl I've just started and maybe some of the pretty rose yarn with a pattern for a shrug. (Seriously, who could resist taking this yarn when it so obviously wants to go?)

Of course, then there are my books and recent magazines and my writing paraphanelia. Oh, and I guess I should take some clothes... Maybe the extra suitcase isn't such a bad idea after all. Just the hardsided Samsonite and my brocade one. Plus a knitting bag and backpack....that will be it. Really. Honest.

Well, guess I better get off the computer and see if I can sneak in mopping the kitchen floor and taking out the trash before Alan catches on.  Love you all and will talk to you later!

 

P.S. Buddy gets to stay at a doggie dude ranch. Cool, huh?

Let God Be

Don't you know that God knows your struggle
  and weeps at the pain he reads in your soul?

Don't you know that God, your Father,
  feels the lump in your throat, the racing of your
  heart and the weakness in your limbs
  as you face yourself and the demons
  of life in this world?

Don't you know that He loves you more
  than we could ever love anyone?

God made you,
God knows you from the inside out.
God loves you!!

He knows every single moment of your life
  and every little wrinkle on your face.
God hears the struggle in your soul,
  the panic of your breath,
  the song in your heart,
  the good words on your tongue,
  and the lies in the back of your mind that you
  think no one knows except you.

God wants to hold you close
  and dry your tears.
He wants to hear your breath
  be soft and peaceful like a little child's.
He cherishes the good words on your tongue
  like honey from the honeycomb.
He wants to wipe out the bitter lies
  in the back of your mind--
  both yours and Satan's.

God has been, is, and always will be
  your very best friend, your Father
  and the keeper of your soul.

All you have to do is let His spirit
  heal your heart, comfort your mind
  and bring peace to your soul.

All you have to do is be still and
  let God be...God.

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
4/29/99

Silver Air

When the moonlight's on the water
at the park across the street,
My soul slips out to wander
and hopes my God to meet.

My heart beats fast with wonder
and my breath stops as it starts,
I wonder if I'll ever live
to understand our hearts.

The breeze blows softly on my cheeks
as ducks quack quietly in my ears.
I slowly walk in silver air
and pray to God, "please remove my fears."

The air is sweet with springtime scents
replacing all the old,
I smell green and pink and blue and yellow;
and feel the colors in my soul.

God made all this beauty
so easily, so right.
He gives me all the peace my soul can hold
in the silver air tonight.

And so my fears are taken and
I know inside my heart--
that God has heard my prayer,
in the silver air tonight.

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
4/13/99

One of those days...

Ever have one of those days when you wake up feeling grumpy and as the day progresses, you find yourself getting grumpier and meaner by the minute? Nothing goes right. I had one of those days today. I spilled my first cup of coffee on my hand, accidentally kicked my dear puppy, got shampoo in both eyes in the shower, and could find nothing decent to wear. That's just in the first couple of hours too! So, I prayed hastily to God, read my bible readings for the day, and dashed out the door.

When I arrived at work, things did not improve. Everyone seemed tense, frustrated, and everything is in a jumble because we're remodeling, trying to put together cubicles (of which all the parts did not arrive). Usually I try to be a calming, positive influence, but today, inside myself, I was not calm and didn't even care, not one little bit! The words humble and humility kept popping up in my head, but my heart wasn't listening. I was almost relishing the mean spirit rattling around inside, which is not me. There is nothing I despise more than a mean spirit, especially if it is inside myself.

I arrived at home this afternoon and sat on the back porch a while. At first I was holding on to my bad mood with all my might. I was not going to get happy, thank you very much! I was going to enjoy my bad mood and to heck with it! Of course, God had other plans. (He always does.)

The birds were singing. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. Buddy kept licking my hand in consolation. Even Missy the cat was hanging around, eyeing me suspiciously. She's usually the creature in a perpetual state of moodiness so I think she didn't want to relinquish her reign over to me. I felt my spirit relax, despite myself. As my breathing deepened, I found myself closing my eyes and praying, my spirit humbled. Thoughts came of friends and family going through tough times. I began to pray for them, sincerely, with a whole heart, knowing God was listening. My spirit calmed down more. I started thanking God for all my blessings and seeing my whole messy day through His eyes. It was funny! I mean, seriously, a 50 year old woman carrying on like a toddler who badly needed a nap?  I did practically everything but get on the floor and throw a tantrum today. How could that not be funny? I started chuckling to myself. Then I started laughing outright! Good grief! Who cares about coffee and shampoo and what I wear to work? Who even cares if all the parts to our new cubicles didn't arrive or if a few customers were grumpy?  These things, too, shall pass. They always do. Compared to some things I've lived through, and others I know are living through now, the day I was having is a walk in the park. I live a wonderful life. I am truly a blessed woman. I thank God for reminding me of that...and even for laughing at me. 

James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Love and Prayers

I said a prayer for you today
and locked it in my heart.
Because I know God loves you
and will peace to you impart.

Worry not your weary soul
or fear the things to come,
For God is always with you
and will be your soul's sweet balm.

Just ask Him to be with you,
and He will be right there.
Ask Him for His will,
in your humble-hearted prayer.

He wants to be your solace,
He wants to be your friend.
Just be brave and ask Him
and He gladly will come in.

I said a prayer for you today
and locked it in my heart.
I prayed to God Who loves you
and will peace to you impart.

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
5/5/99

Until the Morning's Dew

When my eyelids fall so heavy
And my thoughts are all of You,
I know I'll soon be sleeping
until the morning's dew.

The moonlight falls so quietly
upon my windowpane
and the stars begin to twinkle
as the angels say Your name.

I try so hard to stay awake
So I can really pray,
but You calm my restless spirit so
I have no words to say.

Just know that I do love You
and pray within my dreams,
that I'll see You in the morning
when the morning dewdrops gleam.

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
4/27/99

Puppy Dogs and Pet Ranches

Today I did something I never thought in a million years that I would ever do. I made reservations for Buddy, our 12 pound Chihuahua, at the RK Pet Ranch, for the week of our vacation. Buddy will be set up in style with two rooms of his own, daily walks, play dates, and even baths, pedicures, and grooming if we so desire. If you had told me 7 years ago I would be one of those people who was completely attached to a dog and worried about his health and emotional well-being as if he were a small child, I would have laughed, snorted, and rolled in the floor. (No disrespect to dog owners intended.)

I was a sworn cat person, you see. I was not able to have any pets as a child because I had severe allergies and asthma. When I finally was able to have a pet, I wanted a kitten. Enter my first pet, ever, a beautiful Russian Blue kitten whom I named "Ziggy," given to me by a dear friend home on leave from the Marines. Ziggy got his name from the cards Buck and I exchanged in the mail. Ziggy the kitten was perfect. He was an adorable little bundle of gray fur and green eyes. I loved that cat and, although I had to leave him at my parents when I married 5 months later, Ziggy was a valued family member for 15 years.

Next came Kitty Tiffy and then Esmerelda, a runt kitten that Craig and I adopted when she was only a few days old and weighed less than a pound. Then there was Bobby, Kitty, Chico, Princess Jasmine, Sonic, Colette, and now Missy. All cats over the years. No dogs. Cats are so easy. They love you when they're in the mood, they're low maintenance, and yet they're companionable and fun to have around. When you leave town for a week, you put out extra litter boxes, huge amounts of cat food and water and you're done. You know when you return, you will encounter the revenge only a cat can exact, but even that is part of their charm. (I don't know how they manage to tear up complete rolls of paper towels, toilet paper, or paper plates that were locked in various cabinets. They're quite creative!) However, they make up for their scary moments by being loyal and sweet companions when you're sick, depressed or lonely. They're funny, smart, and entertaining too.

I never was a dog person. Never. Let me put it this way. When I was a tiny first grader, I was chased and pinned to a house by a huge German Shepherd who was not in a sweet mood! I seriously thought he was going to eat my head in one bite and was so terrified I couldn't move. Fortunately a teacher from my elementary school saw the attack and saved me before I was too badly injured. For years after, any dog terrified me. Small yippy dogs, big hairy dogs, barking dogs, snappy dogs, sweet dogs, any dog, scared the bejeebers out of me. Completely terrified I was.

Over the years, Daddy taught me first how not to be afraid of dogs, how to gentle them, and eventually how to talk to any dog I met. I lost my fear, but still wasn't too keen on dogs. We had a few over the years for the boys. There was Charlie, the American Eskimo we bought for Nat on his 4th birthday. Charlie was beautiful, but dumb as a rock. Or maybe we were dumb as rocks. We never could teach or train that dog to do anything. There was sweet Maggie, who was Joshua's birthday present and was the sweetest dog I'd ever met. Unfortunately, she got sick one morning and was gone by the time we returned home from work. She had parvo. Well, actually, I guess that's all the dogs we had.

For some reason during the fall of 2005, while I was making trips back and forth from Texas to Colorado and back, I suddenly had this crazy idea of getting a dog to accompany me. Someone to be a companion and perhaps even provide some protection. I prayed about it, but after a couple of weeks, decided that was a silly idea and let it go. I knew nothing about what kind of dog I would want or would be a good companion. I knew nothing really about training a dog. Dogs required a lot more attention and care. I was working full time, had a father with Alzheimer's in a nursing home, two sons at home, and a husband who had moved to Colorado in preparation for the day when I could move there too.

Anyhow, I gave up on the idea. I guess God had not, however. I was traveling to Colorado the day after Christmas. It was cold, snowy, and basically miserable weather. I stopped in the Love's truck stop in Texline for a little break and to buy something to eat and drink. As I stepped out of the truck stop, a little black and tan puppy ran right up to me, yipped once, put one leg on my leg and then sat down with adoring eyes trained on my face. An elderly couple said, "Oh, there's his owner! We wondered who he belonged to!" as they hurried into their car and sped away. (I think it was a set up! Ha!) The little puppy looking at me so sweetly was obviously hungry, very dirty, shivering cold and...a charmer of the first order. There was absolutely no way I could leave that little guy in a big old dirty truck stop. I decided to take him with me and drop him off at the Humane Society along the way. He jumped into the car, I gave him my burrito, which he promptly ate, he curled up on my lap to sleep and off we drove. We were firm friends by the time we arrived in Clayton, a mere 10 miles from Texline. I stopped and bought a collar and leash, some real dog food, and a food/water bowl.

By the time I reached Raton, NM, his name was Buddy and I was trying to figure out how I could keep the little toot. I was completely in love with this little 9 pound DOG! The rest, as they say, is history. We kept Buddy and he became part of the family. Fortunately he was fairly easy to train. He did prove to be an excellent companion and on the trips I still had between Colorado and Texas, he was perfect. When either Alan or I are sick, tired, in pain, depressed, or just in need of some unconditional love...Buddy is right there for us and with us. He plays with Alan every morning and evening. He sleeps with me nightly. He protects me from anyone he sees as threats whether they be "bad guys" or other nefarious critters such as squirrels, neighbor cats, and mailmen.

So, yes, when we were considering what to do with Buddy while we have a vacation week in Steamboat Springs, I looked up different kennels, found one I liked the look of, called and talked to the woman to get a feel for the place, and booked a room for a week. Most of all I made sure I'd be able to stop in periodically through the week to see and play with Buddy. He gets separation anxiety, you know. Not me, him. Truly! Really! It's Buddy who gets the separation anxiety! Well, ok, maybe I get a little separation anxiety too. Yeah, I've become a dog person who pampers, spoils, and loves her dog to distraction. How in the world did this happen?!  Oh yeah, it's this guy's fault: