Pardon My Rant

Today as I was enjoying the beautiful weather on our visit to Southern California, I had the opportunity to laze about and read various periodicals here at Bonnie and Linda’s.  During that process, I came across an article by Kathleen Deveny in the “Modern Family” section of Newsweek that illustrated one of the many things that, in my opinion, helps to lead unsuspecting parents into poor and unhealthy parenting practices and ultimately helps to erode the moral character of our society.  In her article, Ms. Deveny embraces and perpetuates the notion that it’s ok to ”behave differently with our kids when no one is watching”  as long as we don’t get caught. 

Well,  Ms. Deveny may be correct that  we may be more mindful of watching our P’s and Q’s when we know eyes are on us, but frankly, as Christians and as parents who want to raise good kids, that is a cop out.  Image control has no part in the Christian life.  Each morning we ask God in the prayer of Metropolitan Philaret to, “Bless my dealings with all who surround me, . . .In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings,” and to “teach me to act firmly and wisely without embittering and embarrassing others.”  That is the goal - regardless of who’s looking, but one thing is certain: our children are, and they need to see us consistently struggle toward righteousness.  

If we give ourselves a “pass” to be less than our best because “no one is watching,”  we teach our children hypocrisy.  I expect my children to conduct themselves by the same moral standards regardless of where they are, whether they be at work, school, church, a party, or on a date.  How are my children to learn those standards if I don’t model them myself?

An even more damaging consequence of this behavioral double standard, however, is that if we change our behavior to fit the context, we teach our children that not only are they not worth our very best, but  also that we value what people think of us more than them!  Of course every parent falls short.  When we do, we would do better to follow the examples of the saints and tell the truth and ask forgiveness rather than play the “sugary sweet mom in public” and be “a Nazi mom at home.”  Parenting isn’t about acting; it’s about providing a loving example of righteousness to our children and the world around us.  Better to let the world see my limitations and my shortcomings and then to ask for God’s mercy and redouble my efforts to “act firmly and wisely without embittering and embarrassing others”! 
than to teach my children that it’s ok to lie about who they are.   After all, how much more do the children with whom God has entrusted us need to be treated “wisely” than someone we may pass on the street?   We are, afterall, accountable for their souls.

Fall is Here – And James Too!

Fall officially arrived Labor Day weekend.  Evidently, that’s when it comes in Alaska.  In our vast Alaskan experience, both last year and this year the the tree at the end of the road turned yellow in one weekend – Labor Day weekend.  We are enjoying the foliage; it truly is a beautiful time of year.

   

Hannah celebrated her 22nd birthday on the 17th.  Susie Bookbinder and I planned a frog-themed birthday bash for her.  It was a hopping success.  ”Frogs?” you ask, “Why Frogs?!?”  Well, let me tell you.  Last summer when Hannah was decorating the Klatt’s wedding, Suz and Hannah were floating tea lights in dishes of water.  Suz said,  ”These would look great with lily pads floating alongside them in the dish!”  Well, that was all it took.  From there they started running with the whole frog theme, and then Hannah informed us that she wanted to have a frog-themed wedding when she got married, complete with lily pads for the bride and groom, lily pad centerpieces, tadpoles swimming in the vases, etc.  Needless to say we thought the birthday frog decorations would be better than wedding frog decorations.  Now she’s off the hook on that one.       The moose have  been around a lot lately.  This mom and baby keep coming back and spent all last Saturday hanging out in the yard.       Our nephew, James, came to live with us last Friday.  He seems like he’s enjoying Alaska – though you can’t really tell it from the picture.  He’s only almost run into one moose and fallen down one mountain since he’s been here.  So why wouldn’t he love it?

Summer’s Winding Down

 

Well, it was one week ago we started back to school, and when we’ve been out walking over the last week or so, I’ve been noticing telltale yellow and red leaves on a few of the plants.  Honestly, it makes me a little wistful; weatherwise, summer was pretty much non-existent this year.  According to the latest stats I’ve seen this summer has had the fewest number of days to reach 65 degrees since 1970.  What’s more, I can probably count the number of sunny days we’ve had on my fingers.  Ho Hum.  I guess we’ll be really ready for sunny Southern California when we visit in October.  

But don’t get me wrong.  In spite of the weather, this summer had plenty of good times.  We started the summer out by cleaning a ton (literally) of old junk off our property.  You name it: cast iron pipe, chicken wire, assorted pipe fittings, old wheel, and SHEDS!  UGH I don’t know what it is with Alaskans and their sheds, but they LOVE them.  Anyway, we got rid of all the debris and even photo-documented the removal of the last shed.  Mind you this was no small feat.  The new owners had to winch these sheds (which were constructed on old truck beds – sans wheels)  uphill on an unpaved, and virtually ungraveled road.  We were mighty pleased to see that last shed disappear into the sunset.

We also had a monumentally great fishing expedition with Al Zink and several families from the church.  In one evening our boatload of 6 fishermen caught 202 salmon.  It was exhilarating!  And let me say, cleaning 202 fish was even more, invigorating – especially after I inadvertently took a dive into the inlet to retrieve a fish that slipped through my grasp.  Yes, the icy water went down my waders, and yes, I did get that fish! (One of our group took much better pictures than I did, so if you want to see more go to    http://picasaweb.google.com/craigmiller03/DipNetKasilof   )

We also had a great ERI, with Frederica Matthews Green and Fr. Michael Dahulich, dean of St. Tikhon’s Seminary.  I especially enjoyed Fr. Michael’s teaching on the Gospel of John.  What with all the weddings (Hannah decorated for one of them, and several people said they didn’t know the church basement could look so good.  Here are a few summer pics – better log ‘em while I still can.

Going . .  Goiing . . . Gone!

     

     

Our Fishing Gang

    

And the wedding decorations 

A New Link

I added a new link to my blog.  Matthew and Anastasia Howell recently left Alaska to attend seminary at St. Tikhon’s for three years, so in order to avoid clogging their email sending pictures of their adorable baby, Luke, to all of their friends and family, they started a blog.  So why would you care about seeing baby pix of a baby you might not know?  Well, it just so happens that Matthew is also HILARIOUS and will undoubtedly provide a humorous and novel view of life at seminary.  The baby pix of Luke are just gravy. (but I just couldn’t resist)

Luke

The Dormition of the Mother of God

Dn. Joseph gave the homily at St. John’s for the Dormition.  I thought it was quite good and wanted to share it with all of you.  Blessed Feast!

     Sometimes it is called,”The Summer Pascha”. Sometimes it is called “The Pascha of the Theotokos”.  Here at St. John`s we call this feast, “The Dormition of the Theotokos”.  Bp. Kallistos Ware writes, ”Orthodox tradition is clear and unwavering in regard to the central point of the dormition -  the holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death – but her body like His – was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken up into heaven in her body as well as in her soul – She has passed beyond death and judgment and lives wholly in the age to come.  The resurrection of the body has in her case been anticipated and is already an accomplished fact.   That does not mean ,however, that she is disassociated from the rest of humanity and placed in wholly different category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the resurrection of the body which she enjoys even now.”St. Paul wrote, “for we were saved in this hope:”

     The Dormition is one of the 12 major feasts that we celebrate in the Orthodox church.  Then there is Pascha, the feast of feasts, which is above all the rest.  All the feasts point to Pascha, because Pascha is the point.  It is the center of history.  The theme song of the church is the Paschal anthem, “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death  by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” Christ is our life.  He is our Hope and our Glory and our Joy. The church sets before us 12 major feasts to aid us to grow in our love for God and our knowledge of. It is interesting to note that four of the major feasts are about Mary.  Her conception, her birth, her presentation, and her dormition.  Well, they are not really about Mary, but about Jesus, because Mary is all about Jesus.  In every service we call Mary to remembrance because she is the #1 saint in the Orthodox church.  Some one might ask, “Why? She

 didn`t go to college.  She didn`t go to seminary.  She was not ordained a priest. She didn`t write any books or icons.  She was not imprisoned or tortured or martyred for her faith.”  The answer the church gives is she is the #1 saint because she lived a life of complete obedience and devotion to God – of complete holiness and purity.  She was open and receptive to the Holy Spirit, living only and always for God in constant communion and love with Him. She attained Theosis.  She became as St. Peter puts it,” a partaker of the Divine Nature.” She lived life as the human race was created to live it. She inherited her human nature from Adam,  just as you and I have, yet she made her soul a temple of the Holy Spirit.  She was the first one to accept Jesus.  In a sense she is the new Eve.  And she taught her Son to live this way also. 

     She also teaches us. If you don`t mind  I would like to go through the epistle and the gospel that were read today and look at them in the light, in the context of the feast.  Paul wrote in Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” In the context of this feast, the church is teaching us, that Mary had the mind of Christ.  The church is teaching us that we need to adopt the “mind of Christ.” When we hear, “He humbled Himself to the point of death,” we learn that Mary humbled herself and was willing to die for God and that we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for God and each other out of love.  Some one might ask, “When did Mary risk her life? When did she demonstrate that she was willing to die for God?” The angel Gabriel appeared to her saying,”You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” Mary was a pregnant, unwed teenager.  She knew that the penalty for adultery under the Mosaic law was death by stoning. People would conclude that she had committed adultery. She was willing to be seen as an adulteress and risk death out of love for God.  Mary was familiar with the passage in Job that says,”Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him”. God called her, and she answered yes.  Pretty gutsy for a young teenage girl.

In the gospel of Luke we hear of two sisters,  Martha and Mary. Luke wrote,  “Martha welcomed Him into her house”.  Jesus always want to enter the door of our hearts.  He is always knocking.  The door of the heart of the Theotokos was always open and welcoming to the Lord. He was always her first priority.  As we read further, “Mary sat at Jesus` feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted.”  There are many distractions in this life. Mary the sister of Martha was focused on Jesus.  She chose to sit at His feet and hear His word  not allowing herself to be distracted, not allowing herself to be turned away from Him, and she got grief for it. Martha didn`t like it. If we follow Jesus we will get grief.  There is a cost.  Jesus tells us to count the cost.  As Paul wrote,  “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”  Or as Dostoyevsky put it,  “If not with a spear, at least with a snear.”  Mary had counted the cost and was willing to pay it.  Going on we read, “And Jesus answered and said to her,  Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things,  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken way from her.”  The church is teaching us to lay aside all earthly cares, to seek first the kingdom of God, and to take it by force because there is no end to the distractions of this world, and this world is passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever. 

     Further on in Luke we read “…that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb which bore You and the breasts which nursed You!,’  But He said, ’More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’”  Mary was chosen to be the Mother of God because she heard the word of God and kept it. Likewise, we are all called to hear the word of God and keep it.  We are all called to follow Christ when He calls us.  All of humanity owes Mary an enormous debt of gratitude that she willingly said “yes” to God.  She is our great example.  She changed the course of history simply by saying yes to God.  One person can make a difference.  Mary was a teenager when God was born of her.  If you are a young woman and you don`t think that you can make a difference, look at Mary.  If you are a teenager and you don`t think that you have any gift to give, look at Mary.   Have you ever thought what the world would be like if Mary had said No to God?   If she had said to the angel Gabriel, “I have plans can you come back in a few years?  What about my reputation?  I really like the life that I have now in the temple can you find someone else?”   But she didn`t say any of those things.  She said “yes” immediately, decisively and without hesitation, trusting fully and without reservation in God. 

     We all have a calling.  Most of us will not be visited by an angel telling us exactly what we are supposed to do, but all of us have a job to do and it matters a great deal if we do our job or neglect it.  Is there something that God is calling you to do? Are you willing?  Maybe God is calling you to be a priest.  Maybe God is calling you to be the wife of a priest.  Maybe there is something you are doing that you need to give up.  Whatever it is, pray about. Let us open the door of our heart to God. He gave His life for us.  Wouldn`t it be wonderful if we could say to Him that we laid down our lives for Him?  Today let us consider Mary.  And calling her to remembrance let us commend ourselves and each other and all of our life to Christ our God. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Walk in the Yard

Finally, after a year, we are doing a cleaning overhaul on the yard . . . hauling away stuff left by the previous owners, hauling away remodeling debris, mowing the weeds – I mean lawn, etc.  I have run several ads on Craigs List for various items, so we’ve been fielding phone calls and trying to get rid of what we can.  A man is coming Friday to try and take away one of the many shed that “grace” our property, so in preparation for this event, my husband and I were walking through the yard so I could show him some ferns I didn’t want damaged in the process.  The dog next door was merrily barking when I noticed there was a crackling sound coming from the bushes on the other side of the shed. A sense of caution fell over me (there’s been a black bear lurking about, and today was trash day, which lures the bears to our neighborhood), so I proceeded with caution and began talking very loudly.  The crackling in the brush increased, and sure enough, not a moment later a black bear emerged from the brush as he headed toward the woods.  Dn. Joseph walked up the hill (away from the bear to get a better look and put a little distance between us and the bear, and as I began to follow him up the hill, I turned and noticed the bear beginning to follow us.  Remembering my bear tutorials, I turned, stood tall, and looked the bear in the eye, as if to say, “Back off bear”.  He looked back appraisingly, turned around, and headed back into the forest.  I’m so glad he was not a brown bear.  They’re not nearly so accommodating.

Many Years to Brendan & Helen

This past Sunday, Brendan Coleman and Helen Matthews were married. so this is a tribute to them.  Some of you from Southern California may know Brendan; he attended St. Peter’s in Pomona for awhile when he lived in California.  His new wife, Helen, is originally from St. John’s, but also spent some time living in Kodiak.  Several people from Kodiak and St. Innocent Academy  (including Fr. Paisius and his family) attended the wedding.  Their music and warmth brought a lot to the event and was a great gift to the newlyweds and the rest of us as well.  My favorite part of the wedding though, was having Kayla visit.  We had many cups of tea, a few waffles, good conversations, and many laughs.  

A Good Quote

My good husband forwarded this to me from Bishop Joseph.  I loved it – it sort of reflects things that have been on my mind and heart over the past year.

Live in gratitude, and you will never be disappointed. See that your afflictions are not there to punish you, but to purify you and cleanse you of the delusions of this world. You all are being prepared each day for great things. Be wise, and prepare for the future, but do not be worried about it. Be prudent, but not obsessed. The man who constantly worries achieves nothing but stress and anxiety. Instead, pray and draw close to God. Believe that He will help you, and suddenly, you will see how He has already.

(This is a Himalayan poppy from my yard)

Yeah I Found It

During Lent I heard the tail end of this broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio, and today I found the podcast of it.  I loved it, and I hope you do too.

http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko  

March 13, 2008  The Tithe of the Year

 

Here is a written list of Fr. Hopko’s 55 Maxims:

55 Maxims for Christian Living

by Fr. Thomas Hopko

1. Be always with Christ.

2. Pray as you can, not as you want.

3. Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline.

4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times a day.

5. Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.

6. Make some prostrations when you pray.

7. Eat good foods in moderation.

8. Keep the Church’s fasting rules.

9. Spend some time in silence every day.

10. Do acts of mercy in secret.

11. Go to liturgical services regularly

12. Go to confession and communion regularly.

13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut them off at the start.

14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings regularly to a trusted person.

15. Read the scriptures regularly.

16. Read good books a little at a time.

17. Cultivate communion with the saints.

18. Be an ordinary person.

19. Be polite with everyone.

20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.

21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.

22. Exercise regularly.

23. Live a day, and a part of a day, at a time.

24. Be totally honest, first of all, with yourself.

25. Be faithful in little things.

26. Do your work, and then forget it.

27. Do the most difficult and painful things first.

28. Face reality.

29. Be grateful in all things.

30. Be cheefull.

31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.

32. Never bring attention to yourself.

33. Listen when people talk to you.

34. Be awake and be attentive.

35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.

36. When we speak, speak simply, clearly, firmly and directly.

37. Flee imagination, analysis, figuring things out.

38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.

39. Don’t complain, mumble, murmur or whine.

40. Don’t compare yourself with anyone.

41. Don’t seek or expect praise or pity from anyone.

42. We don’t judge anyone for anything.

43. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything.

44. Don’t defend or justify yourself.

45. Be defined and bound by God alone.

46. Accept criticism gratefully but test it critically.

47. Give advice to others only when asked or obligated to do so.

48. Do nothing for anyone that they can and should do for themselves.

49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.

50. Be merciful with yourself and with others.

51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.

52. Focus exclusively on God and light, not on sin and darkness.

53. Endure the trial of yourself and your own faults and sins peacefully, serenely, because you know that God’s mercy is greater than your wretchedness.

54. When we fall, get up immediately and start over.

55. Get help when you need it, without fear and without shame.

 

 

Birthdays, Graduation, and a Visit from Grandma & Grandpa

                  

In May my parents visited for a week, and on their last night here, we went to Benihana for Bethany’s (and Meghan’s) birthday, and Nathanael’s high school graduation.  Here are the pix!