A Great Morning

Like a friend of mind, I often think of things to blog about but never do. Today is the exception. Its been too long since my last post. Life has been too busy since Spring arrived in North Idaho.
I love being outside. Now that the sun lights up the morning at 5:30 AM, I'll get up most days and do something outside. Since I live on five acres with a large-ish garden I'll usually be out in it pretending that everything will grow better if I tweak this or that.

Today, instead of the garden, I was in the front yard planting trees. A neighbor gifted us some Larch and Ponderosa tree seedlings. Being a person who can't let "good" things die irresponsibly, I felt guilted into planting my seedlings somewhere. With Larch being "more good" then Ponderosa, I planted those first and in the best places. I was able to plant one of the Ponderosa before my internal clock told me I was going to be late for work. The others will have to wait until tomorrow. That was my first good treat of the morning. I planted something that will (hopefully) grow and bring pleasure later in life.

I finished getting ready for work and made my usually latte, flavored with vanilla. I capped off my cup, ready for the morning commute, hmmm, that tastes excellent. The second treat of the morning.

Grabbing my laptop bag and with coffee in hand I approach the truck and see that I left the seedlings on the hood. I've got to put those someplace safe before I leave, back to the house. On the way back out of the house I pass the strawberry patch by our front door. The patch is doing great this year, it is bursting with red berries. It is such a good morning, I stop and pick a generous handful. Back in the house for my third trip, I wash the strawberries, divvy some out to my hungry four-year-old, and finally leave the house. All the way to the highway I'm thinking how great it is to eat fresh berries and drink good coffee on a beautiful June morning.

Thank you God for such a good morning!

Karma vs. Grace - Bono's View

I ran into this quote today and thought it was perceptive. What make it even more interesting is that Bono of the band U2 said it.

“You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the Universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that ‘As you reap, so will you sow’ stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff. . . . I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”

Read the whole article Rock Star as Theologian at Breakpoint.