SURRENDER

SURRENDER IS THE ONLY TRUE POSITION OF POWER

Hi All,

Welcome to our Camino!

The Camino can be looked at in so many ways...For me it has come to be "the journey within".

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we are  "in the middle" of this pandemic. 

In her book, Everyday Camino With Annie, Annie writes about this part of the Camino:

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! 

I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes there is nothing left to do but release. It may seem agonizing but it gets easier with time. We can be blinded by the pain in the moment, but as we lead awakened lives we are able to see in retrospect how much better it gets when we open our hearts and let the Spirit run our lives. 

You are walking the Meseta, or tabletop, the middle of your Camino.

What you are left with is... yourself.

Yes the Meseta is a chance to encounter the existential angst that is a part of the human condition. 

Our society does not prepare us for those times when we don't get what we want immediately....

We need to navigate through those times when we are angry, or sad, fearful or lonely!

If you don't know how to... 

Well, welcome to your master class: the Meseta!

Annie goes on to give some practical advice and plans. From her master class:

• Take time to release any ideas of how things "should" be, opening your heart to what is
• Take on something you have been meaning to do... something un-glamorous... like taxes, opening the boxes in the back of your closet that you have never unpacked. Get it out of the way so that you can cross it off your list. If it brings up uncomfortable feelings, even better! Let go of how you think it will be --- you have put it off for a reason--- just get it done! Then you will be free to open your heart wide, and live your life for a greater purpose!
• Psalm: 46:10: Be still and know that I am God... start taking time each day to be still. Stillness will bring you sustenance as surely as food and water.
• Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude where everything I touch is turned into a prayer: where the sky is my prayer. the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is all in all.
• Blessings abound, always surrounding us, always wrapping their loving arms around us if we take the time to notice. Wherever you are, all of the wonder of nature, the beauty, the prayer is at hand... make this a day of body, mind and spirit delights! 

Sending you all silent loves, wherever you are in this journey!

LYM, 

Reenie

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU

Hi All,

Well... yesterday really sucked!
We are all feeling a wave of sadness and isolation... and grief for what we perceived to be normal.
As we navigate through this "new normal", it is more important than ever to keep connected to family and dear friends!

Yesterday I introduced you to Phil Volker...

I have taken part of his  beautiful posting from this morning on his Caminoheads blog for today's message:

We are obviously transitioning from the beginning of this epidemic to the middle phase.  We now stare in full scale realization of the immensity of this Coronavirus!

The bad news is that we now see this pandemic in it’s full blown maturity.

This is the beginning of the middle.

The good news is there is always OPPORTUNITY for every one of us. 

We must get to the point of seeing that, all of us. This is a NOW situation. We must accept the RESPONSIBILITY for doing our individual parts whatever that looks like. We individually need to GET IN GEAR. This is the PROGRAM. This is what the middle looks like, the time when we do the HEAVY LIFTING that needs doing. We as individuals have the POWER to INFLUENCE the outcome. WELCOME to the Middle.

I found this photo in a packet from a St. Ignatius workshop that I attended.
The message is clear... Fear can make us feel so locked up!

Anxiety tends to run strongly in our Murphy genes... but the leader of the workshop kept stressing that we cannot hold fear and love in our bodies at the same time!

This was my morning message in my prayer time from a book called Jesus Calling.
What a God-shot!
"Stop trying to work things out before their times have come. Accept the limitations of living one day at a time. When something comes to your attention, ask me whether or not it is a part of today's agenda. If it is isn't release it into My care and go about today's  duties. When you follow this practice, there will be a beautiful simplicity about your life: a time for everything, and everything in its time."

Prayer requests:

From us: Brian's EMT contracted job at Miramar Naval Air Station ended abruptly on last Friday. He did not choose to go on to serve as an EMT in Northern California or NYC. Please keep him in your prayers, as we continue to surrender him to God's care.

From Michelle:  Her dear friend, Donna Finnell has been ill for a few weeks, and the doctors now suspect cancer. The hospitals are highly impacted and she is going in for tests.
Donna lives in the Seattle area, and has hosted Michelle whenever she has gone back to the Northwest over the past 2 years. Many of you know Donna... she was with Michelle every step of the way in her cancer journey!

I am holding you all so dearly in my heart and praying that everyone is safe and healthy. If you need anything, please send in a prayer through the comment section!

Love you more,
Reenie

BUEN CAMINO

Hello All,

More of you have joined in... which is great to see!

Thank you Monita, Michelle and Chris for leaving comments! YAY!

I wanted to start by sharing a prayer request that came from Chris:

Maya just told us that Nik's brother Derek and sister-in-law Fiona, just lost a baby at 31 weeks. They had left India, where they set up a pre-school for locals, and had relocated to Malaysia due to losing funding for the pre-school.
Please keep their family in your prayers!!


That is the purpose of this blog and hopefully staying in connection...surrounding family with love and prayers!
Celebrating the joys, as well as supporting each other through the sorrows... during this dark and isolating time of quarantining. 

(Marty once commented that "once I start writing... the wheels come off the bus") LOL
I hope that you will bear with me today, as I try to explain the meaning of Buen Camino...

There is a 500 mile pilgrimage that starts in France and ends in Santiago Spain, that "pilgrims" have walked for centuries. It has become quite popular in recent years, in part due to a movie that Martin Sheen made called The Way... if you are looking for a good movie during this time... I recommend it!

Our parish (Santiago De Compostela)  has started a tradition of having a "mini-Camino" here in Lake Forest on the feast day of St. James (in July). About 4 years ago, when our pastor, Fr. Thomas, started this tradition, he held a symposium, teaching about the history and significance of the Camino in Spain.  One of the guest speakers was a woman named Annie O'Neill.

Annie O'Neill is a writer and film-maker. She had walked the Camino in Spain, and afterwards was featured in a short documentary called Six Ways to Santiago. She wrote a little book called: Everyday Camino with Annie. (which I love!) But her short documentary Phil's Camino, changed my life!

After seeing Annie in the documentary, Six Ways to Santiago, Phil Volker's wife contacted Annie, inviting her to come up to Vashon Washington to walk on her husband's 1 mile Camino that he had built on his property.

Phil had been diagnosed 5 or 6 years ago with stage 4 liver and lung cancer. He had always dreamed of walking the Camino in Spain. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he had his own Camino built on his 10 acre property (that he calls Raven Ranch). He began walking (and praying the rosary as he walked) as a part of his health regimen... his walking strengthened him enough to be given a "chemo break" to go to Spain for a month and walk a part of the Camino.

Annie went with him and that was how her documentary, Phil's Camino... came about! She has currently made a full length film called: So Far, So Good.   She is trying to share his story with a wider audience and said that "too much was left on the cutting floor."

Annie and Phil are quite a team... and when he is up to it... they speak all over the nation to hospitals, cancer groups... bringing hope and inspiration to all!

I have met him in person a few times... he and Annie have both been back to our Church in July, for our "mini-Caminos". He is one of the most amazing earthly spiritual guides that I have had the blessing to know!

Phil's Camino is always open for visitors to join him on a walk, and then stay for tapas and chatting afterwards... Michelle has walked on Phils' Camino with 2 of her friends... so lucky! It is on my bucket list to get up to Vashon to walk with him... maybe in the summer... God willing!

He has inspired so many people all over the globe and he continues to show us the way to live in spite of our circumstances!   He created a blog called Caminoheads:  www.caminoheads.com

I read it every day and today's entry was especially touching... all about conquering fear and living in the present!

I am doing this without Dan's help today...
As Sean sometimes teases... "you're on your own!"  or "You're out there baby!"

Not really... feeling like I am surrounded by you all virtually!

LYM,
Reenie

A STAR IS BORN & A PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

Last night, Dan's son, Luke was on CNN's presentation of Joe Biden's Virtual Town Hall. He was one of the people that was selected to ask a question. So proud of you, Luke!

Yesterday, the Pope delivered a Prayer For Our World, that was broadcasted live. 

It was absolutely gorgeous, especially helpful for me, in this time when I am missing going to Mass.

He delivered his message in the rain, in an empty St. Peter's Square.

It was a call to healing, and surrendering our fears to God. 

I loved his calming message of God's love for us!

His message took about 30 minutes... so if you find a quiet time... I highly recommend it!

Click here: Pope Francis' Prayer For Our World

The Pope called for the "creativity of the Spirit" to keep us connected during this time... 

I suppose this is my attempt!

But I wanted to share something fun that Tim's school did...

Since Spring Break officially began after school yesterday, the staff members drove in their cars in a parade around the neighborhood surrounding their school. 

They had messaged their families that this was going to occur at 1:30, and Tim said it was a blast!

The parents and kids were on their sidewalks waving and holding signs!

Everyone felt the love and connection!

Dan kindly made a set of directions with screenshots (to hopefully make it easy to follow). I sent them out in an email last night.  Looking forward to seeing more comments coming in!

Thanks to Nancy, Joe, Shawn and an anonymous sender for your comments, already!

We have added comments right back-atcha!

That's it for today!

Connecting Loves,

Reenie and Dan

CHEERS

With Dan's help, I hope this website will be the meeting place that I imagined it to be.

We've been watching old Cheers episodes in the evenings... it has been comforting to be whisked back to simpler times... and I think that that theme song rings in my heart:

Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you got
Taking a break from all your worries
It sure would help a lot
Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
The troubles are all the same
You want to be where everybody knows your name

You want to go where people know
The people are all the same
You want to go where everybody knows your name

Here was Marty's post on Facebook the other day:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Leonard Cohen..."Anthem" 

So...on that note, I will end with this:

AN IRISH BLESSING OF LIGHT

May the Blessing of Light be upon you,

light on the outside, light on the inside.

With God’s sunlight shining on you,

may your heart glow with warmth,

like a turf fire that welcomes

friends and strangers alike.

May the light of the Lord shine from your eyes,

like a candle in the window,

welcoming the weary traveler.

May the blessing of God’s soft rain be on you,

falling gently on your head,

refreshing your soul with the sweetness

of little flowers newly blooming.

May the strength of the winds of heaven bless you,

carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean,

sparkling after in the sunlight.

May the blessing of God’s earth be on you,

and as you walk the roads,

may you always have a kind word

for those you meet.

May you understand the strength

and power of God in a thunderstorm in winter,

and the quiet beauty of creation,

and the calm of a summer sunset.

And may you come to realize that

insignificant as you may seem

in this great universe,

you are an important part of God’s plan.

May He watch over you,

and keep you safe from harm.

Amen!

Renden Family News

Brian is now in San Diego... there was a statewide call for all EMT's to help!

Feel a little like our parents & grandparents must have felt sending their sons off to war... surrendering him to God's care!

Tim is home here with us... thankfully he was hired as an instructional assistant  for grades 4,5,6 about a month ago at Beacon Park school in Irvine, so he has been doing online teaching from home connecting with students and staff.

As I try to look for any blessings in all of this... our guys are both doing what they were born to do at this moment!

Prayers for all!

Caution: Workers Above

This is a work in progress... baby steps at trying to connect family during this stressful time: siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins... you get the idea!

Dan is helping me... so grateful!

This is being done in an effort to find a place where we all might want to check in with one another: a place to post our family up-dates, prayer requests, inspirational thoughts, send positive messages...share pictures, videos

Mom always teased that I was a "walking newspaper" (a compliment or a fault... you make the call)... but I love you all, and was finding that I was spending these last few days... sending text messages and checking Facebook and emails in an effort to share jokes and inspirational tidbits, or just hear how you are doing... that felt too scattered and hit and miss!

Marty and Michelle Martin Zive have Facebook postings that are wonderful... but not everybody has Facebook or are friends with them!

I am stretching my technology skills... but if not now... when?

Thanks to Dan for helping me get this out!

I will be sending out an email with the link... let's see how far we can go... connecting all our wonderful family!

As our Mom would say: "LOVE YOU MORE"!

Reenie

Welcome to Murphys

Hi

In an effort to keep our family connected in one place right now,

I am attempting to set up a family blog.