Author Archives: Jo Hawke

Nanu Nanu, the Light’s on You

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We replaced the old incandescent light bulbs in our chandelier with some of the new-fangled energy- (and money-?) saving ones.

A few thoughts:

  1. They look like like eggs and remind us of the gleek Mork had to hit himself in the head with — or die.
  2. They contain mercury. What happens when they hit the landfills and burst?
  3. They take a long time to get bright. This means you have to keep them on longer to use them the same way, which defeats the cost-saving purpose, at least in part.
  4. Also, still on number 3, what happens when you need light right this instant? What if there’s something in your eye, and you need to see in the bathroom mirror? What if it’s night, and you’ve already gone to your car to leave, but then you realize you forgot something in the bedroom? I don’t know about you, but trying to see in dim light in any kind of situation like these can give me an instant headache.

So, the only true benefit of these new light bulbs that we can see is that they’re supposed to last longer, saving us money.

Well, we haven’t proven that yet and don’t believe every ad we see. And will we remember when we bought them to figure it out? Probably not.

I guess overall, this is a thumbs-down.

However, since companies are phasing out incandescents as we speak, we’ll just have to turn on the switches a little earlier and wait patiently.

A Journey of Faith

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Last year sometime, we got a DVD in the mail from the monks at Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma, northeast of Tulsa. It shows them going through their days: praying, singing, and working. “Ora et Labora” is one of their mottos: Pray and work.

We have no idea why we were sent this. We probably got on their mailing list through another Catholic organization we support or something. And they were probably hoping to elicit a donation from us.

Frankly, I thought the video was a little boring, although it was interesting in its way. Kevin, on the other hand, was fascinated by it. He watched it over and over, usually while he was doing other things.

Fast forward to February of this year, Friday the 18th to be exact (according to Kevin).

For a couple of months around that time, there was a table in the commons of our church with used religious items and a box for donations. Kevin saw a Benedictine medal on the table. Two inches in diameter, the medal is pretty heavy and made of some kind of metal. It commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Benedictine sisters’ coming to America.

He paid a dollar for it, but that medal has become immeasurably valuable to him.

That very day, he put it on a chain and started wearing it, and it inspired him to research all of the inscriptions on it, which led him to research the Benedictine order.

Then, on July 3, our new priest Father Tony blessed the medal, and he’s worn it ever since.

At that point, Kevin says he began to officially live his life as a spiritual Benedictine oblate.

The word oblate means “to offer.” An oblate in the Benedictine order is a lay person, meaning someone out “in the world” as opposed to in a monastery, who follows the Rule of St. Benedict, while possibly also being fathers and husbands (or mothers and wives, since women can be oblates, as well).

On July 15, Kevin emailed Father Joseph Mary Lukyamuzi, director of oblate formation at Mary Mother of the Church Abbey in Richmond, who encouraged him to continue on his path, offering his assistance along the way.

And then, today, Kevin’s journey came full-circle: The Clear Creek Abbey rosary we ordered earlier this week came in the mail.

All that time Kevin watched the Clear Creek video, he didn’t realize that the monks he was watching were Benedictine monks. At that time, he hadn’t studied anything about the Benedictines (or any of the many orders), and the video doesn’t spend a lot of time on the distinction. It wasn’t until he’d begun researching the order that it hit him.

God does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t He? 🙂

One Missing Piece

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We weren’t long into this 700-piece puzzle before we realized we were most likely missing at least one piece.

In the sea of white and fur-colored pieces, the bright hues of the yarn were among the first sets of pieces Lucas and I sought out.

And now, here we are, all but that one hot-pink piece placed.

A feat, indeed.

But when I look at this masterpiece, where does my gaze quickly settle?

That one missing piece.

Lord, please help me focus on what I have rather than what I don’t.

Lovely Sue

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“All in the Downs the fleet was moor’d,
The streamers waving in the wind,
When black-eyed Susan came aboard;
‘O! where shall I my true-love find?
Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true
If my sweet William sails among the crew.”
~”Black-eyed Susan” by John Gay

Purrfect Puzzlement

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When Lucas picked out the 700-piece puzzle, I thought about redirecting him toward the 100-piece ones. We have a ton of puzzles, after all.

But Lucas has been a puzzle-master for years now. He can pick out a matching color faster than I can sometimes, and he has a killer eye for shapes. It’s like he has that missing piece’s edges imprinted in his mind, and other similar pieces click with that template: “Oooh! This may be the one!”

Plus, since we now have an actual dining room table, we’re free to use the old slate/wood coffee table for play, which means that the puzzle wouldn’t have to be completed today.

And if it lingers, all the better.

The boys and I have come to the table off and on all afternoon, all of us intrigued by the developing whole.

Although Kevin doesn’t love puzzles, he pulled the stool over and played the Les Paul (I mean, Josephine) for a long while.

I don’t think piece-hunting is aids my song-lyrics memory, but I’m definitely more into singing some lead when I’m seeing the line. 😉