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Sunday Gratitude – 5.IV.2026
To those celebrating today – Christ is Risen! – Happy Easter!
And then there are the “weird” ones here who are still waiting another week, among which I count myself. There have been a lot of services already – yesterday, I think I was in church for nearly four hours. I’ve really struggled this Lent; from the beginning, I felt less ready for it than most years and this year… wow. For the greater part of Lent, I believed that the Orthodox were also going to be celebrating Pascha today, and it was only looking at the calendar more carefully a couple of weeks ago when I realized that no, there’s a one-week difference. I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting to spend so much time in church this weekend, but I was at vigil last night, and I certainly had the feeling of moving from the darkness into the light, and by the time the service was over, there was an air of hopefulness and joy there. For that I am grateful. (My brain did fight against this on the way home, though. *sigh*)
I am grateful for the more spring-like weather, and the opportunity to be outside. I’m also grateful for my neighbor who invites me to come walking with her.
I am grateful for friends who take the time to talk even in the rain.
I am grateful for making it home in a storm the other day; I wasn’t expecting it, then all of a sudden, I was driving down this country highway with lightning flashes all around. I don’t think that they were very close, as there was only a tiny bit of thunder, but what a show! The next day, driving down those same roads, I could actually see how high the water is, and I’m grateful that there were no issues with low-lying stretches of road or the bridges.
Time to take the Christmas wreath down! I am thankful to have had a little bit of time to be outside with my kids, and I’m thankful that they have places around that they can enjoy riding their bikes through, and that they’ve been fine with this “exploring”.
I am thankful for the joy of singing.
I am thankful for the things that are showing signs of life (and even blooming) even after a very cold winter and long periods of neglect.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have been in contact with a number of people on this day, in the joy of Easter.
I am grateful for yet another sign that I’m not alone through the hard stuff.
Thank you so much for being here! Christ is Risen!
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Sunday Gratitude – 29.III.2026
I really hate it when it seems like I blink and yet another week has passed. Somehow so much of this time ends up feeling like a blur, and it seems like all that is left is a growing list of things that should have been done long ago, but haven’t been done yet.
In the meantime, though, I’ve been trying not to lose a sense of gratitude, and to also try to make the most of the days at hand. We’ve had a couple of days that have hit 70F, which has been amazing, and especially as the days are getting longer, it would be terrible if we didn’t do something to take advantage of the warmer weather. My younger son had a day off of school a couple of weeks back, and the two of us went out on our bikes and rode ten miles together, and it was amazing. He also started taking pictures with my camera that afternoon, so I’ll be sharing a few of those in this post.
A couple of weeks after the real birthday, my youngest, in kindergarten, had her first real birthday party. It was a bowling alley affair, and, per the terms of the contract, was less than two hours long, but for a group of 5 and 6 year olds, it was fine. I was completely stressed out over this for at least a week for a number of reasons, but it turned out really, really good. Even the weather held out, kind of… It started raining about the time that the party started, and it was still raining as people left. Had we started a couple of hours later, everybody would have been going home in sleet, because we had a blizzard come through the next day. The kids were thrilled to get the day off of school, and despite the crazy wind, we never lost power. The next day, our dear neighbor made a path for our car using a snowblower.
I’m grateful that even though I managed to break a spoke on the one bike (a different one than before), this happened in a place where I could ride to a place where I could leave the bike for a couple of days, and which was very close to the bike shop. On the night that this happened, I was also able to get a ride back home with one of the ladies from church. I’d never talked to her before, and she’s incredibly sweet, and lives just a couple of streets over from where I live.
I’m grateful for the amazing time I had at St. Haralambos in Niles a couple of weeks back. Not only were some very dear “real life” friends there, I finally got to meet Fr. Andrew Damick in person. We have been online acquaintances (friends) for over 20 years, and it seemed like high time to meet him in person. He actually recognized me by sight as well, which is crazy because it’s been a looong time since I posted any photos of myself that he might come across. 🙂 That was a lot of fun, though.
Breezy days and kites! I am grateful, as well, for the opportunity to visit an old friend and just enjoy sitting on the front step, having a conversation in the sunshine.
In many ways, I feel pulled very, very, very thin. There have been a lot of good things, to be sure, but there have been a number of very, very frustrating things as well. I don’t know; at this point, I’m not sure that I’ll ever have things “figured out”, but there’s a path to go forward on, and that’s the way through this all. Forgive me again for the blog silence – I truly am grateful for you.
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Wordle #472
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Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: I went with “paste” again, and got absolutely nothing from it.
Line 2: “Fling” just gets me the “G”, in the incorrect place
Line 3: Still didn’t get the “G” in the correct place, but the bonus is “O” and “U” together!
Line 4: Might this be a “GH” word? Nailed it! 🙂
Line 5: Apparently, this is “payback” for not using a “B” word as a starting word! *L* Still, I managed to get it. Crazy how different “cough” and “bough” sound, even with four letters in common!
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
Happy Gaming!
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Wordle #471
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Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: I went with “paste” again. Got the “S” and “T”, though in incorrect places.
Line 2: Moved the “S” and “T” to the beginning, and lucked out. 🙂
Line 3: I realized that by playing the “R” and the “K”, I ruled out an awful lot of possibilities for what this word could be. Not having an “O” made the choices even fewer. “Sting” seemed like it could be reasonable, and, amazingly, it was correct!
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
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Stumbling Uphill
I was recently on Instagram, and I was recommended an account of an Orthodox woman, whom I think is a priest’s wife. I clicked over to see what kind of an account it was, and about four posts back, she posted this video of Dr. Jordan Peterson answering a question about Eastern Orthodoxy:
I know that I saw this clip quite awhile back, but whether the interview it comes from predates when Peterson was gravely ill or not, I’m not sure. However, it was a message that I was needing to be reminded of.
One of the reasons that I left Protestantism is really connected to “when things go bad”. Even churches that don’t preach the Prosperity Gospel have kind of let themselves be infiltrated by the idea that if people are “good” and do things that are pleasing to God, they will be rewarded here on earth by health and wealth and peace or whatever. However, the flip side to that inherently is “if bad things happen to you, it must be because of something that you’re doing to cause it”. Certainly there are a lot of people that are responsible for their own misery, but plenty of “good” people suffer, and that is just the way of the world because of the wages of sin.
The thing about Orthodoxy, though, is that this hand-wringing about “why do bad things happen to good people?” isn’t dealt with in a way that tries to justify it. The answer is simply “Because evil exists”. If one wants to delve deeper into it, one can go into the philosophy of how tribulation is a means of purifying the soul and a means to bring us closer to God, and that is true and it is fine, but in the midst of the fire, there’s still a lot of pain, even if it is a cleansing fire.
As I often am, I’m reminded of St. Alexander of Munich, who lived a life of what we’d today describe as privilege, but was faithful until death. He didn’t die for lack of faith, but because of his faith he could boldly ready himself for the next life.
The lesson remains, as Dr. Peterson phrases it here, to pick up your cross and stumble up the hill. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world to do, but it’s the responsibility we’ve been given. So much of what we believe being Christian is stems from the idea of confessing belief in God and Jesus as Savior, and rightly so – yet there is a part of this all that dictates that if one says that they are Christian, that person has to also bear the cross given and just strive to keep going, almost like a physical aspect to what it means to be Christian. It certainly indicates that one’s Christian identity cannot simply be something of the mind, but also requires a commitment of the body as well.
Dr. Peterson has been very careful about claiming to be a Christian or not – in the years since he’s been in the spotlight, he’s certainly been undergoing a journey and struggle of faith. These sorts of things are particularly hard when large parts of one’s life become open to the public, and I don’t want to comment on that. I can’t help but see a parallel, though, between how much he’s talked about just doing things like making one’s bed and the stumbling uphill to the City of God. There have been so many days as of late that my mind wants to tell me that it’s all no use, everything is just too overwhelming, yet at the same time, there are all these tasks that need to get done, laundry, dishes, appointments, what have you where I will just try to take a deep breath, shut out the voice that says that these things are impossible, and put one foot in front of the other to pitch in my little bit against the chaos, and let God take the rest.
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Wordle #470
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Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: I’m getting feisty, and starting with “paste”. Got the “E” right off the bat, and “T” is somewhere else in the word.
Line 2: So I figured out where the “T” belongs now. Should I have stayed with my old standbys for the beginning word?
Line 3: Maybe it’s a “T”-blend, vowel, consonant, “E”? Promising…
Line 4: Of course, Murphy’s Law would have me pick the wrong blend first, but the game was wrapped up nicely with “twine”.
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
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Gratitude
A lot of stuff is happening “behind the scenes” in my life, and this may never actually be a good place to get into these stories. Nevertheless, I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed and until some of these issues are a little more settled, I don’t think that there’s much of a chance of being able to sit back and recuperate a little.
In any case, I started mowing the grass yesterday, a task that has been entirely mine pretty much all of this year. I don’t mind it per se, it gets me out and moving, but it takes awhile to do. The lot is about 1/3 of an acre, and the house sits on part of it, and there is some parts that are landscaped, but with the push mower, it usually takes me an hour to do the front and an hour to do the back.
I was about ten minutes into mowing the front when I nearly jumped out of my skin as I felt somebody place a hand on my shoulder. It was our neighbor, a man with grown kids, who has occasionally mowed our grass knowing that it’s tough with the little kids. He said to me, “Put that away, I’ll mow the grass. You’ve already got too much to do.” And with that, he was going over to get his riding mower.
I started crying. I don’t know how to express my gratitude. I worked on the patio and cleaning the garage – it was a blessing.
Once he was done with the riding mower, he came over with his push mower to get the bits and pieces that are really not capable of being mowed with the riding mower. He’s never done that before, and it just floored me. I am speechless, grateful for his kindness from the bottom of my heart.
(Seriously, the whole family is great; I’ve had the chance to get to know the daughter and son-in-law over the summer and it’s been a godsend.)
So I just wanted to make a quick post here about it, just as a reminder to give thanks in all circumstances, and that this is the type of action that binds us together as human. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Wordle #469
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Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: I’m giving “baste” another shot here, and it gives me two vowels – the “E” in the right place, and the “A” belonging somewhere else.
Line 2: Is this another “A” word? Nope. I got the “L” though, even if not in the correct place.
Line 3: “A” in the middle, and now I know the word has to start with “L”.
Line 4: Being as I couldn’t imagine another consonant following an “L” (the word isn’t “llama” after all, I figured that the second letter pretty much had to be a vowel, and probably “E”. From that point, the only thing I could think of was “leave”, and it worked! 🙂
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
Happy Gaming!
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Wordle #468
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Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: Back to “beast” and all I get for my trouble is an “S” in the incorrect spot!
Line 2: Yay! “S” and “OR”
Line 3: Of course, there are still a number of words that fit the description!
Line 4: “Scorn” – At least the “W” had already been eliminated, otherwise, with my luck, I’m sure I would have needed another line!
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
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Wordle #467
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Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: “Baste”. “A” and “S”, but neither in the correct spot.
Line 2: At least I guessed the correct positions for the “S” and the “A”!
Line 3: Add the “L” but not in the right place.
Line 4: Is “spald” a word? Wordle thinks so, but it’s not the answer!
Line 5: “Scald”. Makes much more sense than “spald”. 🙂
Forgive me for missing Wordle #465. I thought I did it & was surprised to see that my streak went down to 1 here. Sorry. Life is crazy right now!
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
Happy Gaming!
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Meaning in the Face of Nothingness
Despite being somewhat of a political junkie for most of my life, I had never heard of Giorgia Meloni before this week. Why should I? She’s an Italian politician and, sure, I can name a couple of the recent Prime Ministers of Italy, but that’s about it. Even when I lived in Europe, I never paid very especial attention to Italian politics. Following foreign politics is ridiculously difficult, because one almost has to have a good amount of cultural understanding for it, and even after living in Germany, there’s still a lot about their politics that I don’t understand. (It’s also why I am very patient with friends who aren’t American when it comes to their understanding of American politics – they are trying to understand what is going on through the prism of news reporting, and we know how clear that makes things!)
In any case, Giorgia Meloni is poised to become the first female Prime Minister of Italy. Again, this is interesting, but not something that I necessarily would have paid much attention to. However, as news of her party’s success in Italian elections has shocked many, a video of her speaking not so long ago caught my attention, and I’m going to share it here. It’s worth the two minutes and fourteen seconds:
I’m not here to delve into the politics of Meloni or her personal life or anything else. However, she’s absolutely correct when she talks about fighting against the larger zeitgeist of nothingness, the idea that humans are just cogs that are players being used to enrich the elite few. She talks about the stripping away of identity – “Italian, Christian, woman, mother” – as a way to depersonify people – “Citizen X, Gender X, Parent 1, Parent 2”.
Two of the most fundamental questions that people wrestle with are “Who am I?” and “What am I doing here?”. Some would argue that these questions are why God or religion was “invented”; others who believe in God find their identities in relationship to Him. Some people are loathe to be defined by their jobs, others can’t escape it – Queen Elizabeth II was certainly queen even in the most private moments with friends and family; it’s not like when she went back to friends and family, all of a sudden she was “Lizzy from the Block”. I kid, of course, but the much more common manifestation of this is when children are born; these little people who are born from women change their identities to mother.
Meloni is absolutely right when she talks about the erasure of identity. The transgender movement, for example, goes far beyond trying to make the world a place where “trans” people are more accepted; by blurring the lines between male and female, by encouraging “allies” to alter language to accommodate the movement, by pillorying those who do not quietly accept these things, the goal becomes that not of allowing for transgender people to have their own identity, but, ultimately, to strip the common person of this critical piece of his or her identity.
The same goes for the push to replace “mother” and “father” with the idea of parental units, “parent 1” and “parent 2”. Some of this started coming into vogue around the time that my eldest child was born. In certain situations, those terms may be fitting, I don’t know. In the vast majority, they are not. They are actually downright insulting to an awful lot of people, but , as it turns out, we see that there is more importance put on some people feeling insulted than with others.
I expect very little from politicians in general, but I wish Meloni well. At the very least, it seems like she’s got some common sense, which is saying something for a politician. It is rare to see someone like her speak to the things that are so fundamental with such passion. As a politician, she comes at them from a totally different angle, but in watching her, I am reminded of the same type of call to remember one’s meaning in life from Jordan Peterson, that we are not just merely accidents of existence, but that each one of our lives has inherent value and individual identity, even if it is quite “ordinary”. Never forget, ordinary does not mean unimportant. Each one of us will have a different story, and part of our purpose here on this earth is to take our unique talents and build what we can with that. That which comprises our identity is precious, it is worth fighting for and defending, particularly in the face of the zeitgeist of nothingness.
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Wordle #466
Never played Wordle? Check out my Wordle strategy page!
Wordle explanations are posted a day late to ensure that no one accidentally sees the solution before playing.
Line 1: “Baste”. Only an “S”, and in the wrong place
Line 2: Used the alternate for “fling”, but same result as line #1
Line 3: At least I got another letter – the “R” – but the “S” still isn’t in the right place (and neither is the “R”)
Line 4: So now we’ve established that there’s a “U” in the word, and that “S” has been particularly slippery to place.
Line 5: Now that we know that the “S” has to be in the second position, it goes on to follow that there isn’t a consonant before it – there are only a couple of words like “psalm” and it’s obvious that this word is not one of those. So… if we guess that the first letter is a vowel, it has to be “U”. It also stands to reason that there’s a second vowel, which would probably also have to be “U”. This means the word is “usury”, right?
Line 6: Nope. Of course not. “Usurp!”
Forgive me for missing Wordle #465. I thought I did it & was surprised to see that my streak went down to 1 here. Sorry. Life is crazy right now!
Did you get this Wordle? Tell me about it in the comments!
Happy Gaming!
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Breath of Hallelujah 