Law and Disorder

I recently read a book titled Law and Disorder by John Douglas.  Very interesting book, especially the early chapters and his comparison with the Salem Witch trials.  He has a thoughtful, mature approach to striving for justice in an imperfect world and also honors victims in a way that moved me.

Thoughtful, mature, definitely worth a look.

Tara and Angie- Doing good to their enemy

Yesterday at Together with Friends Day Camp in Taylors Falls, I was the Bible lesson teacher.  Our story was about a Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his slave (Matthew 8 and Luke 7).  This centurion was an enemy, part of the system which enslaved the Jews and yet the he was also respectful and kind.  Jesus healed his servant and praised his faith. 

I tell you who hear me:
Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
           Jesus, Luke 6:27-28

I began my story this way: 
"I wish I could say that I was the hero of this story but I can't.  I was the enemy...."

I went on to tell how I had been sick and uncoordinated and no one knew why or how to help me.  How I'd become jealous of athletic people, especially pretty, thin, athletic girls. 
So hurt and so jealous that I came to hate them.  I never said, "I'm your enemy."  But I was.
Enter the hero- Tara- a pretty, athletic lady who helped me come all the way back for myself.
And after she left, God sent Angie, my physical therapist who is helping me release my old pain and coordinate all my parts.  Of course, she's a beautiful, athletic dancer.

God never sends me the ugly old healers.
Nope.
God always sends the pretty, athletic ones for me.
Because as much as my legs and back need help,
my heart needs to heal, too.

The goodness of my enemies has changed my life and my heart, I said.

"Let's give a round of applause to Tara and Angie- the pretty, athletic girls!"
And we all clapped while I cheered.

Rise

Get quote from a Will Dailey song:

Just like when you were fallen down
I will be there when you rise


This is my prayer for myself today that I will live to see my days renewed, will be able to release my fallen down state, and be truly present for my rise.

Choosing presence in happiness is a discipline just as surely as choosing presence in suffering is.

Safe People

My new counselor, Karen, recommended a book by Cloud and Townsend, Safe People.  I've spent the last 6 weeks reading and digesting it.

A couple great quotes to share:

...[W]e can't let go of anyone until we can feel what is called ambivalence- good and bad feelings- toward them.  That's what letting go and forgiveness are all about.  (Chapter 8)

We are limited to giving what we have received, and no more.  Remember the widow's mite.  There will be needs you can't meet in your safe people, and places they need to go spiritually where you haven't yet set foot.  God has someone else ready to help them. (Chapter 12)


I have also been pondering how both of these quotes apply to my relationship with myself.  I just feel both good and bad feelings toward myself and I am foolish to ask people to give me what they haven't received.

Very good book.

John Adams

Just finished an HBO mini series, John Adams.  Excellent movie.  A love story.  A political drama.  A story of enduring friendship and personal growth.

My quote of the day is this, excerpted from a letter to John Adams on the death of his wife.

My dear friend,
Tried myself in the school of human affliction, I know well and feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suffering and have yet to endure.  These same trials have taught me that for ills so immeasurable, time and silence are the only medicines.  It is of some comfort to us both that the term is not very distant at which we are to deposit our sorrows and suffering bodies, and to ascend to an ecstatic meeting with the friends we have loved and lost and whom we shall still love and never lose again.
God support you under your heavy affliction.
Your friend,
Thomas Jefferson

This quote impresses me even more because now I know a little of their friendship, their political rivalry, and their personal journeys to these words. 

I was inspired by how these men continued to grow and mature throughout their lives.  I hope I can learn the things most difficult to me as John Adams learned simple pleasures and forgiveness in his 70's and 80's.

Good reads

I've got two books to recommend:  Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine, PhD and The Art and Science of Resilience: Surviving Survival by Laurence Gonzales. 

I've only read the first few chapters of Waking the Tiger and it's due back at the library.  I'll recheck it out.  It has, from what I've seen so far, some activities for physically releasing traumatic experiences.  Haven't tried many but I intend to circle back and try.

Surviving Survival is one of those books I've been talking about with everyone the last couple weeks.  Great case studies and even better neuroscience plus practical suggestions without candy coating.  Very well done.

Quote I want to remember from Surviving is:
As my father used to say of certain aircraft that had been distressed by long overuse, the brain is a collection of spare parts flying in close formation.

Farm update

Hello, neighbors!

Amy from 27900 Quarry, here, with a farm update.

We've begun to get livestock- chickens, guineas, ducks, and today are adding a livestock guardian dog.  Her name is Pax (packs) and she is an 8 month old livestock guardian dog from Grantsburg, WI.  She has grown up with sheep, goats, cows, and chickens and will begin her work at our place later today.  She's large and white and is descended from generations of flock guardians called the Maremma in Italy, the Tatra in Poland, and the Ranch Mastiff in Spain where shepherds move flocks of tens of thousands seasonally up and down mountain slopes.  Despite weighing 50+ pounds, she will still be considered a puppy for several months and as such will have a lot to learn.  All of these breeds have been selected not for appearance but for their devotion to their flocks and their people.  Their most special gentleness is reserved for children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people.  They are not aggressive nor prone to bite and will go to great lengths to scare off threats rather than fight. 

Which leads us to this email to all of you, our immediate neighbors.  We, in consultation with the shepherd who raised her, will be working consistently with Pax over the next several months until she can do her job well- stay home and guard the livestock.  We will work with her to establish the boundaries of her territory and plan to keep her on our property unless we specifically hear from you that you'd like her to visit yours.  Conversely, we ask that you and your families do continue to visit us.  Pax will learn that you are all friends and are welcome anytime and she will be especially pleased to see children.  Unfortunately, large dogs which she might perceive as a threat will be the one exception to our hospitality.  So, please leave any dogs more than 15 pounds at home.  We are in the process of clearly defining our property line, most often with pink plastic ribbons so that we keep her on our land.  If you have any boundary questions, please let us know and we'll get that clarified right away; we'd like to start her off right.  We hope to have a lot of wrinkles worked out within a month and we're hoping for a reliable guardian by late fall.  However, Pax comes with a money-back guarantee so if she's not a good fit, we'll take her back.

If you have any problems or concerns at all about Pax, Zed the tuxedo cat, the poultry, or any of the other changes around here, please let us know right away.  We are so grateful to live in such a great neighborhood.  You were here before we got here, making this such a great place to live, and we want to make sure to the best of our abilities that our farm goals and changes don't negatively impact on all of you and your quality of life.  We want to keep this neighborhood happy and strong. 

Our guineas and muscovy ducks have taken a particular shine to the Spohns' and Jewsons' properties along the water.  And Tim and the kids have been running through your yards shoo-ing them home.  If you'd prefer the poultry didn't visit, please let us know and we'll do our best to keep them away.  On the other hand, if you'd like them to eat your ticks and mosquitoes as they walk through, they'll happily oblige.

As you have been the first to be impacted by the guinea noise and livestock visitors, you will also be first for eggs, ducklings, and chicks.  We're hoping for baby Muscovies this spring, baby guineas this summer, and eggs for eating within a couple months. 

Please do let us know about small problems so they don't cause big problems.   

Pax's name is Latin for 'peace' and that's what we're hoping to grow on our farm- peace. 

Look for an invitation to come and meet Pax and the poultry gang as soon as Pax is settled in.

Blessings,
Amy, Tim, Anjali, and Mark Reisdorf
27900 Quarry Rd
612-825-2761

Chipper Shredder Party

You are invited to a

Chipper/Shredder Party at the Reisdorf's

Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

We're renting the Big Mother Chipper and hope to transform the monstrous piles of branches and sticks cluttering up the orchard into beautiful mulch in a single day.

One person will feed the chipper and the rest of us will be hauling branches to the machine or tending kids and prepping food.

Bring ear protection and work gloves.  We'll have extras if you don't have them.

It's Lyme disease tick season so wear tall socks you can tuck your pants into. 

Terrain's rugged and muddy plus the weather's expected to be cold and wet so dress accordingly.

On the sunny side, Gramma Marty will be running the chuck wagon so expect great eats!  Special diets, let us know and we'll gladly accommodate.

Bad weather and good food- definitely a Minnesota party. :)

So, come join us for a day of power machinery, friendship, and food as the branches meet their Mulcher.

When You Are Old

When you are old and gray and full of sleep

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true;

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

William Butler Keats

Quoted in Sex and the Soul of a Woman

Kay and the good

Tomorrow is my last visit to a dear woman, Kay Allen, my EMDR counselor of several years.  I'm not feeling particularly eloquent but I am feeling particularly grateful.  She's quite a person and has blessed me regularly through tumultuous times.  She helped me connect with a new EMDR counselor closer to home with her blessing.
Beautiful and very good.