jamie's wanderings

 You see, this is the horrible thing with evil. It isn't all evil, it's what Jesus called, wolves in sheeps clothing. Wolves are animals, about the same size as sheep. Dressed up in fluffy wool, from a distance, they may look passive, fluffy and cuddly, but really they are vicious violent predators that eat meat and not grass. They are not to be messed with. The current events around the world. The sanctioned kidnappings and deportations. The forced labor and slavery. The bombings and political manipulations, and the list goes on and on and on. We wake up every morning wondering, what next?  The last couple of weeks, the calculated starvation of an entire nation of 2 million people has overwhelmed me. There have been moments where I have lost my own appetite. I heard that at one moment a kilo of flour was being sold for 85 dollars, and I barely pay 85 cents for my own kilo. As I knead my dough for pizza or hamburger buns, I have cried over this. And this week, my TikTok feed i...

 This Monday, my grandfather, Eddie Bayuszik would have turned 100 years old. Just 29 years ago, before his 71st birthday, he had a massive heartattack while taking a deposition at the courthouse he still freelanced for, and died. I wasn't yet 19 years old, our birthdays are seperated by just 10 days, and I'm the oldest of the grandkids. We were devasted as he was a, as my Spanish friends say, personaje, or a character. I won't talk about everything here, but he was a WW2 Navy vet that had impeccable handwriting and became a court reporter or stenographer.  He was tall, loud, funny, adored chocolate and tomatoes even though he was allergic later in life. He laughed hard, played hard, had a brilliant mind and memory and was the first real feminist to send all 5 of his daughters to college and wave his big red hankerchief when they walked down the graduation aisle. I know I owe my brains to him (and of course my mother!) my ability to talk to to anyone from anywhere at anytim...

      When I was a child, I was told the stories of my grandparents conversion to Protestantism from Catholicism. They later told me how the Catholic church had been dead, with no life, and no hope. Seventy Five years later, the world has changed, and many things for the worse, and others for the better. Since 2013 I have followed and read Pope Francis's thoughts and words as well as even more, his actions to show the world that there is another way. His massive empahsis on mercy and compassion, caring for the least of these in Jesus' name impacted me greatly. Partially, this all touched me more, as in a moment of walking through what my own faith means and what it means to daily practice it, has been in complete upheaval. Those in my past that I thought believed, I have seen through their lives and actions that power was more important that service. That control meant more than compassion and mercy. And that the Gospel to them was correct theology believed, held and prea...

 Last night, we sat at our table and had food, wine and a long talk with an old friend. He's one of the few that have stayed with us for the last 15 years or so. Partly because Granada is such a transitory town, we have had so many come and go, but some still live here and have come and gone as well We laughed, cried, told stories, got all shocked, and sat together late into the night. At one point my friend says, can I have a glass and water, and as they drank, they said, OMGosh why is this so good? I, for my kidney, double filter my water, and it does make it taste good, but I'm so used to it, I had forgotten. As I sipped again, I thought, wow, it is good. And I remember the old words that Jesus stood and said about being the bread of life and the water that makes us never thirst again. Last week I went to a local wine festival, and sat with another old friend and drank and laughed and cried together. For the last taste of wine, we went to one of the stands, and after having ...

 At 1pm this past Monday, after showing a lovely countryside home and property, I popped into the local Lidl to buy one of their cold protein coffees. It was almost lunchtime but I still had at least 35 minutes home in the car. A man waved at me and said Nop, no power. We are trying to get generators up and running but not yet. I stepped outside puzzled. My phone buzzed, Sofi, anxious that there was no power in her flat, thought her bill was unpaid. Michelle buzzed me too, asking if our power was out. The panic started to rise. I called Andrew, once, twice, three times straight to voicemail. I sent messages to Sofi to see if she could talk to him. He did eventually send me messages as I hurried to my car, started it and sped off back home. While listening to my car radio, I realized that this, was not just Granada province, but all of Spain. My mind went where everyones did at one point during the day, was this an attack? Cyber? Nuclear? And later, Andrew mumbled at one point about...

This blog has woven past experiences with current ones of my life here in Spain. However, today's reflection is more of what is going on right now, right here, and how in the midst of it, I am looking to make sense of it with the lens of the Ancient Prayer, The Lord's Prayer. Many of you who read this have confessed to me that you do not believe as I do, and that's ok, but I find the need to express these thoughts below and I invite you to reflect on them with me.  One of the most powerful pieces of Scripture for me is when Jesus responds to the question how do we pray? The ancient words go something like this Our Father, who lives in heaven, holy is your name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us our daily bread. Help us to forgive others as you have forgiven us. Don't let us fall into temptation,  but! Deliver us from Evil. For yours is the kingdom, all the power, and all the glory are yours. Amen Praise, petition for...