Elements

Earth
I bade farewell to East Texas today. During all those years living in Bryan and South Bryan, Highway 21 became one of my favorite roads, traveling to and from the hill country one way, and my grandmother's house the other way. One reason for this is the dance between earth and sky that I've seen so many times. This morning, while dark clouds menaced above, the fields shone, golden or fresh green, as if emanating their own light, generating their own warmth. Another reason is cows - lots of baby cows this morning! I decided today that I will no longer be eating them, or their milk. Prime rib was my favorite dish from the time I was five years old, and I sure do love me some cheese enchiladas, but I think there is a more authentic self for me to grow into. For one thing, ruminating animals produce 50% more greenhouse gasses than all of our transportation combined. Also, if I can't look into the eyes of a minnow, how can I munch into a cow, or a chicken or lamb? Lenten fasts have shown me that I am clearer, and more prayerful, when I abstain from animals and their products. Starting right after I finish the meat and eggs in my cooler, I will eat vegan for all but one meal a week, plus holidays and my friends' yard eggs, because those seem like happy chickens. Oh, and, according to waterfootprint.org, it takes 1,000 liters of water to yield one liter of milk, and an unbelievable 16,000 liters of water to produce one kg of beef, which leads me to my next element.

Water
When I was in the desert, there were ubiquitous signs warning visitors to not use too much water. Before I left Tyler, my grandmother, who will henceforth be referred to as Mamaw, mentioned that there were no dishes at her house. I assured her that I had everything I needed with me, except for water. At the house where I stayed this past week, Mamaw has her own well, with enough water for a town. I was the only one using it. After only a week in the desert, this made me feel rich, and led me to think all the more about abundance. How do I move closer to living out a life of abundance? Partially, as discussed in this blog, it is entering into more freedom by abstaining from things that dull me out, such as meat and cheese and alcohol. Abundance is lived through giving. Jesus talked about how you are blessed if you lend without expecting anything in return. It is indeed a blessing to carry your posessions so lightly. This is no "prosperity gospel," for I have seen both rich and poor be able to pull this off. It is a blessing to get to use any of our gifts--our time, money, intellect, talents, experience, heart--in service of others. I have been able to give to those very close to me and to those very far, and I experience abundance through that. I am excited that I will have more time and opportunity soon to become more involved in serving through church ministry. Also, gratitude is key to living out abundance. We could have everything in the world, but totally miss it, if we do not live in a spirit and discipline of gratitude. Finally, I think abundance is asking for what you need in prayer - not binding the Giver of Life to the letter of the request, but living with an openness to what comes. It is trusting that our divine Mother/Father is loving and is good, even if what you get does not seem good, or if it feels that all those petitions are just bouncing off the ceiling.

Beer
If you are thinking, "Beer isn't an element!" then you are obviously not Homer Simpson. I've been giving my drinking habits a lot of thought lately. They need to change. Last week I had to hide from the Terlingua sherriff after outdrinking all the locals who consider themselves "professional drinkers." This week, less amusingly, I lost a dear friend. I said in my last blog that I would rather be broken than break. I was the breaker. Both incidents were directly related to my binge drinking. No more. I'm done. My newly established limit is one drink per four hours. If I can't stick to that, then I will forgo all alcoholic drinks forever, so back me up on this one, friends.

Wind
There's lots of it out here. West of Abilene, they don't even bother putting the windmills up on the mountains. What's going to stop the wind? The wind farms are magnificent, for miles and miles, right along the highway. They looked very dramatic set against the dark clouds today. At one point, there was an oil refinery to my right, and windmills to my left - so much energy. Maybe I'll have more energy myself tomorrow. I stopped in Odessa for the night. It looks like Abilene, and is about the same size (around 100,000 folks). I lived in Abilene for a while. Driving through, I had to wonder why, especially since there was not one place where I wanted to stop and eat. It was cold, wet, and windy so Syd and I just kept cruising without a second glance, not even for ol' Hardin-Simmons U. If there is one word to describe the weather so far on this trip, I would say WINDY.

My forecast for tomorrow is bread and wine, followed by really big rocks. Peace, friends.

Whether it’s the sin of racism, greed, pride, or indifference, doing what comes naturally is what always gets us in trouble. Better to channel our thoughts, actions, and desires through the purifying filter of God’s Spirit and Word. ~Edward Gilbreath