Just like starting over....

With temperatures in the single digits and soon to plummet to the below zero mark, I have been letting my mind wander to thoughts of Spring Training and that leads to the Pirates which leads to their manager Clint Hurdle. Throughout last season's wonders one of my favorite things was "Hurdles Hygiene Tips." After every game and notably after every loss Coach Hurdle would say, "We're going to shower well and wash this one off and get ready for tomorrow."

Obviously, after playing nine innings it's a good thing to shower and wash off the stink. Metaphorically, it's a good thing to wash the game away ---- like washing that man right outta my hair....a shout out to Broadway musical fans.... to forget about it and move on.

So, showered and shampooed, I begin the blog yet again.

I'm a big fan of the clean slate, the first of the month, the empty page, the break of dawn.

In the many times I've started over, I've learned be prepared. When I cook (should I pause for you to catch your breath, suppress your laughter or pick your fainted self off the floor?) I have learned before cracking a single egg or turning on the oven to be sure to line-up all the ingredients, the needed utensils, the bowls and the pans.

When one starts something and one commits to it --- just keep going. Like stealing a base, once you take the huge lead off the base and break for second just keep chugging even if the pitcher throws to the first baseman and gets you in a run-down just keep running.

For everyone who has ever been granted a new beginning, a don't worry about it and a it's a new day affirmation, I thank you for continuing to follow the blog. Whenever there is a lot of starts and stops and starts again it is frustrating for everyone involved. Yet, my hope is to have gained some discipline; to have adjusted priorities, to have matured and to share a blog that speaks of the daily moment filled with lessons that deepen wisdom and WOW's that spark one's spirit. I hope to share with you observations, truths made so through experience, words that bring a nod of recognition and photos that cause you to reflect and take a second look.

The Ministry on the Margins blog is exactly that, tales and triumphs, stories and struggles from answering my call while with folks who live on the margins of things.

I invite you to join me....it's good to be back....

sj;