"Sleeping Dogs" by Linda Chontos

Sleeping Dogs by Linda Chontos is three stories for the price of one.

The first in the “Chronicles of Miller’s Crossing,” Sleeping Dogs tells the story of a woman recovering from the unexpected death of her husband; a 36-year-old murder that may have resulted in the wrong person going to prison; and a church that is on the verge of tearing itself up over worship styles.

Chontos makes the three stories fit more than comfortably together.

Matty Amoruso has just returned to her home in Miller’s Crossing after three weeks with her daughter and son-in-law. She’s still reeling with the unexpected loss of her husband, retired pastor Joe. Small actions and small memories will trigger grief, and she’s struggling to keep one foot in front of another.

Sorting through Joe’s papers, she finds a red notebook, and some notes about a 36-year-old murder of a teenager. Joe had been meeting with the man convicted and imprisoned for the crime, and the notes suggest Joe believed the man to be innocent. Slowly, and over an extended period of time, Matty begins to look into what Joe may have found.

Linda Chontos

And Matty’s close neighbor and all-around busybody Willa Mae is not only forcing her way into Matty’s day-to-day life; Will Mae is also leading the charge against Joe’s successor at church, who has changed traditional worship to a more contemporary style. (And if you think that isn’t enough to murder someone all on its own, then you haven’t been to church in the last 20 years.)

Chontos is a writer and a frequent contributor to the devotional web site Laced with Grace.

Sleeping Dogs falls into the cozy mystery category – you won’t find violence, blood and gore, and general mayhem. But you will find a delightful story (actually, three delightful intertwined stories), one that is both warmhearted and moving.

Photograph by Paul Brennan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Life sometimes doesn’t turn out as planned. Sometimes?

I officially retired, at least from my day job, about 18 months ago. We had been planning for it for some time; I had given my notice of intent to retire almost a year before the official date.

The planning had been extensive, involving a financial advisor, an attorney, an accountant, a few other specialists (Do we need long-term care insurance? How do we start planning for medical insurance?). It was complicated, but we worked through it, with the help of a lot of good people.

Then, last December, Congress made a change in Social Security, and it was done on the quiet. The change didn’t disrupt the present, but it surely disrupted the near future. Everyone scrambled, and finally figured out the impact, recalibrated, and planned a way forward.

Now, with a new election and a new Congress (and President), we’re already hearing about plans to make changes in Social Security and Medicare. On the one hand we have government programs that aren’t sustainable, and with 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring every day, will become more unsustainable. On the other hand, you have a lot of elderly (and soon-to-be-elderly) people who have tried to plan their retirement based on the system they know and have paid into their entire working lives.

It’s unnerving. You think you know what to expect and then everything changes. One thing is certain: the new Congress will not be able to slip major changes in Social Security, Medicare, and Obamacare on the sly like they did the last time. (And let’s be clear – the change last December was done by a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Democratic president.)

So we have to keep a careful watch on what Congress will be up to. It may make good and needed changes, but we all still have to keep a careful watch.

What’s different for people like me and my wife is that we have a sturdy rudder to keep us on track when things get difficult. My first 18 months of retirement have been anything but calm. Financial changes. A client who didn’t want to pay for work. Family issues. Health issues. It’s been one surprise after another.

Yes, we can get tense. Yes, we can get angry. But we both know we will be okay.

What we have is called faith in God, and while that faith has sometimes sagged and stretched taut, that God has not. It’s like a whisper in our ears: “Steady as she goes. I’m here. I’m still teaching you things because you can teach experienced dogs new tricks. Be calm and know who I am.”

In Heart Made Whole: Turning Your Unhealed Pain into Your Greatest Strength, Christa Black Gifford says this: “Because of salvation, you will never again face a problem alone. The almighty God, the solution for everything, has unpacked His bags and made His Permanent home inside, giving you endless access to His perspective, wisdom, counsel, comfort, power, and grace.

And that, my friends, I can say from personal experience is the truth.

Led by Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter, we’re reading Heart Made Whole. Consider reading along and join in the discussion. To see what others are saying about this chapter, “The Naked Heart,” please visit Sarah at Living Between the Lines.

Photograph by Flash Alexander via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

Poetic Asides: Norman Nicholson and Frank Stanford

One of the things I’ve learned from writing here at Tweetspeak Poetry is that, when it comes to poetry, the articles you write have a way of continuing to live. They may be reposted or republished on other sites, and they can lead you to continue reading more work by the poets you write about. Consider the poets Norman Nicholson and Frank Stanford.

I was reading A Poet’s Guide to Britain by Owen Sheers, which I wrote about in July. It was there I discovered (1914-1987) and his beautiful poem “Scafell Pike.” I did some digging and was able to find several of his poetry collections through used book dealers (mostly in the UK). And then I wrote in August about how he wrote about the landscape and environment of northern England, the Lake country, and the northwest English coast.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Photograph: Norman Nicholson.