Tuesday, October 30, 2012

meanwhile...

here in Michigan
 
 
Sandy's winds reach
50mph...

 
stuff is thrown
around...
 
school delays...

 
repairs that cannot
be delayed...

 
sleet...

 
loose branches are blown
from trees.
 
All is well.
 
Prayers
for my friends
to the east.
 
We will weather the
storm
together.
 
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

apartment life...

 
can be a drag.
 
Especially when you can
remember your younger days at the
big house
where you were able to run
and roam and play the role of
big dog
on the block.
 
 
Sure the close neighbors
down the hall
loved seeing you when
you took the elevator and
wagged your tale
for them
alone
;)

 
But you're a dog
and dogs love
being dogs

 
with yards to run free in...
new smells to explore...
dirt to play in!

 
Then reality hits.
 
This new place has its perks
but...
there are attentions to share
and...
when you have this wee little problem
that is a wee bit embarrassing
to discuss
well...
 

 
they confine you...
bummer.
 
Poor pitiful Dog...
you haven't learned the art
of weeing
outdoors...
wee will work on that
and turn that frown
upside down.
 
Oh, by the way...
her name is Dog...
that's pronounced
Dee-Oh-Gee...
and you'll be seeing a lot of her.
 
Before I say good day...
look what I did...

 
I gave my arbor an arbor.
 
Thanks, Mom
for letting me (and boys)
pull some grapevine from your yard.
 
xo

Sunday, October 28, 2012

today i will...

 
find the time
 


 
to enjoy the
simple pleasures
of life.
 
a good book...
a song (or more) of praise...
a warm cup of
vegan
love...
mmm...
 
what's your pleasure?
 
 
 
 

Friday, October 26, 2012

 
~this moment~
 

~late october orchard~

happy weekending!



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

listening


to really hear
on a deeper level
 
requires quiet reflection
 
a conversation
by its very nature involves one
who is speaking and one
who is listening
 
if you will recall
way back in January I pondered the
idea of a word for the year
and chose
listen
 
for some reason it was pulling at
my heart and begging
to get noticed
maybe because I was also aware that
I am easily
distracted
 
during tv time the family will ask
about a commercial
that just ran and I will
admit that my brain went on
a joy ride and I heard none of it
 
not a big deal
until my escapades began
taking me away during
conversations with
my boys...husband...sisters.
not much fun when you get busted
and have to confess...
i wasn't REALLY listening.
oops.
 
if you don't take the time to
really listen
you run the risk of
not hearing.
 
huh?
 
which brings me to another
conversation
that if you don't stop to listen
you run the risk of
not hearing.
 
prayer.
it has been on my mind for many reasons
there are certain Bible verses that
make me wonder if we
get it.
my conversations with God
are awesome
(yeah...I'm over 20 and using that word...
forgive me here)
seriously,
each word perfectly describes
my emotion...my concern...
my joy.
now put me in the position to
pray with a group and...
well..
it's like I actually told my pastor
one time...
Sorry, Pastor...but I've got nothing.
(no, I am not kidding)
it was as if my mind was unable to
string words together.
I am physically unable to
pray to my God alone and
disregard others around me...
which leaves me wondering...
in those situations...
 for whom my prayers are really intended.
alone...gold.
group...rust.
I can rest in the verse from Matthew
for now...
"But whenever you pray, go
into your room and shut the door
and pray to your Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you."
I say for now...
because this is an area of weakness
and ignorance.
an area that requires work.
to read...to learn.
to speak...and to listen.
 
many keep a prayer journal
to not only reflect on the past
but to see how God works in their lives.
it serves as a visual
that God hears...answers...
listens.
during the summer I was asked to
help in different arenas
at church...
one was with the senior youth...
i had the desire...
i have boys who are that
age and i knew it would be a good
fit
but something kept feeling off
i couldn't figure it out
it just didn't feel right...
 
maybe God had other plans for me.
 
it didn't take a journal for me to find
the answer
summer closed and fall began
and family life
required my full attention
my aging and ailing father-in-law and his only son
who had himself developed
serious health issues...
under went surgeries...
 
life was coming at me hard and I found
myself giving thanks
 
thank you Lord for giving
me ears to hear.
 
thank you for loving me in all
my glorious imperfection.

for knowing me better
than i know
myself.
 
above all...
keep speaking to me.

amen.
 
 
 


Monday, October 22, 2012

whatcha doin

 
dancing in the round
for the very
first time
 
 
raking
clearing
pruning

 
burning
(sorry asthma sufferers)

 
putting
a garden to
rest

 
observing...
 
what a difference
a week makes...
 
heck a day!

 
enjoying the textures
of autumn.
 
happy monday.
:)

Friday, October 19, 2012

 
 
~this moment~
 
 
~a tante mimi accomplishment~
 
joining soulemama
and friends...
 
happy weekending!
 
 


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

tuesday's loves

 
~in retrospect~
 






 
ahhh...
what a day!
 
 

Monday, October 15, 2012

~through the looking glass~
 



 
 


Sunday, October 14, 2012


~on this day~
 
the camera speaks.



Saturday, October 13, 2012

this weekend

 
This October weekend
I shall embrace my
inner witch...
 
 
and be a little...

 
;)

Friday, October 12, 2012

~this moment~
 
 
~a study in waiting~
 
 

Monday, October 8, 2012

home school deliveries

 
 
the brown box of
home school choices arrived
last week...
 
(a little later than past years)
 
new material combined
with the old
 
keeping expectations in check
now knowing
with years under my belt
that real life always
trumps
curriculum learning
 
 
we've used apologia sciences
in the past...
but decided to take a less structured
approach to biology
this time around
 
biology 101:
biology according to the days of
creation
with segments for viewing
and a printable
guidebook to complete
the year-long study

 
uncle eric
(richard maybury)
will
walk us through government
and economics in a conversational
and more importantly
understandable way

 
 answering
tough questions
posed by his neice and nephew

 
rounding off the economics course with
a mathematical approach
 
life of fred
 
i decided to part with saxon this year
the love/hate relationship
had my guys asking
"how will i ever use this stuff?"
 
stanley f. schmidt
creator of the series and Ph.D.
answers that question
with
life of fred
 
 
a funny name for an unconventional
and refreshing
approach to math
 
thank you, stanley!
 
you have to love a man who
wants to foster a love of
math while teaching
challenging concepts
 
plus...
he answered my e-mail
questions and concerns
that very same day
with a thoughtful response
 
plus...
he has made the program
affordable for
home schoolers on a budget
 
did I already say thank-you?
thank you.
 

 
finishing a series that was
started last year...
 
incorporating

 
additional materials
borrowed from
our sara's
college curriculum
 
gotta love the lending libraries

 
keeping time open to play
and explore
personal interests
 
after all
that is how we humans
learn best
isn't it?
 
when we delve into that which interests us
and not that which is
forced upon us
 
guiding
mentoring
encouraging
 
laying the foundation
for a life-long love of
learning
 
what arrived in your box today?
 
 

Friday, October 5, 2012

 
~this moment~
 
 
Once again
playing along with
soulemama and friends.
:)
 


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

six degrees

 
I'm sure you've heard of it...The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. A parlor game based on the concept that any two people on Earth are about six acquaintance links apart (small world phenomena). The Kevin Bacon version has friends (usually with Bud in hand) challenging each other to find the shortest path between any random actor and K.B. A movie trivia buffs stomping ground.
 
I have an updated version. More of a litmus test than a parlor game. Maybe you've heard of it...or possibly played this twist from the original. No matter what conversation is taking place around me...it always...somehow comes back to what is truly on my mind.
 
Today's worry.
 
You know you're playing when the eyes of those around you glaze over a bit and they tell you without words (way too kind for that) here we go again.
 
Ever seen that look?
 
Unfortunately, it doesn't slow me down. I stay the course and steer the conversation in my new/old direction.
 
Yeah...I'm not getting invited to too many parties these days.


I've mastered this game of mine...six steps is child's play! I can get there in one little baby step. My mind is consumed after all.

I could give myself a pass here and say it is where my mind should be. It is a new worry and therefore is deserving of my every waking moment.

Let's see what Luke has to say about that.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse or barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?"

Hmmm...

One last thought on the subject. "Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."



Has your heart, like mine, ever gone astray? Have you found that every conversation is but a few steps from your own worry...concern...glory? From worry to glory...now there's a short path!

This simple litmus test/ parlor game can help you identify your...treasure.

It is at that moment of revelation that one can re-adjust...re-focus...re-calibrate the compass...directing it to True North.

Anxiety is not only a pain which we must ask God to assuage but also a weakness we must ask Him to pardon--for He's told us to take no care for the morrow. --C. S. Lewis

As always...I find my answers in The Book. The Owner's Manual For Life. The Word from Luke can seem condemning...accusatory...cautionary...at first glance. In fact, I have heard sermons that have taken that bend.

To me...those Words are Love.
Freeing me.
Releasing me from this self-made prison.
Knowing God will take care of it and I can leave Him to the work...while I get on with mine.

What are you six degrees from? Let's talk. I will listen. We can pray together and move forward with renewed spirit.

(This is a thank-you and an apology to all those who have endured my game...Six Degrees To Rudy...you know who you are ;)

xo


Monday, October 1, 2012

good starts

 
saying hello to the day...
just as the sun peeks over the horizon...
waiting for it...
waiting for
it...
 
 
breaking the fast
with the nourishing warmth of
steel-cut oats, walnuts, dates...
a drizzling of
 maple syrup
mmm...

 
entering the woods
~most preferably hand-in-hand~
for our first
worship walk

 
making the day
a living
 prayer
of
simple
gratitude

 
beginning with the basics...
onions, carrots, garlic, celery
to create a
 whatever-you-have-on-hand
soup
goodness

 
reading a classic horror story
in honor of these
shortening days...
lengthening nights
 
closing your eyes
as you rest your head on the pillow...
snuggling close for
extra warmth...
greeting the night 
 with a thankful
heart
and a sigh of
 
amen.
 
 
Welcome October.