Lented Day of Reflection--FINALLY HERE! :)

One of my assignments this 3rd year at the Spiritual Direction Institute is to facilitate a day of prayer, so I asked the Women's Club at St. Michael's if I could do a day of prayer for them. They graciously accepted my offer and let me go to do it however I liked. I was given a lot of freedom, which always opens the way for the Spirit to move and bless.One of the hit prayer projects was to pray with play. The ladies had so much fun collaging their prayer. Even the one's who didn't think they are creative came up with wonderful insights and art work.
And there was a lot of laughter! That's the best part about playing your prayers--the joy thing is wonderful! I've asked a friend of mine to send me photos of the ladies walking the labyrinth. It was just a wonderful day--more than I could ever ask for, but that's just the way God seems to do things: superabundantly more than you can ever ask, hope or dream!

Getting Ready...

Tomorrow's a big day for me. I'm facilitating a Lenten Day of Reflection for 50 women at my church. It's been a big project, but I have had a big lot of fun preparing for it. I truly believe Jesus when he said, "My burden is easy and my yoke is light." This has been a lot of work and has used a lot of energy, but there's been incredible joy and just downright fun planning it, and today we set up the two rooms we will be using. Our theme is "Pray All Ways"--in an attempt to understand what Jesus may have meant when he told us to "Pray always." We will be using several different methods of prayer--the first will be to pray with nature. So, there is a table full of beautiful nature pictures and fun stuff like acorns, pine cones, sweet gum balls, and all kinds of beautiful fall leaves.
The we'll see how playing can be praying. This is our craft-y table. The ladies will make a collage, perhaps a collage mandala, or prayer circle. I did one of those last year, and used it to set my life intensions. Later I got it matted and framed it, and it hangs in my studio at home to reminde me of my purpose and what I want my life to be. I hope these ladies enjoy their prayer collage as much as I have.
One of the big ways we will pray tomorrow is with our feet. I love the labyrinth. It's taught me so much about life and my own soul journey, so I wanted to share the labyrinth with friends at my church.

Pray for us tomorrow if you will, that Love will shine on us, that grace will abound, and that Creative Energy will flow like a river!

Mother's HOME!

My mother's been visiting my brother and his wife in East Texas, and I've been mighty lonely, but SHE'S BACK! She went with me to Houston today to pick up a labyrinth for our church's day of prayer on Wednesday. We celebrated her return with lunch and one of our favorite spots! I missed her so much--she's my runnin' buddy! :)

Sunday, February 25, 2007, A Trip to the Movies

I've discovered I like taking my grandkids to the movies, so we do it a couple of times a year. Ok, so not very often, but that makes it special. From left to right: Emmanuel, Isaac, Eddie and David. Back row next to Grandma is Ellen--my gosh, look at that! She's as tall as I am! Good Lord, when did that happen????

We went to see Bridge to Teribethia, a very good movie, but no one warned me that it was so sad! I cried. So did the grandkids...movies with grandkids are supposed to make us laugh. Darn! I guess we'll have to try again! Courtney and friend Christin went too. We had a good time. Next time, kids, we'll try to find one that makes us laugh! :)

Saturday, February 24, 2007 Happy Birthday Emmanuel!

You've met him before! This is Emmanuel, and he turns 8 Monday--and tonight was party time! See his shirt??? The kid's decided he's had enough of Texas, and he's opted for Canada! This was a Canada night all around! :)
Friend Shannon made a special cake that was decorated like a Canadian flag with "happy birthday" in French (don't remember what it said). Unique! These Garmon's are always full of surprises! :)

Everything was red and white and the Canadian flag everywhere--including this BIG one he got from Mom and Dad. Wonder if they'll fly in in their yard?

Christin prepares to serve cake and ice cream, while brother, Isaac, peeps over a friend's sholder at the camera. Nice smile, huh. All my grandkids get their looks from their Grandmother, you know! :)

Uncle Mike and Aunt Laura visit with old friends Joe and Lella--it looks like presents may be getting opened!

Christin, Mom Courtney, and Ellen watch while gifts get opened. Mom looks like she may take a few pictures! :)

Boys will be boys--cousins David and Eddy and brother Isaac and friends that Grandma didn't know--LOTS of friends that Grandma didn't know. A house full! And very high energy. They played nerf guns outside in the dark. It was a lot of fun.

This doesnt' have anything to do with a birthday party, but Ellen is quite the artist. This a beautiful piece of work that she's done. It's hanging in her bedroom. I love it!

More presents! There's daddy Barton in the background--the one with lots of hair! :) We had a great time tonight--it felt good to be there with all the family and all their friends. I love my kids--all of them, and all those awesome grandbabies. :) Tomorrow it's to the movie with Grandma! Look for photos!

Friday, February 23, 2007 As Advertised

I took this photo yesterday at my local Hobby Lobby--it's still the texture thing. I love all the coors and the texture, and I've pondered wanting a colorful and well-textures life--but since I took the picture, I've had some unsettling news so I've hesitated to post. Just didn't seem pertinent anymore. But when I uploaded my camera, and noticed the "As Advertised" sign, I thought it might fit into what's happening in my life. You know, Life just isn't "as advertised". Especially if you've done it "right" and really tried hard. It's always kind of unsettling and disappointing when you find that no matter how you've tried, or how much you might have done "right", Life just doesn't seem to deliver as promised. There are unsettling suprises and many disappointments because our expectations are pretty high. But when the dust has settled, it's those surprises, those disappointments, those "unadvertised specials" that give us the color and the texture that we long for in life. It's those things that grow us and expand our hearts and our minds. So, in spite of myself, I still pray for a colorful and well-textured life--including all the dark threads and all the knotty, bumpy yard of life.

Spiritual Direction at the Park??

Meet Erin and Colby. Erin's one of my directees, but today, we kind of let the Spirit direct us to Shy Pond! It was a gorgeous day, and Colby (and both of us) wanted to play. It was fun snapping pictures. Colby's such a doll, and mama's a sweetheart, too!
Isn't this just the cutest shot! He was fascinated with peeking through the bars of the playground equipment--he was coming after the camera. Something tells me he's had his picture taken before!

Ash Wednesday

Today's Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and I went tonight to get my ashes. I used to think that the phrase, "Remember, you came from dust and to dust you'll return" was almost like a threat, a reminder of our failures, but in the last couple of years I've come to see it as a reminder of the gift of being human. I spent most of my life trying to be "spiritual". At times, I even longed to be rid of this body so that I could go be with God. But the last few years has taught me the joy of being human. I love knowing that my "dust" is made of the same elements as the stars, as the dust of the earth, and as all of creation. Being "dust" reminds me that I'm one with all of the earth--all of the universe. You know, birds like being birds, rocks like being rocks, and trees like being trees. It's only humans that seem to hate being what they are. I LIKE being human. I like living on this earth in this earth suit. God incarnated in flesh, over and over in each one of us. God becomes physical in you and me. Dust is pretty grand!

A Visit to the Planetarium

Rosie, Mary Jean and I visited the Planetarium tonight for our 2nd night-time sky experience together. We saw Orion last month and Moonscapes tonight. No, those aren't marshmallows! :) They are "pretend moons". And our heads are "pretend earths", and there was a demonstration that explained why we see different phases of the moon each night. Very interesting, and very visual.

And this big machine gives us pictures of the night sky from our Clute location. I've lived in this area many years and never visited the Planetarium until last month. Thanks Rosie for inviting me, and Mary Jean makes a fun 3-some! I'm learning something new--again! There's so much to learn and life is so short!

Massage - My Healing Stones

My favorite time of the month! Massage time! These beautiful stones are heated in hot water, then used to rub out all those aches and pains. I have shared a lot of things with the stones--they've absorbed pain, stress, anger, disappointment, and sadness. And they give back to me warmth, stillness and infinite pleasure. My thanks to the stones.

Sunday, February 18, 2007 Remember

This sign seemed especially poignant as I left yesterday--remember. Re-member--recall and put back together again. One of the gifts that we human beings possess. We have the capacity to recall, reflect, and remember. What a wonderful weekend it was!

One of my favorite picture--because it's an awesome memory, and a true word--shift happens. May as well smile about it.

Saturday, February 17, 2007, a Girl-Friend Get-a-Way

Shall we try to build a fire??? It's windy, but it seems the thing to do, so we plan on building our fire at the circle. Guess what? We DID! :)

Liza joins us for a little while--another soul sister. The connection was palpable. We are connected. It's always a treasure to find another part of our "pack".

This is what I felt all weekend--an open door, and an invitation to "live joyfully"!

Now we are 4! Linda got here later in the day--now the party can really begin! :)

Two of the most beautiful women around--I love you ladies--especially early on a very cold morning. Two of my "sisters"...one's still on the way, but she'll be here soon, we hope!

Friday, February 16, 2007 Weekend Get-a-Way

Since I arrived at The Land of Ease later Friday evening, I went back Saturday to get a picture, but you can pretend I'm driving through this simple gate to a whole 'nother world--a world of simple, easy pleasures--nature, beauty, and very good friends. Even though I haven't been in THIS particular spot, I'm coming home.

Valentines Forever

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and Jim came home last evening with these beauties! I love azaleas--one of my favorites since living in Tyler many years ago. Tyler is home to the Azalea Trails in the Spring, and they are prettier there than I've seen anywhere locally. Lovely pink azaleas in a purple pot--two of my favorite colors! They guy's catching on! :)

Valentine's Day

You know, love comes in all kinds of packages, especially on Valentine's Day. A good friend helped shoulder a burden with me today. It was too cold to sit outside on this swing, but this picture is a "picture" of what I was given today--the gift of "porch swing therapy". I'm so grateful for friends who simply listen.
And what better flowers to represent the day--passion flowers. Albeit, the beautiful pot of azaleas that hubby gave me are pretty awesome, too--pink azaleas in a purple pot, my two favorite colors. It's been a day full of love for me. I'm grateful.

An Unexpected Visit

I got a call from my son this morning--seems this little one had a tummy ache at school, and the school couldn't get anyone. Courtney's phone was out and Barton was in Bay City working--"Can you please Mom???" Well, what's a grandmother to do? GO GET HIM! :) By the time I got there, he seemed a little better, so we ran a few errands then we came home and he helped me make valentine candies--or at least we tried! He was very responsible, though--before he did any playing, he sat down and did his homework. I was very glad that I wasn't "working", but could be home to help out. Emmanuel's such a neat kid...o, by the way, he told me something was boring today. When I questioned him about boring, he said, "Boring's like adding one plus one forever!" Now, that's a picture, huh!

Planning A Day Of Prayer

I discovered dead batteries in my camera this morning, so here I sit late tonight trying to figure out how to capture my day in image form now that my batteries have been recharged. The one picture I took earlier didn't work, and I don't quite know how to be faithful to this project when I've been sitting here at my computer most of the day working on a day of prayer that I'm facilitating at our church at the end of this month. I almost said, "Forget it!" I'm too tired to try to figure something out--then my eyes landed on this book, lying face down on my desk, and it tells the of prayer and what it brings in our lives. For our day of prayer, I'm renting a large labyrinth and bringing it from Houston to our ladies. I want them to experience walking the labyrinth. Earlier today, I had this book out, writing a little history of the labyrinth for that day. I love labyrinths, and I especially delight in the labyrinth image for the journey we make to the center of our soul--the most important pilgrimage that we can make in our lifetime. I hope this day of prayer blesses our women as much as I've been blessed over the last few years of my life. And I hope walkign the labyrinth inspires some of them to begin the journey to their center.

Crowns

Mother and I went to see Crowns, presented by our local Brazosport Center Stages, this afternoon, and it was a delight! The story? "a moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of black history and identity as seen through the eyes of a young black woman. After her brother is killed in Brooklyn, she travels down South to stay with her aunt. The conclusion finds the stand-offish young woman, whose cultural identity as a young black Brooklyn woman has been so at odds with the more traditional and older southern blacks, embracing hats and their cultural significance as part of her own fiercely independent identity. Gospel music and dance underscore and support the narrative" (that's the write-up out of program, in case you wondered!). The show was beautifully done, so funny in places that I laughed til I cried, then so moving in places that I cried again. Mother and I both enjoyed a Sunday afternoon learning about another culture, and allowing ourselves to be moved by someone else's story. Good stuff! And some really talented local folks! Congratulations on a job very well done!

Living a Textured Life

I've been knitting a lot since about the first of December. I'm in love with all the wonderful yarns available now-adays, and it's a good, not-much-thinking pastime in the evening. Helps me stay awake a little longer. But it's also held some significance--there's been something happening in my heart as I've persued this little pastime. I think it hit me this morning--I want to live a fully textured life. Until I turned 40, most of my life was spent doing what was expected, believing everything I had been taught, not questioning for myself--a pretty plain-surfaced life. The yarn woven into my life was what I learned to knit on many years ago, plain and boring. But something happened at 40, and I began to ask some questions, and think for myself. And my life began to be more "textured". Over the last 3 years, it's even become more colorful--like all the yarns at my local Hobby Lobby, some soft and silky, flat and wide, rough, smooth, brightly colored, and muted shades. There's still the plain ole yarn that I first learned to knit on years ago, but I'll quickly pass it up and grab something with a little more gusto! I've decided that I like color and I like texture--I like thinking for myself. I like asking questions more than I like getting answers. I like taking risks more than I like being safe. I figure by the time I reach 60 (not too far off, mind you), I might be ready to knit one of those "artistic" scarfs, that's made of all kinds of scraps, an eclectic mix of everything life has had to offer. And that's the way I'm determined to live my life--creatively, artistically, colorfully, and FULLY TEXTURED!

Nature's Mandala

I'm late posting this--time has gotten away from me. I bought some forced bulbs and planted them for my mom and me. We both needed some color for all these grey days. This is one of the tulips--one of Nature's own mandalas. They have been so pretty, with their long graceful necks turning to see the sun. I love looking for Nature's mandalas--all that creative energy, moving to make such pretty pictures.

Artist Way Circle

We have started an Artist Way Circle at our local art league, and we had our first meeting today. It was a beautiful group of women, all eager to come together and help each other live creatively. There was an eagerness to learn and engage that was palpable. I'm glad to be part of this group. It feels "alive".

Bare-faced me

I have a friend who posted her bare-faced picture on her blog, and another who's decided that taking bare-faced pictures is therapeutic. So, I tried it. I'll try anything once. But therapeutic?? I don't think I'm ready to say that yet. :) I am enjoying the aging process. I feel good physically, mentally, spiritual, and emotionally--better than ever. Yet, photos are real reminders that time is moving all too swiftly. Personally, I would rather play Picasso and pick up my colors and my brushes and paint away on this canvas God's given me! :)

A Little Motivation

I'm in an aritst way group that's offically starting tomorrow, but I've already started. One of our tools is an artist date with the child artist inside of us, so I figured I could use a little motivation and applause. My kids used to love charts, so my artist child "Star" and I went for a shopping trip Sunday after church and bought lovely stickers and we made this "yeah for YOU" chart this morning. While I was at it, I made one for my mother who's trying to quit smoking. She could use some applause. Just hope it's not too performance oriented! :)

Eucharist

I spent some time yesterday afternoon, setting up this arrangement to paint. I love Eucharist--I love the bread and the wine--the crushed wheat and grapes--and the significance. That God became flesh--that God still becomes flesh, every day, all around me. There's a song called Eucharist written by Jacque Darragh that I really like. It reminds me that people I meet along the way are broken bread and crushed grapes for me. They are Eucharist to me. You are Eucharist to me.

A Colored Pencil Kind of Day

Well, I got up this morning, February 4, and reposted this blog from yesterday...I spent 4 hours on my dial-up computer last night posting a lot of pictures from the workshop I took yesterday, and by the time I got through, I was tired, frustrated, and my insides weren't nearly as pretty as this box of colored pencils. I woke up this morning remembering that this blog isn't about getting people's pictures in so they can come see themselves and applaud the "star" inside of me. It amazes me how quickly everything in my life becomes about performance! One of the neatest things about "project 365" to me, is the opportunity to learn to see through new eyes, and to journal my day in a different way. There's only a couple of people who read my blog every day--actually, only one that I know of. And she deserves more than I gave last night in my attempts to get everyone's applause. I deserve better than that. And my spiritual artist inside--my soul deserves better than that. I don't work with colored pencils too often because they take time. And I like to produce more quickly than pencils let me. But one of the best things about pencils is that as I slow down and color, my soul slows down, too. So, I got up this morning--deleted all the jumble of pictures and slowed down to the pace this page is supposed be for me. A friend of mine posted a picture of a snale on her blog the other day--slow and easy wins the race. I'm not too fond of slow and easy. And something inside of me wants a big show of applause so much that I'm willing to spend hours of frustration trying to get it. So, I did learn something besides how to use colored pencils yesterday. And this morning, I feel much less frustration. Back to simplicity.

A Day at the Cenacle

One of the things I would like to do is figure out how to get my pictures uploaded in the right order, or to be able to move them once they're in this spot, but o well! :) Anyway, in the order they appear--I am in my 3rd year at the Spiritual Direction Institute at the Cenacle Retreat House on Houston, so I get to spend a lot of time "retreating". This year, it's twice a month, on Fridays--my favorite day of the week! This is my home away from home. Everytime I drive up the Beltway and see the Memorial Drive exit, my heart settles in--I'm coming home. This picture of some of the windchimes hanging on the patio.

This is the Chapel at the Cenacle--a quiet place to come and meditate, pray, or just "be". Communion services or Mass is often held in this little quiet place. Mostly, I like to just sit for a few minutes, and feel all my pieces coming home.

This is the Cenacle's labryinth. Each graduating class presents the Cenacle with a gift--one of the classes several years back built this gift, brick by brick. The labyrinth is another picture of coming home.

I love this "tree chair". Several years back, this old tree died, and instead of taking it all out, this "chair" was left. Most of us are too old now-adays to climb trees, but we can still sit in this one and let the tree hold us back to wholeness.

THIS was supposed to be the first picture at the top of the page, but--o well! This is driving in through the gate--aaaaaahhhhh...I'm HERE!

I love the trails at the Cenacle. This one beckoned me today: "Come to the Light."