Happy New Year (a few days late)

Hello out there, remember me? Hahaha. I’ve been away a long time.

I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year!!!

2019 will be a year of major change for me. I will be returning to WordPress sometime next week, and I will be starting a video channel as well. In March my family and I make a HUGE move to Canada, and who-knows-what awaits us there. Change in location, change in work, change in lifestyle… It’s all very… hmmmmm… I don’t even know how to explain it all. Maybe a bit nerve-wracking, but also exciting.

Change is very difficult for most people. We are creatures of habit and don’t like to be shakin’ up. I tend to think of it as a good thing though. Adventure. Uncertainty. Expectancy. We’ll see.

Here’s to a wonderful, adventurous and prosperous new year to us all.

See you soon….. 🙂

Life is a journey

Heyyyyyyyyyy, I’m back. It’s been sooooo long since I’ve been on WordPress, and I’ve been longing to get back into creating and drawing and painting and all sorts of artsy stuff.

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Today I want to talk about choices. Life is all about making choices. We make daily, simple choices like what clothes to wear, what food to eat and what time to sleep. These simple choices determine our quality of life, like health, body image, and well-being. We also make bigger, often more difficult choices like which career to pursue, who to marry and how many children to have. Such choices determine our wealth, relationships and social status.

Our choices bring with them consequences, which oftentimes effect not only ourselves but others as well. There is an old saying, “You reap what you sow,” which is not only true in agriculture but works as a spiritual principle as well.

I have been meditating on a verse in the Bible lately that says, “Understand this… …be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]. This is not an easy task, especially for an impulsive extrovert such as myself. The person that is able to choose to keep their mouth shut, carefully and thoughtfully listen, be patient and reflective instead of bursting out in anger, and forgive those that have wronged them, is a very wise and virtuous individual. I want to reap the good that comes from choosing these attitudes. How about you?

How have you reaped the choices you have sown?

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Struggles and Stability

“I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise”.

Way back about 18 years ago (more or less) someone told me that the struggles I was going through were necessary for my growth. In order to be stable and have a firm foundation, I needed to go through them. At the time I hated it. I was an emotional wreck, constantly questioning myself, my thoughts, my faith, my feelings… I used to be run by my feelings, but have since learned that life can’t be lived that way. Oftentimes feelings blind and deceive.

I recently came upon the above quote in the book of Isaiah. it speaks of the rebuilding of a city with precious stones, such as stones of turquoise. Turquoise has been known to symbolize wholeness, spiritual grounding and emotional balance.

I believe my friend was right. I’ve gone through a lot, but it really has served me well. I have been rebuilt with stones of turquoise.

How do you see the struggles of life? Do you allow them to cause growth?

The Need to Create

Inspiration

I absolutely love it when an artistic or creative idea comes to mind. I never really considered myself a very creative person growing up, but I was also very lost. Lost in society and in knowing who and whose I was. There wasn’t much that inspired me, but now inspiration comes often.

As a Christian, I believe that humanity has been made in the image and likeness of God. So then, if we have been made in His image and He is the creator of the heavens and Earth, then that means we have an amazing ability to create. I would even go as far to say that we have a need to create.

Edith Schaeffer said, “Encouraged, we recognize the importance of living artistically, aesthetically and creatively as creative creatures of the creator.”

Francis Shaeffer said, “Art is a reflection of God’s creativity, an evidence that we are made in the image of God.”

Vida Dutton Scudder said, “Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed.

How do you like to express yourself creatively? Where does your inspiration come from?

Love is…

...when he holds the fort and serves me when I'm sick.

Inspired by a post that a fellow blogger, Pete, wrote, I have decided to do a series on ‘Love is…’ I don’t know how often I will post a ‘Love is…’ post, but today marks the first one.

Love me more than what you feel

Feelings and passion aren’t love for real

Real love goes far deeper still

Still my mind with love of will

Will you love me with your deeds

Deeds unselfish, heart that bleeds

Bleeds and sweats a love that’s true

Truly chooses each day to do

Do the best, seek from above

Above to learn to really love.

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Last weekend I was sick, and couldn’t do much around the house. My husband was so good at taking care of the kids, tidying up and serving me.

The above loop poem was actually the response to a challenge I accepted some time ago, which was to write a poem about love in 10 sentences. It is a little (ok quite) cheesy, but thought it appropriate for the message for ‘Love is…’ today.

What would be your, ‘Love is…’ message for this week?

The Word – Quadrille

The Word – Quadrille on Mixed Media

Have you ever been passionate about something? I mean, like vehemently. I feel like this time in my life is a time of new beginnings. It’s become a fire in me.

It’s been a while since I’ve written an original poem following a poetry form. I had to give my try at this quadrille after reading a fellow bloggers post over at A Reader Writr.  The poem is in response to a prompt over at dversepoets.

So, back to my question to you: Have you ever been passionate about something? If so, what?

Dagger of Truth

Dagger of Truth – Triple Haiku on Mixed Media

Foxes have been considered pests, sly, cunning and clever.

In Australia they are seen as an invasive species. They have caused many problems in the country, impacting the environment and agriculture, even causing many species to become extinct because of their predation.

In ancient Israel, little foxes were considered potential threats that spoil things of value. Even in the romance book of the ‘Song of Solomon’ the woman says to her beloved, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”

Even Jesus called the monarch a fox, a negative term to imply he was a cunning and sly individual.

Foxes are little. They walk around on their tip-toes, as if sneaking around. They dig through gardens and scatter weeds.

It’s the same with the little things in our lives that we think don’t have any major impact. Little white lies, negative thoughts, cruddy attitudes, bitterness…

I, for one, don’t want to accept the lies. Truth is my dagger, and I know that when light is present, darkness must flee.

What are your little foxes?

The Sojourn

The Sojourn – double Haiku on mixed media

First of all, let me say a big HELLO!!! I’m back from my travels and looking forward to getting the creative juices flowing again. 🙂

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Would you consider your time here – your earthly life – a sojourn?

Sojourn: A temporary stay (noun); To stay somewhere temporarily (verb)

I love what Temple Grandin (one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to publicly share insights from her personal experience of autism) said when confronted with the issue of death. A horse had died, and she asked, “Where’d he go?”

It may sound funny, but really is an existential question that we all face. Where do we go when our bodies die?

As for me, I believe that who I really am, returns to my maker once my body dies. My stay here really is temporary.

Unfortunately, we live in a world that is full of darkness. A mountain of madness and a plethora of ugliness happens daily. All-over-the-world.

I am thankful though, that I have big shoulders to rest between. That place of rest is a place of provision and security. My maker remembers that I am but dust, and He is perfect in every way. He provides me with pockets of silence and peace amid all the chaos.

Do you consider your time on Earth a sojourn?

The Need

The Need – Poem on mixed media

You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you. ~Augustine

I am very affected by climate changes. When it’s sunny and warm, I am happy and full of life. When it is cold and grey, I am lethargic and down. Actually, I get very depressed.

I love the quote above by Augustine. It reminds me that my deepest needs can not be met in the material, nor by me. It reminds me that I need to run to one that is greater than me.

This poem was birthed out of deep depression and great need. It reminds me of what King David wrote in the Psalms; “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?”

He spoke to his own soul; so I did the same.  I went to the one that is higher than I and poured out my heart. And you know what? I found rest, comfort and reassurance. My mind was no longer playing tricks on me. I decided I was not going to be a prisoner to the screams in my mind and the tightness in my heart. That doesn’t mean that negative feelings never come back, but they can’t control me.

How do you deal with negative feelings?

Belonging

I find it amazing how we are all very individual and unique, yet at the same time we’re all the same. All of humanity searches for answers to the bigger questions of life. Questions with answers that oftentimes seem beyond our reach.

We also have the same needs and inner longings. One of them being the need to belong. Not just the need to belong to a community, or to be a part of something; but a need to belong to someone/thing. We ask, “Who am I?” and rarely, “Whose am I?”

I love this quote by St. Augustine:

• “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

A fellow blogger friend, ‘Rusty Foerger‘ posted something recently that made me think about this universal ‘sameness’. In his post he writes about a well-known Urdu poet, ‘Bulleh Shah‘, from the 16/1700s, and includes a music video by a popular Indian musician (Rabbi Shergill) that was based on his poetry.

Please take a moment to read the post, “I know not who I am”, from “Curriculum of the Spiritual Life”, and watch the following music video.