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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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?

Break

I will be taking a couple of months off in order to work on a couple of projects. I should be back sometime in September. See you all then.

❤

Security

Security – Poem on mixed media

One of the definitions of security is “feeling safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety.”

How secure are you in who you are? I used to be very insecure. A lot of that came out of my childhood, and living with an alcoholic father that I feared constantly.

Today though, I am secure. I have a great husband and two beautiful children that are healthy and happy. I live in a warm sunny place that does wonders for the serotonin levels in my brain. I have a roof over my head, friends and faith. I also have purpose and peace in my heart.

Even though I am no longer a spring chicken, and the days of my youth have passed, I’m ok with that. No problem at all. My security and contentment do not rest in what others make of me. My importance isn’t in how I look or what I can do. It lies in something far deeper than passing things. It lies in something eternal.

Do you struggle with insecurity? Are you content with who you are? Where does your worth and security lie?

A Beautiful Thing

A Beautiful Thing – Poem on mixed media

Have you ever seen a crimson rose? I have only seen them in photos, but never in real life. They are beautiful and have a deep, rich color. So deep that sometimes they can even resemble the color of blood.

It’s meaning is two-way, signifying loss, death and mourning, as well as rebirth and love. It makes me think of a love that is committed and passionate. One that is willing to sacrifice for the good of another. One that is even willing to die for another. This type of love is a rare and beautiful thing.

Have you ever experienced a love like that?

Gonna Be Worth It – Song

Ok, this is very out of character for me, but heck! You only live once, right. Tonight I got the wildest idea to record a song by Rita Springer, upload it and post it. My daughter (6 years old) recorded it, and started recording long before I was ready. Hahaha. So don’t mind the delay in starting, and me telling my son to get into the shower. Please note that I am very, but very out of practice at both singing and guitar, so bear with me.

This video is actually dedicated to my longest-standing blogging bud, Rob, from The V-Pub.

Have a wonderful weekend.

❤

Writers, Bloggers, and Poets, Oh My!

I just wanted to share this honour I’ve received by the beautiful Vashti, over at ‘The Writer Next Door’. She wrote such sweet words about me and my blog. Please take a moment to check out her blog.

The Writer Next Door | Vashti Q

Hello my friends! I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite bloggers. Maybe you can take some time to visit their blogs. I’m sure you will fall in love with at least one of these wonderfully creative people.

*Spotlighted today are a wonderful group of writers, poets, photographer, and bloggers that are sure to please.

A God Colored Girl in a Grey World 

On this blog you’ll see many pretty illustrations and the most amazing poetry created by Staci Lys. I really enjoy visiting this blog, it always puts me in the best of moods. I’ve often told her that I’d like to frame her work and put it on my wall. I have to be careful though, because I can easily lose track of time when visiting. I love it. 😉

The Quiet Journey (Monotetra) by Staci Lys

♦

 Author/Translator Olga

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Shantih

Shantih – Poem on mixed media

Shanti is a Sanskrit word and means peace, calmness, tranquility. It can be spelled either  with or without an ‘h’ at the end, however, the inclusion of the ‘h’ at the end, most commonly seen in the popular modernist poem by T.S. Eliot, ‘The Wasteland’, translates it as, ‘The peace which passeth understanding.’

The Bible talks about this ‘peace which passeth all understanding’ when it addresses the issue of anxiety. I used to get very anxious, in fact, most of my wrinkles probably come from how anxious I used to get. I have learned though, that there is one infinitely bigger than little old finite me, that is able to carry my load, thankfully.

When I became a Christian, I used to get anxious daily. Sometimes I would return home from work in tears. Then one day, out of nowhere, I sensed that God spoke into my heart, “Staci, you fear me as you feared your dad”. I think the manifestation of that fear was me trying to please God religiously. Whenever I felt the anxiety come on, I always thought it was because I was doing something wrong in the eyes of God. Over time, I realized that God’s love for me didn’t depend on what I did. His acceptance of me was purely and entirely an act of mercy and grace.

One of the most fundamental needs of human beings is relationship. To me, being a Christian is all about that – Relationship.  Relationship, and not religion.

“…My joy and peace. These intangibles slake the thirst of your soul, providing deep satisfaction.” Sarah Young-Jesus Calling

Are you an anxious person? How do you seek peace?

Color me Purple

Color me Purple – Part 8 of a 9 part poem on mixed media

Finally, after 2 1/2 months of not posting a ‘Color me’ girl, the purple one is done.

Purple is the color of royalty. Maybe it’s because purple robes were worn by royalty in the past and the rare occurrence of purple in nature made it one of the most expensive color dyes to create (source – Bourn Creative).

People of royalty are very wealthy. I consider myself royalty, but not in the earthly sense. I mean, let’s face it, you can’t just become royal. You’re born into it. I do, however, consider myself very wealthy, very powerful, and very free. Free to do what I like. Free to be who I want. Free to be me. Just me. And nobody can take that away.

My treasures are not things like gold and jewels. I could care less about them. My treasures are riches that can’t be bought. Divine and simple. Obtained without stress or anxiety. Deeply fulfilling and eternal.

How about you? What do you consider to be treasure? Are you deeply satisfied? Do you consider yourself wealthy and powerful? And how about free?

The Quiet Journey (Monotetra)

The Quiet Journey – Monotetra poem on Oil

Do you think of life as a journey? I do. Looking back, I can easily see that my life has been a journey. The experiences I’ve had. The ups and downs. The joys and pains. The good decisions and the bad, as well as the consequences that came with them. I’ve suffered a lot, and I’ve experienced great joy and peace. I’ve thought a lot and grappled with my world-view. God willing, I still have a good number of years ahead of me, so I know that this journey continues. I’m very thankful that I don’t walk it alone, and that I am constantly learning and growing. I know that the phase, or season that I am currently living will come to an end, and mesh into the beginning of the next one. And when my life comes to an end… that’s just the beginning to a whole new phase.

Do you think of your life as a journey? Have you considered how your experiences and choices have shaped you into who you are today?

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The above poem is a Monotetra, which is a form that is made up of four lines in a stanza, each line being eight syllables long and each line rhyming. The last line in a stanza is a couplet of four syllables repeated. This is also in response to “The Reverie Journal’s weekly prompt, which this is week was “Quiet Journey”.