outside, inside?

the grass is always greener...

or should I say 'the snow is always whiter?'

snow day - yay!

It all goes by so fast...

Oh earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you...

Do human beings ever realize life while they live it  - 

every, every minute?

Thornton Wilder, Our Town

a Sunday blessing - One Thousand Gifts

I am so enjoying this read

and her beautiful poetic thoughts

on faith

and grace

and thankfulness

and joy

 and how important it is to enjoy and love

where we are right now...

These very real lungs will breathe in more than 11,000 liters of air today, and tonight over our farm will rise the Great Hexagon of the blazing winter stars - Sirius, Rigel, ruby Aldebran, Capella, the fiery Gemini twins, and Procyon, and in the center, scarlet Betelgeuse, the red supergiant larger than twice the size of earth's orbit around the sun -  and I will embrace the skin of a boy child that my body grew from a seed.  The low heavens outside the paned windows fill with more snowflakes then stars, no two-stacked crystals the same; the trees in the wood draw in collective green breath to the still of January hibernation, and God in the world will birth ice from His womb, frost of heaven, bind the chains of the Pleiades, loose the cords of Orion, and number again the strands on my head (Job 38:31; Matthew 10:30).

Isn't it here?  The wonder?  Why do I spend so much of my living hours struggling to see it?  Do we truly stumble so blind that we must be affronted with binding magnificence for our blurry soul-sight to recognize grandeur?  The very same surging magnificence that cascades over our every day here.  Who has time or eyes to notice?

Ann Voskamp

Who has eyes or time to notice?

That line really gets me...

well today I will notice.

 so I get up and take a photo of the snow melting on the branches

 and I adore this photo taken at the coffee house yesterday

(we only have to look around in our every day for 

incredible beauty right?)

 and sitting next to me is this metal table

of my dear grandmother's

that I painted in gold leaf -

 for I know the plans I have for you 

declares the Lord...

and even last night's sunset looks beautiful in greys.

I hate to admit it but I have been coveting homes 

and wondering where we will live next.

I never dreamed I would live 25 years in the same place

and we have been feeling a tug to do something different,

but what?

So I started looking and then drooling...

and then today I innocently tried to put in a realtor's disc of a home

that is twice as much money as our home and...

ahem...

it jammed and I could not get it out or in and it was stuck for several hours

and needless to say - 

I had to shut down my beloved computer.

That got my attention.

Only God knows the plans he has for me and

I am sure there are plans

and if it is to stay put right here

then I will relish in 

His grace,

His abundance and blessings,

and find joy in the beauty that surrounds my every day.

amen

come 'Create with Me' on this winter day

 Well Matteo may not be very happy ,

but I am so thrilled to have my art clubbers

featured again in this wonderful magazine.

 So run - don't walk - to the nearest Barnes and Noble

to check out their brilliant birdies on pages 94-97.

Or even better - order one from Stampington here.

And most importantly

 find the nearest child and start creating
right now

 on this snowy winter day...
 go for it!

instant architecture

 the art clubbers constructed some homes

 using simple shapes

 stamped with foam,

 then added outlines with cardboard strips

and more stamps for trees and house

 so that we were able to tour

 their villages

 full of color.

I don't know about you but I would move right in.

a Sunday Blessing

How?

 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?

By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;

do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you Lord;

teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount all the laws

that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes

as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts

and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;

I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119:9-16

On this Sunday 

my blessing is my son, Jonathan,

who is in his ordination year.

 He was given this Psalm to meditate on for the year,

and I thought a visual of the verses 

would help instill in him a sense of his part.

So I stamped the brown highlighted words in the verses

onto the background of the painting.

Then I liked the idea of different tools 

to represent how each of us worships God in our own unique way.

Finally I pasted verses from an old Bible 

that was falling apart on to the edges.

Thanks for being such a blessing Jonathan!

Hope you all are having a blessed Sunday.

I really must focus...

 I don't seem to be able to let go of Christmas...

 maybe it's because most of my favorite people left ;(.

the laughter is gone...

must take the decorations down and pack them away,

and the guest cot will go and

 art will return
(can't wait to work on this one),

 and I received some precious gifts 
such as these mouse pads from my son-
one with my favorite fur ball and the other -
one of my son's pieces of art,

and another piece of art from the other Holderman artist.
How lucky am I? 

 We enjoyed good food,

 playing tourist at Pikes Market,

 ferry rides

in the rain of course,

 

and we waved to our niece as she sailed the other direction.

 Then we enjoyed Roy St. Tea and Coffee

(which is an incognito Starbucks -

you would never know it 

- the best lattes ever!)

 and we made new friends

(he lives in the pond at my sister-in-law's on a golf course),

and I bought these words of wisdom cards

to inspire me each day.

My favorite says...

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I do this?

Henceforth will I look on all things

with love and be born again.

I will love the sun for it warms my bones;

yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.

I will love the light for it shows me the way;

yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.

I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart;

yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.

I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due;

yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

Og Mandino

My mom would have loved this poem.  She died a year ago on January fourth and I have been dreading this anniversary, but I am grateful that I made it through the day with joy in remembrances and I do seem to be crawling out of the deep place of grief.  My dad was able to join us for Christmas which was a huge blessing as he was not able to travel for many years because of my mom's health.  So I am hopeful for the new year and all of its blessings.  I am going to try so hard to see the beauty in little moments of perfection and not to be so hard on myself.  Sound good?  I wish each of you a wonderful and blessed 2012.