Twinkle

Twinkle

Little

Stars!




Ohhhhh . . .
Deo Gratias!

This picture sits on my vanity . . . today I paused to reflect . . . it was nine years ago . . . we were celebrating our first official night as empty nesters. Brave hearted by then and ohhhhh so grateful.

We could have been a 1980's Open Door poster family . . . our story was . . . uhhh . . . complicated. From the beginning . . . we knew . . . to live our lives redemptively would require courage and God's amazing grace.

Now (then) . . . here we were . . . crossing a threshold . . . one we had dreamt of for fourteen years. There were dreams of ministry together . . . travel . . . and room for God to show up as He liked.

Little did we know then that He was likely to show up with four son-in-laws, two daughter-in-laws, and twenty-seven grandchildren. Today we look more like the old man and woman in a shoe than empty nesters. The dreams of our ministry together becoming a living story over years . . . one redeemed by God . . . the way it began . . . one day at a time.

The plot thickens!

For a story worth living . . . Deo Gratias!

They are the ones given to me who teach me what it is to love . . . with whom I struggle . . . with whom I am asked to step into the shifting currents of each day.

Something new is emerging . . . I belong here . . . yet not as before . . . freer.

Something old is being made new.

Deo Gratias!

Autumn's . . .

Sacred companions . . .
gathered . . . ripened . . .
each with a beauty of her own . . .
harvest time feels more convincing . . .

"The flowers have turned to seeds and fruit,
For our enjoyment,
Our sustenance,
And our future life.
This is the time of fulfillment and completion.
It has a beauty of its own:
Perfect symbol of your providence.
We rejoice in the fruits you give us
in your loving generosity."
(Philip Jeff, from Sacred Threshold)

For all of OUR seasons . . . and yesterday's soul feast . . .

Deo Gratias!

God

be

by

you.

hill.



up



me
with
home
quiet
Taking


Rod McKuen

PAR-TAY DIEM

I am preparing . . . a feast . . . a festival of lights . . . a night filled with music . . . a birthday party . . . celebrating a life . . . my brother-in-law's.

It's impossible to celebrate his life without celebrating my sister-in-law. Over the past few weeks I've spent time reflecting on their journey . . . memories of LIFE . . . thus far. Many are shared memories.

Because of them my life is larger . . . I hear music . . . view art . . . and travel places . . . that might yet be hidden from me were it not for their lives in mine. All creating opportunities for me to grow . . . transcending me . . . outside of my small story.

Saturday evening . . . using my brush . . . I hope to make my gratitude visible for all the paint their lives have splashed on mine.

Praying . . . every moment whispers to each heart . . . that bidden or bidden not . . . God is present.

L'CHAIM! Deo Gratias!

P
E
R
S
P
E
C
T
I
V
E


For touching . . . stirring . . . moving . . . my assumptive world . . . each day!

Deo Gratias!

A fellowship of the heart . . . we meet every Tuesday over lunch.

We hear each other's stories. We discover each other's glories. We learn to walk with God together. We pray for each other's healing. We cover each other's back. We are intimate allies. Fighting for our hearts. (Remember Waking the Dead?)

Fighting for our hearts . . . it's been a decade and a half now . . . we know one another. The four of us are a very diverse little band of sisters. Our years together haven't lessened that. The soil in which we grow is mutual . . . it's intentional.

So how did we come together? What a gift we've been given . . . we are one in heart!

For your love!

Deo Gratias!

Father

each pair of eyes

an opportunity

to receive you present

prepare the table within

me

Deo Gratias

S I G N A L S

When the light is green you go.
When the light is red you stop.
But what do you do
when the light turns blue
with orange and lavender spots?

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Oh Lord shine your light! Deo Gratias!

B E
L O V
E D

"I knew there was only one place to go. I sank down into the center of my soul, grew still, and listened to the Rabbi's heartbeat."

B. MANNING

THE CORACLE . . . it speaks of a journey . . . a symbol of faithful vulnerability.

I have contrasting images . . .

"My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in The Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise." from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C. S. Lewis

and . . .

Picture . . . a little celtic boat so light that it rides high in the water . . . not influenced by the currents. Going where the wind blows. The way to heaven . . . letting go . . . entrusting the fragile craft of our existence to God's care and relying on the wisdom of the captain to bring us safely to our destination. (The Coracle Trust)

The Little Gold Boat, painting by Bridget Macaulay

For your grace . . . Deo Gratias!

Willing

to

risk

it!

Happy Birthday
dear Gloria!

Happy Birthday
to you!

Deo Gratias
for you!

LIMINAL PLACE

(reference Jan's blog)

"The place between two world views is a liminal place. It is a place of dying and rebirth, even of metamorphosis, the place where the caterpillar spins its cocoon and disappears from view. Liminality is where all transformation happens." Len Hjalmarson

For twenty-five years, I have ended every day in almost the same way. Before I go to sleep . . . aware of God's loving presence . . . I have asked myself two questions . . .

For what moment today am I most grateful? What moved me closer to God?

For what moment today am I least grateful? What moved me away from God?

I have asked these questions in many ways throughout the years . . . sure delivery to the "limina" (the latin word for threshold) between two worlds . . . and the freedom to choose . . .

Deo Gratias!