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Praying with Pen and Paint
The Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8:26-27 (Living Bible) Often, when words feel inadequate to express deep concerns, it seems that as the Holy Spirit prays for me, I join in that prayer through pen and paint, drawing and painting. In recent weeks…
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A Day of Delight and Rest
Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” Mark 6:31 “If you call the Sabbath a delightand the Lord’s holy day honorable,and if you honor it by not going your own wayand not doing as you please or speaking idle words,then you will find your joy in the Lord…” Isaiah 58:13-14 Jesus invites us to step aside from our work and take a break with him. In our always connected world, it seems there’s always more work to do, and if we put off rest until the work is done, we may never really rest. And, if we don’t really rest, we may miss some of the…
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Contentment
I’ve stood near (not too near) the rim of the 355′ precipice across from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe– a lifelong dream come true that still feels like a dream. I leaned into near hurricane force winds above roiling waters, crashing waves, and stinging rain at Acadia National Park, then painted it in the shelter of my car. I’ve played on white sands and swum in the blue waters of St. Thomas, gawking at many colored fish of all sorts of shapes and sizes. I’ve marveled at the geysers of Yellowstone National Park, and I’ve been filled with wonder at mountains, forests, whales, and much more in Alaska. This evening Lyska…
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Hurts and Healing
Have you ever been hurt by someone who thought they were acting in the name of Christ? I have, in the past, and I know others who have been hurt by someone who thought they were doing God’s will. And there are those I hurt, some through ignorance, some as a result of my own brokenness leftover from childhood hurts. I was pondering this yesterday, the day we reflect on Jesus’ arrest the night before he was crucified. The night before Jesus was crucified, Judas, one of his disciples, betrayed him and brought a crowd armed with swords to arrest Jesus. Jesus’ disciple Peter, in a misguided attempt to protect…
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Lenten Retreat March 7
You’re invited to a Lenten Retreat at Immanuel Church on Saturday, March 7th from 9:45am to 1pm. Join us for a day set apart to slow down and renew your focus on our gracious, loving God. A day of prayer, sharing, and quiet as we reflect on Elijah’s forty day journey from discouragement and weariness to a transformative encounter with God. Lunch will be provided. Artistic expression is welcome but not an essential part of the retreat; you can sketch with any kind of simple art supplies, you can “sketch” with words, or you can simply rest in God’s gift of a quiet morning. Details:Saturday, March 7, 20269:45 AM to 1:00 PMImmanuel Church…
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Winter Beauty
Our cold spell of arctic-like temperatures has ended, and the snow that has blanketed ground, rocks, and shrubs is starting to melt. While many people are rejoicing that today is predicted to hit 46 degrees, I am a bit sad. I’ve delighted in clear, crisp days and star-besprent nights. Bundled in layers of down and wool, snowshoes or micro spikes on my feet, I have tramped the steep hills above the Hudson River most days, Lyska or Ramble gamboling through snow up to their chests or higher. On sunny days with little or no wind I could even sit on a bench and sketch. Those walks, sometimes first thing in…
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Puzzle Ponderings
This winter I’ve spent many evenings by the fire working on jigsaw puzzles while Stephen reads aloud to me. Quiet, peaceful evenings, though the puzzle that I’ve spent most of the past three weeks struggling with has been extremely challenging. I’ve completed the beautiful birds, but the nearly uniform, light blue background has me nearly stumped. I got this puzzle from a friend who had gotten it from a thrift store, and she told me the two lower right corner edge pieces are missing, so even when I finish the puzzle, it won’t be complete. I’ve never quit on a puzzle and I intend to continue with this one, but…
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A Song in the Night
One night last May when my mother was in her final weeks and I was always on alert expecting an emergency call, I was unable to sleep, lying awake at 3AM with anxious thoughts and a runaway imagination. I tried to reason myself into a calm state, but you know how that goes. At 3AM one’s ability to reason is generally fairly weak, and the more I tried to calm myself, the more the mental loops tightened into knots. Gradually a sound from my open window began to penetrate the tangle of my mental gymnastics. Could I be hearing birdsong? A bird singing in the dark? At 3AM? It must…
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Awesome Tree Stump
Very little sunlight penetrated the thick canopy of old, dense tree growth, and where I walked was chilly and dark, despite the sunny day. Years of decaying leaves carpeted the forest floor, silencing my footfalls. I was deep in the woods in an area new to me in Butler Sanctuary. The 350 acres of field and woods, just over an old stonewall from my family’s ten wooded acres, were a sanctuary for me, a shy, hurting, often frightened child. But this area seemed different. I often wandered freely in the Sanctuary through fields and over hills and rock outcroppings, not following any trails, and somehow this day, I had found…
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Musings Along the Rail Trail
with encouraging words from those who’ve walked this trail before… I haven’t known any of these people, but their words tell me something of them and invite me to sit a spell and ponder. I wonder what words I would want on my bench…