8 Things

8 Things I will miss about the Winter Olympics

1. Something to look forward to every night!

2. Figure skating- those minutes of being transfixed. It is such the perfect mix of emotions with the tension and the relief and the disappointment and the triumph. Love it.

3. Enjoying looking at snow from afar.

4. I love it when they show the parents of the athletes as they watch. They must just be so proud and so nervous.

5. Yeah, I’m a sucker for that little Olympic refrain with the drum beat at the beginning. So exciting!

6. I love the glimpses I get of some international camardaerie.

7. Laying on the bed with Willow and Kendra every night. I found me some good Olympics buddies.

8. Well, I must say it……..Apollo Ohno. Am I too old to say that?

Wednesday Link Love

So simple, so fun!

Loving these poppies. Well, loving anything that offers more hope than piles of really dirty snow!

I once happened upon a huge box of old slides at the thrift store and have kicked myself a zillion times for not buying them and giving them a good home. Could have made these curtains!

Well, if you’ve been around here long, you know I love all things granny square, blackboard paint, and tiny house-ish…so have a look here and here and here and here and here .

Short list this week- I’ve been watching a LOT of Olympics!

Intention

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Our word for today was Intention. We had been invited to bring something that represents Intention to place on the alter, whether that be a personal intention or just a symbol of the word itself.  A few folks explained their symbol, most just left them there (and all of us to wonder!).

I loved this good word from Ken Sehested and his book In the Land of the Living.

Bright Sadness

(In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the season of Lent is described as a “bright sadness”)

In the madness that surrounds us,

our lives, our community, our world,

we give thanks, nevertheless.

More is at work than we can see.

Lent is a time for clearing and cleansing.

Dustballs happen.

In the midst of life’s crippling failures,

we still give thanks.

In the midst of Fox News’ deceptions,

we still give thanks.

Nevertheless, nevertheless.

Lent is a time for checking appetites.

Longings and desires, created for pleasure

in God’s bountiful creation

have come unleashed.

Nevertheless, the bright sound of earth’s promise

brings joy to our lips.

Tether us anew to your Provision.

During Lent we follow Jesus into the desert,

grappling with the distorted longings and lusts that

corrupt the world and even our own hearts.

Even so, more is at work than we can see.

The Spirit is not quenched.

How can we keep from singing?!

Bliss

There are some nights when we’re all together and we go out and do something really rich and fun, and it feels like when we drive home that we are this big rainbow cloud-y warm fuzzy car slicing through the night.

Such was the case last night. The girls and I enjoyed dinner and a concert with a big group of great friends. The concert was just so so so good, the pizza was great, our friends were wonderful, and I felt like we rode home in THE HAPPY CAR.

Could this be a Coke bottle??

Did you ever see that movie The Gods Must Be Crazy? A village of bushmen are living a normal happy life, working and getting along and satisfied with all that they needed. A coke bottle dropped from an airplane lands in the village, and life for the village takes a drastic turn. Suddenly there is something that everyone wants to possess resulting in jockeying for position and trickery and fighting, all over this gift they believe was sent to them by the gods.

About 15 years ago DH and I made a choice to give up tv. We had a tv, we just turned it off and let cable go. It has still been here. When we became parents we decided to wait to see if it became an issue with the kids, and it really never did. On occasion they may have missed it, but for the most part I’m happy with our decision and with the books that have been read and relationships that have grown in the time that might have been spent in front of the tv. The old tv worked well for watching videos on, and in times of something big like presidential debates and such we could hook it up and get a snowy picture.

This fall our baby goes off to college. Maybe it’s goofy, but I started thinking about how very quiet this house was going to be with them all gone. I’ve been trying to remember what DH and I did around here before kids. A tv kept popping into my thoughts.

So, guess what I got for Valentines Day?! DH knows I’m a sucker for the Winter Olympics and he surprised me. K and I have had a blast watching every night. So far, that’s all I’ve watched. But then there was the night DH needed to go to bed early, and the coke bottle television is in our room. I couldn’t watch the Olympics! I got myself all in a snit for a moment. Well, for a while. And then I realized how much I do not want my life to be centered around a tv. He slept, I read, and we were all just fine.

I do not want to have to worry that I’ll have to lug that thing across the country to try to throw it off the edge of the world like the bushmen finally did with their coke bottle!

Wednesday Link Love

Just put this up tonight, waiting for some little friends to visit so we can mark their names on our giant tape measure. Want one?

Go ahead and make a file for next years Valentines- or maybe you can think of fun ways to use this or this for some other occasion.

Check out this great stamp in Amy’s shop.

If you make these for someone you love, do you think they will ever ever forget the day you did and served them up?

Darn, I wish I had had this recipe on World Nutella Day!

Aren’t these great?! Could they be any simpler?

My son is traveling with these guys over spring break to do service projects and some concerts

I see some cherry blossom garland in my future!

Today is the birthday of my dear friend Beth. Beth is truly one of the brightest most energetic and creative people I’ve ever known. She has been my encourager, my muse, and she is who I want to be when I grow up. Happy Birthday Beth!

“props”

Several years ago when I entered into that peri-menopausal state where I could not order or contain my thoughts, I began to explore new ways to spend time in prayer and meditation.    I don’t even remember who introduced me to the finger labyrinth, but it has been a welcome friend for me.   I visualize different things as I trace its familiar corridors.  Sometimes I visualize myself walking past and away from the distractions of this world, or I envision all of the beloved saints and loved ones lining the corridors, pushing me on in my journey to the center.   If I am agitated or anxious,  as my fingers move along toward that special place in the center (which I call the lap of God!) I literally see myself leaving behind all of that stuff, moving to a place of peace and joy.  When a friend is going through something so horrible that I can’t even put prayer into words, I scoop up my beloved and carry them through the labyrinth, setting them down right there in the center of God’s great love. 

I began using prayer beads in much the same way.   Pictured here are my “at home” beads and my office beads.   Each bead represents someone I pray for regularly and is a reminder and a link between me and my family and friends and the larger world> Something about holding that tiny pebble of a bead helps me to better hold them in my heart.

Years ago during Lent we used a simple meditation bell to call us into a time of silence.  I’ve wanted one since then and it took me until the last few weeks to get my act together to find one.  Nine bucks at Amazon? Sold!  Loving it!

Anyway, if you are like me and need something physical to hold onto to anchor you to others, I recommend you put together your own little cast of colors and textures  

While snapping the above pictures, couldn’t resist a photo of a little tiny corner in my office.  I work in a busy clinic for folks who are living with and/or are affected by HIV.  There are not very many little pockets of whimsy in the clinic , so I created my own so that I never have to look far to see something I truly love.   Every little item has a story!