prayer: lord, it is night.

Lord, it is night.


The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God.


It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.

The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.

The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.

(Night Prayer from the Anglican prayer book in New Zealand)

thank you, Jenny, for posting this on FB.  Needed this tonight.  maybe some of you do, too.  i get so caught up when there's much to do...so much to do.  "what has been done has been done; what has not been dones has not been done; let it be."  letting it be, lovelies.  

life stories: {this} moment. nest building + wish casting.

in some of these moments i'm making a little nest. a literal nest. one that will be shared soon.  one that holds memories and hopes of life ahead for a dear friend.  i'm building something sweet that fills my soul. 

the nest you see pictured here was made by these hands for a sweet hazel wren, daughter to two dear, dear souls.  i love my kindred spirits around my world that bring light and life.  i love stitching for each of them, sending light and love with each stitch.

i love that these sacred stitches will hang in hazel's room, adding color that reflects the bright life she will lead.  such dreams we put into their sweet little lives.  as i stitch i'm sending out wishes for each: i wish for each love. wholeness in mind, body, and spirit. peace (in the spirit of shalom & wholeness). kinship. to be known. to be seen. to be heard.  i wish for each friendship. true friendship. forever friendship. soul friendship.  

life story: marking moments.

life's full of marking moments.  today is no different.  

sometimes it's in celebration of life, of birth, of memory.  sometimes it's to allow the tears to flow after an uphill climb.  you've reached the top of the mountain and you plant your flag into the soil.  i've reflected on such moments for some time and cannot help but create such a ritual to share through my art. 

hearts, stars, and circles (not pictured) on a stick.  these are the flags that can be placed in a jar, on a cupcake, on a cake, or can lean well in a window or altar.   

as i celebrate and grieve my sweet boy's marking moment today, i will carry the memory.  today marks three years of love, care, and growth from the amazing folks at his day school.  he's growing up.  today marks such growth and life.  i celebrate and i breathe in the memory of it all.  

i will remember in my own ways.  he will, too.  i know this day will carry emotion for each of us.  i hope that in my mothering role i am able to help him to articulate his emotions and carry them well.  may we all do such work in our lives.  

life stories: in the garden.

there's so much goodness in our small plot of earth.  

i love seeing the sedum multiplying year after year. 

 i love finding the earthworms in my son's hands, under his trowel.  

i love, love the helloborus blooming a glorious display 

(lenten rose in the top right) along the front of the house. 

i love spaces and gardens that abound in other places.  

a garden of beautiful colors and tones that we can delight in.  

a garden of toys (barbarians and romans, i believe) 

that my son has his dear heart set upon. 

there are sacred gardens that we tend.  

story gardens.  

gardens that give our bodies and souls food for the  feast.  

as i work in my own garden i am doing so 

mindful of the space of this year's FEAST. 

 if you love the spirituality of baking bread, 

the space of good food and great conversations around table. 

 if you love feasting upon good, feisty women: come.  

you are invited to attend, welcome at the table.

life stories: sacred moments.

i continue to practice awakening to glimpses of the sacred in the every day.  naming what and where i see the divine in daily living.  in the dust, dirt, smiles, tears... in our meals, our rhthms...

see what i see in these small glimpses.  each day of lent will lend itself well for further reflection and space. i look forward to my daily gifts of giving and receiving in this sacred season.  living well. loving well.

take a moment: take a deep breath. know that you are loved. know the sacred rests within you, within each breath.  give thanks.

sending you love and light this moment. peace. peace to you and yours this ash wednesday.

life stories: always remembering.

there are times when we break bread together, sharing our stories, hopes, and hurts. there are times when we drink together, doing the same and also adding laughter and love.

i've been thinking a bit about confession & communion through deitrich bonhoeffer's life together as i've prepared a creative worship service for VA ministers attending an overnight retreat.

i think about how we hold ourselves back from others, whether in protection, fear, or routine. i think about how we carry hurts and wounds far longer than we ought. i think about the places for healing that shape us in our lives of caring for others. healing that takes place through tree branches, light, and color. my mind wanders over the landscape of memory to recall those i have hurt, held myself arm's length of, those i've misunderstood.

changing the vantage point, the space where i view the road traveled, i am given hope. we are all becoming. in the spaces of living, of being present, we are blooming into being. we are given the chance to become new again and again.

each day i awake to possibility. when i listen to inner wisdom, when i am present to myself, when i am fully attentive to the present moment, when i am seeking, when i am centering, when i am becoming mindful of those around me, i am living fully. there will always be difficult moments. there will be argumentative folks, negative folks, disagreeing folks. there will always be the other choice, the other road, the other response. breathe in, breathe out. move on.

again and again we return to breaking the bread, sharing the meal together with stories, hopes, and hurts. we share the cup and add laughter and love. we offer ourselves to one another and we are fully present to this moment, this body, this space. we can become for ourselves and one another the healing that we each need.

my theology always returns to a theology of presence. who are you present to in this moment?

draw in a deep breath, breathing in love for yourself. draw in a deep breath, exhaling the love from within sharing it to those that surround you.

called to create: sacred spaces in the every day

during 2011, i will spend a year naming the sacred moments experienced in the art of daily living. one moment named & visually recorded per day. throughout 2010, the practice of naming a creative act in each day was documented through my blog, called to create.

from sweeping as a spiritual act to peace work in sewing to the spaces of soul food and kindred spirits, the 2011 journey will be documented in the space of called to create as i am creating space for naming the sacred in the dirt, in the dust, in the lived-in spaces of our lives.

follow the journey. make space in your own day to discover, to name, and to create the sacred spaces of daily living.