Five Minute Friday: Still

It's Friday (almost - I am in CA, after all) and I've completed one half of my two week in-residence training program in spiritual direction. (year one of two) I am stuffed so full, I can hardly move and it is just impossible to digest it well enough to post about at this juncture. So I sigh with relief at a prompt from Lisa - Jo = something outside the parameters of my life just now. Although I imagine that THIS prompt will resonate with some of what's happening in me just now.  The word this week? STILL

Only this week, she's sending out the prompt from {In}Courage and their link is this: http://www.incourage.me/2011/07/five-minute-friday-still.html 







GO:

I am still tall.  

I am still older than I feel. 

I am still heavier than I wish - though not as much so as one  year ago. 

I am still married. 

I am still a mom, a grandmom, a friend, a daughter, a learner, a follower of Jesus, a struggler. 

I am still a lover of beauty, of words, of bodies of water, most especially the ocean, of small children with their sweet smiles and delightful openness. 

I am still not a coffee drinker, not a wine drinker, not a cigarette smoker, not an athlete. 

I am still learning what it means to be among the last, the lost, the least, the littlest - those who are sought by the shepherd, those who are true residents of the kingdom. I am still puzzled and intrigued and frustrated at times by the upside down nature of the kingdom of God. 

I am still learning how to be still. Getting better at it with age and practice, but always and forever a learner, amen. 

I am still amazed at how blessed I am. 

I am still wondering what heaven is like. I mean the details, please. 

I am still me - but I am still discovering who she is. And I hope I always will be.


STOP


That's ALL I got tonight, folks. Wow, I'm tired. Here's a little peek at my home for these two weeks - got them uploaded but not yet labeled or edited much. Soon...I hope...soon, I will post a few reflective and illustrated posts about it all. It's all good - just a whole lot of it.

When a Bump in the Road Isn't...

O’Connor Road, San Luis Obispo CA

You’re heading in a particular direction, one you’ve worked toward, dreamed about, worried over, struggled to find. And out of the blue - WHAM! - you hit a major bump in the road. Suddenly a big old DETOUR sign looms in front of you and you’re left wondering, “What the heck was that??” 

Has this ever happened to you? 

It’s happened to me - more than once - but this particular story happened almost 10 years ago. Enough time has passed for me to be able to look back and see that this bump in the road turned out to be anything but a detour...

I'm writing today at the kind invitation of Michelle DeRusha over at her wonderful blog, Graceful

Just click on the link and head on over there to read about a lesson learned in a tough time, a lesson of grace and redemption and thanksgiving... And while you're there, check out Michelle's wonderful writing and gorgeous photographs. She's on a grand journey of discovery and I know you'll love reading about her, her family, her writing, her life in Nebraska.


And...

Kind friends - I am about 1/3 of the way through an intense two week training program in spiritual direction. I am living in community, attending amazing lectures, worshipping every day at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and gaining some wonderful insights into what monastic life is like. (Well...at least, a little bit...) That doesn't leave much room for reflection. I am hoping to get at least one post in this week, trying to capture for you what this experience is like. There is enough richness here to fill this blog for months, so I'd appreciate prayers for openness, stamina and discernment as I continue to immerse myself in what the Holy Spirit has for me here.  Thank you.

Five Minute Friday: Full...

Here we are again - it's Friday! And Lisa-Jo is back from her 3-week visit with family in South Africa and she's given us a lovely prompt for today - here it is in her own words:


On Fridays around these parts we like to write. Not for comments or traffic or anyone else’s agenda. But for pure love of the written word. For joy at the sound of syllables, sentences and paragraphs all strung together by the voice of the speaker.

We love to  just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. For five minutes flat.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in {you can grab the button code in my right side bar}.

3. Go and tell the person who linked up before you what their words meant to you. Every writer longs to feel heard.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes for the prompt:

Full… 

GO:

To the brim today, that's what full feels like. To the brim with gratitude, exhaustion, joy, celebration, connection, happy pride, all mixed together with some trepidation, uncertainty, unworthiness  and yes, I'll name it - fear.

The happy-full feelings are the residue of a lovely weekend of wedding, a small miracle story in our family circle which I've written about here and here and yes, also here. {it took 3 to get all the photos in!} Such a sweet story, such a sweet day. My grateful heart sings with joy at this denouement to what was for so many years a story of sadness. And I am so grateful to and for my family, I cannot find the words. EVERYONE worked hard to make this story happen - from my 90-year-old mom to my brother and his wife to all my kids and their kids to a few good friends who are like family to us. It was a good, good time.

The anxious-full feelings come because today I begin a 2-week in residence training program on my way to becoming a spiritual director. The anxiety is not huge, but the uncertainty and perhaps...curiosity...are huge. I began going down this road in a completely different direction, so this part is new and I am full of wonderment about how I got here.

STOP

 

Weekend Wedding Celebrations - Part Three - The People

This is the third in a series of multiple posts about our family celebrations this past weekend. Please prepare yourselves for a whole lot of scrolling and tons of pictures in each one! I'm joining with Emily W at canvaschild, with Bonnie G at FaithBarista and with Ann V at AHolyExperience for their weekly invitation to share about our faith walk:

 The transformation in the gathering space seemed almost miraculous to us as we worked together to create a place of welcome and warmth. And by the time we had done all that we could do, we were feeling more than a little bit fried around the edges. Fortunately, there are places called 'beauty salons' available to the female of the species and hot showers, fancy attire and small-spaces-for putting-feet-up available to all! Gracie joined us for hair-do time and watching her curls come together was a highlight of the whole day.

 Our middle daughter getting a sleek up-do to show off that lovely long neck...

My beautiful mama got even lovelier after 45 minutes in the magic chair...

 Gracie's mama radiating her usual beautiful self...

 pink sparkly nail polish to go with those curls...

 ...and a group shot with a breathless, tired bride who was the last to arrive for her makeover.

 The ring-bearer looking spiffy just before we left for the church...

 Among the jewels in our family crown - these two have been such a source of life and hope for our entire circle, arriving as they did during the beginning of Lisa's first husband's long, slow decline. They are exactly one month and one day apart in age and most of the time, they are bestest friends.

 Griffin getting a last minute touch-up from dad.

 And Gracie, looking lovely from the back as well as the front.

 I just love the crossed ankles and hands in the pockets here...

 Poppy bringing our littlest girl up for some pictures...

 She was not a huge fan of this slightly-too-large dress that matched her sister's, but I was lucky enough to get a few cute shots before she shed it!

 Dick and I cleaned up pretty well, too...

 ...and our baker boy was just too handsome for words.

 I don't think I've ever seen our daughter looking more radiant than she did that afternoon before, during and after the ceremony. There is the scent of miracle in this whole story and her face reflected that all day long. (Her eldest son is behind her - he was the official portrait photographer for the day, renting a fabulous lens and some lighting help for outdoor shooting. This kid is a pro at this and if I ever get any of those shots, I'll post a couple, I promise.)

 A quiet moment before the service - we pulled all the wooden benches on the church campus around the eating area and Lisa brought pillows and blankets from home to help create a welcoming, casually elegant ambience.

Just a couple of shots from the more private part of the day, the worship service in which these two became one in the Lord. But take a gander at what was going on in the seat beside me: Gracie was drawing what she saw while we watched the marriage happen.  Pretty good eye for detail for a 5-year-old, don't you think?? She got the lacing on Lisa's dress, the candelabra to the side, the flowers behind and Karl's long hair (although he is more roughly drawn :>)

The family lighting the candle together.

 A sweet kiss.

 The presentation to the congregation...

 ...and the exit to the waiting world.

 And then it was time to eat! Lisa bought all the ingredients for a fabulous platter of antipasto appetizers on each table and her dad and brother assembled them earlier in the day. The weather was so gloriously beautiful, however, that folks took a while to meander to their tables and actually enjoy it!

 The food was fun and fabulous - a transportable wood-burning pizza oven churned out five varieties of vegetarian pizzas for about 2 hours.  Our favorites were the eggplant parmigiana and the Yukon gold potato/dill.

 Our amazingly gifted worship pastor provided mellow music the entire evening.

 Lisa and Karl cut the cake, homemade by a long-time friend of ours and just part of a wonderful dessert buffet:

Joel's cupcakes, three kinds of pies from a wonderful house-shop nearby, an ice cream bar with 10 kinds of toppings and personalized candy kisses.

 As the evening deepened, the light from the lanterns added an almost magical, soft glow to everything, the fireplace of our church gazebo crackled invitingly and everyone felt glad and grateful to be there.

 We give thanks and glory to God for this - and for every - part of our family story. In the valley of despair, we clung with all our might to the presence of God, grateful for any small bursts of light and hope along the road. There were moments along that way when darkness seemed to cover the entire earth, and I will admit to some real doubt that we would ever see the dawn again. Yet here we are, on this side of that particular valley, blinded by the light of this hopeful season of renewal. May God grant them a long, fruitful life together with many rich memories of this weekend of love and celebration.