It’s time for me to get back into consistently blogging.
Nah…. Actually, I’ll be honest with myself and you. It’s time to start blogging consistently.
I’ve never really sustained a time, place, and pattern for writing and getting the thoughts and ideas rattling around in my brain out there more consistently.
Yes, these MEMEs could be considered a “teaser” for readers of blog posts yet to come.
More than anything though, these are reminders to myself that it’s long past time to leave words unspoken and things undone.
But of course, it won’t hurt my feelings at all if you tap that “subscribe” button in the lower left corner so you can read full blog posts on these MEMEs if/when I right them.
And… knowing people are watching, might just motivate me to get more of my thoughts, poetry, and such out there.
So, click subscribe and help a wanna-be writer out please? Who knows? The words you or someone else may need to hear might just be stuck in my head.
Survival is overrated. Choose, instead, to #thrive.I’m unsure of the original source of this quote, but it bears repeating.
I’ve heard this verse my whole life. (And I mean that literally because my earliest memories are of church and Sunday School 🤷♀️).
But because of the way my day started, these words hit me in a whole new way. I have always thought of this verse as an important reminder to have my Maker’s strength, voice, and guidance as the foundation of all I do and “build” in life.
Today, though, the first thing I heard upon groggily waking was my husband saying, “It rained hard last night so I am going to walk around and check the house.” Now, my first thought was appreciation for my husband because, not only did I not realize it rained hard last night, but I’m not great at noticing little things about the house that could become big problems like missing shingles or cracks in the concrete. (I’m probably too busy having conversations with birds and squirrels).
I began to think more my husband’s ongoing assessment and repair of small things that aren’t quite right with our home. All of these little but diligent and ongoing steps he takes to keep our home in good condition are steps toward creating the strong shelter that will be our place of safety and security for years to come.
This made me think of the verse in Psalm 127 a bit differently. Building a house isn’t a “one and done” thing – not if you want it to last, anyway. It is an ongoing process of upkeep and assessment that will enable the home to be a beautiful sheltering oasis for generations. I mean, just look around at ever-changing creation and you can tell that our God isn’t a “one and done” creator. He doesn’t breathe things into being and then leave them to decay. Seasons, night, day, weather, migration, and many other aspects of nature remind us that creation is a process.
This also makes me think of another one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139:14, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” It’s beautiful enough when you think of this verse in the context of our intitial formation and creation in our mother’s womb. But the realization that God just doesn’t “create and release” gives me chills.
Though we may not realize it, our Maker never stops making us and keeps assessing and reforming His creation. There are many days in each of our lives when He lovingly checks us. Perhaps he is saying even now, “Life rained down pretty hard in this child yesterday. I’m seeing some cracks. Time to patch them up!”
Knoxville has this Sunsphere from the World’s Fair one year. There’s another city or two that has a shiny sphere included in the skyline. This one is different though. It sparkles and glows in the sunlight and moonlight without the need for the electricity that flashes across the other cities’ spheres.
You see, each panel that forms the sphere is filled with 24 karat gold dust. It’s because the gold has been crushed that it reflects the light so beautifully.
So, if you’re feeling crushed by what’s going on in your world or the world at large, please hold on to the hope that the very thing that’s crushing you now will one day give you the ability to better reflect all that is beautiful and good.
What crushed you is the very thing that will help you brighten the dark places in this world.
Looking out of my apartment’s window on this Mother’s Day weekend….
I love it when the wind rocks the chair on my balcony. I like to think that my Mom dropped in from Heaven to sit with me for a bit. I know she would love that spot if she were still alive.
If you are blessed to have your Mom, your wife, your kids with you on this weekend – celebrate each other well – with not a drop of love held back.
But as for the rest of us: those of us who never had children, or Moms whose babies wait for them in heaven, or those of us whose Moms, wives, or those who have otherwise nurtured and loved us well no longer walk this earth with us… know that you are not forgotten and love and prayers rise up for you.
You see, to be a mother – a nurturing, life-giving one – isn’t limited to the physical bearing of children. And a mother’s love lives on long after the temporary separation death brings has occurred.
So my prayer for the rest of us on this weekend is that though it may be bittersweet – it will still be beautiful. May precious memories surround more than grief weighs you down. May you be reminded that your inestimable worth is not determined by your ability to give birth.
I say to you… to me… Happy Mother’s Day. On this weekend that is for many so bittersweet – May we sense the full and nurturing Presence of the One who died to set us free. And know, that when you have those moments when the tears begin to creep, He, too, understands and with you weeps.
A Prayer for Empathy from IsolationBy Tracy Mauro
March 24, 2020
A virus -
To our eyes unseen
Holds us under lock and key.
But still we find that we are free
Through purchased connectivity.
But what of those who aren’t so free?
Even in better times than these
Chronic illness, addiction, lack or disease
Makes isolation their constant reality.
Though we can't fully know their pain
Perhaps now we won't turn away
Now that we have had a little taste -
May this strange season birth new grace.
Yesterday…. these pictures dropped into my “Facebook Memories”. I took them during a bizarre spring snowstorm in Texas 10 years ago.
Perhaps the weather anomaly I photographed back then is a picture of what the world is going through right now in this pandemic-induced “winter” of illness, fear, and social isolation.
This has all hit us like a sudden spring snowstorm. The normal spring-song of the season suddenly muted by frozen tones of ice and snow.
Yet in this odd intersection – there is so much beauty. Some of the spring buds still shine as the press through the snow that so beautifully reflects the sun’s light.
And this same weekend in this most strange season…. This most beautiful poem begins making it’s way around – capturing well the absolute beauty that is still shining through this unsettlingly strange season we find our world in:
Lockdown by Brother Richard:
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
This is actually a re-blog from a post 3 years ago. But out of everything I’ve posted – my website stats show that this one continues to be the most searched and read.
Perhaps this is because traditional Mother’s Days gifts and greetings often exclude those who contribute to the nurturing and raising of many – but may not have their own actual children to show for it.
Whether you’ve spent the day with children and grandchildren, are estranged from your child and it breaks or heart, or if you’ve never been a mom in the traditional sense, the words in the blog below are for you. Who you are and why you do matters. Your impact and value exceeds anything you can imagine!
……………………………………..
Original post from May 9, 2016:
Happy Mother’s day to all women!
You might respond, “All women aren’t mothers”. I beg to differ.
One definition of “mother” describes the word as a verb meaning to “bring up with care and affection”.
Yes, some women bring up children in the traditional “mom” sense of the word.
But ALL women raise up other people through mentoring, coaching, leading, and loving.
So, beautiful one…. no matter what form your mothering takes – celebrate yourself and the powerful nurturing spirit your God and Creator lovingly breathed into you.
Healing is often a complex journey. Have patience with the process and be kind to yourself. And, remember…. there is never a moment where your Maker is out of earshot of your heart’s cry.
“I have told you all this so that You may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – Jesus (John 16:33 New Living Translation)
I’m wide awake in the middle of the night. But words like this flowing through my head and heart make it a whole lot easier to embrace peace. Rest in HIM.
No matter what’s going on in your life, don’t forget to tell yourself this:
Ragamuffin Oasis: Finding Our Places to Just Be 