Little Things, part 2

These small things were a large blessing to me lately.
1. A nifty, little, 'Made in the USA' can opener bought for a buck ($1.00) at Winn Dixie when I really needed one.



2. Key Lime seedlings/sprouts. Our friends gave us some Key Limes from their tree last year, and I saved some seeds. I was delighted when the first tiny thread-like sprout pushed through the soil. My dream is to nurture them for a year or two, and eventually have my very own tree in the yard, grown by me from the start.



3. Morning Glory vines have been covering shrubs and weeds on an empty lot, reminding me of Kudzu in their zealous advancement!

Lying, why?

I am working through feelings and issues that impact me and my family. Addiction, co-dependency and dysfunction used to put an undue burden on my life and my heart and contributed a block in my creativity. Over time, and most importantly through faith in a real and living God, healthier ways of living and coping are being sought and implemented in my life. Journaling is one tool on the road to healing. It helps me process and understand things in a more productive way.
Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
-Proverbs 12:19

The enemy has really been coming after me lately with lying. It's a hassle, to be sure, but I keep reminding myself that this is God's battle not mine. It's God's job to fight for me and vindicate me, if necessary. I am His child and I belong to Him. It's my job to remain faithful to Him and do what He says. Still it hurts. It hurts when people who I have only tried to care for and be good to, for some reason have targeted me with untruthful reports. I can only guess as to why this happens, but I can be an ambassador for peace and step up to rectify the situation. Which is what my husband (in the role of my pastor) advised me to do in one situation. So, I went forth, with this in mind, as an ambassador and asked, more or less, "What is wrong here and what can I do to rectify it?" It seemed to completely diffuse the situation and make things right, and that is my hopeful prayer, though I have learned that only time will tell.

photo by bof1391
In another particular situation, I confronted an already estranged loved one with their lies, when I discovered them. They responded by further alienating themselves. There was already a wall between us, and they raised it another few feet and added some barbed wire and a lock. They are the one who lied, and I am being treated like the perpetrator, not only by this loved one but by others who seem to defend them by treating me with disdain. Why does my loved one seem to get a pass from others when they lie and engage in other hurtful behaviour? Why do I get a tongue-lashing and a cold shoulder for calling them on their behaviour? My heart is a little sick with hurt over this unfair treatment, I feel a little like the Biblical David did here. How long with this nonsense go on? As long as there is an evil enemy loose in this world. I am reminded of the old quote, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ I refuse to do nothing anymore. I refuse to walk on eggshells, sugar-coat, pretend nothing is wrong. I will also do what I can to reconcile, as I tried above. I will call a spade a spade and I suppose I will have to live with the fall out from that.

Weird, Wacky and True (probably), vol. 2

I found out last week that there is a roofing company here in The Keys in which the the roofers, 2 middle aged guys with average physiques, wear thongs. I'm not talking about flip-flops on their feet. Yes folks they're up on your roof, nailing down shingles in their thongs. Now there's something you probably don't see every day, but really no surprise for Keys Dwellers.

When It Comes To Children In Church We Have An Organic Approach

I had a spiritual awakening and became a Christian while I was pregnant with my first child. I toted my baby along with me to every church service, revival, bible study I could. I even brought him with me on home and hospital visits, probably a little unadvisedly, but he’s none the worse for it. When he was fussy, I did all kinds of things to distract him. I gently and firmly eased him into realizing that he could play quietly in church, but if he was going to be disruptive enough to make me have to take him out, it would not be fun. I used positive and negative reinforcement. So when I had other children or had occasion to help our with friends' children in church, I applied the same principals, suiting things to the different personalities of each child. Anyway this whole notion of children and church got me thinking of a word that is very popular today, “organic.”

Organic - 2. developing naturally: occurring or developing gradually and naturally, without being forced or contrived 3. intrinsic: forming a basic and inherent part of something and largely responsible for its identity or makeup

I am not an extreme advocate of home-schooling, attachment parenting and co-sleeping, however, I see the value and the lessons we can learn from those concepts, and I respect them. The older children get, the more they naturally grow apart from their family. That is how we humans develop and become independent. Conversely, the younger children are, the more they benefit from being close to their parents through the course of daily life. In the younger years they learn and observe, as by osmosis, at their parents' side, as they are gradually launched toward independence.

We believe there should be a certain amount of age-specific spiritual training for children separate from the greater church services. It seems that the popular mode of operating for most churches is to divide everyone into their age-specific and life-centric little category and then put them in that small group to learn. There is some value in that, and there are times when those kinds of classes are necessary in a church. Many people will not even attend a church that does not have a nursery, or a singles group, or other kind of group that is very specific to them. I think that is a shame. If our pattern is to be like Jesus, and His Disciples, and the First Century Church they began, then we must realize they built a church community where everyone came together. Jew and Gentile, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. Recall that even Jesus’ disciples wanted to keep the children separate, but He corrected them and told them to bring the children to Him right along with everyone else. That was a pretty radical idea at the time.

Some people hold the opinion that it's boring and inappropriate for children to be in church. Many parents are frazzled by a stressful week. When they arrive at church and their children act typically or even misbehave (as all children do at times), they’d prefer to have their child in another place. They’re sensitive to how others will feel about being disrupted, and perhaps they’d like to soak up the service without distraction. I can understand and relate to that. When parents need a break, as they surely do sometimes, it is the job of their friends within the church to run interference for them and help with the children. We need to pinch hit for one another. We need to understand that children will be a little immature and even noisy in service at times. They can be distracted and taken outside or to another room if necessary. Children will learn how to act in church and other places like restaurants, the more often they are taken to those places and taught, encouraged and expected to act accordingly.

Parents (or whatever other adult fulfills that role in their life) are their children’s first and most important teachers, and it seems the most natural thing to us when children are with their parents as often as possible. Togetherness as a family or community is a rarity today, everyone is busy and working and playing in different places. Children are with caregivers and coaches, and we almost expect the few hours of church we have together each week to be another time the baby is in the nursery, the toddler is in the 2-3 year old Sunday School Class and the teen is in youth group. Again, I am not saying that those various classes aren't valuable and don't have a place. I'm just saying that in our church, separate time is limited. Most of the time we encourage you to keep your child with you in the pew. You’ll be close to your child guiding by example and gentle encouragement, modeling what it is to be a Christian worshiping and learning in community with other Christians. That is why I say that when it comes to children, our ministry takes an organic approach.


Above picture from U.S. National Archive Photostream.

Born a Penny, Pennies from Heaven

I was driving one of my children home from a lesson when I stopped to get gas. As I returned to my vehicle after paying, I looked down and found a shiny, copper penny. It was tails down. I think I like "tails" because it has always been more popular in my experience for people to call "heads" and I always wanted to be different. I've preferred "tails" since I was a little and coin tosses, along with Rock, Scissors, Paper and "Ennie-meanie-miney-moe" with your fists, were the common mode of making choices and picking people in childhood games and such.

I picked up the penny and placed it in my pocket. I thought of my sweet and superstitious Mother. She never misses picking up a coin and always told us, "See a penny, pick it up, and all day long you'll have good luck." I'm beyond believing in luck, yet my Mom's words stick with me and I pick up pennies with her fondly in mind. I also will admit to having a guilty pleasure in reading Dear Abby/Ann Landers kind of columns. One of those columns had published "Pennies from Heaven" stories that seem to comfort people, even if it is kind of hokey and superstitious. Anyway, this jumble of things go running through my mind when I see a penny on the ground.

After I picked up the shiny, little coin I got in my van and drove on my merry way. I turned on the radio and heard this song, "Born a Penny" by Shemekia Copeland, for the very first time ever. Funny coincidence, don't you think?

favorite old-school children's shows

Remember when Sesame Street was cool and edgy when we GenX-ers were young? It wasn't all politically correct and celebrity navel gazing back then, though it was diverse and included well-known figures from our culture.



Some of the other shows I remember liking:
New Zoo Revue
Hodgepodge Lodge
Electric Company
Schoolhouse Rock
Barbapapa
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
The Banana Splits
Land of the Lost

But my all time favorite is Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood.

What are some of your favorites?

What if...

What if angels have wings like moths and butterflies, rather than the birds wings they are usually depicted with in art?






picture byfathero9

Winter Tree

On a winter's day somewhere north of here the sun shines down
but cannot melt
the icy cold snow of her heart
she is a beautiful tree
but brittle from the freeze
If the dead things can break off
and fall away during a winter storm
In the warming spring
new life will come
and there will be buds and leaves
flowers in summer, then
fruit will come
if...only things
die and break away
in the right season.

©M.D.V.

Sunday Dinner, vol. 3

Today I served my simple chicken curry in the crock pot, brown rice and fresh Cuban bread.

Turn crock pot on high and use enough olive oil to coat the bottom of it. While the pot is heating. Get chicken ready. I used 6 smallish boneless, skinless breasts. You could use thighs or breasts with or without the bone. I mix curry powder to taste with enough flour, salt, pepper and sometimes a dash of garlic powder to coat the chicken. I recommend at least 2 tablespoons of curry. Coat the chicken in the flour curry mixture, and then add to the hot oil. If there is not too much of the flour mixture left, throw it over the chicken. Let cook for awhile, 20 minutes to an hour, whatever's convenient for you, I think that browning the curry before you add the tomatoes & water makes it even more flavorful. You can even use tongs to turn the chicken after they've been browned on one side. Then add a can or 2 of diced or stewed tomatoes and pour over chicken. Add about half a tomato can of water. I also peeled 2 large carrots and grated them in the cheese grater and stirred them into the sauce a little. Cook in crock pot for a couple of hours. Add some raisins about 10-15 minutes before serving. I used three of the larger individual snack size boxes. Serve over rice, with plenty of the sauce. It very hearty and homey.

In the past I have used diced green peppers.

Song Memory: How Great Thou Art

This is an old hymn, and it has great significance for me. I don't recall being familiar with this old hymn, well known as it may be, during my Catholic upbringing. I came to know it later on, during my spiritual awakening in adulthood. I have mentioned before how during my formative period as a 'new convert' I had gladly and willingly eschewed my former worldly musical tastes and replaced them with listening to only Christian music and hymns. I found it necessary to do so for many years, as the layers of my old life and habits were being peeled away and being replaced with a renewed heart and mind. I believe God asks this for many of His followers, it's just a time when we have to draw close and focus on Him and leave our past behind us. Music was a big part of my life, and so I needed a break from the secular and worldly aspects of it for awhile.

My earliest recollection of this song is when I heard the character Julia, played by Dixie Carter, sing it (here) on the TV show Designing Women. I was watching a rerun of the show during one of those middle-of-the-night baby feeding sessions. (Sometimes I liked it silent and peaceful and sometimes I needed a little distraction.)

Later on, and during my short jaunt in another state, this song was on a cassette tape by some local or regional Southern Gospel group that played at my church. (I have another artist's version here.) At that time we lived in a small, rented farmhouse in a rural area of a wild, wonderful state. I had only one little child then, and we went on daily walks and hikes through country roads, fields and the mountainous wooded areas. There were rocky cliffs, and even a nice sized waterfall within hiking distance. In my mind I can still see the lushness of spring, appearing wet and minty green after a cold, barren winter. In the late spring and early summer the orange daylilies were bursting onto the side of the road. Later on came the vivid autumn leaves, with their palette of my favorite colors, browns, golden yellow, burnt orange and deep scarlet red. Place that against a blue sky and the beauty is amazing. I often sang quite audibly on our hikes, I am just that kind of person, and I heard it clears the bears. It was living there, hiking there and driving on those country roads that the words of this song came gloriously alive for me. That song was exactly the picture of my life then. I was a bit solitary, with just a small child as my companion, wandering through the woods, hearing the brooks, pondering the greatness of God and the beauty of the creation He made, and really falling in love with Him.





photos byJeffery(lily)
b3nscott(barn)
respres(stream)

Good Words and an Ode to a Punk

Have you ever had a few words or a conversation with someone that stuck with you, like forever? Those words that pass between us, particularly when we're young, are the words that shape us in various ways. They can be positive or negative words.

Since I began embarking on this artist's journey to recover my creativity a couple of years ago, I have thought much about that. In part because of an exercise in The Artist's Way. Today I am writing about positive conversations that blessed me and stayed with me. I am going to dwell on those good words in honor of a long lost acquaintance whom I only recently discovered had passed away.

V.Z. and I ran around with the same extended group of crazy punk friends sometime during our teens. I can't remember exactly how and where we met. I knew his little sister and hung out with her a bit. We had some other mutual friends. I remember him as a crazy (in a good way) fun-loving guy. Zany antics are what I recall about V.Z.

One night many of us were hanging out and having fun out by a bonfire in a semi-secluded, semi-wooded area. People were coming and going, laughing and running around. If my hazy middle-aged memory serves, it might have been a wooded area that was being cleared for yet another subdivision in Florida. Anyway, that's not important.

I can't remember exactly what we were talking about, just that there was a lot of crazy frolicking and carousing going on, and we were probably having a joking or lighthearted conversation. What's important is that for a few brief minutes V.Z. and I were alone by the fire, and he looked at me and said, "You're not a dumb-dumb girl, are you? You're smart." How do you answer something like that. I was a little stunned.

I had been labeled a 'dumb blonde' in my early teens, and though my hair was darkening over the years, the term stuck. I really struggled with a certain subject in school, and there were circumstances in my home life and past that also contributed to my less than stellar self-esteem. At that time I waffled between teenage rebellion and just doing and acting in ways that I thought people expected me to act because I thought it was easier than being myself. I was so shy and insecure, and I tried to hide that various ways but I was growing, really starting to think for myself and be true to myself. Still, that was somewhat hazy, because I was quite young. Somehow that very small conversation with V.Z. encouraged me. It was like a little light went on amid the b.s. and subterfuge of teen angst and insecurity. Those new muscles I was flexing didn't go noticed by V.Z., he noticed a sliver of the real me and reacted positively and I knew he wasn't trying to scam* me either.

Looking back now, I think that conversation was like a compass, and in a small way, helped me move into a better direction. V.Z. was a good kid when I knew him, may God rest his soul. Thanks for the kind words V, I hope you are resting in peace and rejoicing with God in heaven.

"May the force be with him always."

Light and Rain

This morning I walked into the kitchen and opened my east facing blinds. The sunlight streamed in and filled the room. It glistened on the raindrops that clung to the window and dripped from the roof overhang outside. Again, I was struck by the slight change in the quality of light. Rather than a warm light, it was cooler, like the difference between lemon yellow and golden or ochre yellow. Rather than being primarily warming and soothing, I found it refreshing and invigorating. And I hadn't even had my coffee yet.

Museum of Jewish Heritage

If you're ever in NYC you have to see this museum. We visited the museum during our trip to the city this past summer. Like many museums, there are times and days where admission to the museum is free or discounted. Considering our budget, we take full advantage of that blessing. We used the audio tour, which I recommend. The museum is laid out in chronological order, ascending from the first floor up. I made it through the first floor with no problem. It was very interesting and informative about the establishment and beginning history of several Jewish families in Europe and America. Two-thirds of the way through the second floor, I was overwhelmed with the brutality and reality of The Holocaust. I just cried and cried like a baby, right there in front of all the fellow patrons. It's heavy.

In the museum's gift shop I was delighted to find a tile plaque I've been wanting for a long time. It says "Shalom, ya'll."

Autumn and the Changing Quality of Light - Journal Entry

Yesterday I noticed that the quality of light from the sun was different. This subtle shift in the look of sunshine signaled for me that the season had changed. I think there is less heavy saturation of light, if that makes sense. Summer is dazzlingly bright here, Fall is slightly different. There is a tinge less humidity in the air, though the heat is still thick and oppressive. I don't know why Autumn makes me feel a little invigorated. It always has. Maybe because it's the season that contains my birthday, and I fell in love with big Daddy during Autumn. Do those facts contribute to the fact that when Fall is here I feel a burst of energy and as if I have a clean slate upon which to draw something fresh? I came alive in Autumn through birth and later in finding my TrueLoveSoulMate. I think every season is nice when it first arrives.

So I am listening to my Autumn Music Playlist.

I am a little swollen and itchy because I ate something, or something bit me, or I'm having a reaction to soap, the usual culprits. I have been taking Benedryl to keep my discomfort at bay, but it's making me feel drowsy, lousy and high and I don't like it.

Weird, Wacky and True (probably), vol. 1

When I was about 16 or 17, my beautiful, midnight blue Chevy Camero was broken into one night while it slept quietly in my parents' driveway. Though it was rummaged through and in a bit of disarray, the only thing stolen was my copy of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' Pack Up The Plantation (live). That would happen only in Apopka, don't ya think?



Speaking of Tom Petty...

This old clip from Wings is part of our family tradition concerning Mr. Petty, he has always been a favorite of mine. We call him the most handsome man in rock and roll, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.