An Intention to Learn

Linking with Emily's community for What I Learned in February. Join me as women of faith chat with humor, surprise, or tongue in cheek about the past 30 days of living this great big life we've been blessed with!

Here are my thoughts. Just the highlights, the best or the parts that are mine to share.

1. Mild winter weather has its beauty and I have enjoyed being outside on these uncommonly warm days. But there is a much bigger global picture to this phenomenon that is deeply concerning. A fictional account in Barbara Kingsolver's book Flight Behavior highlights how warmer temperatures can be devastating to the existence of multiple species dependent on stable environments for food sources and producing their young, not to mention the fires and floods that threaten human lives. A most impactful read.

2. Jeanne Oliver teaches online art courses. I'm participating in "Reflections: Paint Your Story" which includes collage, portraiture, symbolism, mark making, and more. It is awesome! Nurturing my soul and extending my art. Here is my work titled "Generation After Generation", honoring my family's deep ancestral roots.

Generation After Generation: Acrylic and Vintage Papers, By Lisa Moreland

3.Mentoring is awesome and has multiple examples in the Bible: think Elisha and Elijah, Mordecai and Ester, Elizabeth and Mary, Jesus and the Disciples. Studying Jessica LaGrone's curriculum, Set Apart, with a dozen other women this past month. Lots of self reflection and deep learning in this study.  

4. It's the final season of "Downton Abby" and "The Good Wife". I tell myself one really should not lament such trivial matters. Even so, a series with strong characters, excellent dialog, creative plot twists, and talented performances without terrorism and forensics are hard to come by. 

Grateful for these experiences and all the endless possibilities. New learning is available every day when we intend to have eyes that watch for it and ears that hear it.

Terrain and Lenses

Gazing out the window of an aircraft can offer the most magnificent of perspectives. Looking back reveals the terrain that has already been traveled across in all its undulating, traversing intricacy. Valleys are apparent, river crossings are complete, distances from one point and to another are fairly clear. 

Pondering the living of the past year can be approached from a similar perspective; spread it all out, look back for familiar markers, and consider the ground that has been traveled.

Nourishing Ties

As I do so, a large swath of such a blanket of last year’s doings represents family. Mine is large and geographically far flung, desert to tropics, woodlands to prairies, nearly coast to coast, requiring a determined “get out there” and see them intention. Those multiple travels rendered tender days of crisp memories, deeply nourishing ties that had gone adrift for too long. Though the effort to reconnect with so many still extends into the new year, its encouraging to anticipate the renewal of each relationship.

Soul Space and Lunar Reality

Across the months of any year there are the shadows of darkness. Events that stun, circumstances that pull the air out of every sail. A backward glance at the past twelve months can’t ignore the hues of heaviness that we must learn to bear. There is much to be said about the understandings that were seared by the hurt and the capacity of endurance that was tested. However along side that level of learning, I garnered additional insight about the elements of darkness that are more benign, the ancient history of God’s presence there, the long lost value of being familiar with the dark. Barbara Brown Taylor writes of such wisdom in Learning to Walk in the Dark. Knowing darkness well, both as a soul space and a lunar reality, tempers fear.

Global View, Scriptural Compass

Increasingly as world dramas have ticker-taped their way across every screen and voices intone in decibels just below shrill screams, I have strived to imagine a global perspective, since presumably this is God’s perspective — of His world, His people, His cosmos. From the thinnest atmosphere, with the benefit of recorded history, and through the lens of scripture…that widest scope influences priorities and opinions.

The terrain of 2015 was as diverse as each of its predecessors, both personally and historically.  As the phrase from A Tale of Two Cities declares, every era “is the worst of times and the best of times”. In any calendar year, it matters greatly what maps and lenses you use to guide your way.

*   *   *

Linking with Emily Freeman's What I Learned Community, Coffee for Your Heart, Weekend Whispers, & Tell His Story.

September Memories

Brilliance and creativity arrive on my screen throughout the month. Some really talented folks creating gorgeous posts and some really smart folks sharing their expertise. Here are a few that lit up my heart this September.

~ Got inspired to transition the house to fall decor after watching these home tours, "Finding Fall Home Tours",  inspired by BHG. Which home is your favorite?
http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2015/09/18/finding-fall-home-tour-with-better-homes-and-gardens/

~  Prose that reads as poetry. A beautifully written post honoring September memories.  http://ripplespeak.com/2015/09/september-singing/

~ Thought I was Word Wise, not so much. Confounded hard word usage article that husband and I used to test-ourselves. Yeah. Missed nearly half of these.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/65217/20-word-usage-mistakes-even-smart-people-make

~ Sang loudly in the car, with this song by Jordan Feliz. Favorite verse,"YOU WILL BE CHANGED!"

~ Getting past seasons of chaos; who doesn't need insight on that from time to time. Thoughts shared by Seth Haines.
http://sethhaines.com/recovery-room/4669/

~ Read these words on intercessory prayer;  pondered them for days and imagined God dispatching angels in a collective response of His will and the believer's faith.

Gathering the beautiful, the inspired, the faith filled...punctuates my days with encouragement and blessings. What shined brightly for you in September?

July Smolders into August

July heat, an open oven door, with the scent of over toasted bread. 

Air meandering heavy and slow, dense with crackled dryness. 

The flag barely able to rustle itself from a limp fold of cloth on the pole. 

A full compliment of summer’s winged critters swarm, skim, and hum above the pond’s undisturbed surface, the sole opposite of lazy in the heat of mid-day.

Shuttered in the shade, slates angled to reflect rays elsewhere;

pondering what remnants of deep summer shine most in my memory…

~ Blueberries. 

Mounds of Michigan blueberries. Folded into pancakes topped with maple syrup, covered with milk and sugar, or nibbled dark-blue-fresh straight from the bowl. Summer’s orbs of berry-liciousness!

~ Huldah, holy woman of great reputation, chosen by God to be a prophet, teacher, and adviser to Kings! Listen up folks, she taught men! She was selected above Jeremiah, to inform the King about God’s will {2 Kings 22:1-20}. Take heart sisters in Christ, God does indeed call women to proclaim His word.

~ Reading Anthony Doer’s novel, All the Light We Can Not See…

in contrast to its title, SHINES big time on my recommendations to read. It’s multiple themes, creative intricacies, historical depth, wondrous characters, and sweeping plot enthralled me for a marathon four day reading binge. Go now. Download today.

~ Seriously now, what shines brilliantly among July’s memories 

would be a fervent message on Christian compassion. 

In the 4th video of Andy Stanley’s boldly honest video series Your Move, Stanley says even though Christians are told in John 13:34-35 to “Love one another”, he honestly admits, “Church people are some of the meanest people you know.” “(We) mistreat people in the name of Jesus.” In response, he expertly expounds on Colossians 3:12, “Clothe yourself with compassion…” reminding us that Christ means, “I want this (love and compassion) to mark you!” Yes indeed, that message burned deep in my heart in the midst of this July.       

http://yourmove.is/episode/ep4-follow-wear/

~ And, the frivolous is not to be left out, loving the new series, “Giada in Italy”. 

Really, my cooking interest (and talent) is modest. However filming of the Mediterranean gem that is Positano, captures my visual senses. Local markets, stucco architecture in contrast to brilliant flowers, melded with gorgeous food preparation…I’m in.

It’s the season to ice that tea, seek the shade, relish bone deep warmth, and ponder what memories shine bright for you this summer.

*   *  *

Linking with Chatting at the Sky, Weekend Brew, & Still Saturday this weekend.

The Cusp of a New Year

Teetering on the edge of a year, 
on the end of another 365 days, 
a brisk glance back brings a few thoughts to mind;
some are simply musings.
Others, really essential.

1. It’s beneficial to record a list of the Books I’v read. For one thing, I surprised myself by the shear number of titles that I’v poured through this past year. 34 books, from several genres, on multiple topics, with faith, art, writing, and strong female characters being predominant themes across nonfiction and literature. Another benefit of the list are the cues offered in remembering titles and content, not to mention insight as to the ebb and flow of my interests, and finally, it makes recommending books easier. 
2. Fiction that taught me the most: Orphan Train and The Invention of Wings.
3. Memoir that made the most indelible impression: Lit by Mary Karr and The Sacred Journey by Buechner.
4. Writers greatly entertain me when they write about writing, such as The Memoir Project by Marion Smith and Pat Conroy’s, My Reading Life.  
5. Talking to my Pastor is something I’ll do more often. Especially when a well known, highly respected, Bible curriculum writer puts forth an interpretation that resonates badly with one’s heart. A good conversation on theology with a compassionate and learned pastor is enlightening, not to mention, good for the soul.
6. Being the Nana of 4 year old  twins is even better than being the Nana of three year old twins. Four year olds send you a hand signed Christmas card. Four year olds remember those swimming lessons that you and grandpa took them to. Four year olds ask their mother if they can call Nana (well, of course!). Four year olds ask “Can we make muffins?” and “What project did you bring for us to do together?”. 
7. Reflections are a second chance to see the wonder. I have taken to noticing the myriad of images that are reflected in our immediate environment. I wrote about it over here. It’s magical to consider the optical science at work in this often missed mirrored world that we pass through every day. It has become one more of those spiritual practices that I weave into my living in order to attend more closely to God’s complexity and awe.
8. Have no doubt. In the midst of wrapping worry around the world’s ongoing traumas and raging atrocities, I wrote here about those three words that rose to my attention last summer. Three words that remain bold within my heart, a bold proclamation of God’s Time regardless of what new year may be marked by mankind.
9. Time is rolling waves of blessed potential. Truly. Capture its gift with hungry hearts. This post last December recalled the words from the 90th Psalm. 
10. The New Year bells come faster across a lifetime; ringing out that snowy year in the seventies just old enough for the first toast with champagne, ringing out in ’81 with a newborn at my breast, ringing out in ’97 newly remarried walking home in the starlight and glitter of softly falling snow, ringing out in 2010 grateful for husband's restored health and the birth of infant grandsons, ...and here they are again, ringing out in 2014. 
11. God's blessings are abundant. Every season, every year. More on abundance over here. With vigilance the reward is sacred. Warm your soul in the abundance of God's grace this year and every year!

Linking with others pondering the New Year over at Emily's blog. Join us.
 We would be please to have you stop by!

Slower Steps {Learning to Take the Long Way Around}

Taking shorter steps, slower steps, allows the early morning breeze to be savored, its banking, soft approach is noticed, its reoccurring wisps of cooler threads do not escape attention and are a welcome surprise this deep into the August summer. Freedom to take the long-way-around offers the most shaded canopy branching wide, ladened with the season’s full foliage. 

Passing the homes along each block ...

I’m aware that they’re likely empty on a weekday morning, just as my own was during the years of scheduled and contracted productivity. Occupants are at their office, at their desks, on their computers, attending to agendas, checking off lists, collaborating, reaching for goals, gaining information, experience, livlihoods...globally, homes are empty and work is moving history along.

Still walking, slowly... 

I recall the physical pace of those productive years. From the moment of leaving bed in the predawn of each day, the work day steps were accumulated with only occasional interruption, until back at home, end of day dishes were done, bath and stories were done, and all needs for the next morning’s departure were collected at the door. Steps were rarely short and certainly not slow. On arrival to campus, those steps were purposefully taken in a circuitous route, calculated to complete efficiently as many tasks as possible along the way, often in the company of twenty or so young students and the coral-ing of their many steps.

Crossing the street to follow the shade and the bend of the tree lined curb…                                                                    I ponder the process that took place to step out of that pace of daily living, to mentally step back from the persistent multitasking drive that accomplishes a never ending magnitude of responsibilities in the finite hours of a day. It was a process of gradual recalibrating of the priorities of time that allowed the external race walker to convert to walker seeking internal peace. Intentionally, it has become acceptable to take shorter steps and move at a slower pace. Not because I’m incapable of that meteoric pace, but because the value of attention to the bounty of this world, the bounty of  this fleeting life, can only be captured when its not being raced past in a blur. 
                                                       * * *

Transitions take so many forms and all are challenging. What motivates you to engage in the process, to 'slow your steps' or 'take the long way around'?

Linking with TellHisStory and Weekend Brew. Enjoy the photos and thoughts of these fellow writers by clicking on the links below.

Beaches

I linger over a photo of our precious little grandsons; 
standing side by side on the pristine beach, gingerly venturing out into the foaming surf, thrilled by the cold blue waves and the tickle of Gulf shore sand washing against their feet. 

In the way that thoughts wander, 
in my mind’s eye 
I travel across that same blue sea stretching vast across the planet 
to the Mediterranean shores where it is not safe for other little children to play. 
Places where wars rage.

Then I imagine being able to visually draw back from these beaches just as the satellites do; taking in more and more land mass until its the large curving surface of our living planet that is seen spinning endlessly beneath its cameras.

On that ever rotating mass of miraculous alchemy of water and earth 
there are billions of life incidents occurring. 
Billions of human actions taking place. Billions of actions enacted with mercy and compassion. 
And then there are the others. 

In seeking God’s peace
the response seemed to be, 
"Have no doubt."
All of it is enacted under the gaze of our Holy Creator God. 
And all of it will be redeemed by His incomprehensible power, 
in His good time.

"From heaven the Lord looks down

and sees all mankind;

from His dwelling place he watches

all who live on Earth –

he who forms the hearts of all,

who considers everything they do."

Psalm 33:13-15

                                                         ~

Linking with Emily, click here at Chatting At the Sky as we bloggers gather to muse over what we learned this summer and with Still Saturday where the gifts of Sabbath thoughts are shared.

What I Learned in May: The Speed of Life

For the preceding three hundred and sixty five days 

I’d been standing on that decade marker. 

An even number, 

divisible by ten 

with a zero in the ones place. 

The zero in the ones place is essential. 

Essential to the emotional clinging, the avoidance of embracing an additional decade of age. As long as the zero was there (I thought to myself) I had not actually stepped off INTO the next decade. I could still glance over my shoulder and feel only a bit removed from the younger decade that I had just lived beyond. The younger decade suggested a half way mark through life. The next decade heralds (very loudly) that I’m two thirds of the way done. 

You see how this clinging to that zero takes on more importance! 

Well, we all know the drill. 

Twelve more months did slip by.  

And once again I faced my May birthday. The LED of my age did blink, replacing the zero with a one. Somehow the six in the tens place seems to loom even larger now. 

I’m certain that Almighty Father God shakes His head in humored tolerance as I’m the gazillion-bizillionth human who has burbled a lackluster opinion about the speed of this earthly life.

{Posting with other musing thinkers over at Emily's blog as we gather to wonder about new learnings for the month.}

April's Tender Spring

{Joining the online writers community at Chatting at the Sky in sharing the interesting, the joyful, the curious that flows through the course of daily life.}

April’s spring is a tender time of pale green feathering at the edges of every branch and spreading wide across warming lawns. Courageous color bursts from blooms of bulbs and tree limbs encouraging the winter weary hearts of we humans who long for the promise of more beauty to come. It's no surprise that April hosts Earth Day, or that it's the perfect season to celebrate Poetry Month. 

Do you marvel at the artistic displays seen at the Anthropologie stores? I do. Love them! Interestingly you can view a video of how one of the teams designed a display for April by visiting the Anthropologie blog post for their Earth Day window display. A creative tribute to the metamorphosis and migration of the Monarch Butterfly.Way fun for the artist in all of us!


Sabbath rest, so elusive, so essential. 
In my reading this month I learned that planning ahead to insure that the Sabbath day is a clean slate makes it more likely that it will be experienced  in ways that are restoring to you. I also learned to view the day as a celebration, as a day of activities that are out of the ordinary and therefore reviving and festive in nature. I was introduced to these key steps and others, for how to attain the restoring balm of a Sabbath retreat from writer Shelly Miller.

April is Poetry Month. 
Seth Haines writes poignantly about the power of poetry, about how it's unique elements speak to the soul of the human condition. And then there was this student's response to a writing test prompt. Clearly this young writer, a very reluctant poet, had poetry in his literate world, either through song, scripture, and oral story reading. He has internalized form, cadence, rhyme, and similes through the osmosis of being exposed to literature. Even if he hates it he has learned and retained its elements in long term memory. Which is the power of being read to and the expectation of well designed language arts education. He has no idea how his tastes may change in the decades ahead. Finally, among the favorite poems that I read this  month is the one below, written by Jane Kenyon:

Otherwise

I got out of bed

on two strong legs.

It might have been

otherwise. I ate

cereal, sweet

milk, ripe, flawless

peach. It might

have been otherwise.

I took the dog uphill

to the birch wood.

All morning I did

the work I love.

At noon I lay down

with my mate. It might

have been otherwise.

We ate dinner together

at a table with silver

candlesticks. It might

have been otherwise.

I slept in a bed

in a room with paintings

on the walls, and

planned another day

just like this day.

But one day, I know,

it will be otherwise. 

-By Jane Kenyon

During this season's Sabbath Sundays I'm tenderly mindful of April's celebrations of Easter blessings, Earth's spring splendor, and the beautiful words woven by the human hearts.

                           

        

Sizing Up the Highlights

Sizing up the month's highlights once again. These bits of thought come to mind... 

1. We all relearned the two faces of March. 

I remain partial to the fragile blooming, bright, crisp air version. And have risked planting flowers in the front porch pots. During the final days of the month I'll learn if that was a smart move or not. Fingers crossed.


2. I was just sort of visually stunned to peruse the Google data center . Take a look at the artistic  innards of what is basically today's version of the blended, global library and post office.

3. I'm discovering HGTV. {Geez, you're thinking, where have you been?} Never the less,  House Hunters International is new to me. I so admire the various motivations that people have for moving beyond their native country. One woman was a food blogger moving to a small city in France to immerse herself in local cuisine to better inform her writing. A couple, after years of working in the hospitality industry, was looking for an island resort of their own, to live in and manage. Making dreams like these a reality takes courage and creativity. Not to mention the fascinating diversity of design and architecture of housing around the world.

4. I hit a jackpot of good reads this month and was introduced to two authors. One, Christian poet Jane Kenyon wrote a delightful collection of essays that were published in A Hundred White Daffodils {must love that title!}. See a post about her writing and excerpts from her poems over here. 

Next up, I courageously ventured through Mary Karr's memoir, LIT. I will admit to skimming the harsh early chapters. It takes a stout heart to read authentic struggles. BUT, the remaining story of hard sought scratching toward survival through faith and her eventual conversion to Christianity was stunning. Her writing is gifted while shirking no realities. In an interview about her work memoirist Mary Karr stated:

"That’s what’s so gorgeous about humanity. It doesn’t matter how bleak our daily lives are, we still fight for the light. I think that’s our divinity. We lean into love, even in the most hideous circumstances. We manage to hope." The Paris Review, 2009.

Swan Thieves was fiction to curl up and get lost in. It wrapped me in the painter's life and art history with a compelling psychological mystery woven through two parallel plots. To be savored.

5. Encountered several beautiful unknown words recently. I favored this one: numinous - spiritually elevated, mysterious.



6. Walking in early spring twilight is heavenly. 
Even as solar beams slip low on the horizon the senses remember heat and light.

                                            ~

Venture over to What We Learned to share the humorous and the quirky of fellow writers in Emily's community. You'll think, "Really? I did not know that!"

Favorites from the Arctic Months

Loved:

the pared down, bare beauty of limbs exposed against winter skies.

Loved:
the iced creations that glistened in the slipstream of the massive arctic vortex that blanketed the continent.

Loved this tea:

Finally, with decided intent, we’ve kicked colas to the curb. Replaced them with various blends of black and green tea; pour on the antioxidants and chase down cortisol. {A go-to favorite, Constant Comment Green tea!}

Loved this recipe:

High volume, colorful vegetables, mouth watering turkey sausage, warm comfort that boasts nutrition!

http://www.tasteslovely.com/italian-sausage-and-vegetable-soup/

Loved this writer's wisdom...

"Life is big like God’s Kingdom. But relationship is small town with Jesus. He knows your name and what you will say before you utter it. His couch is always available and bread never runs out despite circumstance." http://redemptionsbeauty.com/2014/02/05/small-town-living-teaches/

Loved these reads:

Fredrick Buechner’s Sacred Journey, The Hungering Dark & Magnificent Defeat. Three slim volumes with mind stretching insights and spirit stretching reflections.

"...because (by) God's nature he will not let even death separate us from him finally... In love he will have us his true sons before he is through, and in order to do that, one life is not enough." The Hungering Dark, p.78

Loved this study...

The Psalms of Ascent. There was pure warmth as I gathered with several other sweater bundled women this winter to study the Psalms. A deeply reflective and spiritually healing study written by Beth Moore.

Loved this word: 

slipstream; an example,

“Reading numerous posts in the blogging sphere allows one to  travel in the slipstream of words, opinions, ideas of multiple writers.” 

Delighted to be able to indulge in these pursuits, very aware of blessings beyond deserving.

Back to yet another cup of tea in this real feel, 9 degree  day.

                                ~ ~ ~

If you are inclined to read further...
here are some thoughts about time in the New Year and then there are some words in appreciation of walking in winter's sun. 

Always,
I'm humbled to have visitors pause
to read a bit here 
Beside Still Waters.
Lisa

December Learning

 To tell the truth, there is so much that I learn in a month that when Chatting at the Sky invites bloggers to link up to share what’s new for each of us, its really only the public worthy or the perceptions that ‘rise to the top’ that get sifted and printed here. All the rest, the numerous inklings of expanded awareness, settles in the soul and is honored as gifts that were given, intended for continued growth that hopefully will shape a better me.

But here,
these are a few things I can share, 
some gifts that might resonate with another.

A small Christmas still carries a message. 

Here’s the back story: circumstances resulted in just our three foot Christmas tree this year. An oversight resulted in no Christmas lights lining the rooftop. Presents by way of charitable donations lead to no gifts to wrap. Out of state travel meant no holiday cooking. These traditions were missed but the three foot tree still lit the manger scene. Christmas carols still filled the chapel. And the spirit of Christmas still warmed our hearts. It really is only about a very small babe.

The dubious quality of corn syrup aside, I still love Pecan pie at Christmas time, especially my mother in law's masterpiece. 

Those quiet, wintery days between Christmas and the New Year, I slip into READING mode. 
Just finished Nina Schuyler's The Painting of set in 1860‘s Paris and Tokyo. A beautiful tale of enduring human spirit in the grip of war and revolution, sustained by memories and art. The turbulent historical backdrop expanded my awareness of the Japanese Revolution and the Prussian siege of Paris. So appreciate how knowledge of history informs life.

I learned that according to 74 year old, life long Louisiana resident Phil Robertson, he never saw his fellow black citizens mistreated. If inequity is the norm perhaps one is blinded to its presence.

St. Stephen's Day and Boxer's Day share a history of GIVING TO OTHERS.
"Box" up what is needed and give it those in need. Both of these traditions are celebrated the day after Christmas. I love that! It reminded me of this delightful Christmas ad of young people providing Christmas joy for an elderly neighbor.

Your visit,
your reading of these thoughts,
its always and honor.
Happy New Year!
Lisa

A Passion for Words

{This post is linked to Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky. 

I don't examine too closely why a bunch of really talented women enjoy 'chatting up' about what we learned each month. 

I'll will say, reading what these women have learned goes really well with a cup of coffee and cookies. Join us at Chatting at the Sky.}

Lists catch my eye.

Word lists prompt my curiosity.

Naturally, when I came across 100 words Every High School Graduate Should Know 
my interest was peeked and then...
my pride was irked. 

I'm a reader, a word collector, and a writer; 
and yet, there are words on this list I. did. not. know. 

Working on that! 

~

Words like "just" and "thing" 
don't serve me well.

I've always been conscious of how our choice of words affect those whom we are speaking too. 
As an educator, my word choice was paramount to the learner's attention, understanding, and ultimate success. 
As a mentor to other women, being clear, maintaining the roll of faciiltator, the importance remains. 
As an artist engaging in self-talk it continues to have a personal impact. 

Writer, Emily Freeman, urges readers to be sensitive to the dismissive connotations of the words "just" and "thing"; I just facilitate the Bible study class or I devote time to a volunteer thing. 
I'm learning to give the respect due to myself or another by dropping words that demean, dismiss, and negatively frame the subject of being discussed.

~

Now that you understand my thinking about words it wont come as a surprise that the term intertextuality hooked my attention. As described by the post at The Write Practice:

 "Intertextuality denotes the way in which texts (any text, not just literature) gain meaning through their referencing or evocation of other texts." 

It's obvious how that is related to the general topic of words and all the other reading a person has ever done, right. Fellow readers out there, it's like gourmet menu when a good read references another good read, and your brain is thrilled by the gymnastics of the domino like, cerebral connections!

~

Lastly, can I state for the record that I prefer  real, hard copy dictionaries. 

I relish every word preceding the one I'm looking up and every word that follows it. Then of course, one could get distracted and end up chasing down a few other words... 

just since you're there.

Lisa