Category Archives: spirituality

i am in love…

10 Replies

David isn’t really keen on the idea of me selling my vehicle.  Nor are the Schultz’s.  They all have good points…emergencies, borrowing others’ transportation, and isolation.  Nevertheless, I am determined to change my transportation.  I’ve begun to ride my bicycle more often.  I still haven’t taken the bus anywhere though.  (I feel intimidated by deciphering the schedule, but I haven’t written that off completely.)

David did agree to the idea of a Vespa.  I think he may have been in a moment of weakness, but I am not above taking advantage of that.  A Vespa appeals to me in so many ways.  And seeing one in person today…well, my heart simply melted by its design.  I love it.  I covet one.  And the one I drooled over the most happened to be on sale. ((drool))

vespa_up.jpg

work day for front garden

4 Replies

planning_resize.JPG

The planning…

men-at-work_resize.JPG

Tilling by hand…weren’t sure if we would have access to the roto-tiller. But those guys really tore it up–great job Adams and Jacob!

rototilling-sonny_resize.JPG

Thank you, Sonny. He also tilled the side of the yard where we plan on placing the tomatoes.

winter-lettuce_resize.JPG

Winter lettuce

sidewalk-chalk_resize.JPG

Chalk drawings

layla-and-shovels_resize.JPG

Our forewoman, Layla

cork-in-the-garden_resize.JPG

I think this was leftover from New Year’s Eve…

chico_resize.JPG

Chico, Verdi, Avacado…what is your name?

bab-yshea-bw_resize.JPG

Baby Shea never fails to provide a beautiful photo.

(All photos with the exception of the bird courtesy of Stephanie. All editing by Jamie)

work, work , work

3 Replies

I feel as though I’ve been working on the floors forever.  Soon they will be done.

I am on phase two: the kitchen side. Meaning: the other half of the bottom floor of our house.  Carpet and linoleum are both ripped up. (Thanks to Grant for finishing that part.)  On to patching, priming, painting, glazing, sealing…Trim work–painting and caulking.  Finishing the bathroom–ceiling: painting and glazing, hanging the light fixture, installing the cabinet…Moving all the furniture back, moving the studio downstairs, buying and installing an actual curtain for the arcadia door in the kitchen…

Monday is supposedly my last day at work…

Christmas is only two weeks away.  I feel unprepared.  I wanted to observe advent this year.  So far, I haven’t.  I don’t feel like my spirit is in a state of waiting; I feel like it is in a state of wishing everything would just slow down.

a lot of thinking…

4 Replies

paris-natural-history-museum-7_resize.JPG

I’ve been a bit reclusive since I returned from my trip. I saw so much art my brain got full…I am still uploading and resizing pictures…soon I will post them on a website.

The plane ride home felt too long. I got airsick, then my lymph nodes swelled up. I spent the last week recovering from both jet lag and some sort of ailment. Blech.

Anyway, I have done a lot of thinking lately. I am going to leave my job soon. I am going to focus on making art. My biggest revalation in Europe was that I am never going to be good at art if I don’t start truly making it. These past few years have been a desert in which I have been very parched. I am sad to leave my job because I really do love it, but it is not what I am meant to do with my life therefore I must leave it.

I am afraid of the expectations I will face. The questions…the pressure.  At the same time I am excited and feel hope for the first time in a very long time.  David has been most supportive, and I am grateful for that.  I feel as though we have been through a lot of challenges lately, but I am more confident in our marriage that ever.  I do appreciate our differences, and I am grateful that the opportunity is still there to grow.  We certainly don’t have everything figured out, but I suppose that is part of the road we travel together.

it tolls for her

Leave a reply

Madeleine Engel died on Thursday.

She was eighty-eight.

I knew this day would come in my lifetime…I loved her in a way a person could love someone they had never met, but read intimate thoughts from their writing.

She was a beautiful woman who taught me so much about relationships, love, art, faith…

“The artist, if he has not forgotten how to listen, must retain the vision which includes angels and dragons and unicorns, and all the lovely creatures which our world would put in a box marked Children Only.”

exiles

2 Replies

I picked up a copy of Michael Frost’s Exiles based on the recommendation of John. John reads about fifty books a week but his review of this particular book grabbed my attention.

I went to Quo Vadis to buy it, and the first time it was out of stock. My second trip to the store was successful, and I brought home my copy.

I am surprised at how I resonate with the ideas in this book. I am barely even in the second chapter, and I have underlined a significant portion of the text. I hope the remainder of the book does not disappoint.

Frost speaks of the materialism of our day,

“Like a pagan Babylonian religion, it demands all our attention, insisting on everything we have to offer, until in the end all our efforts are bent into its service. As a result, the empire thrives on inequality, injustice, opression, and deceit. The greed inspired by such a world leads to environmental destruction, religious persecution, and apathy towards suffering. Today, we need tenacious followers of Jesus who are prepared to make fun of the powerlessness of these gods and their inability to save or to heal. This will take not only our words, but also our actions, our radical lifestyles.”

last post ever

6 Replies

So I was tagged by Spencer to write my last post ever. (If I were to write a last post…)

Here goes:

If I’d want you to remember me, it would be that I struggled to believe. Believe in some semblance of spiritual faith. For those of you who have known me for a long time, you would know that I have been a “Christian” for my entire life. I’ve found joy in God; He was there for me when I felt alone.

The past several years have been challenging my faith. I think all of us go through a spiritual struggle where we either let go or hang on to what we grew up believing…but I seem to not be able to figure it out. I have let go of the “going to church” aspect, yet I have been yearning to follow Jesus even deeper. I have no idea what that means, but I do know that it means serving the poor and loving my fellow mankind.

So I encourage you to discover what brought God so much joy when He decided to show us what it means to be truly human. Live your life among those who know how to appreciate it. Seek out those who are struggling to find their next meal. Laugh with someone who has no material goods.

In the same vein, I would also make a comment on art. We need to rediscover our creativity. Our God is a magnificently creative being, and in His image, we are to create. Our consumerism has robbed us of discovering for ourselves the answers to our problems. We are surrounded by poorly crafted, unimaginative garbage that is poisoning our souls. If you do one thing today besides feeding the homeless–draw a picture, or write a poem, or open a recipe book…or call your grandmother and ask her how to knit or sew or garden or make glass cleaner out of common household ingredients.

Discover the simple things that keep us human–God and creativity.

(I tag: Muf, Bryan, Craig, Erin and Sean)

fire

Leave a reply

As you may have already heard, a fire destroyed several families homes in a neighborhood in Philadelphia. The destruction is particularly devastating because a special community center was destroyed as well. This is an inner city area of Philly, and many families are now homeless and without power.

The afterschool program called “Yes and… “ provided an alternative to the choices that many inner city children face. You can make a difference in the time it takes to rebuild by contributing in any way you can. As well, as donating funds, please consider helping spread the word about the tragedy by posting on your website.