Praying in Color- part two

Getting ready to head to Va. Beach for the District convention and wanted to post some more  of the visual prayers that have been contributed from men and women across the District:

CIRCUIT 16

-

CIRCUIT 6

OUR ROCK    OUR REDEEMER

CIRCUIT 17- Western N.C.

CIRCUIT 7

Growth
 Celebrate Care
Lutheran Schools

Praying In Color

Circuit 9A

I have been Praying in Color or using visual prayers since reading the Sybil MacBeth book- Praying in Color, probably 4 years ago.  It has been the single most compelling thing to change my prayer life.  As part of the Spirit Life Team in our church district I was tasked to bring together prayers from across the District as we pray over the churches, schools, clergy, commissioned workers and the laity as we move into convention later this week. It is a way to rest over the circuits gathered and lift them up in prayer. All concerns are known by the Holy Spirit. The goal is to listen for God's direction and wisdom in Kingdom work. To be about the Mission- Till All have Heard.

Circuit 9B of the Southeastern District

Mecklenburg Circuit

Circuit 13 A

Piedmont Circuit 14

Memorial Pentecost

Just wondering how many times does the celebration for Pentecost connect on Memorial weekend?
 I am sure there is a app for that to find out.... But it was interesting to note the RED for Pentecost in worship as well as the RED, White and Blue flourishes around for Memorial Day...

Red - in the carpet Roses

White Yarrow

Blue Hydrangea   ( and a midge of pink)

But the colors don't stop there in our yard---  the rains have brought on 

a glorious stand of color right now--- think I just would like to share the rest...

The purple clematis

The Stella de Oro Daylillies

Oenothera- Evening Primrose

Acanthus

And on this Memorial Weekend--- I remember-

Growing up in Indiana and going to visit the grave of my grandparents

 near Tipton

 to place a vase of pink and white peonies in a tin coffee can on their graves.

Today would have been the 35th wedding Anniversary for Larry and I- 

if God's plan was for him to live long on this earth.

Two years ago this weekend I flew home to be with my father,

 as he spent his last days bringing to an end his walk here 

to continue his eternal life in heaven.

A Congregation member and dear friend emailed

 to tell us about a tumor-

 scary news as she awaits more testing.

And on this day of memories:

 "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the works of the Lord,

studied by all who delight in them.

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures forever.

 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and merciful."

Psalm 111:1-4

The Lord Bless and Keep You

Gatherings on the dining room table

 I received this beautiful tag from my friend, Bonnie.  Bonnie recovering from pneumonia, with her mom just released from the hospital with pneumonia, and a plateful of life challenges.  And she takes the time to craft this delightful tag, with words of blessing.

Numbers 6: 24-26
The Blessing I long to hear every week in worship

Blessed

God of My Daily Routine

Just finished reading a wonderful little book- Doors into Prayer by Emilie Griffin. There is a selection from Karl Rahner's prayer-"God of My Daily Routine." I have been thinking about it for the past couple of days and wanted to share it-

Dear God,
 My soul has become a  huge warehouse where day after day the trucks unload  their crates without any plan or discrimination, to be piled helter-skelter in every available corner and cranny, until it is crammed full from top to bottom with the trite, the commonplace, the insignificant, the routine..
Empty talk and pointless activity, idle curiosity and pretensions of importance that....roll forward in a never-ending stream.
I now see clearly that, if there is any path at all on which I can approach You it must lead through the middle of my ordinary life...
I must learn to have both "everyday" and Your Day in the same exercise. In devoting myself to the works of the world, I must learn to give myself to You, to possess You, the one and only thing, in everything...
Before You, all multiplicity becomes one, in You, all that has been scattered is reunited, in Your Love all the difference of the day's chores comes home again to the evening of Your unity.


What a wonderful prayer to close the day and rest knowing that when I give Him all things in my scattered day-- He makes it One Life.

Lucketts Love

Saturday was a great outing to the Luckett's Spring Market in Lucketts, Virginia. Some girl friends and I traveled in the glorious Spring like weather and we got there just as the gates opened..  and oh my.   Much bigger than I was originally thinking...... with other things on the calendar for the day, I had a 2 hour block of time...... too much to see and not only that... we purchased at the very first booth!  It was impossible to look for the vendors I wanted to find..  Miss Mustard Seed, take photos and browse and buy.  So I have a few shots....Loved this typewriter- at Miss Mustard Seed's... I was there early in the morning so got one of the handmade clay tags-- MOVE MOUNTAINS. The line was too long to meet Marian......

Lovely display of vintage items

Some neat architectural pieces and a lantern
 that looks like ones in the new Pottery Barn catalog

Cool cog piece here but had a hefty price tag- nearly $400

A Mason jar with vintage dominos and a
wonderful small pulley to keep the larger one company-
nestled in their new home

So today was time to put away the Easter things and move into Summer mode--  finding fun new places for the Lucketts Loot.  Was a rainy overcast day here, so too dark for many great photos inside the house......  but will post more pictures of where things got added in around the house. 

May have to make an action plan for next year at Lucketts---- hire a young person to be a runner and take things back to the car........hard to shop when your hands and arms are full..... plan to stay longer than 2 hours!  put my sun screen on before I leave home...   and bring more friends!! 

The day was like walking into a PINTEREST PARTY in the country with hundreds of talented people who painted, created, upcycled, repurposed and salvaged.....  a heavenly morning.

Studio Grace

Spent some time in the past couple of weeks-- sorting and organizing...  after the "move-in" about a year ago- some things just got pushed and shoved.  Now making sense of things in order to retrieve them--- got  to do that - otherwise when the "create" bug invades and I spend the time allowed for hunting instead of making....  well, you see what I mean..
I have posted a few pics in the past, but here are a few more....
The studio became reality last year when I painted all pieces white to help with the hodge-podge and nothing new was purchased to set up the space- reinvented maybe......

This IKEA marvel was purchased close
 to 20 years ago- it opens for more shelf storage
(this was already lovely white)

The white unit is actually a screen door
 on the back with shutter sides on the base
and cubbies-- we think maybe an old pigeon roost-
 made by Folk Artist- Gloria McCloud

An oak vintage shoe rack
gives great vertical storage space

Hankies from my mom and grandmother Anna Riebeling
gather on curtain clips to become a fanciful valance

a place for the Mason jars-
shelves made from upcycled wine storage crates -
Gloria McCloud

This large two piece hutch
 came from a paper factory in Omaha,
Nebraska--- it hides a secret

Cubbies, Cubbies and Cubbies-
just waiting for Cigar boxes, tins and
  old card boxes for sorting and storing and FINDING

and Mildred---  always draped and swagged
and ready to see the next gathering of creativity

Titanic Mothering

T

Model of the Titanic Scale 1:48
 Took 3 years to build the full size ship
 and 7 years to do the model.

A  Mother's Day Sunday afternoon with no agenda---- 

unusual in this household, but welcome. 

A time to catch up a bit with three daughters by phone

 and hop on the Metro to downtown DC.  

Off to see the exhibit at the National Geographic

 of the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic.

Can see the Life boats and read about how they never thought
 to have enough for all the passengers- the unthinkable could never happen.

Passengers paid more attention to the lounge chairs
 on the promenade than the life boats nearby.

Photo from the send off---- a really BIG deal.

Setting sail from Queenstown- Cobh, Ireland- April 11, 1912

Life-changing purpose

Yesterday we had our Women's Prayer Service-  as part of our Wednesday Morning Women's BibleStudy. A quiet time of reflection. with some prayer experiences. I always look forward to this very special service. At the end we were to write out a need, desire, or prayer that would be collected and handed out to another sister in Christ.  I wrote my thoughts and slipped the index card into the basket passing down the aisles.

And later pulled out my card - the prayer spoken from a heart - to my heart prayer.
 and my breath caught, and I carried the prayer around in my pocket all day, and looked at it in the light of my garden.------------standing by the bird house and peonies

I inhaled the prayer as I stopped to smell the roses.

And as I watched the sunlight dance
on the clematis vine woven through the lilac bush.

Graft me unto You, O Savior

A song and lyrics keeps coming across my mind-

Graft us into You, O Savior
Prune our hearts so we remain
Fruitful branches in Your vineyard 
Till eternal life we gain.

 Maybe this verse quickens my notice because of my maiden name-GRAFT

I suppose I often heard more derogatory connections with my namesake-
bribery, illicit gains in politics or business.

And now in the past few days I have heard the term- 
Graft, Grafted, Grafting and thrown in with that you would also get a Grafter.

insert a piece of living tissue,  
hard work, transplant living tissue, 
to insert or fix a living thing permanently to another-

 kind of goes with the Vine and Branches story of this past week's readings in church.
John 15

A new take with the verse from the song--

Graft, Prune, Fruitful and Eternal-- in the same breath--- sounds like a positive place to focus energy and attention-
maybe this becomes a whispered prayer- GRAFT me into you, O Savior.

The May Lilacs

Peony Perfection

Red Hot Poker- Tritoma- Kniphofia

Baptisia- Blue Wild Indigo- Legume family

Clematis- that vines up the lilac bush