Blessed Easter

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Alleluia!

Easter Blessings to you

as we rejoice

 in the promise

of our Resurrection Hope.

Holy Saturday

My childhood Easter Basket
has faded to red and a green-black color.
Not normal Easter colors -
and I can't remember what this originally looked like.

Good Friday

Today is a Good Friday because of what Jesus has done for us.

 It is a day of remembering the sacrifice.

When darkness comes to the world.

A cross hangs by our front door. 

 A reminder that it is Lent.....not yet Easter...

A cross purchased at Michael's and painted black

Albrecht Durer's The Crucifixion from the Small Passion



God enters our history-

 the history of the world and it will never be the same.

He bears the wrath of God that I deserve.

On this day, my future is changed. 

His action justifies me and I now live innocent before God.

Sinful yes, but redeemed.

A Good Friday for me indeed.

Saying Grace

Say Grace......

 not an uncommon phrase around 

dinner tables in many Christian homes today.

 At least those who are still in the practice 

of dinner time

 table sitting together

 routines.

Subway art from my sister Teresa
sits on the shelf in my living room

Palm Sunday

This Lenten Season, I have been reading Bearing the Cross- Devotions on Albrech Durer's Small Passion.  This book was written by Carolyn Brinkley, a Lutheran Deaconess, and member at the congregation where I grew up - Bethlehem Lutheran, Ossian, Indiana.  Her deep devotional thoughts resonated with my mother, Katherine.  It is easy to see why they were dear friends.

Today on Palm Sunday, I will share with you this wood cut from this body of work, originally published in 1511, 
five hundred years ago........

Albrecht Durer's - Christ's Entry into Jerusalem- from the Small Passion- 1511

New Life Waiting- Spring Hope

Miss Spring is waiting for the Blossoms

The New Life Hope in Eggs in a Nest

Some felt and felted chicks and bird

Gatherings on the Kitchen Counter

Daffodils from outside, a nest blown out of a tree a few years back
Signs of Spring welcome at the Breakfast table by the Window

Neighborhood Craft Night

 It may not seem very Spring- like,

 but we gathered in the studio last night 

to create some wonderful Peat Pot Easter baskets.

 Hopefully we got a photo of all the wonderful creations.

 Everyone started with the same kit- 

and as always, they all look wonderful and 

in "their own style".

Everyone could choose their own banner message

March Spring Snow

Thinking about Spring Monday morning when I woke up.

 Mother Nature had other ideas.

A White Back Yard

Gray skies and then something VERY BRIGHT

Snow capped daffodils

The coy garden girl just know that this snow is not staying long

And Tuesday will come and back on schedule for Spring full speed ahead.
A slight road bump along the way.

A Wee Bit of Green

An Amazing trip to Ireland was a part
 of the Women's Ministry plans for the year 2000.
 Moms joined daughters and sisters
to travel together.
 So today on this St Patrick's Day I review a bit of the Irish green.

Lake Killarney--- one of my favorite travel spots

Blarney Castle
and kissing the stone for Good Luck

The friendly people of Ireland, the pubs and the music.

Time to get out the travel journal
 and remember this trip to Ireland- and tell a tale ot two.

Kingdom Impact Pinterest

logo by Danielle Green 

Bringing Gospel Light to the World of Social Media.

Telling the story of the journey of Kingdom Impact Pinning.

In the fall of 2011, I had  many God-led thoughts and visions 

about connecting more of my visual world interests- 

with a fairly new social media tool- Pinterest.

The thoughts just kept growing.

I talked to my friend, Peg, 

another Pastor's wife.

What if?

Could we link together to form a push on the wave of social media 

for the sake of God's Kingdom?

What would that look like?

We talked about a fairly simple plan.

We would gather 3-4 other Christian women

 and covenant together for one year to try this experiment.

We would be careful and faithful in:

Who we followed,

What we pinned,

When we made comments,

Where we led others, 

How we used our words.

We would work to give credit to resources,

look for other Christian pinners,

and work to pin Faith-filled things as a first priority,

and arrange Faith Boards at the top of our site.

Now, with over two years worth of activity on Pinterest,

(this post has been updated

 for accurate information-

7-04-15)

we have learned that we can connect globally, 

served as encouragers to other Christians,

discovered resources we never would have thought to "Google",

helped seekers with making Christ-like decisions,

and drawn a picture of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus.

image by Laura Schumacher

Spring- Easter Peat Pot Nests

Painted peat pot (Wal Mart)
 with ruffled crepe paper collar ( The Party Store)

Doing a little crafting and spring touches here and there-

 with a few friends and some neighbors stopping by next week.

Always fun to see what everyone comes up with when we gather.

And glitter makes ALL THINGS GOOD.

Spaghnum moss nestled (Michael's)
 in cut up vintage tissue sewing patterns (my stash)

Three dimensional butterflies (recycled a greeting card)
Wired rope handle (Wal- Mart)
Double edge pleated ribbon ( The Ribbon Retreat)

When our Journey Shapes our Ministry

A stark lone tree
 looking over the city of Richmond

Lunch here at the house with a friend this week.

 She is just a few months into Widowhood-

 Midlife- with three children yet at home-

 teens all.

Solitary in figuring out the next phase of life- 

 even with helpers- still a daunting task.

 Paperwork, decisions, a new will.

It feels barren at times, 

some days raw and naked feelings.

Colorless.

Weathered paint dabbled in shade

It is like a piece of life has been peeled back and laid bare.

Trying to keep the face full of hope 

even when a day lays scraped and peeling.

For the children's sake......

Some days, it is so full, it just spills into the minutes-

 the what ifs, thinking about a different ending to this life story.

the stone labyrinth at Richmond Hill

And in a second I, myself, am taken back thirty-three years-

into the depths of my own loss- 

my first husband- and I- all of twenty-four.

Even yet....

The wrenching memories of hard paths,

unknown future,

the burden of loss.

Confusion in which way to turn,

muddled mess.

And I vividly remember,

  in the quiet of the night, a whisper echoed-

 Trust in me.

"Trust in the Lord." Psalm 37:3

And it was day by day -

this bridge building of trust-

 and each day yielded a gift-

 a layer of thanksgiving-

 that became a hint of color.

Till once again it fills my soul-

and I glimpse the world again,

 bathed in vibrant hue.

Spring primroses

Lenten Refashion at Richmond Hill

Gentle Light Shines on the Fabric of my Life
 that needs
a Lenten Makeover.

My Stacked Stones
 guard all that swarms me
 in Prideful Trenches.

And new leaf green dances and waves
 to call me to Lenten repentance
 and a refashioned heart.

Lenten Grace Flowing

In a bit of reflection

of Lenten grace flowing over me..... 

I came across a wonderful prayer on

Pastor Art Umbach's blog-   http://abundantlivingwithart.blogspot.com/

It helps me to focus on my need for DIVINE GRACE.

  

Sometimes grace just flows over areas of life- wearing smooth the rough places. 

Dear Heavenly Father,

"It helps, now and then, to step back, and take the long view.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not only beyond our efforts,   it is even beyond our vision. 

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.  No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.  No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.  No set of goals and objectives includes everything.  This is what we are about.

We will plant the seeds that one day will grow,  We water seeds already planted.

knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but everything is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,

But that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are the workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future of our own.

May that future be filled with grace, peace, and hope. In Jesus Name.  Amen."

Archibishop Oscar Romero

Sometimes grace dances to the music

and makes startling interruptions

in my everyday life.

Sometimes I just need to come to the fountain- delight in the overflowing radiance

pooled each morning

just for me.

And for you.

My God of patience

Visual feasts lately. a bit of an overload of visual senses.

A visit to Las Vegas to a daughter-  

who is soon to leave this home in the land of over the top living...

And transfixed by the work of Dale Chihuly at the Bellagio-

How long?  How long does it take to learn  to make this kind of art?

 How many mistakes till you get it right?

How long to make the work for this ONE installation? 

 How would you ever know that you were on the right track for figuring it out? 

Who finally said- this is IT!  you have got it!

Ah-  I love that my God is long suffering and patient with me.

On my trek to make something "right" in a day.

I'm given His grace-filled reassurance that smiles on my 

haphazard attempts.

The tiny steps forward....

Reading The Fruits of the Spirit by Evelyn Underhill...

and in this section about long-suffering-

"The fruit of the Spirit is never rigorism but always long-suffering.

 No startling high standard.

No all or nothing demands. 

But gentleness and tolerance in spiritual, moral,

 emotional, intellectual judgments or claims. 

No hurry and no exactness.

That is not easy when we are keen,

 and see the work we love imperiled by someone else's fault.

 But God, says St. Paul, is a God of patience.

He works in tranquility

 and tranquility seldom goes into partnership with speed. 

God breaks few records but He always arrives in the end.

One of the best things we can do for souls is to wait and 

one of the worst things is to force the issue."

God's creative action in me-

 the profound 

amount of change this process-

of a new creature.

His "getting it right" in me.

My Yes to this process of transformation.