Floating

Self portrait from a joyous family reunion.

The effects of the Kansas wind also reflect the the cogs in my brain. I need a time of rest, a time for my windblown mind to settle.
I’ve finally made it to this place. I have nowhere to go and nothing to do. I’ve been looking at this space [...]

Harvest

This last piece for the Summit is entitled Harvest. The face is of a child, so I added imagery from children’s books and encyclopedias. The clock was stamped by my mother-in-law when she was a child. The verses featured were:
John 4:35-36  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I [...]

Providence

The focus verse that was used for this year’s Summit is Esther 4:14b.
Esther 4:14b  and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
In the last couple months, our pastor taught through the book of Esther. Wow. I loved learning and applying what was being taught. In Esther, God’s [...]

Purpose

Our church puts on an annual event focusing on missions called the Summit. This year I was asked to submit some art to support the theme, The New Missionary. As I worked through each piece, I felt prompted on each step through dreams, prayer, words, thoughts (with exclamation points). I was guided by the Spirit [...]

Decompression

For almost two years, my family has been preparing and serving meals each Friday at VERONICA’s Voice. This past Friday was our last day. God had been leading me to reevaluate our service this summer, and once school began for us, the answer was obvious. It was time to stop.
I really have mixed emotions about [...]

Prayer Brings Surprises

I’ve been serving lunch on Fridays at VERONICA’s Voice since late fall 2006. The number of people that are there each week differ, so I plan for 20-25. Sometimes I have leftovers, sometimes there is not a scrap left. Here’s what we do each week:
Monday: plan the menu and grocery shop
Tuesday: set aside ice to take [...]

Balance again

Balance is a continuous theme in my life. Probably because life is not stagnant. I love change, but always have a difficult time finding the new balance in change.
I had a rough summer. My husband was gone for long periods for much of his work. My empathy for single mothers rose significantly. As I balanced life [...]

Prayer Chain for Mica

This request is from Patti at Treasure Barn:

Please help me start a prayer chain for my daughter in law Mica at Folk Art Dolls by Mica Garbarino.As most of you know she had a birthday last Saturday but was ill and could not enjoy the day. She had an ear infection and was seen by [...]

Les Miserables on prostitution

After watching a musical in December, my daughter and I were compelled to read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. The size of the book is a bit daunting, but I immediately became lost in the story and felt I knew the characters intimately. Many words have jumped off the page and grabbed my heart, and [...]

Lent

The latest Salt challenge is Lent. This was a difficult topic for me since I don’t participate in traditional Lenten practices. Although raised in a church that does recognize the season of Lent, I had to do an internet search to refresh my mind on the purpose and intent of Lent.
Lent is a time of reflection [...]

Moving

Today we served our last meal at the current location of VERONICA’s Voice. The meal was devoured. We served sloppy joes, corn, kettle chip, apple slices, and brownies for dessert; a good, hearty meal for these cold, snowy days. We will move into the new location next week. I’m excited about this for many reasons both physical and [...]

Inspiration for Teacher

For our Keepers of the Faith group, I’ve been teaching an altered books class. The kids are having so much fun with the project. To begin, I got some board books from the thrift store and covered them all with gesso. The kids had a blank book to fill. Below are a few sample pages [...]

Winter

The trees are stark. All the earth takes on extremes of light or dark. Nothing is growing. All is still, silent. Outside. On the grey days, I long for Spring. When the sun shines, my whole body rejoices. Hope springs up within me. Why do I feel this surge of hope? Because I have tasted of spring and watched [...]

Outward

After much prayer and seeking this past month, God has given me a verse for 2008:
Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that [...]

New Year’s Resolution

New year resolutions, I am not one to set them, but have found myself pondering and praying about God’s directions for me. This fall I spent extremely too much time on the computer. I am sure I wasted days. This is not what God has prepared for me. Last spring, God began stripping responsibilities and duties [...]