Crisp Winter Mornings

I am grateful.

For golden light.

For amusing animals

exhibiting their quirky personalities.

Little misfits--

a cat with no tail

and

a beagle-dog with an aversion

to touch.

That we've been entrusted to care for.

For crisp crunching under my feet.

For copper colored grasses and weeds.

For coffee steam on my chilled eyelids

closed above the cup.

For tractor rumbling and crashing of corn

into the feeder

filled for spilling out to hungry cows.

For the creak and slam of the door

that announces

"somebody's here"

For crisp winter mornings.

That shock my lungs alive

with that first breath of air.

Wednesday Nature Walk: Just Breathe

Just

breathe.

Sometimes

we

need

a

reminder

Be still

and

know

that 

I

am

God.

Be still.

Wednesday Nature Walk: Today's Color Palette

It's Wednesday.

I walked this morning.

So that I could share it with you.

Visit my other artist friends for their perspective:

STUDIO JRU, Cindy Fort at 12 Tribes, and Paulette Insall

This morning

the

color

palette

was

all

browns

grays

and

shades

of

white.

I have discovered the poet Mary Oliver.

And her words . . . 

about nature . . . 

He or she, who loves God, will look most deeply into His works. 

about a deer . . . 

But only that she was born into the poem that God made,

and called the world.

Her words seem to 

bathe my mind 

in beauty and grace . . . even 

in the color palette

of grief

of rest

of cold

of quiet.

The color of this morning

reminds me of something I wrote awhile ago in a hard season.

 Lately I have had 

grief

and new, deep, un-beautiful emotions.

It has permeated every fiber

of my life

and

I am slowly

walking through

it

with God

in unexpected ways.

Facing unexpected brokenness

un-reached hopes

causes me to look deeper into 

my soul,

my identity,

my beliefs,

my faith,

and

grasp

for something 

truer and stronger,

more real,

more solid

than

what I had

before.

Challenged to find faith

in times of

unanswered questions,

unresolved relationships,

unfulfilled hopes,

unachieved goals,

uncertainty,

letting go of 

making it all work out

and 

perhaps

I am finding more and more

what trust and faith

are all about...

clinging

to

God

in

the gray.

Wednesday Nature Walk: Eyes Wide Open

It's Wednesday.

In western South Dakota, on this prairie, it is 2 degrees F.

My #naturewalk photos are from yesterday 

when it was a balmy 10 degrees.

You may take a peek at these pages for

glimpses into nature.

Studio JRU

Cindy Fort @ 12 Tribes

Paulette Insall

You can check out #naturewalk on facebook to find more images.

Here's a bit more of what I have to share with you today:

It feels more like February than mid-November.

The sandhill cranes are shocked into flying south.

Thousands flew over us yesterday feeling fooled by last week's

nature walk in the 50's and 60's.

They flew low enough to see their colors.

Stragglers coming later.

Calling

"Wait! Wait! We're coming!"

But the cold is altogether

different

in the minds

of

youth.

Before school,

usually

she drags feet.

But not at the sight of snow.

Snow is fire

lit beneath her

to

play.

She's the one who told me once,

"I'm going to go outside and live my life!"

And that is exactly what she does.

Pulling her sister and me out the door

to

live life

too.

Last week,

a dear friend

was laid to rest.

I was driving on the Interstate alone

the day I learned of her passing.

There was a nagging thought of guilt

creeping in and shaming me

for not getting there in time to see her again.

As the thought was about to settle over me

in a dark cloud of condemnation

I glanced at a semi-truck

on the opposite side of I-90.

Against a black trailer,

the letters rolled before me:

G

R

A

C

E

.

My breath caught.

I looked again.

GRACE Transport, Inc.

on the side of the truck.

And then it was gone.

But I got the message.

Grace.

With grace, the truck swept the condemnation cloud

down the highway

until it

dissolved.

GRACE.

Receive it.

So you can

Live it.

Live life like you mean it.

Sometimes . . . usually,

The Message 

pops up

where I least 

expect 

it.

Live life.

Wholly,

Fully.

With abundant love.

In all

the

seasons.

In the early morning

and

just

before

dark.

This morning I read from Mary Oliver's poem In The Storm.

Here is a verse to share with you:

Belief isn't always easy.

But this much I have learned ------

if not enough else -----

to live with my eyes open.

Eyes wide open.

In memory of Gaylene Morell.

Art Class This Saturday

Storykeeping: mixed media art journal class

This Saturday, November 15, 2014

from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

at Sturgis Photo and Gifts in Sturgis, SD

Call Terri Jo to reserve your spot at 605-347-6570

You have a story.

And your story matters.

It is worth keeping. 

Your story deserves a beautiful place

to be recorded and collected.

My journals are stuffed with

writing,

sketches,

prayers,

notes from my kids,

drawings from my kids,

cards from friends,

quotes that I love,

things I've jotted on random papers

all of these and more

go into my journal.

They are part of my story.

My journals become so stuffed with treasures

that I have to have a strap to tie them shut. 

In this art class,

we will decorate the cover

of a blank sketch book

that can be used

for

writing,

sketching,

stuffing,

pasting,

painting.

Join us this Saturday.
All art supplies included.
$50 per person
Remember to call Terri Jo to reserve your spot.
605-347-6570 



Fifteen Minutes to Gratitude

It is my desire to see.

To really see with eyes of gratitude.

I don't have to travel far.

Just a 15 minute walk through the windbreak of Chinese Elm trees

on the other side of the fence in my yard

is all it takes to open my eyes.

At times when I walk and find beautiful things,
there is a nagging voice
in my mind
that attempts to mock me
and
tell me that I am foolish
to find joy and beauty in such simple things
when there is so much heartbreak and brokenness in this world.

 

But,

I believe

the truth

is that

there is

deep

wisdom

in finding

joy and beauty

 

in the simple

 

the ordinary

the everyday
miracles

that surround us right where we are.

I love these words of Martin Luther . . .

God writes the gospel
not in the Bible alone, but
on trees and flowers
and clouds and stars.

When I discover wonder and awe and fascination
for the everyday, ordinary miracles
my life
is
rich
abundant
blessed.

 

I just started a wonderful online class with Jeanne Oliver.

Perfect for fall.

Check it out here:  Woodland Girls

 

I also just opened up registration for two new class on November 15 and December 6

at Sturgis Photo and Gifts.

Here's the details and registration info: 

Storykeeping: mixed media art journal class 

and

Building Blocks: learn the basics of mixed media class

 

You can also come see me at my booth

at the Pinedale Bazaar on November 8, 2014, from 8:00-3:00

at Pinedale Elementary School on West Chicago in Rapid City, SD.