Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

We humans are complicated beings. Most of us recognize our “talents” fairly early….we figure out what subjects we are better in, what interests we possess, what PR skills we possess or don’t…whether we are social creatures or loners and choose our educational track, career, or profession accordingly.

Yet, when it comes to finances we have a tendency to think someone else is better at watching over our money than we are. Indeed, most of us could use some advice…but it boils down to investing our individual talents where we,  the talent possessors, believe we can best achieve a lifestyle of “Simple Abundance.”

Take the fairy tale of the miller’s daughter who found herself in a tight spot because her ‘old man’ liked to brag too much about her special abilities when he had too much to drink. He must have been on a real “binger” to come up with the idea that his daughter could spin gold out of straw (which is what he told the king.)

The white knight who shows up to save the day is actually a wizardly-looking droll-like creature, who demands payment for his special talent (spinning straw into real gold)…the first time it is a necklace, the second a ring, but by the third night the miller’s daughter has run out of payment options and in desperation agrees to turn over her first-born child to the strange little man.

Soon after the birth of her first child the strange man returns for the child as promised. Here was a little man who could weave straw into as much gold as he wanted and all he wanted was a child. It was only the pitiful sobbing of the (now Queen) that opened up a special clause in the contract stating she had three days to discover his name.(a type of equity extension I suppose)

Now here is where the ball lands in the other court….the Queen doesn’t have a clue what the little man’s name is… but she has great PR skills. Because of her kindness to the servants, when she confesses her terrible promise, all the loyal servants want to help their queen out of this predicament. One faithful servant discovers the little man yelling his name out in the woods and the story ends happily for everyone ….except for the strange little man with an even stranger name called Rumpelstiltskin

When the Queen had to dig down deep, using her own special ‘talents,’ she discovered that her intuitive instincts were just as good as gold and she lived happily ever after.

So why do so many of us feel insecure about our own ‘talents’ to the extent that we feel more secure in placing our ‘talents’ in someone else’s hands…even a stranger? Don’t you think God wants us to invest in ourselves… each of His beloved, talented children?

What is it inside most of us that makes us believe other people are smarter and more talented than we are? Even if we become successful using our “talents” the old monster, insecurity, keeps raising its ugly head.

Yesterday in Sunday School I shared with the class the famous true anecdote that took place between President FDR and the famous producer, writer, and actor Orson Welles. They were fishing in a small john boat on FDR’s pond at Warm Springs, Georgia. Normally a gregarious personality, FDR grew suddenly quiet and somber. Then, in a quite perspective moment, whispered: “Orson, I think you and I are the two best actors in America.”

No human being is exempt from insecurity…some people are just better at hiding it than others.

The parable of the rich man and the “talents” should give us a clue where God’s stance is on the subject. You might remember the master is going on a trip but before he leaves…he gives one servants five coins, the next two coins, and the third one. They are asked to safeguard and try to advance this investment.

The first two servants take a risk and double their money. The third servant explains since he had less to start with he didn’t want to take a chance on squandering it…but instead buries his one coin for safe-keeping.

The master is very pleased with the outcome in the investments of the first two risk-taking servants and outraged at the third servant’s timid attempt to bury his money and not try to make money.

I feel sure, I am not alone, in feeling somewhat sorry for the last servant….there is a little bit of him in all of us. He had more to lose since he had started with so much less. At least he wasn’t losing money on the deal.

But God wants us to take the risk to invest in ourselves…to “own our own talents.” We each have talents…the goal is to invest them in ways to provide ourselves a life of “simple abundance.” (Sarah Breathnache) If the parable of ‘The Talents” makes us nervous…then it’s meant to.

We must learn to be secure in the special talents we have been given and feel comfortable is recognizing our talents.

“Each time I write a book, every time I face that yellow pad, the challenge is so great. I have written eleven books, but each time I think “Uh,oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find out out.” – Maya Angelou

So until tomorrow….”Many of us squander precious natural resources-time, creative energy, emotion-comparing the size of our talents to those of others. Today, ask God to call forth our unique gifts, so that we might know them, acknowledge them, and own them.” 

“Do we want to live more abundantly or have we buried our talents? How can we live richer, deeper, and more passionately if we aren’t willing to invest in ourselves. Many of us have played it safe for too long and wonder why we are miserable. Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make?” (Simple Abundance-Breathnache)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Every time I make a change, hopefully an improvement, in my home, yard, deck, or garden I feel (with all my heart and soul) that I am investing a part of myself into it. The two hanging basket ferns are located at the top of each window now….I added a new look to the front porch.

Anne’s plaque is up: With the garage debris now blown out of the garage and “Boo’s Potting Shed” official sign hanging on the side…operations to transform a spidery old overstuffed garage into a working/potting shed is underway.

Dear Reader:

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.” – Carl Sandburg

The deck and the garden are the two best purchases I ever spent money on to date. Why? Because when I plop in the lounge chair and see/hear the geese flying overhead or watch a squirrel scamper by, in the garden, foraging for food, or hear the flutter of a butterfly or buzz of a  bumblebee… all my senses start focusing on that one perception. I, instantly, am drawn to that millisecond of time. Nothing exists before or after that one moment of awareness. I am finally just “being” with all thoughts of “doing” pushed far away from my consciousness

The deck and the garden have brought me mindfulness and this experience can not be bought with coins. My “trinity”( that keeps me centered in this stage of my life) consists of: deck, garden, and blog.

THE MOMENT ONE GIVES CLOSE ATTENTION TO ANYTHING, EVEN A BLADE OF GRASS, IT BECOMES A MYSTERIOUS, AWESOME, INDESCRIBABLY MAGNIFICENT WORLD IN ITSELF. – Henry Miller

My dream for my garden has always been one where the sense of intoxicating floral smells  assaulted one upon entrance, the gift of sight produced a visual array of different colors and textures, the magic of sound created the soothing rhythm of water tinkling in the fountain and the “sea glass” chimes playing their mysterious melodies, while allowing for whimsical interludes to send one into another world of utter peace and contentment .

I love mis-matching inanimate objects with living plants… also using fairy surprises to keep the whimsy alive throughout the garden. Here are some examples:

I also love to be startled by the sheer beauty and uniqueness of each living plant in God’s Creation. The first rose of the season, has arrived on Vickie’s rose bush that Suzanne Blanton gave her and she, later, transferred to my front side yard by the fence for more sun. It and the coleus called “Sedona” (like the scenic desert in Arizona) both take my breath away.

So until tomorrow…Stop, concentrate, and be part of the moment, embrace it, tuck its memory away in the far recesses of your mental “attic” storage… for the seasons when it won’t be there.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Great Advice!

Dear Reader:

A couple of days ago I pulled up the National Storytelling Festival and was amazed at the new International Storytelling Center that has been built right downtown Jonesborough, Tennessee. It is a part performance/theater and part museum/conference area. Wow! It has been a long time since I last attended the Storytelling Festival.

I took some time to read about some of the storytelling performers that I still recognized and many new ones….At the international storytelling level….the president of this organization is Kiran Singh Sirah.

Recently, at the request of the Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) Sirah was asked to speak to the citizens of Charleston on the power of the story to heal (following the Emmanuel AME Church Massacre.) Sirah’s message was titled: “Telling Stories that Matter.” He said:

“Storytelling is one of the most important tools we have in building peace and understanding within our communities here in the United States and around the world,” says Sirah. “All too often, this vital tool is overlooked. I’m honored to share strategies for using stories to heal and promote change in the city of Charleston, which is already home to such a vibrant storytelling community.”

This series of story- healing programs targeted and honored long-time CCPL staff member Cynthia Graham Hurd and the other eight victims of the Emmanuel AME

On June 25, Charleston city council voted unanimously to change the name of the the St. Andrews Regional Library to the Cynthia Graham Hurd St. Andrews Regional Library, according to The Post and Courier. “People will look up and see her name and remember her every day,” said her husband, Arthur Hurd.

Another powerful story that Sirah could not have seen coming arose out of his storytelling session by a friend of Cynthia’s named Pam who was in the audience that day. Kiran Sirah shared it under the title of “The Silver Dove.”

Here is an excerpt from Sirah’s memory of something special that happened that day…

“After my talk, a woman approached me. She handed me an envelope that she asked me to open later. On the front, she had included a personal note about how my talk had brought up many different emotions for her. She’s still processing what had happened at Emanuel AME last summer; she thinks about it every day as she passes the church. In closing, she wrote, “May stories reach many hearts moving forward.”

I liked that: May stories reach many hearts moving forward. It reminds me of our mission here at ISC.

Later, back at my hotel, I opened the envelope. It contained a silver ornament in the shape of a dove, which is of course a symbol of peace. It also included another note. This one was a typed story.

In 2014, well before the holidays, Cynthia and I were talking about plans for Christmas. She was very happy because she had finally acquired a silver flocked Christmas tree, and she couldn’t wait to decorate it with all silver ornaments. I made a note on my November datebook page to buy Cynthia a silver bird ornament for her new tree. November arrived, and I read the note, but got caught up in the busyness of life and told myself, “I’ll just do it next year.”

This is that next year. I want to share with as many people as possible a silver ornament in memory of Cynthia Graham Hurd, so this and every year, we keep her close in our hearts along with the others taken from us at Mother Emanuel.

Pam

………………………

Of all the gifts and acknowledgements to Mr. Sirah on his presentation and visit to Charleston….the silver dove has remained close to his heart. He keeps it on his mantle and this Christmas he will hang it on the large Christmas Tree in the new International Storytelling Center. Sirah concludes by saying he will never forget Pam’s story and urges us all to “pass it on.”

So until tomorrow “Home is where our story begins” but it shouldn’t end there…instead our stories should be shared with others so they can connect us together in peace and unity.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Speaking of connecting…the grandchildren’s Japanese maples have budded and are opening up more each day….am sure this last bout of rain will speed up the blossoms even more. Rutledge and Jake’s trees are the earliest to show buds….while Lachlan and Eva Cate’s are a little behind.

Each year I get to watch the growth and beauty of these special trees and remember when each grandchild was born and when the tree was planted….a living legacy of love in my own back yard.

Today I will share Rutledge and Jake’s trees and give Eva Cate and Lachlan’s a little more time to bloom before sharing their progress. (L to R) Rutledge, Jake)

(Sculpture/Gift “The Storyteller” Rene Harris/ADK)

Dear Reader:

I received this most precious gift as a retirement “memorial” from my ADK sisters. We had gone to Mepkin Abby, as a group, to see the creches and later we all went into the gift shop. Rene Harris found me gazing wishfully at this piece of sculpture called “The Storyteller”….after I walked away…apparently she (representing the sorority) got it for me  as a retirement gift. I cherish it to this day.

I don’t think I said “Do Tell”! when I received it at the last end of that school year final meeting but I could have. (“Do Tell“! is a slang expression, dating back to the mid 1800’s in the southeast, that basically means:)

“A phrase used to express surprise about something, as in Jane’s getting married again? Do tell. This expression does not necessarily ask the speaker to provide more details but merely expresses one’s astonishment.”

I was totally astonished, surprised, shocked, and elated! “Do Tell”!…I never thought that beautiful sculpture design would ever be sitting in my Happy Room. I look at it every single day and remember all the enjoyment storytelling has brought me in my teaching and speaking career, as well as in the blog and my personal life.

Have you ever thought that God, in all His Wisdom, chose to come to earth as a baby because God knows there’s one thing guaranteed to make just about anybody kneel over or kneel down: a baby lying in a bassinet  or lying on the floor.

Author Quinn Caldwell remembers his son’s ninety-year-old great-grandmother diving straight to her knees to play with her latest great grandson on his little mat on the floor. “I always think that inspiring kind of delight and devotion has to be at least half the reason God decided to show up as a baby. Everyone loves a baby! “

And aren’t children paying homage to the storyteller when they happily scamper to the floor around the rocking chair to look up in reverence as they listen to the storyteller weave his/her magic….growing lost in another world of imagination? God is smart…His Son arrives as a baby and then mesmerizes the crowds with stories. Two of the most favorite things on earth. New birth and storytelling.

So until tomorrow….Let us, as children of God, always scamper to sit at the feet of  the world’s greatest storyteller and beseech again and again: “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.“

“Today is my favorite day:  Winnie the Pooh

* If my blogs lately tend to “bird walk” or wander off please blame nature’s beauty right outside my window where I am typing. This is what I see. The azaleas are gone but new blooms have simply filled in….and the beat goes on….wild honeysuckle and spirea. (Thanks Doodle!)

Tomorrow I will show you lots of new birth floral examples and even some individual stories of  last year’s flowers and their reappearance this year…but today ….peek with me through the magical moon gate at what lies inside. The rest of the tour is forthcoming.

*April 1….April Fools’ Day! Bunny wanted to have some fun with it…..Remember to say “Rabbit” and the good mojo will follow. (* Do take time to read Kaitlyn’s poignant observations on dealing with loss…thoughts we can all identify with….)

healing | swicegood yoga

Dear Reader:

I always check, intermittently, in on one of my favorite blog writers , Kate Wolfe-Jensen to see how she is doing. She has MS and has lost most of her ability to control physical motion….while creatively learning to paint with her mouth and tongue. Her thoughts are still crystal clear and are words to live by.Her paintings vibrant, powerful, and poignant.

Several years ago she came up with the idea of purposefully looking for some incident in every day that you judge to be the best “delight of the day.” For me (Tuesday night) it was sunset….the beauty of the vibrant colors sinking behind the neighborhood trees put me in a very quiet place of repose and spiritual growth.

Lately I have been drinking more water, exercising more, and trying to take better care of myself through daily nourishment. The physical part of improving nourishment is relatively easy…the spiritual nourishment usually takes a little longer for results.

I like this visualization that Jensen uses:

Watching for delight, we become more conscious of the nourishment around us. Our senses offer us delight each day, just as dew forms each night on leaves of grass.

Manna in the wilderness

The story goes that when the ancient Israelites were starving in the wilderness, their God gave them manna. Each day, when the dew lifted, this fine flaky substance covered the ground. They ate it and were nourished. Just so, our souls are nurtured by the beautiful sights, sounds, flavors, aromas and textures that come our way every day.
 
Open your soul and drink it in. You are surrounded by blessings. Watch for the many delights of the day….they are everywhere. 

Here are my delights from yesterday….it is hard to just choose one…so I will show them all….Four of Harriett’s lilies waved at me yesterday morning….quite happy to be alive and vibrant.

Then the daffodil bulbs that I planted in early spring are shooting up in three different areas.

Watching form and grow before my very eyes…now that is nourishment to the soul. God has sent other spirits to help us get through each day and nourish us as we travel, look for them.

So until tomorrow….Look for the people and things that make us feel joyful and fulfilled….filled to the brim with a satisfied soul.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Please keep your prayers coming in for the Crick family….Betsy’s parathyroids aren’t doing what they are supposed to…making Betsy feel tired of the whole ordeal and ready to get back to feeling normal again. Betsy, this is our prayer….for you to return to your old self…one who doesn’t have to  worry about those pesky little parathyroids with an attitude problem!

 Jackson moved into her new home a couple of weeks ago but her living room furniture just made their appearance yesterday but they were worth the wait. Jackson is now officially HOME!  Love it Jackson!😍

Dear Reader:

Monday I had lunch with a friend at O’Charlies. We were seated in the bar area and I happened to look up and see this sign. “Come on back for Good Times.” I found myself automatically smiling. Wouldn’t it be nice if all of us had a big sign in our front yard with this saying on it? Don’t we all want our homes to be the place where people like to gather and can expect a good time?

The other day I came across the word “verve” and looked it up because I couldn’t quite remember the exact definition of the word. Verve means: Vigor, Enthusiasm and spirit. I think it will be my new word of the week. I like it.

Sarah Breathnach (Simple Abundance) equates the term “verve” as the secret of personal style and taste. She named several famous women, like the late Princess Diana and Diane Keaton as examples of the definition …their spirit emerges through their living style.

“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” Emily Dickinson 

An anecdote was attached to this quote about this favorite poet of mine that I liked a lot.

“Emily Dickinson showed verve by preferring to dress entirely in white, year-round, at a time when most Victorian women dressed in dark, somber colors. Perhaps, Miss Dickinson knew that expressing verve through her clothing could jump-start the ecstatic experience she so fervently sought and encouraged others to seek as well.

I must have at least 6 different orange colored blouses, tunics, and jackets. It has taken me a lifetime but I know what moves and excites me….oranges, yellows, tunic style blouses and shirts.

In my home I have been blessed doubly…because I can enjoy my bright yellows and oranges in my happy room and bedroom while on the other side (B&B)….soft gray pastels, with dark gray chalk-paint cabinets reign over the/kitchen. One bedroom continues with the gray pastel and a pastel green to finish it off…while the other bedroom and living room shout out reds to make a statement against the gray.

In my parallel life all my furniture would be “distressed” and termed shabby chic by some and just plain shabby by others. I love lived-in-looking furniture…nothing formal.  I want people to feel comfortable sitting on my furniture, not scared of spilling anything. A home should always be about people, memories, and good times.

The whole analogy of comparing people to onions becomes more credible the older I get. It has taken me a lifetime of peeling off layers to finally discover my “verve.” But now that I have….this is one happy gal!

Breathnach gives this great suggestion to discovering our verve….”Be constantly on the lookout for the ecstatic experience; what excites us or moves us to tears, what makes the blood rush to our head, our hearts skip a beat, our knee shaky, and our souls sigh….food for the eye is to be found everywhere. It is all about discovering you.”

Like my house and clothing…I am not about being matchy-matchy but mis-matched. I purposefully place odd pieces of furniture together and this holds true for the garden. I want lots and lots of diversity in my garden…azaleas next to gerber daisies next to marigolds, next to petunias, next to roses and so on….always adding an odd feature to catch one’s attention.,,like my fairy garden in the old wheelbarrow where the red petunias were planted last year and a few are starting to emerge again.

So until tomorrow….Have you found your “verve” yet…if not…open your eyes to the parts of life that make you the happiest…which colors, which homes, fences, gardens, furniture, flowers, shapes and sizes and then start slowly adding more of them to your life. No matter the size of your space…fill it with your personal happiness.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I believe Mollie’s “verve” is two little boys named Rutledge and Lachlan…looking mighty happy.

Lachlan is feeling better…we missed  him and Mollie this Easter- he caught a yucky virus going around the day care center. “Some bunny” is feeling better now.

“Personal Photo of the lake at Wakendaw Lakes Subdivision)

Dear Reader:

One of the most famous lines from the popular television series of the eighties (The A-Team) was spoken by the lead character, Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith,  played by George Peppard.

After his team would hunt down the “bad guys” with all kinds of complications, ups and downs, and near-death experiences….the A-Team would emerge victorious with hardly a hair split in the process. Colonel “Hannibal Smith” would smoke contentedly on his big cigar….sending a swirl of smoke out into the (coughing environment) and then, with a satisfied smile, say, ‘I love it when a plan comes together.” 

I love it when  the connection for a blog story does the same thing…comes together. Perhaps  my story idea  awakened after spending time with Jake feeding the ducks and geese, or memories of feeding the same water birds while visiting daddy’s cemetery after church on Sundays, or helping mom throw bread to the ducks at the Presbyterian Village pond after her stroke.

The catalyst behind the premise of the post arrived out of a poem “Wild Geese” (by Wendell Berry.)  While reading the poem…a wave of memories flooded me.

Horseback on Sunday morning,
harvest over, we taste persimmon
and wild grape, sharp sweet
of summer’s end. In time’s maze
over fall fields, we name names
that went west from here, names
that rest on graves. We open
a persimmon seed to find the tree
that stands in promise,
pale, in the seed’s marrow.
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear,
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.

I feel that one of the greatest epiphanies we will ever experience is that moment when we look at our life in hindsight….and realize God gave us everything we needed  to grow in His glory.

Disease, war, pestilence, strife, crime are all man-made, not God made. We chose, with free will, to destroy much of the earth’s food supply for areas where starvation exists today. It wasn’t that way in the beginning of time and if this old world had its priorities straight new technology could eradicate many of today’s problems.

Like the poet says….we only have to be “quiet in our heart” and look around us with eyes clear of mundane routine to see correctly the spirit of the land calling us. We can’t let greed continue to over-ride the purpose of our promise to Christ… to follow his last commandment:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another

I have mentioned, once before, the time when my faith, not only faltered, but downright plummeted from my being, my soul. It had nothing to do with “little c”….but with mother’s last stroke.

Unless it was raining or we were gone away…mother took me and my two brothers every Sunday to the cemetery where my daddy’s body lay. Since we were just small children….quite honestly, we were more excited about feeding the ducks and geese that came flocking from a pond that encircled the cemetery than anything else. The innocence of childhood spared us our mother’s heartbreak lying close by..

We never forgot the bread. There was one little duck that was crippled and who couldn’t waddle over fast enough to get his fair share of our treats. So Ben would lead the pack away from the crippled duck…while David and I lured it in the opposite direction so the little duck could dine alone, without being pushed away by the others.

Mother always came over to see if we were successful in getting bread to the crippled duck and smiled when she saw it eating several slices all by itself.

Fast forward several decades….mother is suffering from the onset of dementia and six months after going into the Presbyterian Village suffers a stroke. It didn’t affect her left side…where her prosthesis was located….but the right side of her face, arm, and leg. In other words…mother now had to be fed by others….any last vintage of independence was gone.

I cried, screamed, and cursed God….how could a loving God do this to my mother after all she had endured….losing her husband at 31, her arm to bone cancer a year later, raising three small children, getting an MIA notice from the government about her oldest son, Ben during the Vietnam War, and then losing her youngest child, David, to side effects of Marfan’s Syndrome disease.

“Enough” I screamed at God….would it have hurt anything in the big picture of the universe for You to let the stroke affect the left side where the arm was already gone? I was filled with bitterness.

It was mother, whose faith never faltered, who showed me one day what true faith is. I had wheeled her out to the duck pond with some bread that she could no longer throw. Around three or four ducks came scrambling up the embankment looking for a hand-out. I  tore the slices into  small chunks while mother watched with great interest.

Suddenly, she made a strange sound and pushed her head to the left….her arms still immobile. I looked and there was a small duck dragging one webbed foot behind it….probably an unfortunate attack from a turtle. I realized what mother wanted….I pushed her wheelchair away from the other ducks… throwing their bread far to the right.

As I fed the injured duck….I turned around at mother and smiled…she smiled back…her eyes were lit up in happiness. Happiness! Oh me of little faith! Everything, it appeared, had been taken from mother except the only thing she needed and already possessed….unwavering faith.

For the first time I actually saw my mother’s spirit…not the shriveled up body of a woman I admired, loved, and called mother. It was the greatest lesson mother ever taught me.

……………………..

So until tomorrow….The next time we feel inclined to complain about something we think we need…we then need to open our eyes and hearts to help and support God has available to us…we are not alone….we just need to clear our eyes to see the everyday miracles surrounding us. This pause to reconsider might even make us realize that our “need” is actually just a “want.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*A new angel resides at Honey and Mike’s home on Pinnacle mountain….as lovely as the statue is (and it is) it still doesn’t compare in beauty to the two angels who reside inside… Honey and Mike.

 * Does the sound of flock of geese flying overhead excite you? It does me. I especially like to see and hear them early in the morning off the deck or late in the afternoon. Their excited squawking  sounds like an important announcement is being made. According to animal symbolisms….if one sees a flock of geese fly overhead…it means an imminent change is coming. Good or bad…is yet to be determined…but it’s coming.

(Gift from Joan Turner)

Dear Reader:

Easter has come and gone again….in waves of spring showers.

The sun actually peeked out for a few minutes yesterday morning while I was picking  flowers in the garden to take (for everyone) to place on the cross at church. I love the concept that, not only, has Jesus risen but everything is now covered in blooms again. Nature’s way of reaffirming that life has conquered death once and for all.

Our own original blooms might wither and fall  one day…but later new buds will emerge and even more beautiful blooms open up to the light and eternal life. The Resurrection of life.

Over the few short years since my children have married and had children….a new family tradition has started. First is church where the grandchildren love putting flowers on the cross. (This year Mollie and Lachlan couldn’t come- Lachlan was sick…we missed them very much.) It was Jakie’s first time to put a flower on the cross…instead he kept picking up the ones that had fallen and playing with them.

Then back home to heat up the food (my official test-taster -Anne) said the ‘funeral potatoes’ were to “die for.”) We had lots and lots of food…. while watching the children open up their Easter Baskets.

Rutledge arrived in his superhero costume…Boo just added the blue bunny ears and he was “Super Bunny”…now for the baskets.

Then the ceremonial Lollipop Bunny’s arrival…Have Eva Cate and Rutledge done enough kind deeds for lollipop seeds to bloom?…YES! In fact they both got two suckers each…they must have been doubly kind this year.

Tommy and Kaitlyn hid the eggs for the after-lunch hunt….and then we ate….a lot and laughed….especially Rutledge who just wanted to be one of the boys with his dad and uncles at the table.

Eva Cate entertained us with dinner music….“Little Bunny Foo Foo“….(John kept trying to skip the number sequence down on the stanzas but to no avail… Eva Cate knows her numbers now and each stanza was sung accordingly in chronological order.)

And then came the hunt…it was only slightly sprinkling and Jakie’s first one walking….

Rutledge was quite successful at the hunt with dad to guide him

Eva Cate has grown into a “pro” with the most experience at this “hunt thing.”

The hunt was over….most of the food put up….things had calmed a little, the “hunters” were even sharing the “spoils” … and then they both realized they had (little $1.00 water pistols in the shapes of sea creatures in their basket- the cheapest item is always the most popular-lesson learned.) It was a close variation of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral!

So after surviving a slightly sprinkley egg hunt with little water damage to clothing….they were soaked from shooting each other with water pistols….I hope you enjoy the irony here.

In the midst of the water torture test Doodle, Harvey, Julie, Carrie, and Kitty Kat arrived…they had to duck to get across the porch to safety.

Poppy and Dee Dee used to host the famous Dingle Easter Egg Hunt for decades and each year it grew bigger and bigger….it was sad when the last grandchild had outgrown the hunt….those are some of my favorite memories.

*These pretty nieces of mine just get more beautiful every time I see them!

It really does take a “village to raise a child” and with all three grandchildren running around on a sugar high… help was wanted and needed.…Uncle Harvey and Jakie played ball and Aunt Doodle took Jakie on a little porch adventure walk.

Tommy and Kaitlyn hid eggs and played with whichever child came closest….

By the time everyone left… Eva Cate and Rutledge were running around the front yard in the pouring rain….completely soaked…having a wonderful time and all the adults just shrugged in resignation…there is always that inner child in us rooting them on into the exhilarating freedom moments of childhood.

Rutledge was the last to leave and he put on his new Easter cap…pin-striped golfing cap…or as Walsh said…his “Poppy” cap.

One can always tell when a party has been successful….the “little” guests’ eyes start drooping as soon as they hit the car (and the big ones wish they could fall asleep too.)

John and Mandy gave me this beautiful pink mandevilla vine with all its gorgeous blooms….I can hardly wait to get it started climbing on my fence. I know, however, that God has blessed me with my many “blooms” in the form of family and friends….children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbors. My life is one beautiful “blessed” bloom. On this Easter Sunday of 2016….thank you Jesus!

So until tomorrow….My wish for everyone is that all our “blooms be blessed” throughout our lives.

Today is my favorite day- Winnie the Pooh

*Watch out Sports Illustrated.…Jake Turner is getting ready!

(Gerdasmitart)

Dear Reader:

It might take a stretch of imagination to visualize Jesus belting out “Oh what a beautiful morning…Oh what beautiful day”….from the musical Oklahoma…but I feel sure Jesus must have felt that way…on that long ago Sunday morning. I sure would have.

I thought this year I would bring Easter back home. So many wonderful surprises have happened this past week that I am still reeling from the high.  I thought I would just share the many God Winks that have come my way.

I contacted Gerda after Matt’s story came out this past week. I felt that she should know what her painting of St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope did for Matt Oliver and the connection born out of this painting. This was her response:

Hi Becky

About the image of the Chapel…

It is like Matt said… I “Google” churches and liked the image (of St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope) and painted it- that was just me doing what God told me to do.

I simply try to listen to the Holy Spirit and do what I think I must do if it makes sense to me or not…
It is not my job, to know why….I just do.

My paintings are my way of saying: Here I am.

My word for this year is GRACE
This is God’s grace to me…(your recent email)
Letting me know  to carry on painting.

*Yes, you are welcome to use images of my work (please just put: gerdasmitart next to it)

Happy Easter
Gerda Smit

………………………

Bouts of poor health have restricted the pace of Gerda’s painting projects , but she is still called upon (by a Higher Power) to paint certain artworks. She no longer paints to sell  but  simply listens to God’s Voice as to what to select next. A picture of the chapel called her to paint it….and look at the effect it has ended up having on so many people’s lives.

One of her paintings I discovered jumped out at me. You might remember that Mollie and I went to a Christian women’s conference called Chosen a few weeks ago.. Here is Gerda’s “Chosen.” (gerdasmitart)

Remember how sad I was that I had mistakenly pulled up the “root” (or so I thought) of last year’s Passion vine? I even ordered another small one from a nursery on-line. When it arrived in the mail (about 4 inches tall) I went to plant it and saw something sticking out of the pine straw and leaves….my Passion vine!

I had not pulled up the root…but simply cut the vine off at ground level….so it had returned. A Happy Easter present to me. There is quite a lesson here….sometimes we, too, feel cut back in our dreams and goals but God is still working at our “roots” to bring fruition to our lives.

Speaking of Easter presents….hold on to your hats for this one.  I have been cleaning out decades of “stuff” from my garage….a miserable, yucky experience but such a rewarding one also. It is like taking a load off my own psyche…letting go of the past.

I showed Anne the garage when she stopped by the other day and told her I imagined a sign on the outside wall saying something like “Boo’s Potting Shed.” Anne looked startled and then said, “Becky, I remember that thought being your goal since the creation of your garden…and I painted a  bright green color as a background a long time ago. But then got busy with other things and forgot all about it.”

During Anne’s recent renovations she was cleaning out her garage, found the colored plank and wondered why she had it. But something kept her from tossing it. So now, un-beknownst to me. she added letters and flowers….moon flowers, sun flowers, and morning glory flowers.

She sent me a mysterious email the other day saying “It’s coming.” Nothing else. I thought she meant Easter and I responded it sure was…would be here before we knew it. Instead of replying to my response she sent a photo of the plank board sign in the process of being created.

Then Friday night she showed up at the house with this:

My last surprise was a simple but beautiful one…..the first of Harriett’s lilies ( a tiger lily I believe) opened up just in time for Easter.

So until tomorrow… Easter encompasses so many thoughts and feelings….but generosity of spirit, friendship, and Christ’s unconditional love, in the form of miracles given to mankind, take precedence on this most Holy of days. “Holy, Holy, Holy, How We Adore Thee.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Somehow in the midst of everything else going on in Anne’s life (she has had lots of guests staying with her) she managed to send out original artwork note cards she had painted. This one is called “Communion” with the wine chalice and bread sitting on the shore. I am so blessed to be surrounded with so much talent from family and friends….who share so generously of it. Thank you Anne. Beautiful!

*More scenes from the lowcountry as observed while pushing Jakie’s stroller….aren’t we the luckiest people in the world to live in this paradise of loveliness?

Dear Reader:

I thought it just wouldn’t be Easter if we didn’t stop and give thanks for the Easter Bunny too. After all he/she is a very important part of our childhoods. (Much better than the tooth fairy because you get to eat a lot of chocolate in all kinds of animal forms.)

Like most traditions…the origin behind the Easter Bunny is varied depending on the cultural tradition of different countries and people.  However, how the idea of a gift-giving rabbit came to our shores actually started in Germany.

According to most sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs.

In different religious sectors….the eggs have come to represent Jesus’ resurrection…but I think one would be hard pressed to find the Easter bunny in scripture. (I have never seen a picture of the cross/crucifixion with colored Easter eggs around it.)

The Easter Bunny simply stands alone in bringing joy to little children and that’s enough reason to celebrate his cultural introduction into Easter I believe.

The title painting is an original by none other than Joan Turner, John’s mom. Isn’t it adorable? I was so excited when it arrived a couple of days ago.

She also sent this wonderful copy of her latest painting – her version of Daniel Gorbis’ “Spring in the Village.” She said when she saw the painting it reminded her of Huntsville, Alabama. It has been a cold spring thus far….many of the early spring flowers losing buds and blossoms to the frigid weather.

The original painting reminded her of their cold fronts this year by  the smoke coming from the homes….it might be spring but a fire was still needed to keep the home warm. (I had a fire two nights this week.)

Joan mentioned the smoke could be coming from baking bread and that’s a nice thought too. She decided to change her title from “Spring in the Village” to “Spring in the Valley” because Huntsville is located in a valley at the foot of the mountains.

The original painting was done in 1918 but it spoke to Joan of home. Isn’t that what art should do? Bring relevance to the viewer of something or someone they can identify with from the viewing.

Here is Joan’s interpretation- “Spring in the Valley”…so beautiful!

In one of Gerda’s (gerdasmitart) paintings I found a lone little bunny in a field…I wanted to take him home.

Here are photos of some of my other rabbits hopping around the house and yard. There will even be more when the grandchildren open their baskets Sunday!

Found this little boy/girl bunny at Tuesday Morning...perfect when you don’t know the gender yet?

I even found a sweet little book called Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day in which Jesus and the Easter Bunny team up to help children with their troubles. Cute activity to accompany.

I am hoping that with all the press I have given this old bunny today he will remember me with one chocolate bunny….or maybe three.

So until tomorrow….Enjoy Easter Weekend….keep hope alive and keep hopping for joy because God loves us everyone! We are his “Beloved!”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I spent “Good Friday” keeping little Jake since his pre-school was closed and the public schools in Charleston weren’t. That made Friday even “gooder.” Another Easter miracle….I got home in the shortest length of time late Friday afternoon from Mt. Pleasant than I ever have….I was expecting a parking lot….Who knew? God did!

Rutledge eats, sleeps trucks….Jake eats, sleeps balls….all kinds…big, small, red, blue, striped….he calls one little brown basketball “fooot-ball” and that is his favorite. It is the first thing he says in the morning or from a nap. And whatever happens don’t ever lose that ball….warning to the wise. Never stand close….get way back…he’s got a strong throw!

Jake’s second favorite thing to do is feed the geese and ducks of which there are many around in his neck of the woods.

*Hot off the press….just finished deviling those eggs….the most difficult part to me….so let Easter begin. It is 10:15 Saturday morning and the eggs are done and in the fridge, the string bean casserole is ready and in the fridge….I only have one casserole left to make ….the “Funeral Potato” casserole off the Pioneer Woman’s show. Wish me luck! Sounds so yummy.