Quicksilver Art and Spirit

Picasso-Face Lunch

2012-02-04T12:52:00.001-08:00

Having it My Way

Like many across the country, I began 2012 with the resolve to be healthier this year. Knowing that, as a goal, my resolution too nebulous to be quantified I thought through exactly what being healthier meant to me.
I realized that I wanted measurable results in terms of my weight but more importantly I wanted to reduce my sick days and ramp up my energy level. Not only did I want to fit into my jeans, I wanted the vigor to go enjoy all my favorite activities that sometimes slip through the cracks when I am laid low by dietary indiscretions. So I turned for help to my old tried-and-true friend, the South Beach Diet.
If you're unfamiliar with this particular diet, it first became popular when the book by Dr. Arthur Agatston hit the shelves about ten years ago. It was around that time that a friend of mine gave me her copy of the book. It didn't work well for her because it requires cooking and she hates to cook. She ended up doing quite well on Jenny Craig with the pre-packaged food. To each her own. I'm not here to sell the diet, but for me I know that since it embraces natural, simple foods and restricts sugar and refined wheat products, it's pretty ideal for me. I decided to follow the strict Phase One menu to the letter during the first two weeks of the New Year.
By January 14 I had lost 9 pounds and felt wonderful. My painting jeans once more zipped easily and I had boundless energy to keep up with my studio work. I was able to teach my YoloCanvas class, have fun with my grandson, and even climb on the playground. Sean accompanied me the first two weeks and Dan agreed not to make any of his winter comfort foods (although I will admit, there were days I really missed his chicken pot pie).
Success is a dangerous thing. The hubris that accompanied the weight loss seduced me into "cheating" on the more liberal Phase Two of the diet. The start of the semester and the challenge of constantly cooking tempted me into risking a couple of dangerous take-out meals. Rather than follow the menu plan, I allowed myself to run off the road into the ditch of easy food. It is a ditch obscured by the weeds of "just-this-once-once-can't-hurt" and filled with the slimy mud of hidden sugar, saturated fats, and unrefined flour.
Okay, I admit it. I'm a backslider.
I HIT BOTTOM yesterday when, with blood sugar plummeting in the midst of a day full of errands, Sean and I stopped at Carl's Jr. for a hamburger, fries, and a Coke. There. I said it.
Monday morning, I'm going right back on Phase One accompanied by meals like the one pictured here, artfully arranged, healthfully prepared, colorfully presented. I will anticipate my busy times and prepare ahead of time. I will take snacks in the car with me. I will allow enough time to cook dinner and make enough to have good leftovers.
Right after Sean makes hot wings for the Super Bowl.

Coming of Age

2012-01-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Twenty-one years ago January 5 I went to sleep at about 8:00 A.M. after a staggeringly difficult all-night labor and delivery. The payoff for my trouble was my son, Sean Thomas Olivares, 7 pounds and 10 ounces and 19" of healthy, all-American boy.

From that moment on, Sean scorned doing things the easy way.

His infancy was fraught with serial ear infections and a struggle with pneumonia before the end of his first year. Yet he was always an adventurer; he could get out of his car seat himself at 10 months of age.

My marriage, troubled for several years, finally imploded and collapsed in upon itself also during Sean's first year. The move away from our home in California to my mother's home in Salt Lake City was hard on us all, but Sean seemed to treat every new encounter as an adventure. It didn't take long before we had a new home, a new church, and a new pre-school to explore.

Our new home suited Sean right away. He learned, at 18 months, how to climb on top of the kitchen counter to reach the cupboards where the goodies were kept. I don't know how often he did it, but I do know how loudly I gasped when I walked in and caught him the first and last time I ever watched him do it. (I think it scared him enough to never do it again)

Sean has always had good friends, too, starting with our next-door neighbor, Cade. Cade was about six months Sean's senior and just as active. One day I looked into the room where they'd been playing, as it had become a little too quiet for my comfort. Sean had enlarged a hole in his window screen and, after throwing a number of toys down from the second story window to the front lawn where Cade waited, was about to climb out himself.

I won't go into any of the emergency room visits or frantic "missing" child searches or the 911 call after the Vicks Vapo-Rub adventure. They all turned out satisfactorily in the end, and I had the pleasure of getting well-acquainted with nurses, firefighters, principals, and counselors. ("So good to see you again, Ms. Marshall. It doesn't look like Sean will need stitches with this one.")

It's a good thing that Sean has had the life that he has. It has helped him develop any amount of courage and good judgment, not to mention a coolness in the face of adversity that would be considered admirable in a man much older in years. Some of his lessons he has learned the hard way, it's true.

Take compassion. Sean has never turned a deaf ear to a friend who needed his help in any way. No wonder that, when asked to travel to Southern California last week to tend his hospitalized father, he agreed to go because he was needed.

Sean gave up his plans for his twenty-first birthday here at home with his friends, he gave up nearly all of his winter break, he gave up some critical job-searching time as well as the chance to see his friends who were here in Davis before returning out-of-state to their own colleges in order to be the home caregiver his dad needed when he was released from the hospital. Well, that was nearly two weeks ago and his dad is still in the hospital.

So he has spent the past weeks cleaning his father's apartment, throwing out the old food left from before Christmas when he was first taken ill, going through files to find old Army papers which will help get his dad into much-needed V.A. care, getting stranded twice with his dad's car breaking down, and going to a Chinese restaurant with two elderly aunts he barely knows for his birthday. And did I mention he had tea?

He has also sat by his dad's side as he has slid downhill to an unknown and murky prognosis, and walked him through physical therapy to be able to move from bed, to walker, to chair and back again. He has negotiated his way around a strange town, largely isolated, shopping for and preparing his dinner-for-one, and spending nights alone in his dad's empty apartment. Through it all he has shown maturity, grace, and compassion. Compared to a night of drinking and roistering around which so many young men equate with coming of age, Sean's experience has certainly been the more meaningful.

I am so proud of this merciful, compassionate man who is my son. And, yes, I anticipate his homecoming this Saturday with great joy. I look forward to hugging him, to cooking him the best steak dinner he's ever had, and to buying him a drink at Woodstock's here in Davis. Then I'll leave him in the company of trusty friends to enjoy what I imagine will be a night of possibly more reflection and less roistering than it might have been.

"Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and yo

"Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."

- James 5:11

u have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."

- James 5:11

2011-12-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner this year was a pork loin, butterflied, stuffed with apples, mushrooms, and ground pork, then wrapped in prosciutto and roasted with apples. How can you beat pork times three?

This recipe came to us thanks to Bon Appetit, the October 2011 issue, pp. 88-89.

It won the caucus, coming in far ahead of standing rib roast and even jambalaya!

In the New Year, this blog will cover adventures with the South Beach Diet...

2011-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

I must be the only spiritual writer on the web who hasn't blogged interminably around the subject of the tenth anniversary of the horrendous 9/11 attacks. I could say that it's because much of last week was spent battling strep throat. I could say that the Labor Day weekend camping trip took me away from all network connections. I could say I was more wrapped up in trying to stay abreast of my schoolwork. I could certainly say that my participation in an all-day plein air paint-out the day before left me with no energy to sit down and write.

All of those things are true, and as excuses not to write they might stand up to scrutiny.

But here is something else that is also true.

Every moment of the weekend, indeed for weeks leading up to this date, every media face and name has saturated the news channels, the blogosphere, television, and the social networks. It seems that everyone (and that's millions of people) who has a voice in any way in the media has taken it upon themselves to review, analyze, and re-interpret the events of that disastrous time in our lives. Whether it's a political pundit or just Barbie Blogger, everyone seems to want to tell all the rest of us how the events unfolded, what they meant then, and how we will be changed forever because of them.

It sounds very much like our reaction, the so-called "War on Terror", has not accomplished an important goal, i.e. helping to facilitate this country's ability to move through our legitimate grief. Think about it for a moment. Although many voices have compared the terrorist attacks to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, that action was the action of a country pursuing its own national interests. Say what we will about Japan's motivation, an act of war is not equal to a criminal act perpetrated by terrorist gangsters. One very important difference in processing our grief over the losses we sustained in war, even World War II, which cost nearly half a million American lives is this:

On many levels, we knew the difference between fighting a war between countries for their national interests and striking out blindly at masked criminals who vanish into the night.

I personally still struggle with the criminality of the 9/11 attacks, and although I believe it was certainly in our country's best interests to see to it that Osama bin Laden paid with his life, the Christian I want to be cannot celebrate his death. Neither can that Christian support making September 11 a national holiday and lining the streets with flags and watching the day devolve into parades and cook-outs, which distance and time will surely bring about.

The thing I could do was to make the above paltry visual comment on our altar at church yesterday on the day our pastor preached the sermon, "Forgiveness: It's complicated." You may notice the tall rectangular vases, which I chose to represent the two towers of the World Trade Center. In them are white Easter lilies, the symbol of resurrection. Central to the vignette is the cross, the symbol through which people like me struggle to see God revealed in Jesus. The white and the purple drapes are symbols of God's sovereignty (purple) and the promise of the Resurrection (white) although purple is also a color for mourning. Finally, the batik in the center contains emblems of the major world religions. In hope of eventually sharing the everlasting Divine and the peace that is revealed through love, perhaps we can manage through our grief.

There is no easy way to forget our loss, and I'm not saying to forget. I am saying, however, that we must accept the events that have happened, place our hope in something greater than ourselves, and move forward. If that means ending up lining the streets with flags and marching, just know that I'll be staying home. Please don't expect me to join in for the hot dogs and beer.

I'm proud to be an American, but I am humbled to be a child of God first.

Popeye and the Westminster Catechism

2011-08-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

What the heck? How is Popeye in any way related to the Westminster Catechism? To find out, I invite you to see my sister blog, The Quiet Woman, a place for sermons.

This one is written for the University Retirement Community in Davis, and is to be delivered tomorrow at their Vespers service.

Enjoy the preview, and feel free to leave a comment!

Westminster Catechism

2011-08-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Westminster Catechism: Chief end of man stated to be to glorify God and enjoy God forever, n'est-ce pas? Here's my take-I can never escape the idea within this catechism that we first intentionally immerse ourselves in life with and surrounded by God; our baptism speaks to it. THEN we are freed to likewise become intentionally immersed within the joyous state God invites us into. ENjoy, like IMmerse, like COMMunion, the list goes on. If you're not having fun yet, you're missing the point!

How, then are we to understand this week's Gospel scripture, Matthew 16:21-28, in which Jesus, on the threshold of his fatal return to Jerusalem, invites Peter (not-so-politely, it must be said) to shut up and hold on tight? Here's the actual scripture according to the N.I.V.

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

There is no escaping it, this is not Jesus giving Peter an e-ticket to the happiest place on earth. It is a solemn, heart-wrenching moment in their relationship in which the Son of Man looks his good friend, Peter, in the eye and says, "Don't try to talk me into anything I know I cannot and must not do." Or, even worse. He might be saying "If you're not for me, you're agin' me." Any way you read it, it's not joyful. It's scary, yes. It's fatalistic, certainly. But how can we imagine that the same Jesus who speaks in this way to Peter is the one who also inspires the Westminster Catechism, a teaching embraced by all protestant churches who claim England as the "Old Country" of their faith?

Tune in Saturday night for the answer. Hint: Think about Popeye.

Reflections on Art, Fun, and Friends

2011-07-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

Around the beginning of fall last year, I was imagining what direction to try to go with my art. I wondered to myself if I had it in me to work hard enough on the technical aspect of artmaking to build a coherent body of work suitable for showing.

Some folks had seen my art developing over the years. Many whom I've only known for the past few years, however, had no idea that their youth minister/preacher/Christian educator had an artistic side. It was kind of a closet passion, only to be revealed to people I could absolutely trust.

The journey to revelation has been rather long but in the past couple of years has accelerated. By December 2010 I felt ready to enter the college student holiday sale. Happily, four pieces sold. Then I showed some paintings to my PEO sisters, a most trustworthy group. Soon I was able to articulate my desire to have a show, and a couple of friends suggested ways I could pursue transforming this wish into a goal. Early this year, I got some valuable advice and help from various friends, including a couple of accomplished working artists.

I set myself the goal of having a showing of my paintings this year, and put that goal out onto the universe as I set to work and study. In typical universal fashion, forces combined, stars aligned, and I was able to realize my goal of publicly showing my art.

Funny how seriously the universe takes it when we make that wide-open appeal! The great goodness of the Divine means that when we offer out our sincere prayers in consonance with God's calling on our lives, and we work to grow into the fulfillment of our dreams, we find openings everywhere around us...even some we don't expect or think we deserve. God, you see, is no skinflint.

So, for those who have asked about and couldn't attend the opening on Friday night, here's the Readers Digest version. We ended up with 22 individual paintings, some as small as 9"x12" and the two largest being full size sheets of 140 lb. cold-press Arches watercolor paper, which measure 22"x30". They're hard to work with, chiefly because rather than 108 square inches of picture plane to compose, they present 660 square inches to compose. The great surfaces of wash are tougher to manage, also. But the images came together well and we were able to cover all three walls at The French Cuff and maintain visual integrity.

People started arriving at 5:00 to be greeted by the store's staff along with me and Sean. It was great fun to share refreshments and have a little wine toast as people milled about, asked questions about the work, and signed my memory/guest book. Dan arrived after work and we both enjoyed greeting friends and strangers alike as the gallery stroll got well underway. Live music on the little plaza outside the shop drew even more Davisites out for a pleasant summer evening.

A highlight for me was when two of my art professors, Isabelle Shaskan and Chris Daubert, came to visit. Both of them are accomplished working artists and have shared practical wisdom about color, design, composition, and execution with me and countless other students. It was a real compliment to have them there.

Beyond that, I was extremely touched that so many friends took the time and trouble to come to the show's opening and offer encouragement and good advice. This year I have been so abundantly blessed!

The evening seemed to fly by and closing time of 9:00 caught me a bit by surprise. As Dan and I walked the several blocks to the car, the sidewalks and streets of Davis still teemed with people-mostly "townies" who tend to come out once the students have left for the summer.

I think I like being "out" as an artist!

You Deserve a Break Today

2011-07-06T22:56:00.001-07:00

Whenever someone asks how I am and the response, "Frantic!" comes out without thinking about it, it's a sure sign of trouble. Over the past several days it has become increasingly clear that my commitments have once again taken over the amount of actual time and energy available to give to them. Not quite to the red light stage of coming to a screeching stop, but to the amber light stage of warning and slowing down.

One thing I am grateful to learn right now is that the spring and summer are the busy seasons for artists. There are contests and fairs, workshops and festivals, gallery strolls and group shows. What riches! I have been very blessed this year as the work I am doing is affirmed by others and receiving a broader viewing. The amount of legwork and artistic work that accompany such acceptance is both exhausting and exciting.

As with all seasons of great busyness, it's tempting to say yes to each new challenging opportunity because I think I'd be missing out on a wonderful adventure if I were to say no to anything. If I said no to entering a piece in a particular show, would I get the opportunity to do it the next time? If I chose not to teach a workshop, would I ever be asked again? If I dropped my summer intensive design class to go on vacation with my husband, would I be able to reschedule it during the regular semester?

Well, I don't really know. But I do know that the things that are the most important to me are the ones which I want to invest with my most pure spiritual energy. Put another way, to focus sufficiently to generate the finest creative force possible, it means drawing back in those areas which don't really reflect my calling.

An older friend of mine let me know today that she won't be attending my gallery stroll opening this Friday due to her decision to put her energy this week into healing a low-grade infection while she rests and recovers. The wisdom of acting in her own best interests struck me as prudent counsel if one has ears to hear. Reflecting on our shared disappointment, I appreciated that she is being true to her calling to care well for herself and once again modeling good discernment for me. This is something she has often shared with me over lunches together.

In response and thankfulness for the reminder, when I took my break for lunch today I took a real break. I got out one of my grandmother's luncheon plates and made myself the fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad you see above. As I was preparing the food, I thought over some of the things I had accomplished this morning and some of the things I still have to do this week. I was more peaceful than ever about saying no to a few things I truly do enjoy and would have enjoyed, with the promise to myself that if they are truly important, I will find other opportunities to engage in them.

As I sat and ate my lunch, I made an attempt to be really present to that moment, instead of juggling a forkful over the computer keys. What a refreshing thing to do!

You deserve a break today...we all do. What will you do for yours?

Bites and Mouthfuls

2011-07-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

"You want in on a martini?" asks Dan.
"Sure, I'll take a little bit." says I.
Half an hour later:
"Want a refill?" queries the man o' my dreams.
"Just a mouthful, thanks." I respond.

The same scenario plays out with different offerings and characters all over the place on any given day or evening.

"Have a piece of (birthday, wedding, baby shower, or former-pastor-farewell) cake." offers the hospitable server.
"Okay. But just a mouthful." says I.
Half an hour later, post sugar letdown sets in:
"Is there any of that cake left?" I query.
"Oh, yes. Let me get you some!" the server responds.
(Already feeling ashamed) "Hmm, yes. But only a bite." I murmur.

Just goes to show how hard-wired we humans are to doing anything and everything for our own comfort, pain avoidance, or whatever it's being called currently. It's a phenomenon also known as "I can rationalize anything if I want it badly enough." I recall being in a fast food eatery years ago with a friend while in the initial phase of the Atkins Diet. As I ate my salad sans dressing and my hamburger sans bun, my friend offered to share her French fries. I self-righteously declined. Moments later, she returned to the counter and then came back to our table munching a giant chocolate chip cookie.

"Here, you want to share?" It really was one damn big cookie.
"No, I guess I'd better not." was my half-hearted reply.
"Yeah. Well, it's not that good anyway. Not worth going off Atkins for, anyway."
And she proceeded to eat the whole damn big cookie, all by herself.
"You didn't want any of that cookie anyway." she concluded.

Which brings me to the point of bites and mouthfuls. I had to pull my driver's license out of my wallet the other day and happened to look at my height and weight. SHOCK. I read there on an official California state document how much more I weigh today than I did when I first got my license 6 years ago. LORD, HAVE MERCY.

The shock came after years of bites of this, mouthfuls of that, and finishing cookies that weren't worth the calories after the first taste or two. In her book, French Women Don't Get Fat, author Mireille Guiliano observes, "...the pleasure of most foods is in the first few bites..."so it is totally unnecessary and defeats the purpose of eating clean (which is to enjoy healthy eating)to eat past the point of enjoying the taste and texture.

An obvious strategy to combat the "calorie creep" that comes from extra bites and mouthfuls is to jot down a running list of things eaten over the course of the day to help notice everything that goes into our mouth. Even one almond. Another obvious one is to order dessert to share with your dinner partner. Still another, which I love, is more subtle and again comes from Guiliano: Go ahead and order your dessert while others order theirs. Then, "Take a few bites very slowly, until others are almost done. Then tell a story or talk to your neighbor. While you're talking, others keep eating; meanwhile, discreetly put your utensils in the five o'clock "done" position; when the server comes to collect your plate, everyone will still be listening to your story and won't notice your subtle moderation."

Of course, this last strategy depends on being in a restaurant with decent service. It wouldn't have succeeded at the fast food joint! We have tougher choices there! In the case of my friend in the fast food place, I can well imagine she may have eaten the whole cookie because she didn't want to be wasteful. But we can talk about the "clean plate club" another time.

For now, the next time I'm tempted I'll try to remember just how much it bites to live with the consequences of all my "just a mouthfuls".

Clean Food Reflections

2011-07-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

As July begins and summer heats up, I want to take a moment to check in on Eating Clean.
We've been in this conversation for a month now, and I invite you to note for yourself what has changed, if anything, in your experience. For myself, I have made just a few changes but they've had good results. In the four weeks since I began attending to keeping a clean diet, I've lost a pound a week while increasing my energy and sleeping better. I'll take it!
I will admit, it hasn't been without its challenges. Living in a household with two men who eat potatoes, bread, and desserts has its pitfalls, like the time I stuck my head in the potato chip bag and ate right through to the other end! No, just kidding. (It just seemed like it.) Binges that sneak up on us can turn into serious damage-not just weight, but the food hangover and lack of energy we experience as a result. It's a good thing to be able to forgive and move on, getting right back on track. After all, a dish of ice cream once in a while does not mean we've completely blown it so we might as well have another!
I reflect with gratitude on the strategies shared by friends, as they've saved me from meltdown more than once. Here are some good ones from Gary, Lori, Shelly, and Julia:
1. At the end of a meal, drink half a glass of V8 juice. Chances are you will feel full longer.
2. Berries are nearly free food. Now that summer's here, they're plentiful! Keep 'em handy.
3. Eat a salad with every meal consistently, as if it were medicine you have to take.
4. Have a serving every day of yogurt.
5. Sneak extra veggies into food-like finely chopped kale into spaghetti sauce, for instance.
6. Eat whole fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice doesn't provide all the goodies.
7. Toast with almond butter and sliced apricots or plums on top is a powerful sweet/salty snack.
8. A handful of nuts a day.
I'm grateful also for my long-suffering husband, Dan, who loves his potatoes and fried foods and grains. Although he doesn't have the same dietary needs that I do, we're both learning how to navigate our way to a healthier way of cooking and eating.
So, as we start the high season of fresh fruits and vegetables, what do you look forward to the most? My friend Sue Martin mentioned sweet basil, mozzarella cheese, and juicy tomatoes for starters. Since she's an accomplished artist, I can just imagine all the juicy compositions coming out of her kitchen this season!
I'd love to hear all about yours.

Told You So

2011-06-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

During the week just past I have learned or perhaps re-learned much about about trusting my inner voice. It always comes through with truthful, loving guidance when I settle myself and am able to quiet the "committee" of voices in my head. These are the voices of external factors such as subconcious scripting from the past, quibbling as they struggle for ascendancy and promotion to the light of consciousness. Sadly, some of these voices are invited in through the internet, texting, "tweeting", and e-mailing. They come inadvertently when we let our friends in through these windows on the world.
These voices must be periodically shushed in order to attend to the far deeper "heart voice". This voice, in its kind and loving way, gives inerrant guidance once the committee voices subside. It tells us when we are overbooked. It knows when our commitments have gotten out of hand, like so many helium balloons we must keep within our grasp or risk losing to the blue sky forever. Listen and the voice will softly remind you that you are losing sleep, eating badly, not honoring your loved ones, dozing at the wheel.
At our house, we have been away from our internet service intermittently for nearly a week. (Our main computer was on sabbatical without us, it seems)Gradually, we are catching up with all of our correspondence, bill-paying, social networking. Something I noticed about the lack of outside contact derived from my Blackberry or e-mail and internet was the anxiety I felt initially at being disconnected. The sense of isolation weighed heavily like a physical burden for the first day or two.
Apparently, something in me missed some of my "committee voices". At the same time, I'd be lying if I claimed that I didn't have a secret joy at having an acceptable excuse to being checked out of the loop for a time. After the initial discomfort ebbed a bit, I realized none of us were in any immediate physical or emotional danger. And another thing surfaced.
I heard my inner "heart" voice. It reminded me that it caring for ourselves and those close around us isn't a function of being on three different computers around the house, paying no attention to one another. It's more concerned with looking at each others' faces as we share dinner or wash dishes together. So in the past few days, it's been cool to spend some extra time with my husband and with my son, and I had a great day doing a museum trip with friends. And, yes, I'm several days behind on this series. But I kind of think the voice of the heart might be as or even a little more important than the food of the heART. Anyway, I know it'll wait.

Reconciling Sunday

2011-06-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Since I stopped serving the Presbyterian Church I have been worshiping alongside my husband at the United Methodist Church of Davis. One thing I have enjoyed is finding a way to volunteer which uses my artistic gifts which I have employed, happily, in the area of worship art. As a cradle Presbyterian I have been raised with the idea that the table in the front of the church is not an altar, but a communion table, and the only thing that belongs on it is the Lord's Supper.

As a non-denominational seminary student, I was exposed to other ideas. I recall chapel services in which 7 lanterns representing 7 stars and 7 candles representing 7 cities of the Revelation to John were part of the altar arrangement one week. I recall other still life arrangements from flowers to musical instruments to paintings on easels to pitchers and bowls which evoked foot washing. I can tell you of churches which eschew every other object but must have two candles: one for the Old Testament, one for the New Testament. There are churches which use incense and candles, there are those who post holy icons. How one dresses a church for worship is as different as how one takes biblical authority and interpretation.

I was having a discussion with my husband just this evening at the community theater here in town, where we were attending son Sean's play, "Fairy Tales: Politically Correct". Summer in Davis isn't a dressy time of year. Come to think of it, no time is. You're dressed up in Davis if you're wearing your clean pair of jeans. I think it's rather sad, for how we present visuals whether they are how we dress ourselves, how we dress our tablescapes, or how we dress our altars in church say so much about what is underneath.

Now, I understand the argument that when one dresses casually, one can be comfortable and feel natural. Maybe that also means relaxed, and content in one's own skin. I get that, and God knows I love me some jeans most of the time. But I think it's a shame that we seem to have forgotten that some occasions and some places are worthy of our best attention and respect. The manner of our dress and comportment convey those sentiments, and can even help us to step up a bit to the occasion.

I agreed to dress the altar in church to help signify that our presence there and our focus on the table are worthy of attention and respect. I am proud to be part of a congregation that welcomes all into the presence of God, and on Reconciling Sunday our worship space will be dressed for the occasion. I am also proud of my fellow Presbyterians for taking a constitutional step which has been long in the making, by passing Amendment 10-A to the Presbyterian Book of Order. I look forward to hearing my Methodist pastor tomorrow as he preaches a sermon entitled, "All Means All."

Now it remains for us to continue to take the steps needed to make sure we are not only dressing the part, we are doing the part of making the church a place where all of God's children are truly welcome. Wouldn't you just love to see everyone around that table? I know I would.

Off the Shelf

2011-06-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I get excited about weeknight convenience cooking, and for good reason. Seldom is it "clean" of added sugars, food starches, and additives so it doesn't often sit right with one or the other of us. Another reason is that it is not often beautiful when considered in the light of the design elements I so want to employ in our food presentation. Colors are often weak, textures (especially of vegetables) leave much to be desired, and often, taste is mediocre.
That said, there are those weeknights on which no one in the house is either available or motivated to cook a masterpiece in three courses. On those nights it's important to have a few good stand-by ingredients sitting on the pantry shelves or tucked in the freezer to whip together at the last minute. Sadly, I've had some of the same old pantry ingredients on my list of must-haves for years. No, they're not the exact same things-after all, I learned about the F.I.F.O. method of inventory control back in my banking days, and freshness dating of food is something I take seriously. But we all tend toward the familiar, and you can do so much with ingredients you understand and trust.
To mix things up, I've enjoyed making a point of trying different products at in-store demonstrations, new product launches, or with coupon promotions. Lately, the stars kindly lined up and within the same week I read a recipe for Thai chicken in green curry sauce AND tasted Trader Joe's eggplant curry AND discovered World Foods Green Curry Sauce on the shelf of our local supermarket. So, this evening, when I had a leftover grilled chicken breast in the fridge and these other wonderfoods in freezer and pantry, we had a quickie Thai dinner in under 20 minutes. It wasn't as lovely as the picture here, but at the end of a frustrating day I vote for taste and texture.

To get the best of both worlds, convenience and freshness, I started with the trusty rice cooker and set it up to cook a cup of jasmine rice in 2 cups of water. While it was doing its thing, I got busy on the curried chicken:

1/2 red onion, roughly chopped

10-12 sugar snap peas, washed

1 C. mini carrots, sliced into "coins"

1 Tbs. canola oil

3 Tbs. green curry paste

1 14-ounce can coconut milk (light is fine)

1 C. cubed, cooked chicken meat

Heat a 9- or 10-inch skillet on medium/high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add onions, stirring constantly until they begin to release their fragrance, about 1 minute. Add carrots and pea pods, stirring constantly, continuing to cook about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining ingredients and heat through, about 5 more minutes. Serve with the rice.

The eggplant comes right out of the freezer and is done in the microwave in a total of about 5 minutes. This meal is so tasty and is on the table in under 25 minutes. Now, that's beautiful on nights like this.

Sabbath Time

2011-06-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today, Sunday, is Pentecost. It is the time when the Christian world celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the realm of humanity to comfort, advocate, and accompany us in the absence of the ascended savior.

Today also happens to be the first anniversary of my marriage to the remarkable Dan Ray.

Taking a day off from the blog; thanks for watching this space, and tomorrow will have a new installment!

Blessings, all.

N.A.M.I. Yolo County Sunflower Art Competition

2011-06-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

I am saying good-bye to my painting, "There is Room for All in the Garden" as it sold this evening at the N.A.M.I. show. This little pic is from Dan's cell phone as he had me pose next to it with the blue ribbon. I was so honored and delighted!

There were many wonderful pieces of art and highlights of the evening were a performance of her original Sunflower Song by ceramics artist and musician Heidi Bekebrede as well as interesting conversation with other artists, N.A.M.I. clients, and folks from the community.

There was a TON of delectable snacks available; I limited myself to bottled water, fresh fruit, and a couple of macadamia nuts so that I could take Dan out for dessert afterward at Bistro 33 here in town, which is where we went on our first date over four years ago. I feel like we duly celebrated!

The painting's purchaser is a woman who is well known and very respected for her work in the community and I couldn't be happier knowing it is going to a good home.

Some Like It Hot

2011-06-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

This week I'm trying to focus on sharing those secret weapons that help us to manage our Eating Clean plans with beautiful food and delicious tastes and aroma. Today's secret weapon:

Tea.

My love affair with tea goes back, if family legend is to be believed, to the evening my mother went into labor with me in a Chinese restaurant. She and my father were out to dinner with my grandparents, and the story goes that her belly was pressed right up next to the table, and suddenly all the dishes and silverware began rattling. I was born the next day.

Since my first taste of china tea, again in a restaurant with my grandparents, I've been a fan. My family has used tea as a "panacea for all ills", as Louisa May Alcott once wrote of it. If stomach flu strikes, we make tea. If a child comes home with a bad report card, we make tea. If earthquakes, floods, or fires threaten, well, you get the picture.

In between meals, one of the toughest things for dieters or fans of Eating Clean to determine is the difference between hunger cravings and the cravings of thirst. The two feel similar and we are olften fooled into thinking we are hungry and need a snack or meal when what our body truly longs for is rehydration. Simple water, in that case, fulfills the need and is indeed the answer to most all of our bodily demands. Remember all those films in health class in which we had to learn what percentage of our bodies were composed of sea water? Yeah, me neither. Percentages have been debated since I was in 7th grade.

The thing that is true, and professed by increasing numbers of dieticians, weight loss doctors, and clinics, is that we need rehydration in quantities not thought of in past decades. The minimum we are told to consume, it appears, is 8 x 8 (ounces, that is-64) or 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water a day. The standard bottle of water is a tad over 16 ounces-so we ought to drink 4 or more of those babies each day.

A thing many of us have found hard to swallow is that we simply don't like drinking that much water. It's good to know that lemonade and other non-carbonated drinks will suffice. Another way to do it is through the venerable tradition of tea. OK, on our first day here in Davis on which the temperature exceeded 95, who wants tea?

The answer is, surprisingly, a lot of us. Brewed from natural leaves and teabags, many of the iced tea pitchers at better restaurants and friends' kitchens are filled with teas brewed fresh starting with pure water (I don't know if you can include Davis tap water. It's kind of chewy)poured over and steeped with all kinds of varieties of flavorful and healthful leaves from all over the world. Oddlyenough, there are many of us who even crave tea hot at odd times over the summer. Tea at elevenses on a weekday morning seems gentler and more civilized, somehow, than yet another Starbucks. Tea at 4:30 in the afternoon seems positively British.

All things considered, given the practicalities of our mobile family lifestyle and long commutes, we end up our days with growling stomachs in the afternoon while we attempt to stave off the snack attacks that strike while we await our late dinner hours. Tea as a coping mechanism is the single best thing, in my opinion, that the British contributed to modern clean eating.

Of course I'm not talking about tea with cookies, scones, buttered sandwiches, and so on. The lifestyle in the British Isles that birthed this eating style also included a whole different take on daily living than we experience now. I am talking about the acknowledgement that we need several small meals throughout the day, not three big meals with no in-between meal noshings.

Today, when the weather reached 95, I was happy to pour and enjoy a couple of tall glasses of cold green tea over ice. The prize in the Cracker jack box is that, in addition to perking us up on either a cold and dreary or a hot and energy-wrenching day is that green tea may actually assist weight loss. At least that is what I'm reading.

It's nice to know you can pick up a gallon bottle of tea at the supermarket, but a less pricey way is ever so easy. Here are the two favorite ways we do it at our house:

Old Hippie Sun Tea

6 regular size tea bags, any flavor*

Pure water

A 2-quart jar (such as a large pickle jar or sun-tea jar with valve) EXTREMELY clean

Plenty of time

A back patio or porch

Fill the jar with water, add the tea bags, affix the lid securely, and set out on the patio in the morning, the earlier the better. Does not require direct sun; ready in about 4 hours. NOTE: If the teabags are left in too long, the tea will be bitter. *My favorite is Good Earth Original, followed by Stash Chai Spice. Another good combo is regular black tea with 3 or 4 whole cinnamon sticks added at the beginning of the brew time.

Short - Cut Ice Tea

4 tea bags or 2 heaping Tbls. loose tea in tea ball

Kettle full of pure water

Heat-resistant pitcher

Boil the kettle on high heat until it whistles or, if using a pan, until it reaches a full, roiling boil. (The British swear that the tea's best flavor can only develop at full heat.) Pour the hot water over the tea bags in the heatproof pitcher, and let steep for about half an hour. Add ice to fill pitcher. Chill. Note: Spice combinations can be added before the water is poured in. Combine spices in a tea ball or cheesecloth bundle, or tea sacks available through such retail outlets as Peet's Coffee and Tea. Another flavoring possibility is herb or floral bundles steeped in with the tea. Mint or lavender are good.

Hot or cold, steaming or shivering, tea is beautiful and adds so much grace to a daily clean eating plan that it can never be called a diet beverage.

Real Snacks, Real Age, Real Beauty

2011-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

It seems Dr. Oz is everywhere throughout the media, the internet, and now I've even found some of his advice to include in my blog. From his site, www.realage.com, here are the good doctor's suggestions for 8 healthy snacks which can help blood sugar and a number of other issues. Check out the beautifully prepared and photographed low-calorie, heart-healthy noshes - I may have to set up a pear and apple combo like the one shown just so I can paint it -find it here. Be aware that there are ads on the site but you can skip if you just want to see the slide show. The food wranglers have really produced some tremendous little food still lifes. Wouldn't you want to eat healthy with choices like these?

Throughout the time that I've been writing, I have been duty-bound to record my calories and assemble beautiful little smidgens of food to satisfy the eye as well as the appetite. These are some of them. Hope you enjoy and that they'll fuel your imagination to get creative with the snackage in your own life!!!

Out of Sight, Out of My Mind

2011-06-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Dan and I are 3 days shy of celebrating our first wedding anniversary and we couldn't be happier (oh, all right maybe if we won the lottery) but there have been some major adjustments for both of us over the last year. Most of them are due to just the normal differences in the way two different people are used to doing various things.

For example, he has a very different style of making the bed than I have. We found out a long time ago that we do very well ignoring the fact that he pulls the sheets down for a deep border beneath the pillows while I tend to pull the hem of the sheet way up close to the headboard. But that's OK because we reached a compromise months ago. Whoever gets out of bed last is the one to make the bed, and the other one doesn't criticize how it's done.

Buying and storing food is a lot different for us. I have a very organized system for the pantry and the refrigerator and freezer based upon years of homemaking. The spices are alphabetized and the fridge shelves are dedicated to their contents: dairy and deli items, condiments, breads, etc. Produce in the produce drawers, please, and leftovers on the top shelf. Laugh if you must. It's not that I'm rigid or some kind of control freak that I insist on the fridge staying organized. It's so I can FIND things when I'm cooking. Even more importantly, I need to be able to FIND things when I'm SNACKING. Do I sound strident? It's because...

One of the biggest reasons people fail at weight loss or diet control is being unprepared for the snack attack that comes from nowhere. You know what I mean. There you are, minding your own business, when WHAM!!! Suddenly you have visions of Hershey bars dancing in your head

and you need a snack NOW. At times like this, your clean food can't be stuck up on the top shelf behind the Oreo's.

There are many ways to deal with this but one strategy that was mentioned to me lately by my friend Gary is to keep your safest snacks available, within sight, and make sure they're the handiest ones around. Plan how you are going to eat them, what dish you will serve them on, and where you will sit instead of giving in to half the bag of potato chips standing at the kitchen sink or a fistful of cookies as you're charging out the door! Make it as easy or even easier to access beautiful food. Keep the celery sticks, pre-cut and pre-cleaned, right in plain sight so you spot them the minute you open the fridge. Display that beautiful ceramic dish your best friend made for you on the kitchen counter; fill it with cherries. My personal favorite vegetable for snacking is the sugar snap pea, available in local Farmers Markets but also pre-packaged in the produce section of all supermarkets.

Another way to deal with snacking is to just accept that it can be a healthy way to eat. More and more doctors and dietitians are recommending five mini-meals a day instead of three hearty ones. It helps stabilize blood sugar throughout the day and keeps up our energy level. The way to make it work for you is to determine the number of calories you want to consume over the course of the day, and allocate 100 - 150 of them to midmorning and midafternoon snack times. It also helps us control those impulses when we're tempted to reach for something we don't really want to eat. We can say to ourselves, "No, I don't want that donut at the meeting this morning - I'm going to hold out for my sweet, juicy apricots instead."

Finally, keep plenty of ammunition on hand. Things I always have in the house include reduced fat string cheese, almonds and pistachios, fresh vegetables, and nonfat cottage cheese. An indulgence I've discovered recently is wine marinated herring. I know that may sound weird, but for 50 calories it's kept me out of the cookie jar more than once. Some people swear by sugar-free Jell-o or pudding, but my sweet secret weapon is Trader Joe's No Sugar Added Milk Chocolate bar. At 120 calories per serving, I can include some a few times a week and feel great too. What are YOUR favorites to keep up your sleeve?

If you have any tried-and-true strategies to defeat a snack attack, I invite you to leave a comment to share with other readers.

Presentation: The "Ta-Dah!" on the Table

2011-06-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Food as the primary subject for still life has been known to artists since the first cave painter recorded the first successful hunt, and has come right down through history through every era. The form, line, color, shape, and texture of food has been a source of fascination and an outlet for creativity for all humans. Wall paintings such as this one from a villa in Pompeii show that the beautiful presentation of food has long been considered one of the characteristics of fine living. Pick up any magazine like Sunset, Martha Stewart Living, or Bon Appetit and you'll be barraged with professionally staged food settings, photographed for maximum appeal.

Much goes into merchandising the table in these mags. We, however, can make our table at home beautiful, appetizing, and meaningful without benefit of professional food wranglers. In an age when most families don't sit down at the same time (mine included) due to all our commitments we can, if we are intentional about it, make the meal a beautiful sight and a touchstone for our own family culture. The familiar objects tucked away from older generations or a few slightly lost objects from childhood evoke connections among diners and shouldn't be left solely for Thanksgiving or Christmas use. Creating an inviting still life only takes a few minutes and isn't a matter of ordering costly floral arrangements or new dishes.

First, consider the contents of your china cabinet. Is there a funny old kiddie dish your grandma used to serve you when you were little? Are there three or four chipped crystal goblets you wouldn't actually want anyone to drink from? Is there a silver teapot you'd use if you didn't have to polish it? What about those odd color napkins that don't match any tablecloth in the house? Although we may not realize it, these objects represent our own unique family story. Pull them out of the china cabinet and dream up ways to use them beautifully to present beautiful food.

For example, how about sunny cherry tomatoes piled in that little Beatrix Potter china bowl? Or melon cubes stacked in those crystal goblets, topped with vanilla yogurt, as a focal point at each person's place? Or the silver teapot, tarnish and all, as a "vase" to hold whole-grain breadsticks?* And things don't really need to all match perfectly any longer, unless the Queen's

expected for dinner. So why not set a basket on the table filled with all different colors of fabric napkins?

One of the most delightful social events we've been to was my brother Ken's wedding to his longtime ladylove, Val. For the reception, they spent weeks transforming their garden and yard into a magical place, where flea-market chandeliers hung from the trees and yards of tulle wound around and through the shrubbery. The total Alice-in-Wonderland effect was perfectly captured in the table settings. Flea market finds of china teacups and saucers were stacked on plates and wrapped in tulle at each place. Tucked into each cup was a touching note and a monogrammed packet of flower seeds for each guest to take home-along with your teacup and saucer, each of which was absolutely unique! Here at home, I relive the joy of that day every time I take out my teacup and saucer for my breakfast coffee.

You don't have to break the bank for a beautiful table, either. Think color! Everyday tablecloths, placemats, and napkins can be changed out frequently depending on what you're serving. Look for them at yard sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. (Check for stains and tears) Retro looks from the fifties and Mad Men '60s can be fun, Asian is always good, and nothing beats old linen or lace. Try a fifties print tablecloth with pink dishes or a bright red cloth with black Asian bamboo placemats and white porcelain dishes. Combinations are limited only by imagination, and low-calorie food will taste a lot more satisfying if our eyes are happy.

Speaking of being HeARTistic, I love doing things with flowers and enjoy the unconventional. For instance, with the cracked crystal goblets-Line three of them up in the middle of the table, fill halfway with water, and float a camellia or open rose in each. No flowers in bloom? Slip a twig of shrubbery, herbs, or berries into the napkin at each place setting. Need color? A fresh monster strawberry on the side of the plate perks up the whole tablescape.

I wish you many happy "Ta-Dah's" at your HeART healthy table. Enjoy! It will be a different day tomorrow, so make the most of the "today" you have today!

*If the inside of the old teapot is yucky, stick a clean glass down inside it to hold the breadsticks if you really don't have the time to polish.

Seriously, Take This to HeART

2011-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

We are one week into this series on HeART-healthy "Eating Clean". On a personal note, I've noticed a couple of things over the course of the week, and I hope you'll share what you've noticed for yourself as the time has gone by.

One: Paying attention to the presentation of my meals and my family's meals has been fun and has given me another outlet for my creativity. It's also helped me notice and put to use some of the dishes and glassware we don't use very often, BUT an even better thing it has done is help us connect with our culture and family history. We have learned a great deal about each other's

relatives, influences, and context eating on the placemats from Aunt Jean or sipping from the teacups we got at Ken and Val's wedding.

Two: The writing discipline keeps me accountable to all my own best habits and tips. I have been keeping my food diary, recording what I eat and my calorie counts, and paying close attention to the tools I've learned from doctors, friends, and some of my favorite wisdom such as Julia Cameron's "The Writing Diet". For instance, as I write this, I am using one of my doctor's favorite tools, the "more" timer. ("More" on that later) One of my joys is that I've lost 2 pounds this week!

Three: Eating Clean has very rapid results. In the first three days of eliminating processed flour and refined sugar, your tastes change and your cravings fade away. A piece of fruit tastes much more yummy than before, when its sweetness was overshadowed by that of refined sugar. Also, I experience unpleasant reactions to foods I don't want to be eating. For example, on Sunday we ate brunch at church and I had half a bagel. Having been sugar-free and gluten-free for quite a while now, I shouldn't have been surprised that I spent the whole afternoon sleeping it off like a hangover.

Okay, the "more" timer just went off, so I'll take the opportunity to share this tip from my doc. She advised me to serve myself half of what I would previously have considered a normal plateful. When I first started doing this as a means of portion control, I actually dished up a "normal" plateful and then removed half the food, back to the pot. That made for a messy, unartistic presentation, so I have learned to measure and switched to smaller plates. The next step is to eat slowly, enjoying the aroma, taste, and textures of the food. Once finished, I set my kitchen timer for 30 minutes. When it goes off, I check in with how I'm feeling. If I'm still legitimately hungry, I eat a little more, guilt free.

The power in this tool comes from the fact that I can indeed eat more if I'm hungry later. I'm not limited if I am truly hungry, but it has to be "clean" food, that provides real nutrition. It's not "If I'm still hungry I can have a bowl of ice cream". So try the "more" timer. You might be surprised that, usually, by the time 30 minutes has passed, your tummy has told your brain that it's not hungry for more!

Next week I start summer school every morning and teaching a weekly art and writing workshop for N.A.M.I. clients. I will still be busy painting, decorating the church every week, homemaking, and being wife, mother, and grandmother. It strikes me that planning ahead for Eating Clean will be more critical than ever! Next blog: How to plan ahead to keep the diet healthy. Be sure to share your comments and tips.

Specialty of the House

2011-06-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

It's Monday evening and there is little on TV we want to see at our house. So, one thing that helps us when we want to ignore media on a chilly, damp night is lighting every candle in the house, and, well, if it's Monday, watching House. On Fox. One of the only two Fox shows we ever watch. Just House walking gimpily around the hospital, the playground, the pre-school, or the parking lot.

The curmudgeonly Dr. House, played hunkily by Hugh Laurie, is about as far removed from Laurie's former BBC roles in such Jane Austen productions as Pride and Prejudice as Michael Keaton's Batman role was from Mr. Mom. But TV is what plays in the living room while the dishes are being washed and the leftovers are put away.

There are houses in which life may be more sublime, but not houses where we can be more at home.

I am grateful for those moments in our home in which the Specialty of the House includes dinner on Dan's Aunt Laura's embroidered placemats, Dori's Mema's antique plates, Dan's Grandpa's silver, and Dori's Grandma Marshall's crystal. Add to that the fact that we have fresh food to eat and a solid roof over our heads, our Specialty of the House seems to be:. blessing

You Say Po-TAY-to, I Say Po-TAH-to

2011-06-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

When I paint food still life, I like to include a lot of appealing colors, just as I would in any painting. A recent venture that illustrates this tendency is my sunflower painting, "There is Room for All in the Garden". I used a saturated palette inspired by Kandinsky which gave the painting verve and great warmth. During my 30-day self-imposed Lenten discipline of painting my dinners every night, I tried to make sure there was enough color to keep the eye and this artist interested. I don't like brown paintings, and I don't much like brown food, either.

You see before you the one exception: The humble potato. This one is a great big Idaho baker, brown as dirt. Others are red, yellow, gold, pink, and even purple. Most of us, though, if we're being honest, have grown up with one that looks like this.

Now, when Vincent VanGogh wanted to use the potato in his art, in his famous rendering of "The Potato Eaters", he used almost a monochromatic brown palette which evoked the humble status and uninteresting lives of the peasants. Look closely and you realize that he's gone even further, and the people themselves sort of look brown and uninteresting, like the potatoes.

So potatoes have gotten a rather sad reputation. It's no wonder our culture has tried to make them more interesting by deep-frying them, saucing them, drowning them in chili, and otherwise adding unwanted saturated fats and calories. It's too bad, because a whole potato, baked or roasted with its skin on, is a beautiful food. A medium-size 5-ouncer comes equipped with 110 calories, -0- grams of fat, and 26 grams of carbohydrate. It contains 4 grams of dietary fiber, and is a good source of vitamin C. (Source: www.CalorieKing.com)

On the other hand, Frito Lay peels them, slices them thin, and processes them in hot oil (sunflower, canola, or corn according to the package ingredients). By the time you eat 15 of the chips, so much of the surface area of your serving has been exposed to the deep-fryer that you're loading up 160 calories, 90 of which are from fat. You can say po-tay-to or you can say po-tah-to, whichever you prefer, but you can't say that they're beautiful food any longer. In fact, it's somewhat of a question whether they're still even vegetables by this point.

Anyway, I suppose since one point of this series is to wonder aloud about what our food is doing to sustain us and enrich our lives, I feel thankful for the humble brown potato and its hidden inner beauty. It certainly has a place in a healthy diet! But it's worth remembering that we pay a price every time we drive through and super-size our fries or eat half the bag of chips. I bet you really can't eat just one! Of course, there's this piece of logic from my husband Dan: A serving of potato chips once a week isn't going to kill you...

...today.

MUFA's

2011-06-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFA's for short, sound like they belong in a chemistry class, not on a blog about art and food. Yet it makes perfect sense to include consideration of fats in any discussion of food, and it makes even more sense to include MUFA's in the discussion of beautiful food.

For quite some time now, we have been aware of the dangers to our hearts of saturated fats. These are the kind of fats that come primarily from animal sources. (Think bacon, butter, lard, and cream) They are generally solid at room temperature. The problem with including too much of them in the diet is that they contribute to health issues such as high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, risk of stroke, and hypertension.

MUFA's on the other hand, while still fats and still high in calories, show evidence of having a beneficial effect on health provided we don't overindulge and remember that we shouldn't have more than about 20-35 percent of our daily calories from ANY kind of fat.

Here's what the Mayo Clinic has recently said about these friendly fats:
"Consuming monounsaturated fatty acids may help lower your risk of heart disease by improving associated risk factors. For instance, MUFAs may lower your total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. MUFAs may also help normalize blood clotting. And some research shows that MUFAs may also benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which can be especially helpful if you have type 2 diabetes."

And here's why they have a place in any discussion of beautiful food: Not only do they help do good things for our health and energy when added to the diet in place of saturated fats or trans-fats, they're beautiful to look at, to cook with, to taste, to crunch, and they improve the "satisfaction" quality of even the most calorie-conscious meal. That's because they are found in:

Avocadoes

Canola oil

Nuts (Almonds, cashews, pecans, macadamias)

Nut butters

Olive oil

Olives

Peanut oil

Sesame seeds

Dark chocolate

Now if you have always thought these products were on the taboo list for dieters, let me assure you, your diet just got more beautiful. Here are some ideas:

Chop up 4 pecan halves and sprinkle on top of a salad instead of cheese or crumbled bacon.
Dress up a grilled filet of chicken or white fish (snapper, cod, halibut, tilapia, etc.) with a spoonful of olive tapenade during the last minute or so of grilling.
Experiment with different dark chocolates and find one that you really enjoy. When a sweet tooth attack strikes, have an ounce and really enjoy it.
Stir fry using only MUFA oils like canola or peanut. They're stable at high heat, and you can add a tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan. Then sprinkle sesame seeds on top before serving.
Substitute olive oil for butter when making a sautee. Keep a few different kinds of oils on hand and get to know their flavors.
Cut an avocado into chunks and add a couple of tablespoons to a fruit smoothie or mix them into a fruit salad. They add beautiful color to a salad and velvety "mouth-feel" to smoothies.
Dip fresh, washed, and dried strawberries into melted dark chocolate and let cool. Great dessert!
And, lastly, a tip from my friend Gary, who suggests making guacamole (good use of avocados) with part mashed peas, to raise the amount of fiber and reduce the calorie count!

So, before plopping that spoonful of butter into a hot saute pan, think about how MUFA's beautify us froom the inside out, and reach for the olive oil instead! (Or the peanut, or the canola....)

Susan's Beautiful Breakfast

2011-06-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

The above pic was taken by my husband's cousin, Susan Evans, while she was in Barbados. That's right, Barbados! She is an amazing woman, a bicyclist, entrepreneur, professional tennis instructor, and, now, a surfer. While teaching tennis at a Caribbean resort, she found time to spend considerable time surfing. She also takes folks on breathtaking bike adventures. Dan and I have had an inordinate amount of vicarious fun enjoying her Facebook pictures and imagining ourselves off to the islands instead of slogging to work every day.

I wanted to publish this picture and Susan gave me permission to boost it from her site. Now, imagine a breakfast like this looking up at you some morning when you can barely open your eyes and you think you need a short stack and some bacon to fortify you for the day ahead. Look at the sweet green of the honeydew, the warm gold of the pineapple, the mellow peachy tones of canteloupe. Notice how they contrast with the deep ruddy blush of the grapes-don't the colors just make it pop right off the picture plane?

That's good color design, and even better plate design. A little lean protein, some interesting tea or coffee, and wherever it is you find yourself awakening, you could be having this breakfast from the islands, stoking up pure energy for a day of surfing or bicycling or tennis...and this kind of presentation isn't complicated or difficult!

Try doing this kind of delicate arrangement to feast your eyes and lift your spirits for yourself. To combat these last few gray days of dreary weather, this will perk you up better than the heavy carbs we crave. But wait, you say-I only have time for a bagel and cream cheese! No, coax yourself clean, I say! Cut the fruit the night before, and when serving use a beautiful or unique dish that you usually only pull out for company. Add a scoop of low fat vanilla yogurt or a slice of diet toast with a little almond butter, and voila! You're ready to hit the surf.

Cowabunga!

So Much Easier Than the Food Pyramid

2011-06-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

What a thrilling day for artists! What a thrilling day for foodies! Today, the famous Food Pyramid has been replaced with the MyPlate!

What a thrilling day for clean eating! We have finally pried Wonder Bread and other pseudo-foods posing as the cornerstone of dietary health out from under the foundation of the Most Stable (and boring) of all artistic compositions: the Pyramid. So long, farewell, auf weidersoehn, good-bye! Those of us who have struggled long and hard against the domination of refined wheat-based food producers in the interest of clean eating are happier tonight.

Something to consider: What ancient structure has endured longer than any other human-built piece of architecture? The PYRAMIDS. What compositional shape forms the most visually static framework for a picture (and we see it in even some of the most famous paintings of history like the Mona Lisa) What also happens to be the most boring form in which to organize a painting? A PYRAMID. And how unhelpful and unhealthy we now know it to be as a model for eating today.

The great thing that has replaced it is the MyPlate. You will notice MyPlate's circular composition, the circle being synonomous with eternity. It is balanced; yet suggests an internal assymmetry. The colored divisions selected remind us of the basic building blocks of all the best paintings-namely, the color wheel. Even the little blue circle representing dairy off to the right reminds us of that lasting modern graphic icon, the mouse who lives in Orlando and Anaheim. (You know I'm right about this-so it's just one ear. No analogy is perfect.)

As much fun as I can find to poke at both of these models, I am grateful for the movement in our country to try to bring awareness to the state of the American diet. As we retire the pyramid, we admit the shortcomings of a diet based heavily on overprocessed grains and accept the salubrious effects of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, as represented by the plate.

Eating clean fits smack into the MyPlate model-there is no "wiggle room" as there once was on the bottom tier of the pyramid to hide a Twinkie or a slice of cheesecake unnoticed amid 7 or 8 camouflaging "bread and cereal" products. So in keeping with the eating clean thread for the month, can we see the beauty in the bowl (er, plate) of the beholder? Can we get excited about lean and clean foods, foods that come more directly from field, stream, garden, or tree? Can we say we won't subsidize trash foods with tax exemptions?

I certainly hope we can. Our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren hang in the balance.

News Flash!

2011-06-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is not today's installment of "The HeART of Food"! This is just because I'm bursting to tell how delighted and honored I am to have my painting, "There is Room for All in the Garden", awarded first prize in my category, Professional Artists, in the N.A.M.I. Sunflower Art Show!

This is a 16"x20" oil painting which shows an exuberant flower bed of diverse colors, forms, and lines, calling to mind the diversity of our community.

The Davis Art Center is host to this fantastic show, which supports mental illness awareness and advocacy. Please go and see the show which runs to June 23rd, and join us for the Artists' Reception on Friday, June 10th from 6:30 to 8:30.

This is Not a Bowl of Cherries

2011-06-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

As a young adult I never had a weight problem. I could order a full meal of steak, baked potato, and a couple of cocktails and still want a piece of pie when the dessert trolley rolled up. Part of the reason was that I was young. I was also much more active - weekends at the park, the golf course, or the beach. Weeknights after work there were games of volleyball, softball, or a jog around the neighborhood. At 100 pounds, I could kill off a pitcher of beer and a medium pizza all by myself after a night of volleyball.

After my kids came along, I walked around the neighborhood with dog and stroller or took the little guys sledding in winter, swimming in summer, and playing at the park year-round. We knew all the best playgrounds in the county!

When I became a single mother, buying and preparing nutritious food that would both fit into my budget and that my kids would eat was a nightmare. I can still recall stocking the pantry with sale items only to have one or the other boy announce he was "off" that particular food. Cooking every night from scratch after a long day at work was out of the question, but convenience food meant overloading on ingredients that none of us should eat.

"Eating clean" is the term I learned from the book "The Writing Diet" by Julia Cameron, author of "The Artist's Way". She uses it to describe eating in such a way that one eats mindfully, eliminating those substances such as sugar and fat that weigh us down physically.

When I think of clean eating, for me it means taking charge of food, neither vilifying nor glorifying it, but appreciating its ability to provide nourishment, promote health, beautify my life, and sustain energy. It also means paring down my food just as I would a painting: in the composition of a painting, I consider line, shape, color, form. If something doesn't add to the overall quality of the painting, it needs to be eliminated in the interest of the whole.

In diet, what is truly beautiful can be conserved. The nutritional essence of whole vegetables, fruits, sustainably farmed poultry and meat, whole grain products, and dairy. Consider cherries, for instance. They are in season now, and pretty affordable. They are so stunning that I am reminded of Luke 12 wherein Jesus said:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. [23]For life
is more than food, and the body more than clothing. [24]Consider the ravens:
they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God
feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!"

Just think how true this is-this gorgeous food is so plentiful it grows on trees! Right out there in the open where anyone can see it, the birds can eat their fill, and there is more than enough for me! We don't have to labor in cherry mines, we don't have to fish in the deep blue sea for it. It just grows, right there, on TREES.

When I took this picture, I thought for a moment that these were so amazing, how could I bear to consume them? And then I realized: How could I not?

Food this beautiful comes as a gift, whether we've purchased it with money or it's fallen over the neighbor's fence free into our back yard. And at only 30 little calories for a serving like this, I can say yes over and over and over again.

Beauty is in the Bowl of the Beholder

2011-05-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first installment of "The HeART of Food", a daily exploration of our relationship with food and, particularly, how healthy food brings real beauty into our lives. When I first conceived this train of art and writing, I had just completed last year's series of painting or drawing my dinner each night as an artistic and dietary discipline. I thought it would help me stay accountable to good food as well as the discipline of creating art, even if it were a tiny piece, every day.

That series got me seriously interested in the beauty that is inherent in food carefully grown, mindfully prepared, artfully presented, and joyfully consumed.

It prompted me to pay closer attention to avoiding food that contained unpronounceable ingredients, refined sugar, emasculated grain, or trans-anything.

I also have done some delving into the images or objects connected with food which artists throughout time have shared with the world, and concluded that some of the most beautiful images speak to us of abundance and blessing. Think, for example, of ancient libation cups and bowls created to offer sustenance to gods of earth, sea, and sky.

The marble (marble!) bowl shown above was made by the Cycladic people, ca. 2800 B.C.E., is of a size easily held in the hand, and is carved as thin as a porcelain cup. We know nearly nothing of their civilization, except that they chose to exercise their remarkable skill with marble on very few objects: images of goddesses and these amazing bowls.

How can human beings who would create something so delicate to hold their nourishment degrade to the level of synthesizing food that deserves nothing better than Styrofoam packaging? How did real food lose its beauty?

It is to reclaim the power of food's beauty-its power to sustain the heart literally and figuratively as more than just a package full of calories-that is the object of this series. You are invited to share insights as they occur, or just read along for the ride. From time to time I'll mention resources, post images, and share links you may want to check out. If I assert a fact, I'll quote the source so you can explore further if you like. All art will be either mine or in the public domain or used with permission of its creator. For instance, the marble bowl can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art . (If you happen to know the artist please share with the rest of us)

This first week, I want to also think about clean eating and making even seemingly insignificant foods beautiful to the eye. I am of the opinion that one of the reasons we Americans have fallen so far down the slough of bad eating is that there is little to encourage us to linger over and enjoy the interaction with our food. We drive through, get a bag through the car window, and eat from it without even looking at how it's presented. I know. I'm an expert! But I'm also thinking that if we were to consider giving good food the presentation it deserves, we might appreciate it for its aesthetic appeal as much as for its physical nourishment. It would take fewer calories to satisfy us, since our eye and soul would be full.

One thing I don't care to do is to become a recipe site. There are countless excellent recipe sites available, from the Washington Post to Dr. Oz to Martha Stewart. They all do a better job than I could, and they'll give you nutrition values and calorie counts too. If I'm making a point and have a recipe on hand to illustrate it, I'll probably foist it on you. Don't feel that means you have to try it!

So, now that Memorial Day and Taco Night are behind me, it's time to get down to the HeART of the matter.

Expect each day's fresh post by 5:00 am Pacific Daylight time.

The Next Blog Project

2011-05-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Preview!

Summer is hopefully just around the corner despite the weather reverting to wintry temperatures and precipitation. And this is California?

Thinking about the focus for this space for summer, I've decided to explore eating "clean", and what that means in terms of what food does for us and how its beauty supports us with more than just physical nutrition.

With that thought in mind, check this space beginning June 1st for discussion of the "HeART of Food". I'll be including pictures, drawings, paintings, and recipes as I attempt to make clean eating beautiful and accessible.

Cherry-O!

Going to the Fair!

2011-05-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

One shoe, two shoes, red shoes, blue shoes
Going to the fair.
High heels, spike heels, green heels, my heels
Can't walk on the damn things
anywhere.

It's better to paint high heels and let the painting go to the state fair than to wear the silly pretties myself and expect to walk around the fair in them. That's exactly what these lovelies, painted in oil on 16"x20" stretched canvas will be doing come July 14-31 in Sacramento at the California State Fair.

This picture and the next one, a watercolor on 140-lb. cold press paper, are two of the three I entered and I am delighted to have even one, let alone two pieces accepted. I am particularly pleased that my watercolor is one of only ten watercolor paintings to be exhibited.

If you plan to be in the northern California area during the last half of July, I hope you'll take a day to scope out the fair. Every year the food gets a little more outrageous (Deep-fried Snickers bars) and the art gets more luscious.

Wear comfortable shoes.

This painting is entitled "On the Playground I" and was inspired by a picture taken for me by my son, Sean Olivares, actor, college student, and fellow movie buff, with whom I have spent many happy playground hours.

Small but Mighty

2011-04-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

These two small gems, only 8"x8", reflect my ongoing interest in local produce as beautiful subject matter for art.

"Square Tomato, aka Cultivar F-145" was inspired by the hybrid developed by Gordie "Jack" C. Hanna in the hopes of having a tomato that wouldn't roll off conveyor belts so easily as the rounder varieties. This improved handling revolutionized the Yolo County tomato industry.

"Artichoke", an abstract painted in oil on board, reflects forms, textures, and colors I see in the familiar artichoke but also in the plant itself during its seasonal cycle.

They are going into the Friends of the Artery 8"x8"=Small but Great art show which opens tomorrow April 8 and runs through April 19. The Artery is an artists cooperative located at
207 G Street, Davis, CA, 95616. If you are local, pop in for the artists' reception Friday evening during the monthly downtown Art About walk, and enjoy small but mighty pieces of art along with music and nibbles.

So Many Clouds, so Few Bunny Rabbits

2011-04-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

We are a people whose imagination is limited only by self-imposed strictures. Some of those strictures are purely practical in nature, such as when my mother refused to support my majoring in art when I first started college.

"You'll never be able to support yourself making paintings", was the message. "Find something to do so that you'll always have a job."

My dad had gone into business, ending up working for Shell Oil company most of his life. Oddly, art was what got him in the door, he having been a draftsman for North American Aircraft back in the day when the aircraft industry was on the rise in Southern California. He took a job as a junior draftsman which sent us to Ventura for part of my childhood, got us our first house, in a neighborhood where I could walk to the library before I was old enough for kindergarten.

I read children's picture books by age three, and so have both my sons. That little neighborhood library had a single bookcase full of books for kids, and I read through pretty much all of them by the time I finished first grade. One of my favorites was an alphabet book.

"A is for Apple, big and red. B is for Bunny, snug-a-bed."

Children's books give permission for us to imagine tiny mice living in human-style homes under floorboards and baby bunnies tucked in cradles under handmade pastel quilts, or Italian hat salesmen barking their wares balancing towers of stacked hats on their heads.

I am rediscovering the truth of the fact that we humans are a species who can look at the clouds and see images of dragons, sailing ships, and, yes, bunny rabbits in their forms. Sadly, the strictures and necessities we live with demand that we (perhaps more often than necessary) get our heads out of the clouds and pay attention to balancing our budgets, changing our oil, or sewing on our buttons.

Maybe that's one reason why making art is so appealing. In this, my latest watercolor, I have taken the image of a real landscape (it does exist, in Sacramento, California) and tried to imbue it with a sense of the dreamy.

One thing I did not realize consciously when painting in the figures, just how narrative the finished work would feel. Instead of anonymous figures, they feel like characters. So, I invite you to join in some co-creativity with me: Who are these people? What are they doing? What's the story here?

It's the same kind of thing as seeing bunny rabbits in the clouds. Hope you take the time to enjoy!

Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating

2011-03-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

I noticed while reading the Washington Post online that an ancient people, older than the oldest known humans in America, were here 15,000 years ago. The previous known holder of that honor, the Clovis people (of present-day New Mexico) are about 2,000 years later. Sitting here on the couch with the laptop and my husband in his easy chair across the room watching March Madness, I am hardly surprised that we are having a conversation about this.

He already had read about it on the bus in the New York Times.

I am hardly surprised that we are taking the time to discuss this topic, we are such a pair of nerds. I am certainly not surprised that we spent 10 minutes looking up and discussing optically stimulated luminescence dating, and researching its invention and application in measuring the age of these early man-made tools, shaking our heads in amazement. Imagine that the decay of the former traces of the presence of light is a thing that can be measured. Imagine having a conversation about it.

But I'm glad we did. Which just goes to show we are so nerdy we could have met on a dating site called "Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating." We would have recognized the fellow nerd-spirit in each other and little light bulbs would have popped over our profile pictures.

As it is, we met just a little over 4 years ago on Match.com which, in my experience is not famous for yielding brainiacs. Had I not met Dan, I was actually thinking of starting my own dating site called Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating. Thankfully, I met the one in a million and didn't end up getting sued by a nerd who had already nabbed the brand back in 1980.

It has been a stimulating 4 years, optically and otherwise.

New Images Up

2011-03-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

As some may know, I am still struggling with nerve difficulties in my right (read: dominant, painting hand) and am finding creative expression via keyboard almost more than I can "hand"le. Both the ulnar nerve (that's the one that runs up the outside of the hand and wrist, through our funnybone) and the carpal nerve (that's the one responsible for the infamous carpal tunnel syndrome) are affected. Add to that the fact that at some point in the past, a chunk from the end of my ulna bone was broken off and is left loose in there to complicate matters.

I'm still painting, and blessed to be taking a watercolor studio course at Sacramento City College taught by Chris Daubert, and have finally gotten up the nerve to learn how to paint in oils. The oil class I'm taking is also a Sac City course, taught by artist Kathleen Noonan.

Some of my family and friends have been wondering why there are no new pics up of my work, so now that I have some, up they go! Here's one, and the rest will be in an album on my Quicksilver Facebook page. Thanks for the encouragement, it really helps!

Children of Light

2011-02-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

I owe a thank-you to Jennifer Whittaker, the writer of this week's d365 devotional. She mentions the following passage and it is worth remembering as I am feeling nudged to move once more into the realm of church service.

"For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord."

Ephesians 5:8-10

My pastor and I discussed opportunities for service yesterday, exploring those areas of my nearly 20 years of service. Certain things gave me great joy as they were recalled, brought out of the dimness, and reexamined in the daylight of the present time and space.

Others were best left to the darkness.

For instance, I have no intention of ever putting myself back into the position of being attacked by a parent because there were potato chips and candy present at a youth group meeting.

I don't ever want to clean up a church after a case of sexual misconduct in ministry again. Ever. Did I say ever? I meant ever, ever, ever.

On the other hand, I would welcome an open conversation with a parent who laments that their child states s/he doesn't believe in God. It would give me great joy to engage in a discussion of belief and science or one about the mystery of baptism. It would tickle me to no end to feel relevant to people making the effort to grapple with issues of faith. I could imagine great satisfaction working for social justice.

In today's writing, Jennifer also cites Matthew's gospel, Mat. 5:18-20:

"Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

All of the above points to the inevitable question: When a person is faced with re-shaping their own self-definition, what influences the definition? Do we please others? Do we please ourselves?

Do we please God?

Time for Blessing

2011-02-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

It's time for new imaginings and blessings in this new year and new month. Writing again, taking notes in class, and painting with a hand that, although not completely rehabilitated, is at least functional. Doing things differently is a bit awkward, especially sleeping. Can't get the hang of sleeping on my back.

That's OK, since my husband can't get the hang of listening to my snoring when I do.

Some things are easy to remember, like wearing my splint on my hand when I go out. It keeps me from moving the hand in ways it shouldn't move, and has the added benefit of protecting the vulnerable outer wrist from bumps and dings.

Other things are harder to remember, like putting it in ice twice a day and taking ibuprofen regularly to fight the inflammation. Until it swells and discolors and just plain hurts, that is.

Being a blessing in the world is like that, too. Once in a while it is so easy to be a blessing to people we care deeply about, like family or close friends. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek"-the forgotten. It's easy to see, remember, and bless our children, our spouses, our closest friends.

But the meek, the forgotten, the ones who are passed by with no notice taken? Not so easy. Do they mourn alone because a spouse has died? Who remembers their birthday? Do they face financial woes with no one to confide in when they are over-burdened?

I wonder how I can be a blessing to someone I have forgotten today.

The Candle of Christ

2010-12-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day

Advent has been a time of waiting, of dreaming, of healing, and of promise. It is finally time for our preparation to be over as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Each week we lit another candle on our Advent wreath. First we lit the candle of the Prophets, which stands for Hope. The following week, we lit the candle of the Shepherds, which stands for Peace. The third week, we lit the Mary candle, the light of Joy. At last, we lit the Joseph candle, which stands for Love.

Each week the light grows a little more, pushing the darkness farther and farther away into the quiet of the winter evening. Tonight, finally, the Light of Christ, the fifth candle, is lit. It signifies banishing the darkness forever as we enter the world illuminated as God has re-imagined it in its perfect state.

We celebrate! Here in the midst of winter we are reminded that God's love is shown in a most wonderful way-the birth of a child, the one who reminds us of the fullness of God's love for us.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Thank you for journeying here through Advent together; as we light the Christ candle may we all be grateful for times of quiet, times of stillness, and times of preparation. I pray that we all know the blessings of love and joy, peace and hope, and healing.

May we experience the presence of Emmanuel, God with us, this day and always.

Grace and peace for your journey!

Amen.

Isaiah Got it Right

2010-12-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

Four stores and everyone is out of chocolate oranges! Whatever will we do? How can Christmas even take place if Jonathan and Sean have no chocolate oranges in their stockings? Oh, no! For years this has been a Christmas staple in our family. I suspect that Santa started giving them chocolate oranges to ease the pain of getting new socks every year, but I don't really know for sure.

Have you ever eaten a chocolate orange? They are made of either dark or milk chocolate, flavored like an orange, and about the size of a tennis ball. To eat them, you rap them sharply on a hard surface like the kitchen counter and they crack into segments just like real orange segments. They are wonderful.

I knew I should have bought the chocolate oranges last week when I saw them at Trader Joe's, but I happened to be there with Sean; in fact, he pointed them out to me. Call me silly, but I never have gotten used to buying something destined for someone's stocking while in the presence of that person, so I passed on the chocolate oranges.

Now I'm regretting it, naturally. I could have gotten it right the first time since Sean would have graciously (wink, wink) forgotten he'd ever seen me buy them. So, no chocolate oranges. Oh, well.

As I have been saying all along, Christmas doesn't happen because we are ready. It doesn't happen because we have prepared everything perfectly. It doesn't happen when we've gotten our chocolate oranges. It happens because God is ready. It happens because God has prepared everything perfectly. It happens because God knows what we need, and it isn't chocolate oranges.

Isaiah spoke eloquently in his prediction from Chapter 9 about just what it is that God says we need: a son given to us, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting. Prince of Peace. Read the prophet's words...

Isaiah 9

¹ Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

I particularly notice the last line of verse 7, in which the prophet states, "The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." He doesn't say, "The zeal of Dori Almighty" or "The zeal of Robert Almighty" or "The zeal of Susan Almighty" will accomplish this. There is no mention of going to four different stores in search of chocolate oranges or any other blessed thing! There is no mention of having to have the Christmas cards in the mail!

Christmas is now, was then, and always will be courtesy of the Lord Almighty. As I worship at the Christmas Eve service I will wonder and be amazed at the grace of the Lord Almighty, and forget all about chocolate oranges. I will marvel at the coming of the Everlasting God, whose reign is forever.

May you also know wonder and delight as we step into the miracle.

Many blessings!

For further reading:

Psalm 96

Titus 2:11-14

Luke 2:1-14, and 15-20

The Eve of Christmas Eve

2010-12-22T23:07:00.000-08:00

So excited; son Jonathan is to arrive Christmas eve and today is the eve of that wonderful event! Almost all the gifts are wrapped and under the tree; Dan is fast asleep after a challenging couple of days of medical procedures (glad to get it out of the way) and Sean is out for an evening of karaoke with other college kids from around town and those from high school days who are home for the winter break.

I spent the evening cooking ahead so I won't have to spend all my time in the kitchen while Jon's here. I learned that lesson while he was on the road with his band and used to travel through Davis with 8 or 10 other ravenous young men, eating lasagne, tacos, and anything else I could dream up to make in the millions of servings.

I spent so much time cooking I didn't get to enjoy his or the other guys' company, so I learned. Now the fridge and the freezer are full of meals I can just pull out and heat, adding a fresh salad here or there, and maybe some hot bread.

The prayer that is on my heart the most as we are only a couple of days from the Christmas celebration has to do with sharing table with one another. It's simple but I love to hear my husband offer the words after a busy day:

"Father, thanks for bringing us together. Thanks for the love and the food we share. Watch over us and our family, and keep us safe."

It's usually followed by describing what our day has been like, what our challenges have been, and what our "good news" is for the day.

King David of Israel had a prayer he shared in today's scripture. It comes from 2 Samuel, chapter 7:

David’s Prayer

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

“Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

²³ And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²⁴ You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

²⁵ “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, ²⁶ so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

²⁷ “LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁹ Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Isn't the king eloquent in expressing how blessed he feels to be cared for by God, and how reassured he is that God has shown faithfulness to him, his family, and his nation! David's prayer comes on the heels of God establishing covenant with him, suggesting there will never be a lack of favored leadership in Israel. It's a continuation of the covenant relationship God established with his people as far back as Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The New Testament sees this covenant fulfilled in Jesus, who comes as God's son but also as a son of David.

David's lyrical prayer, uttered hundreds of years in advance of the climactic fulfillment of God's promise, might be one of those that is so poetic and lovely that we ourselves feel inadequate when called upon to pray. Yet God doesn't grade prayers, nor are we required to imitate David's eloquence. It is enough for us to use the simplest of words spoken sincerely.

This week we have been reflecting on the fourth candle, the candle of Love, which offers Promise. A thing to hold dear is that God's promise was not only to David and the other leaders of our faith, but to us as well. We live in that promise of God's love today.

Prayer: "God, you established your throne in every heart which welcomes Jesus as king. We are grateful for your promise to be with us and to hold us forever in your love. Let each one build a house for you in our hearts. Amen."

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

For further reading:

Luke 1:46b-55

Galatians 3:6-14

It Was the End of Times, It Was the Beginning of Times...

2010-12-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome, Jesus! The time of celebrating the incarnation is nearly upon us here at the full of the moon and the winter solstice. How I wish I could have actually seen the lunar eclipse in the sky last night, but alas, it was too cloudy. I have it on good authority that it really did happen. The pictures were all over the internet and the papers. Son Sean even got to see a sliver of it in between the clouds.

Please forgive my continuing with the abbreviated format but I continue to be keyboard-challenged by my broken wrist. All three scriptures today are eschatological, meaning that they pertain to the end times. We witness the intersection of the end and the beginning during Advent, and since I do not have it in my power to launch on a dissertation of any quality, I offer up to you an essay by Debra Dean Murphy of West Virginia Wesleyan College that muses on the subject. You can find it on the Sojourners' web site here:

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/12/14/jon-stewart-the-end-times-and-the-season-of-advent/

Today's readings are:

Luke 1: 46-55 (Sound familiar? We talked about Mary's Magnificat: Now think of it as prophesy)

Isaiah 33: 17-22

Revelation 22: 6-7 and 18-20 (Although you may be interested in Ch. 21 as well)

Blessings as we rest and wait. Come, Lord Jesus!

Illustration Credit: "Tree of Life", Gustav Klimt

I Promise

2010-12-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

I genuinely enjoy hearing kids tell wonderful tales and stories, then , to assert the truthfulness of their yarns, they can say, "I promise!" It's as if by tacking those two words on the end, whatever implausible creation preceded, suddenly it is a historical fact, indisputable forever.

"Mom, it's the best movie ever and you're gonna love taking me to it, I promise!" or "You really have to let me go to so-and-so's sleepover this weekend I already have my term paper done I promise!" or the always-popular "Jennifer's mom is gonna be there the whole time so it'll be fine I promise!" Not that I would demean the promises of children, but on the other hand...

Promises tend to mean more from the parents' point of view, in my opinion. Example: a baby is born and immediately seeks to nurse. The new mother cuddles the child to her breast and fulfills the first promise a human can understand-the meeting of the need to be fed.

God has kept promises in so many similar ways throughout God's ongoing narrative.

Abraham and Sarah lived through an incredibly dry spell, during which their promise from God seemed likely to have vanished into the desert dust where they pitched their tents. But finally, miraculously, God came through. Consider our scripture for today:

Genesis 21

The Birth of Isaac

¹ Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Some of the most intimate moments in human experience revolve around the moments of promise. Making, keeping, sharing of promises, these are the times of such richness that we rejoice at being human. The moment of sharing the birth of a new baby into a welcoming family, or the moment of saying farewell as a beloved elder slips from the family's grasp and breathes their last breath on this earth-and everything in between. We cherish and hold dear every second of these times.

It is every one of these moments that promises us the shared experience of the divine, of the times which transcend the space and times shared on earth.

It seems that Sarah may have understood the limitless nature of our birthing and our dying-she who was on the dying end of her years, welcoming little Isaac, on the beginning end of his years. None can say exactly where we are on the dying end of the continuum of human existence, so we can't tell how close we might be to ending. But one thing that is apparent, and that is that Jesus coming once more at the beginning of his span of years should fill all our hearts with laughter and joy as we share the experience of the divine once again!

May all our hearts burst with Sarah's laughter!

Pictures vs. Words

2010-12-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

Today is the 4th Sunday in Advent and we light the candle of Love, or the Joseph candle. As we light this this and think about the Holy Family coming to the climax of their Bethlehem journey, you are invited to consider this week's theme, "Promise".

I ask your forbearance as I examine once again the intent of this devotion; the original concept sprang into being because I thought busy people with many holiday stress points could use a focused time and place to rest in God's promise as outlined in scripture. God spoke to our hopes through the prophets as the Messiah was promised. In Joseph and Mary's courage, the promise of the prince of peace came to Bethlehem. Hope and healing are at hand.

Relight the candles of Hope, Peace, and Joy. Then light the candle of Love as well, for we are on the threshold of promise.

We must ever expect the unexpected in our relationship with God, and God does not disappoint. My unexpected blessing is a right hand that doesn't work right now, and it forces me into the very rest I hesitated taking through this season, despite urging it upon others. I invite you to enter into prayer, and into scripture with the sure knowledge that resting in God as we wait for Emmanuel puts us in good company: with the prophets, with May, and with Joseph.

The world is re-imagined.

Matthew 1:18-25 (New International Version, ©2010)

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Our illustration today is a watercolor I painted with my non-dominant hand at the suggestion of a couple of artist friends. I feel it captured as much as I could write under the circumstances; maybe it comes more from the heart, who knows?

Leaving the keyboard, I also leave it to you to reflect upon today's further readings as I put my brace back on and give my hand some time off. See you tomorrow, and enjoy the Sabbath!

Many blessings!

Isaiah 7:10-16

Psalm 80:1-7,17-19

Romans 1:1-7

The Arm Bone’s Connected to the Wrist Bone…

2010-12-17T23:37:00.001-08:00

December 18, 2010

One week until Christmas! Deck the halls, damn the torpedoes, and full steam ahead! Oh, that is, if we're not in a cast from fingers to armpits like one of my Davis friends, or recovering from surgery like another one, or sitting with her leg sprained from falling on the ice like a Utah woman I know. Or like yours truly, figuring out how to do Christmas with a bone fragment floating around in my wrist and being told to change everything in my life from the way I keyboard to the way I bicycle and the way I sleep at night!

And yet, this last week has been about healing. And joy. Freedom and grace, and miracles a-borning.

The gospel of John gives us the scripture for today, and tells us nothing of the natal story of Jesus; there are no shepherds, no angels, no embellishment. John starts by telling us that Jesus was first a part of Creation, the thought and action of God. Then he came to earth not by happenstance, not falling from the sky, but as the Word of God spoken for us to hear and believe. With that in mind, let's enter into God's Word.

Prayer: "Lord, the time grows short and the labor pangs remind us that the time of birthing is upon us. Draw close to us, Jesus, to be Emmanuel, God with us. Amen."

³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them.

When I went to the physical therapist this morning I was awed by his depth of understanding of the world within the few cubic inches of my wrist and hand. The diplomas on his wall from Duke and from Cal bespoke his credentials. His examination and discourse proved his diagnostic skill. His advice showed wisdom. But it was his ability to communicate with me the causes and intricacies of the perfect storm in my hand that convinced me that I needed to follow the regimen he prescribed for my recovery.

Put another way, even though my doctor had told me the results of my xray, the physical therapist communicated my condition in terms I could understand. He sat with me, demonstrated how the arm, wrist, and hand were distressed and malfunctioning, and offered a clear path to rehabilitation.

God chose to send his only son so that Jesus could communicate in ways we could understand. Christ demonstrated how we suffered, how we lived in distress, and gave us a clear path for healing. He didn't accidentally fall from heaven; he was God's final word to heal the people God loved so much.

Mary gave birth to a baby, who came to give birth to our new lives.

Healing comes in many forms. The people I mentioned earlier are all faithful Christians, which does not prevent them from trusting medical care providers to provide the treatments necessary to help broken bones knit, intricate connections in ligaments and tendons being repaired, and inflamed nerve channels being calmed. Muscles and tendons need specific care if they are to regain full function and complete health.

Human beings need God's spiritual care to function fully in complete health. We should all follow his advice as regards or perfect spiritual rehabilitation.

Prayer: "Mighty God of all healing, provide me with opportunities to come to full health this season as Christ enters into the world, Emmanuel, God with us. Let the awe of new life amaze and astonish me. Amen."

To your good health!

For further reading:

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

2 Samuel 7:23-29

All in the Family

2010-12-16T22:35:00.001-08:00

December 17, 2010

Finals are over! Thanks be to God, I can pay attention to the holiday preparations I've been putting off as I gave priority to drawing and studying. I am also very grateful for prayers and good thoughts shared as I have tried to open up my old brain to new, exciting ideas. I'm finding a more humorous approach to my art and enjoying the lighter quality it brings. A happy semester and a happy time to launch into the Christmas bustle doing only those things (hopefully) which result in greater appreciation of faith, family, and friends.

So, on to our devotion and keeping in mind this week's theme, Healing, and thinking of yesterday's reading from Galatians…here's the theological question of the day.

Given: Roman citizens looked down on Greeks. Greeks despised Romans, and Jews with their highly-developed religion felt superior to both. Therefore, the Christian who also claimed Jewish heritage in those days often felt religious superiority to both Roman and Greek Christians. The situation was complicated by the fact that slavery was commonplace, with the Romans clearly occupying the master's position. So today as we continue in Paul's letter to them, you are invited to consider the question:

What did it mean to be enslaved then? What does it mean to be enslaved today? How do we arrive at healing from today's slavery and claim our inheritance?

Prayer: "Heavenly One, we are on the brink of that time when we celebrate the birth of your Son, who was born into the tradition of law, and adopts us into the family. May our hearts open to his Spirit. Amen."

Galatians 4

¹ What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ² The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³ So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. ⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

The question I asked yesterday was "What will you do with your freedom?" The answer that came almost immediately to my own mind was: "Not surrender it." By this rather confrontational response I believe that on some deep, gut level I recognize that slavery exists in very subtle ways. It can be slavery to substance abuse, to depression, to eating disorders, to indolence or procrastination. It can be overt and tangible such as the slavery which exists today in the awful world of human trafficking. Sadly, it can exist by means of domestic violence, homelessness, or economic injustice.

If we learn nothing else from Paul's letter to the Galatians, we should embrace the fact that God intends us to be healed from forces which prevent us from being anything less than his children, redeemed from oppressors external or internal, situational or sinful.

So reflect on the healing power of the Spirit who wants to enter our hearts, and make us part of the family. May this season truly become a time of joyful liberation for you, your family, friends and neighbors.

Prayer: "Holy Love, through the amazing intention and power of Jesus Christ, we call you 'Abba'! Father! Thank you for redeeming me and claiming me as your child. Amen."

Blessings to all my brothers and sisters!

For further reading:

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

2 Samuel 7:18-22

The Law or Faith?

2010-12-15T18:39:00.001-08:00

December 16, 2010

Today's post will be short and sweet because we are in the middle of finals week at school and I have to study. The scripture for today is especially poignant for me because of this. As usual, the lectionary gives us a passage from the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, a Psalm, and a passage from the New Testament.

I've chosen the one from Galatians as it is part of what scholars call the "Magna Charta of Christian Liberty." Martin Luther held Galatians so dear as to be equal in his heart to his wife, Katie von Bora.

Formerly a strict Pharisitic legalist, the apostle Paul was converted to Christianity and turned his not inconsiderable rhetorical talents to speaking and writing in support of his newly discovered faith. His letter to the Galatians makes strong arguments that there is nothing we could possibly do to make God love us more. God loves us because, well, that's what God does.

Prayer: "God of old and new, sometimes we believe that the only way to be loved in the world is to complete a checklist of requirements to deserve being loved. Thank you for loving us without deserving it and without sometimes even recognizing it. Amen."

Children of God

²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Each of us is at liberty to respond to this extending of God's hand in whatever manner seems best to us.

Theological question for the day: What do we do with our freedom?

The ancient Christians went in two directions. Some, like the people in Galatia, became obsessed with legalism. Others took their Christian freedom too and refused to follow anyone's rules. Which is the greater danger today?

Prayer: "Heavenly One, thank you for grace, which we have by faith. Thanks as well for the freedom you give us to live outside of any artificial cages. May our response always honor you. Amen."

Grace and Peace!

For further reading:

Psalm 80 1-7, 17-19

2 Samuel 7:18-22

Out of that Sickbed!

2010-12-14T23:45:00.001-08:00

December 15, 2010

As we consider God's theme of healing this week, there are two stories in the lectionary for today, both in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 8, and both told in the synoptic gospels as well (more on synoptic gospels in older posts in this series) They are both accounts of Jesus healing and they come in the chapters woven in between Jesus' most famous teachings – the Sermon on the Mount, the Narrow Gate, and the Golden Rule, for example-and Jesus acting on those teachings. More than 20 of the miracles of Jesus in the Bible are healing miracles.

Now, if you haven't sent out your Christmas cards yet, Jesus probably doesn't have a miracle that will take care of them for you. You may as well take some deep breaths and enjoy some time spent in his word. Rest in him, and allow his peace to come upon you for a few minutes. What burden or infirmity do you carry with you today that keeps you from being refreshed in his presence? Prepare to release it in prayer.

Prayer: "Thank you, God, for inviting me always into your company. Today I want to let go of-----(feel free to name what you are allowing yourself to release)-------and heal the anxiety it causes in me. Let me be fully present with you in this moment and this place. Amen."

Jesus Heals Many

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

"He took up our infirmities
and bore our diseases."

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men

²⁸ When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"

³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

³² He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³ Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Jesus spent a long time talking to the crowds earlier in his sermon, but he never stopped at talking. He went further, to action. Jesus had only three short adult years to our knowledge to minister to the nation of Israel and establish his agenda of turning the world on its ear, so he didn't sit around. He noticed the opportunities in his path and met them on the spot.

I wish I could see the opportunities in my path and act upon them immediately. There are many of us who are, I imagine, like me. It's only after we get home from the market that we think, "Wait a minute. I could have called that friend of mine whose car is on the fritz to see if she would've liked a lift to do her shopping." Most of us have the presence of mind to think about the big stuff. I always flunk the really little things, things that might actually mean a difference to someone I care about. It's not that I'm thoughtless. It's just that I'm clueless.

Failing to act in compassionate, even healing ways has very little to do with lack of good intentions. Most people are just so bound up in worry or preoccupation with their own business or trouble that intentional acts of healing don't surface to the conscious mind.

I for one am grateful that Jesus acted consciously and intentionally to model spontaneous healing. I am grateful that Peter and the others inherited the consciousness and intention to reach out and heal in God's name. While no one expects us today to sit in Solomon's Colonnade and drive out demons, I think maybe Jesus hopes we'd develop the consciousness and intention to lay down the things that keep us from committing intentional acts of compassion when they lie in our path.

That we don't speaks to a deeper worry. If we are made in God's image, and we are the delight of a loving God who claims us as God's own, why would we cling to whatever it is that interferes with us behaving as much as possible like Jesus? When given the opportunity to be made whole, Peter's mother immediately arose and (you guessed it) began serving, the very thing Jesus' teaching is all about.

I'm ready for a little restoration here myself. How enjoyable it would be to envision shoving my preoccupations down the river bank with those pigs.

Prayer: "Heavenly Father and Mother, you create in your image. Is it any wonder that it is in our nature to wish to help other people's suffering and discomfort when we can? Help us to forgive ourselves our missed opportunities, and release the worries and preoccupations that interfere with our ability to serve each other in your name. Amen."

Blessings on your way!

For further reading today:

Psalm 42

Zechariah 8:1-17

Matthew 8

River from the Temple

2010-12-14T01:08:00.001-08:00

December 14, 2010

Despite the fact that winter is still officially four days away, the weather here in the Sacramento Valley has been gray, overcast, and cold. A friend of mine says it's perfect for fishing for steelheads. I say it's far too cold to go out in 40-degree water for fish I could find at the supermarket.

Those in the Midwest and East, however, might well scoff at us out here on the Left Coast with our thin blood and mild temps, given the pounding they've taken over the past week. I mean really? The collapse of the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome calls up an image of End Times without even trying. In case you haven't watched it more than 100 times by now, it's here (plus about a million other places you can find) http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Unbelievable-video-of-Metrodome-collapse-from-in?urn=nfl-294816.

Armageddon, the sports writer called it. Nonsense. It's only heavy snowfall, pure and simple, just the kind of thing that reveals us Californians to be climatically wimpy compared to places that get four actual seasons of weather. It's just a call for engineers to think about a better dome.

If we think at all about End Times, one thing we have to realize is that they're not all about destruction. The prophet Ezekiel writes about End Times related to the river of life in the Hebrew Bible. A selected portion of this poetic book follows. Imagine if you encountered a river teeming with every kind of life-would it be how you imagine Armageddon?

Prayer: "Heavenly One, keep me open to the healing only you can bring, while remaining compassionate to those who only see you as a judgmental God. Amen."

Ezekiel 47:6-12 (The Message)

^6-7 He said, "Son of man, have you had a good look?"

Then he took me back to the riverbank. While sitting on the bank, I noticed a lot of trees on both sides of the river.

^8-10 He told me, "This water flows east, descends to the Arabah and then into the sea, the sea of stagnant waters. When it empties into those waters, the sea will become fresh. Wherever the river flows, life will flourish—great schools of fish—because the river is turning the salt sea into fresh water. Where the river flows, life abounds. Fishermen will stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore from En-gedi all the way north to En-eglaim, casting their nets. The sea will teem with fish of all kinds, like the fish of the Great Mediterranean.

¹¹ "The swamps and marshes won't become fresh. They'll stay salty.

¹² "But the river itself, on both banks, will grow fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won't wither, the fruit won't fail. Every month they'll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."

How unexpected it would be if a local river joined the sea and turned the sea into fresh water. Yet that is exactly what the river flowing out of the Temple to the Dead Sea was capable of doing. It reversed the deadly saltiness of the sea and produced healing fruit on its banks. The early Christians had similar symbolism; the river of life flowed from the throne of God.

Not everyone can get the message. My friend looks out at this weather and thinks it's time to go fishing. I look out and think it's a great season to remain warm and dry indoors. A football stadium roof fails, and one person says it's like doomsday. Many others just think it's time to re-engineer the roof. Likewise, some people read the Bible and see clear signs of destruction at every turn, in every prediction. Many others understand the blessed omens floating like leaves on the river of life's current.

There are hundreds of ways in which we experience healing in this human existence, only a very few of which are visible or tangible. Some will find it hanging out on Solomon's Porch with friends(see older posts) while others will find it in solitary Bible study. But Ezekiel tips us off that the river of life is there for all of us.

Prayer: "Great and loving God, your word is miraculous in its healing for those who truly trust you. For those who are skeptical, for those who laugh at believers, we ask that we may be emboldened to share the narrative of our own healing that they may experience the same joy. Amen."

Blessings as we dance in the river!

Hanging out at Solomon’s

2010-12-12T23:28:00.001-08:00

December 13, 2010

Entering into Advent's third week, many of us are hitting one of the dreaded seasonal deadlines: shipping gifts in time for Christmas without paying premium rates! Personally, I'm too stressed about finals to worry about it so Dan is pretty much taking on all the out-of-town packing and shipping chores. I figure all of us could use some deep breathing and chair yoga right about now or it would be very easy to overload. OK, I'm speaking for myself. I need some deep breathing and chair yoga in order to prevent overload. Would you like to join me?

First, remember how we let our hands hang comfortably down at our sides, feet flat on the floor. Inhaling, lift hands above our heads, palms together. Exhale, bringing arms down again to your side. Sit tall at each exhale, as if a string fastened to the top of your head is gently lifting you up toward the ceiling. Repeat 6 times, always breathing slowly and steadily through the nose.

Prayer: "God, when the world and so many within it are in need of your healing touch, remind us through your word that you are always there, actively engaged wherever true healing occurs. Amen."

The Apostles Heal Many

" ¹² The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. ¹³ No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. ¹⁵ As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶ Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed. "

At church as I've listened to our Advent services for these past three weeks, I've appreciated our pastor's sermon series on the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, after the book of the same name by UMC Bishop Robert Schnase. The book outlines and discusses such issues as radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission, and service. Bishop Schnase opines that these concepts, when put into practice by a community of faith, result in a truly transformative congregation. In other words, real lives are changed. People encounter God, develop their spiritual lives, grow meaningful friendships and mutually supportive relationships, and change the communities in which they live. Others outside the church come to know God. Good fruit comes of such engagement.

If you look at the young Christian church, the church which is described in the book of Acts, it isn't difficult to see that the ideas my pastor has been talking about and Bishop Schnase has been writing about are essentially the same ideas that Peter and the apostles practiced. In fact, they were so engaged and passionate that the Holy Spirit filled their little community, and lives were transformed in ways that could only be called miraculous. People so believed that they were God's people doing God's work that they thought they would be healed just by lying under Peter's passing shadow! That is pretty strong faith.

While we don't have the same kind of expectations of the church today, the church still is a body in which God's spirit runs wild, just waiting for the opportunity to change peoples' lives in miraculous ways. Healing takes many forms, and God is willing to act today to bring God's best to all who long for transformation. Prayer still has the power to bring us into ever deeper relationship with God and with one another!

Lives can be changed. Sometimes it can be radical, as subtle and quick as a shadow passing over us. Sometimes it takes more time and persistence. But God's longing to heal our lives is authentic. We can believe it when we look upon the manger and the child who arrives there.

By the way, if you're curious, Solomon's Portico was one of the two important colonnades of the Jerusalem Temple. It became common knowledge that Peter and the gang hung out there every day, something which the growing group of Jesus-followers came to depend on. Wouldn't it be great to know there was a place to go where you could find welcoming like-minded people who would offer you radical hospitality, you could worship God, be transformed spiritually, and stand up for social justice today?

Actually, there is. I go there every Sunday. You can too!

Many blessings!

Further reading for today:

Psalm 42

Isaiah 29:17-24

Mary’s Magnificat

2010-12-11T20:58:00.001-08:00

December 12, 2010

This is an important Sunday, the third Sunday in Advent, the day when we light the third candle, that of "Joy". It is also called the "Mary candle" in many traditions and in an Advent wreath comprised of purple and rose (pink) candles it is the pink one. Its color sets it apart from the more somber purple associated with penitence. I don't know who first came up with this ritual in the early centuries of Christianity, but for some reason they thought penitence and joy couldn't coexist in the same candle.

Since I decided to use all blue candles in our wreath this year, it's a non-issue around here. Anyway, the joy is overwhelmingly present, coinciding as it does with the half-year anniversary of the day my husband and I made our wedding vows. It doesn't matter what color the candles are; we're still pretty sappy around here.

In entering in to the scripture, I invite you to imagine you are sitting in the room with Mary and Elizabeth, her cousin. When you are ready and centered, invite the Holy Spirit to help you listen.

Prayer: "God my Savior, fill me with a spirit willing to hear you and praise you as Mary did, anticipating the joy that is ours through her willingness to serve you. Amen."

Luke 1:47-55

⁴⁷"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

As noted in the Student Bible, NRSV c. 1996, "Saying yes to God usually involves sacrifice. It did for Mary, who endured the doubts of her fiancé and the scorn of neighbors who saw her pregnant before marriage. Saying yes meant bearing the pain of childbirth. It meant fleeing to far-off Egypt to protect the baby from Herod's soldiers. It meant raising a child she did not entirely understand. Most of all, it meant watching her son die on the cross."

She said yes to all of this perhaps little realizing that the difficult end of Jesus' life would mean allowing him, her Savior, to hold her as she had once held him, a helpless infant. I imagine she hardly thought of the long-term consequences; isn't it grand to trust God as much as that young woman did on the day she prayed and sang the words we read today?

When teaching my confirmation classes, I ask students to write a poem of praise like Mary's in their own words. You might want to do that as well, or instead you might want to read Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Mary's hymn, called "The Magnificat", from Peterson's work, the Message Bible:

Luke 1:46-55 (The Message)

And Mary said,

I'm bursting with God-news;
I'm dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It's exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

Jesus pulls us out of the mud! He sets us, starving, down at fine tables filled with a banquet. It is definitely the time to anticipate God's healing, our theme for the coming week!

To celebrate, spend some time as you enjoy your Sabbath rest thinking of all the ways you can open your life to God's healing, and give thanks.

Prayer: "With our hearts we praise the Lord. Help us to start this week with a commitment to continue Christ's compassion and caring. Amen."

The following links for further reading today are from the PC(USA), Office of Theology and Worship.

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, December 12, 2010, the Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)

First Reading Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm Psalm 146:5-10

Gospel Luke 1:47-55

Second Reading James 5:7-10

Gospel Matthew 11:2-11

Not Forgotten

2010-12-11T00:32:00.001-08:00

December 11, 2010

Today is the last day of the 2^nd week of Advent, the last day marked by the "Shepherd's" candle in the Advent wreath. We've considered the idea of Dreaming this week-what the nation of Israel might have been dreaming the Messiah would bring, what we might be dreaming today, and how we might be a part of making dreams come true.

Before we leave the theme, I want to consider shepherds one last time. The shepherds are the ones who work for the common good, who do the heavy lifting when it needs doing, and are often in the background, unremarked and unthanked. On the hillsides outside a small town long ago, they waited in the darkness, but God did not forget them.

Many unremarkable people have been important to the unfolding of God's story. We would not even know of their existence but for the fact that God did not forget them.

Prayer: "God of Shepherds, as I consider the hastening of Christ's birth, let me be open to see the shepherds around me. Amen."

1 Samuel 2

Hannah's Prayer

¹ Then Hannah prayed and said:

   "My heart rejoices in the LORD;
   in the LORD my horn^[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
   for I delight in your deliverance.

² "There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

³ "Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

⁴ "The bows of the warriors are broken,
   but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
⁵ Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
   but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
   but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶ "The LORD brings death and makes alive;
   he brings down to the grave and raises up.
⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
   he humbles and he exalts.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.

"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
on them he has set the world.

Hannah was one of many unremarkable people whom God did not forget. She was a barren woman who ended up the mother of Samuel, one of the most remarkable characters in God's story. Her hymn of praise and thanks foreshadows that of another unremarkable person, Mary, mother of Jesus. But that can wait. We were talking about shepherds.

Something I noticed when Dan and I stayed with friends up in Mendocino and attended the sheepdog championship was how contrary the sheep could be. The dog and shepherd are timed as they attempt to herd three sheep from one end of the stadium to the other and back, through a number of obstacles. Most of the sheep seem uncooperative at best and just damned wrong-headed at worst.

This all makes shepherding seem like a tough job. But really, don't we encounter people every day in our lives who get the sheep through the gates, patiently keep them all within the flock where they belong, and make sure they're bedded down at night? Don't we know people who get up at the same time every morning, catch their bus or fight the traffic to the office, or pad out to the kitchen in bare feet to make breakfast? Don't we often see the same toll booth operator at the same mundane job, or the barista who knows what kind of latte we want before we even ask? The unremarkable people who make our world run right are those shepherds.

They're in my family, and yours. The father who goes off to work every day to provide for his family. The older sister who babysits the younger kids while mom's at work. The uncle who stops by every time it snows, to shovel the walk. The son who helps with the housework.

Most of the time the deeds of these shepherds go unremarked, but as Hannah said,

"for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed. "

As you pray, think of the shepherds in your life, knowing that they are not forgotten by God and lift them up. I think God might be pleased to know that you haven't forgotten them either.

Prayer: "For those you have sent into my life, God, I give thanks for the blessings brought, and as you brought a son to Hannah, you are bringing a Son to the world. Amen."

Déjà vu All Over Again

2010-12-09T21:03:00.001-08:00

December 10, 2010

Some who read this will remember a time during the Cold War when, convinced of the planet's impending annihilation, protesters carried signs and street preachers warned, "The End is Near". Like Roy Delgado's cartoon: Bedraggled long hair and beard, sackcloth robes, bare feet, either carrying a picket sign or wearing a sandwich board.

Political cartoons have so much to say. They encapsulate the essence of a position, a message, or an argument for or against. They comment, sometimes bitingly, sometimes gently, from the pages of our newspapers or, now, on countless websites. Many have suffered at the heavy hands of their governments over the centuries. Goya, Daumier, and Picasso are but three who come to mind that could not publish or show some of their political art for fear of retribution.

Peter, Paul, and others who lived and worked in the Christian community in the first century were apostles; first -generation people who had had a personal experience of Jesus in their lifetime. Their belief in a reordered new world disturbed the Roman authorities. Their message was concise, and alarming.

Let's center with some deep breathing, and allow ourselves to come to prayer and stillness.

Prayer: "Divine Love, You are the bringer of peace. Show me how to wait for your coming. Amen."

" ¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.^[a] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. "

In addition to the funny little cartoon character, you can probably imagine the bumper sticker that was prevalent around Y2K (remember *that* fiasco?) which read: "Jesus is coming! Look busy!"

Peter isn't urging people to do that. Notice how he says "strive to be found by him at peace". He is asking Christians to set aside the anxiety they may have at the radical change Christ brings to Creation, and be at peace with God and with one another. Counting on God is the only way to achieve this peace, knowing surely that God is in charge of the when, the how, and wherefores. To borrow yet another piece of popular imagery, think about the "I love logistics" ad on TV right now.

It's safe to give thanks, to be in right relationship and at peace with God. We can have the patience Peter encouraged. He may have been a fanatic street preacher with a scraggly beard, but he got this part right.

Sweet dreams!

Prayer: "O holy God, I dream of being at peace with you. Help me to lay down everything I am carrying with me that keeps me from a righteous relationship today. I want to be free to know you. Amen."

For further reading:

Psalm 146:5-10

Ruth 4:13-17

Dream a Little Dream

2010-12-08T21:36:00.001-08:00

December 9, 2010

As we continue thinking about our theme, Dreaming, you are invited to consider what the people of the time might have been dreaming about in connection with the coming of the Messiah. This time, to help bring a different part of the brain into the reflection, a suggestion is to take a piece of scratch paper and pencil. Just have it handy beside you. Try reading through the scripture three separate times. Each time, see if a particular word or phrase stands out more than any other, almost as if it rises, shimmering, in your mind. Jot it down if you like. Take a moment to breathe deeply, and come into prayer when you are relaxed and centered.

Prayer: "Praise the Lord! You are the Lord whose realm was in Israel's dreams when the Psalms were written, and who we worship today. Let me dream alongside your people of all generations, Lord. Amen."

Praise for God's Help, Psalm 146

" ¹ Praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD, my soul.

² I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
⁸ the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

¹⁰ The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the LORD. "

This is one of those Psalms written as an extravagant hymn of praise to be used in community, sung at temple worship. Its message exalting God's reign differs from many of the other praise psalms, though, in that it contrasts God not with false deities but with human leaders. In it, the people dream of a time and a fulfillment far beyond the promises of any earthly king.

Thinking of the word or phrase that surfaced and stayed with you while reading this psalm, try this for a closing prayer: go back and pray Psalm 146 as if it were a personal prayer original to you. Emphasize or linger on your word or phrase if you like.

Finally, share with God what your own dreams are.

I give thanks for every one of you!

Further reading for today:

Ruth 1:6-18

2 Peter 3:11-18

Well, All Things Considered…

2010-12-07T21:34:00.001-08:00

December 8, 2010

Every day when we get home Dan and I exchange news over the dinner table and take time to evaluate the day's happenings. This day I had to say, "Well, all things considered, it was a pretty good day." And it was pretty good, actually. I got to go to my classes, learn more about my pop art hero, Wayne Thibeaud in my art history class, discovered that I don't have to sit for half the final exam*, do an impromptu pen-and-ink portrait in drawing class, and as if that wasn't good enough I got to ring the bell for the Salvation Army! (Thanks, Toni!)

Of course, Dan picked up on the "Well, all things considered" part. There's usually a shadow side even to the greatest joys of life. Before we touch on that, you are invited to center, take a minute to become truly present to this moment and venture. Breathe….

Prayer: "Loving God, we dream of days that can progress perfectly from the time we awaken refreshed after a good night's sleep. Too often we awaken dreading what the coming hours may hold. Remind me of your continuous care and mercy when I am apt to forget."

Today's scripture comes to us from the seldom-opened file, "Words We Wish Jesus Had Never Said".

³³ "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Sound familiar? John the Baptist liked that "brood of vipers" epithet also. (See this column for Dec. 6) Sometimes we can ignore John, and sometimes we can talk our way around Paul, but when Jesus himself holds forth on a subject, it's pretty difficult to shut him out.

You see, Jesus doesn't equivocate very much when he's teaching. You either love or you do the opposite of love: you don't give a rip. You either bear the fruit or: you're not contributing. I believe that our personal motivation either brings up good things out of the depths of the soul or it brings up garbage that gets dumped in the streets of your world. There are no statements such as, "Well, all things considered…"

December 7^th was widely remembered as Pearl Harbor Day, a day which the late President Roosevelt claimed would live "in infamy forever." It was a day the world will look back upon for decades and wonder how to avoid war in the future. 2,000 Americans died on Dec. 7, 1941. People of conscience everywhere have worked steadfastly to avoid repeating the kind of conflict that led to such destruction. It was not the kind of time when anyone would have said, "Well, all things considered, it was a pretty good day."

A woman who probably won't be remembered forever died on Dec. 7, 2010. Her name was Elizabeth Edwards. She died of cancer. Under other circumstances she might have occupied the White House as First Lady. Instead, she lived a very challenging existence, by most measures. At the end, I wonder how she imagined this day would be evaluated by history. As I consider her story, I can only say sorrowfully, "Well all things considered, it was a pretty good day." Rest in peace, Elizabeth. I hope you had many good days.

We sometimes wish not to be reminded by Jesus, John, or anyone else what responsibility we have for the making of peace. Most of us certainly don't have the opportunity to affect the peace of the world on a grand scale. Yet, here we are, "Dreaming" in the light of the Peace candle. What will come out of our mouths? What will be our fruit? What opportunities might we seize for the making of peace in our own small worlds?

Prayer: "Prince of Peace, help me heed your words so that when I have the chance to engage for peace, I am not reduced to lamely saying 'Well, all things considered, I did the best I could.' Amen."

Peace be with you! (And I'm not just saying that.)

Further reading for today:

Psalm 21

Genesis 15: 1-18

*In the grand scheme of things, it may not matter much that my art history grades are good enough that I don't have to sit for the last slide quiz of the semester. But at the moment I am so grateful for my inner nerd kicking in (or maybe I'm just channeling Hermione Granger). It's all good at this point. I am so happy to have fewer hours during which I must devote attention to memorizing artists' names, titles, and dates of their works! I thank God for the good wishes and prayers from family and friends.

A Roman Holiday

2010-12-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Dreaming is the deepest rest we get at night, or if you're like me, it's the deepest rest we get early in the morning before awakening. I was privileged to be with a unique group earlier, one of whose members was proud to have awakened at the ungodly early hour of 9:00. She usually sleeps much later, apparently. (We met at 10:30 and I was barely out of the shower and dried, so no judgments here. But that's just me.)

Depending on stage of life we're probably all pretty different when it comes to rising time and bed time. A friend of mine who has four children has had to teach them that they can stay in their beds until Mommy gets up at 6:00 when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 6. College age dictates another strategy altogether depending on when one's first class convenes.

It's difficult to keep from judging others for their habits of rising and lying down, especially those of us whose habits were formed in the agrarian traditions once associated with cow milking and field working. We know only dark o'clock as a rising time. So it's possible to engage in dreaming anytime, and for some of us, anywhere.

Paul was a dreamer, but also one of the toughest believers and hardest workers who ever lived. Most of us would never have heard of Jesus or seen a Bible had it not been for his indefatigable evangelism. Paul stayed up all night sometimes singing hymns, especially if he was in jail. Here's one he liked; why not pray it with him:

Prayer: " “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”

¹⁰ Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹ And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”

¹² And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”

During the week of the Shepherd's candle it's great to think of those shepherds who worked hard, like Paul, to bring the light of God in Christ to us. The above scripture comes to us from Romans, Paul's letter to the church in Rome. Paul may have written it dreaming of the day when all within the Empire of Rome could be ruled by the descendant of Jesse and David.

Paul envisioned an ever-widening understanding of the gospel unlimited by tribe or territory. He wrote as one who dreamed of times when those who did not have the opportunity to see Jesus for himself would read and understand. He wrote boldly, so that we may be emboldened.

Romans 15:14-21 (New International Version, ©2010)

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴ I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. ¹⁵ Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. ¹⁸ I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. ²¹ Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”

Think back for a moment to those whose work provided a foundation for your present faith. Was it a grandparent? A Sunday school teacher whose name is now forgotten to all but God? Is it a friend who invited you to accompany them to church one Christmas in the distant past of your life?

Prayer: Quietly thank God for bringing this person into your life. If you were to dedicate a hymn or a Christmas song just for them, what would it be?

(This is never a competition, but just for fun, hum the hymn or carol randomly today. For extra credit, notice whether you capture any weird looks from those around you. Don't tell them how much fun this is. Just kidding, the only extra credit is what you give yourself- just for making yourself smile!)

For further reading today,

Psalm 21

Isaiah 41:14-20

Romans 15:14-21

Peace.

Re-WHAT?

2010-12-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

December 6, 2010

Welcome to Monday. Does it seem as if it’s here awfully soon this week? It does to me. We had a weekend of art this weekend, going to San Francisco to see the Musee d’Orsay exhibit of the Post-Impressionists at the DeYoung museum on Friday, with a stop Saturday at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek for an exhibition of New Deal Art. Sunday after church I went to the Davis Art Center’s Holiday art Sale, and Monday will work at the Sac City College Holiday Art Sale. Whew! Lots and lots of art, some incredible and some not so much. Days full of art.

Suffice to say, nothing much got done around the house for three days as art sucked up every minute. I have something to say about that, but not until after today’s scripture, which features John the Baptist’s testimony. You are invited to center, light a candle, perhaps, and breathe deeply.

Prayer: “God, it is with no small amount of anticipation and yet some anxiety that we hear words that challenge us. Help us to hear the prophet, John, with our very hearts. Amen.”

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

I wonder if any of us has been called a “brood of vipers” lately, like the Pharisees and Sadducees? I don’t think prophets run around in camel hair and animal skins calling the educated professional class vipers much these days. I’m willing to overlook the insult, however, because the one thing in this scripture that really hits home with me this year is the order to repent.

In the sermon at church Sunday morning, our pastor preached about the need for worship to be passionate, and he mentioned that we will worship something (sometimes anything) for we were made to worship, even if that something is not God. Something clicked with me around this. It struck me that in some ways we worship our very busyness during this season! No, no way! Aren’t we trying to unload some of the busyness and don’t we want a more reflective, contemplative Christmastime?

Well, I don’t think we really do. At least, not on some levels. When we fill up all the days and hours we are at least partially claiming the time all to our own pursuits and away from communing with worshiping God, from abiding in the spirit of the season. It’s as if we are worshiping ourselves because it’s more important that we feel wanted, needed, and important to others.

You might say, that sounds awful! I don’t book myself solid because I want to seem important. I don’t run myself ragged because I need so much approval from others! There are just so many things I am obligated to do! Christmas won’t happen around here if I don’t work my fingers to the bone to make it so!

Well, here’s where I think John’s order to repent comes in. Repent does not only mean to ask forgiveness for a transgression, although it is a part of it. It means primarily to turn around a behavior! It means to change how you do or what you do. Tricky how this works-the Pharisees and Sadducees were those who minded the very letter of the religious laws in John’s day, and it took them literally hours to observe all the daily rituals. Something had to be cut out, and with them it was often charity and social justice issues. He wanted them to examine themselves for putting their self-satisfaction ahead of a genuine encounter with God and others. They didn’t need approval from one another, they needed it from God.

In repenting, I decided on releasing a couple of things this Christmas and I hope you will as well. Try replacing them with nothing, and invite God into the silence.

Prayer: “God of silence, I offer you the moments, hours, and days I have. I invite you to fill them with your presence always. Amen.”

Grace and Peace!

Comfort, O’ My People

2010-12-03T09:09:00.001-08:00

Spoiler: The following is the devotion for Saturday, Dec. 4^th. I am loading it early because Dan and I are going down to the Bay Area to see the Post-Impressionists at the DeYoung Museum and catch up with some old friends. I am not yet equipped to do a remote blog. Sorry! Have a great weekend, and check back in on Sunday as we light the Shepherd Candle.

December 4, 2010

It's the end of the first week in Advent, our week of "Waiting". Has it flown by in a flurry of activity or has it dragged on, slogging through frustrations and challenges? Or both? Whatever, it's Saturday and as the week of the "Prophet" makes way for the week of the "Shepherds" we arrive at that beautiful passage from Isaiah that foreshadows the Good Shepherd's arrival.

To prepare, place your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Sit tall and comfortably with hands at your side and shoulders back. While inhaling deeply, raise your arms up over your head, bringing palms together. Exhale, lowering arms back down to your side. Repeat for a total of 6.

Prayer: "Divine Love, guide me and reassure me with your word for your people today. Amen."

Comfort for God's People

¹ Comfort, comfort my people,
   says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
   and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
   that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
   double for all her sins.

³ A voice of one calling:
"In the wilderness prepare
   the way for the LORD^[a];
make straight in the desert
   a highway for our God.^[b]

⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
   every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
   the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
   and all people will see it together.
            For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

⁶ A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"

   "All people are like grass,
   and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
   Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of our God endures forever."

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
   go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[c]

   lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
   say to the towns of Judah,
   "Here is your God!"
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
   and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
   and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
   He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
   he gently leads those that have young.

Footnotes:

Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / "Prepare the way for the LORD

Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God

Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news

In the days of Isaiah, back before CalTrans or any other huge highway authority, there were no public highways linking the towns and villages of Israel. People traveled by footpaths, slogging through mud or covered in dust depending on the season. Up hill and down dale they went, until frequent usage wore a track over the most heavily traversed trails. However, if a king planned to travel, a decree would be sent out and the populace would get busy cutting through hills and filling in dales, straightening the tricky animal tracks and footpaths, widening them out in throughways worthy of the chariots and horses of royalty.

Isaiah is telling us God has to travel on a wide path, a straight road. Why, when God's rule is not about chariots? God doesn't come with a body guard, a marching band, or ranks of nobles in tow. Our God doesn't travel in ostentatious limousines fitted with bullet-proof windows.

The God we await is the Good Shepherd, and brings his own reward with him. It is the place next to him, so that we can be in relationship with him, walking in his paths, guided by his hand. At once it is both glorious and intimate, and the road he intends for us runs straight along. It goes right alongside him. On that road he will moderate our intemperance, helping us to slow down, pause, and rest when we need to. He will keep us moving when we are slogged down.

In what ways have you made your path too tricky to follow? Are there obstacles you have placed that make it impossible for God to travel by your side? Isaiah would say to get rid of them.

Prayer: "Lord, in the wilderness, I pray that you keep your comforting hand on me so that I may stay on the road you have laid out, alongside you today and always. Amen."

Go in peace.

Further reading for Saturday, Dec. 4^th:

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

John 1:19-28

Online Storytime - Alexander... Read by Judith Viorst

2010-12-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

December 3, 2010

To start today's post, you are invited to watch as Judith Viorst shares her wonderful children's book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Since it takes about 5 minutes to watch, I won't write much here. I hope it brings a smile to you, and then, as you are ready, approach the text in prayer.

Prayer: "Most loving God, we do not understand why things happen when they do, and especially not when they disrupt our ideas of a perfect holiday season. We can only trust in the promise of your word."

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." ²² Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"

²³ He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. ²⁴ The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. ²⁵ In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. ²⁶ The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

We all have asked why bad things happen to good people, or why believers have their "Jerusalem" moments. In my family, the past week has included quite a few moments. I won't go into them because mine/ours aren't any more difficult than anyone else's moments, and all things considered, we're all right. However, this particular scripture came at a very welcome time!

I think of all the opportunities our country has right now for doing justice, and evolving into a place in which God's intentions to "bind up the injuries of his people, and heal up their wounds." Come, thou long-expected Jesus! I for one can't wait to see the light as of a sevenfold sun.

Prayer: "God of light, as you promised Jerusalem, your promise in Jesus is for us in every time and every place. Making it real within us is partly up to us, coming closer to you during this season, and remembering through adversity that your realm does not mean we will never experience hardship or difficulty. Help us to draw close to you in the sure knowledge that it doesn't require everything to go perfectly in our lives for us to know your perfect love. Amen."

Further reading for today:

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Acts 13:16-25

Happy Hanukkah to our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith!

Family Job Descriptions

2010-12-01T22:45:00.001-08:00

December 2, 2010

Dan, my husband, is a very generous man. One of the many hundreds of ways he has shown me this generosity is by sharing his two sisters, Kathy and Ann, with me. At times one must absolutely have family members near and ready to live into the important roles that only those closest to us can fill. For example, at times of stress and transition our family members have unwritten "job descriptions" that contribute to the success of the family in ways that they alone are uniquely equipped to function. Christmas is another time when certain things must be done, and certain family members are tacitly assigned to do them.

Ann reported on Facebook, for instance, that she is baking cookies traditional to the Ray family. It will be important for Dan and I to have some of them out here in California, and important for our daughter, Virginia, to have some down in El Paso where she and her new husband have just moved. These historical connections stabilize us and give us the foundations we need to anchor us in place and time. They help to give us context.

As we approach Thursday's text, let's imagine what foundations we can anchor in place this season.

Prayer: "Holy God, as you have given the gift of family let us recognize the unique place we occupy within it, especially at this time of year."

Acts 1:12-17 and 21-26

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk^[a] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, "Brothers and sisters,^[b] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus….

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

s. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry."

Sometimes death, social circumstances, geographical distance, ideologies, and unfortunate events cause unwanted shifts in the make-up of family organisms. The disciples, although unrelated by blood, were a communion of sisters and brothers who had definite "job descriptions" and relied upon each other to fulfill those roles. Certain of the women supported the ministry with their social connections and financial resources. The Twelve, about whom the most is known from ancient writings, served as the nucleus of the ministry.

We notice Peter taking more initiative in Acts and stepping up in leadership now that Jesus is gone. We also notice that it is important to the group to replace Judas, to find a Twelfth in order to make the ministry whole once again.

It is important to consider the wholeness of our families and of our communities in times of stress such as that suffered by the early followers of Christ in the weeks and months after the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is important in our families here and now that the important job descriptions not go unaddressed when a family organism is disrupted.

Here's a simple Advent musing to try or not as you wish. On a little slip of paper, write three things your family used to do during this season that you miss. It can be things like cutting your own Christmas tree, baking those peculiar blue-frosted cookies, or hearing the Christmas story read aloud by your grandfather. Decide the place the item occupies in your personal, family context. If it really doesn't matter if anyone ever experienced it again, thank God for the gift it once was and let it go into the mists of Christmas past. If, on the other hand, it calls out to you as part of the context of how your family understands Christmas, ask God to help you grasp how it could be reincorporated into your practice of family Christmas here and now.

This is NOT (not, not, not) to say that you must take on a new family assignment in your already full job description. Rather, it is to suggest that opportunities exist for the Matthias and Justus within your family to step into the limelight and explore a developing role in shaping the context in which you experience this season. Could a favorite nephew read the Christmas story from the Bible? What if a son's new bride made the shortbread cookies this year? What a way to show radical hospitality in a world that God is constantly reforming! It truly would be a way of being generous.

Closing prayer: "God of movement, nothing stands still for a minute with you! As this holy season unfolds, surprise me with insights about how to help and support my family to continue to evolve while establishing stability in new and exciting ways. Help us wait for you with a forward-thinking attitude. Amen."

Oh, and just in case you were tempted to think that Dan does all the sharing around here, this is not the case. I have two challenging and wonderful semi-tough, almost-grown sons who are discovering that I am willing to share them with a very smart stepfather. But that's the subject for another discussion.

For further reading today:

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Isaiah 4:2-6

Every Day, a Door Opens

2010-11-30T19:16:00.001-08:00

December 1, 2010

This is the day that children can begin opening up the little doors of their Advent calendars. In case you never had an Advent calendar as a child, you should do yourself a favor and get one. They resemble a giant greeting card decorated with a traditional scene of Christmas nativity, winter woodland, or quaint European village. The really secular ones have Santa flanked by reindeer and elves. Every day in December, the child gets to open the tiny "door" and see a special picture or Bible verse to help them wait for Christmas while learning a bit more about the meaning of Christmas. Think of it as a kind of an Advent blog, only without the computer or smart phone.

My son, Sean, used to love the calendars as a little boy. He loved hearing the stories of shepherds, angels, and the long trip Mary took to talk to her cousin Elizabeth. Of course, part of the reason he loved the calendars was that I discovered the kind with a small chocolate candy hidden behind the tiny door. I would tell him the story for the day while he enjoyed the chocolate.

Why not put your feet up and enjoy a little chocolate or a cookie right now? Or just take 3 deep breaths to relax and begin.

Prayer: "God of Jerusalem and all other places, thank you for being our God in this place and this time. Open my heart to hear deeply your word for me today."

The Future Glory of Zion

¹ "Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.
² "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
³ For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

⁴ "Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
⁶ The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.
⁷ "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
⁸ In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

⁹ "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
¹⁰ Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

The other day when we read from Isaiah, the chapter we looked at was from his early warnings to those in power. That was signature Isaiah, that was. But here in Chapter 54 the prophet nears the end of his pronouncements, and it is time to reassure the people of Judah that the Lord has promised peace to them, that God will remember God's covenant and in time bring about all good things. If you miss this part of Isaiah and focus only on his warnings, you risk missing one of God's best promises.

God makes great claims, you see, but it's appropriate. God can turn history on its head and culture inside out. We can take it in (barely) but through Isaiah he gave us about 750 years to accustom ourselves to the idea of the complete remaking of the world in Jesus Christ.

It could be argued that we ought to have chocolate-filled calendars for every month of the year, not just December, because the magnitude of living in relation with God is so great that we humans find it staggering to take in more than a kernel of its truth at a time. It's a constant struggle to wrap our minds around what God intends for the world. We could do a little bit each day, as we are able. But, oh, wait. We have a way to do just that.

That's what prayer is for. To enter into an intimate place every day and, like the people of Israel heard from Isaiah, be reassured that on God's watch, peace will reign. God will be in charge in the end, as at the beginning. The radical promise is there, and we can count on it.

So, don't tell Sean I told you this, but when we were out shopping last week, he made me buy him another one of those chocolate-filled Advent calendars. So what if he's 19. If it takes opening one little door at a time to take it all in, fine. I'm glad Christmas is only 24 days away instead of 700-odd years.

Closing Prayer: "God of Prophets, Days, and Years, we give thanks for waiting and listening to you. Help me this day to remember your promises to your people and the peace you bring. Help me to bring peace today to those with whom I interact, so that through me a little door is opened to you. Amen."

Grace and Peace!

The rest of today's readings are:

Psalm 124

Matthew 24:23-35

My Hero!

2010-11-29T22:01:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

I threw out what I'd prepared for today's blog because something happened today that really brought home to me precisely why we need heroes in our lives, and why we need to remember that they won't usually turn out to be us. As I start over, I am conscious of the fact that I have inadvertently put myself into a place of deadline pressure with a couple of things. Wish I could delegate them, but it's just one of those things I have to do on my own. (But I'm willing to accept help…)

Prayer: "Creator God, throughout time you have stood by us in our darkness and loneliness, even the loneliness we sometimes create for ourselves. Today, help me to recall the heroes of faith who welcomed you as you stood by them in history, and remind me that it's possible for me to have the same deep faith."

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[a] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

My husband, Dan, called home around midday to ask if I'd drive into town this evening and pick him up after a little retirement party for a colleague. Usually he commutes by bus and would have taken the car this morning had he remembered the after-work gathering. Quickly thinking through the demands of my day, I said yes figuring that I'd juggle a couple of things so I could pick up a few things at the big art supply store in town and swing by a couple of other spots to get some Christmas shopping out of the way.

Delighted with my idea to transform a major inconvenience into an uber-productive afternoon, I looked up addresses, Googled locations, freeways, store hours, and mapped out a route which took me everywhere I wanted to be and would land me at the correct time at the exact intersection where I could collect Dan without having to even find a downtown parking place!

I was so proud of my planning. I dropped everything and got out the drawings, did the measurements, and made a list of items to look for at the art supply store. I coordinated with Sean about dinner, which he would have to catch for himself, and loaded my portfolio. I made sure my phone and glasses were in my bag along with the printed directions with all the destinations and the accompanying map.

I arrived at the art supply store 5 minutes ahead of schedule, knew precisely what to ask for, and got a great young salesperson to show me where it all was. I shopped and shopped, comparing matboard colors, hinging tape, and acid-free sleeves for my drawings. Everything I could have wanted! Took it all up to the front counter, and…NO WALLET. No cash, no checks, no debit card, no credit card. Zip. Nada. Zilch. They were all still on the counter from this morning's cyber-Monday online foray.

The sympathetic clerk's first response was to hope the wallet hadn't been stolen or lost. Then he suggested that I try calling home to see if Sean could read me a card number, and offered to process the purchase on faith that I wasn't some flake. Think of it. No identification, nothing which would've proven I had a right to use a string of non-sequential numbers relayed from an unidentified faceless source through an unidentified frazzled stranger to an unidentified card center somewhere at the other end of a point-of-sale terminal. But Sean had left for class already and it was useless.

At first it didn't sink in about how powerless I was. Then I started to shake, realizing I was suddenly wearing goatskin, was being stoned, jeered at, and attacked by foreign armies. I was as weak as a shorn Samson. Without that wallet, not only could I not pay for my purchase, I couldn't lawfully even drive my car on the street to go and pick up Dan. I had a dollar in my coin purse, no driver license, and my cell phone was on low battery. I wasn't just wearing goatskin, I was the goat. I had ceased to be a governmentally recognized person. I was Zip, Nada, Zilch.

Sitting alone in the parked car, the undone tasks were transformed in my mind into insurmountable obstacles that proved the truth of every harsh criticism I'd ever heard from an exacting teacher, parent, or boss. Fool! Fatal thinking took me from a place of mere inconvenience to being convinced I'd be arrested and jailed. And not only would I be jailed, I'd be convicted of being…IMPERFECT.

Of course, the truth of the story is that, as the author of the letter to the Hebrews recounted, there are plenty of heroes who have gone before us who have been…IMPERFECT, thank you very much. Heroes who have worn the goatskin, who've been weak, who've faced foreign armies, and have been intimidated. But, they have also faced down lions, they have escaped over the wall on a rope and a prayer, they have been glorified (and never due to their own prowess, superior planning, or courage) and triumphed.

We are here as they were, to triumph in our weakness because we are the people whose power comes from the weakness of an infant. One day closer to the moment of miracle we are.

Heroes? It's not luxurious or easy, but Jesus shows us how by being the favorite and best heroes in a long line of heroes whose examples really give meaning to the word. My Hero!

And on the local stage, my hero is the guy who is taking the car in to work tomorrow so he can buy all the art supplies I have on hold. He's the guy who is grinding tomorrow's breakfast coffee so I can write this. My hero! I'm so grateful we have both kinds.

Prayer: "Heavenly Mother and Father God, you have given us so many examples of heroic faith: Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtah, David, Samuel, and the prophets of old and of today. You've given us Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Henri Nouwen, and so many other faith models. All have relied on you for courage and sustenance. As we continue our waiting for the Christ, be with us as you were with them. Amen."

Go in peace, brother and sister heroes!

Just Hanging Around?

2010-11-28T16:33:00.001-08:00

Monday, November 29

Waiting. It can be described as bide, bide one's time, cool it, dally, fill time, hang around, hang onto your hat, hold everything, hold on, hold the phone, hole up, keep shirt on, lie in wait, lie low, look for, look forward to, mark time, put on hold, save it, sit tight, sit up for, stand by, stay up for, stick around, or sweat it. To us as we anticipate Christmas, less than four weeks away, it may mean wanting to cry out, "Wait! Not so fast! I'm not ready yet!"

To release that little jolt of anxiety, let's breathe it out in one big collective cyber-sigh as we invite the holy spirit to replace it with peace.

Prayer: "God, waiting just seems as if we are doing nothing productive. There are so many things on my task list, how can I wait patiently? Help me rest in your presence during this time and remember that you are at work in and around me now."

Genesis 8:6-12

⁶ After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark ⁷ and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. ⁹ But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. ¹⁰ He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹ When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. ¹² He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

We all know the story of Noah and the Ark. It's one that is told throughout the church at all age levels from nursery to adult Bible studies to seminary Old Testament classes. It carries great importance as the story of the first covenant that God ever established with humans and other living creatures, a premise that is absolutely necessary for us to learn if we are to attempt to grasp what it means to fully accept the steadfast, unfailing love God has for us.

But if we will let it, it also has something to teach us about waiting. "Forty days and forty nights", in old Hebrew, was understood to mean not a literal span of days and nights but an unspecified, protracted length of time. Noah and his party could have been isolated on the Ark for three months, or a month, or eight and a half weeks. We don't know.

Noah didn't know either. He was there, "in the moment", so to speak, and could not predict the exact point at which the rain would cease, the floods would abate, or the land become livable once again. It makes me wonder which definition of waiting he would have chosen to describe his situation. Did he feel "put on hold", the way we are when calling the phone company? Was he "keeping his shirt on" as we are sometimes made to feel while waiting at the DMV? Or even "lying low", perhaps waiting for a family squabble to pass, the way some of us might have felt around family members on Thanksgiving day?

As I think about his sending out first the raven, then later the dove, to search for signs of dry land, I think he may have experienced a jolt of anxiety. "Wait! Not so fast! I'm not ready yet!" After all, up until that point, his tasks had been very well-defined for him, down to the precise design and measurements of the Ark, and whom he was to take on board and care for, and what he was to provide for them to eat.

After they landed, the instructions were less clear. He and his family were to find a world completely changed from anything they had previously known. How would they function in a totally reimagined environment? When he saw the dove carrying the olive branch back to the Ark, did the enormity of his future settle on him with dread, or with excitement?

One thing we can know for certain. While Noah waited, however he waited, God was active as God is always active. God is constantly on the move, fulfilling God's purposes, whether we are biding our time, dallying, or hanging on to our hat in breathless anticipation.

The coming of Jesus means a world completely changed from anything previously known. It means a totally reimagined environment. The enormity of such a future means that God is moving, and we may very well say, "Wait! Not so fast! I'm not ready yet!"

That's why we prepare over these not-quite four weeks. Like Noah, we're stepping off the gangplank into a miracle. It does take time and thoughtfulness to process.

Prayer: "Ever-moving God, waiting means different things at different times to everyone. Let me wait in excitement but engage in doing what needs doing to prepare for a world that is totally reimagined. Let me not waste a moment of this season but let me work alongside your purposes, Amen."

Blessings on your processing!

The full scriptures for Monday, Nov. 29^th are:

Psalm 124

Genesis 8:1-19

Romans 6:1-11

Who’s a “Yes” Man?

2010-11-27T21:25:00.001-08:00

First Sunday in Advent, Nov. 28, 2010

The theme this week as we enter the first week of Advent is "Waiting". Those who observe the custom of lighting the Advent wreath light the first purple or blue candle, the candle that, for many people, signifies "hope". Tradition sometimes also refers to this first candle as the "prophet" candle. In keeping with that thought, today we'll check in with the Shakespeare of the Old Testament, the prophet, Isaiah. But first, why not pause and breathe a few deep breaths to center and relax. Ready?

Prayer: "Divine Love, be with us as we consider waiting and wondering how you might be reaching out to us through Isaiah's words. What would you want us to change today?"

Isaiah 2:1-5

¹The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

²In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. ³Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. ⁴He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. ⁵O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!

On the heels of the mid-term elections, it is easy to be concerned for the future of our state and of our federal government. We are in a time of partisanship that will not be overcome easily. Harsh and bitter things were said by candidates and pundits alike; the negative campaign ads flooded our airwaves. Coming into the winter of the year with the potential for more disagreements and gridlock come January, hope seems elusive.

Yet Isaiah was no stranger to political conflict. He walked the corridors of power in the kingdom of Judah, and was not a "yes man", instead speaking out to kings as well as commoners. Despite living during a time of optimism, he spoke of the folly of putting all the government's trust in military might and pagan gods rather than trusting in God. People of power didn't care to hear what he had to say.

Here's a question to take with you today as we all begin to imagine what it might be like to be a "yes-man" (or woman) to God instead of to the "kings" and pundits of our day.

As we wait for Christ's coming, how can I pay attention to God's paths today? What pagan "gods" must I set aside today in order to live a little bit more in the light?

Try sitting with the question for a moment or two and see what possibilities arise for you. When you are ready, you are invited to pray.

Closing Prayer: "God, we don't know the exact time when the peaceful kingdom will arrive. Only you know when you will completely and perfectly bring about your purpose. As we wait, help us work for peace in the world and cooperation together. Amen."

For further reading, these are the rest of today's scriptures:

Go in peace!

Playing with Matches-Lighting the Advent Wreath for Families

2010-11-27T18:29:00.001-08:00

The following readings are from the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. and are offered as ideas you can incorporate if you are including children in your Advent Sunday candle lighting.

The readings are ecumenical in nature and can be used by any denomination without fear of being struck by a bolt of lightning. Just be safe with the matches. Remember, you are not on Myth Busters.

Lighting the Advent Candles with Children

This set of readings for the lighting of the Advent candles is based on texts from the Revised Common Lectionary, and is offered for general use with children, in public worship or at home. At each successive lighting of the candles, all texts from the preceding lightings are read in addition to the text introduced that day.

At the beginning of each lighting of the candles:

We give thanks for the light of Christ, shining in the lives of all God's people.

On the First Sunday of Advent, and at successive lightings:

With the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, we watch and wait for the coming of Christ who will bring light and peace to all the world. Light the first candle.

On the Second Sunday of Advent, and at successive lightings:

With John the Baptist, we cry out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord!

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Light the second candle.

On the Third Sunday of Advent, and at successive lightings:

With Mary, the mother of Jesus, we rejoice,

for the Mighty One has done great things for us.

How holy is God's name! Light the third candle.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and at successive lightings:

With Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we tell the story of Jesus, the child of Bethlehem, who came to save us, and is coming again in glory. Light the fourth candle.

On the eve of Christmas, or on Christmas Day:

With the choirs of angels, we sing: "Glory to God in the highest,

and peace to all people on earth!" Light the center candle.

On each occasion the lighting of the candles may be concluded with the following song, to the tune "Frere Jacques":

Light of Jesus (echo: light of Jesus), show the way (show the way). Shine in us forever (shine in us forever); this we pray (this we pray).

Blessings to you and your families as we begin our Advent journey!

2010-11-26T17:58:00.001-08:00

Advent Journey on Quicksilver Art and Spirit – a Preview

Welcome.

Beginning on Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010, this blogspace will be dedicated to encouraging rest and renewal for all of us uber-productive, over-extended, and busy people as we approach and experience Christmas.

The term "Advent" comes from the Latin "Adventus" which means approach, onset, or coming. It's the 4 week period that begins the new church calendar every year as we prepare for Christ's birth, and its daily observance can help us to return our focus from the rush and worry of the holiday season to the wonder and mystery of Christmas.

Amid all the demands of this season, I could use some time for quiet thoughtfulness just to help take in the miracle of God's choosing to live among us. If you're reading this, perhaps you could, too.

Hopefully, reading a scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary* each day will come to feel like a welcome break or a moment spent with an old friend. I pray it won't feel like just one more task on an already too-long "to-do" list. Each day's posting will show the references for each scripture of the day, but will only include text that supports each week's themes and each day's topic. If you want to take the time to read all of a particular day's texts, that's up to you. My intention is to make each day's post a little chance to breathe and renew.

From time to time I'll suggest an activity that might help the scripture open up a bit more or help you to move a little more deeply into it. Nothing touchy-feely here and nothing too challenging. Again, all voluntary. Give yourself permission to try new things and experiment. Think of the activities like little spiritual stocking-stuffers you can give yourself. Keep your sense of humor-it's part of what distinguishes us as being created in God's image, after all!

Finally, each day's post will conclude with a short prayer. On Sundays, you might want to use it as you light your Advent candles, if that's a part of your tradition. (Note: More on Advent wreaths as we go along, or check out the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's website http://www.elca.org and search for "Advent Wreath" for a succinct explanation.)

So, check it out beginning this Sunday; doesn't matter what time. The posting is not specific to morning, evening, or in between so feel free to make it when it's convenient to you. Comment if you like, or send me a message at dori.marshall@gmail.com if you like.

I'm looking forward to traveling together!

*For more on the Revised Common Lectionary, its member denominations, and history, here are a couple of websites you might enjoy exploring:

http://www.commontexts.org/

http://pcusa.org/

Channeling Martha Stewart

2010-11-24T23:22:00.000-08:00

The decision was made at about 4:00 on Wednesday afternoon. We will eat Thanksgiving dinner at home, so we were one of the couples cramming the overflowing parking lot of our local supermarket during rush hour. The turkey we got is not organic, is not fresh-killed, free-range, or anything else I would've imagined. In fact, it's a regular old Norbest, and we won't even be brining it since it's already carrying a load of injected broth and seasonings. At this moment it is sitting in an ice chest in the garage, thawing. We hope.

All this because the damn Chinese restaurants are closed. Which makes me grateful to note today's New Testament reading:

John 6:25-35

[28] Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works
of God?" [29] Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you
believe in him whom he has sent." [30] So they said to him, "What sign
are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?
What work are you performing? [31] Our ancestors ate the manna in the
wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to
eat.'" [32] Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was
not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who
gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is
that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." [34]
They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." [35] Jesus said to
them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be
hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

So on the menu is turkey, sweet potatoes, corn bread & bacon dressing, peas, creamed onions, with pumpkin flan for dessert. But at the center of the feast will be the assurance that this is not the food that really gives us life. It's only the food that gets us through life.

So if you're headed out for Chinese today and are disappointed to find the restaurants closed, here are two things you might want to note:

1. It's not about the food anyway (and)
2. We have plenty. C'mon over.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Short Isn't Stupid

2010-11-23T22:16:00.001-08:00

This Thanksgiving, I have so much for which I can be thankful. Foremost is that it is Dan's and my first Thanksgiving together as a family. Since we are basically foodies you could be forgiven for thinking that we are spending our hours leading up to the holiday debating the finer points of feast preparation. Fresh-killed turkey? Organic or conventionally raised? An heirloom species from a specialty turkey ranch? To brine or not to brine? High-temp fast roast vs. conventional roasting method? Cheesecloth covering or basting like Grandma used to do?

But, NNNNOOOOOOOO. As foodies, those discussions were all treasured parts of our courting time and shared cooking experiences together. Arriving at good conclusions together was a satisfying way of bonding. We used those talks and table times to build our relationship early on.

Today's scripture from Luke calls attention to the opportunity Jesus often used to build relationships around the table. Check it out-

Luke 19:1-10

[1] He entered Jericho and was passing through it. [2] A man was
there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. [3]
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he
could not, because he was short in stature. [4] So he ran ahead and
climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that
way. [5] When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."
[6] So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. [7] All who saw
it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who
is a sinner." [8] Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look,
half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have
defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." [9]
Then Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house,
because he too is a son of Abraham. [10] For the Son of Man came to
seek out and to save the lost."

Zacchaeus offered Jesus hospitality without hesitation, demonstrating that one of the ways we bond is to offer the hospitality of our company, of our time, of our attention, and sometimes of our table. It strikes me that Jesus also offered Zacchaeus a certain kind of hospitality by showing confidence in his ability to welcome him, the Son of Man, to his home and table. Zacchaeus joyfully received Jesus' company as well as his salvation.

I know that the way we live when we are lost is worlds different from the way we live once we have bonded in those most special relationships: with our lover, with our family, and most certainly with the divine. Zacchaeus certainly discovered it.

Or, to quote my Art History professor, "Short isn't stupid." So we're debating going out for Chinese on Thanksgiving and gazing into each others eyes over the dim sum. What could be better?

It Has Begun

2010-11-21T23:22:00.000-08:00

Luke 18:18-25

[18] A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?" [19] Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me
good? No one is good but God alone. [20] You know the commandments:
'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not
steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and
mother.'" [21] He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth."
[22] When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing
lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." [23] But
when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. [24] Jesus
looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to
enter the kingdom of God! [25] Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.

Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday. In the Christian year, it is the last Sunday before we transition into advent and the new year on the Christian calendar. On the secular calendar, it is the week of Thanksgiving. It is also the week of Black Friday, when the holiday shopping season traditionally begins. For many, a day of feasting and family is followed by a weekend of football and snack-inspired torpor or a marathon of consumerism.

It is no accident that this week was also chosen for the new Harry Potter movie release. Many schools are closed for the week and college students are home to visit family. Dollars flow through the box offices everywhere.

My family joined in and contributed our fair share to the ongoing success of the saga. Although we are trying to reign in our spending and teach ourselves to live more simply, an occasional movie out seems like a small indulgence.

I must say, though, it seems as if this whole ramping up to Thanksgiving and the ensuing Christmas season is more frenzied this year than in past years. Black Friday prices are already on offer at our favorite retailers. Is there more anxiety in the air because of pressure from the economy? Or is it just more noticeable because of our efforts to be more discerning about spending money in accordance with our values?

I think something Jesus may have been asking the rich young man to do was move away from the practices he had long known, which he'd done by rote all his life. Instead, the young man was asked to try looking at his world in a different way, a way that frightened and dismayed him.

The season's demand for our consumer dollars has begun. What has yet to be determined is how we will respond to that demand.

I'm counting on getting the camel to heaven by way of Bethlehem. Yes, I know I mangled the metaphor, but I'm really looking forward this year to having some moments of rest and contemplation around the scriptures rather than driving myself into a frenzy trying to make a holiday "perfect" by someone else's standards.

Prayer of the Heart

2010-11-19T23:33:00.000-08:00

Luke 18:9-14

[9] He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: [10] "Two
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus,
'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week;
I give a tenth of all my income.' [13] But the tax collector, standing
far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast
and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' [14] I tell you, this
man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who
exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will
be exalted."

This passage from our Lectionary reading today reminds me of the "Jesus Prayer", also known as the "Prayer of the Heart". It is said to have originated in Eastern tradition by a Christian pilgrim on the journey of a lifetime to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Whether created as a rhythmic accompaniment to his plodding footsteps or to lend strength and cadence to his measured breathing, it certainly seems to have been inspired by the divine.

Perhaps in its most simple form it is, today, the most sublime for the postmodern Christian:

"Jesus Christ, Son of God
Have mercy on me, a sinner."

I have learned that the lines of the prayer can be repeated silently according to the rhythm of the inflowing and outflowing of the breath. It is particularly grounding in the context of daily prayer, reminding us of prayer's purest essentials.

The sinner in the passage we just saw needs his Creator, and his Redeemer. The Spirit prompts him to recall that his great need dictates the simplest possible prayer.

We will enter the season of Advent one week from this coming Sunday. Many people, myself included, wonder how during this restless and busy season, we will have time to rest in communion with the Holy Love. Perhaps if we recall the humble pilgrim, and the repentant sinner in the back of the temple, we can pray the simple prayer and be comforted.

"Jesus Christ, Son of God,
Have mercy on me."

You are invited to be a part of the pilgrimage through Advent. Join me every day on this site beginning November 28 for a few minutes of sacred space and time to reflect on daily scripture readings from the Common Lectionary as we approach Christmas, its lovely mystery, and the opportunity it gives us for renewal and spiritual refreshment.

50 and Launching

2010-11-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

This morning on Good Morning America, host Robin Roberts interviewed Denzel Washington, Valerie Bertinelli, Dr. Oz, Patricia Heaton, and Amy Grant to get some feedback and advice on turning 50.

To a person, all of these celebrities remarked on the great blessing it is to enjoy the ages that they are right now. The story also emphasizes the amazing, wonderful people we find in this particular age range.

Having experienced "agism" in my last church position, I can only embrace what Meryl Streep once said.

Paraphrasing, "The forties are the old age of our youth. The fifties are the youth of our old age."

Every day makes a difference. May it be so today!

Pen and Ink...and Angst

2010-10-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

The class assignments this week would have been so much easier had I just worked ploddingly, diligently, and faithfully day after day. Instead, I missed two classes and didn't work for a week due to daughter's wedding followed by an illness.

Had I realized what I was letting myself in for, I could have just asked for death by firing squad.

The work I missed in my Art History class was hard enough: 2 days' worth of slide lectures from the Fauves to Kandinsky. Post-Impressionism to the first genuine Abstract Expressionist. Okay, I can deal with that.

In Pen-and-Ink class, however, I missed out on two major projects, one which could have been done with a team in class. The big one was to do a BIG pen-and-ink drawing, minimum of 11"x14" but preferably something more along the lines of 36"x24". Okay, I can deal with that. I got a huge slice of paper and brought it home with me, and I have just the picture in mind.

What I was totally unprepared for was producing a copy of a master drawing: selecting a well-known artist (Rembrandt, Durer, Michelangelo, Manet, Van Gogh, etc.) and reproducing AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE stroke for stroke a drawing of theirs, down to the last detail, color of ink, color of paper, etc. Okay, I can deal with that too.

Not so easy.

Looking on line and through all my art and drawing books I realized how badly this assignment was going to kick my butt. Every artist of every era of any reputation whatever was a master draughtsman. Intellectually, I knew this before I signed up for a drawing class. It was precisely for this reason that I chose the class, so that I could be challenged to sharpen my skills and really stretch as a draughtsman.

Intellectually, it makes sense that artists throughout the ages have learned by copying their betters.

If you examine what most master artists have left behind them in the museums of the world, for every oil painting or finished sculpture there are literally hundreds of drawings whether they be in pencil, chalk, pastel, or...pen-and-ink. One cannot be a master artist without first submitting the ego to the battery it takes to learn to draw. It was my ego's turn today.

So after being well and thoroughly intimidated by all the pictures by Goya, Raphael, Millet, and all the rest I figured I ought to turn to an artist whose work I enjoy so much that, if I managed to produce a credible copy, I would look forward to having it on my wall as a reminder of the labor required to perfect my art.

Van Gogh. That stinkin', crazy, lopsided, quirky-handed, mad-eyed, looney-tune who searched throughout his life for someone to admire and buy his work. That inimitable, curly-pen-stroking lover of country scenes made convoluted by the wild way he saw the world. That angst-ridden, up-in-the-night bi-polar guy who ate yellow paint. Yep. Him.

He's the one whose drawing I copied. And he kicked my butt. Thanks, Vincent, for the genius. I will awaken every morning for the rest of my life a humbler artist, certainly more learned and a much better person for the experience trying to follow in your blue penstrokes. I will put our drawings up on my studio wall as a reminder that there is always something more to strive for, more to achieve, and more to attempt. I will celebrate what you accomplished in your short life, knowing that there is no way I could ever produce a Vincent Van Gogh.

I will also take comfort in knowing that it was enough for you to have produce them, and that it is now my job to learn to produce the best artwork by Doriene Marshall that I can produce in whatever time is left to me.

No, I don't get how you held your pen or how you saw the world, but that's OK. I just hope I have the chance to run into you someday and you can tell me yourself.

See the LInk; Take Action

2010-10-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.yesforstateparks.com/?utm_source=gsearch&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=parkstarget

Art for Art's Sake-Parks for Parks' Sake

2010-10-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

It is indeed affirming to hear one's husband at the ripe old age of fifty-something claim that he will buy a bumper sticker for the family car that reads, "My Wife is an Honor Student at Sacramento City College". Never mind that these bumper stickers are a figment of his imagination and he would, as a member of California State Parks department, be better served (but possibly in violation of the law)to display a "Yes on 21" bumper sticker.

Next Tuesday is the day when most of us have the opportunity to vote in the 2010 Mid-Term elections. On a personal level, what it means to me and my incredible husband of 5 months is that we Californians have the opportunity to achieve much that is good and noble and real for an undeniably unique environment here on the Left Coast. It means we may be able to strike a claim to a place for our children and grandchildren in a wonderfully amazing site that they and their generations will be able to appreciate as we and those who preceded us have done.

As much as I have studied and adore the art of Europe and owe my bumper sticker to learning the paintings of France, England, and Germany, if I were to stop and give homage to the paintings of the West I would have to humbly confess that the places and times laid down on canvas back there could never be more beautiful, more stunning, or more compelling than the images rendered here in the great vistas of the West. California, from the places of the missions to the mining camps and the coasts, the sloughs where countless Eastern hopefuls panned for gold, and the undefiled tracts in which wildlife is still unfettered. It is the hope of generations, the hope of our past and future.

I used to think that the ideal sojourn would be in Paris, London, Venice, or Munich. Yes, well, it would be grand. But to this fifty-something art student San Francisco, Pasadena, and Los Angeles seem equally compelling. And that's not only because of the world-class museums in those cities. It's also due to the opportunities we Californians have of experiencing nature, the art of our creator, first-hand in our astonishing state. I humbly hope and pray that by this time next week, our precious public California parklands will be forever protected and taken out of play of a capricious legislative budgetary football game.

If you never studied art or art history, and you are a Californian, please educate yourself about the places in our state that truly are our Creator's works of art. Plan to vote next Tuesday, Nov. 2nd, in favor of Proposition 21, to create a funding source which supports parks, wildlife, and an endowment of natural beauty for generations to come.

Get the bumper sticker.

An Inky Pinky

2010-09-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

Vincent Van Gogh (who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1890) wrote copious letters to his adoring brother, Theo. About a year before the above-noted self-inflicted death, and right around the same time he was painting his contemplative "Starry Night" while in the asylum Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, he wrote the following:

"Perhaps death is not the hardest thing in a painter's life...[L]looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as I dream over the black dots representing the towns and villages on a map. Why, I ask myself, shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star."

My one practical studio art class this semester is Pen-and-Ink Drawing, which incorporates lecture and lab periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's a good thing I have it; insanity could prevail without it as an expressive outlet. On the other hand, insanity might prevail anyway just because I have it as an expressive outlet. Something I have always found liberating about art is the expressiveness that develops the more one gets familiar with a set of skills in a particular medium. Something that drives me insane is the frustration of failing repeatedly while learning to be expressive in an unfamiliar medium.

So it is with pen and ink. I met the Speedball pen and crowquill pen, which have to be dipped or filled from a bottle of what once was known as India ink. I practiced calligraphy as early as the seventh grade, and earned ten cents a piece by lettering all the junior high achievement certificates for our year-end assembly while I was forced to stay at home, recovering from red measles. In later life I have inscribed countless bibles given to countless Sunday school students with Schafer cartridge pens. Ditto baptismal certificates, deacons and elders ordinations, and sundry volunteer recognition certificates.

I never particularly gave much thought to drawing with pen and ink as an artistic expression. Artists like Durer or Daumier used it to great effect, but I mistakenly thought that a serious artist would only use the medium to sketch or plan the great paintings which would make the mark in history for that artist. After all, how many times was I told throughout years of artistic struggle that a drawing was only a plan, never a finished piece of art?

I am coming to discover that this assumption is not true; not true for artists or the viewers of art in post modern times. Not true for me, either, and thank you to Isabel Shaskan for teaching a motley group of community college students that dipping a pen into a pot of ink can take an artist to dots on maps like trains take us to Rouen or cars convey us to a picnic in the Sierras.

Even to the stars if we so choose. That's what happens when we fall in love with an outlet for our inner Creative, that part of ourselves that is the truest representation of God. I think that may be a pale insight into what happens when God creates, as well.

In his lifelong struggle with art and with religion, Van Gogh is often remembered for his pain, much of which was due to pushing himself against the limits of the art of his day, and trying amazing new things in expressing himself in a medium that he never felt he mastered. Shooting for the moon.

Unfortunately, he could never have heard Les Brown's advice a century later:

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars."

It's hard to tell, when embroiled in the struggle against our own limitations how landing among the stars could be even remotely possible. Yet it is done. The possibility keeps me going back to the pen and ink bottle, in motley communion every Tuesday and Thursday, hoping to land among the stars.

Quicksilver Art and Spirit

Picasso-Face Lunch

Coming of Age

"Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and yo

"Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."- James 5:11

u have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."- James 5:11

Popeye and the Westminster Catechism

Westminster Catechism

Jesus Predicts His Death

Reflections on Art, Fun, and Friends

You Deserve a Break Today

Bites and Mouthfuls

Clean Food Reflections

Told You So

Reconciling Sunday

Off the Shelf

Sabbath Time

N.A.M.I. Yolo County Sunflower Art Competition

Some Like It Hot

Real Snacks, Real Age, Real Beauty

Out of Sight, Out of My Mind

Presentation: The "Ta-Dah!" on the Table

Seriously, Take This to HeART

Specialty of the House

You Say Po-TAY-to, I Say Po-TAH-to

MUFA's

Susan's Beautiful Breakfast

So Much Easier Than the Food Pyramid

News Flash!

This is Not a Bowl of Cherries

Beauty is in the Bowl of the Beholder

The Next Blog Project

Going to the Fair!

Small but Mighty

So Many Clouds, so Few Bunny Rabbits

Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating

New Images Up

Children of Light

Time for Blessing

The Candle of Christ

Christmas Day

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

Isaiah Got it Right

Isaiah 9

The Eve of Christmas Eve

David’s Prayer

It Was the End of Times, It Was the Beginning of Times...

I Promise

Genesis 21

The Birth of Isaac

Pictures vs. Words

Matthew 1:18-25 (New International Version, ©2010)

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

The Arm Bone’s Connected to the Wrist Bone…

All in the Family

The Law or Faith?

Out of that Sickbed!

River from the Temple

Hanging out at Solomon’s

Mary’s Magnificat

Not Forgotten

Déjà vu All Over Again

Dream a Little Dream

Well, All Things Considered…

A Roman Holiday

Romans 15:14-21 (New International Version, ©2010)

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

Re-WHAT?

Comfort, O’ My People

Online Storytime - Alexander... Read by Judith Viorst

Family Job Descriptions

Every Day, a Door Opens

My Hero!

Just Hanging Around?

Who’s a “Yes” Man?

Playing with Matches-Lighting the Advent Wreath for Families

Channeling Martha Stewart

Short Isn't Stupid

It Has Begun

"Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."

- James 5:11

u have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."

- James 5:11