m&m
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
2011 and my 7th year being back "home" in three hills. HOME. i still have those moments where it does not seem so, altho i am realizing they have been less frequent than they once were. i am blessed by so much here in our small town home, truly wonderful friends, a grammie & papa who are near and always up for a visit from the wee milo if we need them (a HUGE blessing!!!), a steady and well paying job for sean that allows us certain flexibilities that we wouldn't have if he was working elsewhere...i find it so easy sometimes to get caught up in negative thoughts, not choosing to see clearly all of this amazing-ness that surrounds me each and every day...amazing-ness, yes i am aware...not a word....but seriously. amazing, and something i have been making a more concerted effort to notice throughout the day. i am surrounded and supported by a network of unbelievable friends, new & old who are always willing to lend a hand, a video camera, hot rollers, a gps, whatever it is that may be needed @ any given moment.....haha. those middle one's were very specific THANKS ERIN, you saved my life more than once this summer! social networking, a brilliant tool for getting your hands on things you need in mere moments.
this summer was one filled to the very brim with events. 6 weddings, a family reunion, a new niece AND a new nephew. that's a lot! along with these events came the joy of reuniting with old friends and the pain of saying goodbye when things came to a close. our home had an open door and our spare rooms were full for a majority of the summer. i thoroughly enjoy having guests. sharing meals and conversation.
c o m m u n i t y .
yet another positive to social networking, friends.....scattered across the globe, still close. i often think about how amazing it would have been had we had such things while growing up. skyping with grandparents, facebooking cousins from afar...i did have pen pals. and, I LOVED having pen pals. likely why facebook & such has been such a positive thing in my life. i am thankful for every friend near and far. thankful for skype and being able to see my dear friend ang's face while she sits @ her computer in israel & i at mine, here in our home town of three hills. i am thankful for my cell phone and daily text's from erica. ha. i hadn't meant for this post to turn into an ode to social media and technology : )
i currently await sean's arrival home from an evening shift @ the plant.
tomorrow is a new day...
a new day in this place i call HOME.
this summer was one filled to the very brim with events. 6 weddings, a family reunion, a new niece AND a new nephew. that's a lot! along with these events came the joy of reuniting with old friends and the pain of saying goodbye when things came to a close. our home had an open door and our spare rooms were full for a majority of the summer. i thoroughly enjoy having guests. sharing meals and conversation.
c o m m u n i t y .
yet another positive to social networking, friends.....scattered across the globe, still close. i often think about how amazing it would have been had we had such things while growing up. skyping with grandparents, facebooking cousins from afar...i did have pen pals. and, I LOVED having pen pals. likely why facebook & such has been such a positive thing in my life. i am thankful for every friend near and far. thankful for skype and being able to see my dear friend ang's face while she sits @ her computer in israel & i at mine, here in our home town of three hills. i am thankful for my cell phone and daily text's from erica. ha. i hadn't meant for this post to turn into an ode to social media and technology : )
i currently await sean's arrival home from an evening shift @ the plant.
tomorrow is a new day...
a new day in this place i call HOME.
a glimpse of my g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y .
st stephen. ft mcmurray. tel aviv. three hills.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
in search of silence...
these last few days my mind has felt noisy...i have found it difficult to focus on the positive. this dissatisfaction welling up within. my*SELF getting in the way of myself. AGAIN. i took a moment last night while sitting with sean on our front step naming the positives and attempting to find a clearer picture of what it is that creates this restlessness. this need for change. i am quite sure much of this turmoil has little to do with where i am at geographically, and much more to do with my heart. i do believe that location can indeed affect us...but fundamentally, when it comes down to it, the attitude we choose to have towards our surroundings, the people in our lives, our circumstances, hold so much more importance. i know in the past when i have deliberately made time for prayerful silence amidst the business of my day, despite the chaos within my mind...there i have found peace. i am re-reading a book, POUSTINIA by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, which has been lost in my basement for the last several years. it focuses on this topic. below are a few of my favorite excerpts from the book.
"It is because man is fundamentally spirit-open to the absolute of the Divine-that he is always dissatisfied, in one manner or another, with all created reality. Nature is not divine. It is only a sign of God, a cry toward God."
"True silence is the search of man for God. True silence is a suspension bridge that a soul in love with God builds to cross the dark, frightening gullies of its own mind, the strange chasms of temptation, the depth-less precipices of its own fears that impede it's way to God."
"But how, really, can one achieve such solitude? By standing still! Stand still, and allow the strange, deadly restlessness of our tragic age to fall away like the worn-out, dusty cloak that it is-a cloak that was once considered the magic carpet to tomorrow, but now in reality we see it for what it is: a running away from oneself, a turning from that journey inward that all men must undertake to meet God dwelling within the depths of their souls."
for as long as i can remember autumn has always felt like a new beginning to me...despite the leaves falling and dying, despite the knowledge that cold months of winter are near. maybe it's because i am a winter person. i long for that first blanket of snow, cozy mornings snuggled up with milo & a cup of tea on the couch. it is my intent to seek out more moments of silence in my days, to allow my mind to rest and to see where this new season takes me.
these last few days my mind has felt noisy...i have found it difficult to focus on the positive. this dissatisfaction welling up within. my*SELF getting in the way of myself. AGAIN. i took a moment last night while sitting with sean on our front step naming the positives and attempting to find a clearer picture of what it is that creates this restlessness. this need for change. i am quite sure much of this turmoil has little to do with where i am at geographically, and much more to do with my heart. i do believe that location can indeed affect us...but fundamentally, when it comes down to it, the attitude we choose to have towards our surroundings, the people in our lives, our circumstances, hold so much more importance. i know in the past when i have deliberately made time for prayerful silence amidst the business of my day, despite the chaos within my mind...there i have found peace. i am re-reading a book, POUSTINIA by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, which has been lost in my basement for the last several years. it focuses on this topic. below are a few of my favorite excerpts from the book.
"It is because man is fundamentally spirit-open to the absolute of the Divine-that he is always dissatisfied, in one manner or another, with all created reality. Nature is not divine. It is only a sign of God, a cry toward God."
"True silence is the search of man for God. True silence is a suspension bridge that a soul in love with God builds to cross the dark, frightening gullies of its own mind, the strange chasms of temptation, the depth-less precipices of its own fears that impede it's way to God."
"But how, really, can one achieve such solitude? By standing still! Stand still, and allow the strange, deadly restlessness of our tragic age to fall away like the worn-out, dusty cloak that it is-a cloak that was once considered the magic carpet to tomorrow, but now in reality we see it for what it is: a running away from oneself, a turning from that journey inward that all men must undertake to meet God dwelling within the depths of their souls."
for as long as i can remember autumn has always felt like a new beginning to me...despite the leaves falling and dying, despite the knowledge that cold months of winter are near. maybe it's because i am a winter person. i long for that first blanket of snow, cozy mornings snuggled up with milo & a cup of tea on the couch. it is my intent to seek out more moments of silence in my days, to allow my mind to rest and to see where this new season takes me.
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