The Characters of God

My spot, my pop as a Christmas Missionary, as an Animal Ambassador, and as a connoisseur of Comfort & Yoga got me thinking about God, God as one God yet three characters.

The Father is The Love. The Son, Jesus, is The Wonderful. The Spirit is The Comforter. And I think these three characters that are actually names of God provide us with a root in the impossible, in the realm of cozy hope, and in the outrageous and no matter what hug of love.

I see The Wonderful described in stories like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, where fairies and flying and talking animals and miracles are completely normal!

I see The Comforter in offering cozy refreshment in the form of blankets, of comfort food, of warmth, of watching movies together on the couch.

I see The Love in the form of my husband and his compassion towards all his children, furry and human, and his welcoming new children of all ages into his fatherhood.

I find examples here. I try and keep walls down and my heart tender despite inevitable sensitivity and pain. I try and reach out where I can. I try and stay willing because willingness is the place where the magic sparks into life!

www.curatedquotes.com

Welcoming!

The bustle verses the stillness!?!? Sometimes in the body stillness, the mind is busy. It makes me feel manic because not moving my body when my mind is spinning feels futile.

I think what I need to learn is living in the moment. What is my next right thing this moment? And I really mean moment literally, as in 60 seconds. Takes so much pressure off, doesn't it?

Yesterday, I had a cleaning project that I was going to start at 12:15. But then my husband started telling me a story in his deliberate, descriptive, never in a hurry way. I knew I was supposed to hear him. Yet I anxiously kept looking at the clock.

I have started a daily journal, chronicling my life through the jolly lenses of Mrs. Claus. She is the character I most relate to. I have kind of coined myself "The Christmas Missionary" because I love sharing Jesus as a Gentle Baby who grew up to be the most Welcoming Man in history!

I read this quote by Thornton Wilder today, "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

My husband is my treasure, mounds of riches greater than the dust of any cleaning project. God's creatures were hand crafted, one of a kind, by His extraordinary creativity. In the moment is where I want to be, with souls who need loving on, who need to feel welcome.

And I am definitely not the poster child of welcoming. I fight daily to tear down walls of protection I have built to keep others out. But my heart returns to this space of openness. And He who lives in me coaxes me into bravery every minute!

Found here: https://appliedfaith.org/2015/07/07/
he-said-why-are-christians-such-hateful-hypocrites/

Goodness Into Freedom

Choosing the good part, doing the good deed, believing He will do what He says. This is goodness. This is the one necessary part.

And it centers on Jesus.

It is Mary of Bethany choosing to sit and listen to Jesus when a plethora of needed service was vying for her attention.

It is Mary of Bethany again “wasting" lots of costly perfume, worth what could have fed the poor, to drench the feet of her Beloved Jesus.

It is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who counts being considered an unfaithful bride as nothing in comparison to holding the Baby God in her womb.

Scandal, waste, laziness!

In order to provide the space of nurture and adoration for the Lover of our Souls, the Ultimate Baby, the God-Man.

And each of us ministers to this Guy in unique ways! And each of us are given personalized missions to meet His needs through loving others!

Sometimes I think there are people who don't understand my call. And I know why I'm doing what I'm doing. And I know Jesus is with me and in it. But so often I feel myself, my actions, reactions, and general choices in life are met with so much opposition and judgment, so much negation towards my heart.

And Martha, and Judas, and Joseph questioned the motives and choices of the Marys as well. And the Marys didn't jump to and explain their side, or stop the listening or stop the anointing. They continued to act their mission with single focus, caring not what anyone thought, but Him.

And freedom is only realized when His pleasure is our only want. Goodness is realized in His plan for me. Freedom is gained when I am being my quirky, authentic self wrapped up only in the ribbons of His will for me and my relaxation in His satisfaction.

So I cuddle and carol with our kitties. I find hearty health in practicing yoga to Christmas tunes. I find my most beautiful expression of God in the form of a Baby who came to grow up to be our best Friend! And I pray. No opposition can ever rob us of the power God shares with us. To battle for goodness and genuine freedom through prayer. I pray in song! I pray simply saying the Name of Jesus over and over! I claim with pride and great gratitude the bloody gospel that infuses the dead with life!

“Every thread of hope I have left, I tie to Jesus!”

Credit: The Soul Doctor 

Unforced Rhythms of Grace

I have found my manifesto in my home.

I have children that I can't just bundle into car seats and take them everywhere. They're cats; it would terrify them. I love being with them! I have a husband with a physical condition that makes it very painful to be away from the comfort of home for any length of time. I love being around my guy!

I have been forced this week, due to putting my back out, to be up and bustling for only about an hour at a time, then have to lay down for about that same amount of time. God gave me yoga in February as an alternative to smoking. And I have a feeling He is both reminding me of the limits of being in my 40's and enabling my "get up and do" nature to be still and write.

Writing has been a huge desire for years and so often I have just not been able. And now I am! And it's super exciting! I’ve found both the habit and the words! I thrive from moving my body, which I will always continue to do. Yoga chose me and it has balanced me emotionally as well as physically in the most delicious way. Yet there are times to be still and cry out what is the beat of my heart.

That cry, that beat is that people and animals be reminded of who their Creator and Rescuer really are. I want you to know my Jesus!!! 

I was abundantly confused through lots of dogma growing up and, thanks be to God, my husband from the day we met has shown me God's wide-open spaces, a delightful place with soft blankets and gushing wells of joy where I learn to crawl and scooch and wobble towards Him to find His way of life, which is the way of grace.

I learn in yoga to transition from pose to pose with grace. And I don't mean in it in the sense of perfect poise, but instead of intention and gentleness towards our bodies with every bend and every twist. Like a baby who is hesitant yet determined, focusing only on that next step.

That whole ancient idea of being as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. The dance of life is out there, but the focus becomes only in the beauty of the nuance of the next move no matter how miniscule. The spice, the light in the simplest action or word or prayer is the subtle flavor, the tiny spark that can turn the most hurt heart to understand the deep love of God for the very first time.

Illustration by Mary Engelbreit 

Joy Prayers: Caroling!

There are times of grief and begging God to take this cup from us. David did it pleading for the life of his first born son with Bathsheba. Jesus did it before the inevitable separation from His Father that He dreaded so desperately. I did it before my first born kitty boy, Toby, flew into Jesus' arms. I sure wasn't ready for him to leave mine.

Yet, I know all of Jesus' prayers were not done in desperation and sadness. He was full of gratitude, overcome with the joy of mingling with his own creation, indescribably loving His Father.

Talking to God should not be some formula, but magically unique, and from what Ruth Heflin says in her book, Glory, it should be more than anything about praise!

Psalm 8 and Matthew 21 say that God both perfects praise through the coos and Hallelujahs of His little kids, and He halts the evil and violent through those same Hosannas!

I have enlisted in the praise chorus of Christmas. The kitties and I are starting our mornings in songs of comfort and joy. As Ruth Heflin did, we are praising Him with souls in mind all over the globe. Little kids I've taught. Family who I don't get to see a lot. Endangered animals. Human Orphans in Uganda. Animal Orphans in Aruba. Powerful women who love God.

Anywhere we see a need, we're caroling our way for them to find joy through the Christmas Baby!

Our two guidebooks are the beautiful picture books, Margaret Wise Brown's The Moon Shines Down and Debby Anderson's Jesus Loves the Little Children.

God's kids from one to ninety-two are the little ones whose praise brings revolution and the most beautiful understanding of all, that God came to be with us, our Emmanuel!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/goddessofchocolate/
4190917572/in/pool-1325246@N22

Ghostbusters

My hubby surprised me this afternoon by renting the new Ghostbusters! It was breathtakingly beautiful!

Yes, women are the heroes, but not what you expect; instead, full-out quirky, cute, and not so lady-like realness.

Yes, Chris Hemsworth plays a stupid guy whose only visual asset is his looks, yet his heart is pure gold in its loyalty to the power ladies.

I have heard this touted as pushing women's lib. We watched the extended cut, which is not preaching, simply affirming the power women already possess and can grab hold of! Why raise a lady when you can raise a warrior, right girls?

What really struck me though is that amongst the ivy league collegiate circles, the famed scientists of the time, and the general governmental "protection" of the masses; Erin, a ghostbuster, has to succumb to the agendas of these esteemed while hiding the thing that first haunted her soul as a kid and still now, beckons her attention.

It's real to her. But over actively laughed at, then violently covered up by the important, by those who "know better".

It's real to her!

*******************

But we seek a better country!

We seek things that were, when God was best friends with humans and animals, walking hand in hand in the cool of the day.

We glimpsed Jesus who disregarded the accusation of being a drunkard and glutton just so he could live the fullness of human life and have authentic and imperfect friends. He found comfort in angels and wild animals when life on Earth became too tragic.

We grasp the otherworldly in hope! Hope that we will embrace our sweeties who've traveled before, hope that there really is a new Heavenly world where lions and lambs waltz together, and there actually are wildly awesome animal-human beasts that lead us into dazed-out awe over the ever-cool deep magic of God!

Honestly, my life as a full out cat mom and this combo of woman-warrior, husband-adorer, and Jesus-worshiper all in one get strange looks and whispers. I kind of don't fit into any circles. And I think some people really do think I'm crazy. But..

It's real to me!

Lisa Bevere's book Without Rival

Lisa Bevere's book Without Rival

Lisa Bevere's book Without Rival

Wisdom! The Antidote to Guilt

Guilt kicks my butt! Guilt robs me of energy! And it is not God's gentle nudge helping me stop a screwed up behavior. It is a full blown condemnation that me and the things I do are not enough. That I am disappointing God, my husband, living souls in general. I am failing.

It hangs on me like a weight and disregards the wisdom that is in me. The wisdom that I have learned from my mistakes and triumphs in my 41 years of life.

And as I'm writing this, I think that is what I need to use to fight back. My wisdom.

I teach self care in yoga and I have the hardest time applying it to myself. Realizing that I am enough. That taking time to myself is not only allowed, but encouraged. That fueling myself charges me to care for others. That I deserve kudos for learning through my years, and my decisions are not only valid, they are delightful, and they display what only I, in my uniqueness, can shine to the earth.

This verse in Proverbs 8 of The Message version of the Bible is uncontainable joy to me! Wisdom is speaking about creating with God. She says, “Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying His company, delighted with the world of things and creatures..”

And it is this back and forth dance, full of grace and applause, that is life partnering with the God of creation. Take His hand and go forth. Spread the delightfulness of Christ in YOU to the world!

Being a yogi, I picture it best as dancing sometimes in the hatha yoga style of beautiful pose, hold and breathe deeply, to graceful transition; or the vinyasa fluidity of moving in and out of poses seamlessly; or the inhabiting depth of holding still in the yin yoga stretches; or the still peace and restfulness of restorative yoga.

Creating with God has fluid movement, quick movement, patient waiting, holy naps to refresh, and always at it’s depth is breathing, breathing deep, breathing through emotions of joy and sadness, breathing air, breathing glory!

Illustration found http://gitmekilekalmak.tumblr.com/image/89292920288

http://www.dumpaday.com/funny-pictures/funny-pictures-of-the-day-32-pics-7/

http://everyday-i-show.livejournal.com/45132.html

He Went Away To Pray

I am overwhelmed in my heart today with love. Love for my charmed life..with a totally amazing husband, 5 kitties and counting, and the spinner of the deep magic, Jesus.

I love my home, especially our cozy bedroom cave. Jesus went to the wilderness to pray and He was surrounded by the wild animals. I kind of use my home as my wilderness. Bursting with animals, my space of comfort, I use it to recharge for a life of sharing with others.

God keeps pulling me out to mingle with other people. Me, an introvert, that has a hard time trusting. My mom in law was telling stories of missionaries at lunch yesterday. Those stories ignite fire in me. The fire to willingly and right now do what God tells you!

Sometimes I have a hard time having people over to our home, because I put on myself the pressure of entertaining and hostess-ing perfectly. Sometimes I feel horribly guilty about this.

Then I remember that Jesus got away not to forget about people, but instead to pray His heart out for them, and to rev up for eating and drinking and talking and laughing with them.

I’m starting to see my solace with my husband and animal babies not as selfish, but as a springboard to commune with the Creator of every living being, and to get my marching orders to minister to Him through His precious creatures.

I see me learning to form eyes to see God's image, to feel God's breath in every living soul. I go forth from my little habitat, my sanctuary armed with the joy of Jesus!

Illustration by Greg Olsen

Bare Necessities

I am centered right now on the bare necessities. Yes, cue Baloo ;)!

I wrote a reflection for my book that I really thought should not be an entry because it was so stream of consciousness, but then I realized, you know what? People like that. Or at least I do. The realness. Your method of developing a goal or ritual! How you come to streamline life. And honestly, cause so much for me stems on this, how will I be ready for the apocalypse?

I am totally not a "Jesus is coming back on 'insert date here'" person. But I do believe things are going to get worse before they get better. I don't want to be knocked cold by darkness, lack of virtual information, inability to adjust to weather, hunger, thirst, gosh really Bonnie, conspiracy theory much? I know, I know. I think I've always been a survivalist at heart.

But you know who didn't have a place to lay his head? Jesus, my King. God of the universe came to live with us, and he was dependent on humans to give him a pillow.

The other day I was pleased with myself that I was narrowing down the necessary things in my life, and now I'm realizing that even my bed is a luxury.

I am very grateful to have a cozy home and family, but my life ultimately is hidden with Christ in God. Nothing, nothing trumps that! One of my favorite artists that I have listened to since I was a kid, sings about the Man, the "Man who came to live in time. He did happy things with water and new wine." The Man who "came to stay with me".

We still are the home of the God who became flesh. And the way we treat His creatures is the way we are treating him.

I read the other day that the verse, "Be still and know that I am God." is literally translated, "Let go and know that I am God."

Contentment is the root of joy! And giving ourselves to bring joy to others is the path towards Jesus! He was a Man of sorrows, yet He was full of exuberant life and joy as He became, completely willingly, one with us.

Illustration by https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrintsByShawn?ref=l2-shopheader-name

The Habit of Yoga

They say if you do something continually for at least 21 days, you develop a habit. I needed a project. I needed something to help me break my addiction to smoking. I love reading Julie Powell's honest and somewhat vulgar (which makes it better, by the way) memoir Julie and Julia about her year of cooking her way through Julia Child's recipes. How it saved her life and helped turning 30 be okay.

I stood outside one day in February 2016 with my tobacco pipe. And as I had done many other times (specifically because I was terrified of getting cancer), I asked God to help me quit. This time, maybe because I was really serious (although I didn't realize how serious I was at the time), the words "do yoga" implanted in my heart. That was my last time to smoke.

Every time I got an urge, was a little overstressed, or after a big meal; I would do yoga. I was demanding on myself at first, which was probably the best way to fight back the urges. (And I am telling you right now, I am a chemical junkie. I like my caffeine and moderate amounts of alcohol and I still use nicotine lozenges. So no I am not a magic story that all of a sudden I stretched a little and became the model of health. I have my little vices. They are just better under control.)

I literally think that the best thing yoga did for me was free me from the anxiety of both the urge and the action of smoking. Sure, I would get a zing of relaxation when I puffed that pipe. But the desperation before the puff and the yucky-ness I felt after really defeated the whole purpose of it to begin with. The endorphin release of moving my body and making my body stronger is a much more beautiful euphoria than after a smoke.

My snap shot impression of what yoga has done for me so far in these seven months is the relief of teeth gritting frustration, the freedom of feeling good and energetic. It has caused me to slow down and pay attention. It has empowered me to know when to say "yes" and when to say "no". And it has grown respect in me for myself and for my body. I now understand the gifts given by God that are in me to share with others.

Yoga makes me feel beautiful. Me, with my chunky tummy and upper arms. Me, with my double chin and drooping boobies. I stand tall. I smile. I walk in a radiance that I never knew before. And I'm happy!

Now, through the habit of yoga, my body lets me know what kind of poses to do in each practice; when it’s time to drink a smoothie; when it’s time to write a reflection.

It isn’t demanding, but gentle, and I step softly into the next right thing.

Illustration by https://www.etsy.com/shop/thelilyx?ref=l2-shopheader-name

On Beds & Bedrooms

So I read an article in Glamour or Cosmopolitan back in the early 2000s. A short and simple little article that embedded in me and became the root of my style of writing and my favorite concept "cozy."

I have tried to google key words from that article to see if I could find it. I used to have it cut out and glued in a scrapbook, but that got lost. So here I am trying to redeem the bits that I can remember, because it is my little acorn seed.

A couple fighting all odds for love. They move into a 200 square foot space that has one room with a tiny branch off for a kitchen and I'm sure an even tinier branch of bathroom. Hardwood floors, very rough I imagine. And their bed. The bed on which they did everything. Mounds of laundry sometimes covered it. Pizza in bed for dinner. Life took place on that bed. It was the centrality of them. Sometimes he would have to squeeze around her while she was next to the bed wobbling in downward-facing dog. And he left Gold Bond powdered footprints in his wake as he maneuvered past her.

And people would question their relationship and living situation and they would smile and relish in their tight, cramped space that fueled the close bond of their love.

I fell in love with the idea that the marriage bed holds the space of life.

The spot of love, of pillow talk and surprise kisses; the bed where new little lives are created and eventually wake you up with giggles or giddy meows or tail wags in the face.

My bed is my office, and my hubby sits a bed length in front of me at his desk. We have a comfy home, but our bedroom is our haven, where all the fun takes place, where our most special possessions are held, where our deepest convos take place.

On our bed I move forwards and backwards, up, down, and around focusing on therapeutic posture while I massage my hubby; I lay upside down on our bed while he sits in his desk chair and rubs my often sore low back.

My morning wake up is to prayer and yoga postures in bed; and I use our bed as a cushy yoga mat for helping my husband do supported restorative yoga.

We have Netflix dates on our bed to series like Sherlock or Agatha Christie's Poirot.

I have been known to shut the bedroom door after coming home from shopping so I can do lingerie peep shows for my love.

We finally put the cat tree by our bedroom window and now the kitties are on it all the time. They like being where mommy and daddy are.

Yes, it is a small room. The bed definitely is central both physically and spiritually. I waited way too impatiently for a marriage bed with my man! I got it now! I cherish it! Our walls are covered in photos; and red sparkly lights; Christmas, cat, cute, and of course geeky paraphernalia; and above the middle of our bed a guardian angel painting resides, stalwart and ready to defend our claim that love conquers all!

Illustration by Puuung

"Practice the Pause"

I stay so much of the time in a cerebral space. I think that is why yoga and cooking are such freedom for me. I am able to disengage from the intensity of a constant flow of ideas and take in at face value the sensations of senses and emotions.

One thing my yoga teacher said this week is that in yoga we "practice the pause" a lot. We take the time to hold a posture a little longer to find release. We stop to just breathe in-between poses to experience the cleansing gasps that still our minds and open up every part of our bodies.

Many people practice asanas (yoga poses) to prepare their bodies for meditation. I actually find that for me, in the process of that which is more body action as opposed to mind action, I am in a state of meditation. The mind is getting a break from thinking and a beautiful boost from the endorphin release of physical movement.

In the mornings before I get out of bed, I stretch and I pray. Sometimes when I'm fully cognizant, I can't quite remember my prayer. But this half asleep, half awake moving and sleepy words to Jesus have a magical feel to them. They set my entire day with a sense of awakening to the invisible. The light of the sun and the light of the Son become the morning greeting that ignites my day.

Illustration by Gyo Fujikawa

Joy Thirst

"So, I guess we are Mr. and Mrs. Kringle!" My husband said to me a couple of days ago.

Well, we do exude a tremendous amount of jolly-ness. We live by the prescription of the book of Proverbs that a merry heart is good medicine, and being awe-struck by God is refreshment to the bones.

We are that couple. The one where I ask the kitties what they want on TV when we go out to eat, and my husband compromises with me and says to play music for them instead. And I jump in the car after turning on Nat King Cole's Holiday mix and say, (in September mind you), "The kitties are so excited about Christmas!!! They are running around the house to the music!!!"

We literally get giddy happy about the littlest things, like a night watching the last episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot while we have an at home date with chicken salad and Club crackers that we whipped up together. And didn't even annoy each other in the kitchen, a big feat for us ;)

Or hubby reads, "The Little Blue Truck" for the kitties and the grand kids and has an entire restaurant happily mesmerized with all his sound effects of little trucks, dump trucks, and a variety of animals. "Why", I asked him, "did that capture so much attention?" "Because everyone is so hungry for any happiness they can find," He answered.

We are dying of joy thirst!

Have you heard what Jesus says? “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
JHN 16:33

Boom! Victory! Every reason to CELEBRATE! Be undaunted! Overflowing with laughter!

Dinner Time

I must write about dinner time.

Through many factors of my life, I have created myself into an introvert.

I love being home with my husband and our kitty cats.

I wish to entertain, love the preparation of me in the kitchen with Hallmark movies playing, but I freeze up horribly if actual human beings come over. My only coping mechanism is to sit on the couch with alcohol, laughing and smiling at the right time.

I think traveling sounds lovely, but I know I would be craving home the whole time. For our wedding anniversary, we might go out to dinner, but we adore being at our home, in our bed. When it is not agreeable with your children (aka cats) to leave home, suddenly your home becomes your own little universe!

Somehow, all comfort and joy are enclosed in those four walls with those select few that don't incite panic attacks.

And don't misunderstand me, it is not the people themselves most of the time that cause my panic. It is me. And it is residual shell shock from being formerly one who trusted too easily.

So when I finally made the transition during daily dinner time from sitting on the couch away from the household; which consists of my parents in-law, my hubby and I, along with our gaggle of cats; to sitting at my space at the dinner table, I felt a mini-revolution had taken place. I was sitting with the family and I was engaging and chatting and laughing and I was okay. I actually liked feeling a part.

Bravery is realized through baby steps.

So much terror is interlaced with me feeling like I have to be the entertainer or keep the convo going.

I'm beginning to loosen the stakes, to let go of it being my responsibility, to free myself of any need to perform or stay bubbly if I really am hurting.

I can be me, with my hang-ups, and my need for the protection of mimosas, and the transforming permission that it's not my job to make everyone feel comfortable.

Then meal time becomes about  relaxation, relief, and refreshment. Exactly what is was meant to be all along!

Illustration by M. Boulanger

Chicken Dinner for the Soul: Chicken Fried Rice

So this is a yummy and healthy dish. My cooking intention these days is veggie, protein, starch; comforting; simple; healthful; and as few pans and dishes as possible.

Chicken Fried Rice

I adore my rice cooker. You throw in rice and liquid and it always turns out perfectly. Main thing is, get the rice going early 'cause it does take a while to cook. I made about 4 cups.

I used 2 big cans of canned chicken, which I opened right away..so the kitties could have their highly anticipated (and not at all a patiently waited for) chicken juice.

Now the veggies can be kinda anything. This is a great meal to clean out your produce drawer. I used celery, onions (I add onions and garlic in large quantities to almost every savory dish I bake. See my garlic trick below), green bell peppers, and carrots.

Now another appliance I adore is my food processor. I used the slicer to put my veggies through.

In olive oil, I sauted the veggies. I used a wok to cook in.

I also added in some greens after the veggies were al dente which is a perfect way to get your salad in. They will wilt and blend in nicely.

I added some Maggi Jugo Seasoning Sauce or Soy Sauce, Garlic Powder, Seasoning Salt.

I put veggies in a bowl and set aside.

In olive oil, I scrambled 6 eggs, then added more Maggi Jugo Seasoning Sauce or Soy Sauce, and Seasoning Salt. Then I crumbled and threw in the drained chicken.

When rice was done, I added it and the veggies to the egg/chicken mixture, fried it up some on high, adding a little more olive oil, and stirring consistently, and double checked the seasoning. My meal was ready, an entire meal right there in one pan. Serve in bowls with hot mustard and soy sauce.


* My Garlic Trick: Take a bulb or 2 or 3 of  Garlic, the entire bulb, not individual cloves. Do not peel. Just put the Garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Close up foil over Garlic and put in a 350 ° oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool some, the Garlic should just slide out of skin, and be able to be mushed with a fork. Sometimes I add a little water as I'm mashing to make a thin paste. Then I add it to my dish and mix well.

Illustration here: http://pin.it/H9dV590

Loved

A few days ago I was reading picture books to the kitty babies. My husband was in the grandparents' room talking to his mom. After a few minutes, I stopped hearing talking and I looked down the hall into my in laws room and didn't see anyone. 

I was raised with the forboding fear that anyone not in God's family will get left behind when Jesus comes to get His kids. Always watching, worrying about people whose faith was not precisely and doctrinally correct. Worrying about myself, if I would hit the mark. 

I had the old initial fear, that day reading picture books to kitties, of being left behind. Then I kind of got angry. "My gosh, ummm, hello?" I thought emphatically, "What about me! I know I definately should have been taken!!!" 

In a split second, I realized I had finally caught on! God loves everyone without strings attached! God chooses everyone! And on this day when I unconsciously went through this angry and demanding mini soliouquy in my head, I realized that this is not about me and my perfect faith or dogma or anything in my brain. 

It had finally dawned on my heart that this is the only way God knows to be. He always loves. He always chooses. The only King to die for His very own creation. He says, "Yes. Come"! The first and final Yes! 

My audacious claim at belonging to Him surprised me! But I liked it! It felt powerful. It felt royal. Now, I don't cower in unworthiness, but I proudly claim my birthright, my inheritance, my dadgum heavenly mansion as a daughter of the King!

Anne Lamott says, "I didn't need to understand the hypostatic union of the Trinity; I just needed to turn my life over to whoever came up with redwood trees."

I think God made the Bible confusing, for one, ummm because He's God. No way can we analyze His genuis. And, more importantly, so that one day, hopefully, we will stop emphasizing our differences, stop analyzing hearts and motives..all that stuff that is between only God and you; and we will begin to follow the only two things He asked, to love Him and to love each other..One day..

Illustration found http://pin.it/Ufr_7AU

Illustration by Sarah Jane 

Sacred Sundays

So today was like a magical surprise!

I love to cook for people!!! Usually I shop on Mondays and cook on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But last week I found that Sunday morning is the sacred shopping time!!!

And I mean this in all sense of the word sacred. Weather is cool so energy and breathing are fresh and alive! Crowds are sparse but enough to be able to flash joy smiles all around and be extra thankful for those who work to make shopping a pleasure! I blared worship music in the car, singing along loud and happy!
It was pretty cool!

And even cooler because of how I woke up! I've started a new waking up ritual. I actually stretch and pray in bed before I get up. And total honesty here, I take a caffeine pill to help rouse me. Totally un-Zen of me I know. But it works for me and it starts my day off beautifully.

This morning was extra sweet because I had in my head the old Gospel song, "His Name is Wonderful!" My grandfather, whom we affectionately called Big Daddy loved this song! At every special occasion, he wanted his grand kids to sing it! All the lyrics are beautiful, but simply the title is what struck me this morning.

His Name IS Wonderful! The word "wonderful" is like a sparkling burst of magic, glory, and Christmas gifts all in one!!! I love that baby God, Jesus, came to be with us, bringing all His wonderful-ness along to sprinkle generously on us!!!

I am an introvert. Time with people gets overwhelming in big chunks, but I love the little vignettes of time with customers or workers in the checkout line. It has become a source of bravery and blessing to me. Carrying His gifts of glory and deep magic in connecting and big smiles, little chats, and generous thank you's! It works and it makes my heart glad!

Illustration by Norman Rockwell 

Yummy Repetitive Power Flow

Take a few breaks during today to practice this yummy yoga repetitive flow. 

1. Roll out your yoga mat in a cozy homey space, and place two blocks so that your hands can set down on them in Downward Facing Dog. Come onto knees with hands on blocks. Stack knees over ankles and shoulders over wrists. Push your hips and bottom up to the sky. Ground into straight arms and legs. Experience the release in the lengthening of the spine. Feel connection in the four corners of your hands and feet. Push the earth away from you. Let your head hang loosely. If you want, try some organic movement, like pedaling your feet or lifting a leg off the ground for 3-Legged Dog. 

Illustration by Alison E. Kurek

2. Now step one foot forward in between blocks and bend that knee, keeping knee stacked over ankle. If you can, stretch your back leg further back and curl up your toes. Now place your hands on your front knee and practice balance. Keep hips squared and facing front. Keep back and torso on a slight forward incline. You are in High Lunge. 

Illustration by whenguineapigsfly.com

3. Now lift your arms to the sky, next to ears, palms facing. Slowly vertebre by vertebra lift to a verticle torso and spine. Plant the entire back foot down and turn it to a 45 degree angle. Warrior 1! 

Illustration by Evgeniya Gapchinska

As you go from Downward Facing Dog to High Lunge to Warrior 1, take your time. Practice the balance. Setting your gaze on a fixed object assists with balance. Feel the solar plexus chakra of power as you go from head low to head, torso, spine, and arms lifted high!

Repeat a few times. Then close in the surrender and release of Downward Facing Dog. Namaste  <3

Illustration by claudiatremblay

Beginnings..Bare Bones of Beauty

One thing I have discovered in my year of yoga teacher training is the bare bones of beauty.

The simplicity that is me showing up to life, no filters, no touchups; with only my armor of joy and hope. Joy is the spice and hope is the light. My favorite word and concept is “cozy” and my apparatus is the body.

I am learning to segment my life very loosely and welcome pieces of one activity falling into another, and many times blending beautifully. New creations always emerge from the hook ups of unimaginable combos.

Before a yoga practice, at morning coffee, at the beginning of a new season or project; we learn from yoga the sacred necessity of setting an intention. There is bare beauty here. And it can change with life's tide; but let in be basic, bare, only that which is needed.

My life work is moving the body, feeding, healing through touch, telling stories.

My teachers are a handful of down to earth, honest women; and being a mom to animal babies.

My understanding of God extends from the creative discourse I have with my “take God out of a box” husband and the sweetness of Christmas.

My therapy is yoga and water. Beautiful movement and splashes of refreshment.

A smile, pearl earrings, my wedding band, a spritz of White Shoulders fragrance, and a string of necklaces are my makeup.

Prayer is my hope weapon.

And my confidence extends from sitting, walking, and holding my body in a way that radiates happiness and health.

Any time I start being bored and begin to exhibit my nemesis impatience; at a red light, standing in line, waiting for an appointment, waiting for anything, I can practice yoga.

Yoga enhances my activities. When we’re chatting in the pool, I can practice aqua yoga. When we’re watching a movie, I can practice yoga. Even now as I write, I have my body is a yummy reclined mermaid twist.

I’ve wished for so long that I could move my body like the stunning dancer my baby sister is. Last year, she taught me some dance and was my cheerleader the whole time!

I know the magic that yoga has been for me this year was jumpstarted by those who cheer me on daily: people, animals, and the Creator of this whole rigmarole! I bow gratefully and with a huge smile!!!

Comment below breezy, bright, and roomy activities that are uniquely you!

Illustration by Rebecca Green

Illustration by Vanessa Fahy