Uphill idealist

Waking up to sunshine instead of an alarm, going for a morning walk with my boys, discussing youth ministry efforts in the near-future with a newly assembled team of folks in my small city, putting the plumbing guts of my mother-in-laws above ground pool together with the WHOLE family, eating the first grilled burger of the season outdoors, and topping it all off with watching two episodes of Dr. Who: the Christmas and Easter Specials. The only down side, the massive sunburn on my back and shoulders from misjudging the strength of the spring sunshine. Ouch! Thank God for chilled aloe in the fridge. Ahhhh. After such a long, cold winter - summer is almost, almost here.

Image from FreeWebs In am ongoing discussion group that I am a part of on Facebook, Adrin said this in response to the command to: "Love your neighbor as yourself..." "...I've got some things to work on in this neighbor-love department." Don't we all Adrin, don't we all. Last fall my friend and hairdresser suddenly passed away from a massive heart attack. I'd only seen him two or three days before when I got the call that he had passed away. I barely spoke the word, "No." as it felt there was no air in my lungs to push the words out. It was shocking, sad, and made me wonder if we talked about all important things at our last visit. I still wonder that months later. I was shell-shocked with grief. How could the passing of someone who was not a part of my daily life be such a massive loss? I'm not sure how, but he had quickly become my neighbor even though he lived across town. Anyhow - his passing has made me more aware of the uncertai...

This week I picked up a teaching an art project in a local elementary school. It's only a two week project with me visiting the class on four short occasions, but I have to say I think I've fallen in love with the children there. It's a small class, built to help the kids with the struggles they face and a high ratio of teachers and aids to support the class environment. The calm and organized class has made a huge impression on me, but I have to say most impressive of all have been the kids themselves - they have been fantastic. The other day I was greeted by a little guy as I came in the door on my second visit. He wrapped his arms around me, smiled and hugged me tight for what seemed to be a minute or two. I was taken a little by surprise by his affection, but smiled and gently received his hug. He was beaming when he looked up at me. He said, " I've missed you so much. Thank you for coming to my room and teaching me art." I'd only been there one day be...

Jedidiah Community , a creative clothing company that gives a percentage of their profits directly to mission and social justice efforts worldwide, has been holding a storytelling campaign that gives voice to the principals of hope, love and sincere community. The following video was a story that won the campaign and has been translated into a t-shirt design that is available for purchase here . 20% of the profits of this shirt will go directly back to the mission and help the people from this story. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve. :) Jedidiah Community: Erin Lyde from Jedidiah Clothing on Vimeo .

The clanging of the butter knife reaching the last of the preserves from the bottom of the glass, jolted a childhood memory for me that morning. All at once I remembered with glee, the Welch's Grape Jelly Jars . One of my favorite ones was Jerry from the cat and mouse cartoon series of Tom and Jerry. This memory of childhood reminds me of what now seems to be a quirky treatment of a glass jelly jar. When the bottom of the jar was reached, my Dad would fill the glass with milk, snap the metal lid in tight, and furiously shake the remaining jelly and milk to create a grape smoothie of sorts. Being the youngest of three siblings, I remember having to take turns being the one who got to drink the sweet foamy concoction, but when it was my turn - I remember feeling privileged and special. Some may think this practice to be a silly one, but even now as an adult it is one that I've carried on with my own kids. We usually all end up sharing the jelly smoothie because we all like it so ...

How cool - makes me want to try something like this. Happy Wednesday!

Image from Twitpix This would be my luck.

Last week an online group of friends and acquaintances decided to try reading and discussing the book, '40 Days Living the Jesus Creed' by Scott McKnight . Once a week, I will try to post some of the thoughts and reflections I've stumbled upon, so feel free to comment, challenge and help me work through this process. The basic premise of the 'Jesus Creed' is... "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31 What do you think of this creed? Do you think there are people that actually live this way? Would you or wouldn't you consider living by this creed? --------------------------------------------------------------- The Most Important Commandment: "Hear, O Israel; The Lord or God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Deut. 6:4-5 Repeating a prayer, ...

There are some times that busyness wears me out and other kinds that seem to fuel the fires of creativity and life for me. This week was a mix of both kinds of "busy". Work: This last week was the second week of spring break for the school age kiddos in my community. So it marked the second week straight of working with my kids home with the break from school, having some more of my students back in town after trips away for Easter, and working on preparation for some additional art classes/workshops in the coming weeks. One day last week, our youth group spent the day spring cleaning and reorganizing the youth room and kitchen. The cupboards are filled with sparking dishes and glasses thanks to a donation of kitchen wares from my co-worker Cathy. (Thank you!) Overall it was a productive day of clearing out three construction garbage bags full of trash, fostering team building and spending some quality time with the student. Nicest of all, both my kids (16 and 12) are in the ...

Image from Deliberate Living Now Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV) 24 " ' "The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." ' I love this blessing. Imagine, just imagine if a painting could be created to represent these words. What would that look like?