Uphill idealist

In the fall of 2010 I was introduced to TED talks.  I watched an eighteen minute talk by researcher and storyteller - Brene’ Brown. ( brenebrown.com ). If you haven't seen a TED talks they have become an international phenomenon,  where people from various and unlimited backgrounds share short talks that are:  “Ideas worth sharing”. (For more information on TED talks – look online here: www.TED.com ) Brene’ Brown captured my attention in her short talk when she talked about the difference between divided living in contrast with “whole-hearted” living. Through her extensive research, Brene’ discovered an essential ingredient to “whole-hearted” living – vulnerability . She claims that vulnerability is an important key to living out lives in the place of wholeheartedness.  The more I listened to her words, the louder my own heart pounded. The words I heard were making something deep inside me sit up and take notice.  Once my perspective on vul...

It's a work in progress, but I wanted to share a glimpse of what I've been working on for the last several months. The mural is located at First Lutheran Church in Jamestown NY and has been a community effort of the True Sisterhood Jamestown group . It is a rendition of the seasons of a year represented by a tree and landscape scene that changes within the piece.  It's to help depict the Sunday School theme of, "Growing and known in Christ.  Thank you for all your help team TS. We are 90% done! By Easter week this project will be complete! Stay tuned art friends...

This week the True Sisterhood group in Jamestown met and we tested out a art/prayer/project from my friend Lynne . We have also been reading Laura Truax's book "Undone" and had come to a place where this hands on project fit perfectly. We did our best to " Ring the bells that still ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack - a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." (Anthem by Leonard Cohen) . We broke clay pots. We wrestled with re-gluing the broken pieces. We laughed, encouraged, and cheered one another on. We rebuilt. We painted. Here are some pictures of our project where we embraced brokenness and discovered beauty. Balance Beautiful Mess Beauty from brokeness Works drying Definitely not perfect  Exposed rough spots Peace Rebuild Rest Sharp edges Superman's house - Fortress of Solitude  

When I was 12 years old, my college-age brother bought me an amazing gift – a stereo system complete with turntable, cassette deck, radio, speakers and a vinyl album of “Synchronicity” by the Police. The giving of this gift required lots of working overtime and thoughtfulness on my brother’s part but the receiving of this gift was one that still makes me smile years later. The memory of that Christmas is one that makes me feel a sense of home, even though the tangible gift is long gone. We all have a longing for things in life to become whole or complete, but we live with the reality of that tension that things  aren't  quite right.  In recent reading of “Undone” by Laura Sumner Truax with First Lutheran’s True Sisterhood group , I have been learning about the tension of living in-between the spaces of Saint and Sinner.  Laura writes, “(The creation story) framed and ethic and a worldview. These were stories that helped explain why brothers had a hard ti...

Today marked Jamestown's second annual "Out of the Darkness Walk" for the prevention of suicide. This walk is a fundraising effort of the American Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide or the AFSP . While it can be difficult to discuss loss as a result of a suicide, this agency and the people walking today bravely walked to lift up the need for greater support for and connection with mental health resources. It was a great honor to participate in this walk today with some members of True Sisterhood Jamestown , a women's fellowship group from First Lutheran Church of Jamestown, as well as many local agencies and individuals willing to speak up for those who have died as a result of suicide. This walk was filled with an atmosphere of hope, support and was a coming together of people from all walks of life - to honor those we miss and to work to help others who struggle to walk in the light. At the conclusion of the walk, balloons that ...

Image from official True Sisterhood website. "True sisterhood began with "four fearless yet fragile women tackling the issues of life and relationship from a distinctively Christian perspective. Hosted by Constance Rhodes w/ Margot Starbuck , Sharon Hersh , and Paige Armstrong ." says the official web page for True sisterhood. Over this summer a group of Jamestown women began getting to know a little about this group of ladies and if all things work out well, our stated small but not so small group of over forty women interested in growing in faith, confidence and purpose might become and official chapter /partner with this greater organization of "True sisterhood and Finding balance." We hope to find out in the next month or so if an official partnership with this "big sister" organization will be possible. Years ago, I was incredibly influenced by the author Madeline L'Engle and never wrote to tell her. Madeline passed away in 2007, and...