Green, 5

This is for a memory quilt to welcome a sweet baby being adopted by our friends. At the baby shower, the participants were invited to use fabric markers on pre-cut squares to draw pictures, write messages, etc. My gift to them is to assemble the quilt as a wall-hanging for his room.

We've had the joy of experiencing international adoption as well as becoming parents biologically. Both are profound and transformational experiences. I couldn't be happier to create this gift for my friends and for their son. Come home soon, little one!

Green Day 4 and a must-see video

Tuesday was winter. Wednesday was spring.
Tuesday was hope deferred. Wednesday was hope whispering.
It's coming...
Tuesday was doing. Wednesday was being.
I can't wait to see what Thursday brings.
So far, Thursday has given this quote:

"Inspiration far more often comes during the work than before it because the largest part of the job of the artists is to listen to the work and to go where it tells him to go." (Madeline L'Engle)

and this happy, inspiring, fun video clip

Here's what I saw yesterday in my green world:

Green, Day 3

I bought this star on impulse years ago. I was drawn to the color. I could never find the right place to display it. It's not flat on the back so it looks awkward on a wall. It languished in my laundry room/storage room/if you don't-know-what-to-do-with-it-shove-it-in-there-room. I recently repainted this hutch and remembered my green star. Yes! It just happens to match the paint on the walls of our dining room. It's a happy thing in a happy corner of one of my favorite rooms in our house.

It's also symbolic of those beautiful gifts or ideas we all have, but don't know quite what to do with them. Don't forget about them. Get them out, dust them off and find a place where they can shine. Write it in your journal. Tell your friend about it. See what happens. Let it come back to life and inspire you and others. There are probably more things just like it in your "life storage room" waiting to be rediscovered.

flickr in green

Enjoy all the green that you can handle here

Green, Day 2

I was dropping my kids off at school yesterday and had a passing conversation with a friend that changed my day. She asked if I was doing anything fun that day. I heard myself quickly answer, "no." Her non-verbal response was so subtle but surprising that I walked away asking myself, "Why can't I do something fun today?" Really.

I sometimes discover myself believing that fun is only for special occasions, and still not guaranteed. Even then, it's really supposed to be fun for the kids, not for me. My fun is supposed to be watching them have fun. That fine. But there's more.

I'm finally getting to the place where I can ask myself "What do I want?" and have a meaningful answer. There's a spiritual component to this, too. As a person seeking to know God better and be an authentic follower of Jesus, being honest with my wants, my desires feels vulnerable. Is it okay to want? Yes. It's honest and safe to take those desires to the One who knitted our very being, our souls and minds and bodies together. He knows the best ways to satisfy our souls. Trying to find the answer on our own is the equivalent of looking for fun on my backyard swing-set when God wants to take us to Disney World. It's safe to want. It's safe to take those desires to God. When they are met, I also meet God, the one who "restores my soul."

Yesterday I had fun. Doing the things I love (after I did some of the "have-to's") that God designed me to do. I wrote. I took pictures. I sewed. I set the timer so I could stop in time to pick up the kids. It was a good day. Thank you, Holly, for asking an important and needed question. I appreciate it!

Green!

In the spirit of Yellow Week, this is Green Week hosted by Emily at Shining Egg.

These leaves are poetry to me. I love spending months with them in my kitchen. Enjoy this week and a new month.