These pretty plates arrived to a newly painted dining room, and viola! They just matched so well I had to put them up on the wall rather than pile any food on them (though they are dishwasher and microwave safe, apparently). What a happy, joyous little cluster of spring-affirming LIFE messages! The scripture quoted is John 10:10: “I have come that they might have Life, and have it to the full.” (NIV) If you hurry over to their website, you can pick up anything from the collection for 30% off, and also find great deals like this pedestal which I also have, and lovelovelove. This sale is only good until Thursday, 3/31 using the code LIFE30.

Do yourself a favor and drop a copy of Anne Voskamp’s book, “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are” in your shopping cart, too. You’ll be so blessed by it, I promise.

Happy spring!

“In the spiritual like, the word ‘discipline’ means ‘the effort to create some space in which God can act.’ Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.” ~ Henri J. Nouwen

Oh, how much of my life is already filled up? How much is already planned and counted on? Too much. I spend countless hours planning, counting the own hairs on my head.

Do I know someone has already done that, formed me, planned the best me? I say “yes.” I live “no.”

I will slow down after… I finish… when I get there… once this changes… when this goes away… later. later. later.

The constant desire to want to be done, then be happy, creates the background feeling of anxiety. If you’ve ever found yourself doing the dishes as fast as possible, when you have no reason to be in a hurry (like I have), you know what I mean.

I don’t just create space: I feel the need to plan, quantify, organize and populate it. There is no room for a gift to be inserted into this. There is no gratitude, only weariness.

Creating space to breathe is enough.

Declutter internal and external space. Sacred space, all.

Clean, uncluttered lines in my home; clean, uncluttered soul.

Making room for sunlight and air in rooms. Clearing room for Sonlight and breath of the Spirit.

Thinking, thinking, thinking about this. And suddenly, I am jarred at my feet. Little eyes, this tiny soul that grew out of my skin and bones: this person shares my space.

What more motivation do I need to practice these things? Joy. Openness. Space. Thanksgiving.

Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. So, today, I created space: one bag of broken clutter, gone; one hour of time, given to Him; interruptions by a small voice and tug at my leg, not ignored. Picture books and smiles.

Memories. Space. Stretching. Growing. Breathe on me, breath of God. Now my turn: inhale. Now Him. Now me.

It is discipline to do this. Daily.

Excited about reading this with the Bloom Book Club

Tic Tok: Limiting my Computer Time

Ready for Some Peace

So, my focus word for 2011: cultivation. Why cultivation? Baby steps, my friends.

I’m not a seasoned mother. I can barely keep my house tidy, and it’s rarely photo-worthy. I’m not a savvy blogger. I’m not one of those she’s got it all together people.

I’m a new mama, with a new family, and I don’t know what I’m doing half of the time.

Like Paul says, I’m just a cradle-babe craving milk:

So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.

1 Peter 2:2 (The Message)

Oh, how much do I want to grow up mature and whole. (And, literally, clean house!) I’ll pass on the she’s got it all together (look at her amazing blog!) thing. I’m aiming for God’s stitched her up good in His mercy and is keeping her that way.

I firmly believe that the universe deals in the economy of grace, and that is a gift we fling our arms wide open to, because it’s nothing we can generate. But I also believe that to be ready for it in abundance, we have to cultivate our soil for the seed.

What does the Greatest Storyteller say about soil? The hand of God sows seeds that fall in:

• gravel—the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
• weeds—the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
• good earth—the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

Sign me up for Good Earth, friends.

Image by flickrich licensed by Creative Commons Generic Attribute 2.0

The message laid on my heart this year? No one else will do this work. No one else will till my soil.

Not my small group, not my pastor, not my soul-friends, not my parents, not even my husband. Building up a marriage is not the same as building up my soil, and if I’m doing one I’m not necessarily doing the other. And my heart comes first, because that’s what I give to God and then offer to share with my spouse. And, believe me, my husband would rather live with a garden than with a pile of crumbled, rocky dirt.

Image by Harshad Sharma licensed by Creative Commons Generic Attribute 2.0

Our friend Wiki says, We can use the human health analogy and categorize a healthy soil as one:

• In a state of composite well-being in terms of biological, chemical and physical properties (am I taking care to nourish all aspects of myself so that they form a healthy composite?)
• Not diseased or infirmed (ie not degraded, nor degrading), nor causing negative off-site impacts (am I rooting out diseases of health and habit, and not impacting others negatively?)
• With each of its qualities cooperatively functioning such that the soil reaches its full potential and resists degradation (are all my talents being cultivated to act in concert to become fully what was fearfully and wonderfully made?)
• Providing a full range of functions (especially nutrient, carbon and water cycling) and in such a way that it maintains this capacity into the future (am I taking care of my body physically, so that I live out my life abundantly?)

Image by Pink Sherbet Photography licensed by Creative Commons Generic Attribute 2.0

Each of us is called to cultivate an inner garden in which the Divine Word may grow and flourish.
~ St John of the Cross

That’s my focus for this year. What’s yours?

Happy tending, blessed reaping,

Check out others Wordless Wednesday posts.

Well, after my last post about un-resolutions, I’ll follow up with some goals for this year. Hypocrite? I hope not. We all need goals – and I really want mine to be clear, so that I can snack away at them in bite-sized chunks. Goals help you tame your activities, and keep them in line with your overall aims. I love this quote, which reminds me that we should be careful what we wish (or plan) for:

“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”
~ Jim Rohn

Following Money Saving Mom’s advice, I downloaded Amy Lynn Andrews’ Tell Your Time: How To Manage Your Schedule So You Can Live Fulfilled.

I really like the concise tips she gives, and the fact that she quickly helps prioritize goals and manage not only ‘time’ but all of the roles present in our lives. Plus, I could print out the worksheets and plot out my roles and priorities pronto! I’ll share them for future reference and just maybe some inspiration.

Amy Lynn suggests listing out your roles, and I’ll start with mine and their corresponding goals and activities.

Self

Goals:  Kindness, Patience, Joy, Discipline

Activities:
1. Disciplined wake-up time every morning
2. Church
3. Being aware and available to help others
4. Exercise

Spouse

Goals: Supporting my Husband; Building up our Marriage; Working as a Team

Activities:
1. Date night and long-term planning time
2. Daily morning email
3. Encouragement notes
4. Daily check-in time

Parent

Goals: Be available/present; Model grace; Discipline and guide wisely

Activities:
1. Play and reading
2. Facilitate playdates and fieldtrips
3. Daily outdoor time
4. Family time

Educator of Miss E

Goals: Instill a sense of wonder; Facilitate exploration; Discipline

Activities:
1. Daily outdoor time
2. No more than 1/2 TV per day
3. Monthly theme and weekly book focus
4. Fieldtrips

Employee

Goals: Income for the family; Positively contribute to work environment; Increase related skills/experience

Activities:
1. Work 9 hours per week outside the home
2. Substitute when needed
3. Learn new skills
4. Keep current with trends in the field

Homemaker

Goals: Be organized and efficient in planning and executing a plan (cleaning, meals, etc); Keep house clean; Declutter regularly

Activities:
1. Cleaning
2. Meal Planning and Prep
3. Groceries
4. Organizing/decluttering.

Student

Goals: Finish B.A.; Network; Daydream about graduate programs

Activities:
1. Classes
2. Schoolwork
3. Writing for publications
4. Editing

Athlete

Goals: Complete a triathlon; Run a 50k; Focus on core strengthening

Activities
1. Become a more proficient swimmer
2. Do at least one time trial
3. Do core strengthening work regularly
4. Stretch regularly

Writer/Blogger

Goals: Be consistent in exercising my writing skills; Read fewer blogs, but comment more often; Limit junk time on computer

Activities:
1. Post 3 – 5 times per week
2. Write ahead for posts
3. Participate in Poetry Friday and Wordless Wednesday
4. Network with other blogging mamas

Wow, if you read all of these, thanks! What type of goal planning works for you? Where have you found inspiration and discipline in working toward your dreams? What are your dreams? Share, share, share.

Maybe in my next post, I’ll share my clipboard life-line, which has all my daily organization ephemera neatly held together. It’s not pretty, but it works.

Image by Herr Saush licensed by Creative Commons Generic Attribute 2.0

I’m jumping back into Poetry Friday, but where, oh where is it hosted these days? I’m lost, and have no where to direct you to so that you can read what others have shared. But I share nonetheless. (Edit: Google is my friend: today’s poetry round-up is over at Irene Latham’s blog!)

In the thick of life’s bustle, it’s nice to be reminded to slow down. Billy Collins helps us in his oh-so-piquant way with this poem. It’s stuck with me all day. I only recently discovered Billy Collins, which instantly made me wonder, where have you been all my life?

No Time

by Billy Collins

In a rush this weekday morning,

I tap the horn as I speed past the cemetery

where my parents are buried

side by side beneath a slab of smooth granite.

…. read the rest here.

Image by stargazer.at licensed by Creative Commons Generic Attribute 2.0

After battling through December, and being defeated by all of the cultural and material baggage that’s hung on our poor Savior’s birthday, January and the new year are like baptism: new life! Coke-chugging Santa has ho-ho-ho’d himself into the clearance bin; the garish decorations are mute and packed away; most of the wrapping paper bits has been picked up or consumed by child or feline household members.

I can disparage this, and gladly bid farewell, because it hijacked a still, small moment when the infinite wrapped itself in skin, and touched us. There are no words for this. The wonder. You know it? When you walk outside in the dark of winter, so cold that your breath catches and you look up into those crystalline lights piercing the sky: that moment of still wonder, when the chill of your human predicament is contrasted with the purest light, and the stillness itself whispers ‘Amen, Amen, Amen.’ That’s Christmas to me.  It pierces you, just like that frigid breath, just like that needle-fine light. That’s what I wait all Advent for, that one sweet whisper in my heart, the one I carry all year-long: my peace I give you. It tucks into my heart, like warm hands in woolen mittens.

But then the New Year Hype waves its jazz hands and throws confetti in your face, and everybody asks if you saw the ball drop and how you’ll change your life this year, and you are momentarily caught up in the self-obsessed possibility of 2011.

Suddenly…(!)

I want new, I want different, I want clean. I want new interesting friends, race PRs and post-baby ripped abs. I want to redecorate the house. I want to write a book and apply to grad school. I want to try new recipes, and dazzle my finicky-eater husband.

This week, I will make 10,000 lists of things to accomplish and don’t you ev-en (I could wave and snap here, for emphasis) leave stuff hanging around the house, because I will probably throw it out.

And then, I get real. Like, two weeks into January. More even-keeled. More aware that, statistically speaking, most of us flop with this resolution stuff. I realize that, no matter how worthy or fulfilling all of those ‘I wants’ are, they are fillers. They might be noble things to do, but they aren’t who I am, and do little to make me more fully me, more deeply and divinely-wrought and featured.

So I’m shifting from ‘to-do’ into ‘to-be’ and that, readers, is the most awesome question mark, isn’t it? What will be honed in me this year, what circumstances – beyond anything I can categorize, schedule or foresee – will challenge me into responding with grace and kindness? How am I cultivating kindness and grace? How am I being molded?

I’m sitting here, sipping tea and listening to John Gorka, pondering this. You know, how lots of people talk about being grace-drenched in their lives. I even have been blessed to meet a few souls who are magnetically happy in this way. But, to me, this is scary stuff. Drenched? I just want to dip my toes on days I need a little spa-retreat. Drenched is radical, and not in the way that word is touted in the title of every new Crunchy Christian’s book on how to be radical. It’s not reading a book, it’s your life.

Scary. But asking myself do I want this? is like asking if I want to breath.

I’ll make a list of goals, sure. But the overriding one is gonna be so sweet, so easy to remember:

I want to be joyful. Patient. Thankful. Alive.