Took another hiatus but this time it was vacation...and a much needed vacation at that. Returned home in the wee hours of the morning today from Florida. Had a wonderful time with my friend. We walked on the beach (lots), shopped, lazed around, ate fruit and ice cream for dinner, had some wine and marguritas, and had wonderful conversations. What more could anyone ask for? The palm tree in this picture is the same one in all my pictures. 
The picture was taken from the patio of the beach house last Saturday before we left and headed back to my friend's house. Always difficult to leave the peace, serenity, and sheer awe of the beach. Every time I have been there I've had a significant revelation and this time was no exception. Nothing that most people would call earth shattering but it's always something that I find deeply profound - and for my "ears" only. There's a sacredness in that.I picked a great time to go weather-wise. It was sunny and warm - but not hot (that's coming there the end of this week, at least by this northerner's standards).It is good to be home and it was good to be there!
Been sort of lazy days. The weather has much to do with that. It's been so cloudy and rainy over the past few days - enough to get anybody down...or at least lazy. There's even snow in the forecast for tomorrow...that's April in Wisconsin; never know what we're going to get. At any rate, it's been really nice to have had time to myself - time to renew and re-energize my spirit. Oh, there have been many work-related phone calls even though I have been off work since Tuesday. Took some of those accumulated comp days off this week. Those calls were annoying at first, but quite necessary in the long run.I've been working on a new rectangular stained glass piece - a hummingbird and bright orange flower. Think it's turning out pretty well but it's been slow going. Managed to get five new cuts on my hands and fingers in the process...but nothing serious. I hope to finish the piece at some point tomorrow and then will add it to the picture album and slideshow. Stopped at the glass studio this morning to pick up another roll of copper foil (should have picked up more solder too so there may be yet another trip into town very soon). Ended up purchasing another pattern book too. There's a really cute bluebird in the round pattern in it that I want to make. Lots of other interesting patterns too. So there will be much to keep me occupied for quite some time. Working on these projects is definitely my sacred time.Busy week ahead so it was a good thing to have these days off. Lots of meetings coming up but only one is an evening meeting, so that's good. The more time goes on, the less I want to be away from home in the evening. I'd much rather be here working on stained glass. But, alas, those evening meetings are part of my job... And I do seem to find pretty much time for crafting no matter how busy work can get.
If you've taken a look at my Sister's blog, Quilted Comfort (see Links), and viewed the beautiful cherry tree in full bloom and...wished even one tangible sign of spring were visible where you live - like I have - Take Heart; subtle signs are all around!Here in this corner of northeastern Wisconsin, the snow cover is less than half of what it was a week ago - there's been much melting over especially the past few days and we now have huge patches of bare ground visible. The colors have changed from black and white to brown and white. The birds are around again, playing and fluttering in our bushes by the deck. Their chirping and songs are a delight. And then, yesterday I saw something I was not expecting mid-March...my tulips have begun to emerge from their long winter's rest deep in the ground. Granted, they are only up about 2 inches and there are no blooms yet, but this sign of new life is energizing and so appreciated after the long, cold, and very snowy winter we've had here.We do temper our enthusiasm with a dose of reality though by saying, "It IS only March and this IS Wisconsin...we CAN still get lots of snow yet". But I for one do hope these subtle signs of spring and all the new life that is just waiting to burst forth will continue to emerge with abundance over the next week and month...akin to what our journey through Lent is supposed to be all about...
Even though the days and weeks seem to fly by so quickly, the reality is it’s still February – it is still winter – and yet another round of snow is in our forecast for tomorrow night. There’s a deep and abiding restlessness this time of year – a longing for warmth and sunshine and color (any color) instead of the almost two-toned black and white of this Wisconsin winter.
But some signs of spring are emerging amid the winter storms…at least I think they’re signs of spring. A few small, courageous birds braved snow and wind one day to perch on a snow bank outside my window and a gorgeous red fox sprinted effortlessly across a snow-covered field as I was driving to an appointment yesterday. These signs speak to me of the emerging new life of spring. And they remind me of hope – hope in what is transforming in nature and the hope and trust that ultimately has its birth and fulfillment in the Divine One – the hope and trust I strive to attain (even when I am so very impatient).
Nature is ripe with signs of glorious beauty, if only we take the time to really see – not only with our eyes, but with our whole being. This kind of “seeing” is what I call beholding – being captivated and in utter awe of what one sees. Just a couple of nights ago, as I was driving into town, I caught a glimpse of a sight in the rear view mirror I rarely see: the sun was just about below the horizon, most of the western sky was a deep purple, and a wide shaft of bright orange was shining straight up from the setting sun as if reaching high into the heavens. This was a truly holy and awesome sunset and my first thought was that I wanted to “capture” and hang on to this sight. But then, I just as quickly let that thought go, feeling in my heart that I could no more hang onto this one beautiful sunset than I can will myself into a mystical experience. Sacred time knows not the constraints of human time measurement. Sacred time is a gift, poured out in grace sometimes at the most unanticipated moments, and received with humble appreciation. Blessed be!
I just took a look at my sister's blog - a warm 66 degrees??? Well, I'm still in Wisconsin and it's 10 degrees and the wind is howling. Suspect the wind chill factor is well below zero. This has been a winter of ups and downs - warm (for winter) one day and bitter cold the next...snow one day and melting the next. I'm getting tired of hearing people say, "Well, this is Wisconsin"!!!So, let's muse a bit about Lent, which began this past Wednesday. Every year I struggle with the concept of giving up something for Lent - as a discipline. We Catholics are to refrain (fast) from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. It may seem blatant disrespect, but I say that practice (and by the way obligation) is rubbish! Nearly 52 Fridays of the year I refrain from eating meat and I'm basically vegitarian anyway! What's the "sacrifice" in it for me during Lent? I have jokingly said this year I will give up football - would be "easy" enough since the season and the Super Bowl is over anyway. The point of fasting from something during Lent is supposed to make us better, through discipline. Well, I equate the word discipline with negativity...and there is certainly more than enough negativity that surrounds many o
f us. And the point of my stubbornness in not giving up something tangible for Lent is not really a blatant defiance of the religious practice/obligation...or maybe it is.Anyway, what I have pondered, and invite everyone to consider, is to add something to life during Lent - to "label it", if you will, as a spiritual practice. Something that will seek and serve, if I am/we are faithful to the practice, to nourish and enrich life - and something that will "stick" longer than these 40 days. How about adding some meditation time - some silent abiding time? Heaven knows there is more than enough noise in our lives! Sure, I'll most likely have to "give up" a half hour of sleep. But it's not the giving up that is the focus; it's the adding of the specific practice that will (hopefully and with the grace of the Holy One) nurture and nourish the soul...yes, during Lent but also beyond. Now, isn't that, and the reality that God is deeply in love with us, the stuff of what REALLY matters?
Most recently I read Henri Nouwen’ s “The Way of the Heart” and found it absolutely wonderful. Almost right off the bat, on Page 16, the statement of: “Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter – the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self” is one I both agree with and think is incomplete. Certainly it is in solitude we come face to face with our compulsions that serve to make us something or someone other than who we truly are – God’s beloved. But it’s the second part, the encounter with the loving God, that I think is incomplete. While God is encountered in solitude, I also believe God’s loving presence is encountered in community and in the other person (not to mention in nature). The challenge is to look at another and see the face of God – to see that they too are God’s beloved, whether we happen to like that person or not. The face of God is in all – rich and poor, well off and destitute, beautiful and not so pretty...
In his section on silence Nouwen writes, “The word no longer communicates, no longer fosters communion, no longer creates community, and therefore no longer gives life” (pages 38-9). This I agree with wholeheartedly! So many words fill any given day – written and spoken words, conversations, commands, television, emails, newspapers, etc. It’s really easy to “turn a deaf ear” when we feel word-overloaded – when the words we hear and read no longer are life-giving for us. Our society in general is not comfortable with silence…and yet, it is precisely silence we need…desperately. We almost feel odd when we are comfortable with, even crave, silence. But...we can best hear the voice of the Holy One in the depths of our heart when we are surrounded by silence.
