Catch up

When I get behind on my blog, then I just don’t want to write anymore because there is a lot to say, or on the other hand, there is nothing to say which is why I didn’t write in the first place. So I decided to simply make bullet points and do some catch-up.

• Can’t show you the art projects I am working on, because they are a surprise for someone and I don’t want them to see the drawings, but they turned out quite well, despite the fact that working with pastels does pretty horrible things to my health. I am buying some pastel pencils that produce less dust and hoping I can work with them, but the soft pastels may well be all in the past for me.
• We have had some terrific worship services this month, as we emphasize worship during the month of June. Several of our choirs, as well as our orchestra have had anniversaries, and made special presentations. I have been greatly edified by their music in addition to some really inspiring sermons by my husband, especially as the one on Job. A good reminder of the sovereignty of God.
• We have had very cool weather since May and I have been one very happy camper. We haven’t had to use air conditioning for two months now. My electricity bill is also very happy. In addition, my plants have grown famously and look so healthy. If you look at the right corner, you can see my orchid has blooms, so for the second year in a row I am going to have gloriously beautiful purple orchid flowers. At the upper left is my ginger plant and I think I’ll be harvesting my rhizomes in October. At the bottom center is “boldo” which is a very bitter herb, that is popular for making a tea that helps with digestion. It was a tiny thing with one or two leaves just a month ago. Next month we hope to plant some garlic and onions and other herbs. I am also hoping to find a lemon tree to put out on the bedroom balcony.
• If you remember my Peggy and beanstalk entry, I have now harvested my 21 beans. Hardly enough to eat, but I plan on planting them and then growing more. Just for the fun of it.
• Last Sunday I led the junior’s worship, probably the first time in 15 years or so that I worked with junior age children. I have given up children’s work for a lot of reasons, principally the energy that it requires. I find if I get overtired my whole body aches terribly. Sunday, however, I found the experience fun and invigorating. I spent almost the whole week working on it however because I am (1) a perfectionist and (2) out of practice.
• Although I have read several books, I don’t really have any recommendations. I didn’t finish a couple of them, as I just lost interest. Definitely not a recommendation! I actually did read, avidly, one book, and although very well written and good story, I was disappointed with attitude (that much reflects our current culture) of acceptance. The book was “Minding Frankie” by Maeve Binchy. It’s definitely a feel good story and a very good read, however.
• My back is MUCH better and that’s a huge relief. I am even back to exercising, albeit at home with Leslie Sansone, since I suspect that it was my weight lifting that set off all the back problems in the first place. When I get back from vacation, I plan on starting Pilates which should help with my posture and consequently my back.
• I continue “on course” in my memorization of the Sermon on the Mount in Portuguese. I am arriving toward the end of chapter six. It’s a continuing challenge, as I am not only memorizing the text and learning Portuguese as well. Besides being very edifying spiritually, it is also bettering my Portuguese! I should have done this years ago.
• I finished the book of Nehemiah in my English Bible study and have begun Colossenses  which would be Colossians if you speak English (I no speaka da good Engalish no more). I really love preparing these lessons and how exciting it is to share God’s Word revealed. My class is growing and I look forward to every Sunday with them. I always thought Beth Moore was odd when she called her students “beloved”, but I now understand that, as those who participate in my Bible study really have become my own beloved.
• Vacation is coming! In just five more days we are ON vacation. I hope, but won’t promise that I will, keep you posted on our vacation. We will be returning to Hawaii, but this time to Maui to participate in a leadership conference at the Haggai Institute. There is lots and lots to do to get ready for vacation, so now that you are all caught up, I’ll be ending this blog entry. Ta-ta!

Like likes Like

Or, “Birds of a Feather Flock Together”. This is a really old expression in the English language. To my surprise, something very similar to this expression appeared in the apocryphal book “Ecclesasiticus 27:9” in the original King James Version of the Bible. I didn’t even realize that the KJV included the Apocrypha! The expression was “The birds will resort vnto their like, so will truth returne vnto them that practise in her.”

I don’t need to belabor the meaning, for you understand it. I chose this expression to talk about language and my love of words. I don’t mean mere verbiage, but words, expressions and putting those together to say what you mean and what you think and what you feel in a very precise way.

How we speak is a reflection of who we are, thus the concept of like attracting like. I am convinced that sloppy grammar and speech (of which I am guilty) is a reflection of a careless mind. By careless, I mean simply not paying enough attention, thinking that it doesn’t matter how you speak. It’s the content that matters, not the form. In the forefront of debate in Brazil right now, is a new grammar book that says just this. It advocates the concept that you don’t need to worry about verbal agreement or other such niceties. The important thing is that you are understood, not that you are correct. There is some truth to that. If you tell someone you hate him, it doesn’t matter if you flat out say “I hate you” or you say “My heart overflows with odious sentiment toward your person.” You have said the same thing. On the other hand, if we constantly clutter our language with imprecise expressions, with incorrect grammar and even more “earthy” or “street” talk, we reveal a mind that thinks in those ways.

If, however, we take the time to craft our words, expressing ourselves with precision and beauty, we have honored our listeners by our effort. We also are showing that our minds are not lazy. Certainly, to say “I ain’t a gonna do it”, has it’s place, is very graphic, and we may chose to use that expression in a deliberate way to make a point. Still, they are not beautifully crafted words. Do not tell me beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I know each person has their own taste, but I am no post-modern thinker who accepts there is no absolute standard for beauty. A person may enjoy listening to gangster rap, and even love it, but there is nothing beautiful about degrading women or glorifying violence with that disgusting language. It may be called art, but it is not more beautiful than those art displays of dirty toilets.

That reinforces what I am trying to say here. The way we talk expresses what is in our hearts and minds. If we talk about women in disgusting terms, then we are saying women are disgusting. If we continually use bathroom words, then our minds are concentrated on… well you get it.

I used to love the contemporary translations of the Bible, like the Good News Bible, but I have grown to appreciate the richness of the more traditional translations, like the ESV. Although I honor the King James Version and its rich contribution to our language, it has too many problems to make it viable for me. Speaking of which, if you haven’t already visited the site “The King’s English” celebrating how much the KJV has contributed to the English language, you really must. It is a wonderful site with devotions that speak to my heart. You can click on my link, or on my sidebar.

How I appreciate a preacher or speaker who not only thinks about what they are going to say, but the words they will use to do so. So often our modern preachers have chosen to use slang, curse words and bad grammar to exposit God’s Word. If their listeners don’t deserve better, God’s Word certainly does. I do not accept any excuses for the laziness of preachers who make excuses for dumbing down God’s Word to make it palatable to people. We should be provoking growth, not “comfort”. I am not talking about being so erudite no one knows what you mean (because in fact that is easy to do and is also a form on mental laziness), but I am talking about providing beauty in your speech. It takes work, study and effort. Perhaps that is too much to ask, but I don’t think so. At times I have envied those I have considered to be gifted in expression, but at this point I know they weren’t born that way. A few years ago I couldn’t draw anything, but after much work I can produce something that is somewhat pleasing. It took a lot of work to get that point. I believe if I put out the same effort in my writing and speaking, I could also improve my “beauty-quotient” in that area as well.

At the risk of boring you, I wanto to close by sharing the words of my favorite poem, “God’s Grandeur”by my favorite poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins. You can watch it on this video.

Even if you don’t get what he is saying, and admittedly that takes a little work, your ears will be delighted with the sounds. To me, this is English at it’s very, very best. I do believe poetry is meant to first fall on our ears so that it doesn’t fall flat on our hearts. After hearing, then we can chew around on it for a while. If you just want to look at images and the words together, I offer this video. This poem never ceases to move me with its beauty and its meaning. I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit that continues to hover over our very “bent” world!

Purple, green, yellow and other colors

I have to write fast, or rather think fast tonight. By my own rules I only have about another 30 minutes before I have to turn off the computer. Why is that? Because if I continue to mess with computer programs after 10PM, my sleep comes with difficulty and is disturbed. These days I do about everything I can to preserve the quality of my sleep. Last night I slept for about 6 hours or so without waking and that is a great victory.

I have been working intensely on the computer since returning from the dentist. Well, I had to do something I enjoyed after enduring more than two hours in that horrible chair. My jaws always ache afterwards. I decided to try and manipulate an image I hope to paint. It’s a lovely photo my sister sent of an iris. For painting purposes, however, it’s a little too centered. I also have no joy in contemplating painting grass, plus it needs a background that makes the iris pop. So I wanted to figure out how I could work the image in photoshop to look at how I could crop and work with colors. It took a while to do that. (Translated, I am very slow at figuring out how to use photoshop. Remember? I am still learning the stupid--- oh I mean intelligent  --- program. I am not senile. As I know I used that joke before, but I still feel the same way.)

At any rate, here is one of the results. Don’t worry, I won’t be using this dull green background. I just couldn’t figure out how to get exactly the color I did want. I even tried reversing the photo, but I do think it looks better in it’s original position. I realize the flower looks like it’s floating in space, but that’s easily resolved with a much darker background. What’s interesting to see is that the same flower looks like a different color in the different background. Color theory is fascinating. In fact, it’s rather a branch of physics and philosophy. Someday I may understand something about color theory. Here in a few minutes when I am well off to bed, I plan on reading one of my watercolor books to help me think more about color and backgrounds. You never knew painting was so complex did you?

This morning when I thought of writing on my blog, I planned on writing about how much I love words. I do love words, but it’s really too late and I am too tired to share my thoughts about language and words. It deserves more than I can give to it in the next few minutes, but I do promise to write about that tomorrow, because I’ve been thinking about the subject so much lately. I’ve been impacted greatly by a website that talks about the influence of the King James Version Bible on all of our speech. You do know that we are currently celebrating 400 years of the King James Bible, right? But that is a post for another day. It will be less colorful, but no less a thing of beauty!

My work is done

I don’t need to go into details, because I’ve done it before, so I won’t bore with the process of doing a watercolor, as shown in the photo to the left. My teacher was not well today, so I worked at home and finished the painting. She probably would have helped me finished it off better, but I wanted to be done with it. I am really pleased with it, but in general I like most of what I do. Mostly because I am still amazed, after three years of studying art, that I can produce anything that looks like something. I like the use of pink and green, although I personally don’t care for those colors. This is not a painting I would frame for myself. I especially like the play of light and the darks in the background. Gabi, my teacher says, I work better when I do my own “interpretation” and don’t try to copy someone else’s work. I think she is right. I am always happier with the result. This is definitely my own work. I did not try to make a faithful reproduction of the photo, but rather do a watercolor that looks like a watercolor and not like a photo. In the beginning I didn’t enjoy working on it because I didn’t like the colors or the frilliness of the iris. I really am a tulip person. But in the end, the pink iris won me over! I am not sure if I will be starting something new before my vacation at the end of the month. I may concentrate on finishing some things I’ve started.

Before I allowed myself the privilege of painting, I finished a job I started yesterday. As I have watched the TV show about hoarders, I am horrified and sometimes fear junk taking over my house. I am not a terrible accumulator, for I am able to throw things out. I try to discipline myself to do so constantly. Nevertheless, things do get away from me. Before I know it, everything is junky. I am forever cleaning drawers and in about a week they are a mess again. This week I tackled the laundry area. I don’t understand how the area where I wash clothes and have cleaning supplies gets so filthy. It was gross. So I pitched old cleaning supplies, and empty bottles heartlessly. I threw out a couple of old appliances that don’t work anymore, for as they have sat around for longer than a year without being repaired, I know I won’t do so anymore. I consolidated bags and sacks and threw out boxes. Why don’t I just throw these things out from the beginning? I even persuaded my husband to pitch some stuff. If I have a slight tendency, he has a strong one to accumulate things. Today, however, he even helped me carry out some stuff and that made me so happy. Now our laundry area almost sparkles. Well, that would be an exaggeration, but it looks like we have twice as much space and it’s a more pleasant area now. So my work in that area is done for now. I have reminded myself I need to be continually on guard against acquiring too many things and against hanging on to things I no longer need. In fact, if there are so many things I no longer need, I probably shouldn’t have gotten them in the first place. I am trying hard to learn to live with less. Never an easy lesson for me.

Looks like my work is also done here, as I also need to learn to work with less words. Gotta keep it simple. In everything.

What a Great Weekend!

It was just packed full of emotions. Saturday was the installation (induction) service of the ex-youth minister from our current church. He was assuming the full pastorate of our former church (where João pastored for 15 years before we went to Canada). João really didn’t have a hand in him being invited, other than the fact, he suggested his name, along with others, to preach in the church while they were without a pastor. It was a sad day and I mourned his loss for our church. We loved both he and his wife so much and our team was just perfectly complete. On the other hand, I had to be joyful for him, as we did sense his strong calling to be a full time pastor. Plus we still love Cascadura so much, we wanted the best for them and they have suffered through the last two pastorates.  The worship service was wonderful, with João preaching a very exhortative sermon about churches caring for their pastors. Afterwards, there was a reception, of course and I think it’s been a long time since I’ve given and gotten so many hugs. There were tons of people there from our current church and of course I knew most everyone from Cascadura. When we got in around midnight, we were very tired puppies.

Sunday morning the Campbellsville University Chorale helped lead in worship. Their conductor is a Brazilian, as were several members. They performed 9 pieces, all executed beautifully. My ears were very pleased with all they heard. In order to facilitate their participation in the worship, we prepared a bulletin in English and I translated the sermon. I am out of practice and so at first I was rather stiff, but then both João and I freed ourselves. The congregational singing was so enthusiastic, and the scripture readings all dovetailed to make an exciting and moving worship service. We had lunch at the church with the choir, and enjoyed meeting some of the faculty members and talking to the young people.

We had time to get in some rest and turn around and go back to hear some interesting missionaries before worship. Our home mission board started a ministry in São Paulo in a downtown part of the city called “Crack-o-land”. In other words, it is the area where crack is sold and bought and smoked. The missionaries have had amazing success and are doing a good work. A group of former crack users and other young people are here in training in Rio to begin the same ministry here, not far from our church. During our evening worship, they sang and shared as well. It is amazing to look at those lives and see how far they have come, all by God’s grace. It truly was amazing. After worship, our young adult choir had soup and sandwiches and desserts, so we enjoyed a nice time of fellowship.

It was all grand and I really was quite “full” by Sunday night. I am tired on this Monday morning, but a good tired. Fulfilled and tired. I love weekends like this.

That was Yucky

They say oatmeal sticks to your ribs, and it must, because it sure doesn’t stick to my stomach! I have been making oatmeal at night in the slow cooker and it’s delicious the next morning, but about two hours later I am hungry again.

Yesterday morning I was sitting on the couch eating my oatmeal when I crunched down on a piece of clove.Yuck. My mouth was almost anesthetized. But in the slow cooker, you need to use whole spices, so I had put in a vanilla bean,a cinnamon stick and whole cloves. The oatmeal was so hot and creamy that I had a hard time fishing them all out. Since I was too lazy to get up, I kept eating and carefully picking out the cloves. They were in my left hand, resting on the couch. As she often does, Mia came around sniffing. She loves milk products, but with her sensitive tummy I don’t let her eat people food. This time, however, I wasn’t worried, since it was only the scent of milk and butter on my finger. She was quicker than I am and she gobbled up a clove. I didn’t see that one coming.

I nearly died laughing when she spit it out faster than I did. She stopped and stared at it like it was an ET. I am certain she had never tasted a clove before. I am also certain she will never taste one again. Her expression was priceless. This picture doesn’t quite catch it, but she definitely communicated the yuckiness of cloves.

Painting in Black

If you remember this painting from last week, you will see that I have made progress. Today my teacher stepped over to look at my work, and exclaimed: “Peggy you used black.” I looked at her shocked expression and asked if I had ruined the painting. “No,” she said, “you have made it come to life, but I am surprised knowing how fearful you are of using black.”
She’s right, you know. Black paint scares me. If you goof with black, there is no going back. You can’t paint over black. It can make or break your painting. When I have invested lots of time in a painting, I am terrified to ruin it.
I realized I have grown more conservative. Things worry me more. I have more fears. I am not willing to risk as much. I walk down the sidewalk looking at where I am going, lest I trip and fall and hurt myself. I don’t drive in Rio anymore. When planning a trip, I think about how I will do with all the sitting, lugging, stress, discomfort. I refuse to invest my money in anything but a savings account. I don’t embrace risk. I don’t embrace change. I have changed.
This is perhaps clearest to me in my church life. I fought for change and innovation in worship and structure for years. I was part of one of the first singing groups where the women wore pants, we used a drummer and we sang in a contemporary style. Admittedly that sounds tame now, but it wasn’t in 1970.
Now what I most want in worship in reflection, contemplation, quiet. I have changed. Sunday as I listened to the hymn being played, I thought of all I would have missed had I not grown up hearing and singing hymns. The words didn’t make a lot of sense to me as a child. But as I listened to the first hymn I learned to play on the piano, being beautifully executed this Sunday, I realized that a hymn that I found tedious and meaningless when I was 9 years old, was speaking to my soul. “Sing them over again to me… wonderful Words of Life.” 50 years later, I got the hymn. I want to hear God’s Word over and over and over again. Hymns I learned decades ago, echo in my mind and heart. Through our hymns, my past and present faith are knit together through my memories, emotions, experiences and reality. They truly are a rich inheritance.
I am sorry for the current generation who will miss out on that. I read on a website a criticism of a worship service because they sang a song that was “so old” – it had been popular last year – who could imagine singing something SO outdated?  Yeah, not me I guess. Everything seems so disposable. I really do like innovation in worship. I hate doing the same old meaningless things. I don’t want us to sing songs just because they bring back memories or because they stir up emotions or because grandpa loved them. There are lots of just horrible hymns. Still,and all, I think we are losing more than we are gaining by throwing out great theological declarations of faith set to music. I think we are losing our groundedness and commonality in worship, when everybody does their own thing. I rarely am able to join in singing in other churches these days, because I have never heard the songs that group likes. When we had a common hymnbook, that usually didn’t happen. I can hardly recall most of the chorus’ that were so popular 10 years ago. But who can forget the words of “My Faith has Found a Resting Place” when our voices soar to declare “I need no other argument, I need no other plea, It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.” Or who has never found comfort from the words “Stayed upon Jehovah, Hearts are fully blessed; Finding, as He promised, Perfect peace and rest.” from “Like a River Glorious”?  I could go on and on exclaiming about how hymns have comforted and helped me in both joyous and despondent moments of my life.
Some hymns I have learned to love more in Portuguese than in English, as is the case with “It is Well With my Soul”. Others I have actually learned here in Brazil. Although I have only known the hymn “Children of the Heavenly Father” for 20 years (and that is not exactly a short time!) I have come to love it, especially the lines: “Though He giveth or He taketh, God His children ne’er forsaketh; His the loving purpose solely To preserve them pure and holy.” Yes, the language is old-fashioned, but that just makes a stronger link to those who have gone before me. Yes, the melody is Swedish, but that makes it more international. Yes, it is not triumphalist, but the theology is rock solid.
What am I saying? Like Joni Mitchell, I can say “I’ve looked at life from both sides now…”. Being in the avant-garde, and being rearguard each has its advantages. I know it’s part of the natural process of life to move to the “right” as I age. I just wish there was a nice way for us all the get along and be patient with one another as each struggle (the young and the old) to change and to stay the same. I am just grateful, at this point, that the worship at my church affords me the opportunity for reflection, thinking, being quiet, singing hymns and of maintaining a link to the past.
So while I may have found the courage to risk the use black paint, and the courage to even learn how to paint, there are some things I am just not willing to risk. And I think I am OK with that. So sometimes I’ll still use the black paint, and sometimes I won’t.

I Chose to Love

As you may (or not…) recall, I am working my way through the memorization of the Sermon on the Mount, in Portuguese. I am finding it a challenge, especially because the Bible uses both the second person singular and plural, switching them around, even within the same verses. Second person is not used in common speech, especially the plural, so it’s really hard for me. It would be the equivalent of using thee and thou conjugations (only in Portuguese it’s much more complex than English) for someone who had never heard “King James” or Shakespearean English.

Yesterday when I finished chapter 5, I stopped dead at verse 48, which in English, says: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Don’t you love the imperative conjugation of “ye” in the King James English? It sounds so lovely on the ear.) Guess what word stopped me? Yeah, I bet you got it – “perfect”. Fat chance, I can be perfect.

Back up in verse 45 of chapter 5, it says that we should love our enemies so  “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” You have to understand one verse to get the other one. Being a “child of God” was tantamount to being “god-like”, or as we say more frequently, “godly”. When we love our enemies, we are like God.

Loving is what God does. And we are all his enemies, have no doubt of that. Paul says it in many ways, but Romans 5:10 is very clear: “… while we were God’s enemies”. Our sin makes us enemies. Yet, while we were sinners (i.e. enemies), Christ died for us. Now that is love! (But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.- Romans 5:8)

Be patient, I am getting there. We don’t deserve to be loved, but God chose to love us, his enemies. If I want to be His child, that is the same choice I have to make. I don’t mean ooey gooey, sloppy kiss on the cheek love, or love that makes my body melt, or love that makes me feel all good inside. I mean volitional love. Love that I consciously chose to display. That’s the easier said than done kind of love. It doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t just rush over me in a hormone surge. I chose to love, when I am not loved, when I am, in fact, hated. It comes from my will not my heart. It seems to me I would be much more honored to be loved like this, than to be “loved” by someone who just “fell” in love with me (and could fall out of love just as quickly.) That means choosing to love when it’s not easy.

Yeah, right, I can do that. Let me think about that… nope, can’t do that. Yet, Matthew 5:48 says that we are to be perfect like God. This word “perfect” means that we should function as we were made to function. That we should be fulfilling our purpose in life. To become “perfect” is to mature, or to ripen. And what is our purpose? Remember how we were created in Genesis?

Yeah, you remember! In the image of God. We were created to be like Him. That is our purpose. We were meant to be like God. That is what it means to be perfect: to fulfill our purpose. Our purpose isn’t to make the world a better place, or to be a better person, or to pursue happiness, but to be the very image of God.

That means I must CHOSE to love – even my enemies. That sounds nice on a Monday morning when I am safely ensconced in my little corner of the world with no one near me. That gets harder when I am nearly run over by the guy who runs the red light. Or when someone spreads false gossip about my husband. Or when someone I invested lots of time in, and considered a friend, rejects me. I want to yell at those people and to hate them. (Or at the very least turn a cold shoulder.)

But I am called to love them. I am called to choose love. That is my purpose in life. That is who I am meant to be. Scary stuff. But I read something on the internet (I couldn’t find the source) that helps me when I think that I just “CAN’T” do this: “You can't. He never said you could.
But He can and He always said He would.”  So while it is true that “with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26). Amen. Chew on that this week. And when you think of it, love your enemies.

Look at Life and Photos

Lately João and I haven’t done much on our day off. We just haven’t been up to it between nosebleeds, doctor’s appointments, sore throats and the latest my inflamed nerve in my back. Hopefully that is all past and we are on the upward swing, getting in gear for our vacation at the end of June. In fact I spent most of yesterday and part of today working on those travel plans. That takes a while.

João and I had read of a photo exhibition here in Rio and mentioned we’d like to see it, but we tend to say things like that and just not get it done. This time we did. We just decided to leave the house as it was and take off for downtown, grabbing a bite to eat there. Since parking is impossible and expensive, we just drove the car to church and parked it there and took a cab downtown. That turned out cheaper than taking a bus or subway.

We went to see the World Press Photo Contest display. I know you’ve seen most of these photos, but wanted to share my favorites. The winning photo was the cover of Time (by Jodi Bieber) and no matter how many times I see it I am shocked at how cruel someone can be – cutting off someone’s ears and nose because they ran away from being beaten? Wow. Reminds me, once again, that the heart of man is very evil and cruel and that sin takes us to the darkest of dark places.

You would certainly be aware of that if you had seen these winning photos. They showed so much mayhem and violence. As I looked them so close to lunch time, I felt kind of nauseous and I had to look away from some of them. There wasn’t much beauty to be seen. João reminded me that it was journalistic photography, but I rebutted that there is still beauty in our world, it’s just not much in style right now. We value the stark, the shocking, the brutality and bestiality at the moment. I think I saved the best for last, for the last few images I saw were definitely redeeming. Look at these beautiful Whooper Swans (by Stefano Unterthiner). These birds migrate from Iceland to Ireland and also Japan. They are incredible in their single-mindedness, determination and durability. I wish I were more like they are!

A photo I found arresting, beautiful and disturbing was this one of the Lava Lake (by Oliver Grunewald), the largest in the world, located in the Congo. As I looked at that lake of fire, I was again reminded that “mother nature” is not always benevolent! We live in a turbulent world where even nature is groaning, and yes even burning. Nature is not just beautiful, she can also be deadly and malevolent. It is after all, a fallen world we live in. There is nothing entirely pure or uncorrupted. Our existence here is certainly quite fragile.

The Cape Gannet bird, knows about being fragile. This bird with a 2 meter wingspan doesn’t even look real to me. What a fantastic photo. No wonder it took 1st place in the nature division. (by Thomas Peschak). This poor bird is facing starvation as a result of overfishing off the west coast of southern Africa. It would be a shame for it to become extinct, but it might, as that is the way of the world.

Despite the seeming “downess” of all that I saw, I did not come away totally overwhelmed. It was a reminder to me to walk lightly through this world and to touch lightly all things, for I cannot make this fragile earth my heart’s love or desire, for it is not my home. I do not want my mind to be set on earthly things. My heart’s desire is elsewhere, as is my citizenship.

Yes, Virginia, it does cool down in Rio

When it’s 110 degrees in January and I feel like I might just die from the heat, I sometimes wonder if I will even feel normal again. I have the sensation that I will be hot and miserable forever. Yet, summer does leave us. It’s sort of the same sensation Canadians have in January – except they wonder if the cold will ever go away. Well it does warm up in Canada (most years, anyway) and it does cool down in Rio (most years anyway). Very often the coolest weather is in the month of May (but it can me stinking hot in May also). This year has been quite rainy and this week in particular the weather promises to cool down a lot. In our car we have the thermostat set to 21 (70) degrees and yesterday the heat kicked on. That should have been a “sign”, but we didn’t pay that much attention.

Last night I had a hard time getting to sleep, as my feet were cold. Why didn’t I get up and put on socks? Long story. Short version is that my back is kaput with an inflamed nerve and it was just too painful to get out of bed, walk to my room (I am sleeping on a harder mattress in another room) and then try to bend over to get the socks and put them on. Today, however, my back is starting to feel better and you can be sure I have on socks. In addition to long pants. I even made hot chocolate (a rare treat here) and have a space heater turned on low to warm up my nose and hands. It’s not all that cold, actually, it’s about 65 or so, but our apartment is drafty (which is lovely when it’s hot) and I think my body has become accustomed to the continually hot weather here.

Trust me I am NOT complaining. I am enjoying the weather. Today, in my art class, everyone was complaining about their feet being cold and most people had on boots. I looked down at my sandals and realized that yeah my feet were chilly, but it wasn’t bothering me at all. I actually felt awake and alive. It can get too cold for me, but I love nothing better than being able to actually sleep under covers and drink warm beverages. I so look forward to this time of year in Rio. Probably from now until about October or so the weather won’t be too hot, at least by our standards. Anything under about 85 (29) is good.

I wasn’t sure how I’d do in art class today, since I have been limping around and having quite a bit of discomfort, but the chairs are great there and I did fine. I started painting the pink iris that I sketched last week. I decided to just let it rip. My teacher says I have a frenetic style – I just go whole hog! So I pretty well covered the page with water and then started dropping in paint in a very loose kind of style. It was fun. Of course, to me it’s always fun when I start the painting. The hard part comes in putting in the details by applying multiple layers. The first stage shows dramatic results, since you are starting with a white piece of paper. From here on out, it’s lots of hours of work, but others don’t see a lot of change, because they are tiny steps. In case you have forgotten the original photo, here it is.

Actually the whole process reminds me of our Christian life. Our salvation is such a dramatic moment, and such a huge change happens in our life, it’s like this beginning stage. Wow, just look at how much of the design you can see. Yet, as we begin to grow (the process of sanctification), we see how long it will take and what a process it is of “working out our salvation” to become like our “model”, Jesus Christ. So we mustn’t lose heart, but just keep looking at Christ, who is our standard, our model of how we should look. We all have a long way to go, don’t we until we attain “mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)? Just like I have to keep the photograph continually before me so I don’t get lost in the painting, so we must always have our eyes focused on Jesus.

A Mix for Fifty-Six

I thought yesterday was a great day. Both of our worship services were terrific. My husband preached so powerfully and prophetically. I know I am his fan, but I do not have a blind eye – I know when his sermons are particularly powerful. Yesterday both were. It was a great day.

Of course, in addition to the worship, I was happy, as was everyone else to be celebrating João’s 56th birthday. I have absolutely no compunction in sharing how old he is since I am almost three years older than he is and am not ashamed of my age.

The celebration started early, on Saturday night, when he received a super duper fruit basket, with about any fruit you can think of… cashew, persimmon, grapes, guava, papaya, bananas, strawberries, mangoes, sugar apples, plums, pears, apples, melon, lemons, oranges, tangerines, passion fruit, etc. Might have been his gift, but we are all enjoying it.

Saturday night I worked on our lunch preparation, so that upon arrival from church, it wouldn’t take me 3 hours to make lunch. I made my first ever lemon meringue pie and you know what? It was good. Actually too sweet for my taste buds right now, so I am on the lookout for a recipe that is less sweet (although I did cut back on what the recipe called for.)

Lunch was just the girls and us, since our son-in-law is in the US in a work related trip. I think the best gift for João was being able to enjoy his girl’s company in the quiet of our house. As we grow older, we find restaurants noisy, making it difficult to really talk and enjoy the conversations. That is true more so for me, than for him, since I am probably losing my hearing, or at least the ability to filter out background noise. Another nice family inheritance gift for me… Also, with the recent investigations here in Rio of the restaurants and lack of hygiene, sanitation and health standards, it’s kind of taken away our appetite for eating out. I will spare you the gruesome details of the report, but was particularly sad to know our favorite, Outback, was a grievous offender, explaining why we both got sick after our anniversary celebration there in December.

We all had a good laugh, when João opened one present from a dear friend. It was a blood pressure monitor. Considering the health problem João had and the fear that he had high blood pressure (he doesn’t), some people kept saying he needed to have a monitor at home. Others said, that at his age, he needed to check his blood pressure. So we laughed, when Sissy said: “What more appropriate way to say you are getting older, than a blood pressure monitor?” The girls thought it was a great gift. So we all took our turns learning to take someone’s blood pressure and see how we are doing. We must all be a healthy bunch, as we all had very normal blood pressure. Mine fell in the middle (107/67) and João’s was the lowest (96/68).

As far as Mia was concerned, this was much ado about nothing, since she will be turning 12 cat years old (that is 64 in human years) in September, and let us know that she is the oldest in our household and therefore continues reigning as top cat. No matter how old she is, there is no doubt about that!

lf You Blinked...

You missed it. Yesterday I worked for hours on my blog. I had done a post in the morning about how I was trying to learn how to use photoshop to make a new layout for my blog. Interesting, because I always use a program called Windows Live Writer to write my posts. It saves them to my desktop. Yesterday, I actually posted directly online with blogger's own editor. Why, oh why?
After posting, I went to work on photoshop and did a background and banner and made lots of changes. Last night, everything had disappeared. Blogger had problems and everything posted yesterday was erased. Swell. But then they said they would restore it. Restore it they did late last night, so some of you saw the changes.
This morning they were gone again, and evidently gone forever! Rats. Not so much for the post, but for the design changes. And I couldn't even access blogger to make anymore posts or changes.
This afternoon I was able to access blogger, and here I am. I did make a new banner for the blog and then changed my layout totally. Since the "in" thing is to have lots of white space, temporarily I am leaving the blog without a background. I do plan to make some changes, but since it's Friday, I just don't have time for anything more. I like my header/banner that is composed of my own paintings. I was pleased I figured out how to do my own banner and background.
Yesterday I did mention a book I am currently reading and am loving. It really speaks to my soul. It is called "The Organized Heart".  It is by an interesting publisher called Cruciform Press that only does one book per month. They are all evangelically conservative books, but they have an interesting philosophy, if you want to check them out. The quote I shared yesterday is:"The disorganization in my life was not due to lack of knowledge or skill and it was not due to a problem in my childhood. Rather, it’s a broken belief system: a heart issue, a sin issue. At the end of the day, it’s idolatry."
Just one more thought for today and I must get back to my "real" work. As you may know, this is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible. There are a lot of cool sites out there. But I especially love the one where the minister is sharing a "saying" per day that had it origin in the KJV. Really great is the video of 100 expressions or phrases from the Bible in just three minutes. Give yourself a second to adjust to his accent (well at least my American friends will need to do so) and then enjoy! The website is "The King's English". The video is below.

Changes on the Horizon?

Just hang on. I am currently reading tutorials on how to use Photoshop to make your own Blog template. For those of you who don't understand computerese, that means I am trying to figure out how to redesign the look of my blog, without using someone else's design. Not as easy as it may sound. Back in the day (about 14 years ago), I could use enough of the html language to design my own website. But it was simpler then, and of course I have forgotten everything. And a blog has a lot more code, like the columns and links and the like.
I have never been completely satisfied with this layout, as I think the leaves make it hard to read the text, although I do like the yellow tulips.
And if you know me, you know I like change. I hate to stick with the same design all the time. I want to change it, but I want to make it my own design. I want a cleaner look. I want more space for writing and less for all the "fru-fru". I don't get why all the pre-made designs give so little space to the writing and some much more for the links and the like. I thought the main purpose of the blog was to read what I wrote. But then, maybe I'm wrong.
I'd like to get rid of the borders as well. How to do all that? Got me. I mean, I know how to use blogger to redesign some of the elements, but I can only use their layout, of size of columns, backgrounds, etc. I don't want to point and click. I want to make it my own. So I hope to begin to sit down and work through some of the concepts. If they work, then you'll see a new design. If they don't, then maybe my blog will just blow up. (I am, however,  smart enough to make a back up and not lose everything.)
So if my blog has some strange elements or is hard for you to read in the next few weeks, you will now know why, right? I may prove that you really can't teach an old dog new tricks!!!
By the way, the photos are of a couple of blogs I read and like the simplicity of the layout.
Oh, just to add a note, I am reading a terrific new book, published by Cruciform Press. They only publish one book per month, and they chose their publications very carefully. If you follow my Facebook, you've seen a lot of quotes from this book. It's really SO worth reading. It is called "The Organized Heart", which is something I really need. I have read two chapters this morning and I am loving what she has to say so far. This is the quote that really spoke to me in the introduction to the book: "The disorganization in my life was not due to lack of knowledge or skill and it was not due to a problem in my childhood. Rather, it’s a broken belief system: a heart issue, a sin issue. At the end of the day, it’s idolatry."

No longer an amateur

Oh but I am feeling oh so important and professional today. Yesterday I actually sold a watercolor. A friend of mine saw the painting on my Facebook page and wanted to know if she could buy it. I named a price to cover my expenses and she paid me double that. I was so excited. Isn’t that silly? You wouldn’t think someone of my age and life experience would need that kind of affirmation, but it was such a new sensation for me. Now I don’t intend to go out and do an exposition or try to repeat the experience, but it was nice to know that my little hobby paid for some more supplies. One paint brush actually costs more than I was paid for the painting, but a paint brush lasts a lifetime. I’ve had people ask on Facebook when I’m going to do an exposition. No plans on that, as it costs a lot of money to frame the paintings. But I did ask our teacher if we students could do an exposition. The last time we did one, I was just beginning to draw. Now I have a lot more stuff. When we go together and do this, then the framing comes out really cheap. So maybe we will do something later this year. That would be fun, eh?

That being sad, yesterday’s class was kind of a bust for me. I just couldn’t seem to concentrate. I started the graphite drawing for my next watercolor, but it just wasn’t coming together at all. I quit and starting mixing paints. That was more fun. I spent over 90 minutes just mixing and playing with combinations to find the right shades of pinks and greens. You’d think it would be easy. Pink is pink, right? Well, there is orangey pink, reddish pink and purpley pink and everything in between. Green is absolutely the worst. You can buy green paint, but it’s absolutely never the right shade. Mostly it’s best to mix your own shade. I am glad I studied color theory, but I still have a long, long way to go to master the concept.  I am going back and study one of my botanical illustration books where she explains more about green watercolor, because I never arrived at one of the shades of green I needed. 

I am finally getting out from under whatever virus I had for the last week. I suffered two days of silence with laryngitis. Then I suffered a complete malaise and constant irritating sore throat. I still am not full of pep, but I do have some energy to clean and cook and get out to grocery shop, which is a relief to my husband.

During the days I stayed in bed, I did work some on learning some stuff in Adobe Photoshop. I abandoned my plan of methodically following a book, as it seems my mind just doesn’t work in a step by step kind of way. I do leaps and bounds. Since I was scanning old photos for my husband, I also did a lot of mine and put them up on Facebook. As I looked at them, I decided I could work on them and make them better. So I did. See if you think I am learning anything from the befores and afters. I especially like the improvement on my bangs. Sorry, Mom, but those uneven bangs just had to go!!!!

So that’s me weighing in on the art side of my life. Now I’ll just keep dreaming about a really good camera for me. Always something more to “ want”  and to learn.

A PRAYER FOR MOTHER’S DAY

Russell Moore shares some thoughts about remembering the infertile on Mother’s Day. In the comments section, one reader shared this prayer for Mother’s Day. I found it beautiful and wanted to share it with you.

Heavenly Father, on a day like Mother’s Day there are so many different emotions that we bring to you.

Some of us bring emotions of deep gratitude and joy for the mothers you have blessed us with, mothers who have

loved us,

cared for us,

walked with us

and taught us how to live well.

We praise you for such love shown to us through our moms and we pray for all those who are moms, that you would give them:

strength where they are weak,

wisdom where they are unsure,

patience with the many demands placed upon them,

faith in your care for them and their families,

and love—deep love—for those whom you have given them to nurture.

Others of us bring emotions of sadness and pain. Some of us are saddened because our relationship with our mom is not easy, or was not easy, or perhaps never existed at all.

Please meet us in our pain,

heal our hearts where they are wounded,

soften our hearts where they are hardened,

and enable us to forgive and to love even those who have hurt us.

Others of us are saddened because we long to be moms, long to have children, and yet are not able to do so.

Father of mercies,

give us comfort in our sadness,

trust in you despite unfulfilled longings,

and joy in knowing that you never stop loving us or having our best in mind.

We pray these things to you as our Father, who loved us before the world began, and will love us forevermore.

I, Peggy,  personally would add this to the prayer:

Father,

    Some of us are physically separated from our mothers by distance. We thank you for the years we had together and ask you to fill the gaps in our heart left by this separation.

Our loving God,

     We recognize with sadness, that some of us have lost our mothers and our hearts ache in that loss. Help us to feel the consolation of your Holy Spirit ministering in our hearts.

Finally, God our Father,

     Help us to mother the needy and the motherless, even as you have reached out to steady us, care for us, and gather us under your protective wings. Thank you for standing in the stead of our earthly mothers, for you are both our father and our mother. 

In Jesus’ precious name I would pray…

Now I Get It (or the Problem with my Kindle)

Don’t get me wrong. I totally love my Kindle. When mine was broken I had to go through serious withdrawal. I carry it around everywhere. But it has disappointed my expectations in some areas.

I hate using it to read the Bible. It takes forever to find a text. And then there is the problem that you have no idea what you are reading in the Bible, in the sense that there are no chapter or book headings at the top of the page. So what if I am reading “location 8300”? That means nothing. So for Bible reading, it’s a no go for me. (And this doesn’t even deal with the fact that you can’t have several versions open at the same time).

I also do not like using it to read any serious “study” kind of texts. You cannot flip back and forth or even skim for information. With serious texts, I don’t usually do a straight read through. I flip back and forth. I like to underline and compare texts. No can do with a Kindle. I do like the fact that I can see what other people have underlined and found significant in the book with a Kindle, but on the other hand, I find it difficult to “write” in the margins (I can make notes, but I find it difficult to find and read them afterwards). So another bust for Kindle.

And now we come to the real problem for me. I had high hopes to be able to use my Kindle to read my sermons and messages. No more ink and paper, no more wasting resources for “throw-away” sermons. Oh so ecological. But, then I actually tried using the Kindle. I got like totally lost. Yes, it’s highly legible and I loved being able to make the lettering larger. But you can’t look at a couple of pages at the same time, like I do when I speak (I almost always have the page I am reading from as well as the next page available, so I can glance ahead to see where I am going). When someone asks a question and I want to jump ahead to find the answer, I am never sure where that information is. If it was printed on paper, I would know what page it was on. I could visualize it and that doesn’t work with a Kindle. I wondered why I felt so very lost until I read this study, according to the U of W:

The digital text also disrupted a technique called cognitive mapping, in which readers used physical cues such as the location on the page and the position in the book to go back and find a section of text or even to help retain and recall the information they had read.

I rely heavily on visual clues. When I recite the verses I am memorizing in the Bible, I often close my eyes and “read” them from the page where they were printed. I do the same when I speak. I have “semi-memorized” the text, and although I am looking at the audience, I am “reading” in my mind’s eye. That is cognitive mapping and the Kindle doesn’t allow for that. It also explains why we often say, I can’t find that verse in your Bible, I need my own Bible where I can find everything. We have cognitively mapped our own Bible. ‘

I think it’s cool that I “get” it now and am okay with the limitations of the Kindle (or any e-reader). They serve their purpose for reading magazines or fiction. That’s their niche. But I believe we will be holding to printed books for our serious study. Aren’t you relieved? We get to have our cake and eat it too!