Month: September 2017

You Are Perfectly Loved!

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Sometimes, we go through situations that make us feel unwelcome, unwanted, unloved. This Illustrated Faith postcard sent to me by Debra D, one of my Love Notes pals, is a simple reminder to stop the lie before it permeates your spirit and sullies your days.

Illustrated Faith, Bella Blvd

Need more proof?

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.  –Zephaniah 3:17 NLT

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. –Ephesians 3:18 NLT

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us his children, and that is what we are!  –1 John 3:1a NLT

Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:37-39 NLT

One of the things that keeps me sane and whole–most days, at least–is knowing that God absolutely loves me, that He is enamored with me and makes much of me. We all have those moments when it feels no one loves us. Even though it defies logic, it’s human. But to make sure we don’t stay in that place, it’s good to memorize and meditate on scriptural truth. That way, we attack those negative feelings before they can take root.

Take a moment to commit a “love” verse to memory today! ❤

“We Need a Little Silence”

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We have had far too much tossed at us the last several days–natural disasters, the escalating rhetoric on race in the U.S., the criticism of peaceful protests while validating violent protests, the invalidation of one the most basic rights of U.S. citizenry, dangerous political venom spewing from heads of state. In response to all of this, Larry K, one of my former students, wrote in the middle of a semi-lengthy Facebook post–

The world needs a little silence.

I feel this need with every fiber of my being as I am struggling to navigate the chaos.

We are assaulted with a barrage of traditional media and social media commentary all day long and we are not filtering and processing. This leaves us burdened. And weary. And (maybe) cowering in a corner.

In my writing courses, I tell my students that whenever we read an article, a social media post, a work of fiction–anything–we are entering a conversation, and with all conversations we must hear/listen, ask questions, respond, and add to the conversation. Conversations should be healthy and productive and should lead to growth in some way, no matter how small. The problem lately is that there’s been a lot of noise but little listening. We’re all talking at the same time and few are hearing the unspoken. And we’re just becoming more and more angry and frustrated. We’re screaming at each other. And the earth is mad and screaming too–through hurricanes, earthquakes , wildfires, and everything else.

We “need a little silence,” Larry says, “like when you’re angry at your mate and you just retreat to your corner.”

We do. We need to walk away from the fight. Retreat–in both senses of the word.

I urge you to take care of your mind and spirit and tune out the noise, regroup, and take strategic steps to filter what is unnecessary, what is not beneficial to your soul.

Photo Walk: First Day of Autumn Sightings

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I’ve been craving time with my camera, so yesterday I arrived at work 30 minutes before conferences with students were scheduled to begin and took a brief walk–camera and iPhone in tow. As expected, there weren’t many signs of autumn, but the walk provided a refreshing start to my day and a clear mind as I headed into the weekend.

My campus walks always start with the trees. The oaks did not disappoint with their gnarly trunks and roots. The fungus attracted my attention here.

Notice the resting ent?

I wonder how he got here from Middle Earth. Or is he a tree troll?

The Dogwoods have so many interesting transformations throughout the year. I’ll have to make a point of charting the changes one year. They’re showing signs of autumn.

Of course, the evergreen deserves admiration all year long.

It wouldn’t be the first day of autumn in Alabama without butterflies and pink.

It’s about to take flight…

A morning walk requires a squirrel.

A couple of bonus photos shot earlier in the week: One provides proof of autumn.

And a tree I encounter (almost) every time I take a campus walk. There’s so much to love and study.

As I’m reviewing these photos, I’m thinking about my older brother, Dennis–a photographer–and feeling a strong connection to him through our mutual love for nature photography. I’m praying him through a medical crisis and sending hugs and deepest love from the Deep South to the West Coast. I love you, big brother!

“Charming” Postcards with Gandhi

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It’s been about a month since I posted my response to the final prompt of Love Notes 20, so it’s time to make good on my promise to share the cards I received for the prompt. As you might recall, the prompt was “Be the change.”

I received four beautiful postcards from some of my Love Notes penfriends.

Connie F played a little scrabble and then crafted this cute card. 😉

“Scrabble: Be the Change,” Postcard made by Connie F.

Expounding on the theme, Connie writes,

“Change in our hearts, minds, and actions start with us for sure.”

She closed her greeting with the greeting found on Christine B’s gorgeous butterfly postcard:

“Butterfly Peace,” Photo by Christine

Be the change…and remember without change there would be no butterflies.  FLY HIGH.

Eileen V cited Robin Sharma and cautioned that, “change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.”

“Deep Meditation”

The back was just as artistic as the front with pretty (and neat) handwriting that I can only dream of emulating.

Andrea F, ever unique in her approach to the prompts, sent a recipe, ‘How to be the Change.”

“Recipe for Change,” postcard and charm crafted by Andrea F

Ingredients:

  • You
  • Your passion
  • Lots of love, patience
  • A hint of craftiness

Directions: Believe in yourself. Believe in others. Dream big and go for your dreams. Inspire others and spread your love.

As you can see, Andrea also crafted and placed a wine glass charm on the card. This added a “charming” feature to the card.  I’ve attached the charm to my Gidan Nodza Traveler’s Notebook, so I get to see it every day!

My “Charmed” Traveler’s Notebook

Here’s a close up of the charm:

Charm made by Andrea

See how it honors our snail mail relationship. 🙂

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” is a quote typically attributed to Gandhi. However, that is simply a pithy “reduction” of Gandhi’s full statement:

We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do. – Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi underscores the interactive nature of transformation between the world and us. We, alone, do not create change in the world, rather we respond to the world’s need, a need that is also within us. As we change, the world is transformed and vice versa. 

Are you tuning in? Listening for what the world needs? And what you need?

Rumi: The Guest House

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Artwork by Chante Marie

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
— Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
translated by Coleman Barks

Monday Blues with the Moon Goddess

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Since today is a holiday in the USA, I replaced my usual Monday blues with some other blues.

“Painted Snail”

Christine B. sent this cool painted snail postcard with well wishes for the start of the academic year. She found the card at Snailmailcool, which is all about “old school” mail–“putting it in a mailbox…so the recipient can open it, read it, save it…treasure it.”

“Swimming with Dolphins,” Mixed Media Mandala by Judi Rose

Do you see the tiny dolphins in the center of the mandala? They swam all the way from Albany, Western Australia, thanks to Nyima. Since we met, Nyima and I have noted the synchronicity of our encounters.  Even our names are synchronous–her name, given to her by a Tibetan lama while on a spiritual journey, means sun; mine means moon. It was not so surprising, then, that I received her soothing blue dolphins the same day I received Christine’s blue snail.

She addressed me as “Moon Goddess” in the card and expressed wishes for “much joy, love, and happiness–today and every day.”

Nyima creates stunning mandalas, under the name Judi Rose Art. You can see more of her art via Facebook and Instagram.

“Autumn Blues” by Tara Kamiya

Of course, this Monday holiday required taking a little quiet time, gazing out of my home office window, watching the butterflies play, and updating my everyday ARC for autumn. My friend Cy gifted this divider and matching stickers to me last autumn. She purchased them from Tara Kamiya who designs and sells planner goodies.

Since it wouldn’t be a proper bluesy Monday without music, I leave you with some music for Tuesday–in case the other kind of blues are deferred till you return to work tomorrow:

Have a cool blue day!