[hey little hurricane]

(shhh, don't tell isaac he's still just a tropical storm)

hey little hurricane
you're vaulting, somersaulting,
and messing about
in your secret hideout.

nobody knows how big you'll be
nobody's radar can just quite see
how fierce and how fun
you'll be when you come
or what damage you'll do
when you grow to be two

hey little hurricane
for now you're still forming,
so kicking and storming
on your own is just fine.
but soon you'll be mine
to spin with and sing and
explore everything -
hurry up and make landfall already!

-jcs-

of water & blossoms

While J. studies, I paint!

playing in picasa

pixel effect, picasa

pencil sketch effect, picasa

 Using watercolors, paper, and some brushes from wal-mart, I copied the above picture, "Cherry Blossoms," from pineapplebaystudio for my own enjoyment. No copyright infringement intended.

fun with socks (and rice)

inspired by "how to make a teddy bear from a sock" 

O, Church, come stand in the LIGHT

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." - Galatians 5:13-15

"In an attempt to hinder, if not altogether halt, the next move of God, Satan has sent forth an army of faultfinding demons against the church. The purpose of this assault is to entice the body of Christ away from the perfections of Jesus and onto the imperfections of one another." - Francis Frangipane

"Now the question is, 'Shall we have a great and mighty harvest, or shall we go on discussing our differences?'"- D.L. Moody

The cry goes up

across the nations;

wedding music 

shakes the hills.

"The feast is ready!

Come be merry."

All the world with gladness thrills.

This, O Church, is quickly coming,

we preparation now must make.

Alert and ready may He find us

clothed in His glory, adorned, awake.

-jcs-

Chocolate & Raspberry Fun

Step 1: Pull off the side of the road and fill whatever containers you happen to have on hand with wild raspberries.

Step 2: Mix a dollop or two of Greek yogurt with a couple spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Add a heaping handful of coconut. Form into little balls and put them on crackers. Put on parchment paper/cookie sheet.

Step 3: Melt some Ghirardelli baking chocolate (microwave on half power for 2 min; stir.)

Step 4: Spoon melted chocolate onto coconut balls. Realize you have lots of extra chocolate. Go to the pantry, get peanuts, pretzels, and peanut butter. Go crazy - cover everything in chocolate.

Step 5: Refrigerate until hardened. Then eat.

Not exactly Rembrandt

Came across some beautiful nursery art by Kit Chase (here at etsy). Inspired, i got out my watercolors & copied these cute little elephants. I had a marvelous time and now have some baby-friendly artwork.

his little tail just kills me.

aren't elephants CUTE???

Just to be clear, I painted these to hang in my own home for my own enjoyment and intend no copyright infringement whatsoever.

current life mottos

yo quiero

More of Fedor van der Valk's String Gardens 

Creativity vs. TV

Last night (while hunting for something in one of my atrociously disorganized closets), I found some Sculpey and decided  to eschew television and instead try my hand at creating. Here's what I came up with: 

Before I baked the Sculpey, I pressed a-not-so-favorite stud earring into the back of the rose - 
vindicating my penchant for holding on to mis-matched earrings & broken jewelry parts.

Note: i modeled these off a pair of white rose earrings from Hannah - sisters for the win! 

I made another pink rose & spray painted it gold (i didn't make the pearls).

Gotta love gold spray paint! 

Well, I had used up all the pink, so I switched to green and brown and made....a plant!
It's the one in the silver container. No watering necessary! 

A rather random creation. The butterfly is from the handle of a broken butter-knife.

Maybe I'll paint the green part gold?

After I made this tree (and before I baked it), I poked
a hole in the top with a needle - vola! Christmas ornament!

(or rather, a fridge ornament)

A little toadstool.

Now these are certainly one-of-a-kind earrings!

And, since i had a little bit of green left, I made a Sculpeysaurus named Noshi.

Way more fun than watching tv....and now I have a dinosaur!

[we shatter the world]

we shatter the world
with our grief;
the pieces spin on the floor of the universe, uncounted
through the tears. we cannot
build another, or mend what was
never meant to be broken. we
sit with our backs to the wall
of reality,
questioning each heartbeat, and with small
whispers, asking
why
did the sun rise again today?

we do not understand the purpose of pain
because we do not want to own that its origin
was birthed in our rebellion. Disassociative disorder.
What's mine is mine is mine...we snarl even as we weep.
And yet,
though we are lying, small-bodied, in the corner
of our own ignorance,
you pause. Compassion.

You see us shaking with sorrow and fear,
like wounded animals, helpless.
Gently, You take the shards of our pain
into Your hands, showing
that all things - in this world and the next -
can be made whole.

Rebellion turns to joy, but the
pain remains. You understand
pain.

You know the blackness when the
universe is shattered by grief. You know what it is
to be broken. Yet You are the builder...
what's Yours is Yours is Yours....
And yet, You cry words of love,
even as You weep, reminding us
to hope
because the sun did rise again today.

[a winter prayer]

Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame;

He is mindful that we are but dust.

-Psalm 103

Dear Lord,
You are building this house, ripping out walls and unblocking drains and building a strong foundation with gold. I know you know what you are doing, and I don't deserve to have you in my life at all. But it is uncomfortable. I feel vulnerable and powerless when i am out of your presence. My trust in the world and its wisdom is shaken, and all its answers ring hollow. Yet your answers bewilder me...i have to read them again and again, every day, and each time i fall deeper in awe of your holiness. How can you care for me, who am but a quintessence of dust - of earth and sin and tears? Yet at the same time, deep deep deep inside my heart, I know you. I meet with you. I worship you as the Creator God, the Lord of beginnings and of endings, of birth and rebirth, of adoption and redemption. Yes, i affirm you as the Sovereign King. I claim your name through Jesus Christ. I belong to you. Shall i receive good from the hand of the Lord, and not adversity? Be it unto me as you have said. You have brought water out of solid rock. You have healed the sick and raised the dead. Every child, every human being who has breath in his nostrils belongs to you. You are LIFE, not death, and your delight and love is for the good of your children, not their harm.

God, i am specifically asking you for grace to believe in your goodness during the month of January. You see the bruises on my heart where death is trying to steal my joy and turn my trust into ungodly sorrow and doubt and all manner of insidious, un-renewed thoughts and actions.

Please allow me, infuse me, animate me, empower me to be your servant to my fullest and best ability. Help me as I study your Word. Help me to pray continually. Hold me together, Lord, for the glory and wonder of your Name. Lord, most of all, OPEN MY EYES to see you in your holiness, in your true character, so that I can worship you with my whole soul, nothing held back. Jesus, it is in your name that I ask for all these things, confident that in you, and through you, and to you and for you are ALL things, and you are able to give more than I can even ask for or imagine!

You are wonderful, Jesus. You are coming back! Help us to be ready! Fill us with love! I love you! I miss you, and I can't wait to meet you face to face! Thank you for your Word, and for all the stories in Scripture about unfulfilled longings and disappointed hopes that found their resolution and satisfaction in You! I love you!

Amen.

photo by me: sunrise on oasis, mexico

a little miracle

there aren't enough words
to describe how the birds
alight on the lake
with a shimmering shake
making ripples and waves
and poetical caves
of shadowy flight.
what a glorious sight
to share with the night

reminder

i'd rather give my body than my soul,

sacrifice part to save the whole.

lay down dust to take up life,

be clothed with peace in place of strife.

the gift is free - it is freely given,

but hands full of earth cannot hold heaven.

-jcs-

(credit for line 1 goes to Isabella & her reply to Angelo in Act II, scene IV of Measure for Measure) 

Thanksgiving - 1621

Thanksgiving - 1621


There is grass on the graves now, bleached pale gold by the October sun.

Fifty remain of the hundred that sailed.

Seven houses now stand, built very near Despair.

Sickness...remember the days where only six of us could walk.

Chief Massasoit has brought a legion of braves...to feast and revel.

Hostile eyes always watching. We buried our dead in secret.

Anna is tying her apron again, sweet voice raised in Psalm XXIII.

Prow towards the unknown, waves like mountains...this the valley of the shadow of death.

Samoset and Squanto are surrounded, young ones beg for stories of bears and leopards.

Oh God, send aid! This our final hour, unless in Thy mercy you spare us!

Venison, wild turkey, oysters, carrots...even pies with berries.

Bitter cold Sabbath. No food. No sound but the whimpering of children.

Bradford is admiring a fine eel, caught by a young Indian, flushed even darker at the praise.

Saints and strangers, Old World and New.
We are held in the hands of Almighty God.

Give thanks.
Give thanks.

-jcs-

[shhhhh]

fragment of a thought: what is the texture of faith?

 The texture of Job’s faith

 was sometimes fine, joyful, breathless…lace of a wedding veil

sometimes soft & grateful, amazed - the blanket wrapping his newborn daughter

sometimes plain and sturdy denim, down to business, every morning rising early to sacrifice on behalf of his family.

sometimes sackcloth, rough burlap, dirt clinging to coarse threads, pain in every fold. texture of the curse. 

at the end, though, shining white, whiter than snow. Resurrection cloth. so perfect he needed a transformed body just to feel it...

the texture of my faith? Gaps like a fishing net: doubt, certainty, doubt, certainty...barely enough cohesion to catch a fish.

but faith’s fabric doesn’t tear. 

The greatest of these

love bears all things, believes all things, and hopes all things

it fills in cracks.

it climbs up trees.

and

makes another pot of coffee when the first one gets cold.

love never fails

it braves dark alleys.

it makes itself into a shield.

and
leaps into burning misery with a healing touch. 

love always protects, always trusts, and always perseveres.

it scorns the secret rendezvous.

it waits for the light to turn green.

and

no matter what, makes a stand. 

[His hands are open]

strength to pray

hope to live

the window's hand

stretched out to give 

eyes to see

ears to hear

a hungry soul

drawing near

Lord my God

i am not strong

i need your Son

to carry on

slothful ways

stubborn sins

without your grace

doubting wins 

obey, my soul

your Savior's voice

love, not hate,

must be your choice 

a heart of change

an open hand

the sound of rain

upon the land 

Christ, my all,

you bore my shame

forgave the debt -

I praise your Name!

-jcs- 

[mellow, messy October]

                                                                              Bittersweet October.                                                                           -jcs-
 The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking,
perfect pause between the
opposing miseries of summer and winter.
 - C.B. Hipps -

[to do]

little by little

- jcs -