By Margaret L. Been
All Rights Reserved.
Margaret and I met several years ago through the print journal, TIME OF SINGING. She gave me permission to post her art. For LOTS OF INSPIRATION, please visit her blog, THE MESSY PALETTE . . . growing through art. http://northernview.wordpress.com.
TIME OF SINGING link: http://www.timeofsinging.com.
I’m reviewing my acrostics today. I know some of you enjoy writing them also. You’re welcome to share in the Comments. There are so many good writing challenges on various blogs. I can’t add more items to my list now, but I surely enjoy learning and following all the new and “old” ideas.
P romises of
S erenity
A nd
L ove
M editations and
S trength
This lovely image is from A Victorian Lady’s Scrapbook. It’s a free sample from Dover Publications.
A few thoughts as I turn the page of the calendar to November:
Margaret Dornaus published a special collection, “Day of the Dead III,” on her blog, Haiku-doodle. Many fine artists are featured, with links to their sites. She kindly included the SERENE acrostic I wrote for my mother (October 19, 2012 Post on this blog). Margaret’s link is http://www.haikudoodle.wordpress.com.
I remember attending an All Saints Day service that remembered my cousin, Paul, and several others, at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. As many of you know, his land is now the Paul Brandt School Forest in Boscobel, Wisconsin. Paul was a Vietnam veteran, who returned and gave his life to conservation.
routine errands never routine country roads
memories of teaching Sunday School burning bush
hard years show
I let them show
growing anew
Listening to Christmas music. As I finish this post, I hear Amy Grant singing, “Breath of Heaven.” This song is a part of my life, and is paired with prayers and answers to prayers–in unimagined ways out of losses. “Breath of Heaven,/Hold me together…”
Amy Grant’s site: http://www.amygrant.com.
Emmylou Harris is another artist who continues to bless me.
Emmylou’s latest CD is HARD BARGAIN. One of the songs is about New Orleans: “. . . But we took it to a higher ground”
Her website is http://www.emmylouharris.com.
~ haiku from earlier this year ~
good day of work
Emmylou Harris sings
my evening prayers
The “Natural Bouquet” is from
http://www.reusableart.com.
waves quietly roll to shore
the minutes and days go by
the years add up yet sometimes
fall away . . . it is strange
living these years in my late 50s…
to sometimes feel younger
than when young
(but not all day!)
This reflection today is inspired by Kathleen’s poem, “Self Portrait at Fifty Seven,” which I read at her site late (for me) yesterday. Many of you already know Kathleen. Also please see her “The Seasons Bookshop” for information about her beautiful poetry book, which I own and reread. http://www.thecourseofourseasons.com
Thank you for visiting. The readers of this blog are many ages and you have become constants in my life. I can’t always write comments, but I visit many blogs too. Always happy to say hello and view all the excellent work posted every day. Sometimes I link from here, sometimes from the Reader, and sometimes from my WordPress emails.
I am happy and at peace, and some health challenges, now past, were my very best teachers–and I had and have many good teachers.
The landscape image is from http://www.reusableart.com.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 1: 37
So beautiful, this last Saturday in October. This was a day to pull a warm blue sweater off the shelf, another great find from Bethesda Thrift Store in Sheboygan. The stars I bought there, hanging on the wall by my study, say Love * Faith * Hope. Some days these stars change me. I read from the Psalms aloud, and also the beginning chapters of Luke’s Gospel.
The trees without leaves don’t seem bare or bereft to me. Maybe it’s good to shed, rest, and then leaf out again. I see our cedars shed too.
The willows, though, are still so green and gold–perhaps like a friend who will sit and weep long with us, when that is required, until we have no more tears and can grow again.
We bought 9 grain organic bread at The Oostburg Bakery. One loaf for us, and one for a relative. I learned from their website that they were established in 1929. http://www.oostburgbakery.com
Many ways to serve, to create, grow new leaves after times of rest. My “barge on the horizon” haiku was written when I was adjusting to some major life changes. Sometimes things return in new ways. God’s timing is mysterious. I know, for example, that 20 years is a grain of sand to Him. Today is so beautiful that it is easy to trust. So one day at a time…and blessings to you, this second post I was moved to write today. Ellen
Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin 