The unforced rhthyms of grace

Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

 --Book of Matthew, chapter 11, The Message by Eugene Peterson

A place to pray and enjoy beauty

These are really old pictures from the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu.  It's a place of beauty, peace, and stillness.  I'd love to go back someday for a prayer retreat.  The last two pictures were taken in one of the bathrooms . . . I couldn't resist the beautiful tile!

Those shoes

Yesterday I saw a young girl (maybe 19 or 20) wearing shoes like these and carrying a 2 year old, waiting to jaywalk past a very wide street.  She was pretty and stylish, but stylish in way where the clothes and shoes she was wearing seemed to belong to a woman of an older age . . . so that they didn't seem to fit her quite right.  It was so hot yesterday on the streets of LA and I couldn't help wondering who this girl was, if the child was her daughter, and where she was headed next.  Sometimes the scenes in this city can break your heart.

Collecting

Old images from Catalina . . . I miss this place.  I remember taking these photos and being in the creative zone with Jesus.  It was a wonderful way to experience my faith and relationship with Jesus through creativity.  I didn't know I could do that with him for the longest time.

Silence and solitude in the garden

I took a trip to the Descanso Gardens this past week to spend some time in prayer, reflection, and solitude; spiritual disciplines I've been trying to cultivate since college.  It was so nice to be out in a beautiful garden on a warm, sunny day.  I also grew up coming here and enjoyed a bit of nostalgia . . .

I was also inspired by the garden itself.  I started to imagine my dream garden.  I've decided it would be filled with:
Citrus trees
Olive trees
Pomegranates
Avocados
Persimmons
Rosemary and other herbs
Heirloom tomatoes
Succulents
Bougainvillea
Lilacs
Lots of orbs and decorative cylinders . . . (yes, I subscribe to Sunset magazine).

What would you grow in your dream garden (or what do you grow currently)?

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was extremely low key and fun (but don't get me wrong . . . I don't want to present a sanitized view of my life on this blog.  There was the lingering depression, illness, and anxiety in the midst of good things).  But back to the good things that saved me from the sad things: family, friends, church, homemade gifts, Christmas parties, food, games, and an overall sense of hope from Jesus . . . 

Homemade cranberry jalapeno jam from C.

I made Gallagher's Brown bread to give as gifts.

Yute.

The flicking game.

Shabu Shabu Christmas dinner.

Banchan.

The meat.

The fried rice post Shabu Shabu.

The Christmas cookies at a friend's party.

Keepin' at it

Sometimes this . . .

Leads to this . . . 

And these . . . 

Extending hospitality

Here's some context to yesterday's enigmatic post: I had just come home from a good friend's mother's funeral and I guess I had these thoughts and emotions running through me.  She passed away after a long battle with cancer.   

My friend's mom was an awesome woman.  I'm so blessed to have known her and I'm really grateful that I've had a chance to get to know the families of my good friends, and that they've been able to connect with my family.  There's just a deeper understanding you gain about people when you get to know their families. 

Some of the thoughts shared about my friend's mom at her funeral were in regard to her hospitable spirit and care for others.  I've definitely been a recipient of her hospitality and care.  In college she gave me a pair of really warm socks and a bottle of floral-scented lotion for Christmas.  I still wear the socks around the house when it gets cold.  And more recently I had the rare opportunity to see her at her home a week before her passing.  Even in her very weakened state, she asked if I'd been offered something to eat.  I also noticed how decorated the house looked for Halloween and the fall season.

The priest who presided over the funeral likened my friend's mom to Martha in the Bible.  Martha was a close friend of Jesus' and one of those women who never stopped working to keep the house in order.  She was like the friend who would let you crash at her house whenever you were in town, and one of those people who kept extra toothbrushes and toiletries around for guests just in case (I have some friends like that, and my old roommate and I have housed our many traveling friends--it's great to have friends who feed you and let you crash on their couch).  She was the kind of woman who would cook lots of good food for lots of people and open up her home to anyone in the community.  Her home was a hub for the community to come gather and connect.

There's just something so subtle yet artful in being able to welcome people into your home, offer a warm meal or a cool drink, and pass on a spirit of hospitality and care.  I'm grateful for this woman, and the many other friends, mentors, and family members who have not only shown me their hospitality and care, but have taught me how to pass these things onto others.    

Seasons of life

I thought about this quote from the Bible today.  Much of the words are so mysterious and puzzling to me, but at the same time they make so much sense.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. ^2345678
-From the Bible in Ecclesiastes

And I can't fully explain it but this song has been connected to my thoughts about the Ecclesiastes quote, and my current feelings of late.

 

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Is it possible to fall in love with a park?

This place is one of my favorite spots in the city.  Thank you M and Sunset Magazine for the introduction.

I took some time to meditate, pray, and spend time with God here this past weekend and it was good.  I felt so full and rejuvenated.  Not to sound overly sentimental but there were all these cheery yellow flowers bordering a flight of stairs and I felt like they were old friends welcoming me to sit down and enjoy the sun and fresh air.  Ha, I sound like an English Romantic poet!
 
I would love to come here for a picnic sometime.  If you are reading this post, hit me up so we can plan a fun picnic.  I want to enjoy this park with human friends too.

A Prayer

I sometimes find that I have a hard time knowing how to pray so I find it helpful to use the prayers of others to express my thoughts to God.  I discovered this prayer in high school and have gone back to it time and time again . . .

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen
-Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi