Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Fulfilment

Fulfilment    By  Bernard Thorogood

The leaf was made for dancing
And the cloud for shade at noon
The breeze was made for freshness
When the sea gleams in the moon
The waves were made for stirring
And the mountains to be still
The daisies made for sunlight
And great trees to clothe the hill
And everything that you have made
Was good in your sight Lord
For all things have a part to play
And nothing is ignored

You lead the way from seed to fruit
From womb to birth to youth
You trust all to be mature
To handle love and truth
Now help us Lord to give a place
To every living thing
To know the good that you have made
That every voice may sing


A friend just shared that poem and my response was:

Oh My God I love this poem!!! It resonates so deeply with my belief that we are all Good. Enough. Just as we are. Who tells a burbling brook or a crashing ocean wave or a dancing leaf to be "better", "faster", "straighter", "more than..." than the amazing creation it already is? If only we could learn to accept each other in the same way.  "And everything that you have made was good in your sight Lord." What if, instead of insisting on the dominant culture's paradigm of continuous improvement, constantly seeking to excel and striving for perfection, we decided to fully embrace and celebrate ourselves and each other just as God made us? How subversive and wonderful that would be. That is my prayer for today and always :)

Let me add that I DO still believe we need to grow and change in order to thrive as we move through this journey of life. It's just that I think we expand and become our true amazing selves through positive reinforcement and affirmation, rather than through seeing ourselves as "not quite there yet", always feeling slightly short of the mark. Our creativity explodes exponentially when we feel loved and accepted for who we are. When we celebrate our gifts, when we share them for the sheer joy of being in relationship, and bring all that we are to the circle...that's where the growth and transformation is possible. Be free from the burden getting it "right" and from thinking that we must be ALL things for ALL people ALL the time (which, of course, isn't even within the realm of possibility for anyone!) Let go of thinking in terms of being "better" than who we are, and fully live into being the amazing people we already are.

I'm not always great at this myself...but I keep trying!


Monday, October 14, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

So much to be thankful for...far too many things to list.

And I confess, the true purpose of this post has nothing to do with Thanksgiving Day, it is just to get the photo of sideways Anne's head off the top of my blog!


I picked a random photo from my folders...here's the story:

A couple months ago, Dave and I celebrated our 26th anniversary by going out for supper (to the local tavern...ooo, fancy!) I had a draught beer with my liver and onions (yes, I actually LIKE liver and onions).

The foam in my glass of my 26th anniversary beer formed into a heart. How amazing is that?!

Monday, March 25, 2013

Happy ME Day!!

Celebrating me in 2011



♫ ♪ ♫ 
Happy 18th Anniversary of the 29th Anniversary of the Day of My Birth to me,
♫ ♪ ♫ 
Celebrating me in 2012












♫ ♪ ♫ 
Happy 19th Anniversary of the 29th Anniversary of the Day of My Birth, to me,
♫ ♪ ♫ 









♫ ♪ ♫ 
Happy 20th Anniversary of the 29th Anniversary of the Day of My Birth, dear Me-eee...
Happy 20th Anniversary of the 29th Anniversary of the Day of My Birth to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
♫ ♪ ♫ 

I wonder how I will celebrate me in 2013?? :)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Our next great adventure: France and beyond!!

The time draws near for our trip. This time Mom and I are spending almost three weeks in France, plus a couple days in London and ending with five nights in Barcelona. So exciting!!





We'll be flying direct from Halifax to London, and spending our first three nights at the Arosfa Hotel. Not enough time to do more than get a taste of London, but the things we have on our wish list include: St. Cyprian's (described as "the most joyful church interior in London"), Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, and The National Gallery. We have tickets to Les Miserables, so that is a definite - woot! We plan to end our London leg by going to the choral matins at St. Paul's on Sunday morning, before catching the Eurostar to Paris. (I'm a tad anxious at the thought of being on a train travelling under the Channel, but I'm sure I'll be fine...I just won't focus on the fact that I'm in an underground tunnel with tons and tons of water bearing down on me! lol)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Ash Wednesday prayer

I wrote the following prayer for the Ash Wednesday service at the church where I am doing my supervised field education. I incorporated a hymn called "Don't Be Afraid" from the hymnal More Voices, which I sang a capella. The Spirit moved in our midst as we prayed...


Compassionate God, lover of us all,
From scattered lives, we come to be reconnected…
            With bruised or broken hearts, we come to be healed…
Feeling isolated and alone, we come to be loved…
We long to be reawakened to the melody of your presence that sings through our lives…
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger; my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near.

In our times of distress, when the pressures of life overwhelm us
We sometimes worry others will not understand…and we become afraid to share our burdens for fear of judgement…
When we feel disconnected from our shared human experience…
When we no longer look into the faces of loved one’s to see our own beauty mirrored there…
We can lose sight of how wonderful we are as embodied expressions of your divine love,
We are numb to your Spirit moving in us and in the spaces between us. Our relationships begin to unravel…
O God, draw us back into community when we wander too far alone in the wilderness of life…
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger; my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near.

In the shadows of a lingering winter…
When cold temperatures and slippery roads often mean we are housebound and cut off from the incredible glory of the earth that sustains and shapes our being…
Our relationship with Creation can become weakened and distorted…
Life-giving God, breather of life and energy into every particle of the cosmos…knit us back together, as one body, on Spirit, one strand in the great cosmic web of the universe…
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger; my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near.

God, your healing touch renews our souls…
You enliven our life, our being, our relationships with one another…
Thankful for your eternal presence binding us together,
we tenderly offer the silent prayers of our hearts...
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger; my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near.

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