A Psalm of Cinquains - X, Y, Z

Today marks the end of the journey through our English alphabet...and now that we are here, I have been inspired to gather these together in a booklet!  Still working on that, hopefully it will be ready to unveil after Thanksgiving...

"X"
Χριστός...
the Messiah...
Anointed One...anoint
me, bless me, cover me...please dwell
with me.

"Y"
Your Name
is the embrace
of who You are - and as
my soul considers, Your glory
fills me.

"Z"
Zion
God's Holy Hill
Here we gather to sing;
For Mount Horeb has been fulfilled
by Grace!

Just a note for your understanding this more fully....Mt. Horeb is another name for Mt. Sinai, where the law was given...
Mount Zion refers to the dwelling place of God, even tho' is is also part of the city of Jerusalem, especially when thinking of ancient Jerusalem and the part of Jerusalem called "The City of David".  Mount Zion is therefore associated with grace, and not the law...
Also, at one time I learned an acronym for grace: God's Riches At Christ's Expense...so perhaps now you know the fullness of where I went with this poem!


 I recently got inspired by David's work in writing Psalm 119...and at the same time had come across this instruction (from an old homeschool English book) for writing cinquains...I am sure it wasn't just a serendipitous coincidence!  So here I am, taking the 26 letters of the English alphabet and creating my own Psalm of Cinquain for my Lord...(one a week for imperfect prose, now upped to 2- or more!)

Joining with Emily and other imperfects at imperfect prose...

Here is the pattern for writing a cinquain: 
Line 1 - states the title.........................2 syllables
Line 2 - describes the title....................4 syllables
Line 3 - expresses an action ................6 syllables
Line 4 - expresses a feeling..................8 syllables
Line 5 - another word for the title.........2 syllables

Would you like to join me in writing your own?

Texture Tuesday + Sneak Peek Friday -All is Safely Gathered In

Thanksgiving Blessings to Everyone!

Mouse over to see the photo I worked from...

I have been missing the community get togethers I attended as a child, in the small towns of rural Iowa, where the churches would all combine and have one single, great Thanksgiving service on Wednesday night, to prepare our hearts rightly for the next day - with prayers, harvest hymns, and a short program of giving thanks to God for so. many. things. from the previous year's blessings...

The women would plan their baking and preparations around this service, for it was as important as the full table the following day - we would dress in our Sunday finery, the smell of apples cider and cinnamon in the air, the night temperature brisk enough for our breath to be seen...these memories have created their own "harvest home" in my heart!

This is another photo taken at our Pumpkin Patch field trip and processed using 2 layers of the texture "Phoebe" by Kim Klassen...each set to "softlight" at 50% opacity...the snip to the left shows my layers

Joining with Jennifer and other creatives at Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday...

Joining with Kim and the community of photoshop enthusiasts...

"& sing" - Sneak Peek Friday

We were in church one Sunday morning when I began to see this face in my mind.  We were singing a praise song with this line: “awake my soul and sing”…and the rest just flowed.  I sketched it in the notebook I had brought to take notes in, and knew this would be the first watercolor face I would do…trying out the watercolor sketching techniques Jennifer O. and Junelle have been doing recently (both "Sneak Peek" friends in blogland)!

Joining with Jennifer and other creatives at Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday...

A Psalm of Cinquains - U, V, and W

"U"
Under
the shadow of
His Wing we pause, finding
a place to rest, sanctuary,
His Peace.

"V"
You are
the Vine, I am
just a branch - grafted in,
nourished by pure Love, flowing with
true Life.

"W"
Worship
Him in Spirit
and in Truth - reality
meets belief - and we offer all
to Him.

I recently got inspired by David's work in writing Psalm 119...and at the same time had come across this instruction (from an old homeschool English book) for writing cinquains...I am sure it wasn't just a serendipitous coincidence!  So here I am, taking the 26 letters of the English alphabet and creating my own Psalm of Cinquain for my Lord...(one a week for imperfect prose, now upped to 2- or more!)

Joining with Emily and other imperfects at imperfect prose...

Here is the pattern for writing a cinquain: 
Line 1 - states the title.........................2 syllables
Line 2 - describes the title....................4 syllables
Line 3 - expresses an action ................6 syllables
Line 4 - expresses a feeling..................8 syllables
Line 5 - another word for the title.........2 syllables

Would you like to join me in writing your own?

Growing Old - Texture Tuesday - "Two"

This photo was taken on our field trip to the pumpkin patch in October - there were so many great rustic objects at the farm...these old chairs just grabbed my attention!  I'm not sure I am totally satisfied with the finished product, but it is time to start school for the day, and the sweet tweener needs the computer!

The texture I used is called "Shades of November".

Joining with the Texture Tuesday bunch...

She has a face, and wings...and a name...

Angel of Progress: holding fast to eternal hope while embracing the "what is"

She has been, and is, 

a "lady in waiting"

She is "becoming",

from this beginning...

She has more of me in her 

than I would care to admit...

she does have a face -

(where I would rather - sometimes - remain in the background, hidden...faceless).

I wonder why

I find it so hard 

to paint a wing, or a pair...

the desire for balance?

(continuing the learning that balance and perfect tend to be polar opposites).

I choose other projects

when one requires 

more time -
tosoak, to absorb, to ferment...

And perhaps the finished piece

may sparkle and flavor life

like water made into wine

by the Bridegroom Himself...

Joining with Jennifer and other creatives at Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday...

Remember - 5 Minute Friday

One flash -
like lightning in the mind...

and snatches of images and thoughts (more like beliefs) from my life all traverse my mind...the sameness of these last homeschooling years, the teen years of the boys before that, their early childhood, and then a leap to mine, and the thought of shame, ground in, stamped into, deeply forming even my bones, my bones of soul and spirit...and I stop abruptly.

Here I wanted to write something profound and deeply moving and of course spiritually inspiring, and I end up at the depth of shame that my life once held, and even now, there are times when I know I haven't gotten the bone marrow transplant yet, even tho' the rest of the disease has been arrested and healed...

I debated (before I started) whether to write this or not...if people knew shame was such an issue - still - would they want my art? Would they want my words? Would they want my counsel? Perhaps not, not all, not the ones who are seeking a refreshing drink before they go on their way, but perhaps the ones who would pause, take their drink, and then stay by my shoulder to offer their own small meal of loaves and fishes, hoping along with myself that Jesus would again create the miracle of multiplying our offering to feed thousands....

After the 5:
I had a friend (remembering her!) who used to love to take words apart and play with how the individual words develop the meaning of the word just dissected...so "remember" would be "re - member"...to member again.  And I think that is what the miracle Jesus brings into healing our shame entails, to "member us again"...

• when "member" means parts of our body - He puts back and heals that which was damaged or even chopped off...as He healed a man's withered arm or a man's chopped off ear and even gave eyes/sight to one who never had any...He gives back parts of me that were withered, chopped off, or were never there due to the shame that became a part of me...

•  when "member" means I am part of a larger body - He places me back where I belong, in the midst of other believers...and helps me be risky as I join with others, as I begin to be used within a group, as my weakness becomes strength...

Joining with the 5 Minute Friday group:

A Psalm of Cinquains - R, S, and T

"R"
Return
and rest in Him...
then quietness and trust
become your strength - when you press in
to Him.

"S"
Jesus,
our Covenant
Maker; a blood treaty
with the power of eternity...
Savior!

"S"
Saved from
sin: the problem,
the penalty, the prac-
tice, and in the end, sin's presence...
by Him!
 
"T"
Teacher,
teach me to be:
salt and light, merciful,
humble, holy, moldable, true...
like You...


I recently got inspired by David's work in writing Psalm 119...and at the same time had come across this instruction (from an old homeschool English book) for writing cinquains...I am sure it wasn't just a serendipitous coincidence!  So here I am, taking the 26 letters of the English alphabet and creating my own Psalm of Cinquain for my Lord...(one a week for imperfect prose, now upped to 2- or more!)

Joining with Emily and other imperfects at imperfect prose...

Here is the pattern for writing a cinquain: 
Line 1 - states the title.........................2 syllables
Line 2 - describes the title....................4 syllables
Line 3 - expresses an action ................6 syllables
Line 4 - expresses a feeling..................8 syllables
Line 5 - another word for the title.........2 syllables

Would you like to join me in writing your own?

Texture Tuesday - Guardian I

With one layer (of many layers) using "and then some"...

I painted this (mouse over the image to see the original painting) during the summer, and afterward thought "I wish I had made that background a lighter, country blue"...thus the idea to play with photoshop and the background + other effects...

Joining with Kim Klassen for Texture Tuesdays...