Favorite Bach

This piece makes my spirit leap up. If you're not moved by this beautiful, beautiful music, you may need to have your heart checked for activity.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)

Harpsichord Concerto in d minor, Wq.23 (1748)

Now listen to it again with the speaker turned up and your eyes closed.

on balance

I was asked a hypothetical question once, as an ice-breaker in a group --
you know, to get to know each other better. The question was this:

"If you could be any tool, what tool would you be and why?"

One said a hammer, one said a saw, among other answers.
I wish I could remember the reasons they gave but I can't.

I didn't have to think twice and automatically knew which one I would be.
I would be a level.







Because I've always strived to be level-headed and balanced.
Not that I always was, but that's been my goal most of my life.
Maybe I craved it since I came from a chaotic and unbalanced childhood.

I still have a long way to go on achieving balance,
but I try to keep it in mind even when I make little everyday decisions.
It's really challenging for me at times to remain balanced.
But I think I'm pretty level-headed.
(I'm sure some may disagree!)








My friend Heather knows of my quest for balance,
as we've shared our thoughts on it.
She gave me a quote in a frame that encourages me. It says:


BALANCE
To bring into harmony the things that matter most in life.


When I pass by it,
it reminds me not to spend a lot of time on things that don't matter.
That's a huge subject, because what matters to some may not matter to others.

For me, it's remembering to take time to breathe,
time to bond with my loved ones daily in a meaningful, deep way.
It's connecting with others.
It's also taking time for solitude,
time to connect with God.

Of course, we gotta get our stuff done too -- our work.
But even that can be enjoyable
when it's balanced with all the other things in life.
And all the other stuff shouts for our attention.
It's not like we have to be sure to make time for it.
It'll mostly always get done.

I read in a book once that the three essentials we need
to balance and make time for in life are
- work (our occupation)
- service (to our community and those in need)
-play (leisure and free time)

Yes, a level would be a handy tool to be.

What tool would you be?





Linking up with Blog It Forward Tuesday.

ships in distress

Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast Ludolf Backhuysen 1667

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Do we really live? Or merely exist, enduring from day to exhausting day? While what I do is important, what I am is more important.

Do I have energy saved up for my relationship with my spouse or close friends? Or are we like passing ships in the night on a dark and lonely sea? Do we hear the distant horn, the distress signals of our friends, families, neighbors and others, but aren't able to see the other ships through the fog of our own busyness?

Nach dem Tornado 1899 Winslow Homer
Art Institute of Chicago
Source: Wikipedia

When I'm feeling burned out, I need to ask myself: How is my inner life? My relationships? Are they deep and passionate and true? Have I taken the time to make them so? If we're mothers, how are our families? Our husbands? Are they calm and contented? Or as frazzled as we are? As a wife and mother, I set the tone for my home.

Do I have time for God? For solitude; to calm my anxious mind? To breathe deeply and be grateful for every breath.

At night, if we have children, do we try to get them to bed fast so that we can get more done and drop dead in our beds from sheer exhaustion? Or have I paced myself and taken care of needs so that I'm able to relax, savor and enjoy my children, building deep and lasting bonds? If it's not the latter, then I know I need to cease striving and reevaluate what I'm doing and why. "Busyness is the enemy of spirituality, as I shared here.

Sometimes, though, when in distress, we have to be forced to reevaluate. We had the minister and his wife at our old church stop by our home one afternoon. They were upset with my husband and I because we weren't filling their expectations of attending both back-to-back church services one Sunday. We only attended one. Instead, we had chosen to take a meal to a very sick family, after seeing off out-of-town friends that we had hosted for the weekend. Then we needed to take the time to rest and recover from our busy weekend with guests. I share this to make the point that others won't always agree or try to understand our choices to not participate in their agendas, but we still have to follow God's leading, like we did that day. They were very unhappy with us -- but we knew we did the right thing.

Consequently, that confrontation ended up being a blessing in disguise, as the minister's wife brought out a lot of other issues she had with my husband and me, which we hadn't known were busting at the seams. She pushed us to take a long, hard look at our lives, our choices and our walk with God. Sometimes we need that extra shove. God used that incident to bless us with our current situation, and we learned a huge lesson about freedom. We hadn't been listening to that inner voice, so the choice was made for us. For that, we're grateful.

So...we needed to listen to that still, small voice within us; instead of the shouting of other people. That still, small voice instead of the foghorn.

That said, we had to let go of some of ours, and mostly, others' expectations. It's not always easy. But, we trade the better for the best. "Best" may not seem so to others, and that's okay -- it's in the eyes of the beholder.

Disclaimer:

"We teach best what we most need to learn."
~ Richard Bach

don't forget to breathe

George, my baby boy who's not a baby anymore.

I've previously posted this under a different title, but wanted to share it for Sweet Shot Tuesday today. It remains one of my all-time favorite poems. It's by W. H. Davies, entitled Leisure.

"What is the life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile that her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."

My sweet daughter, Pauline.

Take a deep breathe. Exhale. Notice life.

SILENCE

A beautiful Wednesday morning. Nice, sunny and clear outside. Supposed to get a little colder today -- in the 60's.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I envy all you in the north enjoying a "real" autumn with chilly weather and blankets of snow!

Today I'm grateful for SILENCE.

I have a day without the children today, which rarely happens. You that homeschool know how it is when you have to practically schedule time to go to the bathroom alone! Forget completing a thought, that's out of the question most days! So, I'm very, very, very, very, VERY grateful for this day when all the children went to Mimi's. (Mimi is their grandmother.) They'll spend the night and we'll meet up with them tomorrow for Thanksgiving at Mimi's. I have to make a few dishes, and I desperately need to make some dresses, but I'll do it in SILENCE. Aaahhhh....blessed quietness.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I'm grateful for the SILENCE. To not have to talk to anyone. The last time I had a substantial amount of time alone, I went the entire day without talking. Yes, from the time I woke up, until the evening when my husband came home. It was WONDERFUL.

I turned off my phone (I just checked it periodically in case there was an emergency or something).

Photo by Jimi Ann

I declared it a mental health day -- a recovery day. Kind of like a sick day, but I wasn't sick. A retreat. We all need retreats, especially when you're with people who need you 24/7. Jesus retreated, and we need it too.

I made myself a nice breakfast and read a devotional with a cup of tea while watching the morning unfold.

Took a loooong glorious sha-bath. (That's a shower, turned into a bath, for those who haven't experienced this luxury).

I did some light cleaning, with no big goal in mind. You know, it's actually relaxing cleaning and putzing around the house when you're alone, and it's quite meditative.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I read. I prayed. And I wrote.

I did everything slowly, purposefully, and was fully in the moment. I exhaled and remembered not to hurry or rush. My shoulders relaxed. My soul was refreshed and quieted.

It's an especially treasured gift today, in light of the hustle-bustle of the holidays coming up. SILENCE. I read somewhere recently, it's my soul learning to breathe again.

Photo by Jimi Ann

I want to share a verse of one of my favorite hymns:

"Blessed quietness, holy quietness,
Blest assurance in my soul.
On the stormy sea Jesus speaks to me,
And the billows cease to roll."

"Joys are flowing like a river,
Since the Comforter has come;
He abides with us forever,
Makes the trusting heart his home."

(Click on the picture of my hymn book above to read the rest of the lyrics if you want to).

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and hope you all have a blessed time of Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Don't forget to breathe!


Again joining Brenda for the Gratitude Challenge. I'm very grateful for her.

I also just discovered Wordless Wednesday, which I'm excited about participating in! Next week, I'll really have a wordless Wednesday, not just write about it!

Meditation on Acceptance

My husband and I've made some changes to our lives during the last decade, as our thinking and philosophy of life has broadened and gone in a not-so-popular direction. It hasn't always been received easily with friends or relatives, and understandably so. People aren't readily comfortable with the unfamiliar. It takes a while to get used to. While it's not always easy for them, it's not always easy for us as well.

It's not easy following a less-sought-after path. It's definitely not the path of least resistance, because we're not "going with the flow." But it's the path God has called us to and we find peace and rest in it.

It's not the path for everyone, and that's okay. We don't try to make others go the way we have chosen. We try to accept them where they are and with the choices they've made. They don't need to agree with us, or we with them -- but we do need to accept them, and hope they do us. But that's not always so. Sometimes it's lonely.

But I haven't always been the most accepting, either, and definitely have room to grow. It brings back to mind a quote that I've shared before, "We teach best what we most need to learn." (The quote is by the author that wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull.)

I guess the older we get, the more we realize how much we don't know. We realize how we don't need to convince everyone to walk as we walk. How we're not as right as we sometimes think. Humility. I guess you could say that non-acceptance is a form of pride, no? A thought to ponder.


Sometimes people aren't accepting by accusing others of being legalistic. I was talking to a brother and he said someone accused him of being legalistic, although this brother was accepting of his friend. He was following the path for his family that God had called him to. He didn't require others to have the same convictions.

The brother being accused said something like, "Well, have I imposed my ways upon you?" The answer was no. He made the point that it was actually the accuser being legalistic, in that by accusing him of being legalistic, he was implying that his friend should change to be more "normal" like him. The friend/accuser was the one that had a problem with the way this brother lived, not the other way around. Maybe the friend felt threatened that this brother wasn't following the status-quo. The friend then agreed with the brother, and the friendship probably grew to a new level because of the humbleness and acceptance displayed by the brother.

Photo by Drew

Anyway, we appreciate the rich variety which makes life interesting, and realize how boring life would be if we were all alike, and we learn from each other. This is acceptance. Not mere tolerance, but true acceptance, is what we desire -- to give acceptance as well as to receive acceptance.

I'll end with one my favorite quotes penned by Henry David Thoreau:

"If a man loses pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured, or far away."

Photos by Jimi Ann, except where noted.

May we give each other liberty to listen to the drummer each is hearing. And love each other unconditionally while we're at it.

The gift of Acceptance. Easy to receive, but difficult to give.

I'm very grateful today for the Acceptance we've come to appreciate so much. It's coming along and we don't feel as alienated as we used to. Stop over at Garden of Learning where Brenda is challenging us to a Gratitude Challenge for the month of November.

I'd love to hear any comments you have. Your thoughts and ideas bring fresh perspective and are inspiring to me. I'll try to be accepting of all! :)

Solitude in November

Peter, my firstborn, 14-year-old son

November. A new month. A new season (almost). We embrace the deepening of the autumn season, and anticipate the beginnings of winter. This season is a time of reflecting, of snuggling in a down comforter with hot chocolate. I look forward to waking up while it's still dark, lighting a candle and snuggling on the loveseat in our bedroom to welcome the day. In silence. Ahhh....the gift of solitude.



I read the Psalms or some other inspirational reading, and look out the window and just think. Leisurely thinking -- just having your own thoughts without interruption -- is a luxury when you have children at home all day! I relish this time. When I read at this time, I don't read to get through as much as I can. This is not a time to be productive. I'm productive all day long. This is a time to meditate, to just simply BE. "Be still and know that I am God, " says Psalm 46:10.

Soon I'll start smelling coffee wafting down the hallway from the kitchen. Peter must be up. I hope he puts cinnamon in it this morning. Mmmmm....the aroma just whispers COZY.


He did. He DID put cinnamon in it! I'm thankful on this first November day.

What are some of the simple pleasures that you're thankful for in this season?

(All photos by Jimi Ann)

Visit Melissa at the Inspired Room for more thoughts/ideas on this season:

Life!

Someone planted row upon row of corn in the hilly field by the small pond across the street. As I was quietly strolling along early this morning, watching my little part of the world wake up, I noticed how full of life the field had become. It was seemingly empty and barren just last month, with bare ground and brown weeds. Very dead. Now with fresh green sprouts (they're about three feet tall now), the field has come alive! The soft morning sunlight made the green stalks glisten, and there was a very gentle breeze -- barely noticeable if one wasn't purposefully noticing. The up and coming stalks were delicately swaying in the summer breeze; very delighted to be the ones to occupy that space!