Adventure

My sister-in-law and I pray once a week over the phone for our family. We've done this for a number of years now. We've prayed for the extended family by going through a printed family tree. We've prayed for and continue to pray for our children. And now, this year, we are praying for all those who have married into our family and for their extended families. This includes a LOT of people whom we will never even know. It is exciting to think that as the Lord leads us in these prayer times that He will be working in the lives of these unknown people (to us) and blessing them and revealing Himself to them.

Prayer is such adventure! When I open up my Bible to read and then to pray, I am never quite certain what direction that prayer time will take. I am usually surprised and always greatly stimulated by the process. It is a fascinating experience to be aware of how the Holy Spirit will take what I'm reading in several different sources, take what I've read in the Bible, take my snippets of conversations with others and then meld it all together to bring forth revelation and insight which results in fodder for prayer.

I received a new book today Payne Hollow Journal by Harlan Hubbard and came to a paragraph in the introduction (p. xiii) which says of Harlan Hubbard's wife:

"Always their work was their pleasure. Anna gave praise to 'precious daylight
hours,' for they gave her light to work by. She was an elegant woman, tall,
fair, feminine, and beautiful. She moved through her days with an effortless
grace. In a corner of the Hubbards' small house was a grand piano Anna played in
the evenings with the skill and measured passion of an accompished musician,
which she was."

Earlier in the day I had been completing my reading in Revelation and came to Revelation 19:7 (Amplified) which says:

Let us rejoice--and shout for joy--exulting and triumphant! Let us celebrate and
ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb [at last] has come
and His bride has prepared herself. (Emphasis is mine.)

C.S. Lewis in Perelandra, the second in his science fiction trilogy, writes about the green Lady, who is a type of Eve in the newly forming planet of Perelandra. He ably conveys her as noble, queenly and yet as one who speaks to and hears from the Creator, "Maleldil". She and Ransom are speaking about Ransom's home planet:

"But that other world was older than yours," she said.
"How do you know that?" asked Ransom in amazement.
"Maleldil is telling me," answered the woman...."

These 3 segments quoted above encouraged me greatly. In the quote from Hubbard's book, his wife is spoken of as an accomplished musician. Embedded in her accomplishment is the trained discipline for being measured in her passion. She doesn't just dump a lot of notes together in her playing. There is a time and place for each note, and she recognizes when that is. In her work, she takes pleasure in what she does and she works while it is day. Jesus warned us in John 9:4 to work while it is day because the night is coming when no one can work.



The passage in Revelation spoke to me about the need to allow myself to be prepared by the LORD for His return. This verse says that the Church prepares herself. Therefore, the Church is actively participating in her preparatory process by submitting to what the Lord Jesus would train her in doing. I thought of the book of Esther and how Esther went through months of preparation before she was brought before the king.



Then in the quotation from Perelandra, I was encouraged by the words "Maleldil told me." to be a more diligent listener to the Holy Spirit. As I listen better, I will be enabled to move in grace, discipline, understanding, greater appreciation for the work that I am doing and have the ability to hear His Voice ever more clearer and clearer.

These things became part of my personal prayer time today.

Retreating Years

December was an interesting month! Along with the normal busyness of the season, the influenza bug grabbed me by the teeth and wouldn't let go. I lost precious time which I'd allotted to finishing up Christmas gifts and instead of making things, I lolled in bed. My recovery was slow, but I did put my weak days into profitable use by listening to an audio book and reading snippets from other valuable sources. I can't wait to share what I've gained from that enforced time of quietness! It was tremendous!! I wonder if my heightened biological sensitivity also helped sensitize me spiritually? It's an interesting idea...

The book I listened to was Jan Karon's A New Song. I have a printed copy - and I think I'd even read it once. But to listen to it as I laid on the sofa, unable to do anything else, was just amazing. When I read, I buzz through the pages pretty fast and I pass over descriptive language too quickly. I don't take time to drink in the nuance of ideas. Listening to the story read to me was a a rich experience in hearing dialogue, mentally imaging situations and altogether just drinking in the story itself! I was pleased with the breadth of Jan Karon's insights and quotations and her ability to juxtapose. She skillfully entwines ordinary people with extraordinary kindness and generosity. She melds together humor and pathos. And there is always an underlying current of victory even when she brings out the sorrows of life. I find her quotations to be very inspiring and fitting.

Another book that deeply affected me is a small volume I happened to pick up at The Book Mouse in Ottawa when I went to a drama workshop held by my friend, Donna. The book, Meditations on Nature, Meditations on Silence is by Roderick MacIver and Ann O'Shaughnessy. Rod MacIver's artwork is beautiful and fitting as the images blend with the quotations. I found the quotes of various writers and artists to be invigorating and inspiring as they reflect on the need and value of quietness in the creative process. The book is published by Heron Dance, a nonprofit organization with a big idea. I am hoping that I can get permission from Rod MacIver to post a few of his watercolors and I'll continue to reflect on the quotes from his books. I signed up for a weekly meditation that they'll send via email. The subscription process is available on the website linked above.

The picture that I posted today is one that I made in early December when I was beginning to watch my various videos of "The Christmas Carol". The video version done with George C. Scott has a funeral cortege that looks a lot like this as it rumbles past him while he walks home on a gloomy Christmas Eve. I was thinking when I made this picture how quickly the years pass by and what a spiral life seems to be.

The concept of life being a spiral came through one of my favorite podcats, Cast-On by Brenda Dayne. It's a knitting podcast, but Brenda does such a splendid job with her podcast that she infuses it with much more than knitting. I find her challenging and energizing. On her latest podcast (72), she talks about life being a spiral. I've heard of people saying that life is a circle. Or that life is a straight line. The spiral idea was a new concept to me, and I've been thinking about it ever since. In podcast 72, Brenda has a segment with Kim Werker, former editor of the Interweave's Crochet and founder of CrochetMe. In this podcast, Brenda interviews Kim who talks about her own creative process. It was fascinating! Kim talks about being "a starter". She is an idea person who comes up with thousands of ideas and loves to interact with other creative people. She gets bored once an idea is off the ground and is ready to move onto the next creative venture. I could really relate to what she said. Her insights encouraged me as I saw myself shadowed in her own form of creativity.

SOOOO - all this blather is about this: I feel like the Lord dropped into my heart at the first of the year the slogan "Refine in 2009". This "refining" process can take many different forms as I begin to refine my home by purging it of stuff that I no longer use. Or it could take the process of "refining" as I continue to seek excellence and quality in the steps that I take and the things that I make. Or it could take the process of "refining" as I allow the Lord to remove from me those things which inhibit His life in me: jealousy, fear, etc. etc.

I am going to continue pressing into these things in 2009 and I'm going to write about them on this blog. It will be my own personal way to press more deeply into the creative processes that I want and need to explore.