Live Lightly

Inspired by the psalmists, Live Lightly echoes the pulse of a collection of poems I wrote from June-August about regaining balance and rest in a world that woos my attention with media, self-absorption, input, information, tension, and busyness. Also, it is a re-launching pad for keeping my heart free and clean from offense, hurt and loss and awakening to life, beauty, and vitality.

Quietness and being still before God, being in God’s amazing creation, keeping short accounts regarding forgiveness and taking responsibility for my own sinful responses, not being so busy that there’s no time for spontaneity, meditating on scripture, worshipping my Maker and returning to places of joy/doing things that are life-giving have created a place for me to LIVE more LIGHTLY. I am in process and haven’t arrived, but I see tire marks in the dirt from places I previously treaded…. Time to steady on.

These art pieces are part of LIVING LIGHTLY.  Each piece has gel prints of botanicals and flowers I picked while hiking at Hitchcock Nature Center. The artwork is a bit muted with some contrasting color palettes. The focal points do not have a large scale (size) nor do they boldly pop out at you. They are more subtle. This reflects that LIVING LIGHLTY is a process. There is purpose in the process. Artwork is for sale!

The Kaleidoscope of a Cloud        

The visceral vein of an ominous vapor that is floating in ease while glory provides a gentle touch. The pale, white puff wants to peek through but resists the temptation… perhaps a longing for lingering… for another gaze that lasts longer than sixty seconds. Silence woos an invitation. A bird dances like a speck of dust on high. It’s free then it disappears… still ingesting as the tug of a schedule pulls me in… until tomorrow…

Inch Worm

That blade of grass has just been cut. It cannot bend or sway.  Constricted veins keep it in place afraid to grow again.  Pain and desire go hand in hand awaiting to be faced.  An inch worm becomes my movement and paves the way.

Space for Spontaneity 

Eraser to calendar
No muscles exercised
Accepting invitations
A welcomed surprise
Heart beat is at bay
Pulse a steady 60
Calling a friend
Maybe she will meet me
Peanut butter ice cream
Strolling through the park
Memories and laughter
are not sewn apart
Head hits pillow
Gentle smile released
This can be a way of life
New boundaries in place

Selah (quietly pause and take in)

As the psalmist bellows and echoes the churning and yearning of his heart
I gasp for a word or phrase to sojourn with throughout the day
Rolling it over and over in my mind till it is stained in my heart
Space to discuss…breath to ingest… silence to resist the clamoring world

Quicksand Dismantled 

The sludge and grainy weight were at my shoulders
The oppression took its seat center stage
Chronic pain pulsed and radiated to my extremities
Grief was cascading like The Upper Falls Waterfall in Yellowstone
The battlefield of the mind was waging war to push the play button
The cry of worship was the weapon of warfare
The title echoed was Peace
The fruit that arose was peace
The Prince of Peace came to the rescue

A Timely Fasting Taste

The  power of community for a consecrated cause
comes at price where our gaze subdues the cross         
Goodbye to social media and to the humm of culture’s voices
A bit of rattling in our cages and impulses revealed
The silence is golden with a crave for more servings
Abiding is not second place as the prowler wants to feast
Contending for heart and mind through the pages of each psalm
The sword of the spirit resounds, aligning what’s been lost
On our faces; on our knees. Having a change of mind. 
Turning a 360 in record time
Refresh Renew your bride Take these red, soiled garments
You make them white as snow as you continue to reveal to us the weeds that are overgrown

Tipped   

Tugging at the bones from my phalanges to occipital
A luminous ,7am, kapow orange-pink sunrise won the battle
Briefly turning to put on sneakers
I returned to a soft, blush, orange palette sky
Dangling as oppression wants to steal the whispers from my Maker,
the movement for my heart and vitality for my soul
My spirit is revived and ready to absorb the tender beauty of a late August day

Reflective Questions:
-Which poem impacted you the most and why?
-What is one step you can take this week to LIVE more LIGHTLY?

Aspen Revealed and Haiku

Photo credit- ceramic tile from Old Colorado City gift shop.

The turning of Aspen leaves are quite the spectacle in Colorado.  People await the incline and the shallowed air that enters their lungs. The ascension fascinates and the buzz of the season never disappoints.  The colors are breath-taking in their splendor of yellow gold, orange or slightly red.

Aspens and Haiku Poetry~

Haiku poems are traditionally about nature and seasonal changes.  Poetry is a gift to our senses and the psalms a gift to our heart and emotions, as it is a book of poetry and song!

Psalm 55:22a (Amplified, Classic Edition)

Cast your burden on the Lord (releasing the weight of it) and He will sustain you.

Haiku poems go like this… There are three lines of 5 syllables in the first, 7 in the 2^nd and 5 in the 3^rd. They often invite a cutting word but do not have to.  This poem spilled out of my heart one day. 

Aspen Revealed

A furled, blowing leaf

With crisp, blue-slivered edges

Snap!… then flows downstream

Why a furled leaf?  Furled means to wrap or roll something close to or around something; neatly and securely rolled or folded up. This decade of life has continuing chapters of feeling restricted with limitations.  It looks different than I thought it would look.  I thought I’d be in a different place in certain areas of life that I am not.  Perhaps you can relate. Being tossed by the wind some days, brings uncertainty with the hope of leaning into my beloved Maker like this furled aspen leaf.

Why blue-slivered edges?  My favorite color is blue… nearly any and every shade. So why not just change the color for preference sake. This decade of life has brought to surface exploring and realizing what makes me tick, come alive, self awareness, growing in more compassion (or at least desiring to) etc.  In this sense, what a gift getting older can bring; however, the slivered edges insert the sharp, pointed foe that steals, kills, and destroys…hanging around like a storm cloud that’s ready to dump its precipitation… then comes abundant life!

Why Snap!? That word represents the suddenlies in life… those moments where something changes in an instant.  The cumulation of years of sowing into learning how to renew my mind with truth.  The “sword verses” that pierce the darkness and bring clarity and light. The new direction that discernment, counsel and risk unfold.

Why flows downstream? Who doesn’t want to be free to live in the moment more? To not take every moment of life, future planning, or decision making so intensely that it consumes and disrupts your ability to maneuver with lightness and joy.

So, in the meantime… the call is to PERSEVERE… To not give up. Ask for strength and to get up when we fall.  Allow others to shoulder the journey with us.  Let love in.  Re-focus and take in those sparkly, yellow, red, or even blue aspen leaves with ease, joy and sacrificial thanksgiving… just for today.  Yes, just breath.  Periodically smile… it releases endorphins. Trust your Maker is with you, guiding you, and loving you each step you take.

CREATE: 

Try writing your own haiku poem.  It doesn’t have to be prolific with deep meaning.  Just keep it light and meaningful to you.  You may want to start with a title and go from there.  Maybe there’s something in nature or God’s creation that catches your eye this season.  Maybe there’s a favorite food you like this season… step in and see what unfolds. Give your heart permission to try and to speak.  Please do share!

SCULPTED HEART~ Poems and interview with Hannah

Hello!

I am so excited for you to meet Hannah Rothfuss as she shares about her first publication of poems entitled Sculpted Heart. Please click on the link below to view the interview. Sculpted Heart is collective of 12 poems. In her forward she shares… “Writing poetry, for me, is a way to take the ugly parts of my heart and make them into something beautiful. I write poetry because it heals me.”

Here are a few of my favorite excerpt’s from Hannah’s poems…

Afterward~ The sky is an art show. It’s hard to remember the storm.

Adopted~ We were both orphans, in need of His life and His wealth; When I found you, I found myself.

Mermaids~ We learned to dive while holding hands, like knives we’d cut the blue.

The Human Condition~ You are ultimatum of grit and glory; You are my life, the climax of my story.

The Summons~ I smell the tang of gulls and brine, I feel thy hand slip out of mine.

LINK to INTERVIEW–Click Here

If you are interested in connecting with Hannah to purchase her new publication or read her blog, you may reach her at…

Blog: takingmytime.rothfuss.us

Instagram: @rothfusshanna

Poetry and Marriage~ A gentle whisper… 1st above…then between.

Reflection~

As I reflect on my wedding day, I wanted to hide under a rug. I was terrified to have all eyes on me walking down the aisle. I was scared to death to get married at age 42 for the first time. You see, I lived most of my life in fear but on this day, I focused on the one who took away my fear. I had to trust in someone much bigger than myself and the lies I had agreed with. I walked down the aisle to You Make Me Brave by Amanda Cooke. I softly, yet boldly in my spirit, proclaimed the lyrics to God with a quivering lip as I approached my soon to be husband… You make me brave. You make me brave. No fear can hinder now that love has made a way. My heavenly father’s love came alongside me with “sweet melodies singing in the wind calling my name”. This is part of a poem written by our friend, Chelsea. We put it in our program to be handed out to our guests. Why a poem? Why this poem?

Our paths and story are one of brokenness, addiction, defeat, resurrection life and now living life with and on purpose! This poem encompasses our mangled pasts where God breathed His very breath into hopeless situations.

Poetic Beauty~

The opening line of a song lyric, or in this case poem, is an integral part in the craft of songwriting. It grabs our attention and leads us into the story. This poem starts with… I am bound to Him the one who calls me beloved. This poem reminds me of the book in the bible Song of Songs (the Hebrew name meaning the most excellent of all songs). Some view the book as a literal and historical depiction of human love and marriage. One allegorical interpretation includes the love between Christ and His bride, the Church. It is one of the most beautiful love poems ever written.

Chelsea’s poem goes on to say…. His fragrance like roses will fill my nose alerting me to His presence. It has taken me years to establish a correct view of my heavenly father and walk in close relationship with the lover of my soul, the one who formed and fashioned me, and knows every hair on my head and even before a word is on my tongue, He knows it. The poem goes on to say…With Him ahead of me shouting Come away with me for you are my bride…My beloved. I know I am loved extravagently even when I try to run from His love… Then unexpectedly, He fills me when He whispers… You are my songbird. You are my delight. I am proud of you daughter. All other voices fade…even my loving husbands.

1st above then between~

I believe my heart was created this way.

CREATIVE APPLICATION:

Write a poem. Here is an idea for a haiku poem. The haiku poem is a Japanese verse in three lines. Line one has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line three has 5 syllables. Think 5– 7- 5. Haiku poetry was developed by Japanese poets. They are often inspired by nature, a moment of beauty, or a poignant experience. Start by brainstorming ideas then write the poem with strong details and detailed imagery. Have fun creating! I encourage you to share your poem with someone or send them a text. It will make their day!