update – Page 12 – Organizing Threads

February 12, 2016February 24, 2016

Lenten Challenge #3: Community

So today’s challenge revolves around community – being a part of one’s own community.

I’ve been thinking about community lately, partly because of Google+. There you create communities and circles. But to me it feels so artificial. I have circles of people I actually know but am added to circles of complete strangers. What’s that about? And in the community I’m involved in #5minutesofmyday really only Marjorie and I make an effort to post a photo every day, another 6 or so people post occasionally while the group has 71 members. I’ve noticed that it only feels like community when people interact with each other. When someone 1+s my picture I know they’ve looked at it. When someone leaves a comment I know it has touched them in some way – that is where community happens.

I see my job as Administrative Assistant as facilitating community within the church. Helping people to connect with each other, to interact with each other.

Here in the condo I’ve attempted to do that by making a newsletter, by attending potlucks, by doing yard work (which often spurs conversation).

So where, today, can I plant seeds of community?

February 10, 2016February 24, 2016

Lent 2016: 40Acts

This year for Lent I decided to “Do Lent Generously”, joining many others from around the world with 40Acts.org.uk.

The first challenge, on Wednesday, February 10, is to draw circles – family, friends, community and wider. I haven’t had an opportunity to draw yet, but have spent some time thinking about these circles, how they overlap, holding them in prayer. I have used my prayer beads to name and pray for those circles too.

And here is another reflection specifically for Ash Wednesday that I found particularly helpful “on not giving up too easily” from the Jesuits in Britain.

January 27, 2016January 29, 2016

Amaryllis

Before heading to Australia brother John gave me a few plant to look after. A fern, 3 bonsai trees and 2 amaryllis bulbs. Over the last couple of days I’ve been enjoying the first amaryllis blooms. Here are pictures of the progression.

The second amaryllis bulb is doing nothing. But I’ll keep watering it for now, maybe something will grow yet.

Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time! Mark 4:26-29 MSG

November 30, 2015

A Stump

Back in December 2013 we had an ice storm that brought down a lot of the Russian Olive trees that line on side of our street. After City workers cleaned up the fallen trees there were quite a few stumps left behind.

In August 2015 I noticed some marigolds growing amid the litter in one such stump:

Then a month later there were zinnias blooming as well:Now, when I walked down the street I would look for the stump, to see how the flowers were doing.

The end of October and fallen leaves add more colour to this tree stump, the flowers undeterred by the cold:Notice that someone has removed the litter out; wasn’t me.

Finally, in the third week of November we have our first significant snowfall. Looks like the flowers are finished for this year:And then, just days later, the City trucks were back. The stumps have all been removed. I wonder what will happen with the marigold and zinnia seeds. Will they grow some place else? Who put them there in the first place?

November 19, 2015

A Ramble in the Woods

Yesterday morning I awoke from a peculiar dream a felt rather disoriented. I feed the dog and myself, but as the morning went on I felt more and more like I just couldn’t face anyone today. I had a deep need to take Billie and go away, just the two of us.

I battled with this, thinking, no, I must go to work; get over yourself, Barbara. But another voice said, when you are physically ill you stay home, you take care of yourself. Why can’t you do that when you are emotionally/mentally ill? Why is there such a stigma attached to that?

And so I took the day off. I drove to the Crown Land just west of Kitchener and Billie and I tramped through the woods for 2 hours, covering over 5 kilometers of trails. The wind blew more strongly near the edges of the woods, and less when we were in dense pine forests. Billie had a wonderful time smelling this and that, here and there, only running into difficulties when we met other walkers with large dogs off-leash. (Billie is very frightened of large dogs and thus gets very aggressive; they usually respond in kind.)

Here are pictures from my morning in the woods: