unrest...thoughts on living your purpose

storm clouds gather

"You can always tell when a man is not living in the purpose for which God created him. You sense his unrest. You get a feeling something is not quite right, even if you can't put your finger on what it is. When you are around a man who is fulfilling his calling and doing what he was created to do, you're aware of his inner direction, confidence and deep security." -Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Wife

stormy seas

there are always storms in our lives...times when storm clouds gather and times when there are rough, stormy seas...when we feel lost, alone, afraid, unsure...times of unrest...unrest of the spirit, the mind and the soul...unrest about of purpose and direction...

soaring thru the storm

how you choose to deal with these storms is a view into your strength of character...you can let the storm engulf you where the undertow will pull you down or way off course...or you can soar above the storm where you are lifted up...and propelled along your journey as if on wings...

break in the clouds

and eventually there is a break in the clouds and the sun comes shining thru...and a remarkable calm embraces you...you realize that you have weathered the storm...learned its lessons...and, with deep gratitude, have grown...

sun comes shining thru

and if you are conscious enough you may even find a diamond in the stormy sky...the life lesson that was hidden within the chaos...one that strengthen you and sustains you and brings lasting gift...

diamond in the stormy sky

a simple treasure...an inner direction and confidence to set sail in the direction of your purpose...and follow that path wherever it leads because you know...you BeLiEvE that it is your destiny...

head into the sun

the face of hunger today...

Americans who once might have donated food or money now find themselves in need and many of those who used to volunteer at a foodbanks are now standing in line for food at local pantries...hunger and food insecurity is on the rise for middle Americia...

America's food banks need a bailout

The struggle to feed America's nouveau needy*

quite a haul for someone who is hungry

The message is simple. Ever more Americans need food they can't afford. As tough economic times take their toll, increasing numbers of Americans are on tight budgets and, in some cases, facing outright hunger. As a result, they may be learning a lot more about food banks and soup kitchens than most of them ever wanted to know. -Nick Turse

is someone in your neighborhood hungry? i would venture if there is a for sale sign in the yard, especially if it has been there for some months...the people inside may be hungry, very hungry...and they may not have any idea where to go for help...

when formerly-employed people need to stretch beyond the bounds of pride and normalcy and ask for help...it can be humiliating, humbling, and painful...when you are hungry it hurts...when your children are hungry all pride quickly disappears...

your local food bank probably needs emergency food...

people without funds need:

1. food
2. deodorant...
3. toilet paper...
4. toothpaste
5. otc medicine (aspirin, tums, etc,)
6. soap and shampoo

from msn article 10 donations food banks need most

"Consider this," Ross Fraser of Feeding America wrote in an e-mail. "If you buy a can of tuna fish and donate it to a food bank, it will cost you a dollar and some change." However, a $1 donation to Feeding America provides "about 20 pounds of food and grocery products to someone at risk of hunger."

Other food banks rate their return on your dollar at anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds of food. They do it by buying in bulk, using volunteer labor and working with food brokers who notify them of deep discounts.

the foodstuffs needed are:

Proteins. Canned meats such as tuna, chicken or fish are high in protein and low in saturated fat. Peanut butter is rich in protein and high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils, the "good fats." These are among the most expensive foods -- too expensive for food banks to buy large quantities.

Soups and stews. They are filling, particularly the "chunky" soups, and contain liquid for hydration. In addition, soups can be filled with protein and vegetables.

Rice and pasta. "They're really staples," Nowak says. In addition, grain-based foods, such as pasta, are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates.

Cereal, including oatmeal. Breakfast cereals can be an additional source of protein, and most cereals today include a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Canned vegetables, including tomatoes and tomato sauce. Studies indicate that canned vegetables have about the same nutritional value as fresh vegetables.

Canned or dried beans and peas. A staple of diets as early as 6700 B.C., beans are a low-fat source of protein and fiber.

Canned fruits. Only a small amount of vitamin C is lost in the canning process, making these a healthy choice.

Fruit juice (canned, plastic or boxed). Make sure it's 100% juice.

Prepared box mixes such as macaroni and cheese or Hamburger Helper.

Shelf-stable milk. This includes dehydrated milk, canned evaporated milk and instant breakfasts.

*Article by Nick Turse

are you going to finish strong...

Nick Vujicic...courage every day...

it really only matters that you finish...not how...

Yehudit...

dawn's early light

this is a continuation of the story from last post about a special woman from Jerusalem i met on the beach this week...her name is Yehudit (pronounced yeah-who-deet) Hebrew for Judith...of Hebrew origin meaning "from Judea"...have you ever had an experience where, during it, you knew you life had been touched in such a way that you would never be the same again....that is what happened to me this morning...

Yehudit walks on beach

Yehudit walked with me this morning...slowly as my foot is healing...she is very tiny with a gigantic spirit...she told me of her life and her mission...she is a Jew who believes in Christ...and her mission is to dispel hatred from the hearts of people all over the world...i believe in my heart of hearts i took a walk with Jesus this morning...

Yehudit's sky

she said, "one word spoken in anger can place hate in someone's heart...you may not even know that the seed has been planted...and this tiny seed thought causes damage to the world...."

has anyone planted a tiny seed in your heart?

i rejoice in the abundance that surrounds me...

you never really know where your blessings will come from and when...this morning was a glorious one on the beach...the sky was magnificent...pink rays shot upward from the sea...

i was walking slowly as my foot is broken....another morning walker asked how my foot was doing...she was walking with a friend...i commented on the beautiful, glorious morning sky...the friend raised her arms toward the rays and said it was a gift from God...we made an instant connection and i said i would e-mail her a photo of the sky...she said she was wishing that she would have brought her camera this morning because it was meaningful to he...


i sent her two photos when i returned home...one of the sky with the pink rays and one of her footprints i had taken after she passed me...she sent me this in return...

Rav (Abundant) Chesed v' Brachot... (Grace and Blessings in the riches of the inheritance of Y'shua the Messiah lavished on you!)



she perhaps will never know how this blessing touches my heart today...i rejoice in the abundance that surrounds me...

blessed discomfort...

in the movie Bounce, Ben Affleck encourages Gwyneth Paltrow:

"It isn't brave unless you're afraid."

as an artist i am accustomed to creating within blessed discomfort...as a creative entrepreneur i am more than used to blessed discomfort...as a child of God i have learned to embrace blessed discomfort...

blessed discomfort has helped me grow as a woman, and artist and a spiritual being...on my life path it has not been easy to surrender to fear...

to find the courage to stand in my own truth and be my authentic self, i have had to walk through fear...my worst fears...feel vunerable, raw and exposed...hopeless, helpless and alone...i have had to accept that the plans i had for my life were not the plans of God...and i had to adjust, reinvent myself and reengineer my life...

i would not call myself brave or courageous...nevertheless, i would call myself a survivor...and i have a new descriptive adjective...

F E A R L E S S

if you have followed my journey of the past twenty months, you have seen the fear, and sometimes the anger, as i stumbled along to today...it has not been easy or pretty, nor has it left me unchanged...but it has taught me to confront fear head on and come to the knowing that i have survived my worst imaginable fear...lack of security...for nothing in my world is secure today except my faith...

to see the expansion of this topic for artists please visit my blog - The Artist as a Spiritual Explorer...

to see my path in full and raw detail, visit my blog - down...but not out...

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carolee is having a giveaway on her blog for the cutest trinket box...go see by clicking this sentence...

the glory that is to be revealed to us...

in times of severe stress and stormy seas, i remember my faith...

"Then the rainstorm came over me; and I felt my spirit break. I had lost all of my belief, you see, and realized my mistake." -Seal, Love's Divine, Seal IV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. -Romans 8:18

i am rejoicing and in deep gratitude this Sabbath for i believe that the current circumstances of my life are to build my virtue and teach me patience and trust...my life lessons...i told a friend this week that i had become fearless...and for this i am most grateful...

Sabbath Song...almost every Sunday I post about my sacred life, my faith, or my spiritual walk...I invite you to write your own song on your Sabbath...please take the Sabbath Song badge below and use it on your blog...


i am moved to share about my religion this morning as there are many myths about Catholicism...one that always pains me is the misconception that Catholics are not saved...we are baptised as infants and confirmed at the age of 12-14. Confirmation, in the Roman Catholic faith, marks the coming of the Holy Spirit into your heart...the completion of our Baptism. This is the time when we accept Jesus as our Saviour...similar to 'being saved' as in the Protestant faith.


this is what i believe: The Holy Spirit is the bond that links God the Father with his son Jesus...a link of love and communication that never sleeps...each of us is a child of God through Baptism... sisters and brothers of Jesus...i view every human being as my brother or my sister and treat them with the love and respect i have for my siblings..as with my biological siblings, sometimes it is easier to do than others.

when God looks on each of us, he sees in us the image of his son...there is an unbroken stream of love and communication binding us to the Father...and that stream...that bond is the Holy Spirit...even though, at times, we feel like we may have lost that connection...


much of the time i do not feel like a temple of the Holy Spirit...yet it is when i feel unholy and unable to pray that the Holy Spirit speaks for me to the Father “with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).


as i grow older, i realise that prayer is not about finding beautiful words or petitioning for our needs...nor is it about making speeches to our Lord...but rather tuning inward toward the Spirit of Jesus...who is always there, linking me to my heavenly Father...one of my most special memories is the day I realized that my prayer had transformed from a monologue into a dialog...it was an awakening for me...and my prayer life has been richer and more fruitful as a result...

i begin each morning by the sea where "the glory that is to be revealed to us" is revealed to me...one tiny tidbit at a time...i spend almost two hours in meditation and prayer...i am blessed to be able to have this time in this beautiful setting that is revealed in my photographs...life is good...thank you God for giving me the circumstances of my life...

i rarely get political...but i have had no health coverage for over a year and no way to get the medications i need for many months now...but the health care thing has cause much dissension between some of my friends who really believe that we will be pushing their grandmothers into an early grave and that Obama is like hitler because he can energise our youth...all i can say is Lord help us... read this for the best topic i've seen on the whole debacle.... and i beg you don't believe everything you hear on faux news...

seaside sketches....the zen of temporary art

temporary art as meditation...

i am not able to take my usual morning walk because of my broken foot...but i can sit by the sea and let the water soothe my foot and my soul...this morning i started sketching faces with my cane...

i named my sketches the zen of temporary art... for the present, i will be doing temporary art as meditation...there is something very fulfilling about sketching in the sand...i am aware of the impermanence and it will only last for a short time...yet it feels so freeing...as i continued i felt myself become very present and centered...peaceful and lifted...

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance. He painted the Mona Lisa with her mysterious smile and his legendary interpretation of the Last Supper. He didn’t [produce] a lot of paintings because it took him so long to paint a 'great' painting; he was very careful and precise, and was always looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was copying him. He even went so far as to "mirror write," writing everything backwards, which was easy for him since he was left-handed. Though most of his research and discoveries were great, he did not publish them, but we still have accounts of his great genius. -myhero.com

da Vinci did not know if his work would last...does any artist really know...temporary art is very gratifying for an artist because you can always return another day and create again... NYC has Temporary Public Outdoor Art Guidelines for goodness sake...

i have always been fascinated by Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (below)...

Spiral Jetty, 1970. Robert Smithson, Great Salt Lake , Utah

prisonphotography.wordpress.com

the Spiral Jetty is Robert Smithson's monumental earthwork at Rozel Point in the Great Salt Lake, Utah...completed in April 1970 it is 1500 feet long and 15 feet wide...composed of basalt rocks, mud, water and salt crystals...it juts out from the shore and coils into luminous red water...it is temporary because it has disappeared and then re-emerged from the lake over the past decades.

how do i get paid for this art?

in sand dollars of course...

have a blessed day...

the contrast that gave birth to this desire...

There will be a time, not so far from now, that you will look back on this phase of your life and instead of condemning it or beating up on it...Instead of blaming or guilting, you will feel appreciation for it, because you will understand that a renewed desire for life was born out of this time period that will bring you to physical heights that you could not have achieved without the contrast that gave birth to this desire. -Abraham

Cre8Tiva is my muse as well as my alter ego...she waits patiently for me to return...as i have neglected her of late...and i miss her...i miss creating on a daily basis...i have let the circumstances of my life overwhelm my creativity...i have even quit my daily journaling which i have done faithfully since i was a child...

"Little Blue Boy"

my mother used to sing this to me...and i would cry and cry...

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and staunch he stands;
The little tin soldier is red with rust,
And the musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

“‘Now, don’t you go till I come,’ he said,
‘And don’t you make any noise.’
So toddling off to his trundle-bed
He dreamt of his pretty toys;
And as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our little Boy Blue–
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true.

“Aye, faithful to little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place–
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
The smile of a little face;
And they wonder as waiting the long years through
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our little Boy Blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there.”

easy come...easy go...

♥heart♥ week had a crazy sad ending...these are always a mystery to me...i need my friends to send good energy my way...bless you in advance...

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." Helen Keller

i guess i am learning another life lesson...to be brave and patient...within 6 minutes yesterday afternoon, the intern position i was so looking forward to and had worked very diligently for three days, went kaput...one minute i was skyping with my boss about what i had been working on...the next she was saying there was an emergency...then next thing is that my job description had vanished... this is the exact conversation with times:

[8/7/09 1:18:24 PM] Boss: S----e and I have some major internal issues we need to sort out

[8/7/09 1:18:30 PM] Boss: within the company - client issues

[8/7/09 1:18:50 PM] Boss: i apologize

[8/7/09 1:18:52 PM] Boss: it's unexpected

[8/7/09 1:19:15 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: okay...sorry

[8/7/09 1:19:25 PM] Boss: sorry?

[8/7/09 1:19:28 PM] Boss: not your fault

[8/7/09 1:19:31 PM] Boss: I apologize

[8/7/09 1:19:49 PM] Boss: it seems C---a wants on full time and we need to speak to her

[8/7/09 1:20:23 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: okay...i understand...will hold you in good energy

[8/7/09 1:24:38 PM] Boss: thanks Rebecca

[8/7/09 1:24:43 PM] Boss: sorry - don't mean to be flakey

[8/7/09 1:24:58 PM] Boss: but if she wants full time - then we essentially lose your entire job descrip

[8/7/09 1:25:01 PM] Boss: so I need to speak to her

[8/7/09 1:25:12 PM] Boss: i was under the impressiont hat she was having family issues

[8/7/09 1:25:21 PM] Boss: i apologize i will speak to her and see what the deal is

[8/7/09 1:25:22 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: wow...that hurts

[8/7/09 1:25:41 PM] Boss: i am sorry?

[8/7/09 1:25:58 PM] Boss: i didn't understand? do u mean for C---a or for you?

[8/7/09 1:26:17 PM] Rebecca E. Parsons: for me... :(

at 8:15 PM i received this e-mail from the Boss:

I am so sorry about C---a. She will be on full time – and really needs the money for her husband’s treatment. I am afraid that she will pretty much be doing everything we had set aside for you! It won’t be a “real” intern experience this way. I am just as disappointed – but I don’t want this to be a dead end for you. I am so sorry. I was pretty excited to work with you. We would still love to refer out folks for web copy to you – and utilize your graphic design experience as the need comes.

so the intern position that started with such high hopes on wednesday, officially ended friday...was i wacky to be excited about an opportunity i found over facebook? with people and a company i knew little or nothing about? is the the way business will be conducted in the future? without regard to someone's feelings...with no respect? is it easier to do this to someone because the relationship is virtual? just a see ya???

H E A R T L E S S

i am almost speechless....still in shock..and my heart is broken open...

those of you who have been following me this past 18 months know exactly how much that income meant to me...it meant food and electrical power...although i still believe that everything happens as it should and that i live in the midst of infinite abundance...it is a little more difficult today...

so i am learning another life lesson...to be brave and patient...in the face of heartbreak and hunger...please pray for me...

two jobs thru facebook...leveraging the power of social media

I dwell in the midst of infinite abundance...

inspired by a post by blissstudios (Tuesday 14th July 2009)

i am, as you are, an energetic being...created from energy, surrounded by energy, and using the power of thought to create my world...

this week something amazing happened...an answer to prayers surely...i responded to two facebook posts about jobs...and manifested both of them...the power of positive energy combined with the power of social media...energy radiates forth...to create what i desire...

so how did this happen...two different companies posted a comment on facebook about needing help...one as an social media intern for an Internet marketing company...the other as a copywriter, web/graphic designer for an Internet launch business...i posted a reply of interest...they requested a resume...we corresponded over the weekend...and on tuesday i was told that they both wanted to hire me...

lesson: always conduct yourself with honesty, respect, and integrity over social media because everything you post, or is posted about you, will reflect on the person that you are...and create a personal brand of sorts...what does your social media brand say about you???

Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true. ~Brian Tracy

my beliefs about who I am and what I can co-create with God are limitless...my vibrational output and my inner dialog must always be focused on what i want, not on what i do not have...for i know:

What i worry about is what i create.

so i am grateful and blessed beyond measure this week...and I dwell in the midst of infinite abundance...

week of hearts...

A man's heart plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:19

i have had an emotional week so far...i have had a showering of hearts and love from places not so expected...my emotional self has been very well fed this week...tomorrow i have some awesome news to share...

you know i believe that i am a Wealth BEing...holistic...nurturing and feeding every part of my wealth on a daily basis–spiritual, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, creative and material...keeping everything in balance is the goal...

hearts found on the beach this week...

hearts have always played a role in my artwork...i love hearts and have collected various heart rocks and shells since i was a child...i recently completed an entire series of paintings with the above picture as the inspiration...it is called:

i heart you...

my gift...my mission...

i have been given a great gift...in return i have a job/mission to do...

From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. Luke 12:48

the mission?