To the Beloved Women Before Me...

A Mother's Day Tribute

"When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be, let it be." -The Beatles, Let it Be.

Let us pray for all of those who have ever undertaken the profession of motherhood and all the women who have come before us who helped shape us into the women we are today.

This is my beautiful and spirited Mother in one of her musicals (circa 1945). She was a singer and a dancer. She loved music. She had a radio show for years. I used to listen as a baby with my beloved Grandmother Annie Niland. A tale from my childhood: When I was about three, I missed my Mother. I was precocious, to say the least. I thought if I could get her out of that radio box, she would come home. I sent Annie to the kitchen to get me some juice. While she was gone, I took the opportunity to knock the radio off the stand and break it. Annie came rushing back in and found me standing amidst the pieces of the radio. Looking up at her with wide-eyed expectancy I announced, "Mommy will come home now." She didn't come home.

Me with the said radio

Mother and I circa 1953

My beloved Grandmother Anna Rebecca Casey Niland 

(she was in a play called The Girl of the Golden West)

My Beloved Grandmother  Emma Constance Bledsoe White

My beloved Great Grandmother "Nana" Casey

My beloved Great- Great Grandmother Penrod

Today's Intention - Tell your Mother how much you love her - in person, by phone, or in a prayer lifted up to her by angels.

U Be Creative Today!

the different ways in which needs can be satisfied...

"Besides the earth, man's principle resource is man himself. His intelligence enables him to discover the earth's productive potential and the many different ways in which needs can be satisfied." -- Pope John Paul II

in my dreams there is a banquet...and everybody i love, or ever have loved, or ever will love is there...and it is beautiful...and everyone is happy and there is enough food for each to have their fill...no one is hungry or in pain or sad...

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday...i love to get up early to bake the bread that has risen all night...and cook, and cook, and cook...pumpkin soup in tiny pumpkins i baked to the perfect golden glow...my turkey served with tiny ruffled shoes...homemade gravy and the inner parts turned into a feast for the animals...

this year is different...and i pray:

Lord, continue to fuel me with the desire to be productive...and understand the different ways in which needs can be satisfied...

pictorial essay...all photos taken this morning at sunrise...

for these i am thankful

natures' vignettes

a tiny feather in the sun

my great blue heron muse

a great splash photo

a chubby sanderling

a sunrise portrait session by the sea

rippled sand in the sun

surfers at dawn

pelicans flying low over waves

finding a perfect nautilus shell

a flock of sea gulls

colorful sea foam bubbles

haze over the ocean

watching a thanksgiving family photo session by the sea at sunrise

mostly i am thankful for the beautiful friendships i have found during the past 18 months...they have fueled my energy when i had none and filled my weary spirit with joy...you have given to me knowing that i had nothing to give in return... you know who you are and i hope you know how much i love you...and i say simply...

thanks

please read the post below about food banks and what they need this season...if you can help, please do...

9/9/9 ...

this must be a special day...

sunrise for francina

this is my dear friend francina's birthday...it will probably be a sad day for her...because of this...

she is one of the most spiritual people i know...to be near her is to be blessed...so i hope this photo gives her comfort on her life journey...much love my friend...

those i call friend...

my life is so richly blessed by many amazing people....my love and spirit is magnified by those i call friend...

"Theology is knowing truth about God. That's important, but not as important as knowing God; just as knowing things about your friend is not as important as knowing your friend." -Peter Kreeft, Prayer: The Great Conversation

my journey this past two years has been challenging, paradoxical and, at times, painful... oftentimes vexing and formidable...when i was flying very low and alone...it took a Herculean effort to remain my friend...to watch the path on which i walked each day...

and those who chose to stay and lead me through the fog...who took the head winds when i did not think i had the strength to fly....encouraged me to try when i wanted to retreat into myself...

have come to really know ME...the raw, unabridged, burdened me...not the persona...just me...the authentic me...

i stand today because my friends cared enough to listen when i needed to talk...to comfort me when all i could do was cry...to feed me and care for me when i could not do it for myself...to form a cocoon around me so that i could heal...

and start to soar again with them....

so that someday soon i will be strong enough and sure enough to soar myself once again...

Lord i see you through the love of others....and this is my wish for you my friend:

magnificent sunrises for your eyes to see...warm smiles when sadness intrudes...much comfort on difficult days...rainbows to follow the storms of life...laughter to kiss your lips with joy...sunsets to warm your heart...long hugs when your spirit sags...lasting friendships that brighten your being...faith to believe...confidence when you are in doubt...courage to know yourself...patience to accept the truth...enduring love to complete your life....

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?

your heart's passion...

passion is the life blood flowing forth from you to connect to the world...

what is your burning desire...

what keeps you up late into the night without regard to time or space...

what fuels your soul?

You must be able to passionately describe your vision. You must have a fire burning inside you. You must be driven by your dream. I received this question from a former coaching student. The following is the question and my answer...it describes my feeling about passion...

I am a fan ... read you in the The Faux Finisher all the time ... you have the life I should have had ... and hope to have something similar soon ... thank you for your inspiration and your advice ... M

M:

Thank you for your kind words. I pray that your dreams come true soon. You can always start part-time while doing another job. I did!! It takes patience, but is worth it in the end. If you have a passion for painting and believe in your skills, you can do what you love every day...I promise.

To help you do this, I will share a Secret Plan to reorienting your life around your passion. This is actually a session from my Mini Business Workshop. The plan begins with passion and leads to success.

The first step in the plan—starting from the heart and discovering your passion—by identifying your dreams. Start from any other source and you set yourself up for frustration and regret. Fulfillment comes only when the results you seek and the activities you embrace are in accordance with the person you are. You cannot look to reason or judgment for insights into your soul. Who you are is what’s in your heart.

Make A Decision, Make A Commitment

You have probably thought and dreamed about having your own business for years. All too often people convince themselves that you could not succeed. You fail to make the DECISION TO GO FOR IT.

This is the simplest step to take for your future, but many people fail to take it and live their lives with regrets. Just decide that you are going to go for it and make a commitment to make this goal a reality. It’s that simple! Do you know how many great artists are working jobs that they hate, dreaming of something else, but refusing to take this one step? It costs nothing to decide. Commitment is free. You are limiting yourself. Why?

You must be able to passionately describe your vision. You must have a fire burning inside you. You must be driven by your dream.

My second little secret to achieving your goals is writing them down. Take a sheet of paper and write the following - "I must be a decorative painter and I am committed to making this a reality." That is all you need to do now. You have taken the first step toward your dream, you have put it on paper. Now your brain can start working on how to achieve it. I am proud of you.

After you come to terms with your Dream, it is time for reasoning and rationalizing. You must clarify your purpose and define your actions—you need to think. Because the world can often dissuade you from pursuing your passion by presenting roadblocks. You must pursue it with forethought and care. Careful and thoughtful planning can help you define a purpose and set a strategy for following your Dream. This is our Business Plan

Once you have felt you passion and thought it through, it is time to act. Equipped with both your passion and your plan, you will begin to make changes in your life. This is Taking Care of Business.

If you remain true to your passion and follow these steps, you will find the results you seek. And you will also reap rewards you never anticipated because passion can take you to another level of living. It can open worlds and expand horizons. It can bring new awareness and heightened perceptions. It can empower and improve. Your idea of Success may change as you begin to fulfill your potential, but your passion will propel you onward to even greater achievement and happiness.

so what point am i trying to make with this? last night i spoke with one of my mentors. He asked me about my new business model and asked me to describe it. I faltered at first and then went on to describe 2 or 3 business models i am trying to marry... He listened and then said, "Rebecca, you have a track record and an established brand with the Doing What You Love. You have credibility and name recognition, why do you want to change that?"

this was written about me a few years ago:

A master decorative painter, widely-read columnist, popular motivational speaker and instructor, Rebecca E. Parsons has spent over 30 years honing her craft. For the past fifteen years she has been advising, mentoring, and consulting creative entrepreneurs worldwide. Her knowledge of the business and her passion for successful entrepreneurship have made her the industry’s most recognized advocates for business success. Her book “Do What You Love–Love What You Do, The Step–by–Step Guide to Creative Business,” is hailed as the best business guide on the market.

so i am wondering why i have lack of clarity and focus at this time...i need to follow my own advice and teaching...i opened my book this morning searching for the passages about passion and realized i need to sit down and read my own book!!! and do what i have always told students to do -- ACT!!!

the courage to stand in my own truth...

for those of us in the midst of realizing that our plans for ourselves may be different from those of our destiny….life can be confusing, exciting, terrifying, enthralling…and more than a little off balance…so I ask for the ancient path…and walk in it…

at a crossroads...which way to go??

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient path, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

to the reflective mind, i am in the midst of a major spiritual transition where i am to grow my higher wisdom…i have created all the experiences in my life…to learn specific lessons, hopefully gaining wisdom and understanding within the process…if learned, i integrate the lessons into my being…if not, i am bound to repeat them until i do…

i must admit that my perception of a perfect world may be skewed…i have been searching for a way of fitting or molding my future according to the conditions unfolding in my life…i did not choose them…i did not even see them coming…but they happened nonetheless….

in 2008 the focus of my energies shifted to survival…my long-term goals dissolved into immediate life-saving concerns…and my personal world became very small…job loss leading to bankruptcy and foreclosure does this...

practicality is the main goal of each day (and i am so not practical)…forward visioning has been put aside until i become more centered…i find myself betwixt and between reality and possibility… the confusion, illusion, and delusion can get the better of me if i allow it…i choose not to allow it…

so i am embracing the prospects and possibilities of a destiny much different than what i had planned…

during this journey i have been forced to take inventory and open baggage that had been so carefully tucked away….i am confronting my worst fears-loss of security, my job, my home…but i am discovering a new strength…a new wisdom…even a new power (if i dare to speak it)…

i realize that i am moving into a new paradigm where my sense of restriction is vanishing…my fading commitments and obligations have become obstacles to my getting to my new and improved future…

i thought trust was my only issue…but i have learned during this time of bankruptcy, foreclosure, and job loss that i do not know how to receive…

earlier this month a friend became very upset with me over my inability to accept the offers of help i have received…she said i was like the man standing on his roof in a flood who kept refusing help…of neighbor on a cow, a man with a rowboat, people in a power boat, and a rescue helicopter…all the while he prayed for God to save him and kept saying, “No thanks, I have faith in the Lord, the Lord will save me.”

the waters rose higher and higher and eventually the man on the roof was washed away and drowned. Upon arriving in heaven, the man said to God, “Heavenly Father I had faith in you. I prayed to you to save me and yet you did nothing. Why?” God shook his head and replied “I sent you a cow, two boats and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

this week i spoke to a friend who was in Spiritual Direction formation with me…she said i needed to let others minister to me so that when i am able i, in turn, will be able to minister to others…

so simple, so profound…i am learning to open my heart and receive…

why is this so hard for me? i have always been the one with the solutions…a helper, a giver, a fixer…i ‘prided’ myself on being the one with the God-given wisdom to serve others…

P R I D E that nasty little fault of mine…so the inability for me to find the right, best or any solution has shattered this prideful self importance which is really rooted in low self-esteem…yet i was standing within the pool of prideful self-pity refusing to see the offers of help for what they were…OFFERS OF HELP!!!

a hand of help offered by those who care about me…and i was stubbornly refusing to receive…

“There are so many opportunities available to you in your world. All you need to do is be open to see them. Complaining about life and your circumstances blinds you to what is right in front of your eyes – and that is the possibility of you being “in-charge” of your life and not your complaints running it for you” -Yvonne Rice

this is a big one for me as i am struggling between trying to control everything and letting go and letting God be in control…and i am not even sure how to do this…

i remain conflicted…i know God helps those who help themselves and i also know i need to get out of the way and let God work…but i am unsure exactly how…how to get out of His way…

any suggestions?

short of sitting on the couch until ‘they’ come and put me out of my home…i do not know how to stop working toward bankruptcy, foreclosure, and trying to find employment

each morning i ask for guidance and direction and i believe that what comes to me is what God is sending…even though it feels uncomfortable and unpleasant…and i would prefer to be anywhere else doing anything else, yet here i am 13 months past my job loss still holding on somehow…

if i stop and allow myself to sit with this for a moment, i am amazed…how on earth am i still here in the home i love when my saving account is depleted, foreclosure papers sit on my desk, collection calls overwhelm my phone line, and i am surviving on raman noodles…yes, one can survive on nothing else but raman noodles for several months…but that is another story…

God has indeed been good to me this past year…He has sent me help exactly when i need it…a small commission job…help from my church…help from my family…nothing in excess, but just enough to survive another few days or weeks…and that is how it has been…

i believe that i am going thru this so i can help others in the future...allowing people to minister to me so i can minister to others...does this make sense...and i have decided to stand in my own truth even if i am judged...

this is my path at this time and i claim it and embrace the fruits of it to come...

if you know of anyone who would benefit from reading my blog recounting my adventure in foreclosure, bankruptcy, and job loss please pass the link along...

down...but not out blog!

if God brings you to it he'll bring you through it...

a beloved friend said this to me today...another friend told me i could not keep open a door God has closed...that's been me for a long time now...trying to hold open a door God closed...

For those feeling alone on their journey...

"God, I don't understand why you're allowing me to feel distant from you right now, but I trust that you will always do what is best for me. So I place my prayer life in your hands, and I accept whatever it is you wish to do with it. "  Mark E. Thibodeaux, God, I Have Issues

from Neale Donald Walsh's  I believe God wants you to know today...

....that the sage awakes to light in the night of all creatures. That which the world calls day is the night of ignorance to the wise.

The Bhagavad Gita says that, and it is right.  This scripture means that when all creatures are living in the illusion of darkness, the sage sees things as they really are, and awakes to that vision, praising the perfection. Conversely, what the world calls "day" (or "bright" or "real") is an illusion...the "night of ignorance"...to the wise person who sees how pointless and worthless the shiny stuff of life that most people seek truly is. 

Peer deeply into the darkness, then, and you will see the light.  Yet turn away from the brightness of what others call "day", for they mistake the bright for the good.

pink skies in morn - sailors be warned...

God...i have issues...trust, belief, fear...and my friends have been pointing these out to me recently...as has the universe (see the posts below)...as i travel on this journey of my life, i step forth not having a clue where i am going

new hope...two buttons...eat, pray and love...

reminiscing about a tour of New Jersey and Bucks County, PA along the Delaware River...my ultimate goal was to get to the little shop called Two Buttons in Frenchtown... hidden behind warning signs to stay out and no trespassing...is this little gem...it does not look like much on the outside, but...


inside is jam packed with wonders from around the world...

where will these feet lead me?
through rows of trinkets and delights...
and statues and furniture and oddities...
my newest rock from two buttons...actually a petrified tree turned rock...what shall i put in the opening?
Two Buttons is a wonderful import gallery owned by Filipe of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love fame... Okay...he is not really Filipe, but Jose, Liz's Brazilian boyfriend turned husband...Jose was there manning the shop, so charming and full of details about the works of art and their travels to find them...no wonder she fell in love with him...

Book Review: Eat Pray Love,#1 on the NYT Paperback Nonfiction list, is romantic fiction about a woman who, after a bad divorce, went in search of herself and her spirituality. She does this by eating her way through Italy, praying and meditating through India, and loving through Bali.

Below is what I came home with...I was limited by what would fit in my suitcase or a life size gator would have followed me home...see products on the Two Buttons website for more...

all my goodies, including the beads from the front of the book that Jose graciously gifted me with
the puppet with painted head and beautifully carved hands and feet

We went from Frenchtown to lunch in charming Lambertville, NJ, then across the river to artsy New Hope, PA...I would move there tomorrow...

Today's aMUSEment - do you have a good friend who deserves a call or letter from you? Take a few minutes today to do that...

U Be Creative Today!