Easter Blessings

i am unplugged for the weekend to put my faith into action by serving Him and others...i wish each of you a blessed and meaningful Holy weekend...

all artwork is by Rebecca E. Parsons...

art as prayer...

art for me is prayer...it is allowing the energy to flow through me to create as no one has before me and as everyone has before me...creation is the moment i am most present in my life and at one with the universe...Cre8Tiva in Cre8Topia!

metallic moods of the sea...

as an artist i am sensitive to the changes in color around me...last week the atmosphere was very blue...and the temperature was very cold...my morning photos were very blue...consequently my mood was blue...but this week the temperature warmed as did the colors and my spirit shines...the atmosphere took on a metallic glow and the following are the photos i captured...

platinum morn

golden morn

silver morn

bronze morn

copper morn

i can feel the change about my world at this time...this shining aura surrounds me and my spirit is brightened...i carry this out into the world...

Meister Eckhart wrote, "As thou art in church or cell, that same frame of mind carry out into the world, into its turmoil and its fitfulness."

One persons's rut is another persons's ritual...

i love my morning routine...the ritual of heading to the beach just minutes after i awake...to meditate, pray and be with my God in the place i love so dearly...on this day, my 58th birthday, i share with you my morning ritual and the images i see...

first i cross the dunes...

"One man's rut is another man's ritual. We need to honor and respect all the ruts, routines and rituals that people employ as they travel down the road of life. The ruts give them comfort, the routines keep them young and the rituals remind them that they are not alone." -Dwight Curry, How We Behave at the Feast

then i follow this path through the sea oats...
often i pause just on the other side of this path at the top of the dune to sit in prayerful meditation...

then i walk along the shore until the sun rises...and i stop and watch the new day open...giving thanks for the blessings i have and ask to earn my daily bread...

i love to watch the birds soar among the clouds...and dare to imagine how it would feel to spread feathered wings and ride the thermals...

i pray that you take the time to create a morning ritual and that we always allow one another the space to enjoy our morning routines...

Lord, help us find our way back...

My Sabbath Song today is about our world and the economic path we have taken the past few decades... and i pray...Lord, help us find our way back...

as i pursue my dreams i have often asked the Lord to guide me to my deeper purpose...and He has responded by leading, and sometimes dragging me kicking and screaming, into my deeper purpose...

"Most of the companies I admire in the world I think have a deeper purpose. I've met a lot of successful entrepreneurs. They all started their businesses not to maximize shareholder value but to pursue a dream." -John Mackey, CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market, Inc. in a Wall Street Journal interview

looking to increase shareholders gains seems to have enabled a few blinded by greed people to bring our economy and our very lifestyles to the brink of collapse...

"Over the past few years, there clearly has been an erosion in the country's financial values. This erosion has happened at a time when the country's cultural monitors were busy with other things. They were off fighting a cultural war about prayer in schools and the theory of evolution. They were arguing about sex and the separation of church and state, oblivious to the large erosion of economic values happening under their feet." -David Brooks, The New York Times

we can no longer do business as usual..nor should we look to the past to repair the present and the future...we must look for new ideas and new people to be the visionary leaders who will accompany us on our journey out of this darkness and despair...

"Select capable men from all the people...men/women who fear God, trustworthy men/women who hate dishonest gain." -Exodus 18:21

if we had not been trying so hard to negate and devalue our "one country under God" founding principle...perhaps we could have elected/followed/believed those capable, trustworthy individuals who hate dishonest gain and not have been led to this place we find ourselves in today...

yet i stand firm in belief that we will find those visionary leaders who are out there for everyone to see...

"My deepest vocation is to be a witness of the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch." -Henri J.M. Nouwen

and we can catch a glimpse of them if we are open to the possibilities...

"There are people among us who are ethical, responsible and diligent. I hope your story encourages those who toil in obscurity to know that their reward is simple-- they will be ready when the test comes. We need to try to do the right thing every time, to perform our best because we never know what moment in our lives we'll be judged on." -US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger from a Wall Street Journal article by Jeffrey Zaslow

so i make a call to those of you who read my musings...to be open...and aware of those visionaries who touch your life and whose words resonate within your heart...

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teachings show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you." -Titus 2:7-8

as i follow my path on this journey of my life i struggle to live by the words above...and of an old Irish prayer my Irish grandparents taught me...

"Three wishes I ask of the King when I part from my body: May I have nothing to confess, may I have no enemy, may I own nothing! Three wishes I ask this day of the King, ruler of suns: May I have no dignity or honours that lead me into torment! May I not work without reward before Christ! May God take my soul when it is most pure!"

all photography copyright rebecca e. parsons 2009

you are my sunshine...somer thompson...

my heart is heavy this morning as i am lifting prayers for a beautiful 7-year old girl, Somer Renee Thompson, who was abducted walking home from school on monday afternoon...almost 48 hours later her body was found in a landfill in Folkston, Gerogia...some 60 miles from her home... get the full story with video here

she loved the song 'you are my sunshine'...as do i...this makes me think of my grandfather, who called me sunshine every morning and often sang the song to me...here johnny cash and bob dylan sing it...

i promised a post about the legend of the feather...and i think it is appropriate today...since i heard the story from my beloved grandfather who sang the song to me...

i found this little feather the day Somer went missing...

this morning i found this little dancing feather...

the legend of the feather

as told me by my grandfather

even as a child i always picked things up from the ground as i walked...you have seen some of them here and in my artwork...

i used to go to my grandfather's office to meet him in the afternoons...we would stroll home together...we would stop and buy a newspaper at the newsstand and he would always get me candy or my favorite a sticky bun at the bakery...while walking home with my grandfather one day, i picked up a feather...and he told me this story...

when you find a feather, it was placed there by your guardian angel...he or she was flying very close that day...so they are very special...and you should always stop and thank your guardian angel for protecting you and watching over you...

my grandfather was always finding subtle ways to share his spirituality with me...he went on to tell me that, if you found a big feather...it was usually St. Michael the Archangel or it could be one of the other Archangels-Raphael or Gabriel...and that the feather was really, really special...

yesterday i found this large feather...

other feathers that have been set before me in the recent past...

please pray for Somer's family...

my morning meditation...

i wish to share with each of you the peace and the comfort i receive on my morning walk by the sea...it begins very early, sometimes it is still dark...at other times the sky is beginning to show the promise of a new day....as i continue to walk, prayerfully...meditatively the first glimpse of the sun is often as the top edges of the clouds above the horizon become tipped with the flames of the sun...this morning i was not alone as a beautiful, 4-foot tall great blue heron was feeding at the edge of the sea...
sometimes she poses for me..today she was skittish and flew south after a few photos...
i watched as her wings spread wide and she glided down the coast...i am blessed to have her near for even a short time...when i turned to walk again the sun was beginning it ascent preceded by rays reaching into the heavens...this is my favorite moment...just before the sun appears...
the the sky turns sienna and golden as the sun climbs above the clouds...and then...
it bursts forth...a brilliant white light in the golden sky...and her rays seek me over the ocean...
and i stand in silence as i feel the warmth touch me cheek...and thank God for the gift of a new day...
i soak in the scene so as to remember everything...i breathe in slowly the salty scents of the sea...and i am truly captivated...mesmerized...
it rises higher above the ocean...and the rays become more intense...and i smile...
the water covers my feet as i stand in awe at the beauty...the majesty of this special moment in time when i am alone with the sun and the sea...and my life is full of meaning and i understand why i am here...

for today is going to offer me a perfect chance to seek, then to study and experience the grandest answers...as i watch...listen, and before the end of this day, i will have a chance to be Divine...for someone is counting on me to be.

"When we settle in our hearts and minds that God's Word can be trusted, we solve a lot of problems in our lives." -Tony Evans, God Can Not be Trusted (and Five Other Lies of Satan)

the heron left behind a feather for me this morning...someday soon i will share the meaning of the feather...

ghosts and panic attacks do not make for a good night's sleep...

ghosts and panic attacks interrupted my sleep last night...yuk!!! at 1:50 am i awoke terrified, with a full-blown panic attack...have not had one for a long time now...then at 5:50 am, i was awake petting the dog, my kitchen light came on and went off...and the motion detector light came on...for some time now the light in my bathroom will turn on when nobody is in there...i joke about there being a ghost...is it a joke? or is it my guardian angel?

so i was on the beach by 6:30 this morning...it was still very dark and i walked in the light of the moon...my reflection on the wet sand beneath my feet...

6:30 am walk

the great blue heron was the only other being on the beach at this moment

i walked on in silent prayer...wanting some comfort...and i remember...when life seems to be 'falling apart' things could actually be 'falling together'...

i keep reminding myself that i am safe, and my situation is under the perfect control of Divine providence and universal order...i try to only infuse loving thoughts and emotions into the situation to ensure that the highest possible outcome flows effortlessly to and through me...adapted from Dorren Virtue

the sunrise

how big you 'perceive' a problem to be may be actually BE the problem...

When fear comes, expect the opposite...faith to rise up. When symptoms attack your body, expect the opposite-God's healing power. When sadness attaches itself to you, expect the opposite-joy to flood your being. When lack comes in, expect the opposite-God's provision. When confusion comes, expect the opposite-God's peace. When darkness covers you, expect the opposite-God's light on you. -Martin Riding

the heron on my way back down the beach...my companion in the first light of day

"In the words of an old Irish prayer: Three wishes I ask of the King when I part from my body: May I have nothing to confess, may I have no enemy, may I own nothing! Three wishes I ask this day of the King, ruler of suns: May I have no dignity or honours that lead me into torment! May I not work without reward before Christ! May God take my soul when it is most pure!" -Sacred Space

a surprise when i looked at my pictures

i had captured a dragonfly purely by Divine accident

a gift to remind me that even when i feel alone...i am not alone...

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i am expecting a miracle...

i joined the FUN-ellenge with Heather Picken

join us here:

http://summitforwomen.ning.com/page/i-create-miracles-funellenge

the journey...

dragon fly in bottom right

i awoke this morning hearing something very clearly...as if a voice was whispering "pack...for it is time to go...." i heard it...what does it mean? who was speaking to me? i am always about questions...

this morning at 6:30 am

so i went to the ocean as i do when i am off center...for i find balance there among the sounds of the waves...as i walked and prayed and allowed myself to be open to the possibilities...i felt sad, for i do not want to go...but if i must i bow to God's will...and will continue my journey with hope...

just before sunrise

i love the seconds just before sunrise when the sky and the sea have a pinkish, golden glow...i stand and face the horizon in awe...

after the sun rise

this morning clouds hung low over the horizon...and the sun played peek-a-boo with me...

a shrimp boat with the morning sun

the colors changed to purples and mauves as the sun made its way higher in the sky...my mood lifted as it rose...for how can one remain sad when you are in the midst of such splendor?

i do not want to go...but if i must...i must...i have been blessed to be in this magical place for nearly 10 years now...truly blessed...

happy birthday aimee at creative flutter ...she is having a birthday giveaway to celebrate...today is the last day to enter...this little fellow is for her...