Rambles, Revels and Raves in Art and Life

Here I am, right here in my personal office, and I am reminiscing about how I’ve been meandering along for several decades of life as I know it. Naturally, entirely and uniquely, different to anyone else you or I know.

Thank God for that!

I thrive on hearing life stories, well, at least the juicy bits of them. Like right now, my own life is in the middle of an (other) transition.

I’d like to imagine myself evolving from a spontaneous, happy go lucky, flying from the seat of her pants, highly undisciplined individual; to a highly focused and disciplined powerhouse of a woman, creatively obtaining all daily, weekly, monthly and yearly set goals.

Yup, that’s where I’m heading, that is, if I want to more than merely survive for the next several decades to come, I want to thrive in overdrive in the most champion of ways.

As it stands, in faith, I no longer see the chaos, and disorganization that has plagued my existence since birth. I see peace, harmony, a place for everything and for everything a place. I see regularity as my friend and no longer as a controlling foe.

I will not of course, become a control freak like some of my dearest friends and acquaintances, for I still have my God-given laissez-faire demeanor. I am just getting to be a bit more on top of my game.

Most of all I have been, and will remain, an extremely grateful woman! I see daily the grace of God on my life, in spite of me and all of my shortcomings. You know, that grace that draws me to require, and desire the best possible results, not allowing me to grow stagnant in my approach on my metamorphosis.

I am content, with a life that is evolving into something very much more pleasant day after day.

It’s rather exciting….

Are you too blown away by the news lately, and how so many people seem to be losing their jobs, and their way in this apparently waning economy?

How can it be, that in the age of information where you can find knowledge for every possible subject, right here at our fingertps, that we are not all capitalizing on this overabundance of informational wealth?
When I need to know about something, I simply research it on Google.

What if I need a wonderful dish tonight for dinner? No problem I can pull from an exquisite treasury of recipes.

If I need to de-clutter, (I don’t know why I would want to do that), or if I want to save the landfills from too much stuff and allow my house to gain more clutter; I can do all this for free, on Freecycle, or a bunch of other like-minded web organizations.

Don’t forget some cool craft ideas, like mosaics, for instance, I need not fret, because someone probably  already has got a step-by-step video for me on how to make one.

Tired of the educational system? School your child exclusively online, for a price or absolutely free!

I get quite a number of e-mails a day from folks telling me how to make a lucrative living from my living room.

In principle, I can connect with any number friends I have gathered together on the social network pages.

I can share my queries about life with strangers or friends alike on very specific forums, there’s one for just about anything.

If I were unhappy with my relationship, I could find a zillion new possibilities online.

If I need to have a spiritual jump start, I can get online music, bibles, books of all kinds, podcasts, TV stations, and a whole host of other means to the end.

So, if the answers to all of our issues are right online, why are we not all doing exceedingly well?

System overload. Yes, the problem is TMI alright, too much information to choose from!

What else can it possibly be? Movers and shakers appear to be people who actually know how to focus on 1 or 2 things at a time, and not more. I am inclined to believe this is true as I reflect on my own life. My most productive periods, seem to be when I am concentrating on one particular project at a time, and I devote much of my time to seeing it to its fruition.

I find failure when I can’t seem to choose or nail down my next project and am groping for 10 things at the same time. You know, over multi-tasking. There must a reason that we only have 2 hands. Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in the renaissance man and woman, with a ton of talents and different areas of interest, but even these, know the secret of 2-3 hours of concentrated time doing one thing with rest in between.

I started out this year doing just that, taking chunks of time and getting a list of things accomplished. I have strayed away from that and am now bringing it back seeing I am simply unable to survive without this method.

May I propose that we are spreading ourselves too thin in the land of information. We need to narrow our focus in order to really choose only a few of those things that we can use to take us to the next level in our lives. God knows we sure need to rise above our current situations to something that we can count on for ourselves and for the world at large.

A good rice dish :fried rice can make me happy, but this is about a person.

I was thinking about all of the people who have made a deep impact in my life.

Then she came to mind, I have mostly vague visions of

Punky hairdo’s, one of a kind clothes and jewelry too. Kindness and sharing, a love for nature; I remember the hermit crabs and the ‘plants’ in the window sills. Crossing the line, on Thanksgiving day. A playful teen and adult. You haven’t changed you’re still a pleasure to be around and you still care.

Thanks for helping me to think outside of the box. Thanks for helping me be proud of the fact that I was “unique”, “special”, or “different”.

With those memories I was able to walk with my head up high and have vision for art and creativity.

May you meet deliciously sweet days ahead, and may the Dream Maker make your perfect dreams come true.

I Love Rice!
Test your vocabulary, and feed the hungry

One day in a country far away, I met him.

He didn’t stand out in the crowd right away, he was just in the right place at the right time. I needed a guide and he was the one I recognized.

He was kind, respectful, and attentive, even though I couldn’t speak his language, and English was certainly not his. 

Somehow, we communicated and I shared my lunch at a park in picnic form. Still no sparks, but that would soon come.

Another day, and my new friend told me there was even more green in this city many times its size, and he would bring me there himself.

I was so thrilled with this new escape from concrete, stones, canals and bricks that I collected a large number of daisies, that he helped me pass out to those forgotten on the street.

I admit, I started mulling over scenarios in my head as I witnessed more character and integrity, along with a sweet humble spirit. “Nah, this wasn’t my type” I thought.

The homemade Indonesian dish changed all of that. My dad said I’d never find a nice guy that cooked and cleaned and did his own laundry. Well, dad hadn’t met this particular one.

I now began to take note of all of the pleasant times we were having, unforced, relaxed, and fun times. I never had to perform or become someone else. Dad had given the advice that when I met the right one, he would be my friend first, and I was making a real friend…

Over the years, more than 15 now, I have gotten to witness an emerging of one whom I have come to love, both heart and soul. All of my fears were relieved as he’s stronger, smarter, wiser, and more talented than in the days we first met. What a bonus!

What a treat to get to know someone and see them grow; it really blows my mind as we’ve gotten through a crisis here and there, with the power of the God of relationship.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Having God as the 3rd part of our union, has made it a rich and flourishing relationship.

I remember why I love my sweetheart….

A little introduction, the name is Lorina, born in the east coast of the USA and I’m pleased to meet you! I consider myself a world citizen, mostly because of living in Europe for well over a decade, and the connection to people from all over. Among my favorite things in no particular order are:

• drawing, painting, creating, taking pictures
• reading, reading out loud
• learning new things
• travelling: driving, flying, train, or boat
• long talks with friends about anything meaningful
• lively discussions, where no one gets hurt
• good cuisine, something that makes me want to melt
• giving advice that actually helps someone
• singing, dancing, acting
• hanging out and having fun with my family
• looking at art
• hiking in the woods, or in the mountains (hills they’re called in Scotland),
• walking on the beach
• talking about God
• watching a great movie, too many genres to mention
• listening to music of all kinds, mood is important as to which type
• meeting new people
• learning about different cultures, and customs from around the world
• writing about something that everyone wants to know, and about nothing in particular…

I’m sure this is not a comprehensive list, just a small snap shot anyway. If you can relate to some of these things, then you will probably enjoy reading my posts in the coming days and weeks.

Every Wednesday afternoon, I have a telephone conference call appointment with some women across several states, and we pray for our families, especially for our men. We call it “Warfaring Wives”

I remember when we first got started and and I thought, “wow, this is a good idea.” Well, that was an understatement, since beginning, more women have joined in and God has been faithful to show us how prayer really does work. 

We are seeing our men step up to the plate and towards their God. Fear’s are being broken, faith is strengthening, and the good kind of weakness, that makes men strong, is becoming apparent. Like Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (King James Version): ”And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Have you ever felt as if you wanted to be simultaneously successful? Now yeah, who doesn’t want that right?

Like right now, I need to write an outline for 2 classes I am doing for a homeschool co-op tomorrow. Most of which is completed, but I always end up procrastinating with those things because of all of the other things I need/and want to do.

So, after spending most of Tuesday afternoon, until early Wednesday morning, painting and rearranging the furniture in my studio, (one of the tasks I gave myself for the New Year), I got a little sleep until one of my my little ones asked for breakfast. That’s when I began the journey out of bed. I usually start by reading my bible, (unless I’m late for somewhere), and I was in the book of Daniel, one of my heroes in faith, wisdom, intelligence, and steadfastness. It’s crazy that someone, who was taken from his homeland ends up at the top of the chain of command!

I digress, what’s the name of this blog? Sometimes I truly am the a queen of rambling and rabbit trails. Anyway, I am just wanting to make the point that this guy Daniel, was able to accomplish a whole lot of different things, so he was a great learner, and he still managed to stay true to his God, while excelling in anything he put his hands to. Of course he probably was very focussed on one thing at a time throughout his day, I’m guessing since, he made a point of praying to his God 3 times a day. He had to be doing what was required of him in between those times. 

I on the otherhand am still scattered in my focus and although I have stopped the practice of checking my e-mail every other hour, I need to continue to give myself 2 hours of doing one thing at a time, in order to get it done well. Instead, I usually do about 4 or 5 things at the same time barely accomplishing them, certainly not as well as if I would have given them my undivided attention

This evening, an hour and a half before dinner time, I took the children with me to the studio and told them that we had that much time to empty the shelves and sort things out according to their kind all over the tables. I was amazed how much we got done in such a short amount of time. Our combined effort and focussing has truly helped me to realize the power of focus.  Naturally they were gung-ho for the first 40min or so, and then needed a little more coaxing to make it until the alarm went off. Yes, I set the alarm; I have the habit of not stopping once I get started with that type of project. It’s hilarious to watch for a fly on the wall, I’m sure. There seems to be no method to my madness, but it’s just working how I think.:-)

Tonight after all of the other things that will be happening today, Jujitsu, the co-op, I should be arriving home with tired children which will have need for their own space, which will give me time to, read and answer any important e-mails, along with any blogging that needs to be written or read. Then I will make sure something is ready for dinner before going over to the studio to spend another 2 hours or so getting my act together in there.

The morning alarm will be sounding shortly and I still have a couple of things to complete.

Are you a swift scattered type, or firmly focused one?

I’d love to hear the path of your daily successes!

My first ramblings on, will be about death, of all things.

Yesterday, I went to a funeral in North Carolina for my uncle Walter. He was an excellent speciman of someone who lived as a true believer in Christ but never really preached about it. His life on the otherhand, preached day in and day out, as he showed kindness, mentored, and cared for the people around him. Fortunately, I had not seen him sick, I remember only how I saw him, full of calm energy, generous, funny, intelligent and witty. In the celebration of his home-going as it was called, I got to hear all of the wonderful things he had meant to many others, which totally reinforced my image of him. I hadn’t seen uncle Walter, and other family members for years, so it was such a treat to see aunts, uncles, and cousins galore, that were all touched in some special way from his life. He was the photographer for our wedding and so always gets the glory when we pull out the album. The preacher that said, it was really, only unce Walters shell in the coffin, and that he was still alive and well in the spirit, hanging out in the place called heaven where he was not sick anymore, set me to thinking.

At that point I started to imagine, how he could now take long walks and probably shoot the coolest pictures, with ultra perfect lighting, and catch up with family members and friends that preceded him there. He could now eat whatever he wanted without any issues, and of course the food would be the sweetest fruit, and the most luscious veggie and nuts dishes ever! Not to mention, the literal feast for the eyes of the beautiful colors and precious stones and metals that make up the bulk of the scenery, along with the unruined nature that is  more beautiful than anything we could possibly imagine. He could get to practice flying like the rockets his family said he liked to shoot off, and take turns meeting the great faith giants of old. Then he would return to his beautiful mansion to rest and meditate on the greatness and faithfulness of God as he laid there upon his beautifly bed, making his plan for when he was ready to get up and do it again. I wonder what it must be like to not have yesterday today and tomorrow? Every time would be now and forever. I wonder if it would be kind of like the simultaneous lands of the Narnia Chronicles from C.S. Lewis?

Okay, back to earth, I don’t remember ever leaving a funeral feeling uplifted and happy, but that is what happened. Encouraging words were spoken and we got to talk to one another and hang out with the family, something Uncle Walter would have wanted very much. Somewhere in the bible there is a verse that says, “Oh death, where is your victory,…where is your sting” I really feel that about him.