Haiku

The black kitty loaf

Threatening to overflow

Lazy yet rising

Cooperative Illumination

Scarlett was working in a notebook this morning and wanted me to draw on a page.  So we did some cooperative illumination together.  :)

Alleluia

I'm not Catholic, but I like to pray the breviary.  I don't do it as often as I'd like, but then I don't do anything as often as I'd like..

I like to pray it because it is beautiful, because I think it glorifies God so well, and most importantly because I strongly believe in the body of Christ and what God can do through us.  We need community; we need unity; we need each other and most of all, we need God.

This morning, in the breviary was a song we sang at church yesterday, and I love it.

Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
 

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heav’nly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
 

But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now he reigns above as King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
 

Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love, Alleluia!
Praise him, all ye heav’nly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!

(Interestingly, the Catholic version of the song had a slightly different last verse; this one is the Protestant version.)

Here is part of the Psalmody:

Ant. 1 The splendor of Christ risen from the dead has shone on the people redeemed by his blood, alleluia.

Psalm 63: 2-9 --

A soul thirsting for God

Whoever has left the darkness of sin yearns for God.

O God, you are my God, for you I long;

for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you

like a dry, weary land without water.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

to see your strength and your glory.

For your love is better than life,

my lips will speak your praise.

So I will bless you all my life,

in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,

my mouth shall prise you with joy.

On my bed I remember you.

On you I muse through the night

for you have been my help;

in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand holds me fast.

Psalm Prayer

Father, creator of unfailing light, give that same light to those who call to you.  May our lips praise you; our lives proclaim your goodness; our work give you honor, and our voices celebrate you forever.

Ant.  The splendor of Christ risen from the dead has shone on the people redeemed by his blood, alleluia.

Ant. 2 Our Redeemer has risen from the tomb; let us sing a hymn of praise to the Lord our God, alleluia.

**

Rejoice and Be Glad!

We are in the middle of the Easter celebration.

Easter is a wonderful time.  I wish it had as much pomp and circumstance as does Christmas, but perhaps it is appropriate not to have as much commercialism.  The commercialism it does have is so hokey; no one takes it very seriously, anyway.  I even thought so as a child, but hey, I'll take the candy.  I don't mind candy.

Some people (I think mostly those who don't have strong beliefs in much any area) love pointing out Easter's pagan origins.  As if that has to take away from the celebration of Easter itself.  Some even maniacally point it out as if this somehow voids the claims of Easter and Christianity itself.

Ooookay, dude, settle down, I want to say.

Newsflash: a lot of what we celebrate in modern Christianity actually does not have direct origin to the earliest Christians.  This does not invalidate any of it.

No one today, not even the church, needs to feel guilty or put on some sad face for possible past persecutions of others.  We aren't "taking anything away" from anyone else.  We haven't stolen or anything.  We are celebrating the single greatest event in the history of the entire world.

Christ is risen!

Every bit of my life celebrates this fact.

“And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”

  Luke 24:2-3

Buddah Board and Why Change is Good but Hard

I love my Buddha Board.  It is perfect for my Kanji study...I just wish I could get ink and paper to have these crisp marks...I don't know if it is my brushes or if it is just me.

The Buddha Board is a neat contraption that allows you to "paint" in water.

The image does not last long.

I guess you are supposed to live in the moment or some such thing.

Sometimes it does make me sad that the image goes away.

So I am going to start recording them more often.

My creative focus is always changing, which is why I can't ever become Really Good at anything...not belittling whatever talent I have, but my mind does not want to focus on one thing in particular to develop my skills high enough to be Super Awesomely Good.

And that is okay.  It's all right to just be Good.  I believe there are reasons I have an eclectic focus. 

It does make it a little frustrating when I feel like I "ought" to be doing this or that, or when I think, "a while ago, that would have inspired me to do X, but right now...I just don't want to."  Those kind of thoughts threaten to make me feel a little down on myself.  I *want* to get this or that done, but motivation so often peters out before I get all that far.  I haven't oil painted in forever.  Sometimes I feel I want to...but I *don't* want to get the paint out just for the sake of getting the paint out.  If I get it out, I want to do my best, and sometimes I just know I am not actually capable of that amount of motivation, so that is why I don't get it out.  I guess the big thing is, it takes *time* and *energy* and *attention*.  I don't want to bother with it otherwise, but...that needs lots of motivation.

I spend a lot of time on kids (obviously) and a lot of mental exertion on learning Japanese (because for whatever obsessive reason, I love love love studying it, though I don't always do so efficiently).  Then you factor in house, errands, people, and normal relaxation needs, and that leaves...precious little else.  I have the time.  I have plenty of time no matter what else takes my time and I know it and I will not use that an excuse.  But I know myself well enough that once I get going on something, I *do not want to stop* and that is probably the biggest factor...the fact that official creative time does have to take a back seat, strictly by my own personal choice.  I have plenty of things that don't *have* to take a lot of time...but it's hard to want to do those things if I *don't* devote a large chunk of time, so it's a bit of a conundrum.  I hate being interrupted, so often I choose not to start doing anything at all.  That is a little sad and I need to figure out how *not* to do that.

What was I talking about again?  I don't know.  Something about how I need to reconcile the fact that I don't need to do all of the traditional things I tend to do, creatively, and that I can just do...whatever motivates me at the moment.

Sorry about the rambling today...

Flowers!

I made the mistake of smelling the flowers at the store.

Sometimes I really miss flowers and need to have them.

I have really been wanting to paint them, but that hasn't happened yet.  Maybe it will, maybe it won't.  Having flowers always makes me want to paint.

Ink Trees at the Park

More trees!