Walk in Stoney Run #reLent #RIPhomeboy

A few weeks ago, March 8th, I had a Saturday off and the only thing I really wanted to do was go for a long walk with my Charlie. I set a goal of being able to walk a mile by the end of March. I've exceeded that thankfully and sometime forget that I had surgery in December. My foot has healed so well I can do cartwheels. I've been participating in a Photo a Day Challenge called #reLent and that Sunday they encouraged us to go for a real walk. I couldn't wait until Sunday. The word of Day 4 was Listen. I wanted to hear the water, hear the birds, hear the crunch of leaves and be still. 

We are so lucky to have this trail in our back yard. It feels like a special place for us. During our first Christmas Day together in Baltimore we woke up and went for a walk in Stoney Run. I've always loved the grafiti. I'm curious. Who are the artists? Do they sneak in during the night with lights? Are they MICA art students? Neighbors? Are they happy? Bored? Rebellious? Or just letting out creative juices? 

I love what The Cosmo in Vegas has done with graffiti in their parking garage. How cool would it be if Baltimore commissioned works in all of the downtown garages?

The patterns and colors are beautiful. Banksy is so popular that a building's value goes up if one of his (or her?) murals is outside it's walls. The modern Van Gogh.

The frozen earth looked beautiful and cast its own patterns and light that day.

It was the first time I had stopped to listen and be tranquil, in a very long time. Sure I've spent hours and hours being quiet in the house over this long, dark and lonely winter. But this quiet walk felt restorative.

We even met a dog along our journey that looked like he had a run into a graffiti artist. Only in Hampden. 

I had my phone turned on silent, no vibrate, so I could totally turn off the outside world. I happened to look at my phone just at the time my mother was calling. It was here we learned that my precious Uncle Robert had died suddenly in Memphis. He had celebrated his birthday just the day before, had been suffering from lung cancer, but we thought he was on the mend. I couldn't have wish for a more beautiful place to learn of this sad fact. We found a bench and continued to be quiet and thank God for all that Robert brought to our lives. It is such a loss. His wish throughout his six months of suffering was that he would glorify God. Very truly I tell you, he did just that in his life and his death.

All throughout the graffiti scene in Baltimore you can see "RIP Homeboy" with the date of the departed. I was able to go to Memphis for the funeral and will share more soon. Loss is so hard. Being with family helped so much but Robert will be missed so very much. 

RIP Homeboy Uncle Robert 3/8/14

Tranquil Tuesday: God's Affirming Love

All Will Be Well

On the feast of Saint Valentine I would like to give you all a gift and introduce you to Julian of Norwich. I reached out to a dear friend and Bible study leader and told her that I was feeling a need to be fed, loved and affirmed by God. She suggested anything written by Julian of Norwich who was a saint living in the 1300s. She was a monastic. She had visions and she writes about our Lord as an intimate friend, father, mother who is knit to us closer than our own spirits. I've been learning how to knit so this visual is beyond beautiful and with every knit and pearl I keep repeating Psalm 139, You were knit together in your mother's womb. 

I can't tell you how much this book has changed my core. It give me chills just thinking about it. I purchased it on my Kindle and may need to buy the hard copy to touch the pages. I have so many bookmarks that I can't choose one to share with you. But if you are feeling a bit blue in the deep, cold, darkness of the winter and need a lift from the true source of joy, I highly recommend this book.

via

Each day is marked by a reflection in "My Day Begins", then "All Through the Day" you repeat a mantra of sorts inspired by Julian's words such as "Nothing less than God can satisfy us". Then when you get home from work, or as the day is ending "May Day Is Ending" has another reflection on what happened in your day. Did you imagine God's concern for you? And asks you questions that deal with the earlier reflection of the day. You can journal or just talk it out with yourself or a friend. Finally, the "Night Prayer" closes your day before bed. It is remarkable and I've truly felt affirmed in God's love. I hope you will too. Happy Valentine's Day!

Tranquil Tuesday: Hydrangea Happiness

Last week we had a lot of rain. One morning I caught the perfect light on our hydrangea bush. One of the major benefits of my detox has been that I wake up at 6:00 am and am wide awake. I've enjoyed some very tranquil mornings with my camera around the house and neighborhood. It is so important to take just a few minutes each day to be quiet outside and breathe. 

A few years ago I went on a retreat at Bon Secours Spritual Center. When I was walking back from a hike I approached the labyrinth. There was a wind chime blowing in the wind but I couldn't hear the chimes. I thought it was broken and rushed to see if I could fix it. When I got closer I realized the chimes did work, but I wasn't listening hard enough. I wasn't quiet enough to hear them. I wasn't still enough. Sometimes you need to listen a little harder for God's voice. Going into a retreat I never know how it will hit me. This experience has stayed with me for years. I try hard to slow down and quiet myself. That day I learned a lot about myself. I don't need to try to fix everything. It's okay to just slow down on occasion.

I feel like you can see God's light in these Hydrangea blooms. They remind me of God's love. The contrast of the white white against the dark shadows of the green makes me truly thankful for my sight.

Hydrangea like to grow on their dead wood from the previous year. If you cut them back too far they won't bloom. I didn't cut this baby back at all last year proved to be fruitful. I love their lacy pattern and the details in the veins. 

Enjoy this day and try to be quiet for just a moment. You never know what will be revealed to you when you listen and look a little harder.

Thank you Jan Larsen for teaching me the "open shade" trick when taking photographs and finding the light!

God is great, God is good, let us thank God for our....

Cherry Blossoms in Druid Hill Park.

Grey clouds.

Park benches.

Pavilions and leafless tree silouettes.

Running paths.

Water from the reservoir.

The calls of red winged black birds.

Thank you God for the light.

Old fences.

Thank You for my sight.

 Weeping cherry blossom trees blowing in the wind.

The seasons. 

Branches to climb and birds to nest.

For sunsets in Stone Hill.

Great neighbors!

Unkempt forsythia.

The light bouncing off of the stone houses.

God bless the tulip trees.

For tulip trees growing right next to weeping cherries.

For picket fence dreams coming true.

For my camera, Lord I am truly thankful.

For the sunlight steaming through pink petals.

For ornamental plum trees.

And more great neighbors!!!

For artifacts left in our yard.

Shadows.

Hostas growing two inches a day.

Stone Houses.

Potted hydrangeas.

Creeping hydrangeas.

Sunsets over the Mill.

Silouettes.

For the future location of a porch swing that will hang from this big limb.

I had a wonderful Tranquil Tuesday yesterday. Feeling blessed to be so busy and was able to take a break at the end of the day. Wishing you all a great week. I'm off for a few days of events and a little travel. What are you thankful for?