Category: season

Posted in color, die, flower, hope, husband, Jesus, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, prayer, quiet, rain, refresh, renew, rest, restore, scripture, season, silence, sorrow, Spiritual, stillness, words

Spring Getaways

Posted on by deannagreensandgardenart

My front door now pops with Spring. I found a bargain moss basket as well as dainty greenery and flowers to put inside for the “Welcome” metal art piece. Even a little nest with the florals. The birds had pecked at the wreath I had placed on the door for the past three Springs, looking rather bald on one side. Time for replacing and refreshing with different textures and colors. Is not that what Spring is? Renewal.

“In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, when birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; sweet lovers love the spring.”

William Shakespeare, As You Like It

It was time for our Spring fling. My husband and I love road trips, short ones and long. This time only 2 hours from home for a town and country weekend away. Spring rains follow us to a Swedish-style hideaway.  Hygge at its best, we find Spring with the frogs’ croaks, bird tweets, flowering plum trees, and tender green sprigs sprouting in the woods.  Using my hooded poncho and Dean the umbrella, we keep somewhat dry walking to the welcoming forsythia-wreathed door. We fiddle with the door code, breathing each other’s space, and finally figure out the magic touch.  Inside a string of lights on a tree and small table lamp greet us this rainy afternoon.  Dean fetches our remaining bags and hung clothes.  I remove my wet poncho and find a hook to hang it on to dry.  My packed throw in our luggage quickly becomes the desired item to snuggle up into after our short excursion in the Spring rain.  Dean joins me on the comfy couch for a short nap until our dinnertime plans.

That perfect weekend leads us to another work week. Taught a spring baking class one evening. I recently trained for a full-time human resources position and felt it not a good fit. The training was meager as well as too different from what my previous experience had been with employee benefits. I had a difficult time retaining the necessary details due to this stressful time, many sleepless nights. A week after I had started this position my daughter and family’s house burned down. And Dean’s mother suffered a stroke that just about killed her last month. More adequate housing arrangements have been made for them.

I spend time in the quiet. Being still. Each day listening to the songbirds outside our cottage home’s windows. Gleaning a word or two in the Holy Scriptures. Praying. This week I think about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Mary’s belief in Jesus. The miracle, He raised Lazarus, Mary’s and Martha’s brother from the dead. The stench of death did not permeate. Jesus made anew, fresh Life when it seemed hopeless. My Jesus, make fresh Life for my daughter and her family. Make fresh Life for my mother-in-law and father-in-law in their new home setting. Make fresh Life in me.

Posted in anger, daughter, disabled, earth, empty, faith, Family, fear, feelings, gift, God, grandchild, grief, heart, home, house, insecurity, Jesus, life, pain, poverty, prayer, quote, resilience, season, seed, son, sorrow, time, truth, worry

Prayer Like A Lace Shawl

Posted on by deannagreensandgardenart

Snow has covered the roof tops, grass, leaves, and trees like a lace shawl early this morning. Soft, no harshness with this snowfall. But life has been harsh this past month, like a blizzard. Details to provide for my daughter’s family after their house burned down Christmas night are harsh realities. Life has not been a bed of roses for my daughter most of her life. Disabled with a nerve disorder caused by an error during a disc surgery went undetected for months. Consequently, she has and still suffers with pain most every minute of her day. Every day. Most days she is on top of it, smiles at the days to come. At this bleak season of her life, she lives one day at a time, one hour at a time, and one minute at a time while those details are being covered in prayer. Prayer like a lace shawl does not completely cover the substance underneath. You still see glimpses of rawness; although the bare reality by a teaspoon instead of gallons at any given moment. Loss, grief, disbelief, emptiness, doing without, fear, doubt, anger, just surviving, insecurity, faith at times smaller than a mustard seed, coping, resilience rising, moving a finger at a time and then a hand to say “I am alive” are some of the heart’s feelings they share. God completely envelope my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren with Your love this very moment.

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.

“In this bleak mid-winter” as the Christina Rossetti poem and lyrics go, “yet what I can give Him, give my heart.” As we conclude the Advent season, I resound “I can and will give my heart”. We all must in order to survive this harsh world.

Posted in Blog, brother, color, cousin, day, death, Family, feelings, flower, gift, give, God, grace, health, hope, Jesus, mother, Mother Mary, People, quote, renew, sad, scripture, season, sinful woman, Spiritual, woman, Women in My Life, words, write, writer

More Pink Days

Posted on by deannagreensandgardenart

What color is your day today? I perused my photos on my cell phone to recall my year. Pink was the pronounced color for this year, with blue a close second. I lost five family members in 2022; two uncles, an aunt, a cousin, and my younger brother. Those were blue days and weeks. The feeling of sadness overwhelmed me at times. But pink, a color synonymous to healthiness, optimism, innocence, and hope overshadowed those days. My hopes are that pink reigns mightily in 2023.

Pink isn’t just a color, it’s an attitude!

Miley Cyrus

I found myself surrounded with clothing in pinks: dusty rose, cerise, salmon, blush champagne, pink lemonade, bubble gum, magenta … scarves, gloves, hats, dresses, blouses, fancy britches, bunny costumes, accessories …

I am lured to chaise lounges, couches, and chairs dressed in pink.

Nature shows off her pink hues … the winter skyline, spring trees, summer blooms, and autumn grasses.

Date nights, anniversaries, holidays, vacations, and entertainment venues staged in magenta and bubblegum pinks with warm sunshine and waterfront breezes bring a renewed glow …

Strawberry lemonade and tea party pink cookies make any day a special occasion …

The grandeur ladies and Mother Nature placed in my life feed my inner child and I gather myself by writing words in poetry, blogs, and short stories…

This last month of the year I decorate our tabletop Christmas tree with vintage Shiny Brite ornaments from my parents’ collection and love the nostalgic greeting cards sparkled with white and pink splendor, those precious childhood memories flood my senses…

Remember the reason for this holiday season … every season … and use that gift God gave you to share with others in 2023.

Posted in appreciate, cross, fight, forgiveness, hate, life, love, purpose, season, sick, sin

Love Without Ceasing Season

Posted on by deannagreensandgardenart

“Love without ceasing” the Holy Scriptures tell us. But what about all those sicknesses and evil people who bring us unceasing heartache? These chronic illnesses rob their victims of enjoyment in life and life itself, and some hateful people do, too. It’s okay to hate cancer, arachnoiditis, and evildoers. A matter of fact that hate can help us fight for a better life. The challenge is not to get caught up in that hate. “Love covers a multitude of sin” (1 Peter 4:8). Jesus’ perfect love demonstrated on the cross did that and still does that. “Forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). This season in my life, your life is serving a purpose. Keep loving even if it is hard.

"Love without ceasing." 
~ 1 Corinthians 16:14~

	







	
			

			
				
							
		

	
	

		Posted in age, anxious, art, body, change, community, connection, crazy, creative, Family, garden, God, health, heart, Holy Spirit, home, hospitality, house, Jesus, job, life, listen, live, Martha, Mary, nourish, People, quote, renew, resources, rest, scripture, season, sin, soul, stillness, time, walk, words, works, worry, write, writer		
A Day In A Life Of This Retired Martha
		

			Posted on  by deannagreensandgardenart					

			


	

		

People ask, “What do you do with your day now that you are retired?” I have always said I will never completely retire. I may not get paid for my labor but will always find a project or two worth working at. I am semi-retired at this time of my life.  In June 2021 what I retired from was multi-tasking 5 or 6 days a week. My body and mind had enough, literally my heart and my doctors were telling me to slow down. My employee wellness job with the local government kept me overly busy with 4 or 5 projects at a time, an income not reflecting what I did for over 4,000 employees and 2,500 retirees.  Since retirement from full-time work, I ask the Holy Spirit to fill my days with what God deems worth my time, resources, and energy. A person’s value or worth to this world is not based on how much income they bring in. Value is placed on what God says is worthy. I know worth is found through Jesus, who died on the cross for my sins and yours, because of His love for me and you. I believe most people have a “Mary” and a “Martha” side to them. I have been a “Martha” by necessity since 8 years of age and have to allow the “Mary” side to come out more. That is the side where my soul gets refreshed and my writing plays in the script. When I allow myself plenty of time to reflect, the words flow.  For me at least one day out of the week, it is a steady stream.





“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things, when only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41 & 42





My hobbies of gardening, cooking, crafting, reading and writing provide several projects, but not all at the same time. Each day is different than yesterday. Those daily routines of making the bed, laundry, meals, bills, and quiet time, are consistent.  I am attempting to make brisk walks or lap-swims a regular part my life again without making it such a regiment, just a natural flow in my day.  I started working a wellness-related job, but just 1 or 2 days a week. That’s enough multi-tasking for me. Developing and teaching culinary classes at the local community college is limited to just 2 or 3 classes a month. This summer I took on work with senior citizens in our community through an organization called Papa. Using an app, I sign up as needs arise, assisting with household chores for 1 or 2 local women in my community during the month. Recently I signed up to bring meals to our pastors twice a month. Then one weekend a month Dean and I rent our vintage home through Airbnb, a good reason for a thorough cleaning before and after the rental weekend. This allows tourists a quaint home to stay in for the weekend while visiting our historic town.  I know what I like when Dean & I travel and try to make our home just that for others.  We recently have made “super host” status.  My newest art craze are button journals. I design those and attempt to sell them through a local hand-craft boutique.  And there is our big family with all those social events such as birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries in the mix.  So that is the day in the life of this retired Martha, never the same each day.  I am not retired from life and enjoy living a Mary life more and more each day.

	







	
			

			
				
							
		

	
	

		Posted in change, connection, courage, daughter, friend, gift, God, job, lesson, life, love, quote, season, time		
DeJa’Vu
		

			Posted on  by deannagreensandgardenart					

			


	

		

Life changes so quickly sometimes.  Change can be good.  Events like moving to another house, accepting a new job, retiring, a death of a loved one or friend, marital status, and welcoming a new baby into the family can dictate who with and how much time and effort is needed to keep up on a relationship. The key is you still need relationships with people who help make you a better person.  Some friendships stick through your lifetime, and others are for a season or two.  Sometimes life circles around, back to old friends and lifestyles.





Time is a figure eight, at its center the city of Deja Vu.”
~ Robert Breault ~





Last week I had dinner with a couple who I went to church with many years ago and worked with the man at the church daycare center when my daughters were in preschool and kindergarten.  That was over 30 years ago!  We had kept tabs from time to time while still attending sister churches, and then through Facebook.  For me FB has been a great avenue to reconnect to old acquaintances and friends.  I wanted to see this lovely couple face-to-face and share some time and encouragement.  I have always been blessed when I speak to these folks just like our time together 30+ years later.





This week I met up with another friend from my tearoom days.  Over 30 years ago I worked with this woman in her tearoom for a season.  We always connect well when we speak on the phone or message each other through FB.  She and her son have painstakingly renovated a portion of an old building into an event venue.  They exposed the beautifully tiled ceiling and wood floors.  Elsberry, the small town that the venue is in is just 30 minutes north of metro St. Louis, and the venue priced so reasonable.  HeritageOnBroadway has openings for your wedding, shower, reunion, and fundraiser event.  Look them up via this link.





This month I gathered courage to take on a very part-time administrative assistant position at a small counseling practice.  As all my jobs, this job has purpose, helping people get the talk therapy they need as well as provides for my daughter’s medical needs.  Before my careers in employee benefits and culinary instruction, and after my tearoom adventures, I worked as an administrative assistant at various places.  Well over thirty years ago at the church and medical/dental offices.  DeJa’Vu. I am here again.  God, what lessons do I still need to learn here?





“Usually we find later that we did good.  Its all about how things will happen if we allow our own inner to steer just like a wrapping for a gift when we realize it’s all been Déjà vu.”
~ Levi Paul Taylor~






	







	
			

			
				
							
		

	
	

		Posted in body, brother, church, death, father, grace, grandfather, grief, heaven, Jesus, life, love, mother, peace, Physical, prayer, season, soul, Spiritual		
I Still Love You
		

			Posted on  by deannagreensandgardenart					

			


	

		

In darkness, in grief, in despair, or even just in the midst of seasons that never seem to end, we need to make space for pause. 
~ Ann Voskamp





I still love you even though you left so abruptly.  I had even wished it was one of your April’s fool’s jokes.  I wondered that whole day on your favorite holiday if you would send a message or telephone to say, “April’s fools!  It’s all a joke, I am not really dead.”  But not so.  You are dead, or least to this world.  You have passed onto a much happier, freer life now.  How is Heaven, my brother?  





I still love you even though we lived so different lives.  You a bachelor, no family to attend to and I with 6 adult children and 8 grandchildren.  We still shared a love for our beloved mother, father, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and our northern friends.  We lived in the same childhood home & family tree farm, made childhood vacation memories.  We shared a love of the great outdoors, you especially with your hunting and fishing; I with my gardening.   It meant the world to me when you came to Dean and I’s greenhouse and brought Grandpa to see our new adventure.





I still love you even though you left without saying those words to me.  You left angry at me and our other siblings.  You wanted no accountability, live life mortgage-free and a life full of cigarettes, alcohol, women, and gambling.  You were writing checks your body could not cash in on anymore.  We all can be a prodigal son at times, get off-course to what really matters.  I know I have in my life.  I had just hoped you would have come around while living on this earth.  But I think you are now with those you loved the most, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Paula, your soulmate Eileen, and the Lord.  The heavenly reunion was a joyful one, I am sure.





I still love you as you have taught me how to laugh and be unconventional.  I think you will continue to teach me lessons.  I know you were not a churchgoer, but a believer in Jesus Christ.  Despite how many knelt knees and fervent prayers are said, it is by His grace that we are saved and set free.  I have my quiet time almost every morning, but this week I am attending Mass every morning, too.  Not sure how long God has called me to this, but I feel a peace each morning while praying with others and for others.  I did this for various seasons while working in human resources, attended noon Mass at the church a block from my office during some troublesome times and for troubled employees.





“We can love completely what we cannot completely understand.”  ~Norman Maclean





The movie A River Runs Through It reminds me of you.  You are the Brad Pitt character, Paul.  I saw this movie a couple of days before I learned of the news of your passing, and I told Dean “Paul reminds me of Steve.”  The closing words of Norman Maclean’s story, “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and ran over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops.”  To me that river is the blood of Jesus, running through us, the rocks are us, and some of those rocks just have a little bit more sprinkling of raindrops, the blood of Jesus.  God rest your soul.  I love you, brother Steve.  






	







	
			

			
				
							
		

	
	

		Posted in care, change, choice, compassion, faith, gift, give, God, grace, heart, hope, Jesus, love, People, quote, redeemer, scripture, season, sinful woman		
Love Will Turn You Around
		

			Posted on  by deannagreensandgardenart					

			


	

		

Love, what a powerful emotion and force.  A gift.  The Holy Scriptures mention “love” 541 times. The Bible tells us there are 4 loves. These are storge (empathy bond), philia (friend bond), eros (romantic love), and agape (unconditional God love).  The season for love is now more than ever.  This world needs love.  Not any love, but a perfect love.  God’s love.  It is unwavering.  His love does not fail us.  People may fail us, but He does not.  God’s love mends our hearts.





“Love will turn you around, turn you around.” Kenny Rogers’ song keeps playing in my head.  I think the lyrics have a different meaning than what I am thinking. The words bring me to thoughts on what changed my direction years ago, what redirects my course, day after day after day.  It is what kept me from a reckless lifestyle.  It is the love and grace of our God and His Son, Jesus that saved me.  His love is full of grace especially when you and I waver or fall short.





In the first letter to the Corinthians this is what Holy Scriptures tell us about love. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 8) That is Who and What my Saviour has been for me, and what He asks of me.  He loves you in the same manner.  Romans 2:11 tells us “For God treats everyone the same.”





“There are three things that remain—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 
 I Corinthians 13:13


































	







	
			

			
				
							
		

	
	

		Posted in book, creative, explore, friend, God, grace, health, house, husband, job, life, love, mind, quote, rest, season, sick, words, write, writer		
One Word for 2022
		

			Posted on  by deannagreensandgardenart					

			


	

		

The first full week in the New Year had me at my primary care and eye doctors for annual check-up appointments, after-the-holidays bargain shopping, two meals out to catch up with friends and family after the holidays and finishing the manuscript of my first poetry chapbook.  The second full week, well, did I tell you that COVID continues to be rampant?  Apparently so much so that my husband and I finally acquired the virus after it has been around the world a few times the past 2 years.  We are thankful that our symptoms thus far have been very minor, like a bad head cold.  Naps, more naps, and plenty of hot herbal teas have been our regiments.  And of course, quarantining. 





Staying home in isolation is not too difficult for me.  I am retired from full-time work and have no cooking classes to teach until February.  My husband works remotely most days of the week and has been strictly home this past week working quietly between his naps.  Our first snow of the year fell this weekend, definitely another excuse to stay indoors.  Enjoy watching the birds feed from the window.  Reading, writing, and homemade soup making have been my occupations this past 2 weeks.  As I go in and out of sleepiness, words ebb and flow like a river stream.  Perfect timing to finish my second poetry manuscript, the newest edition of the first but photos are included.  Both manuscripts are now submitted to two different publishers.   





While words flit in and out of my mind, one word “explore” has stuck with me, and I adopted for my 2022.  My New Year’s goal is to explore.  So instead of singling on one action in one aspect of life such as losing 20 pounds or exercising 5x times a week, I have an action word to cover the many dimensions of my life.  I will explore God’s grace in my life, I will explore new authors and books to read, explore new writing and teaching opportunities, explore healthier recipes, explore antique bargains, explore new plants to grow for garden art projects, and explore new ways to show God’s love to my family and friends.    Filmmaker Joss Whedon has said “Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it. Sauté it, whatever. Make.”  Create.  Make.  “Just do it” as Nike coins their brand.  So, what is your word for this new year?  This 2022 is your year, and mine!





 
“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it. Sauté it, whatever. Make.” 
~ Joss Whedon






	







	
	
	

		Posted in change, God, life, listen, live, Mental, mind, old, Physical, purpose, quote, rain, renew, scripture, season, spirit, Spiritual, truth, warm, well, words		
Cast Aside The Old Self
		

			Posted on  by deannagreensandgardenart					

			


	

		

You were taught to cast aside the old self of your former way of life that had been corrupted by its captivating desires. You are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self created in God’s image, in the way of uprightness and holiness that belong to the truth.
~ Ephesians 4:22 – 24 ~





Summer had lingered in the plush plants for many a days as it has been unseasonably warm.  But now it is finally yielding to Autumn.  The hummingbirds have not visited the feeder in well over a week.  The sparrows and finches are feeding more often.  The blooms yield to berries.  I feel the weather is finally changing with the brisk air after the colder rains. Bare feet get covered with my weathered leather moccasins rather than strappy sandals.  My denim poncho is needed this evening, so I clothed myself to keep warm.  Just as I clothed myself for protection from the cold, so I clothe myself with God’s image as the above scripture tells me.





God’s Words are promises to me, and to you as well.  Post-retirement from my full-time career has given me more time to think.  I have had days to reflect on where I have been, where I am now, and where I want to go.  The mind can go places like self-doubt and questioning God’s purposes.  God is faithful with His Word and I am confronted with this scripture Ephesians 4:22 – 24, to renew in the spirit of my mind and dress myself in God’s image which is the Truth.  Anything else is a lie.  God’s word mentions these words “clothe yourselves” several times.  This will be the focus of my subject bible study this autumn season going into winter.