Surfwise.

I am enthralled and really want to see this movie. I need to see how this worked. And the imagery is phenominal (the website is fun to look at too.)

http://www.surfwisefilm.com/

Prayer requested.

Don't worry. It's nothing tragic or urgent. It's just personal. Wondering how to take God's path for my existence rather than one that may have more to do with my ego and personal feelings.

I was telling one of my friends about a totally bizarre answer we had to a prayer we've been praying for almost a year now. Last week we got a phone call from the Fairfield library saying they thought they have something that might belong to us. Having only been there once, maybe twice in the last year and half since we've been back I couldn't imagine what it would be. I thought maybe it was my library card from when my purse was stolen back in 2002. It turned out to be God answering a year-old prayer in an amazingly creative way.

We have all of our important documents in one plastic file folder that is usually in a safe place in the house. That folder was taken with me to register Sean for school around this time last year (it has our birth certificates, social security cards, shot records, etc.) I've found that if I take those documents out of the main folder - which is florescent green - then they're more likely to get lost on their own. So anyway, I had the folder for registration and the next day we were having a garage sale. I took the folder out of the car and while getting side-tracked with the sale I put the folder down on a shelf in the garage.

So the morning of the garage sale, we had the garage door open but everything for sale was out in the driveway itself. It rained and Rusty and I had a table with chairs set up just inside the garage door. This seemed to be an invitation to shoppers to come into the garage and rummage through things that were not for sale. I know at one point a man picked up the green folder to look at the box underneath. I remember because he asked about something in the box to which I replied, "That's not for sale" and put the folder on a higher shelf then turned to talk to someone else rummaging through the stuff for sale. That was the last time we saw the folder.

Fast forward a few months and we realize it's gone and most likely it had disappeared that day. What should have taken one day to get my Ohio driver's license took weeks as I waited for a social security print-out to verify my number, a new birth certificate, etc. We talked to the social security agency and our numbers were put on an alert status meaning any time something came through using that number it wouldn't be ok'd until we were notified. We struggled with whether to re-order everyone's birth certificates, social security cards and our marriage certificate (something you can only do in person right now where we were married in Maryland.) It would cost a lot of money, a lot of time and some confusion as the supporting documents you needed to request one thing were needing to be replaced as well.

A month or so ago we sent up one last prayer of, "If they're really gone, please let us know and we'll go on from here." I'll admit, after turning the house upside down twice and cleaning out the garage a few times, I honestly figured they were stuck in some closet or cabinet and was surprised when they didn't turn up. The alternative was kind of scary - with birth certificates and social security cards someone can really jack up your credit history and your life overall. I was planning on using some of the tax rebate money to go ahead and re-order the paperwork that proves the history of our family. Then the library guy called.

The folder turned up sometime last fall. After hearing our story they figure it was dropped of there since it's a somewhat "official" location but the person wouldn't be subject to questions on how they obtained it. In all honesty, I don't necessarily think it was "stolen" as there is just as much chance that someone else picked it up to look at whatever was underneath it and may have walked away not realizing what they had until it was too late (I could see where returning a folder to someone and having to say, "I just walked off with your whole life's worth of paperwork. I promise I didn't copy anything down. So sorry... here you go" would be kind of scary.)

So why did I just tell you this very long yet strangely fascinating story? Because it's just proof that God is not boring. God is not easy to figure out. Sometimes the route to answered prayer seems so cut and dry... and obvious... and yet it's not God's answer. It's ours. Because we're so short-sighted, you know? So that's what I'm wrestling with right now. What does God want me to do with the ideas He's given me. The obvious answer seems to be the one that's staring me in the face right now. The path with someone saying, "You'd be perfect for this." And to be honest, some instant gratification and ego boosting. I just want to make sure that's what God wants. And that's why I ask for your prayers.

Thanks.

Game on.

So tomorrow I'm tackling laundry. My workroom is right next door to the laundry... closet (calling it a laundry "room" is a bit of a stretch.) But tomorrow, while the laundry cycles, it begins. Mail art. I'm making it and annoying the West Chester postal service by sending it out. Any size, any shape... if it fits the size/weight requirements then I'm tossing it in a mailbox and letting them deal with it (seriously, I heard about someone who sent a message in a coconut and now I'm enthralled.)

If you're interested in being added to the list of mail art recipients? Don't be shy - email me at faith.art@gmail.com and make sure to give me your mailing address. You never know what you'll find in your mailbox some day down the road...

I pity the fool.

Rusty plays W.O.W. I wish he'd talk like Mr. T while he did it, though. It would be fun.



I will always love Mr. T...

I don't know what to say...

Truly YouTube uses it's power for [mostly] good and not evil:



It's like when chocolate and peanut butter first got together. They're great on their own and even more fun when smooshed together.

Spring (it's about time.)

Rusty stopped on the way home from the airport Sunday to buy tulips as a "thank you" for me letting him spend half of spring break in Vegas with Erik, Buddy and two other friends. The tulips were really tight buds Sunday afternoon then sometime Monday they just exploded!

I took some photos this afternoon because the colored ones especially are gorgeous, with their green tinged undersides gradually changing to blazing pinks, oranges and yellows. I also loved the light coming through the blue of the old mason jar.

Then this evening I'm sitting at the table working on my laptop with the flowers in front of me. They are directly underneath the table light fixture and the pink/orange flowers look like they're votive cups glowing with a lit candle inside. I literally couldn't think I was so enthralled with the light and color. I had to take more photos. Thankfully (for you) I only uploaded nine here. I took 22 overall and seriously, it's not my photography but the creation itself that is so crazy beautiful!

They're also over at Flickr if you'd like to see bigger, in-your-face images (when you get to Flickr, just click the small images to see the big versions):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chick/sets/72157604373194672/

Be.

I fill you with Naming.
Be!
Be, butterfly and behemoth,
be galaxy and grasshopper,
star and sparrow,
you matter,
you are,
be!
Be caterpillar and comet,
Be porcupine and planet,
sea sand and solar system,
sing with us,
dance with us,
rejoice with us,
for the glory of creation,
seagulls and seraphim
angle worms and angel host,
chrysanthemum and cherubim.
(O cherubim.)
Be!
Sing for the glory
of the living and the loving
the flaming of creation
sing with us
dance with us
be with us.
Be!

Oh, I love pretty words and the flashes of heaven they bring forth.

Snark O' the Week

In describing barely contained cleavage in photos of both Beyonce and Posh (Victoria Beckham):

Beyonce's grocery shelf may not be as squished and crammed, but the effect is the same: One false move and the melons will go flying. - GoFugYourself.com

(I'm sorry, but not everything I post can be full of meaning and purpose.)