Rivulets

Favorite Tools is today’s #igquiltfest2023 prompt of the day. I shared this picture as it accurately sums up all of my favorite tools. I’m preparing for the Quilters Color Mixer on Creative Spark, this will be on the overhead camera while we wait for the room to fill.

Working through this 30 week retreat on the Spiritual Exercises is sometimes really challenging as layers are peeled back exposing deep roots and vulnerabilities on some level I’d rather not admit. Getting to these places is in and of itself a good thing. Sometimes living daily life means that the dedicated prayer time is set aside for a conversation, other prayer, or to meet some need. Monday is often a day where the prayer time is rearranged to accommodate the conversation with my heart sister. When I got to the reflection towards the end of the day a couple of things happened, one I read the Scripture and the focus, then evening squirrel brain and hunger and need to make dinner before it got too late last night set it in so there ya go, the needs of the moment. I rewrote Mark 10: 17 – 31, Jesus’ conversation with the rich young man, from the perspective of one of the disciples watching this conversation take place. I will share this during Holy Week.

Rivulets or Tendrils

As I looked at this particularly tap root and how deep it goes I also noticed tendrils, off shoots, tender places. One of these is the inability to play when things get challenging. As I talked to a friend yesterday that is part of that tap root. A few years ago while in the midst of some hard stuff my Sweetie and I took a mental health day. It was such a fabulous day as we visited a museum, held hands and got out of the house. This morning I happened upon a reel on Instagram that spoke both to this sense of play and planning. This spoke to me in so many ways. When my Sweetie and I were talking about moving here to TX I remember saying that when we moved here we were going to Live here, meaning do things together and with others. Well the first year or so with pandemic stuff that wasn’t as possible as we’d hoped. And add to it some personal stuff well, we have Teri pulling back to a place of scarcity. Oof. More on this another time.

I participated in a live preparation for an upcoming event offering me an opportunity to both practice and tweak settings for the online event. There is also preparation for a couple of other things over the next couple of days including our parish mission led by Fr Albert Haase that starts essentially this weekend if I understand correctly this he will be preaching at the Masses.

But wait there’s more:

One of the things that happens in my day to day life is that I’m frequently reading more than one book. I am of the opinions that books are like buffets or quilt fabric. Buffets offer us the opportunity to sample a lot of things, much akin to tapas. I read bits and pieces of each until they are done. Sometimes I’m enjoying one so very much that I will read that one alone until I’m done. So what am I reading at this moment?
Introduction to the Spiritual Life – St Francis de Sales
Short Stories by Jesus – Amy-Jill Levine
The Complete Works of St Teresa of Avila
Be Transformed – Bob Schutes
You Are Enough – Danielle Bean
Catechism – Vatican
Hope on the Inside – Marie Bostwick
Write for Life and the Artists Way – Julia Cameron (these are on my desk to dive into)
There are a bunch of quilt related books that I peek at for inspiration.

May the rest of this Lenten Journey in the desert bring you closer to Jesus.

Teri