Coffee and Hope

I’m sitting at my table with a cup of coffee as one of my communions. I have two dogs lying at my feet. I have a turkey sausage sandwich on an orange plate being gobbled quickly. Life is good.

Most of all I have my best friends with me as I write, drink, and eat. They have accompanied me my whole life but I was not aware until in my late teens. I have become more aware as time and life went forward. The ups and downs and twists and turns. The hills and valleys and mountain tops and bottom of the ocean floors. I’ll tell you more about them….

As I read through my last post, that my friend Ann wrote, a couple of lines stood out to me:

“I tried to wear them

These black and white lenses

That religion required.”

Well, religion is a tough one. I’ve been religious. I actually hate it when I am. You see, I am a Christian. Some of you may stop reading now that you saw that simply because it means a certain attitude, or religious rites, or hurt in your heart from some of the same “religion”. I understand. I even cringe sometimes when someone says to me that they are a Christian.

As I sip my coffee on a full tummy of yummy breakfast sandwich I am just one person that is going to tell you that religion is not what Jesus is all about. He wants us. He wants a friendship like none we’ve ever experienced before.

When you realize that it’s a personal relational friendship with God, Jesus His son and Holy Spirit you can breathe a deep sigh of relief. They are real and wonderful and free from laws and religion.

By no means am I saying not to go to a church building. But when you realize that every breathing hour of everyday can be accompanied by a living God your churches will look different. A whole new perspective opens up before you. Will all your troubles leave suddenly and life becomes full of rainbows and unicorns and puppies and kitties? No way! God never promised life on this earth will be perfect if we know Him. He did promise a boat load of other things such as, He will never leave us alone to face the hardships and challenges. He will make a way right out to the other side. He gives us a perspective of how He sees our life. He sees the whole picture – like a jigsaw puzzle. The end result is beautiful and He works through every piece with us.

Back to Ann and her story. She just didn’t fit into the religion and oppression she was born to. She was born to soar and create and be who she was made to be. Thankfully she was able to be free to leave and find her self and her own relationship with God. How many of you have lived a life that others made for you? I did. But I also was able to find who I was and set out on the journey I was made for.

This post is written for those who feel lost still. Those who struggle with not really knowing what to do or even feeling afraid of the world around them. Let’s face it, COVID threw the world a curve ball. So many of our old normals are gone and will not come back. Many lost loved ones and many are still recovering from an awful sickness. Burt I have good news for you. If you doubt that God can know you, that Jesus can be your friend, then I highly recommend you just set yourself off under a tree or on a beach or in your car on under your sheets, wherever you can be alone and just ask Him to show Himself to you in whatever way you need.

I’m going to give you an example of God meeting you where you are at…. I was parked outside an elementary school waiting for one of my grandsons to be dismissed from school. There was a dead sparrow on the side walk next to my van. As kids immersed from the building a group of three boys came upon said bird body. I knew young boys and dead bird were not going to be a pretty sight. Sure enough, as mosts kids will do, they began to poke and kick the bird body. I prayed that God would do something because a stranger parked at a school telling kids what to do never ends well. All of a sudden a seagull flies in and swoops down and picks up the bird body and off he goes. The boys were amazed and so was I even though I asked and God answered. It’s as simple as that Dear Readers.

There. I pray the best for all of you.

Enjoy!

Cate B

A Little Help From My Friends

Like a good many bloggers I have taken quite a long break from writing. No excuses, just haven’t felt it. I’m back now. And to start off my “backness” I am posting this piece written on FaceBook by my close Friend, Ann. I will write a followup on my next post. There is a lot swirling in my mind and fingers about this beautifully written truth.

Enjoy.

Cate B

Ann Lehman

17 July 2021 ·

If you grew up “plain” like I did, you know that there were many forbidden colors. In our world, colors were not all created by God. There were many worldly, sinful colors. And very few holy colors. There was an extreme black and white view of God and scripture. The following is a verbal processing, if you will, of the dismantling of that system for me. It’s an unapologetic declaration of freedom. And I’m letting that freedom ring for whoever else needs to hear it.

All of my life I have been told

There’s a left and a right.

There’s a black and a white.

No brilliant colors, no gray.

Not all colors are equal.

Not all colors are legal.

And wearing all the colors

Is what the ungodly do.

Surely the color scarlet

Is the symbol of the harlot.

And purple mocks Jesus

The way the soldiers did.

White is only for Sundays

On the only days we are pure.

Only the dark, the somber,

The muted, the plain

Only these evidence the humility

Required from Gods chosen.

Wearing light, bright colors,

Surely show hearts, full

Of deadly pride and poison.

I tried to wear them

These black and white lenses

That religion required.

But they tripped me up.

I fell flat on my face

In the filthy muck

Of suffocating shame

Of never measuring up.

They blinded my eyes

To the crimson scandal

Of GRACE that flows wild

Over the black and white

And changes it all

To rainbows of living color.

There’s black and white, true.

No denying.

But there’s a million more hues

Created by the One who spoke

The universe into motion.

Exuberantly breathed to life

Every color under the sun

And declared in full confidence:

IT IS GOOD!

So why should I try

To paint over it all

With black and white

And distort the glory

And living colors

Of the greatest love story?

Religion, take back your distorted lenses!

I don’t need them anymore.

Love healed these blind eyes

Now I see GRACE, a scarlet tide

Now I live found in full color.

In breathtaking, swirling hues of

Extravagant Love that lives

And breathes and flows

Alive and well and restoring

The black places of my soul

Where religion stole

Color, beauty, and innocence.

So let the River flow

Until it is all returned

To the way You intended.

Recent Art Work

Autumn Around The Burg – 2020

Another autumn in The Middle and I have to say it is perfect. With all the uncertainty around the globe, our seasons here have been splendid.

I have spent a lot of time pondering and trying to get motivated. Motivated to write, to paint, to create……

Let’s move on. The motivation is slow in coming. But here are some beauties of where I live. Enjoy!

New Days Ahead

Isn’t it a most intriguing time? So what are you all doing while staying at home?

My husband and I go for walks when the weather permits. I have baked so much that I don’t want to anymore, the freezer is full. My favorite part of this quarantine is to reflect on my life. This feels like an opportune time to reflect and have a remake. Not a new hair cut or a new wardrobe, although the wardrobe part is enticing, an attitude adjustment, or maybe a reflecting time of my life. What do I want to do now and what will life look like when this is over?

Well, for one thing, I have been continuing my painting journey and actually sent off a painting that will end up in Norway and am painting two more for local people. That was a nice surprise for me to sell my paintings. I will now stop saying I’m not an artist.

I have “chatted” and video called friends from around the world. I love technology. We do live in an amazing time. We may never fully understand this worldwide virus invasion but I really encourage all of us not to waste the time waiting for it to end. Take this time to reach out to others or relatives and friends that you have lost touch with. There is so much more of a fuller life right at our fingertips and all we have to do is set aside our grievances and unforgiveness and most of all our pride and reach out. Be the one who makes the first move. Life is precious and we have no idea when our life or others will end on this earth.

In my lifetime there has never been such a worldwide event as this virus. Nothing compares to this time. Let’s glean from it and come out winners. I am truly sorry for anyone who has lost a loved one to this sickness or who are waiting and hoping for someone to overcome it. But there is hope, and I believe a living God who sees the full picture.

Hang in there, good readers, and please let me know how you are coping. Let’s keep it light and encouraging. The good news is the best news.

Enjoy!

Cate B

Could I Have a Do-Over?

Well, this New Year started off a wee bit off-kilter for me. I came down with a cough and a little congestion right before the clock struck twelve. Great timing. Since I filled myself with immune builders it could have been a lot worse. Instead, it dragged slowly on and I shared it with my husband. A mild depression set in because I hate being sick. What a baby I am.

A week and one day later I am feeling really good. It’s funny, but a phone call to a dear friend about a dream I had, boosted my spirit immensely. I even reached out to someone I would like to get to know – this may seem like an easy thing for some of you but for me, a temptation to be a recluse has a strong pull on me. But I would be a lousy recluse. I like people.

So today I got inspired. I painted. The beauty of painting is that when you use two canvasses and create some pretty ugly stuff, you can paint over them. So I did. I usually do not name my paintings because I want the eye of the beholder to name them what they feel or see. But this first one I had to call “A Glimpse of Heaven”.

The other is left to the interpreter. Orange – I love the colour of orange.

As you look may you be touched with Hope. That is all I ask for as I create anything. May Heaven come down with the Hope you are looking and asking for.

Enjoy!

Cate B

The End of Another Year

I’m sitting here, typing, and listening to Surfing USA by the Beach Boys, in the middle of my country. You just can’t take the beach out of a Jersey Shore Girl.

While contemplating the beginning of another year I must reflect on the last year. There. Done. Now on with the new. We had our two granddaughters with us for two nights after Christmas. We always have a blast. We had plans to meet up with their dad at the church where he works and attend their service. Saturday night I told the girls to pick out what they wanted to wear to church and set them in a chair so they can put them on in the morning. Done.

I thought the outfit that the eight-year-old put on was a bit off, but she is creative and extremely confident in herself. When we arrived at the church and they ran into daddy’s arms, my son turned to me and said, “She is wearing pajama pants”. Gulp. No wonder the outfit looked off, well, it looked great for Walmart! I love that girl.

We then deposited the girls in their Kids Group and we sat down to enjoy the service in the main sanctuary. This particular denomination was foreign to me but since our son has been working here we attend a service once in a while. I have to say it is so good to break your normal routine or preferences and see how “they” do it. A different perspective on the God we love and serve. Coming from the persuasion of Christianity that I do, we tend to think we are all that and more. I imagine most groups do. But there is more, much more out there that I thoroughly enjoy meeting. I’ve always loved diversity in many aspects, so meeting others that are not like me is enjoyable to me. I feel more balanced when I experience others and the way they think. There is so much out of my four walls to be experienced. These things will expand my horizons and help me accept and love others.

Accept and love others, those who do not think as we do or see as we do. So many of us voice our opinions in a way that states that our ways are the only right ways. Really? Our present word is so full of hate and fear right now that perhaps we should sit and evaluate our own beliefs and listen, really listen, to others and actually hear what they are saying. Aren’t we tired of reacting first?

For this New Year, I pray that I can be more grateful for what I have and that I could really listen to others and not judge or hate them because they are not exactly like me. I can only speak for me, but when I react to someone’s words or looks, I know that I am not hearing them. Whether it be my husband or kids or neighbours or “social media friends”. Well, just think of the arguments that will dissipate when we listen and hear rather than react. What a wonderful world this would be.

So I wish you the Happiest of New Years. May your life only get better. cb

“Have It All” by Jason Mraz

May you have auspiciousness and causes of success
May you have the confidence to always do your best
May it take no effort in you being generous
Sharing what you can, nothing more, nothing less

May you know the meaning of the word “happiness”
May you always lead from the beating in your chest
May you be treated like an esteemed guest
May you get to rest, may you catch your breath

And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows, whoa-oh
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow, whoa-oh

Well, here’s to the hearts that you’re gonna break
Here’s to the lives that you’re gonna change
Here’s to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it

Here’s to the good times we’re gonna have
You don’t need money, you’ve got free pass
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
I want you to have it all

All (all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it (have it all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)

May you be as fascinating as a slap bracelet
May you keep the chaos and the clutter off your desk
May you have unquestionable health and less stress
Having no possessions through immeasurable wealth

May you get a gold star on your next test
May your educated guesses always be correct
And may you win prizes, shining like diamonds
May you really own it each moment to the next

And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows, whoa-oh
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow, whoa-oh

Well, here’s to the hearts that you’re gonna break
Here’s to the lives that you’re gonna change
Here’s to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it

Here’s to the good times we’re gonna have
You don’t need money, you’ve got free pass
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
I want you to have it all

All (all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it (have it all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)

Oh, I want you to have it all
All you can imagine, oh
No matter what your path is
If you believe it then anything can happen

Go go go, raise your glasses
Go go go, you can have it all

I toast you!

Here’s to the hearts that you’re gonna break
Here’s to the lives that you’re gonna change
Here’s to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it

Here’s to the good times we’re gonna have
You don’t need money, you’ve got free pass
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
I want you to have it all

All (all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it (have it all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it

(All)
Here’s to the good times we gonna have
(I want you to have it all)
Here’s to you always making me laugh
(I want you to have it all)
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
(I want you to have it all)
I want you to have it all

https://youtu.be/BFkTu8Y1KLs

You Want Me To Do What?

It has been a while since I wrote on here. I started this new painting journey and it took me away for a bit. I am back and I am still painting. That has been both fun and scary.

I try to relax when I create, otherwise, it becomes drudgery instead of joy. I want joy. So, recently I took on a project that was foreign to me. A young man commissioned me to paint him some paintings for his apartment based on what I saw already on his walls as his theme. He gave me the freedom to paint as many as I thought I should. I appreciated that because it meant less pressure on me. Artists like freedom.

I like and I want to view my life as not wasted. I want to soak up everything I can from whatever journey I am on at the time. Horses. The guy like horses. The last time I painted/drew an animal, a mountain lion/cougar, it looked like it had down syndrome. No offence toward anyone, please. It was bad. But I decided to learn to draw horses and create two paintings for him. What was I thinking? Why do I always go in deep? Good grief.

Well, It took me a while and I struggled with my lack of ability and nearly quit several times. But I hate to quit! By golly, this old gal will break the horse and he will come out looking good!

What happened was, a lightbulb came on one day and I saw that these paintings were for him. A weight lifted off of me when I realized this. It was then that I was able to draw the horses and finish the commissioned work and saw his smile when he received them.

For me, I found that the extra pressure of creating what someone else wants is my choice. However, doing this one took me into another level of confidence in my creativity. Will I do horses again? Right now I say no. But maybe might be more truthful.

Here is a sneak peek at what is hanging on someone’s wall…

Enjoy Life

Cate B

A Little Trouble

I haven’t posted in a while and I’ll tell you why. It’s a bit silly, but I find myself in a quandary. I was told I used all my media space on this site. I had no idea there was a limit. I love to take photos or attach some sort of media to my words. Now that I have no space to add more I backed off. Someone told me “no”.

I googled all kinds of articles to remedy this. For me, there is no easy solution. Well, I take that back. I could pay more money for an upgrade and, and what? I don’t see how much storage that will give me until I pay. I am a tight-wad. I do not succumb easily to dishing out the bucks when the powers that be tell me to.

So, I take this as a challenge to let my words, and words alone, do the communicating. After all, I have read tons of books with no photos, my mind became the motion picture camera, and it was always good.

So, unless there is a very simple way to clean my media library without going back and skimming years of posts to see if the photos in my library were used, I take the challenge of words being my pictures. You should have seen the young bald eagles I came across recently on a trip back east – picture them……

Thank you all for listening. And if any of my listeners have an easy, free solution and can tell it to me in plain English, not tech words, I have an open ear.

Enjoy!

Cate B

To All You Writers

I follow this site daily and found this to be one that is to be shared. So to all the poets, the book writers, bloggers, podcasters and the like…….

Pen to Paper – your Lion Bites word for today

God is calling the writers and even those who know that there is a book within them. To you who have put off and put off the challenge of sharing your story, today is the day to start putting pen to paper. He is saying, “It only takes writing one page at a time. I need you to leave a legacy for the next generation. Poets, come forth as well! Lift up your pens!”

Psalm 45:1
My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

https://www.propheticscots.com/2019/04/17/pen-to-paper-your-lion-bites-word-for-today/

Enjoy!

Cate B

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Pen to Paper – your Lion Bites word for today

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