robin's journey

After my post last night, I have decided to make a conscience effort to write often on my blog, even if it is a short thought.  Warren Baldwin presented a good thought yesterday on why we might not blog often, "We simply do not schedule it in!" This makes sense.  I am currently working on a course on the Gospel of Matthew, a caution from the professor was to be diligent to schedule time to study and read as not to fall behind in the course.  Within ministry, study, creative habits such as writing, and living life we do need to be aware of our use of time, this has been my journey since January.  Some days I simply sit and forget all of the scheduling, which then leads to being behind! Or not writing or being productive at all, (at times this is healthy.) Tonight while reading the course notes on Matthew a paragraph stood out which I would like to share:  “So often when Christians accept Jesus as Savior and Lord they too want to accept him on their own terms....

This year was the first year I have worked almost full time, have a broken foot, and finishing a class, while trying to accomplish Christmas season tasks. Really this has been a journey of learning balance and creative ways to get things done or undone if that is the solution!  I have never baked butter tarts at six in the morning before, and I must say I actually enjoyed the peace and pleasure in creating something wonderfully sweet first thing in the morning.  During my baking time, I prayed, enjoyed the silence of my home, and felt an urge to write! So here I am, writing on the run (or multi-tasking) between baking tarts and getting ready for work. My home now smells like sugar and butter. What started this urge was a thought from simple living.  Following the picture below are the ideas I had after musing over the the simple thought.  I would enjoy reading your comments on the picture and quote. Real Simple "A home without a grandmother is like an egg witho...

Picture from Simple Living "I will never"...were the words that flooded my mind when I first thought of the idea of actually speaking on a Sunday morning in my Church. First, I really never thought I would be asked. Secondly, I did not believe I could actually speak without throwing up or completely shaking in my shoes or shuddering uncontrollably. Thirdly, I did not believe I would have anything to say that someone would want to listen to. Well, I have learned not to say, "I will never!" I was completely wrong about all three of my assumptions. I was asked to speak for the seniors Sunday on May 16, it was totally appropriate considering I am on staff and the director for seniors ministry in my church. Secondly, I did not even feel like throwing up and I hardly shook at all. God has really been revealing to me that I have nothing to fear except for Him. Fear of man can paralyze a persons soul stopping them from being authentic and real. It does not m...

It is now 5:30 a.m. I have been up for an hour. I believe the reason could be the change of life thing kicking in, I am sure! My solution was not to waste an hour laying in bed, but to write. Here is my unedited poem from an early morning attempt to pen some poetry, and pray, until sleep arrives taking me back to bed. Life is a gift or so I have heard it said yet often like other gifts it is disregarded, taken for granted, abused, not embraced or cherished. Each life is unique, full of colors and textures, to create a beautiful portrait that fits into a larger frame marked by grace. When pictures fall or fade away into darkness colors are washed away and textures become broken and dull only loves unconditional color can bring back light to reveal a present worth a second chance to open and explore numerous new possibilities. Life is a gift to hold, and explore questions to ask are: how has your portrait been painted? who has painted it? what color is your world? Pax Robin (who is now g...

I really do not have time to write on my blog today, but writing is important and so is the blogging community in which I belong. Over the last few month’s I have been slowly going through Henri Nouwen’s book, Home Tonight , this book is a guide to finding our spiritual home in Christ. In the third chapter, a quote from Oriah’s book, The Invitation , inspired me to write. Her genre or label is under spiritual teachings, which could mean anything that goes (new age), but from a Christian view point her poem touched my heart and has lead me into deep reflection of what I ache for in my life. It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. Oriah I have the same convictions in my daily life when I am around people. I long to hear what they are passionate about, what they long for in their life, and what core ache goes unmet. When I am visiting my friends who are retired the topic of what they ...

Within my post titled, " My Story ," I threaded two of Henry Nouwen's devotional thoughts on writing and sharing our journeys. As I read through the following Nouwen thought I must be honest, I often say to myself, "I have nothing original to say." I am glad and encouraged that Henry does not think this to be a good argument for not writing. Making Our Lives Available to Others One of the arguments we often use for not writing is this: "I have nothing original to say. Whatever I might say, someone else has already said it, and better than I will ever be able to." This, however, is not a good argument for not writing. Each human person is unique and original, and nobody has lived what we have lived. Furthermore, what we have lived, we have lived not just for ourselves but for others as well. Writing can be a very creative and invigorating way to make our lives available to ourselves and to others. We have to trust that our stories deserve to be told. ...

Over the last month life has not been easy in my home, I have alluded to this numerous times in earlier posts. My youngest daughter, 21, is bi-polar and has made choices in her life that have caused chaos to enter our family. It is amazing how our decisions not only affect us personally they affect those around us, if only we could realize the impact while we are making daily choices. I have noticed recently several of my blogger friends have written about how the negative words of our mouth and heart have a huge impact on our life. My daughter’s self-talk can be such a downer, for herself and our family. In the book of Psalm and Proverbs the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts are a central theme. God knows how he wired us! What I have experienced is how the negative talk has affected every aspect of my own life. What I am learning to do is rise above the chaos and negativity by journaling about everything, getting it out of my heart, mind, and soul onto paper. ...

Twitter makes you a better writer according to Copyblogger by: Forcing you to be concise, exercise your vocabulary, and helps improve your editing skills. I have been using Twitter for several month's and I agree with all of the above.