Sunday Serenity #399

Hearted Bible fliker

I went to church with my sister this morning.  It was more for her pleasure than mine.  Though I did want to see the inside of the place so I could at least picture things she is talking about.

I don't like strange places.
I don't like crowds.
Especially crowds of strangers.
I don't like noise and flickering light and shadow.
I don't care for sermons anymore either.

The praise music was kinda nice.  Tho amplified electronic guitar was a bit loud for the small space.

But the biggest angst of all was that attached to my "divorce" from the church of my childhood in the early '90s. In spite of it being so different at Carri's church there were still many triggers of anxious memories and sad longing for that simple time when I thought an illusion was real.

Long story that doesn't belong here.  The gist is, that tho I've not given up Jesus I've given up preachers and dogma and anything smacking of Fundamentalism.

One good thing that came of attending today was the reminder of how much I love the Bible.  Still.  And always will.

Watching my sister follow along on her iPad reminded me I still hadn't loaded a Bible onto either of my Android devices.  An oversight needing to be addressed soon.

If nothing else I need it for writing scenes in my Fruits of the Spirit storyworld featuring Inny (Innocence) Workman Fairchild who, ever since waking from a coma speaks only in KJV verses.  It took those around him a long time to realize the things he said were meaningful in the context of what was happening.

The funnest scenes to write are the ones that pit Inny against Estelle who speaks only Shakespeare. Mmm, I probably need to find a complete Shakespeare to load onto my Nexus too.

So I spent the afternoon looking for a KJV ap for my Nexus.  Ended up with an Amplified Bible ap instead.  Tho I'm still going to look for a KJV.  The Amplified is a reference resource.

I chose the one I installed based on the screenshots--see all the blue?  But what I got was a lot of ugly olive green.  I'm probably going to look for a different one. One with a pleasing look and more features.

Even more than the colors I'm frustrated by the need to return to the book menu to get to the next chapter.

It would also be nice to have a search function for when I have a partial phrase or a word but can't remember any part of its address.

[This is one of the posts going up retroactively after the weeks long unintended hiatus that began the week after July 4th.  See She's Back for more detailed explanation.]

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Sunday Serenity #398

Hug More

There are scientific studies showing that those who hug daily are healthier and happier.

[This is one of the posts going up retroactively after the weeks long unintended hiatus that began the week after July 4th.  See She's Back for more detailed explanation.]

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Sunday Serenity #397

"The best and most beautiful things in life cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart."

Helen Keller

I first encountered this at flickspire.com Finding Joy Inspiration Slide Show
There was no embed option so I took a chance and searched YouTube

[This is one of the posts going up retroactively after the weeks long unintended hiatus that began the week after July 4th.  See She's Back for more detailed explanation.]

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Sunday Serenity #396 - Sister Zen Time

Looking left at the bridge from or spot on the low stone wall

To alleviate my cabin fever and compensate a bit for my having missed the Go Forth celebration on Friday, this afternoon my sister took me over to Lake Sacajawea to walk the path for a ways and then  cross the bridge over to Zen Island* and sit and visit for over an hour.

I'd never been on Zen Island before.  It was developed on the tiny island at the north end of the lake and the bridge put in after Ed and I moved to Silicon Valley, California in 1999.  It is landscaped like Japanese gardens.  Few if any flowers but very manicured grass, hedges, small trees and green ground covering plants along curving gravel paths.

Its the very definition of serenity.

I love this lake and have many fond memories of it from toddler-hood forward.  I wish I could get over there more often.  Zen Island is at the end of the lake nearest Mom's house.  It would be easy walking distance for me now if I trusted myself to manage crossing the railroad track and four-lane Ocean Beach Highway to get to the path and to keep my eyes on the edge of the path instead of the glorious view.

Looking straight ahead (southish) from my seat on the stone wall.

*I'm not sure if Zen Island is its official name or just a local nickname.

[This is one of the posts going up retroactively after the weeks long unintended hiatus that began the week after July 4th.  See She's Back for more detailed explanation.]

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This is Longview

A slide show of iconic areas and buildings in Longview

Longview Named 'prettiest city' by Forbes

A Portland OR news station visits Longview after Forbes named it one of the prettiest cities in the country.

My cousin's son is interviewed.  It's his brother's wife who is taking me running.  Their family grew up less than a block from Lake Sacajawea.

Flying Over Longview, Kelso, Kalama WA and Raineer OR
and the Columbia and Cowlitz Rivers

This is long and a bit herky-jerky in places but worth it for some of the awesome views of our river valley.  Unless you are especially interested in planes and flying itself, skip ahead to the take off more than ten minutes in.

Driving over the Lewis and Clark Bridge from Raineer Or into Longview WA

Also known as the Longview-Raineer bridge, this is an iconic image for our town.
A swarm of memories from the 1960s to the present were triggered by watching this.

• Watching from the back seat as my Dad paid the toll in the mid sixties.  
• Being driven over it at break-neck speed at age 14 by the drunk father of the kids I'd been babysitting.  
• Driving over it for the first time myself at age 20.  
• Riding beside Ed on our Honeymoon--our motel was in Longbeach WA but the better road along the Columbia, especially in winter at night, is on the Oregon side so it is common to cross over to Oregon at Longview and back to Washington via the Astoria bridge near the mouth of the river.  Which I'm pretty sure is what we did the evening of December 2nd 1978 as I do remember the winter storm that lashed the windows of our room that night and the thrumming of the strong surf in my bones.

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Longview, Washington's Go 4th 2014

I didn't get to go to Longview's Go 4th celebration again this year so I experienced it vicariously.  Watched vids from previous years on the 4th and then those from 2014 later. I'm prepping this days later as I'm still running behind on getting my posts up.

The north end of Lake Sacajawea where the festivities are held each year is only blocks from Mom's house.  The 'party' is held nearly a mile from here in a several block swath on both sides of the narrow lake near the middle of it's length, centered on Martin's Dock and Lyon's Island.

Vendors set up days in advance and there's a timber festival with logging competitions:



and a cardboard boat regatta:

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Someday, Somewhere, Sometime

Jackie Evancho - Somewhere w/Barbra Streisand

This child has an amazing voice.  Not just strong and pure but expressive.  She brings me to tears with this song every time I listen.

Tho I admit that's at least partially due to how personal the words are to my current situation.  14 months since I watched Ed standing on the porch of our house in southern Oregon watching my sister back the van out of the driveway with me in the back seat.

If I'd known then it was going to be this long and still with no end in sight....

Longing is the only note my heart has played from that moment to this...

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Living Wholeheartedly: Brené Brown TED Talk

Brené Brown at TEDxHouston

Living Wholeheartedly

or

The Price of Invulnerability

I lost count of the ah ha! moments these twenty minutes gave me.

In a nutshell:

• We're born to be connected.
• Interpersonal disconnect defines our current culture.
• What breaks interpersonal connection aka relationship?
• Shame. Guilt. 
• Why do some weather encounters with shame and guilt while others are sunk by it?
• Those who are sunk have a deep-seated sense of unworthiness while those who weather it have a pervasive sense of worthiness.
• That sense of worthiness keeps their hearts whole and resilient.

How do the wholehearted live?

• With the courage to be imperfect.
• With compassion and kindness beginning with themselves.
• With connections rooted in authenticity--able to let go of shoulds be who they are
• Believing they are enough just as they are
• Embracing vulnerability--seeing it as the source of their beauty
• With willingness to takes risks--love with no guarantees
• Releasing need to be in control
• Practicing gratitude and joy

Those without the skills of wholeheartedness attempt to escape the pain by numbing the difficult emotions through:

• Addictions
• Perfection
• Control

BUT

You cannot numb selectively.

Attempts to numb sadness, shame, grief, anger, fear...
Will also numb love, joy, peace, gratitude, hope...

Without emotions life looses meaning and purpose.

Don't be satisfied with my synopsis tho.  Listen to her presentation.  The story she tells about the course of her research is priceless.  And there are plenty of points I didn't include.  Plus I paraphrased in places.

And she's funny.

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Soothing Gregorian Chant Mix

Masters of Chant

Gregorian Chant Jazz Mix

Gregorian Chant accents familiar songs.  

I'll just let the music speak for itself.

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