Memoria Arts~ Life in the Making

Light, last week...

Inside:

The paper mache stars were finished and delivered to Grace. It was a lot of fun, but hear me when I say I hope I don't see paper mache any time soon. There were five in total- two six pointed, two eight pointed, and one 'star of bethlehem', each about four and a half feet in diameter. All were made from Pex pipe, twine, paper, flour, and water. 

 
 

Outside:

Such beauty! The skies have been competing each day to see who can be the prettiest. It's fine with me; winter's gray cloak will settle down around the mountains' shoulders all too soon. We had the nicest of snows on Saturday. It wasn't too cold, and there wasn't a lot of ice and muck. Just enough to enjoy and play in!

 Making the stars and watching out the garage windows has made me think so much about light- how it changes, the different moods...and of course, the Light. This Advent season so far has felt quiet and peaceful. Just enjoying the moments as they come.

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2

 

An eighteenth century Thanksgiving...

I wanted to get these up before I forgot, as this blog has definitely become my journal...Tomorrow is Dec 1, and I look forward to this time of peace with great anticipation. I'll definitely be posting some more Advent reflections since everyone enjoyed those so much last year. I've got one thing on my mind that I want to dig into, but I think I may wait until January to begin it.

----

    We had the delightful chance to attend a Thanksgiving celebration two Saturdays ago at a local living history site. It was a wonderful adventure! We've taken the children to enough of these sites around our area that they are beginning to have a pretty solid understanding of the beginnings of our little town and the other "hollows" that surround it. In turn, they are also being introduced to early American history as well, since most of our living history sites choose to interpret the years immediately following the Revolutionary War. This is a tradition I have carried on from my childhood: my parents, while having little money for fancy vacations, took us to almost all of the major historical points of interest on the East Coast. I have stood on most of the major battlefields from the Revolutionary and Civil War, seen Washington DC, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, visited Historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Mt. Vernon, with a few plantations and national parks sprinkled in. Knowing the heritage of our country is so important to me, and I want my children to know it too. The nice thing about these sites is that almost all are free or nearly free.

    Hearing George Washington's Thanksgiving Address read while being surrounded by the history of the time truly reminded me of just how much I have to be grateful for, and the responsibility I have as both a citizen, parent, and follower of Christ.

 

The very happiest of Thanksgiving wishes to you!

 

    This time last year, I was in a quiet, reflective mood. I think I was still caught by the reality of nearly losing my life- time felt so very different. Crisper, faster, clearer. There was this awed grateful acknowledgment of God's grace that I was still living and breathing and moving, that I had children to love and care for, that I could still see my husband's face, and even more miraculous---two days before Thanksgiving, I discovered that a babe grew within me- my dear wee Josiah, who is now four (four! my goodness!) months old.

    Such a year has passed. It has been the scariest year of my life, but also the most amazing year of my life. God is good. He has shown Himself faithful over and over and over again. This year has not been about me. It's been about Him. His leading. His provision. He had to take me out into the desert so that I could hear His voice, still and small, calling on the wind. I can say, from the darkest, scariest, strangest place that God is good. All the time. It is not some trite little Sunday call and response to me anymore. It is the life I've lived for this life-changing year. Friends, don't wait until God has to drag you kicking and screaming into the desert so you can hear. You have a chance right now to believe that He is your everything. He is all you've ever needed, ever will need, all you've ever wanted. No matter how many times you fall down, no matter how dirty, no matter how broken, He loves you. Loves, loves, loves, beyond every measure, beyond what you can imagine, you- from the top of your beautiful head to your very tippy toes. Can you believe that? I do. I know.

    That is what I am thankful for: LIFE. His life. Life more abundantly. Life in a whole different way that I ever knew before. Eternal life. He died, so that I could LIVE. I am grateful for the Love that saved me.

    Have a wonderful, blessed, family-filled day, dear friends! I'll be back on Friday with our adventure to an 18th century Thanksgiving...did you know we can still time travel?

In progress...

I now understand the need for studio space. This is making a mess! Such an adventure to find the right structure, the right medium, to make such a very large star (about five feet in diameter). It will eventually be finished in such a way that it catches the light. I haven't decided what, yet- glitter, mica- because it has to be seen from a distance. Once I finish this one four more are on tap. I can't believe I get to do this as a job- it's way too much fun. Except for the splinters... [somewhere along the way, I promise a shop update in time for Christmas shopping, but right now, the church has my fingers (and toes)!]

 

A song of praise...

 

: for warm Indian summer weather before winter settles down with her drizzly cloak

: for fuzzy croc shoes that keep David's toes warm (he who likes to remove shoes and socks at first opportunity)

: for good books that inspire

: for the council of the wise

: for things far better than silver and gold: wisdom, freedom, peace, rest

: for the chance to create art for the church

: for hex pipe and zip ties and drills and a husband who knows so much about mechanical things (oh the lengths we go for art....heeeeeee)

: stolen moments of movie watching and laughter with my husband while we wrestled with an unwieldly frame for the artwork that wanted to zig when we wanted it to zag

: for the fact that nine years later, we're still laughing, kissing, and whispering Songs...

: for my whirly girl who twirls and laughs and reminds me of grace, everyday

: for David's string of babbles fast turning into words and sentences, the beginnings of language and expression

: for my Isaiah, who loves his hot shower almost as much as his mama does ( he who used to scream in outright terror at the thought of falling water- I never thought I'd see the day he would like to take a shower, let alone luxuriate in it!)

: for Ben, whose curious mind and constant questions amaze, delight, and stump me on a daily basis

: for my beloved Husband, who is strength in my weakness, peace in my passion, and my better half in every way

: for family come to visit soon

: for the anticipation of fun and food, for fellowship and love and the laughter of friends

: that the Lord's mercies are new every morning,

                                Great is His Faithfulness!