Harriet Tubman

every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and to change the world
harriet tubman

Harriet Tubman. One of my favorite people to learn about in school.
I remember feeling so triumphant and alive inside imagining the strength and courage that it must have taken this woman to accomplish the tasks of her life. One of my mentors.

Along with Rosa Parks, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr, John Lennon, Mother Teresa, Joan of Arc, Sister Carole MacKenthum and Christ. I have to say that it is no wonder I am here today although it is always striking to look back and see when in our lives we are listening to our calling and when we are not.

The quote above was given to me recently, on a card celebrating the last day of an amazing year- long therapy program I completed. I was touched to find that I had not only learned a tremendous amount and grown, but inspired others. I worked with a great bunch of folks both students and teachers.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is the greatest life skills class I have ever taken. It helps you to better recognize yourself, your emotions, your needs, and gives new perspective into alternative behaviors best suited to manage most of the mess life is going to throw at you...even if it is simply tolerance.

Frankly...everyone needs this class.
It is especially helpful in parenting but it is geared for those who are highly sensitive and largely invalidated.

All labeling aside, the mindfulness based approach and class/therapy combination allows for healing to be a learning experience where by you end up less likely to repeat behaviors that have an undesired effect in your life. You can identify your goals, morals, and optimum circumstances for feeling your best. And you can learn to simply handle distress when it arises without the need to do anything. And sometimes that is all we can do.

I asked and prayed for skills and tools to help me navigate my life. My prayers were answered.

How about yours?

When I find useful information...I like to save it until I use it.

So maybe I am a little bit of a pack rat. I am in the process of simplifying. YAY!


The other day while cleaning and clearing out more of the clutter and junk, I found a great article from the Utne Reader back in 2002, Can't hear your inner voice? - 11 questions to help you find your mission in life.


#3 Do you want a good job or a good life?
Sometimes our calling is not necessarily how we make money and perhaps it is nice to keep our calling free from the beating of the daily grind.

#5 What Feels Natural?
It is asking you to take a look at your natural rhythm and how you can possibly cater your career choice to the way you operate.

Do you know what your inner voice is telling you?
Maybe it's time to take a listen.

Make Room For Your Dreams.

Cardoon - Artichoke Thistle

A friend of mine asked me to try and get her some Artichoke Thistle. Apparently it grows out west here. I just had to look in to this familiar yet totally unheard of to me plant.


I first went to wikipedia...and found it was called Cardoon. It is a member of the aster family and it is native to the Mediterranean, where it was domesticated in ancient times.


While the flower buds can be eaten much as the artichoke, more often the stems are eaten after being braised in cooking liquid.


Another use for Cardoons is as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. Half Pint Farm seems happy about that! Here is a blog entry all about making cheese with Cardoon from The Cheeselover.


Growing the plants takes about 5 months and they are frost sensitive.

It sounds to be a hearty and rough plant otherwise yet they take up a bit of space. Here are some growing and eating tips from Gardening-Guy.com

If you are looking to start your plants from seeds, Terrior Seeds LLC has what you need. I just love their slogan, Home of the Underwood Gardens. Sounds like they have a large selection of heirloom seeds and ways to build soil and save seeds!

And finally for the budding gourmet, here is a blog from a Tuscan kitchen with a recipe and adventure in cooking with Cardoon.

Everyday blessings

Gratitude The Everyday Blessings.




I don't need to go anywhere to have a mini adventure and capture little vignettes of artistry everywhere in my life!



Try and take a break to enjoy the simple things when you get stressed...even if it is a list of things to do later when you are less busy.




We all owe it to ourselves to take the necessary moments to reflect on how lucky we are.

Roo is 14 yrs old. And still Spry!

Help Me, Thank You

Pass it on: new poem/song

Pass it on: new poem/song

from 2008

What do carrots, asparagus, yellow squash, mushrooms, rice and homemade chicken broth have in common?

A really easy recipe for a soup. Yum!

I just used what I had in the fridge and cabinet. Last week I made chicken legs. Boiled them then let them stay on med low for an hour. Strained the broth into an old juice jug. Put it in the fridge and this week...the base for the soup. While cold, strained again to remove most of the fat! yay! Then bring to boil with veggies. Cook for a half hour on med low.

I have a remarkable rice cooker! Zojarushi. Wonderful gift from very generous friend. Perfect rice at 7,000ft, which I have found is more difficult than at sea level.

So I threw together a nice batch of rice while the soup was cooking and we had a nice healthy meal that filled our bellies with warm goodness.

After dinner we settled in with some finger painting, jumping on the bed, and Finding Nemo. My little girl has a clown fish temporary tattoo (and she gave me the little turtle) which made us think of Nemo and relaxing with a snack of Goldfish!

The Tree of Life

The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground - trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:9


Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystals, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used as medicine to heal the nations.
Revelation 22:1-2

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
happy are those who hold her tightly.
Proverbs 3:18

Write About Your Spiritual Purpose

Today's blog title is my nurturance tool for the day.

I think it will be a fabulous idea to get myself a clear and concise written spiritual purpose...one of the many tasks of the day.


I have been choosing one at random to do each day from the 4 columns each concerning a facet of yourself (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual)

This comes from a list that I have called 60 Ways to Nurture Yourself

It can be found online...here. I have no affiliation with the website or know anything about their counseling resources. I do like this list!

It was given to me on paper without any of this other info by The First Born Program. It is a great program through The United Way of Santa Fe. Lisa has been visiting my home almost weekly since I was pregnant with Isabela. She has been a wonderful resource, a caring and supportive friend, and an excellent help in all areas concerning Isabela. I receive pages addressing the issues I may have interest in finding out more about. She has lent me books about development and behavior, the toddler years, as well as gotten me contact information for resources I have found helpful to succeed more effectively. What an valueable service to anyone who may be feeling alone in the first three years of parenting your first child. Thank you God. Thank you Lisa!

For 8.30.2011 the nurturance was to Talk to someone by pretending they are facing you in an empty chair. So I thought to myself:

If you really feel the need to speak your mind to someone you may not actually wish to speak words to…it would be great to set two chairs out and sit facing the empty chair pretending as if they were there and you have that talk!

VERY HEALING

Steve Martin and the Dixie Chicks with the Steep Canyon Rangers

I LOVE Steve Martin. Really I do. After seeing him play such a wide array of hilariously silly and sweet roles I feel in love. He is just a heck of a great guy. From what I can tell anyway... Click Image

Here is one of the latest from his Steep Canyon Rangers. You featuring the dixie chicks from Rare Bird Alert.

I Like it...hope you will too!


Happy Thursday! I have a list of blogs to get to...please feel free to send me any feedback and let
me know what you need to hear about! I'll see what I can do!
XOXO



Click image

Liar, Liar...no wait. I'm Honest. Christ Living in Us

How do you spot an honest person?
How do you know that Christ is in someone's heart or not?
Why is that important to know?

Being able to THINK CLEARLY is imperative in order to function well in the world. To do so we need correct, healthy & present-day information about how the world really works, what is positive about ourselves, as well as universal spiritual truths about Higher Power & what it means to be human. *

For me it's simple...if you are living like Christ as best you can...you are able to be trusted.

Oh wait, back to one of the first questions...how do you know?

I went about looking to see what the internet had to say
How to tell if Someone is being honest via ehow
Life Hackery had some interesting pointers? on what not to look for and what to do about it
How to be honest with yourself by WikiHow
And the article that brought me here...from Reader's Digest. Liar, Liar.

Wow.
So I decided to try what I know to be a more solid alternative.
The Bible.

What does the Bible have to offer us about being honest, how to trust and be trustworthy, and how to project honesty as a positive personality attribute to pass on?

For me the first place to look s the book of Sirach (actual text here), which is only contained in the Apocrypha and some selected versions of the Bible mainly dealing with Catholic beliefs. I was taught in Catholic school early in my life, and my grandmother read to me from The New American Bible which I picked up just about 5 years ago now and began again my journey.
The book of Sirach (explaination of Sirach's contents here) has many verses of wisdom concerning associates, friends, proper conduct as a holy man, and really does a lot of addressing the fundamentals of basic living in a more Godly way. I like it. Simple easy to follow.

The first step to finding honest and trusting people is to be one yourself. Yikes!

Galatians 2:15-21
"So I died to the law. I stopped trying to meet all its requirements, so that I may live for God. My old self be crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. So I live by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless."

Here is a story about what God can accomplish in the heart of a once angry man:
Moses was an Israelite born at a time when Egypt was avery powerful nation. Moses' mother felt fear for her son and sent him floating in the river, praying to God that he be safe and cared for. An Egyptian princess found him and cared for him as part of their "family". Moses knew he was an Israelite and that his people were slaves to the Egyptians. He was angered one day while watching one of his own people be beat. He was so angry that he killed the Egyptian man, buried him the desert and fled. God appeared to Moses several times and convinced him to have faith, to trust, and to go to Egypt to free the Hebrew people. Moses was afraid and hesitant to believe but God insisted. After plagues and tests of will, pharoah agreed to let the Israelites go free. He was not a faithful man and changed his mind after the Israelites were gone. He sent his army after them. As Moses was setting up camp with thousands and thousands of people, their backs to the Red Sea, the Israelites questioned their safety even after being freed from slavery by the Lord himself. Moses was afraid too but he spoke to God on behalf of his people and was told to counsel the Israelites to be calm and trust that God will deliver them from the Egyptians. This was before he asked Moses to raise his staff and part the Red Sea a path for the Israelites to cross. And when they were safe the waters flowed again killing the Egyptians chasing them. What an amazing testimony! If God can change the heart of an angry young man who had killed a man out of rage, what can he do for yours? He made it possible for Moses to lead people, to perform miraculous wonders, and to grow humble and faithful himself. Moses was never allowed into the Promised Land for his lack of faith. He was given a long life and promise for his ancestors to flourish, but he was held accountable for his lack of faith.

Proverbs is full of little short poem type sayings that give us a lot of guidance for honest and truthfulness.
12:14 Wise Words bring Many benefits and hard work brings rewards.
12:19 Truthful Words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.
12:21 No harm comes to the Godly but he wicked have their fill of trouble.
Proverbs 3...READ IT ALL
(it talks about how to trust in God wisely)

The book of Wisdom, also in the Apocropha, is another great place to find ways to safeguard yourself and those you love from falling prey to needless burden.
Here it is folks...sinful behavior, which you can find testimony for everywhere, leads to more guilt and shame for you to carry...hence why we are asked to live every day with as little as possible. It makes for happier healthier us' and people more able to hear God's plans. Which are essentially your plans too. It's what you were designed for...

And since God wants us to understand how much he loves us...He gave up His son to the law and to a cruel punishment to show us all that our sins, which we all have, can be cleansed and a clean slate made if we believe and follow. That is the part that people forget. That Chistians forget. It is about walking not talking, but sharing is good.

Albert Lee writes, "We cannot finish the Christian race on our own. We have to do so by depending on Jesus living in us." ***

This is saying I will give up my struggle for control and I will allow YOU to have my heart for your desire my God. Someone truly dedicated to this kind of thinking and able to allow this kind of cleansing of the heart is someone you can trust.

There is nothing more precious than each and every one of our souls. Jesus, God's human form here on earth, was willing to live a very short and meaningful life here, one that had much heartache and in the end much pain. He did this to teach us how to live and to show us that God is willing to forgive our sins by leading us to not make more. It requires believing and following. And for a kicker...get this. You get to live on after your earthly body is gone. That is where the true value lies. In the stress free, worry free, hate free, body free existance of your soul reunited with God, Jesus, and all the other believers. Pretty cool.


If you stop making up your own rules and live as Jesus exemplifies and truly asks of us...we can be darned sure that we will be doing the right thing and that comes with reward. Not monetary gain, although wealth can be part of your life, but being provided for, being given wisdom to get through difficult times, be reminded through simple interaction that we are not alone, and be loved unconditionally.

And then the flood of expectations and assumptions about rules and fun and stress and life and the thousand other excuses people use to say...I'd rather not do that kind of work.

It is not an easy road to walk...carrying your load and share. But faith is the most rewarding gift man has been offered. When nothing else can stop the lonely, the empty, the sad, the darkness, the pain, the feeling of shame, inadequacy, and temptation...God will fill you up more and more and help you through any and all of the tasks and trials you face...IF YOU WOULD ONLY ASK.

I am here. Breathing the word of God as a woman, as a disciple, as a friend.

A resource I do find helpful to address subjects such as these...
http://acoarecovery.wordpress.com/
They have a great two part article about trust and learning to trust again.

xo

Pickled Ginger

I am allergic to seafood and that includes sushi. sigh. I am also a Pisces which is the astrological sign represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions. It is what it is. I LOVE wasabi and ginger which go quite nicely alongside sushi. So...recently, as in a couple days ago, I was able to throw together a batch. Followed this easy recipe only using half the amounts.

My slices are a thicker than your typical pickled ginger, it was not extremely fresh, or the baby ginger but I am interested in seeing how it turns out! I have tasted a few. Pow...Ginger bliss in the kisser. So Good!

Pickled ginger is usually served with sushi and is called gari. It's best to use fresh young ginger (shin shoga) to make gari.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb fresh young ginger (shin shoga)
• 2 tsps salt
• 3 cups rice vinegar
• 2 cups sugar

Preparation:

Wash young ginger root and rub off skin. Slice the ginger thinly and salt them. Leave salted ginger slices in a bowl for about one hour. Dry the ginger slices with paper towels and put them in a sterilized, heat-resistant container/jar. Mix rice vinegar and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot mixture of vinegar and sugar over the ginger slices. Cool them. Pickled ginger changes its color to light pink. (If you are using old ginger, it might not turn pink naturally.) Cover the jar and store it in the refrigerator.

http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sushiforbeginner/r/gari.htm

I used rice vinegar I found at whole foods, fresh ginger and a honey jar I saved and ran through the dishwasher.

Faith Like Potatoes and Babe

Several months ago while at Target, Isabela and I found ourselves with a few extra dollars after necessities to each get a movie. The nice thing about Target is that they have movies for pretty inexpensive. That day we picked up two of our favorites.
Babe - (imdb listing)


and...
Faith Like Potatoes - (imdb listing)



Both are positive and faith building. I had never seen Babe and found it to be such a wonderful tale of a pig with an awfully big heart. Faith Like Potatoes is more of a drama but such a wonderfully done tale of inspiring adventures that God takes a farmer and his family in South Africa.

Today Isabela chose to watch Faith like Potatoes. Sigh. What an amazing little being I am blessed to have the duty to watch over and take care. Two years old can be tough from what I can gather and perhaps she just needed a reminder that perseverance and faith can get you through any trial. Probably not...but perhaps. Either way...that's what you can expect to feel when you watch either of these.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...

...and it's all small stuff.
Richard Carlson, PhD

#73 - Make Service an Integral Part of Your Life

To become a kinder, more loving individual requires action. Yet, ironically, there is nothing specific you have to do, no prescription to follow. Rather, most genuine acts of kindness and generosity seem natural; they stem from a type of thinking where service and giving have been integrated into the person’s thought process. The key, I believe, is to remember that being of service isn’t a one-time effort. Instead a life of service is a lifelong process, a way of thinking about life. I have learned that the best way to be of service is often very simple – it’s those little, quiet, often unnoticed acts of kindness that I can choose on a daily basis. Giving is its own reward.

I love this...
One of the many gifts I have been given is the heart of a servicewoman. I always want to help.
This reminder is for me to get my buns more motivated in this regard. Luckily I have already been amping up those efforts.
I purchased a book recently from the soon to be closing Borders. I was extremely enthusiastic about the prospect of being a philanthropist without spending a dime. Things I could do to help everyday. Some take little effort, some take much. 330 ways to help with all the information compiled into one manual. Sweet!

How to be an Everyday Philanthropist


I have been stepping up in my congregation to take on some more helpful positions of service as well. In fact the thing I like best about Zia United Methodist is how much service work we do as a team. It's a small congregation just beginning to really spread it's wings. The pastor is an excellent woman with a true and good heart. Someone I call Mother Bethany. I'm really excited to be able to help little ones learn about the love God has in store for them when they choose to walk with Him. A chance to rethink why I am here as well, a chance to strengthen my ties to the Lord and to meet Jesus as He has asked us...like a child.

This blog is the beginning of another aspect to the service I have begun. I am looking forward to bringing wisdom and love to my own life and those touched by this blog. I am thankful that I am open to hearing what God has in store for my each and every day. So please lend me your insights, your wisdom and comments, and topics that you want to hear about.

Whatever your gifts...go have some fun spreading LOVE!

Christina Perri

Christina Perri is a little powerhouse. Straight from her heart to yours a flood of playful melodies hard rocking grit and some deep dark blues. I can't stop listening to her songs and I especially like the Ocean Way studio sessions. Looks to have been an intimate and mind changing experience. I always delight in seeing real people doing what they do best and succeeding.

For everyone who has ever felt less than...join the revolution to take back your lives and support artist's such as Christina to spread love from the heart. And hopefully it will inspire you as it has me to go further towards making your own dreams come true. Cause you are worth it and you can!

Christina's Website
Daydream - Ocean Way Studio Sessions
Atlantic Records Interview





Christina on La Ink





Hot Topic Interview - video

Santa Fe Craigslist.

I have found that the Santa Fe Craigslist has been effective and helpful in all areas of my life for both posting and getting introduced to the right people for the right services or employment. I look almost daily trying to find the right types of things for me to dive into to help support my family. I have been rather blessed to come across both interesting and lucrative opportunities. There have also been posts I wish I had not opened and the usual ranting and raving that any good grumbling group of Americans would have...lol

With all of my faith in place quite strong and having no particular affiliation with any denomination more than another...I find this post refreshing in a city where there are more religion choices than you can shake a stick at. Maybe there is a different way to praise God and belong where the "rules" are nothing more than than love God, believe in Christ, and love one another as yoursself. Let's hope that this group accomplishes that. I may have to check it out but I thought I would pass it along...

Love Jesus but Dislike the Church?

The Best Thing About God

Wordle.net

Ok...Best thing about God? Wherever you go, There He is. Right there inside of me. Filling the emptiness with light whenever I am afraid. Not sure about you but I for one am relieved. Phew...I'm never alone.

Chaco Canyon

After trying to figure out where to begin the "journey" into blogging I thought I would start with photos. So this is my first event worthy batch of photos...Chaco Canyon. I thought...well yes this is a great place to begin. So here goes...

I went with a very good friend to see this breathtaking and amazingly interesting ancient place of gathering....Chaco Canyon.

I remember walking up and seeing the ruins before me... breathtaking. Feeling the stones as I walked along...searching for the spirit of the place amidst the fallen walls. I remember the large kivas (photograph above) and feeling very moved while around them and the red dirt stones that were once part of a magnificent room for spiritual ceremony. I had many an opportunity to explore and photograph the ruins and after a little hike up to the top of a mesa was able to have a little ceremony to release the past. A new beginning.


Chaco Canyon National Historical Park Description
Frommer's Guide Description


Located in the northwestern corner of New Mexico, Chaco Culture National Historic Park is in a remote location connected to the outside world by a gravel road, Route 57. It is south of Farmington and Bloomfield and northeast of Gallup.

From Santa Fe, you get the scenic route by Valles Caldera and Cuba, NM.


Valles Caldera is a 12 mi (19 km) wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico.




Cuba is a small agriculture community from days of old. I remember after a lovely bit of hiking and a scenic overlook, I was blessed to carry away two small pieces of petrified wood. White...beautiful.

Just as the ark was carefully planned for the fulfilment of it's exacting plan to recreate a once fallen society....Chaco Canyon was a sacred place of gathering perfectly fulfulling the plan of the Anasazi ancestors that built it. Just as the once fallen temple became a symbol of the wreckage before the beginning when Christ came to lead the way....my visit to Chaco Canyon, the ceremony and the treasure I brought home will be the beginning of my journey to live in the way God has planned for me.