Tax payer savings alert!

I believe in the difference that Head Start makes in the lives of children and their families.

I believe so much, that I have put my energy where my mouth is, and I have volunteered for the past three years as a Community Representative on our local area Head Start Policy Council.

At our recent Policy Council meeting, I learned that our Head Start Program faces serious budget cuts for the next biennium. As a result, our program is now struggling with the difficult task of eliminating two of our seven Head Start sites. This means that 40 of our community's neediest families will not be served.

Wake up America!

Head Start saves dollars! For every dollar spent on a child in a Head Start Program, seven dollars in future costs are saved.

Nothing appeals to the tax paying masses more than the idea of saving tax payer dollars. So do yourself a favor, support Head Start!

New Beginnings....

abstract flower--j. N-L

The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings.
Dave Weinbaum


For me, every day is a day of new beginnings.

Don't wait for the tomorrows that might never come.

Don't allow yourself to become paralyzed by the experiences of your yesterdays.

Seize this day, knowing that today is all you have.

Fill today with new beginnings.

If you do so, I guarantee that all of our lives will be richer for it!

My pick for book of the week!

Every now and then, I stumble across a book that holds the power to speak truth and grace into my life.

"Abba's Child", is just this kind of book!

This is a book for people who are tired of the shallowness and hollowness of superficial relationships. It is for those who are willing to risk being exposed for who they really are and to be loved by a God who doesn't want them to pretend they are something they are not.

"Abba's Child" is a Christian book; but it's definately not preachy. In fact, it might just have more appeal for the spiritually undeclared or for those who consider themselves "failed" Christians, than it would the "garden variety Christian".

If you are of the sort who is determined to keep God in a box, and you observe a rigid spirituality than this book is probably not for you....or maybe it is!

Just be warned, once our loving God is unloosed in your life, He won't be submit to any form of containment again! His love truly knows no bounds!

A Declaration of Faith!

What is shared in love, is never lost.

Just as God the Father is bound with the Son and the Holy Spirit in a relational whirlwind of love, so too are we bound.

Christ's love is the binding thread of the universe.

Resist if you must. Embrace if you will. Nothing escapes.

We are inexplicably bound to Him, to ourselves and to one another in God's own whirlwind of relational love.

In choosing Christ, I have chosen the way of love.

This is my declaration of faith: Love binds all things and in love nothing is ever lost.

Yes, it's that simple.

Yes, it's that inclusive.

It's a declaration that won't please many of the religious faithful; but perhaps, just maybe, it will delight the heart of God.

I'm afraid...

watercolor by j. N-L

Last Christmas I began volunteering with our local drug court.

"Drug Court is a program designed to stop drug and alcohol abuse, addiction and related criminal activity. The program targets low level offenders and places them under strict court monitoring and supervision, and provides them with drug and alcohol treatment. Drug Court involves a specialized team consisting of a drug court judge, attorneys, probation officers, substance abuse evaluators and treatment professionals. The team works collaboratively to monitor, supervise, support and encourage drug court participants throughout the program. "


One of the requirements made of drug court clients in our county, is that each participant must either have graduated from high school or obtain their GED credential before they can successfully complete the drug court program. For the past few months, I have been helping several women prepare for the GED test.

Recently, I was invited to participate as member of the drug court team. This is very scary for me. After all, I'm not a judge, or attorney, or treatment professional. I'm just a mom, who believes in the goodness that lies within in each of us.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not naive. I was raised in an alcoholic family and I have my own intimate acquaintance with the power of addiction. As a result, I'm not easily fooled by the shenanigans of addicted behavior and thinking. Even though my heart may be tender, I have firm, and healthy personal boundries.

Still, this is new territory for me and I am afraid. I'm afraid that I'll make a mistake, or look foolish, or fail to advocate for a client when I know that I should.

So where does this leave me?

I'm still anxious, but determined. It's ok to be afraid. What isn't ok, is my tendency to let my own fear confine me in a box, however metaphorical.

I believe that the power to make a positive difference in the life of someone else lies within each of us. Have you ever considered stepping out of your own box, whatever that box may be, to help make a difference in the life of another human being? I would encourage you to try if you haven't already!

After all, if I can do it, anyone can!

Dreaming, planting and harvesting.

bottlecap magnet
by j. N-L

This weekend we hope to plant our garden.

We aren't very proficient gardners and tend to keep things simple. Every spring, we till up the garden, spread a little Whitney Farms Steer Compost, throw in some seed and watch our garden grow.

Some years we don't plan very well, some years we do. Some years we grow exotic melon, some years we grow heirloom tomatoes. It's always an adventure and everyone in our family, from the oldest to the youngest, will join in on the fun.

Children love digging and planting and watering and eating. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort on my part. I just buy the steer poop, the seeds and provide the raised garden beds. Together we all dream, plant and harvest.

I don't think family life gets any better than that.

My life's haiku

Broken

written by j. N-L

Own your feelings.

watercolor feeling face--j. N-L

I had a dream the other night.

I dreamt that my four year old daughter and I had just started grocery shopping when she began pitching the Queen of all Hissy Fits. This protestation occurred because I, horror of all horrors, had insisted that she ride in the Safeway grocery cart instead of freely careening down each and every aisle.

Now, if you think that a two year old in the throes of a temper tantrum is every mother's nightmare, try watching your four year old....

Instead of becoming embarrassed or angry with her as I normally might, I looked her in the eyes and exclaimed, "Yes! That's it! Now you've got it! Feel your anger!"

I won't bore you with the other dream details; although the horrified faces of nearby shoppers were rather comical....

I'm fairly certain that this dream wasn't about proper parenting, or the ins and outs of managing a pre-schooler's tantrum. That's a whole other subject entirely. No, this dream was about empowering myself and those within my sphere of influence to stop pretending, to feel, and to feel with honesty.

Think about it for a moment. How different might your life be today, if you had been encouraged to feel your feelings as a child? What if you could have felt your four year old anger without shame, or manipulation, or fear of physical punishment?

Would the world really fall off its own axis if we allowed the occaisional temper tantrum to evolve without exerting our own parental judgment and condemnation?

A friend once told that me that until I could own my own feelings, it would be impossible to own my life.

Ohhhh, how I wish I had learned this at four instead of forty four.....

My pick for book of the week!

Warning: This book may cause flatulence!

Seriously now, when my family read this book for the first time, all seven of us were laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our cheeks and some of us even laughed so hard that errant gas bubbles escaped as well! So trust me when I say, that this book is well deserving of the above mentioned "fart alert".

What's this book about you ask?

Walter is the beloved dog of Betty and Billy. Unfortunately for Walter, he has an uncontrollable gas problem that drives Father completely out of his olfactory senses. Unable to tolerate Walter's deplorable stench, Father decrees that Walter must return to the dog pound and the sooner the better.

Betty and Billy are heartbroken, for they love Walter in spite of his gas problem....

So what do you think happens to Walter? Is Walter somehow able to avoid his terrible fate?

Well, don't ask me! I'm certainly not about to tell you how this delightful tale of a tail ends!

You will have to obtain your own copy and read for yourself!

My Guardian Totem!

Guardian Totem created by j. n-l

I am currently working through a healing doll workshop.

My first task was to discern and to write a healing intention. I was surprised by how difficult it was for me to capture my specific healing need in words; but eventually, and with some guidance I was able to do so.

My healing intention is to open my heart to loving the woman I am now and the child I once was.

I will be creating four dolls during this transformative doll making process. The first of the four is a Guardian Totem/Doll.

My doll is only partially finished; but already she is rich and warm and inviting to the eye!

Stay tuned...perhaps I will share more photos of my Guardian as she begins to reveal herself!

Let us soar on solar winds!

The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind.
Hone and spread your spirit till you yourself are a sail,
whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff.
Annie Dillard


Today, I want to see!

I want to sail on solar winds!

I want to spread my spirit until it is translucent and soar beyond the reaches of the known universe.

I want to flash in iridescent sparkles before God's eyes!

I want to hear the heaven's break open with His joy in me...

and then, I want to soar on, floating on solar winds!

What face do you wear?

Is this the face of gluttony?

How does gluttony manifest itself in your life?

Are you the kind of glutton who can't get enough of your favorite foo-foo coffee drink?

Perhaps you are a shoe glutton, or a sex glutton, or an exercise glutton, or a Haagen- Daz ice cream glutton?

I don't suppose many of us would even admit to our own gluttony, regardless of the form said gluttony were to assume.

This is rather silly, don't you think? Isn't it obvious that we've evolved into a society which is mired in the smelly mud of our own gluttony?

It really doesn't matter what kind of face we try to wear on the outside, underneath we are all gluttons.

We are Pope watch gluttons, we are Desperate Housewife gluttons, we are gas gluttons, we are conspicuous consumption gluttons.....face it, we are pure, unadulterated gluttons!

So carry on America!

Go and have yourself a gluttonously happy day!

Sooner or later, we will all be the gluttons of our own punishment.

Girl Power!

Oh my!

Are you hip enough for hip CHICKS do WINE?

This hip chick doesn't drink; but if I did I think I would be more than happy to try a glass of "Bad Girl Blanc"! This sounds right up my alley!

Are you curious? Go check out the webbie!

http://www.hipchicksdowine.com

I rather like the idea of two women successfully making their way in what is traditionally an all male industry!

Way to go hip CHICKS!