SPRING: HOPE's DIVINE POSSIBILITY 23.4.14

In the Hebrew scriptures the promise of God's abundance is often conceived of
as blossoming in the desert.
In that harsh landscape, a flower bursting forth from the dry land is a symbol of
divine generosity, fruitfulness, and hope.   * #Hope is a stance of radical openness to the God of newness and #possibility. {tweetable}
* When we #hope, we acknowledge that God has an imagination far more expansive than we do. {tweetable}
* The fertility of spring speaks of an abundantly creative God who is at the source of the potent life force beating at the heart of the world. Created in God's image, we are called to participate in this generous creativity ourselves. Our own blossoming leads us to share our gifts in service to others. * Take time this week to meditate with gratitude on a flower, appreciating all of its qualities of beauty, how it simply is what it was created to be. Allow yourself to fill with joyful gratitude for the gifts of the earth. Open yourself to experience the fullness of this flower and all of the ways God delights in the beauty of blossoms.

Then shift your focus from the flower to yourself. Take this sense of wonder and awe at the beauty of the flower and imagine how God gazes with delight on the beauty of who you are.
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What aspects of your being can you imagine God relishing? What are the longings inside of you God is asking you to embrace?[Tweet]

Rest in this awareness of the joy and delight of God in your own beautiful blossoming for several minutes. Notice what new longings it stirs in you.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.~Marcel Proust [Tweet]

Perhaps you'd like to share your exploration and discoveries.
Please accept this as your personal Invitation to Poetry and/or Photography .

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With April comes a new Invitation for Contemplation. In the northern hemisphere, spring is slowly arriving with birdsong and blooming. Wherever we live on this beautiful planet, we can tend to the flowering that happens within after a season of fallowness. The outer seasons become a mirror for our inner experience.
The text with which we are praying this month is from the Hebrew wisdom book the
Song of Songs, which the ancient rabbis called "the holy of holies."
"Arise and bloom" is our theme,
tending to the ways our hearts and souls are breaking forth into blossom
after a season of fallowness and stillness.

I invite you to set aside some time this week to pray with the text below.  See these Lectio Divina guidelines.

Lean into silence, pray the text, listen to what shimmers, allow the images and memories to unfold, tend to the invitation, and then sit in stillness.

For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!   —Song of Songs 2:11-13

After you have prayed with the text (and feel free to pray with it more than once – 

St. Ignatius wrote about the deep value of repetition in prayer, especially when something feels particularly rich) spend some time journaling what insights arise for you.

~ from  Christine Valters Paintner -
  Abbey of the Arts *

* Find and follow FHC online:
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SHARED WITH ~
- HollyGerth -
- Thought Provoking Thursday -
- Essential Fridays -
- Make a Difference Mondays - - Woman to Woman -
- Hope in Every Season -
- Faith Filled Friday -
- Sunday Community -
- Weekend Brew -

- Natasha in Oz Say G'day -

DOWNTOWN WINTER'S DAWN: WORDLESS WEDNESDAY PHOTO PLAY 26.2.14

waking to a -33C dawn on a wintry downtown morning . . .
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"He spreads snow like a white fleece,
    he scatters frost like ashes,
He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
    who can survive his winter?
Then he gives the command and it all melts;
    he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!"
  * Psalm 147.15-18 The Message


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Shared with :

*STILL SATURDAY*   *CREATE WITH JOY* 

*SATURDAY SNAPSHOT* 

                                                     *PINK SATURDAY at BEV's* 

*THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY*    *SUNLIT SUNDAY*  *SCRIPTUREANDASNAPSHOT*

Eyes of the Heart: Discovering God Through a Camera Lens

"...to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time."
-Georgia O'Keefe
I loved this quote and its impact regarding the material of Eyes of the Heart. 

It's a book of process. Process takes time...

The first 2 chapters introduce the reader to the idea and practice of 

receiving images from the world around us, 

as gifts to us for inner exploration. 

Next chapter introduced shadow and light as spiritual dimensions 

we can view through the lens as well as our personal interior. 

By chapter 4 we were exploring framing and reframing 

ourselves and our self-stories 

just as we frame and reframe our photo subjects. 

Colour, our inspiration for chapter 5.
Creative sources of reflections of the holy in our world for chapter 6. 

Self-portraits, our chapter 7 topic. 

Chapter 8 ties it all together; God is in our seeing. 

Open the eyes of our heart to see the Divine Presence everywhere. 

To live in awe and wonder.

Supporting quotes open each chapter, 

in depth instructional material plus each chapter provides multiple activities 

for interaction to deepen the learning opportunities; 

to enrich the inner growth available through intentional practice. 

eg. Go walking. 

What images evoke/reflect your deepest dreams/longings/wishes/hopes...? 

or scripture passages to contemplate, journal and apply.

“..every photo we make is in some way a self-portrait,
b/c it reveals something about how we see the world.”
What are our photos saying about us?
“In a sense your photographs are your autobiography.” –Dorothea Lange.
Everyday objects can symbolically represent the self.
For me, the teacup icons I use are a self portrait.
Stacks of books another.  In fact,
more representational of me than a single dimension photo visage.

Here is a book intent on breaking down the perpetuation of our false self that wants
“to create only images beautiful in the eyes of others
or ‘marketable’ rather than truthful.”
We must discover our true self –
 ‘who I am beneath the accolades and achievements’.
What desires has God planted in my heart?
The exercises included are designed for just such discoveries.

Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice 

is a personable guide to a life of awareness lived centered in calm and stillness 

rather than knocked off course by reactive emotions. 

I highly recommend it for those who desire to live at a deeper than surface level. 

For those who pray, "Lord, open the eyes of my heart"...




*My appreciation to Ave Maria Press for providing an ebook copy for review without obligation. 

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Shared at Cym's

Invitation to Photography: Landscape and Formation

Welcome to Christine Valters Paintner' s  Abbey Photo Party!

She selects a theme and invites us to respond with images.

"I have been pondering a great deal lately the ways the landscapes I have lived in shape my soul (this week's love note from me will develop this theme).  My invitation to you is to ponder this for yourself: What is the impact of my physical landscape on my spiritual one?  How might I express this through a photo or image?

You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the theme in mind and see what you discover.

You are also welcome to post photos of any other art you create inspired by the theme.  See what stirs your imagination!"

How to participate:

1. Go to the Flickr Group created. You need a free Flickr account first (go to the Flickr home page and click "Sign up now.")  When you go to the link it will ask you to join the group first before posting.  Share up to five of your images in response to the theme.

2. Leave a comment below Christine's blog post to let her know you have joined the party and what your Flickr profile name is (you must include this to be entered into the prize drawing).

3. Please post the invitation on your own blog or Facebook page, tweet and encourage others to come join the party!

On Friday, April 26th – Christine will draw a name at random from those who participate and the winner will receive a space in her upcoming online class:
Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice (April 28-June 15, 2013).

Faith Hope & Cherrytea  
_eHope on Twitter

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Invitation to Photography Party: Springtime

Welcome to the Abbey of the Arts'
"Springtime" Photo Party!

From Christine Valters Paintner's
 theme and Photo Party invite to respond with images.

For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

–Song of Songs 2:11-13

*This is what my today ~ March 18th ~ looked like for me at FHC !

Springtime begins in the northern hemisphere on Wednesday,
the time of great flowering on the earth offering hope of
new possibilities emerging.

This week, go on a photo pilgrimage,
holding the start of springtime in your heart, and
notice what images are shimmering in the world around you.

(For my southern hemisphere friends, you are welcome to also share images
of the arrival of autumn,
or the ways you see signs of spring even in the midst of the season of letting go)

You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme,
but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the theme in mind
and see what you discover.

You are also welcome to post photos of any other art you create inspired by the theme. 
See what stirs your imagination!

How to participate:

1. Go to the Flickr Group I have created. You need a free Flickr account first
(go to the Flickr home page and click "Sign up now.") 
When you go to the link it will ask you to join the group first before posting. 
Share up to five of your images in response to the theme.

2. Leave a comment at Christine's blog post to let us know
you have joined the party and
what your Flickr profile name is
(you must include this to be entered into the prize drawing).
For Christine's newest book to be released March 25th!



3. Please post the invitation on your blog or Facebook page 

and encourage others to come join the party!

On Friday, March 22nd – Christine will draw a name at random
from those who participate and the winner will receive
a space in one of my upcoming online class
 Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice (April 28-June 15, 2013) and
 a copy of my new book {as above}which the class accompanies.

Spring and all its flowers now

joyously break their vow of silence.

It is time for

celebration, not for

lying low.

–Hafiz

I've joined the party and thought you might enjoy 

the creative expression offered in doing so as well...

Let me know in comments so I can look for your photo posts !!

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