Art on a VW Bus #3

Art on a VW Bus #3

February 2013:

Flashback to 2000: We left organized church and stepped away from Christian culture, in order to pursue our understanding of Jesus without all the trappings. We gave up large Sunday morning services for small gatherings of very intentional minded seekers of Jesus. Such light, clarity, and pure moments of love.

In 2012, we returned to "full time professional camp ministry." For various reasons, it was a good move for our family. But one of the hardest parts of moving was leaving our tight knit tribe & spiritual community. Due to the nature of my job, I was thrust back into a Christian culture that I was no longer in step with. I found myself overwhelmed with the noise of extra verses, bridges, instruments, and, "Jesus, just...."  Where was the simple joy of gathering in the stillness? Where was the peacefulness of gathering in the presence of the Light?

This piece was done in the midst of one such extremely loud, and somewhat emotionally manipulative large worship/Christian concert gathering I found myself in. I sat as far back as possible in a crowd of over 400 people, wondering if God could hear my heart thoughts over the noise. In Quaker practice, I sat silently until I found Center, focusing on bearing witness to God's still, small voice. I aloud God's light to speak peace to my heart in the middle of the loudness.

My muddled swirling purple soul began to move into the stillness of Christ light.

Art on a VW Bus #1

Art on a VW Bus

There are two main ways I connect with God. Creating and Nature. In the past, connecting with God through Nature meant days long backpacking trips or hours spent in the canyons of Smith Rock climbing. Since moving to the Valley and working full time, I've had to find ways to connect with God that can be done in shorter stints of time. And so began my Traveling Art Pouch (I'll describe this in another post later.)

Circa May-June 2012: This one began as an exploratory of a new traveling watercolor kit I received from a dear friend. Green has always been my go to color: hence, the color of our 1979 VW Bus (yep, more later) I had been contemplating what my "camp name" for my new job would be. (Every one at camp has a camp name: defines parts of who they are that aren't necessarily covered in your traditional name. It becomes your alter ego.) I was trying to incorporate ideas of freedom, color, nature, green, flowers, etc. Much like the elements of my new tattoo. 

I was also enthralled with the idea of mandalas as a spiritual discipline. In many ways, this very asymmetrical free form mandala reflects my spiritual life. A major theme in my life with God is unlearning the "have to's." Letting go of the should do's. Finding freedom in Christ. I still struggle with this.

Obviously, this piece is unfinished....also very reflective of me. I'm continually trying to figure out who I am & how I relate to the world.

Oh...what's my camp name?  Stay tuned....

6 years later

You know how, in the movies, when you are all caught up in a scene and something big happens, and then BOOM.

Black screen. 

Then, the music starts again. You get a wide angle landscape shot, and then words appear? 

6 years later

 Yep, that's what just happened in Creating Good Soil Blogtown. Sometimes, I'm not even sure if I'm still creating good soil.

Kiddos 3 October 2011

But here are the highlights of the past 6 years:

Got a tattoo

Moved from Sunny Central Oregon to Rainy Willamette Valley.
Began working & living full time/year round at a summer camp

The beautiful space we live and work in

I love hiring, training and mentoring amazing college students 

Kids being silly at our camp

 Sold our Central Oregon home
 Sold Green Plow Coffee Roasters
 Homeschooled

circa 2013

Instagram
Traveled to Washington DC, Mexico (2x), Nepal, California, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Vancouver/Victoria BC.
Helped kids discover amazing, crazy and sometimes expensive hobbies
All 3 kids eventually decided to go back to school
Husband works full time too


 Lowlights include:
 Being away from my tribe
 Ovarian cyst surgery
 Still surviving a fairly drastic faith community split
 Not having time to create regularly


All that said, I find myself in a place where I don't know what the next scene looks like. But for some reason, I find myself needing to write again.

Kiddos 3 + Furbaby 2017

A peek into my journal....

One Day Without Shoes

Thought I'd share what our family is doing today. Check out www.onedaywithoutshoes.com or check the tweets at #hardwithoutshoes. Consider it a modern day fast and sackcloth. This is the letter I sent out to the kids' teachers.

Hi Wonderful Educators,

So..... Our family does a lot of conversing about those in the world that are less fortunate then ourselves. We try to help out in different ways & stand for issues of injustice. This week we remembered hearing about an event called "One Day Without Shoes" This event, held today on April 8th, brings awareness that most children in developing countries go without basic necessities like shoes...this limits their ability to go to school, and protect themselves from debilitating diseases. Our kids would like to show their concern by participating in this day. Basically, one goes about their day as normal except without shoes.

We have spoken with both of them and feel that their hearts are definitely in the right place. They are choosing to go without shoes to "respect those who do not have shoes." We are providing them with t-shirts that reflect the message of the event and stickers that have a website for those who would like more information. We are asking them to not draw attention to themselves and to remain in an attitude of learning and respect.

We would ask that you as teachers and administrators respect their right to reflect their growing conscience of the world around them. We do understand that if their actions become disruptive to the learning environment that they will be asked to wear shoes. (They will each have a pair of sandals with them.)

Thank you....We know that this is an unusual request. Feel free to contact us for any reason.

Sincerely,

Pat and Mandy

Slow down, you move too fast

This summer (8 months ago) a friend gave me a book called Slow is beautiful. I’ve been too busy to read it. But now, I’m finally starting to realize my need for slow. It is not as strong as my need of silence (I tend to get that on a daily basis after ever one else has gone to sleep.) I would truly starve without silence at some point in my day. But now after 8 months of intense speed (major renovation and starting a high profile business) I’m starting to hope for a more sustainable rhythm.

Even as my friend handed me the book, she said that we were entering a season where this book might seem impossible. Maybe now I can find the book again under the piles of 8 months of clutter.

What started this need, this pull my nose off the grindstone? I cleaned my office. Once the clutter was reduced, a rhythm, a system found it’s place. It’s only about a 4 foot square corner of control. But now I’ve maintained it for a total of 4 days! There is a freedom in a bit of rules. Leave the desk as clean as you found it. File it! Take action.

Admittedly it’s only been 4 days. True, it’s only 4 feet square. I’ve got a whole house to deal with now. And that is just physical space. What about my spirit? My body? My finances? My relationships? There’s a lot of clutter that has been shelved and piled these past 8 months. God, I get overwhelmed when I think about the energy and effort to pull things back to reasonable speed and order. Hell, it took me 2 days to clean and organize my desk.

I’m grateful for the groundwork God has done in me over the years. His instilling in me a love of nature, community and peace will continue to be my pillars as I rebuild. A great strength is that we are surrounded by amazing folks who hold to similar values, a beautiful landscape to get lost in, and hearts begging for inner peace. I’m not going to make goals, resolutions or promises of daily updates on my progress. That would just add to the overwhelmingness . For now it is just enough to state that I am ready to begin the process and acknowledge the need of slow.

The view from my window

Yeah, the view from my window has changed.

Actually, the window I look out the most has changed. I used to gaze out our dining room window at my three little ones playing on the swingset. I am soooo thankful for the time I got to spend with them when they were little. Good soil for my little ones. Now, they're all in grade school.

After two weeks of Christmas vacation at home with the kiddos, it's back to the regularly scheduled program. We all wake up and head out the door at the same time. They to fill their heads with knowledge. I to fill empty coffee cups with great coffee and hopefully a drop of love|peace too. I missed all my people at the shop. I really feel that God has placed me where I belong right now. Those mothering skills of the past 11 years go really well into the customer service realm. 3 different kids= 3 different sandwiches. 3 different customers=3 different drinks. Oops...a dropped glass jar of peanut butter. Oops....a dropped ceramic cup. (Actually, it was me who broke a cup today!)

I find some of the same "mothering hen" emotions come into play at the shop, too. If I have a regular customer who doesn't show up for a while, I start to worry a bit. After a well played music gig, I rejoice for the success of the musician. I love gazing out around the shop and seeing my community connecting. Yeah, the window is different, but the view is pretty much the same

A touch of spring

Monday, I got to hang my laundry on the line.

Ahhh....Peace!

Maybe laundry lines don't do the same for you as they do for me. It's God's way of letting me feel like I'm accomplishing something, but at the same time breathing and communing with God's thoughts in the center of a beautiful landscape. (I'm mean the mountains that I can see from my backyard...not my brown twig and bare dirt flower beds.)

Thanks, God, for quiet moments in a crazy day.

Words I never thought I would hear together

"FONDUE FIGHT!!.......Hurry, get onthe boat!"

-uttered by Boodle-Bug in some sort of imaginary game involving the couch and all the stuffed animals in the house.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers Movie Night

Our soon-to-be Plowshare coffeehouse is partnering with two local churches to show the movie: Lord Save Us From Your Followers. This documentary explores the collision between faith and culture in America.

Come have a yummy latte and join the conversation!

Sunday, January 18th
5:30pm
at The Bridge
2398 West Antler Avenue
Redmond, Oregon

My Mountain Man!

Back in my college days, I did the suggested make-a-list-of-the-qualities-you-want-in-a-husband. My list was this: a rugged outdoorsy guy who can sing and play the guitar. Well, to some extent, he can sing and play the guitar. But look at this: 8 degrees out and he's still bike-commuting to work!! That's a rugged outdoorsy guy!

So....what happened to that coffee house?

I'm sure you don't want to hear all the excuses...computer problems, school started, an experiment in community living, etc. We're still working towards the coffeehouse dream.
The last few months has been remarkably similar to the gardening process. Right now we are in the winter months of garden planning. We've been thumbing through the catalog pages of everything the coffeehouse could be: for profit, non-profit, small, large, a music venue, a meal-for-the- homeless site during off hours, downtown, ministry, etc.
We've sticky noted ideas we like. We have named the coffee house: Plowshare Coffee House (in reference to Micah chapter 4.) We have been roasting coffee in very small quantities from home. We practice our latte art. (This photo is one of my first pours!)
We've drawn up some plans in colored pencil. We are in the process of discovering how viable our hope of being a non-profit might be. Next week we'll be attending a meeting that might clarify some of that.
Soon, we'll need to put away the catalogs, sticky notes, and colored pencils, and actually commit to placing our order. So...pray for us as we get closer to that next season.

Story of Stuff

A friend sent this link to me today. An amazingly simple version as to why our economy & environment is where it is today. Yep! The two issues are connected! Although the movie is simple, the site goes very in depth as to what we, the little people, can do. http://www.storyofstuff.com/

What's this about a Coffee Business?

Back in our college days, there was little (single car garage size when it started) coffee house just off campus. A great many of our getting-to-know-you conversations took place there. With a rasberry mocha in hand, I could tackle homework, deep philosophical conversations, and even throw in some quiet book reading, journal writing, music listening and dreaming.

Ever since, we've had this dream to provide a place like that for our local community. Really good coffee, a safe place for conversation, a venue for community to flourish. We see it as a way to combine our way to make a living with our desire to serve people. We're excited about the possibilities of not only reaching out to our local community, but also supporting our global neighbors. We will be making every effort to roast, sell, and serve only fair trade or direct relationship with farmer coffees.

We've been amazed at the way God has started to move us this way. Through many "minor" miracles, our garage is now filled with almost everything we need to start our coffee roastery/house, including a Probat L12 roaster. We're just waiting for a myriad of other details to fall in place. For example, what do we name this business?

That's where you come in, friends! Give us your leading by voting in our poll. (If I could do this in the good ol' Quaker way of consensus, I would. It's hard to "sense the Spirit" via the internet.

I guess I'll be adding a lot of coffee grounds to the compost bin!

This is the day.....

that the Lord has made, not like tomorrow or yesterday. He made today in a special way, so let's all sing and be glad." This little song, learned when I was young, has become an oft sung meal-time grace for our family. Sometimes, when it's been a tough day, I'll sing it in a cranky voice with a grouchy face, just to make the kids smile. I'll replace the word "glad" with "mad" and finally raise a chuckle among those around me.

But, today, there is no need to sing it cranky style. This whole day has been amazingly perfect. Here's why:

Beautiful sunshine
Happy chickies in the violets
Dear friends moving in with us for a bit
One week till the Church Basement Roadshow (www.churchbasementroadshow.com)
Laundry on the line
Helpful kiddos and most exciting of all....

a brand new niece arrive safely today!

Thanks, God, for a sweet day! May I be as able to praise you as readily during the hard times too.

10 1/2 inches to a better world

I've always been so proud of my husband....he has donated almost 3 gallons of blood. Me? Slightly anemic and wholly fearful of blood draws, I've seen my contribution as clearing any obstacles so that he can make his blood draw appointment. But now, I've found my way of making the world a better place for someone. Today, after a year of growing out my hair for women with cancer, I had 10 1/2 inches chopped off. I'll be sending my tresses to http://www.beautifullengths.com/. We've had far too many friends and family who've fought cancer.

It's a small contribution, but one that works well into my new desire to make any decisions with intentionality. From what type of lawnmower we use, to where I buy my splurge coffee, to riding our bikes more, to growing some of our own food, to clearing out my time schedule. Although seemingly mundane decisions, they are ones that we've stopped to think about....and hopefully come up with an answer that is compassionate, environmentally friendly, and community building. I obviously don't have it all figured out, but today was ten inches closer.

What everyday activity do you want to re-think?

Going Farm Girl!

I have this strong desire to live on a farm....all these overly romanticized ideals of corn as high as an elephants eye, chickens (no poop) free ranging happily, and a sweet cow (all milk, no poop). And of course, the animals all sleep past 9am. So, having toured a couple of 2-6 acre properties for sale in the past few months, I finally have come to my senses. I love my sleep too much, I can hardly keep up with my 1/4 acre yard, and I get tired cleaning up after the dog, much less multiple bovine. So, we reached a compromise. 4 cute little chickies.....hopefully, all girls! I keep telling the kids, "Don't get attached...if one turns out to be a rooster...he'll have to become soup." I was absolutely amazed how quickly I became attached! (You knew I would!) On the way home from the farm store, I was struck with how fragile these little lives were! We got the last four at the store....of course the slowest, least desirable ones. But I think that was God's purpose....knowing that these four could quite possibly become the most pampered hens in Central Oregon. (The feed store employees already think I'm nuts.) So, we'll be happy on our quarter acre with our 4 new little girls. Although, they've already shown me the idiocy of my no poop ideal. Oh, well, it's good for the soil, right?