Busy Days and Creative Moments

I'm still trying to get the tutorial made for the star ornament. The past week has been incredibly hectic, but in a good way. The musician who contributes our beautiful music to the Daily Prayer videos was in the area and we threw together a last-minute concert at Bethel UCC in Cahokia, Illinois. We loved it so much that I edited the concert and there are six pieces of it in our worship sanctuary this week instead of the usual weekly worship. If you get a chance, hop over to  Living Well of Bethel and check out Richard Bruxvoort Colligan and his PoMo renditions of the Psalms.
Also on the "why the tutorial isn't ready" list is the fact that my own personal video producer (wife) has been spending a lot of time at her two jobs (since she's the pastor of Living Well of Bethel and co-pastor of Bethel United Church of Christ-Cahokia)  and hasn't been able to set up the camera for me. In the mean time, I have a couple of #WIP pics to show you. I'm trying to design a beanie that is shaped with short rows at the crown. I'm doing a HCD and SC alternating rib stitch on it, so it's reversible, with one side having skinny ribs and one having fat ones.

I got a skein of yarn on clearance and am hoping that I don't run out before the hat is finished. It is not looking good at this point, though. This hat may end up having a wedge of a complimentary yarn, but remember as Bob Ross said, there are no mistakes, only happy accidents!

(I've made a bit more progress since these photos were taken)

What kind of WIPs do you have going? Are you gearing up for the holidays? I try to make all of my birthday and Christmas/Yule gifts but am a bit behind at this point. I really wish people would stop reminding me how close Christmas is!

It is my hope and prayer that you are finding time for peaceful reflection and time to be creative today and every day.

It's Mardi Gras, today! That means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent has always been a tough one for me. Yes, we can "give up" things and that can deepen our spirituality, but I have always tried to find something positive TO DO during Lent. This year it's been difficult. I find myself needed to lose weight again and thought I might give up Diet Coke or join Weight Watchers and use the discomfort that I feel to ponder on my life and how I want to be comfortable all of the time. Then I read about March Forth for Justice. Yes, it's on Mardi Gras, but it's a day to actively do something for a justice cause. I chose the renewal of the Voting Rights Act as my cause and wrote my congresspeople, tweeted and blogged about it so others can do the same. Why did I chose this particular cause? Because when we start to make laws that determine who can and can't vote, we have taken a step towards a fascist society. It may sound like a good idea; to make people show ID to vote, but these laws are designed to keep the elderly, women and minorities from voting. And many of them vote Democrat so it's really just a way for Republicans to win an election by cheating. Many members of today's Republican Party identify as "Christian" conservative, white men and their wives. Since I happen to believe Jesus didn't exclude people or judge people or cheat, I have an issue with calling these people Christians, or perhaps "followers of Christ", which is what I consider myself. I am a Taoist at heart, I believe the divine is in us all, in every thing in this world. This does not conflict with my belief that Jesus came to teach people about kindness and love and acceptance and forgiveness. So this Lent I am going to find a way every day to encourage these values. I need to be more kind, more loving, more accepting and more forgiving,especially when it involves people that I think are trying to take over my nation and mold it to their narrow and hateful ways. See, there I go again. We lead by example. So I'm inviting all those Republicans to also be more kind, more loving, more accepting and yes, more forgiving. Let's spend Lent walking in Christ's path.