concert on Halifax commons

Today there is a concert on the Commons, which is a big public green space in the heart of Halifax. It has a concert stage and a really big crowd, all waiting to hear Black Eyed Peas. Presently as I enjoy a beer on the front porch with my hubby, Classified (local rap stars) are on. We are fortunate enough to live close enough to hear every word. Well, presently I am thinking NOISE. The grace has been watching excited concert goes walk by and hearing cheers of people having fun and enjoying themselves. That makes it all worthwhile.

Taking Time for Coffee

Grace came to me today in the experience of having coffee with another person.
This person, oft forgotten, lonely, and needing someone to talk to, asked if there was time to get together over the week.  I invited this person for coffee at a coffee house 1/2 way between our homes.

It seems rather simple, to share stories over a cup of coffee.  For this person it was anything but normal; they dressed up.  Being invited to coffee was an event, an exception to the rule -exciting.  This person became a someone.  Grace was shared in taking the time to invite the other for coffee.
Coffee ministry, a deeper grace than many realize. A ministry I need to be conscious of and do more often.
 To the one I had coffee with, thank-you for sharing grace with me today.

High Tea

Greeting guests
Relishing refinement
Anticipated appetizers
China cups
Everyone engaged

aprons

I know that this is going to sound extremely wierd...well maybe not for those of you who know me.  As of late, I have found a lot of GRACE in the wearing of aprons; ones with long bottoms and bibs.  In days past, I thought aprons were crazy, why bother, use a towel to wipe your hands. 
The feeling of wearing an apron, wrapped around and tied in the front, in some ways reminds me of my grandmother and the love she brought through serving.  The apron is practical -keeping clothes clean, and whatever might be on my clothes off whatever it is that is being made.  Perhaps there is a certain power given through the apron, one of mothering (would not have thought I would ever say that, or share that).  I am confident to work in the kitchen, or unclogging a drain under the sink, or washing out stinky compost bins.
It's almost as if the apron signifies a calling, a vocation, an ordained way to serve my family, my friends, the community, strangers.  The approach becomes one of love as I am wrapped in a mantle, annointed for the task at hand. 
 

curfew

One of my teenagers went to pick-up a new work uniform and ended up working a first shift. Whether nervousness, excitement, or concentration towards new job - when curfew came and went we began to worry. Then the brain wave, perhaps at work? All teenagers are home safe and sound, this is grace!

video game grace

There is a gaming site that I just discovered where the game is all about finding clues, searching through a book called the Bible to figure out the riddles and journey on. How refreshing, gaming without slaughtering others.  This is grace.www.yahero.com

World Listening Day « The World Listening Project

World Listening Day « The World Listening Project
this is really neat!  Take a moment and click on the above link.  You have a couple of days to think about how you might listen for grace and be part of a initiative bigger than yourself.

Discipleship

Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship.  -Dietrich Bonhoefer "The Cost of Discipleship"

listening

Giving gabber a space to gab
Receptive of relationship
Accepting another's aches and ashes of life 
Crying, caring, compassion concern
Ears emphatically turned to the other

RAIN of GRACE

Greening growth
Rushing ripplets
Absolutely absorbing  
Crashing creeks
Etheral efficacy
 

Cool penetrating fog after a hot sticky day! Grace ...ahhh relief

summer

Going for a walk and soaking up the heat of the sun.
Relaxing with a good book.
A couple of muskoka chairs to sit in and watch the world go by.
Charishing time of quiet.
Easy suppers like homemade potato salad.

Two points of grace today:
A neighbour, who I did not know, came to the door asking if he could pick flowers off the Linden tree out the front of my house. He makes tea with them. Cool; who knew they were good for lung and heart issues. I had only seen them as flowers that make me sneeze when out in full bloom.
Second grace was teaching Lindbeck this evening and having great discussion.
Ahhhh!

Grace: relaxing all day reading a great novel, grazing when hungry, napping in between. Glorious!

wisdom

Today I was at a birthday for a a woman who turned 97 years old.  Although I have never said much to her, she converses mostly in German, I love her.  Her face glows grace: wisdom, peace, happiness, sharing.  Relationships and getting together in community are the high points of life.  I could sit and eat cake and drink tea with her all day...basking in a beautiful presence.

Secret Garden

It was 10:45pm on this fine warm evening in Halifax.  My husband and I were returning from a concert when lo and behold there was a group of 8 people or so -happy, chatty, 20 somethings- some were sitting on the ground others leaning over and a couple with shovels.  A piece of grass had been dug up and they were about planting a secret garden.  They had some healthy pots started -sunflowers I think; maybe squash -it was dark.  So tomorrow morning the garden will not be secret but the gardeners will be.
The grace is in the joy of these gardeners.  The smell of the fresh earth.  The thought of how many will be graced walking to work and seeing these plants grow.  Awesome job and grace sharing o secret gardeners.