Plant more roses!

When I graduated (the first time!) from the life-changing adventure known as #Color of Woman, the leader of our band, Shiloh Sophia McCloud, asked us what advice we’d give to others beginning the journey. My response was immediate…

Plant more roses!

Today, as I’m about to begin that adventure again – because I’ve learned enough to have whole new questions – I have a bit more advice. Not just for artists, but for all you serious, thinking, creative people everywhere who want better for our world!

Are you ready???

#Filters!!!

Yep… really!!! This world needs what you have to share. Sharing our hearts – our visions – can be scary and hard because most of us didn’t learn how. Instead, we learned truckloads of We always and We never which are, occasionally, helpful but they’re nowhere near all we need! Some of those beliefs weren’t all that helpful, either!

So, YOU’RE INVITED!

Step 1… Click the link for all the info…

https://imusea.org/filters-invitation

Step 2… HURRY! There’s a great discount if you sign up by Friday, May 23.

Step 3… Share this email with somebody you believe in!

Step 4… If you’re still on the fence, watch this video from The West Wing. (Really.)

I’ve been down here before and I know a way out!!!

ps… nope! You don’t already have to know how to paint! I’ve got you!!!

You know how the world seems more complicated these days???

What channel to watch… Who to work for… What your kids want to wear to school…

What we’re trying to accomplish…

I mean – SERIOUSLY!!!

And I’m ready to help! In fact, I just got some good advice from a virtual friend named Stacey Abrams. She was a guest on Ali Velshi’s MSNBC show on Saturday. Yep, Ali’s Banned Book Club! And, the Hebrew word on the red ribbon in the photo means both I am here! and I am ready!

You see, Stacey’s book, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America, was recently banned from the U. S. Naval Academy Library as part of larger removal of nearly 400 titles!

I haven’t read it, yet, though it’s definitely on the list. What I was most intrigued by, though, was Stacey’s conversation about doing what we can, where we are, now… especially when it comes to helping make sure people can vote… to which I’d add speak and create!

There are, however, a few other things on my own helping list for today… things that have a lot to do with grandmothers!!! And, yes… all the painting and writing going on around here has helped! For this moment, though, I’m going to play tour guide, just a bit!

There are links to some cool things ahead. I’m so hoping, though, that you’ll read the rest of this post and then come back and click links to explore. It’s kind of one of those adventures where one thing leads to the next…

First, as you may have read, I was interviewed for a podcast and it was a blast! And, it definitely counts for a thing I can do, where I am, with my friends, now! There’s a link, below!

And, the podcast conversation also includes the #Filters thing! As you’ve probably guessed… I’m excited!!! Please hear why…

The number one thing, in my personal – and global – medicine basket, is the quote you’ve heard from me a zillion times, with huge thanks to my dear teacher/friend, Dr. H. Stephen Glenn.

If a teenaged child has 5 adults who will listen to them, take them seriously, and not shame or blame them for their questions, that child is practically immune from ever attempting suicide.

Frankly, the world is even more in-our-faces-complicated that it was when Steve taught me this and I think we all need as many of those people as we can get… beginning with being one of those 5 people for ourselves!

The obvious next question is, HOW???

Well, that brings me back to the second thing in my medicine basket! Yep… #Filters! And I would be thrilled to help you add this perspective to your medicine basket!

You see, I was almost to the Grammy phase of my journey when I began to explore the notion of #Filters as a way of understanding the world and finding our place in it. I’m grateful to Bill Harris for helping me dip my toes in that stream. And I’m so excited about all the things I’ve learned since then!

And, yes… there’s a class coming up where you can learn, too! Complete with the third thing in my medicine basket… paint!!! I’m thrilled and honored to being doing this work in partnership with the Intentional Creativity® Foundation and – if you click here – we’ll tell you all about it!

In fact, if you click here to experience the podcast, you can hear me talk about it in what my grands would refer to as my “real voice” and find all the sign-up info, too!

ps… it should also be mentioned that Stacey did not say she wasn’t considering a run for Guv!

pps… one of the paintings from my children’s book is so hoping you’ll come check out our recently up-dated shop at FierceArtWithHeart. There’s everything from A Creation Poem… to share with your Littles, to original art, and some very cool mugs! Just click here!

The way we’ve always done it!

Once upon a time there was a scared young mom named Mom. She and the dad named Dad moved a lot because of the thing called work. Mom and Dad had two young daughters. One of them was named Me! Mom worried a lot – whether consciously or not – about those young daughters feeling like they were home. Like they fit in and belonged in each new place.

Because she was worried, Mom spent a lot of time explaining those young daughters to new people. The older one, named Me, was always introduced as the smart kid. The younger one was the artistic kid. And, because kids need to be able to depend on parents, each of those growing girls believed that Mom was right.

Time passed, as time does. About 40 years passed, in fact, before – one day – the one named Me had a new thought! What if, she wondered… maybe, just maybe, it was possible to be both smart and artistic??? So she picked up a brush and painted the dingy white kitchen cupboards in different colors to match the Fiesta Ware dishes that made her feel happy! It was huge fun and she really was thrilled with the way it looked. Even more, she loved the way it felt!

But, more things were true! There was a whole lot of smart kid stuff clamoring to be done in her world and it was close to 10 years before she picked up a paint brush again.

Then, she was invited on a magic journey called The Black Madonna Pilgrimage, in the mysterious land of Intentional Creativity®. She didn’t know then – and still isn’t quite sure – why she said yes, but she did! (Divine inspiration may have been involved!!!) And, with the help of a whole lot of wise people who’d been on such journeys before, she made art!!! In fact, she made the painting you caught a peek of, as we began. And she claimed a whole lot more of herself!

She even realized that she was both smart and artistic!!! And, ever since that day, she has learned and painted and helped others learn, too. The world is a complicated place and the she who is Me is absolutely convinced that if more and more of us learn what she has learned – and is ready to share – we can make the world safer and more welcoming for many, many, many more of us. For now, though, she has paintbrushes to wash and more dots to make! (And a very special thing to share with you, in just a moment!!!)

Here’s a glimpse of my #wip #Quickening painting. There’s still some finishing to be done but this is the piece we need now…

Yep! #Filters!!! Coming soon, to the land of Intentional Creativity® ! My first class for the Foundation and it’s about to start. You are invited!!! This is the place to bring all your questions… all the what next? and how will we make it? and what can I do? mumbo jumbo keeping you up at night!

My part is questions. And a whole lot of practice. Your part is claiming new possibilities… new paths to familiar dreams… and new tools for your medicine basket. Together, we CAN head out to the places where we are called!

I know… it sounds huge, and it is a lot to take in. That’s why there are lots of details, right here! Just click the pretty colored link to learn more. To HOPE again!!! (And, yes… there are pictures!!!)

ps… the shop elves have been busy updating at FierceArtWithHeart! Come on by to see all the fun and inspiration! It’s a great place to find encouraging Graduation gifts for your beloveds!

It was a tiny earthquake… but, still!

You know how sometimes you sort of vaguely notice things but don’t have a context for them? Like, Hmmmm…. whatever!

Well, we had one of those moments in Atlanta! According to the National Weather Service, attentive people from Tennessee, down into Georgia, did, indeed, notice an earthquake Saturday morning! For me, it was rather like my chair had learned the trembly, dance-like thing my muscles have been up to.

Just between us, it was already an unusual sort of weekend. It’s anniversary time. The Legendary Husband and I have been married for 35 years! He made it home from a road trip on Friday night. We’re shaking calendars and weather forecasts, looking for a suitable time to sit on a sidewalk – probably at Iberian Pig – and celebrate.

Frankly, we’re used to adjusting the date thing. In fact, we got married on a Thursday night, just before my first Columbia Seminary graduation, on Sunday. All the family was in town and it worked for our team of preacher-people, and student friends packing for big moves!

And, as you probably guessed from the photo, there are LOTS of things to catch up on around here. My #Legend painting is almost – though not quite – done. (At least that’s what she says!) There are books in the draft stage, and painting projects to finish, and wisdom cards in the works, as #Quickening concludes. And, yes… #Filters is about to begin!

Missing our kids on Mothers Day is on that list, too!

For this moment, though… a peek at my nearly-finished #Legend, and a few of her words, with huge thanks to the brilliant, miraculous Stella Mac… our writing coach, and – of course – my legendary self! When you get down to it, this stuff is more than a bit like an earthquake, too!

Legendary Wisdom

Good Trouble rising
a Phoenix from Stardust Soup
determined to Hope!

@slb 5/10/25

ps… I’m supposed to tell you that the Hebrew word in her stole is pronounced he-nay-ne and means both here I am and I am ready!

pps… sending much love this Mothers Day, of whatever sort you’d welcome! Whether it’s a happy, huggy day or a whistful one, you are witnessed.

ppps… let’s talk #Filters! You, me, and 45 minutes for naming your next right thing! (And, answering all your questions about this upcoming adventure with magic and paint!!!) Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up. My gift, with much anticipation!

The invitation info is here…

Remember card catalog drawers at the library?

I do! And, just in this moment, I think somebody snuck into my personal library and mixed it all up! Not the external library, though we have lots of that, but my inner library.

Somehow Betsy, Tacy & Tib is now filed in the same place as my thesaurus – aka the dinosaur book! The dictionaries took a bit more hunting. English. Greek. Hebrew. Really! Thresholds of the Mind, Bill Harris’s book which opened the #Filters window in my being, was there, too, beside Shiloh Sophia McCloud’s Color of Woman, which is about to become really handy, again. Of course, my first picture book, A Creation Poem… and, obviously, my Grandmothers Are In Charge Of Hope.

And, tucked in a corner nearby, Brueggemann and Buechner and Leloup’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

None of this was a huge surprise! You see, I’m writing fairy tales! And, Pope Francis has walked on. And virtually nothing I learned in high school Social Studies seems to be working.

Blessedly, the paintings are still whispering! The one known as #Quickening, more loudly than the others!

Much of Friday involved a cool process known as Meta-Cognitive Drawing, which means something pretty close to thinking about thinking while drawing. About that time, the bears got involved. The ones you can see, if you’re willing, in the photo we began with. And they wanted a chance to do some leading!

Bears leading is code for me thinking! And drawing. And writing. Even making soup! Somehow, in the midst of all that, I wound up with Alana Fairchild’s Sacred Rebels oracle cards in my hands. And, yes… I know that may seem like quite a long trip from Pope Francis and from Buechner and Brueggemann and Mary Magdalene, but it kind of really isn’t! What ties them all together is claiming choices!

So, I chose a card… lots of shuffling. Eyes closed. Fingers feeling deep.

7. LEGACY OF LIGHT It begins this way:

You are being asked to honour the legacy of light that is your sacred birthright. Take nourishment and support from those that have come before you — your ancestral lines not only in blood but also in spirit. Perhaps these are the beings that have inspired and motivated you to live as a sacred rebel, from your heart and with belief in yourself. The more you are nourished by this legacy of light from your past, the more you become a bearer of the legacy for those that will be supported by your light in the future…

There’s more and it all feels really helpful just now. (And it helped me get the next batch of work done on my own #Wisdom-Cards-in-progress, because even though I know – cognitively – how all this works… it helps – experientially!!!) Here’s a bit more:

The oracle of Legacy of Light comes to you when you need confirmation that a creative choice you are making, or have made, or soon will make, is one that is in alignment with your sacred purpose and spiritual path of healing and growth… If you were asking about a particular question and drew this card, then part of the answer to your question is that the issue at hand is one of utmost importance to your spiritual growth – even if it seemed like a relatively insignificant question… This light will offer you all manner of assistance. To not call upon it is like starving because you believe you have no means to acquire food, whilst a feast lays before your eyes — if only you would partake of it!

Part of partaking of the light, for me, is sharing this with you, even though, in some of the places I’m from, we don’t do things like this! And, I have big things to do! Writing. Painting. Teaching. Being the me I believe I was created to be, in this world, with a new note to come after my name, eventually… Curate!

ps… Does the longing to understand, to navigate, to become, burn within you, both a fire and a quiet ache? You are not alone. And more than that, what you seek has been within you all along. And, your chance to be part of it starts soon! #Filters is upon us. All the info is HERE!

pps… just in case you’re feeling curious – and a wee bit brave – I have an invitation just for you! 45 min. My gift. You and me in Zoom land, claiming the place where YOU feel called! I’ll even bring my Sacred Rebels cards if you’d like! Just click here and ask the calendar elves to hook us up!

Creating out of chaos!

There’s an old debate among religious scholars… was the world created out of nothing? Or, out of chaos?

I got tired of the fight decades ago and decided to go with chaos as my operating theory. And, right about now, I’m glad I’ve been practicing for a while!

I can’t solve Washington D.C. I can’t solve the Middle East. I can’t solve climate change. At least not all by myself. I can’t even solve all the things in my own body that are – well – grumbling in the moment. And it still feels a whole lot like ass over applecart time.

That doesn’t mean, however, that there’s nothing I can do!!! (Which is good, because I think that would just push me right over the edge!)

And, yes… we’re still re-creating the house. AND we’re making big progress!!! We have two rooms that are far enough along to feel welcoming. Not done, quite yet, but a whole lot better than they were. (Honestly, I’m not sure “done” is a goal for me!)

Here’s the thing… I am creating a microcosm of the world I want for all those we love!

Safety. Choice. Space for expression. An acceptance that change happens and we are capable of adapting. (Indeed, we were created to adapt!) Beauty. Determination. Welcome. Space for grief. And celebration.

It’s a challenge, you know, for a word person like me, to be intentionally externalizing all those things and making space for them in ways that can be seen and touched.

The photo we began with is an updated glimpse at the view from my chair. Precious art. Favorite books. My alter-ego, Daphne, in her rocking chair. Every inch of it… HOPE! (And, yes… there’s a whole lot more space that still needs work!)

Maybe, though, it’s the making space that feels so helpful in this moment. Intentionally making space for things that matter hugely to my spirit, even in the midst of so much battling over who gets to decide who gets to decide who and what matters.

Then, there’s this small piece that insisted on being freed from the closet and put to work.

This piece is titled Reflections! The under-layer holds a quote from Anne Lamott:

So… I decided that the most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to…

I’m guessing you understand why it wanted out, just now!

And, when I get right down to it, all this space-tending has a whole lot to do with showing up for my life!

You see, last night I dreamed about half of my next children’s book! It has to do with having choices about what we believe!

For now, though, there is a diffuser to set up with one of my favorite essential oils. Vision. And some more Good Trouble to make!

ps… you can find Reflections! and some of its dear friends available for adoption at FierceArtWithHeart. Fix yourself a cuppa and wander! (And, yes… there’s more to the quote!!!)

pps… stay tuned! Big edit bubbling for one of my most treasured paintings! She’s insisting! And I have to find a flat surface!!!

ppps… ready for some help with what’s bubbling in your world??? My #Medicine Basket is full of tools like guided imagery, hypnotherapy, NLP, Enneagram types, meta-cognitive drawing, huge HOPE and a whole lot of of Medicine Painting! Also, open-minded couples work and marriage prep!!! I have space for just a few new clients AND a very special offer! 6 sessions (90 min each) – Zoom or local – for the usual price of 4… scheduling at your discretion! NOW is the best time for Unsticking Stuck Stuff!!! The next right thing is clicking the link, below…

Just tell the story!

The first thing I learned, in the first preaching class I took, was to always have tissues in the pocket of my robe! (Fortunately, my first practice “congregation” was three good friends at my dining room table!)

That was followed by a lot of academic, traditional stuff to learn. Much of it terrifying. Like the day one of my professors commented that they, “didn’t know where you were going.” In a moment of temporary clarity/insanity, I responded that I didn’t want them to know where I was going. I wanted them to to with me. Gulp!!!

Eventually, though, I got the piece of the puzzle that was missing for me.

Walter Brueggemann thundering, “Just tell the story!”

Not footnotes and debates and endless explanations. Stories!

I was found!!!

Turns out that sometimes painting has a lot to do with preaching, and this has been one of those weeks. You see, I’ve been spending a lot of time back in the land of MSNBC, crying and remembering. And being grateful that we are intentionally able to learn!

The painting at the top is one of the layers of an on-going adventure known as #Abracadabra, which can be translated I create as I speak. (I love that so much!!!)

Frankly, I wasn’t thrilled with where it was at that point, but I was willing to stay on the road. Then, President Jimmy Carter walked into his future. And my painting volunteered to help with my processing by holding space for Jimmy’s own words…

Time out for a bit of history!

I didn’t vote for Jimmy. I was too busy wandering in the wilderness and trying to figure out who I would be and how I would get there when a whole lot of the way we’ve always done it wasn’t working even a little.

Life IS for learning, though, and I have! And so I cried at the replay of Jimmy’s birthday concert. And then the tears really began to fall as I watched Saturday’s Medal of Freedom Ceremony at the White House, live. President Biden and Dr. Biden being gracious hosts for a real cross section of people who had done amazing things in this world.

Eighteen medals awarded. Several of them posthumously.

Hugs and tears and gratitude abounding. Joy at hearing our President, with a huge grin on his face, claim “Kids rule in this house!”

Some of the honorees were, obviously, easier for me to relate to than others. Michael J. Fox. The real RFK. Bill Nye, The Science Guy. Fannie Lou Hamer. And, as Jose Andres, of World Central Kitchen, said… a seat for everyone at the table.

And, then, the ceremony concluded and MSNBC went on to the complications involved in next week’s sentencing of the next President of the United States to 34 felony counts of “illegally influencing the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor…” (AP).

I don’t know how we’re going to get through the next chapter in America’s story, but I do know it’s going to take a whole bunch of Fiercely Compassionate Rebel Grandmothers, and other wise folks, along the Red Thread!

ps… I suspect Good Trouble will be involved in whatever comes next! Do YOU have some Good Trouble you feel called to make??? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. Your next right thing! Just ask the Calendar Elves to hook you up! And, of course, you’ll want a cuppa, something to write on & with, and a bit of red thread if it’s handy. Now is the time!!!

pps… there are changes coming soon at FierceArtWithHeart! And some really good deals now!!! Daphne and the shop elves have insisted on continuing the very special deal on my new kids’ book, A Creation Poem… through Monday, Jan 20. Buy 2 /get a 3rd free… no special codes. Just put 3 copies in your basket and one will be free!

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