I am, indeed, glad I didn’t need a sermon for today!

National holidays are really hard for preachers. (Well, the ones I hang out with.)

Recent news surely doesn’t make things any easier.

I did have an inspiration, though, that helped me cope.

As part of the preparation for my rapidly approaching trip to France, Kathleen McGowan – the leader of the band – suggested that we make a list of our perceived blessings in the context of this moment.

Frankly, it was a helpful shift from swearing at the news!

Here are some things from my list…

• Three dissenting SCOTUS justices.
• Feelings… even anger!
• Questions… which I like a whole lot more than answers!
• My Intentional Creativity® journey… especially, in this moment, the Legend 2023 painting who is teaching me so deeply, even when I haven’t yet picked up a brush. And discovering images as a way to express myself!
• Family… those I was raised with, the blessing of those who come after me, those on my Red Thread, and ancestors waiting to share roots and my place in the story.
• Dreams.
• Truth to paint.
• Stories to tell.
• Learning new things.
• Concrete Passion and Very Large Hope… ie. the Legendary Husband
• Claiming the Freedom to be who I was created to be! (Even now…) And the courage to preach that, with every fiber of my being… to people with ears to hear.

Well, you get the drift!

Then, believer in curiosity that I am, I read the next suggestion from Kathleen.

Basically, she suggested taking the list and turning it into a thank you note to the Creator of our best, deepest, growing understanding.

Mine got a little mushy. Here are a few lines at the end…

…Thank you for helping me see that I can edit my filters and choose my Map of Reality! Walk with me, please, and guide my travels and learnings on this path to France. May I find not only history, but a vision for my future. Thank you for being You and loving me. In partnership with the Divine, I create,

Oh! There’s another thing I’m thankful for! The witness of Joan Baez. She, too, reminds me of hope in the midst of the news.

I had to hunt a bit to find the video I needed in this moment. It’s a particular performance of a song she sings a lot. And there’s a punchline at the very end that I lean on when it’s hard for me to pray honestly.

Possibly the best 2 minutes and 12 seconds of your day!

May we all go in Peace!

ps… Kathleen McGowan’s book is The Source of MIRACLES… 7 Steps to Transforming your Life Through THE LORD’S PRAYER

pps… so, I’m going to be wearing my perfect for travel leggings all over France. And I’m extending the special offer, just for you! Now, through July 22nd, you can save on 2 pair… any design, any size! Check out FierceArtWithHeart! Daphne says to add the special code: BUY 2 – SAVE $8

Okay… this story could be a bit embarrassing, but it wants telling, nonetheless!

Monday was a mixed metaphor sort of day.

Physical therapy in the morning. Let’s just go with LOTS of needles, and an empowering bit of learning.

Then, because I was tired when I got home, I overdosed on news. Waaaaayyyy… too much news! Which, if we’re being honest, didn’t help much with the tired part.

It probably didn’t help much with the tension part, either. (I’ll spare you the rant… fill free to fill it in your way!)

Laundry. List making. The big things to do bit.

The ah-hah’s started after dinner… and Jeopardy!

Let me say, first, that I’ve about had it with the writers’ strike. Oh, I’m totally sympathetic. And fed up with summer in the midst of a strike TV. Not to mention AI. And so, I went wandering. And wound up in an unusual place.

Princess Diaries, to be exact. Go ahead and laugh. I can take it.

You see, about 20 minutes in to the first movie, the FILTERS magic kicked in!

Probably because I’ve been learning new things! And they seem to be letting in new info.

Before too long, I’m heading to France. It turns out I have a lot of ancestors from the area we’ll be visiting. And I’ve been learning their stories, along with lots of stories from the way-back days.

Some of those stories made me hear the whole Princess Diaries saga about arranged marriages and voice and choice with new ears.

Then, when the stories combined themselves with some recent conversations about the Divine Feminine and Masculine, the FILTERS really lit up. Not to mention the whole Truth Oil/Voice chakra adventure!

Suddenly, Garry Marshall’s movies went from a good way to avoid the news to an enormous doorway into history. Mine. And the world’s.

My trip to France is already different. As is my trip to hug my girls. But, for now, there’s more packing to do.

I’d love to know what you’d notice if you watched Princess Diaries at this moment in your journey! (Disney Plus, in my part of the world.)

Here’s a bit more of what I’m discovering at the end of my paintbrush…

ps… rumor has it there’s a new Princess Diaries movie in the planning stage!

pps… so, I didn’t grow up to be a Queen. I did grow up with a medicine basket full of ways to help folks like you get to the place that needs YOUR gifts and wisdom! If you’d like to get clearer on the path to the place where your greatest joy and the world’s deep need are calling, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. And, an important filter to take home!

Actual medicine kinds of things, like more physical therapy… and more dry needles! And hunting up a new eye doc who – you know – takes our insurance! And a bit of a tiff with the pharmacy over a couple of epi-pens. (Still sorting that one, but I am determined!)

Then a whole lot of the more metaphorical kind of medicine.

In order to follow along, you need to know two things.

We have a couple of trips coming up, soon-ish!

And, I have an editing project that came with one of those scary things called deadlines!

So, spells of getting ready sorts of things. Laundry. Hunting for stuff I haven’t needed in quite a while. Asking my feet and knees which pairs of shoes and hiking boots they’re willing to cope with.

And, when I’ve done all of that I can do, the magic chair and actual paper – pages and pages and pages of paper – and red ink. Old fashioned, perhaps, but it works! And my laptop is acting cranky. (Prayers gratefully accepted!)

Fortunately some of the folks who’ve been my imaginary friends since the long gone days of summer camp volunteered to keep me company. I’ve been singing along! (There’s only so much news I can manage!)

Joan Baez, of course. Simon & Garfunkel. Carole King. James Taylor. And, Leonard Cohen, even though I haven’t know him as long!

Somewhere along the line, it was Peter, Paul, & Mary’s turn.

If I Had a Hammer!

And, yes, I really do remember it from summer camp. It was part of my job to know all the words to all the songs! (If you’re not familiar, keep reading!)

And through it all, I was thinking about my dad. And then I noticed that I was chair drumming, as Harry used to do.

Context had surely entered my adventure! Fathers Day. Juneteenth. The voices of all the women whose words I’m witnessing. The news.

My drumming, though was different.

Lacking wooden arms on my magic chair, my lap desk volunteered. Just one hand, instead of the two Harry preferred. (The other one was fiddling with my favorite pen as I read on.)

Perhaps it was the particular chapter I was reading at the time… wise words from my dear friend Betz McKeown. What I noticed was that – even though I was doing many things differently than the ways they lived in my memory – I was still doing what I needed. I was being me!

Which feels like a whole body reminder that we don’t have to imitate others to belong. We can add our own selves. Our own voices!

If I had a song, I’d sing it in the morning

I’d sing it in the evening

All over this world

I’d sing out danger

I’d sing out warning

I’d sing out the love between my brothers and my sisters

A-all over this land…

-Pete Seeger & Lee Hayes

Here’s the question, though…

What song will you sing?

In your way? In this world, now?

Really!!!

Leave me a comment, below. Or email me. suesvoice@gmail.com

The future is counting on us!!!

ps… the medicine basket? It’s not just a metaphor! Mine is full of lots of tools to help you get from here to there. To sing your song. (Well, maybe not literal singing… but the courage to sing, yes!) The calendar elves only have a few spaces at the moment and I’d love to see your name in one of them. 45 min. My gift. Let’s take the next step!

pps… there are LOTS of liberating leggings at FierceArtWithHeart! And the special offer is still going on! Just check out using the magic code BUY 2 – SAVE $8 when you put two pair in your basket. Any size. Any design. They’re all awesome!

It’s luggage & shoes & ancestors… oh, my! (Also, needles!)

And, yes… it’s Work in Progress Wednesday in my world!

I have two trips coming up. One to hug my kids!!! (And practice the logistics for the other trip.)

The other… to the land and history of my deep way-back lineage.

I’m really excited! And more than a bit anxious. You see, it’s also pain flare time and that makes everything harder.

My physical therapy team is on it! There’s this mysterious adventure called dry needling which looks rather like acupuncture, with a different theory behind it. It’s not much fun. And it helps.

So, extra space in the calendar for needles and subsequent feet-up time.

Then there’s the whole packing thing! Like, how I will physically manage what I actually need, especially on the “big” trip.

You’ve met Sarah, the rolling walker thing.

She’s excited!!! And I’m grateful. Also a little concerned about how she’s going to get from here to there with me. Hence, practice! (I am totally a muscle memory kind of learner!)

My knees and feet are insisting on extra help so there’s a stack of hinged and stretchy and squishy things at the ready.

My inner artist is unamused by my current plan to limit her packing to camera, sketch book, and artsy black markers. Only. We’ll see how that goes!

Then, there are the books! The ones related to the ancestors. To the many, many things that they didn’t cover in nursing school or seminary. To the things which are appearing in my paintings. And, no, e-books don’t count for this adventure! (Well, not for me…)

If you get right down to it, this is all just an adventure in living intentionally!

From the why? behind the packing list to the how? which has me hanging with the physical therapists… it’s me being me. On purpose!

Which is exactly what I want to model for my girls!!!

So, necklace with recently collected Saint medals, check!

Epi-pens and inhaler, check!

Laptop… and adapters and … well, duh! (There’s ALWAYS writing to do!)

Even eco-friendly laundry sheets!

And, in the land of Intentional Creativity® … space in my whole being for what I will claim and bring with me to my easel. Legend and Origins are about to begin!

ps… the photo at the top is a very early sketch of my first Legend painting! (@2017/18) I love Legend! Can’t wait to see what this 6th journey brings! Curious???  https://livingyourlegend.com/

pps… the fun just keeps growing in Legging Land! And the special offer has been extended! Buy 2 pairs – any size range! – and save $8.00! There are kids sizes, now, too! (Daphne – who has shorter legs than most of us – is hopeful!!!) All at FierceArtWithHeart! You’ll need the magic code… BUY 2 – SAVE $8

Bernie Sanders was running for President when the first version of this poem appeared in my heart. I had volunteered to help at a rally, held on the campus of Morehouse College, in Atlanta.

Fast forward to this Friday night when Grandmother Moon whispered some updates in my ear. I’ll bet you can guess why! (Sometimes her voice sounds oddly like Bernie’s!)

Grandmothers’ Lament

All over the world, children are crying.

Children dodging bombs in Ukraine.

Children whose homes burned in Canada.

Children shamed and blamed and outcast in America.

All over the world, children are crying.

Children robbed of their families by gun violence.

Children robbed of their health by toxins everywhere.

Children robbed of their identities by false theocracy.

All over the world, children are crying.

How do we shut out their cries?

How do we not act?

Are we heartless?

All over the world, children are crying.

We who do care feel hopeless in many ways.

Rendered voiceless by the power of vested self-interest.

The power of greed.

All over the world, children are crying.

Hungry children.

Homeless children.

Abused, molested, victimized children.

All over the world, children are crying.

It is not our not caring that renders us helpless.

At least not mostly.

And yet we shout, silently, in the face of those who worship power.

All over the world, children are crying.

While the mighty grow rich waging war.

While the mighty grow rich selling influence.

While the mighty grow rich killing the Earth.

All over the world, children are crying.

Let us take our fingers out of our ears.

Let us open our eyes in the light of day.

Let us shout until we cannot be ignored.

All over the world, children are crying.

Let us dare to hear.

Let us dare to hope. Let us dare to act.

Amen. Amen. Selah.

slb 2023

Ironically, perhaps, I was honored to lead a circle Saturday afternoon for women on the journey known as Rosa Mystica. We have spent the last month exploring the holy oil of Compassion.

Interesting timing, given the news! And power-full work!

I’ve gone through a whole bunch of Compassion Oil! And, I’ve come to a new state of being…

Fiercely Intentional Compassion!

I’m not quite sure what that will look like over time. I do know it feels true.

And that’s a start!

So is this… happening on my easel. And my hands. And the bottoms of my feet!

I have 2 granddaughters trying very hard to grow up in this world!

ps… longing for some new tools for your medicine basket? For a Mystic Medicine Woman to help you set aside limiting beliefs on your journey to the place where Frederick Buechner said your great longing and the world’s deep need meet? Let’s talk! My calendar’s a bit crazy at the moment but the elves will hook you up with 45 minutes, my gift, to contemplate making good trouble! Red thread, paper & markers, and a cuppa will be handy!

pps… it’s art-leggings time! Lots of variety… and Pride leggings now available in 5 size ranges! Use code BUY 2 – SAVE $8 for a discount when you choose 2 pairs! There’s FierceArtWithHeart for you and those you love!

(And, yes, Grammy has been watching the news, again!)

I started my day trying really hard not to imagine that one of my personal kids was shot in the street after a graduation ceremony, like the young man in Richmond, Virginia last night. Along with his stepfather.

Which brought back the recent school shootings near Nashville, Tennessee.

And the shootings in Atlanta.

And… well, you get the idea.

These stories are in the top of the box labeled utterly avoidable tragedy in my heart because they all happened in places that exist in my perceived neighborhood.

There was, of course, more news. Pope Francis was having surgery, which seems to have gone well.

Then there was the avalanche of politics. And, yes, I have definite opinions on most of that!

One of those opinions is about the fact that the root of the word politics comes from the Greek for of the people. A notion many folks seem to have lost track of these days!

I drank tea and swore at the tv for a while.

I sketched out a new piece of the making it work better puzzle we’re sorting at our house.

I waded through the swamp of my mailbox, wrote the necessary responses, and cheered on a couple actually helpful local folks.

Then, my magic 15 minutes in a virtual room with a whole gaggle of good people working on things that are important.

All the while, the news was still rumbling around in my head. And my heart.

Clearly, it was time to fish in my Medicine Basket for a new red thread!

And a reminder of the ancient legend that we are all connected, even before we’re born, to the people who will matter in our lives.

When I’m by myself, I always start with all the names that come to my awareness, volunteering to help.

And, yes, my perceived neighborhood gets bigger, every time!

I’m not at all sure how the Pope would feel if he knew he was on my Red Thread, today, but even while he was under general anesthesia, he was reminding me of some more folks on my thread who taught us that the whole world is our neighborhood.

And, yes, the world’s gotten a whole lot bigger than it used to seem.

But, let’s play what if???

What if we lived as if the whole world was our ‘hood? Not in the way the MAGA crowd plays that game, but in the way we made space for it Tuesday afternoon.

You see, it was Mattering Matters time!

A small circle of bright, concerned, artsy-type women with red thread and hope, gathered from Atlanta and North Carolina to the San Francisco Bay area to Nova Scotia, CA.

Part of our conversation had to do with a recent question which formed inside me:

How do we feel FOR other people and not lose the ability to be grateful for what IS good and working in our lives???

The answers are probably going to take a bit more pondering.

For now, though, red thread is a start.

The words we used to close our circle help, too…

I matter. You matter. We matter. Mattering Matters.

You, by the way, matter, too! And Mattering Matters! I’d love to know what lights come on in your head when you make space for this notion! Leave a comment, below, or email me… suesvoice@gmail.com

For now, there’s another meeting about to start and – knowing this crowd – there’s going to be some mattering going on!

ps… the painting is my vision of a whole bunch of women in a red thread circle plotting more ways to matter!

pps… have some mattering ideas? Need some help figuring out how to breathe life into them? I’ve got lots of tools in my medicine basket that can help! Let’s talk. 45 min. My gift. The calendar elves will hook you up!