Category: Offering

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My knees had an idea!

Posted on by sue boardman

Ali Velshi, one of my favorite MS NOW buddies, is telling stories on TV. Stories, we might say, of how we got to this day, known as NO KINGS DAY #3.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes…

“IN AMERICA, TRUE POWER RESTS IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE!”

My inner editor, who lives inside a body with challenges like sore hands and cranky knees, might make one little change, though:

“IN AMERICA, TRUE POWER RESTS IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE!”

And, realistically, in their WORDS!

I began my personal march with organic ginger tea and one of my favorite red pens. Yep… Morning Pages! The photo, above, is a peek. And, yes, I am definitely in Grammy Tales® mode!

As I scribbled, the magic began to happen. This idea connecting with that thought. Book characters carrying signs. (Okay… in my imagination!) What would Glinda and Lily Rose and Madam Margaret (aka, my 8th grade English teacher!) have to say in this moment?

Then, an important piece of the puzzle appeared! You see, I needed a bad guy character. The kind who thinks everybody needs to think what he tells them to think. (You hear me!) Not so much a specific person, as an archetype. Familiar, from age-old stories, way before cable news. Research was involved!

Turns out the dusty answer was lurking in long-ago memories of Baby Greek School! Perhaps, you’ve already guessed…

Kratos!!!

…this character embodies the very essence of the name – an unstoppable force driven by both vengeance and the pursuit of strength.

And, yes… they live on. That’s where we come in!

People literally dancing in the streets. A familiar woman who’s probably either a congressional rep or a newscaster, clad in a sweatshirt reading And Still I Vote!

Bill Nye the Science Guy claiming emphatically, It is time to act!

It’s time to consciously re-claim our power from the Kratos of our time. And, yes… there’s a whole lot more to come!

ps… my Cathar forebears are quite probably dancing in the streets, somewhere in the great beyond!

pps… claiming our own magic – and setting it free – can be really hard. Scary, too. It helps to have a friend along for the journey and that could be me! We’ll work together to name, claim, and create your version of the place where you feel called. (Actual marching is totally optional!) If you’re curious – even scared & curious – just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 min. My gift. We’ll explore next right options over a cuppa, a bit of Red Thread, and a place to scribble.

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The Void!

Posted on by sue boardman

Buckle up, dear heart, for the real deal! #Apothecary goes on… And, as is often the case, it feels scary-timely!

First, you should know that I don’t always follow the directions. In this case, the step included covering everything already on the canvas with black paint, creating the void!

Frankly, the void feels pretty close, in this world, already! I’m grateful, though, that there are other stories in my head, too. Including one I learned in #RedMadonna, way back at the beginning of this year, about the earliest known artists, making marks.

Yep… thumb prints. Red clay, perhaps. Or blood. Hunting? Birthing? Perhaps we’ll never know for sure, but – in my tiny corner of the world – I’m going with birthing!

Right there in the midst of the the void!

My mark. My birthing.

Not the original one, of course… but NOW! My becoming. My choosing. My beginning what’s next. Now.

And, then, I woke up this morning with a whole lot of book happening inside me! Cards, too. Different iterations of me, with learning to share.

And I wonder if, maybe – just maybe, humans have always felt like this! If we were created to feel like this… to keep doing new things, even when it’s terrifying!

So, I did what I often do. Research! I looked up my name. Susan. (Just type girl’s name ________ into your favorite toy.) What I discovered is that this name I have – supposedly because both my parents liked it – calls forth both Rose and Lily.

And, that, dear heart, brings up a whole lot of other stories! Some of which will play big roles in that book borning inside me.

First, though, I’m going to need to practice claiming me! So… that red thumb print in the middle of the void. And a whole lot of questions!!!

ps… Curious about YOUR magic??? Glinda & I would love to help! Just click here and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up up with 45 min. My gift. The time to step through the door is now! Fix a cuppa, grab your journal, and bring a dream!

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The stories we carry…

Posted on by sue boardman

Oh, dear friend… the memories are insistent this day!

Tuesday, August 7, 1990. The beginning of the first Gulf War.

And the need, in my personal, very new pastor universe, for something to put in the church bulletin for Sunday. Yet another thing they didn’t cover in Seminary! Or, maybe they did, and I just didn’t have a filter for it yet! Let’s call it a huge lesson in CONTEXT!

I don’t remember much of what I actually said. Probably something somewhat related to whatever the Lectionary passages were for that day. Here’s the part I pray that I will never forget…

It was time for the benediction, at the close of the service. The usual choices seemed out of place. I scrambled, deep inside, to find my voice and all the truth I knew:

May God have mercy on us all.

I’m going with that now, too. Along with some other voices in my soul, in this moment of diverse spiritual holy-days…

One of my name unknown Jewish Grandmothers, from 2,050-ish years ago, is whispering Sabbath prayers:

Blessed is the Lord, Our God, King of the Universe…

My Beguine Grammies, Begga and Itta, and all the Aunties, including the ones from Salem, are praying and working for the person-hood and rights of women and girls.

My Cathar Grammies are whispering fairy tales to their Littles, passing along precious stories of Hope in the midst of persecution and terror.

And there’s another story I’ve learned… my Intentional Creativity® ancestors have long said I Matter. You Matter. We Matter.

In January of 2025, I dreamed the next line…

Mattering Matters.

For me, and I think I can say for us, the kind of mattering we’re talking about is inspired by the Great Mother. It’s not about gold-plated bathrooms and feeling ludicrously cool on the world stage.

Instead, it’s way more about mercy. The Hebrew word suggests a mother’s instinctive, womb-like compassion for her children.

Let’s matter like that! In fact, if you’d like some help along that road I’m ready, with tools and em-power-ed questions and deep faith that YOUR journey matters, now! Curious? Let’s talk. 45 min. My gift. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook us up!

For now, though, Glinda, my #wip, is calling for more prayer dots and I’m taking tomorrow off! Mattering also involves rest!

ps… Destiny Joan wants you to know that now would be a great time to sign up for this mailing list. Just go back to the bouncy thingy at the beginning and the elves will be delighted make it so. (Changes are afoot!)

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Me, taking my own advice!

Posted on by sue boardman

Nope! That’s not me. It’s a peek at under-layer number two of my work-in-progress #alchemist painting, Glinda. Turns out, she’s fussy.

She can also be bossy. And I am choosing to pay attention! Around here, that often means fishing in the Medicine Basket for a timely bit of magic.

My sore, cranky right wrist was thrilled when I pulled the whole dominant/non-dominant question and answer magic out of the basket! (Hang with me…) Basically, that means an inquiry, written with my dominant hand – the sore one! – some waiting and, eventually, a received response, written with my non-dominant hand, which is way less sore.

This is an adventure I love for more than pain management. It’s a brilliant neurological strategy for hearing things that weren’t conscious before. And, yes… it utterly wonders the I’ve been in there surgical nurse who still lives inside me!

And, I just had a new ah-hah, literally as I’m typing this!

What if… maybe, just maybe… we’re here on this planet, now, to keep learning new things that help us stay on the road? Things that could also help others stay on the road???

And, what if this ah-hah is the big sign-post on my sabbatical journey??? The meta-mod version of my sense of calling…

My old friend, Frederick Buechner, is happy dancing in the great beyond. He’s the one who first taught me that the sudden flash of tears we get is the surest sign of truth we have.

Here’s the thing, though…

I believe that, after the gift of a sudden flash of tears, we are called to do something with that new truth!

One step at a time. (Okay, maybe 2 or 3!) And that means a map!

Now, here’s a thing you may not know about me…

I’ve never been very good with directions. Or maps. The only reason I did well in middle school geography was because I was good at staying in the lines when we had to color maps!

Turns out, I needed to make my own map! Specifically, my MAGIC MESSAGE MAP®!!!

And, it’s working!!! Working so well, in fact, that I’d love to help you make your own MAGIC MESSAGE MAP® from where you are to where you feel called to be! (Glinda will be delighted to help, too, even before she’s fully present on the canvas!)

One of the steps along the road might just be laying down things that aren’t helping. I’m about to do just that. I’m expanding my notion of Sabbatical to include a vacation from Facebook. In the next week or so, I’ll be closing down my pages for a while. That’s why NOW would be a really good time for you to sign up for my email list, if you’re not already there, so that you don’t miss out on anything! (That’s what the pop-up thingy is for on the main page!)

ps… And, then, there’s the step after that! If you’re feeling the call to bringing your kind of magic into the world, let’s talk! You, me, and Glinda – even in the midst of the chaos! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. Our gift. It’s the next right thing!

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Choices!

Posted on by sue boardman

So, I kind of broke my own rule. Too much news!!! Too much, as in way more than my nervous system finds helpful. And too much of that on Facebook, which is a whole other ball of wax!

As much as I wish I could, I can’t change all the sad, tragic, infuriating, ludicrous stuff at once. And even really, really dark chocolate only helps so much. (Well, maybe less than it seems!)

Blessedly, I got tired enough to sleep!

Then, it happened. A visit from Glinda – my #Alchemist painting – in my dreams. And she was in a mood to spread some magic! You see, we’re making progress on our book, she and I, enough that she’s even made an appearance, below!

I’ve been working on beginning steps like the table of contents and cover art. She, on the other hand, is in full-on adventure mode. In this case, the adventure called choice!

Choice, as in turning off the news and picking up a paintbrush. Joan Baez is, of course, part of the team!

Also choice, as in what we’re trying to accomplish. You know – big picture!

And choice, as in being gentle with my exceedingly cranky right wrist.

And choosing – again – to walk the talk from Pope Leo XIV, during this Lenten season:

… let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media, and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Side bar: I just got off the phone with the GrandTeen who’s turning sixteen. Exactly the reminder I needed for why all our choices, in this moment, matter so much! They’re all counting on us, and my biggest choice is to stay all-in, doing whatever I can to follow in the footsteps of Our Lady of Fierce Compassion in these days.

ps… If you’re feeling the call to bringing your kind of magic into the world, let’s talk! You, me, and Glinda – even in the midst of the chaos! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. Our gift. It’s the next right thing!

pps… I’ve you haven’t yet, now would be a really good time to get the annoying pop-up thingy to add you to this email list! (More choices are on the way in my world!)

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So! Fix a cuppa & hang with me, please…

Posted on by sue boardman

Today, in the faith tradition where I hang out, is known as Ash Wednesday. The beginning of the season of Lent, on the way to the wonders of Easter.

What I grew up knowing about Lent was mainly what I learned as a child in a very Catholic neighborhood where, according to my friends, it was a time of even more things you’d go to hell for, if you did them.

Fast forward, please, to last night and my dream of my first Lenten journey in the first church I served, in a tiny town in Tennessee. It turned out there were lots of things we hadn’t covered in seminary!

Well, maybe I missed a few as a single mom trying really, really hard not to fail Hebrew!

Anyway… there I was, in 1991. Cold, grey weather. Planning for Lent. My congregation had never had a service on Ash Wednesday before but the Worship Committee (all 3 of us!) were cautiously curious, so the planning began.

The pianist was delighted. The nursery helper was thrilled, too. Message… no problem! Logistics, on the other hand, became a challenge. My first question was where to get ashes for the service.

Nobody knew. I called Cokesbury, the store for all things church-y. They didn’t carry them. Turns out, tradition includes drying palm fronds from Palm Sunday the year before, saving them all year, and burning them for ashes the next year. Not so much an option!

Next phone call to the pastor in the big church up the road. As it happened, they hadn’t done that either, but he graciously offered me ashes from his fireplace and I accepted with relief.

In case you’re curious, we all survived our new liturgical adventures!

This year, I have a different plan. A very personal one, inspired by a new teacher, in the context of this very odd moment where we find ourselves… Hear the words of Pope Leo XIV:

I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves.

Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media, and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Now, I understand that, by tradition, the Pope is infallible so, rather than presuming to edit his wisdom, I’m going to go with one of my favorite grammatical strategies and add – you guessed it – a postscript!

ps… let us strive to do this in all our communities and interactions. I know I won’t get it perfect. I’m pretty sure perfect isn’t the point. Perhaps, awareness and choice are the point! In any event, with huge thanks, I’m going to practice!

pps… lately I’ve been thinking about all the things we carry that feel unexpressed. And, I have some new magic for changing that. If this speaks to you, let’s talk! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift!