Those golden opportunities

Do you ever look back in amazement on the things you've done and place you've been? I sure do.

Tomorrow, we have a golden opportunity to study under Master Coach Linda Miller. A bunch of us have signed up and are anticipating new info, skills, and tools. Her "About Coaching" page includes this quote: "First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do" (Epictetus). I want to be a better coach, so I'm taking coaching lessons.

What do you want to be?

Past life: musician and music teacher

How can you find out who you want to be and seize the opportunity to do what you need to do?

1. Observe who you have been in the past. As a musician since childhood, I've always been interested in the arts. Is there something you've worked at before? Did you study a subject, play on a team, or excel in a certain area? How has that shaped who you are today?
2. Think about what interests you and fulfills you in the present. When we moved to England, I reinvented myself as an "artist" to take art lessons. No one knew my past and no one cared that I'd only painted a few times at community center lessons. I was welcomed as an artist because I identified myself that way. Cool! Easy, too. How do you present yourself to others at work, at home, and in the community? Is this how you want to be seen and known?



Printmaking course by April Richardson

3. Consider who you want to be in the future. I don't have much access to a piano now but my paints are nearby. When my "art energy" charges up, I pull them out to play around. I love the memories that each painting evokes in me and want to increase that skill. I'll have to pick up my brushes often to improve my paintings. What gives you joy? Do you want to become known as a kind and unselfish person? A skilled wordsmith? A patient helper? A follower of Jesus who truly reflects God's goodness? What do you need to do to make your aspirations a reality?

Read more:

*You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:3 NIV

*Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:1-4 NIV

*Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV

*... addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ... Ephesians 5:19-20 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Loving Father, you know us so well. You know when we rise and when we lie down. Help us to show our thankfulness to you by all we do and say, holy Father. Amen.

Hanging my soul on the wall

One of the great pleasures of moving is hanging art. Memories and soul comfort merge as our empty walls start to fill with color and line. Here are three favorites already up: more to come in future posts.

"Thistle" by T. V. Pigenot

We purchased "Thistle," a limited edition print, with two other couples for someone's wedding ... except one wife didn't like it. We were stuck with the $100 piece as newlyweds. We framed it and enjoy it to this day, though we would never have earmarked 1/8 of W's monthly salary for it. That's right; W made $800 at his first full-time job at a college. I made about half that teaching piano from home, which helped us survive.

"helleborus orientalus", 2004

My first-ever watercolor emerged under the expert eye of a British painter. She guided our night-school group through the selection, sketching, and painting of plants at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens. She taught us to buy the best quality brushes and paint we could "because you'll hardly fall in love with art using inferior materials." I still travel with my Winsor & Newton paintbox.

When we arrived in the UK, I figured no one knew who I was. I'd wanted to learn painting so I introduced myself an artist. Strangers accepted that at face value and I signed up for art courses. This first painting makes me smile with fond memories of intense, focused hours, playing with pencil, paint, and brushes on exquisite paper. The hellebore painting marked the first time I'd brought flowers to life in watercolor.

I studied with other top artists. (Who doesn't want "Cambridge professor" on their resume?) I learned willow weaving with Mary Butcher, the first non-royal female admitted into The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers (a guild established in 1569), bending blue and green and pink willow stems into shapes. I sketched tin cans and old shoes under an outstanding pencil artist. I even persevered through an eight-week figure drawing course that shocked, taught, and settled my heart. Humans are beautiful, though figure drawing was not about the math formulas on perspective that I'd expected when I signed up. (However, I'd promised God that whatever he brought my way, I would do. Opening that classroom door in all innocence, obedience was a stretch. I learned about compassion, human adaptability, and art, and was thankful when the course ended.)

I wasn't very good. But the pleasure remains alive every time I see what I made.

"Red Tree" by Casey Klahn

Red Tree by Casey Klahn inspires me. Casey, a Northwest University alum, found his voice in pastel, creating unexpected landscapes and ideas through unconventional color. I bought this little piece at his exhibition at the school: my favorite duty as chair of the university art committee was recruiting artists for art shows.

In what ways has visual art shaped your soul or expanded your appreciation of Creator God and his world?

Read more:

*I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! Psalm 34:1-3 ESV