Telling the Truth

connecting the dots of my life
January 25, 2016

fairy lanterns

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fairy lanterns

blush deep fuchsia

avert their eyes

***

I couldn’t decide whether these were miniature Chinese lanterns or fairy lanterns. The fairies won out. They take me back to California and my indoor hanging baskets of fuchsias. Magenta is still my favorite color.

Of all my indoor plants, they were the most spectacular. They’re delicate, magical and super easy to grow. I saw these at Longwood Gardens in the Conservatory, where I’d like to be right now. Though the snow outside my window is pretty spectacular.

Happy Monday!

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 24 January 2016
Photo credit: DAFraser, Longwood Gardens Conservatory

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January 24, 2016

a little lazy peace | From an Old Soul

robert burns

Last week George MacDonald was on top of the world! Surveying his life’s inheritance, at peace with his Maker, and entering into “liberty’s divine expanse.” Now the tone shifts abruptly. Things don’t seem as rosy as they were yesterday. My comments follow.

August 2

It will be so—ah, so it is not now!
Who seeks thee for a little lazy peace,
Then, like a man all weary of the plough,
That leaves it standing in the furrow’s crease,
Turns from thy presence for a foolish while,
Till comes again the rasp of unrest’s file,
From liberty is distant many a mile.

George MacDonald, Diary of an Old Soul
Augsburg Fortress 1994

Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments
January 23, 2016

Secrets

IMG_4960

Secrets of my body
pause, linger, bleed slow
through veins
barely alive, gasping—
for Air.

The cost of keeping family and personal secrets Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments
January 22, 2016

Going to Seminary | Photos

1974 Feb Den chaos Scott and Sherry

Time for a bit of end-of-the-week fun! Our son and daughter are in the den of our Altadena home. Don’t miss the double door knobs. One worked and one didn’t; it was that way when we moved in.

It looks like Son is deep in thought. I don’t know what that red thing is in front of his mouth. I think he has Read the rest of this entry »

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January 21, 2016

Storm Warnings and PTSD

Empty_supermarket_shelves_before_Hurricane_Sandy,_Montgomery,_NY

sky darkens
clouds thicken
squirrels panic
birds gorge
breath freezes
cold bites
wind gusts
grocery shelves empty

Storm warnings. Do you know the signs of what’s coming when the storm is called PTSD? I’m surrounded by people living with PTSD every day. Each of us is affected by PTSD even though we may not personally have this disorder.

I’ve never been in the military or hunted down and terrorized in open warfare. Yet I live with PTSD connected to early childhood and teenage trauma at home. It began erupting Read the rest of this entry »

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January 20, 2016

Going to Seminary | Part 12

Wedding Pic edited, FRASER_S_0011

I’m looking at a 58-page single-spaced paper completed in summer 1974. Authors: D and Elouise. Title: A Biblical View of Women.

Immediate thoughts:

  • I can’t believe we did this!
  • I’m so glad we did this!
  • I will never do anything like this again—not for any amount of money!

Read the rest of this entry »

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January 19, 2016

The Distance

Universe and Tree, twitter.com

 

The Distance between Lonely
and Alone is like the Chasm
between Perpetual Ache
and Irreversible Death

For one, Sweet Balm—
for the other, Being Embalmed Read the rest of this entry »

8 Comments
January 19, 2016

One Day and One Dream Later

garden_adventure_of_the_little_puppy_photos_pictures_puppy_MIL56026

Sunday evening I agonized over whether to post Presence on Monday morning. Was it long enough?  Good enough? Worth anyone taking time to read? Read the rest of this entry »

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January 18, 2016

Presence

P1110883

eyes smile
reach out
connect

***

She was about 10 or 11 years old,
quiet and a bit hesitant.
Though we’d never met, we shared a past.
Not together, but separately.

I’d just told the story about my childhood
to a group of adults and children.
She cried during part of it,
leaned  over and said something to her mother. Read the rest of this entry »

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January 17, 2016

my life’s inheritance | From an Old Soul

Sunrise, dawn-kinnoull-hill-river-tay-scotland-5051757749

~~~~~Dawn sunrise from Kinnoull Hill above the River Tay, Scotland

I can’t help it! Abandoning George MacDonald is not a possibility. So today we’re embarking on his August sonnets. He’s still talking with his Lord, though from a slightly different perspective. As before, his conversations with God include striking images, personal struggle, Read the rest of this entry »

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