Sabbath Reflection: Trinity Sunday

I belong to an Anglican church in Washington DC. Each week the scriptures read and preached on follow the Revised Common Lectionary. My Sabbath Reflection on a Sunday will be the collect or prayer for the day, the list of lectionary readings and an extract from the scriptures that stood out to me that week.

I pray you hear God's invitation to you to come sit with Him a while.

The Collect for today:
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 The lectionary readings appointed for today:

Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 29
Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17

Romans 8: 12-17

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Saturday Digest

Saturday's blogs share some highlights of the week.

A) Ever had a crisis about your purpose in life? Ever wondered if your life was 'enough'?
David Brooks, NY Times : The Small, Happy Life

B) It's been a week when a lot of prayers were said. Grab your hairbrush and sing it loud:
Bon Jovi: Livin' on a Prayer

C) Leftover paint? Updating on a budget - some great ideas you could do in a day:
The Budget Decorator:10 things to do with a quart of paint

D) Favorite photo of the week by me:
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree - Miss O with handbag on arm hunting for treasure.

Happy Saturday friends! Enjoy your home sweet home!

Inspiration: Friendship

“Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that I was the only one"”

― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

I'm honored to have friendships locally and globally that were birthed in this way. I have people with whom I have shared sorrows and struggles, fears and failures, joy and jubilation. And deep bonds of love have grown out of that honesty.

Created to live in community, us humanoids have such capacity for careless generosity. It's only when we give of ourselves do we become richer in friendship. As we tell our stories our shame and disappointments lose some of their sting and hold as we hear others say, "What! You too? I thought that I was the only one." It's there that we find a new way to be at home with the world and ourselves.

 

It takes a village to raise a child

We have a gathering in church called Tots Together. One morning each month we meet in someone's home or a public space and hang out. It's mostly stay at home mums and dads and their little ones. Occasionally a parent who works outside the home gets to come and play too.

Apart from the occasional more structured family service for Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter, our times together revolve around the parents sharing stories of life in the trenches with little ones. We get to empathize with each other, celebrate the steps forward, mourn the frailties of our kids and our parenting skills, and share tips and tricks that have worked for us at least once. Meanwhile the kids get to be with their friends - learning life's great challenging lessons about fairness, sharing, possession and forgiveness.

We met this week in a play park across the street from our house. It was a balmy 88 by the time the kids had played and the picnic beckoned. Spread out over three large rugs we shared a Eucharistic meal of hummus and cucumber sandwiches, watermelon and grapefruit, frozen grapes and veggie sticks. The amazing thing was that each child refused to eat the lunch their parent had brought. Rather they all ate other kids picnics. There was no struggling or debating, each child fed until content, each one's needs fully met by the feast provided by another family. It was beautiful.

Miss O needs more than the Beloved and I to grow into the girl and woman she is created to be. She needs the love of her grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, her god parents, her special aunties and uncles. She need to see and know the love of the families with one and multiple kids; the adoptive families and families with kids from their bodies. And, in time, she will need to meet her birth family again. It really does take a village to raise a child. I don't have everything she needs, I don't know everything she needs to learn, I can't be a reflection of all the wonderful facets of humanity that Miss O deserves to see.

The door to our home is always open so that our family can be poor in spirit but rich in laughter, it can feel pain but know purposeful hope, can experience death but live fully each bounteous breath we are granted.

Top Tip: Mosquito Season

"If you think you're too small to make a difference...try sleeping with a mosquito in the room" Dalai Lama

The Mosquitoes are back. While the weather in Virginia is great a lot of the time, once the temperatures rise the reality of this area's swampy history comes back to bite us. I'd love to be one of those lucky people who are left well alone by these bloodsucking females but alas my Northern Irish flesh is too sweet to resist and they have already grabbed their first feast of the season.

National Geographic gives a great description of the annoying and deadly threat of mosquitoes. With such lines as "They have an uncanny ability to sense our murderous intentions, taking flight and disappearing milliseconds before a fatal swat," the article captures the human/mosquito standoff beautifully.

In an attempt to ward off the mossies I planted a Citronella Scented Geranium in a raised pot next to our adirondacks. It smells fab but sadly hasn't worked. So I tried a Good Housekeeping Top Tip on my multiple bites and yo ho! I sit, bitten but not itching! It's a miracle!

Not long after being bitten I rubbed solid deodorant that contains aluminum on the bites and, as Good Housekeeping promised, the relief was practically instantaneous. The bites have all but disappeared too and I wasn't woken in the wee hours by mad itching. Result.

I love easy solutions that utilize stuff I already have at home!

Kitchen Storage

As a visual learner Pinterest is a big chunk of heaven on earth for me. All those lovely images inviting me to have a designer (on a budget), organized and streamlined home. With a gourmet meal served morning, noon and night, all the while I shall look polished and on-trend while my overachieving toddler sits quietly creating art work worthy of a space in the Tate Modern. We shall then travel lightly to far off lands, staying in fabulous hotels with other beautiful people doing beautiful things. Ahhhh .... the many promises of Pinterest.

I have 56 boards with 3,275 pins. What the heck? That's a lot of stuff to make, buy, try, eat, or covet. There are boards of recipes - indulgent ones with lots of butter and chocolate, and restrained ones on gluten free, paleo, low FODMAP. There are cleaning, storage, decorating and paint color tips; boards about doors and every room in a house. Travel, bucket-list, B&B and cafe dreams all get a board; as do hair-dos, new styles, gift ideas, holiday decor, teaching and ministry. I have secret boards too about ... well, that would defeat the purpose now wouldn't it! It appears I'm a bit of a Pinterest addict. I just need to be careful that I don't exchange the ideals of Pinterest for contentedness with the blessings I have in my 'real' life! 

The kitchen in our current rental is small and I turned to Pinterest for storage ideas. Below are some solutions that have worked really well for our busy family life.

 With limited counter top space Ikea's hanging rails are great. I found the cute tin buckets in Target's $1 aisle - I change them out depending on the season, so I keep an eye out for pretty containers year round.

Having the salt and pepper handy for cooking has definitely reminded me to taste, taste and taste again to check the seasoning when cooking. I've been trying to perfect a low FODMAP tomato sauce for bolognese and herbs and salt and pepper have become my close allies. I'll share that recipe later this week!

Where to put your chopping boards in a small kitchen is always a challenge - they're always falling over if they're propped up and laying them flat is so inaccessible and takes up too much space. I saw this idea below on Pinterest - a wall mounted magazine rack for your boards of all shapes and sizes. It's fantastic! You can grab the exact board you want very easily.

Ikea's magnetic knife holder and another rail keep regularly used utensils at hand. Such a time saver! The little Wallies blackboards are central command post in our house - the menu for the week appears on the top sheet and Miss O's medicine dosages and all the stuff we buy in Costco are on the bottom. The goal - to think about something once. We decide the week's menu on Sunday; either of us can dose Miss O if she's unwell; passing Costco, is there anything we need? I've found getting organized helps remove some practical stresses from our jam packed home.

Great Day Out: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

The weather is divine today in Virgina, just perfect for some quality family time. It's Memorial Day and as we remember with deep gratitude those who gave their lives for their country, it also calls us to treasure those we love who daily give of themselves for us and others.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens has been on my to do list for a while. I'm always looking for days out within 45 minutes from home that our 17 month old daughter, Miss O, and I would both enjoy! Off Beulah Road in Vienna, and just down the road from Wolftrap, the gardens are really easy to get to for anyone with access to a car in the DC Metro area.

With picnic packed my husband aka The Beloved; Miss O; and I arrived at Meadowlark around 10.45am (it opened at 10am). We paid the daily rate of $5 per adult to tour the gardens, Miss O was free. You can take get an annual family pass for $45.

Meadowlark's website says: "Beauty, conservation, education and discovery flourish throughout the year at this 95 acre complex of large ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections. Walking trails, lakes, more than twenty varieties of cherry trees, irises, peonies, an extensive shade garden, native wildflowers, gazebos, birds, butterflies, seasonal blooms and foliage create a sanctuary of beauty and nature."

If you're a keen photographer the foliage, floral, geography and light are stunning. There are lots of benches and adirondack chairs invitingly resting in picture perfect spots, and there are stroller/wheelchair friendly paths and steep trails if you fancy a cardio workout.

A couple of years ago my family bought me a sweet Sony NEX-5R for my birthday and I've developed a love for taking photos of flowers. Meadowlark is a wonderful spot to practice!

The Korean Bell garden is an evolving partnership with The Korean American Cultural Committee - it's perfectly sited atop the ridge overlooking the lakes. 

Meadowlark is a great spot for little ones - although you'll need the stroller for the hills & some vigilant care around the lakes. There is a fairy garden, geese and ducks, and lost of educational programs and camps for budding nature lovers.

Clean public restrooms with a baby changing facilities are in the welcome center - along with frogs and fish to keep the little ones amused. The little gift shop sells stuffed animals, water, prints, books and snacks. The best thing about the shop is the wooden pens and magnifying glasses fashioned out of wood from the Meadowlark trees. Great presents that are inexpensively priced! Win win!

You are not allowed to picnic in the gardens but there is a picnic area with lots of shade and seating just beside the ample parking lot. We wandered the gardens for an hour then ate sandwiches and drank Tetley tea out of a flask on a rug under a tree. A perfect day outdoors not too far from home!

New Beginnings

Hello world...weeirishlisa here.

The idea of a daily posting has been bubbling in me for a while. A little different from my previous blog (check out the archive, there's some good stuff in there!) Weeirishlisa365 will be reflections, recipes, top tips, teaching tools, inspirational quotes, new home and fashion finds, book & blog suggestions; the whole shebang.

I am a gatherer, a collector of knowing, a visual learner, a stay-at-home mom, a pastor’s wife, a lover of laughter and people. I am passionate about helping people find, make, love and be at home - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

So you’ll see all sorts of things here - I’m aiming to share a nugget each day. 365. Whatever catches my eye that day I'll share it with you, trusting it will be a little bit of home. Enjoy!