Good morning lovely friends:

It is our prayer Tuesday and I am remembering the gift that Ursula was…..and continues to be…in our lives. I am grateful for her courage and generosity of spirit. I am grateful for her compassion and caring for each one of us. I am grateful that her dear sister CP has graced us by becoming a part of this sacred community. I am grateful for each person here….old friends and new ones.

I’ve been spending time with Jesus , St. Teresa, Mother Mary, and my guardian angel these recent days…..asking for help in reining in my anxiety, which has been off the charts as of late. I’m so grateful for their very real and comforting Presence.

My younger daughter and her boyfriend have been living here with us on the farm (in our motor home in the driveway) for the past 4 months and it has been both a joy and a challenge, especially for me. It’s funny how much our role as mothers can fluctuate and change even day-to-day! I’ve struggled with trying to navigate the dynamics and my daughter and I have had to extend each other a lot of grace! But now, the time has come for them to fly out of the nest so to speak! Our daughter starts her new teaching job next month and soon they will make the 2,000 mile drive out to Colorado with all their possessions in a U-Haul and towing their car. Yesterday, an answer to prayer, they signed a lease for a very nice apartment 30 minutes from our daughter’s new school. It’s an exciting time for them and another time of transition and change for my husband and I.
We will meet them there, taking our own road trip to gather together with them and our older daughter and her husband who already live there. It is a blessing beyond measure whenever we are all together…the last time was Christmas 2019.

And so my friends, despite the stubborn anxieties that have decided to visit (and stay for awhile)….the blessings are always before me and my heart is full of gratitude. For this lovely summer season and all it’s gifts, for our little farmhouse, for the birds at our feeders, the cows and horses down the lane, good books to read from our local library pick-up service, yummy fruit salad I made this morning, the meditative music that soothes my tinnitus, the lovely smell from the lavender plant in our sun room. For new beginnings and special memories.

Sending each one of you all the peace your heart can hold.
~With grateful love ♥

Hello lovely people:

I’ve been so scattered in my thoughts and emotions today….having trouble settling down and quieting myself. And then I remembered that today is Tuesday and I found comfort in knowing that we would be here together on this special day, honoring our dear friend.

What a blessing this community has been in my life and how grateful I am for this sacred space. I am grateful to feel safe and embraced in all the challenges I face on my journey to wholeness, health and peace.
This scorching hot weather lately has limited my time outdoors…and I’m reminded of the soothing effect of simply being with Mother nature and all her wonders. But as cp has shared, grateful living means acceptance of all that is as a gift. Last evening it cooled down a little and I was able to have my walk…all the cows and horses were out and the sky was blue and purple and I was giving thanks as I walked, even though I was sweating profusely! And early this morning I managed to get out into our gardens for awhile before it got too oppressively hot. And when I came in, I was so grateful for the lovely refreshing shower I took to cool off. And the big cold glass of water that I gulped down! Maybe without this heat I wouldn’t be as appreciative of these gifts that I so often take for granted.

My soul and spirit have settled down a bit just by being here.
~Om Shanti…sending you peace my friends ♥

Lovely friends.

I spent some time with St. Teresa of Avila this morning. A blue sky, brother sun, gentle breezes morning, sitting in our Adirondack chair that overlooks the farmland behind our home. I am so grateful to have found St. Teresa (or perhaps she found me). Her life speaks to me. She lived with chronic illness and had her share of dark times on her journey and yet her heart was always open with curiosity and joyful expectation, faith and love. I am grateful for the guided prayers to her from my Insight Timer app….as well as the readings from Mirabai Starr’s lovely little book about this mystical saint.

I’m glad I spent time outdoor this morning because it is sweltering hot now…I guess my gardening will have to wait. Perhaps the rain that is in the forecast for later will cool things off and I can putter around this evening. Our plantings are doing so well this year…but so are the weeds! It’s a never-ending job this weeding…we have quite a lot of property. But somehow I don’t mind….it has become a sort of meditative practice for me.
Right now I am grateful for the yummy salad that I just made for lunch. Salad greens and tomatoes from a local farm stand and plenty of carrots, grapes, an egg and goat cheese for protein. I’m eager to dig in so I will leave you with some beautiful words from Teresa.

“It’s very important for us, friends, not to think of the soul as dark.
Since we cannot see the soul, it appears to be obscure.
We are conditioned to perceive only external light.
We forget that there is such a thing as inner light,
illuminating our soul, and we mistake that radiance for darkness.

~Teresa of Avila, from The Interior Castle

Dear Mary…well I am a little late to the party but wanted to say how lovely it was to read your post! Thank you for sharing so generously. You are a lighthouse my friend and I am grateful for the light that you shine on us here.

I am so sorry to hear about your precious Marvin…you loved him right up until the end when you mercifully ended his pain and discomfort. And I believe you will know instinctively when the time is right to welcome another.

Well, as your fellow teacher friend here I am wishing you a smooth transition into retirement. As much as I loved my students I have been so happy in my own retirement. And now I get to spur on my young daughter as she begins her full-time teaching career this year. In happy serendipity, she will be teaching middle schoolers like I did for so many years! Knowing how challenging (but also lovable and fun) they can be I hope that I will be a resource for her when she needs me 🙂

Many many blessings as you move into this new chapter in your life my friend. 🙏

~With grateful love ♥

Hello Ann…. we are grateful every day to be here in farm country! We moved here just 5 years ago after spending my whole life in suburban NJ.

I am inspired by your mini-garden. Like you, we are hoping to move soon to be closer to our daughters and, God-willing, any grandchildren that may come along. They are 2,000 miles away in Colorado so you and I are making similar journeys…in reverse! Upon this move, there is a real possibility that we will be transitioning into condo/apartment living as well. And if that happens, like you, I will always be here in my farmland gardens in spirit. And perhaps I will have a balcony garden of my own!
God works in mysterious ways…His wonders to behold!

~Blessings

Cara Anna……I so love Taize chants as you know. I am still listening to the beautiful Taize prayer to Santa Teresa that you posted and I find myself humming it at times throughout the day. “Nada te turbe, nada te espante”

I am envious of you being a part of such a choir! What a gift and a blessing it surely is in your life to be able to chant with these beautiful words of praise in harmony. I imagine this is how the angels sing and I think Mozart is smiling on you as you sing! 😇
I will listen to this for my nighttime devotion before sleep. Grazie grazie mia amica ♥♥♥♥