Its been a crazy couple of months since the last time that I wrote in this space and much has happened. Here’s a quick lowdown:

• finished Seeds of Survival recording with James. Here’s the link to hear it www.seedsofsurvival.bandcamp.com
• worked with a few local artists and created a soundscape for their opening
• had Charis my niece come and visit for a couple of weeks
• changed my eating habits and turned the corner on the ‘no energy’ status in my life
• invited to be part of the BC worship development group for the Vineyard
• nailed a big design project with Kids in Balance which I’m pretty excited about!
• went to Vineyard National Gathering in Penticton; met some great people and had some inspiring conversations; saw God at work; changed a few things & led worship with a band of awesome people.
• continued to build relations with artists in the local area.
• started a collaborative project with a band of artists from NLV Eighty-Eight which will see its completion in the fall on All Saints day.

August will see me heading back to the UK for a couple of weeks to see family and attend my eldest niece’s wedding. In the midst of that I’m hoping to find some space to re-evaluate what I’m committing too and where I’m heading in the fall with projects. A few things are already lined up such as the artists retreat and the collaborative project. One thing that seems to be rumbling in the background is growing links between artists in the different Vineyard communities across the lower mainland.

In the midst of August I’m also hoping to start a book called ‘The Artists Way’ by Julia Cameron. One of the first things that goes when life gets busy is personal creative time (actually I’m not sure that that has ever been a consistent rhythm in my life anyway lol!) so I’m attempting in August to use this book as a place where I can start this rhythm and continue it into the fall. I’m a great believer that you can’t call people to something that you don’t already do yourself so this is my attempt to start to create space for being creative! I’ll let you know whether it is working as I go along lol!

Anyway you may see me blog here sporadically over August. Hope those that read this have a great summer!

my observations of a new _ _ _ _ _ _ Temple

extravagant. beautiful. revered. symbolic. sacrificial & costly. creative. attractive. peaceful. no expense spared. thin place? inspiring. thought provoking. representative of the faith and the god. symbolic rituals reminding people of the story. light. journey. set aside. serious. reflective. well thought out.

my observation of a new Mormon Temple.

Built over the last 6 months here in Langley BC, it was open to tours and last week I went and visited. The experience was thought provoking, stirring, inspiring and left me wrestling with many thoughts about the temples constructed throughout our historic story. Made me think about where the ‘temple’ is located in my life and the lives of those in my community. Made me think about ‘thin places’, liminal places, our physical bodies. Made me think about the tension of material extravagance and justice. Made me think about creating spaces where people can engage with their creator. Made me think about if God could build a temple today what would it look like.

my observations.

what does your temple look like?

it just IS and always will be a part of our lives no matter how much we try to medicate it away

sometimes it appears in the midst of a gift in life e.g giving birth to a child

the religious world sometimes preaches prosperity and ‘come to Christ . . . live a life of un-suffering”

Christ said something different. Christ lived something different.

“Jesus has many who love His kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear His cross”

(Thomas A Kempis)

We’re gonna have a birthday party for you on Friday

No one can know in advance how one will be used, or when, or what one’s life will count for in the long run. The young Pablo Casals, while pouring his life energy into years of practice on the cello, could not guess that when Franco came to power, he would stop playing for three years, and that the silence would be heard throughout Spain as if the streets were full of demonstrators….

When the need for bread is met we discover that we have other hungers, and none so deep as the hunger to be understood. The artist helps us to interpret, understand and communicate feeling. When the artist is successful we are led into communion with ourselves and with the world, and the solitary work becomes a communal work. For want of this we walk on parched land.

Elizabeth O’Connor

And so artists keep on wrestling . . . . .

The insert below is happening at my place. Hopefully a space where we can understand and be understood and out of it change occur in us.

“Naomi and I thought it would be good to gather those with serious questions about art and faith for an– everything allowed – time of discussion.  Bring your questions on a slip of paper and we will put them in a hat and whatever gets drawn we will discuss. No expectations, no ready answers, just a think tank to count the cost of true discipleship as an artist.”

Betty Spackman (installation artist, painter and author of A Profound Weakness: Christians and Kitsch)

Julie’s when asked why her . . . why did she have to have cancer, was:

“Well why not!”

A haunting answer.

Think it may stay with me for a long long time.

Its her birthday today

WWJD

‘What Would Julie Do?’

The year kicked off with zero creativity - not many songs and no ability to see forward into the year and the projects that I would like to get my teeth stuck into - usually its pretty obvious for me but not this year.

I’d heard about these seasons that sometimes occur in the lives of artists, so wasn’t stressed about the fact that I was in one. Rather, I just kept myself in relationship with those who weren’t in the same place as me (people who were creating, writing etc) and exposing myself to environments that fed me creatively (e.g.natural environment, reading, leading my community in spiritual songs etc). Today I felt like I just got a glimpse of this season ending as I sat down with my great friend Ruth and conversed about the one thing that I had booked in late last year - an artists retreat in October 2010. As we chatted this is what spilled out from it.

Something has changed, shifted, moved (and its more than my beee-hind!) - is today the beginning of something new?

this week our community says farewell to one beautiful life and hello to a brand new little life

the pendleton family will be made up of four people today