Goodbye Blogger!

Unfinished Work is moving. Some glitch has been preventing me from uploading images to Blogger. And as we know, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I figure 1 picture = 4 or 5 posts. You see my rationale here? Because I obviously haven't gotten far with the 82 posts currently in draft.

A while back, I set up a blog on Wordpress but never did much with it. I decided to resurrect that one and was pleased to find Wordpress easy to navigate and much enhanced since a year ago. So I invite you to check out my Wordpress blog, and don't forget to change your links and subscriptions if you want to keep up with me (like I'm going somewhere fast!)

The Art of Seeing

I recently visited a blog I haven't checked in months and found this cool post where she (a photographer) goes on a field trip of sorts. She posts pictures of herself and her "peeps" (her words) traipsing around a cemetery and then out to dinner. I loved the picture of them all at dinner, cameras aimed towards their plates!

Several thoughts ran through my mind as I viewed this post:

1. It's all about seeing, isn't it? More and more, I'm convinced, in that respect, that living is an art unto itself. How we live our lives, how rich and full they are, how we interact with others, how we dream and strive to achieve our dreams - much of it boils down to our ability to see.
   
2. So what are you looking at? What are you passionate about seeing?
   
3. I think of some people as "eye-openers" - opening the hearts and minds of others to God and his world. Parents, teachers, pastors and mentors I think fall into this category. And then there are the problem-solving types - those who see a problem and delight in seeing a way through it. And then there are "see-ers" - those who simply open up the world as they see it to others. Any other kind of seeing come to mind?
   
4. Seeing is best done in community! Sometimes community may be others who see in the same way you do; other times, it's community who simply appreciates your vision, and shares theirs in return. Really, without community at some point - what's the point?
5. And lastly, seeing involves stopping, doesn't it? Maybe it's stopping to refresh yourself so you are fit to see again for others. Or stopping because you can't otherwise focus on the picture. Or stopping afterward to think about what it is you just saw and really take it all in.
   

I hope you'll check out my friend Sharon's art, her way of "seeing." Take a few minutes, scroll around and enjoy a view of the world through her eyes! I hope it inspires you as it did me.

Anticipation and an Advent Listen

I'm going through a great little Advent devotional this year entitled Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent. Actually, I ordered it last year but got it too late to enjoy much of it. For this first week, the focus is on the word anticipation, a sense of expectant waiting.

So what I'm wondering is: what do you do to get into the spirit - the waiting spirit that is? Is there anything you do that helps you settle down and get past the commercial fluff and angst, and be reminded of what this season is to be about?

And another Advent question: is it just me late to the party (as usual) or are you finding an increased interest in the celebration of Advent as a major focus of the holiday season? Until about four years ago, I don't ever remember hearing of such a thing. Do you think (as I do) that it's a reaction to the emptiness many people are coming to acknowledge that has overshadowed Christmas? Or have you always celebrated Advent?

Anyways, here's my one thing: I found this CD by City on a Hill several years ago and it's the first and only Christmas music I listen to until around December 15th, which is when I get around to decorating. Actually it was the artwork that first drew me to it, and the music, a selection of songs by Christian artists Sara Groves, Caedmon's Call and others, never fails to satisfy.

If you have an MP3 player, you could easily download these tunes from Amazon or iTunes. There will be plenty of time for the traditional holiday tunes and carols; I think you'd find this a heart-stirring and delightfully uplifting change of pace.