she

she

as do we all

needed

a place

a room

of her own

a place of peace

of gently flowing stream

a place

she could share

with family/friends

with world citizens

a place to speak

of the minds’ and hearts’

great concerns

a place for tea

for swimming

for picnics

of diversity

for individual

identity

a place

in the woods

a modest wilderness

of quiet

often turned into

grounds of gatherings

for family

for friends

a place

where she

with her considerable

wit and power

convinced others

to join her in

pursuits of justice

works of peace

called

the first lady of the world

and so she was

this woman of

her own mind

who spread her heart

all around the globe

from her place

a dutch colonial cottage

on a creek in new york

she invites us to tea

to play/thrive underneath

her tree of life

to swim in her pool

of healing

to sit in conversation

by her fire

she opens the door

to our dreams

for humanity

the hopes for

our children

grandchildren

her smile is as wide

as the world

come home again

welcome to val-kill

and to the

everlasting life

of eleanor

christie smith stephens

9/22/11

peace?

it is always impossible

this work for peace

and yet it is always

always possible

we live in a world

of complexity

where definitions

of peacemaking

are in conflict

we seek to make

sense/communicate

as do many others

whose methods

are different

from our own

we try to educate

and still we may be

ignorant ourselves

even though

our hearts lead

we seek peace

and pursue it

as a good book

instructs

we hope our feet

have found

the peace path

we walk

into the night woods

praying for the

gift of the firefly

christie smith stephens

9/20/11

Organization Part II

Organizing can be rewarding and satisfying.   I continue to toss, recycle, and de clutter. I have found this process is exhausting. It is emotionally draining. I have so many boxes and containers. It seems as if this process will never end.  Each box contains tiny memories of my life.  Clean closets, drawers, cabinets… the reward of hard work.

Along the way, I have recovered some gems. I recently discovered a letter written to the tooth fairy.    Who asks questions to the tooth fairy?  Jara. 

First, she tells a little about herself.

“ I’m six. How old ARE You?

My name is Jara.

Write

Me

Back,

ARE You

Real.

The Dahlias

I thought rose gardens were my favorite places to visit large amounts of flowers until I went to the tulip farms. Now I've changed my mind again after visiting a dahlia farm. Never knew there were so many varieties!

Organization

One of my great grandmother’s favorite sayings was. “A place for everything and everything in its place.” This is my motto as I clean, de clutter and organize.   In my journey of becoming more organized, I recently discovered a tiny little treasure.  This little gem was given to me over twenty-five years ago.  It is well preserved and will find a home as a bookmark.  Next week, I look forward to sharing a precious discovery.   

Christie gave this to me when I moved to Michigan. 

Dad

he’s 93

he’s up

having coffee

and coffee cake

watching the

morning news

which is labor enough

for one who has worked

all his life

it takes so much energy

these days

to shower, dress,

put on a positive attitude

which he does

almost every day

he’s an inspiration

and we are

so blessed

that he is ours

somebody

strike up the band

wave the flag

he is still

leading the parade

christie smith stephens

for dad with admiration

and love, September 5, 2011

A Courageous Choice

It was a sad day yesterday, as Gus and I learned that our Pastor was stepping down and possibly leaving the Church. We searched for a church family for almost two years before we were led to Courageous Church. After about 4-5 months of attending each Sunday, Gus and I decided that this would be our church home while living in Atlanta, so we completed a four part new membership class series. We've spent time serving with members in the church at local schools, assisting the the Tuscaloosa tornado relief efforts and supporting a summer youth program. We joined a married couples discipleship group, where we met weekly with 5 other married couples for food and fellowship. And most recently I volunteered to become the Church's Record Keeping Manager.

Shortly after joining the Church, we learned that we would be making a "radical" shift. The Church would meet only once a month for a traditional Sunday service, meet with our discipleship groups weekly, cause groups as needed, fellowship in the park monthly and serving in the community. Unfortunately, many people left the Church at the time of the shift, because they were seeking a more traditional church schedule and structure. Gus and I decided that we were committed to the Church and its new direction, so we stuck around. Unfortunately, the shift was not able to be sustained and the Pastor realized this. Our Pastor fully believed in the shift and felt that he was called to lead us in this way, but without the support of the congregation it was not able to succeed. Therefore the Church will return to its original direction, and the Pastor felt that he needed to step down, because he could not lead us into a direction that he did not believe in himself.

Now here we are, trying to determine do we stay or do we go....