RockTheDesert

The Lodge Facelift

I am not an interior designer by any stretch of the imagination. My idea of decorating is to leave it to the professionals, i.e., my mom, my mother-in-law, my daughter, whoever stops by with a helpful suggestion. I know what I like and most importantly, what I don't like, and within reason, I'm relatively easy to please, especially if I'm not the one figuring it all out. Let me define easy to please: I like retro everything, meaning colors, style, everything. I love orange, amber, avocado green, aqua, brown, etc. I love anything that looks like it could have come straight out of the Brady Bunch house, Frank & Marie Barone's house (the parents on Everybody Loves Raymond) or the house you grew up in if you were born in 1965 like I was. With all this in mind, my creative and talented daughter decided to surprise us with a master bedroom "re-mix" while Dan and I were in Burundi last month. She conspired with her two California grandmas and came up with this beautiful design and implemented it at a feverish pace while we were gone!

The walls used to be 1970's brown paneling, and while I do love that 1970's look, paneling is the one thing I have to say "no way" to unless it's on a station wagon! The floor is still painted green with glue marks from previous hideous carpet, but you hardly notice it with the great oriental rug Alyssa had stored in her garage (gift from a friend who moved). They hung our wedding photos which have been languishing in the shameful stack of Un-hung Things for at least 5 years. They created the illusion of a headboard with the frame of a mirror that broke during our recent move (4 yrs ago). They got rid of the blanket hanging over the arcadia doors and the unsightly blind over the window. They shoved our old comforter into a new duvet and casually draped an orange throw on the bed. They disguised the giant, kelly green toolbox as a keyboard stand. They created a sitting area with a little white bench made by my dad and the orange armchair I bought for Michael's room originally. All I had to do when I got home was finish dealing with my keyboard mess (3 keyboards don't fit into most decorating schemes) and then relax in my comfy orange chair! Overall, they accomplished an amazing transformation in 3 days for under $150. Dan and I absolutely love it!

 

Sound Of Music

You can thank me now, you can thank me later, just take 4 minutes to watch this video - it will make you smile -- you are welcome!!

The Best Centerpiece - Ever!

I've never made a centerpiece. I don't even think I've ever bought one. Truthfully, centerpieces all sort of look the same to me. In my mind, centerpieces come together in a mysterious way known only to floral designers and creative homemakers. My most creative attempt at centerpieces has been to arrange some candles on pillars in the middle of the table and call it good. Unfortunately, whenever I'm using the dining room table (daily) the pillars are shoved to the side or moved to the kitchen counter because I've usually got at least one laptop setup, a stack of homework papers, the mail, an empty glass or two, and possibly some clean, folded laundry (please tell me I'm normal).

When the Women's Ministry at Fellowship North Church announced a Christmas floral arranging event, I mentally dismissed even the possibility of attending. Too busy. Not my thing. Who really needs a centerpiece. Etc....However, Alyssa was excited about the event and I ended up buying tickets for her and I to attend together. I should have known that I would absolutely LOVE being able to CREATE something from a pile of what I earlier would have labeled as junky, tacky, cluttery STUFF. 

"BEFORE"

  

"AFTER"

 

THE BEST CENTERPIECE - EVER!

Works for Me Wednesday - Photo Greeting Cards

Today is Works For Me Wednesday over at Shannon's excellent Rocks In My Dryer Blog. It's a carnival, so be sure to check out all the great posts today!!

Works for me: Photo Greeting Cards!!

We travel quite a bit as church-planting missionaries with e3 partners. Most of our work over the past year has been in central/east Africa. Last summer, my husband and I wanted to send out personalized thank-you cards to all of our supporters. We gathered a few simple materials I already had on hand: dymo label maker (the classic, hand-held model), photo corners (scrapbooking item), off-white card stock (from office supply store). Then I found a couple of cool photos taken on a 1-day safari my husband went on while in Kenya. We printed the photos on 4x6 glossy photo paper. Then I folded the card stock in half, put 4 photo corners on the front, inserted a photo, then crunched out a dymo label message and placed it on the inside of the card. Wrote a personal greeting/thank you. Then my husband addressed plain white envelopes, stuffed in the cards and dropped them off at the post office. So easy. Relatively inexpensive. Pictures were beautiful - frameable really!!

This lion looks a little bit battle-weary!
I thought this was a pretty cool picture.
So beautiful. One of my favorites. Although I'm sure the water and shore smell pretty bad.

American Flag...Creative Expressions

Happy Independence Day!!! July 4 has always been my favorite holiday. I've got great memories of parades, fireworks, backyard bbqs, the beach, friends, family - celebrating freedom is pretty sweet! Just for fun, I spent some time on Google, looking for creative expressions of the American flag - some of the images are a little too big for the column - just click on the pic and it will open in a new window. Enjoy!!

"Freedom has a scent, like the top of a newborn baby's head" - name that tune!
Faith Ringgold is an African-American artist, renowned for her painted story quilts.
This pizza looks pretty yummy, although the blue corner is a little suspect...
This one made me laugh...
Love this mosaic.
Aren't the shells pretty???!!!
This one's sort of subtle...
This one is beautiful, don't you think?
Classic example of why the world needs HOA's!
This cake looks a little too sweet for me...maybe just a small piece with homemade ice cream on top!
I've got to get me a couple of these!
I need one of these right now - not for the rain, but for the heat!
I'd be itching like crazy in this vest - but it is awfully cute!
I really love stained glass - this is so cool!
I'm off to a BBQ with friends and family...grilled ribeyes are calling my name!

WCW - Creativity Is Hard Work

Today is Watercooler Wednesday. The day when many creative people share ideas at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Randy is a blogfather to many and a creative inspiration to many more. Check out his latest post called "How To Recycle A Church."

I have not really posted to this blog in about 10 days (well, I posted a Delirious? e-card which really posted itself so that doesn't count). I though that when I started blogging I'd have a difficult time with posting every day. But, surprisingly, I have had a great time posting (nearly) daily with lots of ideas and pictures and experiences I felt were "blog-worthy."  However, it appears that I have hit a creative slump. I am willing to work hard at creativity. I love blogging. I love creating. I love creative discussions. However, it seems like in all my striving to be creative, I have arrived at a dry, empty place where creativity doesn't exist. What to do? I suppose I could read a book or two on creativity. I could take a few pictures. Try to throw something together that looks creative but truthfully is contrived. I could plagiarize something from another blog. I could watch an artsy film. I could wander through Michael's. 

I think I know what I'm missing. I'm missing creative collaboration. Don't get me wrong. The WCW posts are inspiring and funny and informative. However, I need to be in a room with creative people, working on a project together. Can anyone relate? Any suggestions, solutions, sympathy, kick in the pants?

WCW - Bookworm

Today is Watercooler Wednesday - this post, along with many others from creative bloggers across the planet, can be found at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog today. If you are looking for a great daily blog to read, add this one to your RSS reader and enjoy the creative, thought-provoking, artistic posts that are the trademarks of Ethos! Randy's WCW post today is about his favorite book of all time.

I was a bookworm growing up. I even started a library for the neighborhood kids in the treehouse in our backyard! Yes I did create those little checkout cards in paper sleeves inside of each book cover. I guess I don't have a favorite book. I've got tons of favorites. I've got multiple favorite series of books. Don't even get me started on all the Reader's Digest Condensed Books I've read - believe me - there are 100's!! Reading is a feast for the imagination. Well-chosen words crafted into dangerously true sentences have the power to transport is backward and forward in time, awaken long-forgotten memories, and stimulate our longing for creativity, purpose, and abundant life! By the way, is there a better word for abundant - it has such a churchy connotation. Maybe overflowing?

I went to the public library for the first time in years yesterday. I've decided to start paying my children to read books. It's not that they don't like reading, it's just that, well, they LOVE guitar hero, rock band, starcraft, and medal of honor. Trading one love for another is not my goal necessarily, but I really want to add some balance, some sense of words on a page being meaningful and rich and potentially life-changing, and a way to broaden their view of the past, present and future. OK, all that to say, Scottsdale has a beautiful library, totally interactive, well-organized, well-staffed, and well-stocked. While waiting for my offspring to painstakingly select some books, I managed to find a huge stack of books for myself as well. I was drawn to these three books:   "The Savior," by Eugene Drucker (of Emerson String Quartet fame); "I Heard That Song Before," by Mary Higgins Clark; and "Mozart's Sister," by Rita Charbonnier. Maybe one of these will become a favorite!

WCW - In Memory of Mary

Today is Watercooler Wednesday! WCW is a collaboration of creative people who gather around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog every Wednesday. Click HERE to read Randy's latest WCW post and to join the conversation!

This week is Holy Week - started on Palm Sunday will culminate on Easter Sunday. I found some great Holy Week devotionals at Austin Stone Community Church. Today's devotional features a 3-dimensional original painting by Christina Drake entitled "In Memory of Mary."

Artist's Note: This picture is called "In Memory of Mary" and is the worshipful response of one of our partners to the picture of the woman anointing our Lord.  Our artist wanted to capture the picture of submission and sacrifice of the woman, as well as the many colors of grace of our God.  The painting is also three-dimensional, with a shelf at the bottom filled with brushes, tools and entire tubes of paints.  "No amount of paint, tools or expensive perfume can ever compare to what Christ did on the Cross for us..."  Artist: Christina Drake.

WCW - Groovy Pillows

It's Watercooler Wednesday! The day when creative-types from all parts of the world converge in one central location - around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog! This ongoing creative conversation is designed to spark even more creativity in everyday life and in our creative pursuits. If you'd like to join the discussion, click HERE for the latest Ethos WCW post!

My house is pretty eclectic. A little bit of mid-century modern. A few hand-me-downs. A couple of antiques. I have tons of books on shelves adorning the walls. Couple of wooden carved giraffes from Africa. Stained concrete floors. Circa 1956 bathrooms. The look I'm going for is, well, it's um, I guess vibey coffee-house might be the best description. The most difficult part of decorating my house is SHOPPING. I'm not a shopper. I have very little patience for browsing and window shopping. I'm a "conquer the list" shopper at best. Rewind to Christmas 2007. I was shopping with my beautiful mother-in-law, Judy, one of the champion shoppers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She took me to a very cool store in Orange County, CA where the theme was Red. Everything in the store was red - in a very good way! I was hoping and praying that I'd easily find gifts for my sisters when all of a sudden, the most magnificent pillow announced its presence to me and practically jumped off the shelf and into my arms! It was a big, beautiful, decorative pillow, hand-embroidered with great detail. Judy ended up buying it for me for Christmas! And now, it resides in a place of honor as the central pillow adorning my bed.

I looked up the designer, just certain that he or she would be just as cool as the pillow. The company name is Catstudio. The designers are Carmel and Terrell Swan. Their bio is fascinating. Click HERE to go straight to their bio page. Catstudio has a Geography Collection with hand-embroidered designs of lots of states, parks, countries and regions. They are works of art, really, they are! As soon as I can afford it (not any time soon), I'm going to purchase Arizona and Florida (two places we've lived besides California).

WCW - Inspired by Alyssa

It's Watercooler Wednesday - check out the creative ideas around the "watercooler" at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog! Randy's post is about  Interactive Architecture. Check it out HERE.

Here's my first submission:

I look to my daughter, Alyssa, for creative inspiration most of the time. She is a dreamer and a poet and has a deeply artistic soul. I stopped by her house last week and took a few photos of her current works in progress...

1. Sign Language "fade"

2. Fabric sewn on paper in frame

3. This phone wasn't made by Alyssa but purchased on eBay - I am inspired by this phone and something about it makes me insanely happy

Recreate wrapup...Thursday Evening

OK, last, but definitely not least, was our amazing night of worship sponsored by Word Music and held at Cumberland Church which is a Northpoint venue! Even if we didn't have pink cake for dessert, the night would have been wonderful! Jeremy Riddle, Mark Roach, Sheri Carr & Meredith Wilson shared songs. The songs were interspersed with video clips. Max Lucado, Erwin McManus, um, I think that's everyone! I'm telling you - I was so blown away by Sheri & Meredith. They led worship with such authority and passion and conviction. I spoke with Sheri afterwards. Told her how I was just blown away by the songs she sang. Click HERE to listen to a great interview with Sheri. Click HERE to go to Meredith's MySpace page.

Got back to the hotel and started packing. The swag at Recreate is unbelievably generous. CDs, books, DVDs, tote bags, mouse pad and other cool stuff. Here's a picture of the swag - I found it on Kim's blog - I didn't meet her - saw her several times throughout the course of the conference - her church must have not been in the "tiny church" category so she was in a different focus group.

Recreate wrapup...Thursday Afternoon

On Thursday afternoon we visited Kalein. Please visit the website for information and inspiration about this place that is about to be...124 pristine acres that will someday house artists from around the world who want to change things. Artists who are not content with the status quo. Gifted artists who feel a calling to something deeper than themselves. The mission, the goal, the vision, the purpose (whatever you may call it) is to provide a place to encourage and equip extremely gifted artists to discover, develop and discipline their calling.

We were transported to Kalein via 4-wheel drives towing trailers filled with hay! We were greeted by Alpaca and horses. A bonfire warmed us up along with steaming hot chocolate!! I took a few pics while I wandered around the property. When we were all done exploring, Randy Elrod called us all back together to share his personal vision for Kalein. It was a beautiful time of intimacy and solidarity as musicians and dreamers. After Randy finished talking, he introduced us to Charles Robinson. The last pics I've posted are of Charles, his wife, Siouxsan, and his sister-in-law, Dana. They shared Native American dances with and blessed the Kalein property with a dance of blessing.  I absolutely loved this part of our day. Charles has a non-profit called  The Red Road.  Go to his website and read it - every inch of it is interesting and informative and enlightening!

Recreate goes on a field trip

We spent a few hours this afternoon at an auto museum. Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised that we were at this museum. Randy gave a huge hint on his blog recently about how cool this place is. When we pulled up in the buses, I had a strange sense of anticipation/completion. I mean, when I read about things/experiences on blogs, it's more of a vicarious thing. Great blog writers leave me feeling like I was really there and saw and felt the same thing. So, today was a great experience for me. This huge warehouse, formerly a bread factory/bakery, houses tons of vintage autos. Some were beautiful, some whimsical, some fanciful, some practical, at least one amphibious vehicle, one powered by coal, one powered by pedaling, tiny cars, three-wheeled cars, a tiny car towing a tiny boat, etc. So many details that would normally be overlooked, yet when you truly study the cars from a design perspective, there's a lot to discover. I loved the car that had a perfect little spot on the trunk to strap on a square, wicker picnic basket. Randy arranged for a professor from O'More College of Design to be our narrator/guide. His name was John. He was very soft-spoken, but shared many nuggets of truth and inspiration. He read a condensed article from the Washington Post called "Pearls Before Breakfast." I challenge you all to click HERE and read the entire article (it's pretty long), along with the video clips. It is telling and inspiring and thought-provoking. Then I challenge you (and me) to take action. I'm not talking about starting a fiery revolution. I'm talking about listening, feeling, tasting, touching, seeing, living life differently - living with more feeling, more empathy, more patience, more kindness, more passion, more eloquence, more thoughtfulness, more adventure, more anticipation, more curiosity, more creativity, more beauty, more of all that is missing from our lives that we alone have the power to introduce and integrate into our lives.

cre:ate

cre:ate - Annual Thinktank For Arts & Worship Leaders From Around The World

I attended this conference in 2007 for the first time. Of course, I already love Franklin, TN. So, the fact that I was at an incredible gathering of worship leaders from around the world - IN FRANKLIN - just made it absolutely perfect. It was at cre:ate that I was finally truly inspired to blog.

For more information go HERE.

Cold Tangerines

I just finished reading an amazing book by Shauna Niequist called "Cold Tangerines". It is a collection of essays that is real and raw and all about everyday life. I bought my copy at Barnes and Noble. You can also find it at Shauna's website www.shaunaniequist.com.

Carnegie Hall

I've got this cool friend. His name is Satyam. He owns a music and arts studio called Voices. About 9 months ago he invited me to perform at Carnegie Hall with himself and a group of singers from his studio. I said yes!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was the first rehearsal for our performance. We are performing "Requiem" by John Rutter. We will be part of a huge group of singers - about 300 total. We'll perform at Carnegie Hall on March 9. "Requiem" is a pretty solemn piece of music. Beautiful and melodic and haunting. But definitely not upbeat. Oh, and it's not all in English. It has some Latin sprinkled throughout. Should be interesting.

In our spare time, in between rehearsals, we plan to hit Broadway, off-Broadway and probably off-off-Broadway to try to see as many shows as possible in 3 days. I have a friend who sang with a group there once before and she said they managed to cram in 5 shows. That has to be a record! I hope we can get cheap tickets. I've heard the shows can be outrageously expensive.

I might have to take a slight detour over to Brooklyn to check out The Brooklyn Tabernacle. It is housed in a newly restored theatre - formerly The Loews Metropolitan Theatre. My friend, Brenda, visited there on her visit to NYC. She was there for Thursday night prayer meeting. She said it was totally packed out with people praying. That would be amazing! 

Things That Make Me Happy

I thought that I could cheer myself up by making this list. The end result is worth the effort!!

1. My husband, Daniel. He makes me laugh every day. He sings silly songs to me. He likes to drive me crazy and I guess I must be happy when I'm crazy.
2. My kids. They are so fun to hang out with. They love my spaghetti and baked ziti and steak sandwiches. They still say funny things.
3. My Dymo label maker. I remember my dad had one on his workbench that he used for labeling electrical supplies, lunchboxes, etc. It is a truly magical device with letters, a lever to squeeze, and lovely tape with words and letters embossed on it which you can use in many creative ways.
4. Road cases. I'm talking about the kind that are custom made of wood and metal, painted black with industrial size casters, filled with event supplies such as sound equipment, lights, cables, screens, pipe and drape, etc. All the stuff that becomes a magnificent backdrop for an event.
5. Text messages. So simple and concise. Easier and faster than a phone call. My kids think I'm cool because I text them and they text me and we all keep track of each other this way.
6. Blogging. What a great form of self-expression. It's sort of like show and tell every single day. Which is sometimes not that great because, well, my life is pretty boring sometimes, but it forces me to think creatively.
7. When the desert sky turns turquoise blue. That would be just after sunset and just before sunrise. When the desert sky turns midnight blue. That would be at just about midnight. The stars are ultra white and prevalent. The midnight blue sky - - well, it just makes me supremely happy and content.
8. The sound of the ocean. The smell of the ocean. The sand. The waves. Even the seaweed. I'm closest to God when it is dark outside and all I can hear is the sound of the waves breaking and crashing against the shore. It's the best.
9. The Urban Tribe. They rock.
10. Seeking God.
11. Talking to my parents and sisters on the phone. It is so satisifying and comforting to have a family that is close and there for you.
12. Anything from the '70's. Especially things that are harvest gold, orange, and avocado.
13. Our built-in wall clock in the dining room. It's still ticking away after 51 years. Unbelievable.
14. Technology that works for me instead of against me.
15. Church planting in Rwanda. Amazingly gratifying, satisfying, challenging, what else can I say?
16. Writing music. On paper or on the computer, it is a task that I love.
17. Worshipping God.
18. Hanging out with Alyssa & Joshua. They are really fun and a pleasure to spend time with.
19. Pedicures.
20. Fruit that reminds me of California. Oranges. Avocados. Plums. Peaches. Persimmons. Lemons. Grapefruits. Watermelon. Mango. Pineapple.

I actually didn't realize the list would be this long...and it could go on for a while. So, goodnight for now. Although one other thing that makes me happy is staying up late then sleeping in, tomorrow I've got to be up early.

Thoughts on Creativity

Found this at http://ragamuffinsoul.com. I actually took a "how-to-blog" seminar by the author (Carlos Whitaker) last summer at Saddleback's worship conference. Gave me a lot to think about. Took me 9 months to get it all together and start blogging. This article is on creativity, one of my favorite subjects.

9 Attitudes of Highly Creative People.

Published May 9th, 2007 in .

1. Curiosity

I’ve written previously on the topic of curiosity because I’m convinced that it is an essential skill to build as a blogger. Learning to ask ‘why’, ‘what if’ and ‘I wonder…’ are great questions t build into your life if you want to be a more creative person.

2. Seeing Problems as Interesting and Acceptable

ChallengeOne of the problems of the Western mindset is that we often see problems or obstacles in life as unacceptable parts of life. We avoid pain or suppress it when it comes and in doing so don’t often see and feel symptoms that are there to tell us something important. Creative people see problems as a natural and normal part of life - in fact they often have a fascination with problems and are drawn to them.

3. Confronting Challenge

Many of the most creative ideas through out history have come from people facing a challenge or crisis and rather than running from it asking ‘how can I overcome this’?
4. Constructive Discontent

Creative people often have an acute awareness of what’s wrong with the world around them - however they are constructive about this awareness and won’t allow themselves to get bogged down in grumbling about it - they take their discontent and let it be a motivation to doing something constructive.

5. Optimism

OptimismCreative people generally have a deeply held belief that most (if not all) problems can be solved. No challenge is too big to be overcome and no problem cannot be solved (this doesn’t mean they’re always happy or never depressed - but they don’t generally get stumped by a challenge).

6. Suspending Judgment

The ability to hold off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as crazy ones - if critique is applied too early the idea will be killed and never developed into something useful and useable. (note - this doesn’t mean there is never a time for critique or judgement in the creative process - it’s actually key - but there is a time and place for it).

7. Seeing Hurdles as leading to improvements and solutions

HurdlesThis relates to some of the above - but by ‘hurdles’ I mean problems and mistakes in the creative process itself. Sometimes it’s on the journey of developing an idea that the real magic happens and it’s often out of the little problems or mistakes that the idea is actually improved.

8. Perseverance

Creative people who actually see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to stick with their ideas and see them through - even when the going gets tough. This is what sets apart the great from the good in this whole sphere. Stick-ability is key.

9. Flexible Imagination

FlexibleI love watching a truly creative person at work when they’re ‘on fire’. They have this amazing ability to see a problem or challenge and it’s many potential solutions simultaneously and they have an intuitive knack at being able to bring previously disconnected ideas together in flashes of brilliance that seem so simple - yet which are so impossible to dream up for the average person.

Good stuff. Sorry for all the practical info lately.
Just what’s in my head.

Los

What Color is Easter?

While most people plan Easter in a rather linear way - which Easter Egg Hunt do I take my kids to -- what am I serving for dinner- ham or spring lamb -- which church has the most convenient Easter service times -- those of us in ministry are trying to see and present the Easter story in a not-so-linear, relevant, high-impact format. We focus with fierce precision on seamless transitions from countdown to opening jam to music/worship to video to testimony to message to closing song to brunch. Along the way we manage to drag a team of people down the road of chaos with us. Oh, and the family. Well, a spectacular brunch will make up for any lapses in temper that occur directly prior to and after the big event. I actually have a chance this year to thoughtfully plan and pray through simple elements that will infuse hope, conviction, and inspiration into the Easter message that many have memorized but few have let wash over them and change the way they live, breathe and think. This is a task that I take seriously. I, more than anyone, need this message to change my life. I want Easter this year to not be represented by the lovely pastel colors of our favorite candies (you know what I'm talking about) but by bold colors representing sin, death, agony on a cross, resurrection, forgiveness, life and celebration.