I collect Nativity sets. My most precious is an all white porcelain Avon one that goes up high for eyes only.
No little fingers can move Mary along or swipe Baby Jesus off of the hay. No dog's tail can swish a wise man to the floor; no elbows reaching for ornaments can knock an angel from on high.
Axel, who is 12 now, and I, took each piece from it's royal blue box and then from it's white styrofoam block. We took turns choosing a place on the old mantle piece for each member of the cast. We have a donkey and three cows, camels, sheep and shepherds, wise men and angels and the treasured Holy Family.
My mantle is small for this Nativity set, so we had to rearrange often as we kept opening boxes.
Would the Wise Men have stood all together? Would they have stood next to the shepherds and the sheep? Would the Angel of the Lord have stood back or been front and center? Where would the tired donkey have chosen to rest? Would he lie down where he could see the new babe, or away from the awestruck crowd?
For me, putting up the Nativity scenes, is one of the great joys of Advent . This set is very special to me and is the anchor for all of the celebrations in our home. No matter where I am in the house, my eyes wander toward the sight of it and in an instant I am centered. The Holy Family. The Christ Child. In the catch phrase of our time, "the reason for the season." which is so true and so very easy to forget.
Over the next several days Axel and I will put out all of my many nativities. Some are made of wood, some are plastic,one is stone. My house will be adorned with angels and wise men, shepherds and sheep and cattle lowing. My nativities are big and small, short and tall, simple and ornate. There will be many that the little hands of grandchildren can arrange and rearrange to their hearts content. A few will be out of reach brought down only for ooohing and aaaahing, for the story of how they came to be mine, who gave them to me or where I found them myself, what country they came from. Inevitably, at some point, one of my children or grandchildren will say " I want that one. I want that one! " What they mean is they want that one - when I die.
This conversation does not upset me for I will die, but the good news is this. I BELIEVE in the message of the Christ Child!. I believe in Away in a Manger and Joy to the World but I also believe that Christmas is the beginning of the story, not the end. In the end, we have Christ the Lord is Risen Today and Amazing Grace. In the end, we will all be rejoicing together, not here, but in heaven - what ever that might be. The songs of Advent give way to the songs of Christmas and Easter, of Resurrection and Everlasting Life. And I am thrilled to know that when I die, my many beautiful nativity sets will grace the mantle pieces and coffee tables of my offspring. When they gather they will talk of angels and babies in mangers and of Gramma Bevy who used to have this one on her mantle piece in the old house on Garden Street.And they will say Gramma BELIEVED .
I BELIEVE and so, though I will not always be here to open these boxes and place these porcelain figures of Mary and Joseph and the babe on this mantle piece, with these children and grandchildren who I love, I will live on in Christmas and other memories and I will not be alone. I BELIEVE and so I will always be with The Christ Child. For me, that is the true meaning of Merry Christmas.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
For Unto Us
It is only ten days until Christmas.
Ten more days of anticipation and preparation and then..... '
My Focus Phrase group is reading daily Scripture passages and writing to Scripture phrases.
Today's Bible verses are from Isaiah 9
It includes the verse that we are all so familiar with from the Messiah.
For unto us, a Child is born.
I can hear it sung. I can hear it read in the resonant voices of ministers past and present,
I never tire of it. Do you hear the trumpets playing as you read the words? I surely do. For Unto Us.
Staccato. One word at a time, and yet, an entire message.
Our phrase today is
For unto us a Child is born. What name do you have for the Christ Child TODAY?
Who will Christ be in your life today? Will he be Wonderful? Counselor? Prince of Peace?
What name do YOU have for the Christ Child Today?
Ten more days of anticipation and preparation and then..... '
My Focus Phrase group is reading daily Scripture passages and writing to Scripture phrases.
Today's Bible verses are from Isaiah 9
It includes the verse that we are all so familiar with from the Messiah.
For unto us, a Child is born.
I can hear it sung. I can hear it read in the resonant voices of ministers past and present,
I never tire of it. Do you hear the trumpets playing as you read the words? I surely do. For Unto Us.
Staccato. One word at a time, and yet, an entire message.
Our phrase today is
For unto us a Child is born. What name do you have for the Christ Child TODAY?
Who will Christ be in your life today? Will he be Wonderful? Counselor? Prince of Peace?
What name do YOU have for the Christ Child Today?
Monday, December 6, 2010
Her name is Ursula. Or is it?
We got our tree this weekend!! It is early for me, but it was the window of opportunity that worked for the whole family. Oh, what a treat it was to wake late and feel the bright Saturday morning sun on my face and the sweet breath of Nattie B on my cheek. Lorelai's faintest of pitter patters heralded her arrival at my bedroom door and Axel Henry, long and lanky in his PJ's, was right behind her. They were ready to start the day. We paraded down the stairs following the thundering cascade of canines. Parents soon came to plant morning kisses on their children's faces, grown up hands reaching for coffee and tea.
Aunt Jackie arrived with bacon and eggs and we filled our bellies before bundling up for adventure.
We took the old Volvo wagon around the bend and pulled up against the snow fence that keeps the younguns in the coral of evergreens. A fire was going, cider was mulling, and the country gal who owned this small business came out wearing a plaid flannel shirt and a beautiful, genuine smile. Ahhhhh, the blessings of small town life.
Axel, being almost twelve, was champin' at the bit. He knew he was gonna get a chance to be on one end of the saw. To keep him busy, we handed him a bright red, ten foot, two by two, marked off in one foot lines to carry around and measure up any trees that struck our fancy. He was satisfied. Not necessarily safe to be near, but satisfied.
"Too tall. Too short. Too prickly. Really? No., Too big! " The chorus rang out in the cold, crisp air. The little girls rans on little legs and the pre-teen swung his stick. One or two possiblilties noted, we headed south and then up the small hill. " This one? What about this one? I like this one. " the big girls chimed.
And then it was over. Elizabeth called for me to look at one on the edge of the lot. "It's curly, just like Natalie's hair." she sang; and it is. My story book tree looks like she had a permanent. Or perhaps she has tentacles, or sweet fluid limbs that sway in the breeze, just like Lorelai the ballerina. Whatever you call them, my response was immediate. "Start Cutting!" I called out, "we're done!"
Axel was in his glory. He and Aunt Elizabeth made quick work of it and soon he was dragging our curly girl up the hill to the waiting and watching operator. Tossing it through the magic string wrapper, lilke a lumberjack, she left us free to toast marshmallows and pick out baubles for the little ones to carry home.
The tired toddlers in bed, the tree rested in the stand. I was mesmerized. I just turned sixty and I have never seen any thing like it. After naptime and the local parade of the Christmas puppets was over, the ornaments stood with anticipation. Never before had they hung from the curve of such graceful limbs. Tender shoots curled under to hold our treasures. One branch, curving in and then out, holds, three, count them three ornaments, each facing a different direction. I feel like I have a new grandchild. I want everyone to come and see. " look, look, " I want to shout, her name is........"
Her name is. I am thinking she is the makings of a children's book. She reminds me of Ursula in The Little Mermaid, but then again, she does not. I looked up Ursula. it means Little She Bear. Just doesn't work, though the title Ursula is Thirsty is a catchy title.
Ursula. For now, my tree is Ursula. And I love her.
It's almost Christmas. May your tree hunting be as merry.
Aunt Jackie arrived with bacon and eggs and we filled our bellies before bundling up for adventure.
We took the old Volvo wagon around the bend and pulled up against the snow fence that keeps the younguns in the coral of evergreens. A fire was going, cider was mulling, and the country gal who owned this small business came out wearing a plaid flannel shirt and a beautiful, genuine smile. Ahhhhh, the blessings of small town life.
Axel, being almost twelve, was champin' at the bit. He knew he was gonna get a chance to be on one end of the saw. To keep him busy, we handed him a bright red, ten foot, two by two, marked off in one foot lines to carry around and measure up any trees that struck our fancy. He was satisfied. Not necessarily safe to be near, but satisfied.
"Too tall. Too short. Too prickly. Really? No., Too big! " The chorus rang out in the cold, crisp air. The little girls rans on little legs and the pre-teen swung his stick. One or two possiblilties noted, we headed south and then up the small hill. " This one? What about this one? I like this one. " the big girls chimed.
And then it was over. Elizabeth called for me to look at one on the edge of the lot. "It's curly, just like Natalie's hair." she sang; and it is. My story book tree looks like she had a permanent. Or perhaps she has tentacles, or sweet fluid limbs that sway in the breeze, just like Lorelai the ballerina. Whatever you call them, my response was immediate. "Start Cutting!" I called out, "we're done!"
Axel was in his glory. He and Aunt Elizabeth made quick work of it and soon he was dragging our curly girl up the hill to the waiting and watching operator. Tossing it through the magic string wrapper, lilke a lumberjack, she left us free to toast marshmallows and pick out baubles for the little ones to carry home.
The tired toddlers in bed, the tree rested in the stand. I was mesmerized. I just turned sixty and I have never seen any thing like it. After naptime and the local parade of the Christmas puppets was over, the ornaments stood with anticipation. Never before had they hung from the curve of such graceful limbs. Tender shoots curled under to hold our treasures. One branch, curving in and then out, holds, three, count them three ornaments, each facing a different direction. I feel like I have a new grandchild. I want everyone to come and see. " look, look, " I want to shout, her name is........"
Her name is. I am thinking she is the makings of a children's book. She reminds me of Ursula in The Little Mermaid, but then again, she does not. I looked up Ursula. it means Little She Bear. Just doesn't work, though the title Ursula is Thirsty is a catchy title.
Ursula. For now, my tree is Ursula. And I love her.
It's almost Christmas. May your tree hunting be as merry.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Gratitude
Gratitude
A Grateful attitude
A gift
A choice
How to live and why to give
A means to rejoice.
Gratitude
A grateful attitude
Toward our sisters, our mothers,
Our fathers and brothers,
Toward others - and you.
Gratitude
A pattern, a path; a journey to share; a reason to care,
A way to soar and an open door,
A cause to laugh, perhaps to roar,
And so much more.
Yes, Gratitude
Is a grateful attitude
For wisdom and grace,
For courage and will,
For the whole of the universe and the bird on the sill.
Ah, Gratitude
The grateful attitude
Gift of each morning and choice of each night.
Help me to live you, teach me to give you,
Fill all my days with your joys and delight.
Oh, Gratitude
Sweet, sweet Gratitude,
Be the song that I sing and the flute that I play,
Be the treasure I carry within.
Be the dance that I dance and the poem that I pen
Be the prayer that I pray every day.
Beverly A. Kipp, August 2010
A Grateful attitude
A gift
A choice
How to live and why to give
A means to rejoice.
Gratitude
A grateful attitude
Toward our sisters, our mothers,
Our fathers and brothers,
Toward others - and you.
Gratitude
A pattern, a path; a journey to share; a reason to care,
A way to soar and an open door,
A cause to laugh, perhaps to roar,
And so much more.
Yes, Gratitude
Is a grateful attitude
For wisdom and grace,
For courage and will,
For the whole of the universe and the bird on the sill.
Ah, Gratitude
The grateful attitude
Gift of each morning and choice of each night.
Help me to live you, teach me to give you,
Fill all my days with your joys and delight.
Oh, Gratitude
Sweet, sweet Gratitude,
Be the song that I sing and the flute that I play,
Be the treasure I carry within.
Be the dance that I dance and the poem that I pen
Be the prayer that I pray every day.
Beverly A. Kipp, August 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Condensed Version of Feasting, Fasting and Thanks Giving
Hear ye! Hear ye! for all the folk who wanted to sign up for Feasting, Fasting and Thanksgiving and didn't, I am offering a one week version from November 15th- 19th.
As you prepare for Thanksgiving, feast on faith, family and friends; fast from over-indulgence and over-commitment and let your loved ones know how grateful you are for all the blessings in your life - and how you wish to pass them on. Cost is $49. contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up. Don't miss this opportunity to enter this hectic season with intention.
As you prepare for Thanksgiving, feast on faith, family and friends; fast from over-indulgence and over-commitment and let your loved ones know how grateful you are for all the blessings in your life - and how you wish to pass them on. Cost is $49. contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up. Don't miss this opportunity to enter this hectic season with intention.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
December
Winter Courses
Wrapping Matters
Three weeks of writing about the way we wrap our Holy day and holiday days.
Why settle for the old wrapping of hustle and bustle when our days can be wrapped in the shimmer of wonder and delight? Think you will be too busy to write? Remember, it is three paragraphs each night and the gift of observing each day of each week from November 29th - my birthday! - to December 17th will be more than worth the time it takes to wrap those days in paper and ink.
Cost $129.
Prepare the Way.
Imagine three weeks of intentionally preparing your heart for the coming of The Christ Child. Modeled after Wearing the WORD, we will view each weekday through the lens of Scripture. We will begin on Advent, November 28th, and end December 17th ready to see with eyes wide open the gift that Christmas was meant to be.
Cost $129.
Consider giving any one of these courses as a gift to a friend or loved one. Lovely gift certificates will be delivered before the class begins with at least a one week notice.
Email me at bkipp@frontiernet.net for registration and payment arrangements. Payment guarantees placement in the course.
All November and December participants will receive a $29 dollar gift certificate toward any January or February course.
Wrapping Matters
Three weeks of writing about the way we wrap our Holy day and holiday days.
Why settle for the old wrapping of hustle and bustle when our days can be wrapped in the shimmer of wonder and delight? Think you will be too busy to write? Remember, it is three paragraphs each night and the gift of observing each day of each week from November 29th - my birthday! - to December 17th will be more than worth the time it takes to wrap those days in paper and ink.
Cost $129.
Prepare the Way.
Imagine three weeks of intentionally preparing your heart for the coming of The Christ Child. Modeled after Wearing the WORD, we will view each weekday through the lens of Scripture. We will begin on Advent, November 28th, and end December 17th ready to see with eyes wide open the gift that Christmas was meant to be.
Cost $129.
Consider giving any one of these courses as a gift to a friend or loved one. Lovely gift certificates will be delivered before the class begins with at least a one week notice.
Email me at bkipp@frontiernet.net for registration and payment arrangements. Payment guarantees placement in the course.
All November and December participants will receive a $29 dollar gift certificate toward any January or February course.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wonder
You may have noticed that my Face Book posts this week are "wonder" quotes. I am writing with amazing and "wonder" full women for three weeks and I just can't keep all the excitement to myself.
Fall is falling all around us here in Upstate New York, with the wind blowing and the rain soon to follow. The leaves which are just beginning to turn will be blown off before they can dazzle our eyes with their spectacular color - or so it seems, and yet, in a few weeks, the magnificence of a Hudson Valley Autumn will be there to behold. Wonder of wonders.
So, even though you may not have signed up to write with me this course, open your eyes to all the wonder around you every day - and if you want to try your hand at it, take one of the quotes, carry it with you all day, and then, sit down and write three paragraphs, yup, just three, and post them here in the comments. Then sign up for one of the next courses which will be posted in just a few days.
Enjoy.
beverly a kipp
Quest House
Fall is falling all around us here in Upstate New York, with the wind blowing and the rain soon to follow. The leaves which are just beginning to turn will be blown off before they can dazzle our eyes with their spectacular color - or so it seems, and yet, in a few weeks, the magnificence of a Hudson Valley Autumn will be there to behold. Wonder of wonders.
So, even though you may not have signed up to write with me this course, open your eyes to all the wonder around you every day - and if you want to try your hand at it, take one of the quotes, carry it with you all day, and then, sit down and write three paragraphs, yup, just three, and post them here in the comments. Then sign up for one of the next courses which will be posted in just a few days.
Enjoy.
beverly a kipp
Quest House
Sunday, September 26, 2010
An Epiphany
It came to me after weeks of not writing a single word. I was too tired for words. Too weary for feeling. I had nothing to say, nothing to write. This is what writer's call a "dry spell" I said to my "newly identified as a writer" self. I didn't pick up a pencil or go near the empty page of the computer. I was just plain empty of words to write about it. I was sure of it.
And there was no surprise really.
I had just had a total knee replacement. My eleven year grandson, Axel, had just moved in with me for his first year in middle school.
My church was, and is, struggling and I am considered by some to be a leader and by others to be a very large part of the problem.
My aunt has cancer.
I convinced myself that I was living the highs and lows of this ride satisfactorily and so I also convinced myself that I had no time to write, no energy to create sentences and really, that the joy and pain were enough. No words needed.
Sometimes living it is all you can do.
And then I had acupuncture. Simple acupuncture in an open setting. The gifted acupuncturist told me it was for general stress relief. In this inexpensive, clinic- like setting this session would not be aimed at my recovery. It would be just the garden variety, straightforward placement of little arrows of stainless steel in my empty of words, tired body. She told me they would not be aimed at my new knee. Just stress relief, from everyday stress.
I believed her. I climbed up on that table and closed my eyes and I had complete faith in the power of those little pinpricks to relieve my stress. I was totally unsuspecting.
And you know what those little stainless steel needles did to me? They opened up my tear ducts! Like rotor rooter open!! I walked out of that beautiful, quiet room where I had lay for a mere 30 minutes and I got in my car and much to my wonder I started to cry. For days the tears came to music and to the plight of my friends. I cried when I read a sappy story on Face Book and I cried when I read a prayer request from my struggling church. The tears came as my granddaughter opened birthday presents. And then, with the tears came something else. I had an epiphany.
I hadn't stopped writing because I have NOTHING to say. I had stopped writing because there are so many words waiting to get out of me that of I was afraid if I opened those floodgates I might just get swept away in the storm. But, guess what - it's too late. The archer hit her mark. So,
I have just had knee replacement surgery.
My grandson, my sweet sweet grandson, has just moved in with me.
My church is struggling.
My Aunt has cancer.
And I have been pierced with the needle of desire.....
A desire to write again,
Get ready. My tears are nearly all spilled, now, here come the words!!!!!!!!!!!.
And there was no surprise really.
I had just had a total knee replacement. My eleven year grandson, Axel, had just moved in with me for his first year in middle school.
My church was, and is, struggling and I am considered by some to be a leader and by others to be a very large part of the problem.
My aunt has cancer.
I convinced myself that I was living the highs and lows of this ride satisfactorily and so I also convinced myself that I had no time to write, no energy to create sentences and really, that the joy and pain were enough. No words needed.
Sometimes living it is all you can do.
And then I had acupuncture. Simple acupuncture in an open setting. The gifted acupuncturist told me it was for general stress relief. In this inexpensive, clinic- like setting this session would not be aimed at my recovery. It would be just the garden variety, straightforward placement of little arrows of stainless steel in my empty of words, tired body. She told me they would not be aimed at my new knee. Just stress relief, from everyday stress.
I believed her. I climbed up on that table and closed my eyes and I had complete faith in the power of those little pinpricks to relieve my stress. I was totally unsuspecting.
And you know what those little stainless steel needles did to me? They opened up my tear ducts! Like rotor rooter open!! I walked out of that beautiful, quiet room where I had lay for a mere 30 minutes and I got in my car and much to my wonder I started to cry. For days the tears came to music and to the plight of my friends. I cried when I read a sappy story on Face Book and I cried when I read a prayer request from my struggling church. The tears came as my granddaughter opened birthday presents. And then, with the tears came something else. I had an epiphany.
I hadn't stopped writing because I have NOTHING to say. I had stopped writing because there are so many words waiting to get out of me that of I was afraid if I opened those floodgates I might just get swept away in the storm. But, guess what - it's too late. The archer hit her mark. So,
I have just had knee replacement surgery.
My grandson, my sweet sweet grandson, has just moved in with me.
My church is struggling.
My Aunt has cancer.
And I have been pierced with the needle of desire.....
A desire to write again,
Get ready. My tears are nearly all spilled, now, here come the words!!!!!!!!!!!.
Monday, September 20, 2010
GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!!
WALKING WITH WONDER and Wearing the WORD have been postponed by a week to accommodate two of our course mates.
The new starting date is September 27th. Room for just a few more in each course. Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up!
See previous post for details.
Hoping to hear from you.
Joyfully,
beverly
The new starting date is September 27th. Room for just a few more in each course. Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up!
See previous post for details.
Hoping to hear from you.
Joyfully,
beverly
Friday, September 10, 2010
FALL FOCUS PHRASE COURSE SCHEDULE
Radmacher Focus Phrase™ is a daily writing process which invites you to look at your day through the lens of awareness and intention. Participants are given a new phrase to work with each weekday for three consecutive weeks. Conscious attention during your day provides a means to capture the intricate moments of joy and wonder (or perhaps heartache or fear) that otherwise go unnoticed or unaddressed. Focus phrase allows you to set the course of your day. Rather than unconsciously riding the wave of work and play, you are attentive to the highs and lows, the ordinary moments and the extraordinary ones and to capture them by writing about them in your own words. In forwarding your reflection (no more than three paragraphs) to the moderator a mirror is held up for you to see anew the sentences and paragraphs that make up the story of your life.
QUEST HOUSE FALL 2010 OFFERINGS
WEARING THE WORD, based on Scripture passages, focuses on “clothing” yourself in the verses that we so often carry and in our hearts but do not necessarily wear in our actions or on our tongues.
The participants of the summer 2010 group found this course life-altering. For returning participants, there will be a new group of Scripture passages. Join us on this amazing journey and, for three weeks, immerse yourself in THE WORD. $129.
WALKING WITH WONDER
Pumpkins turning orange on the vine, ruby red apples waiting to be picked off the tree or turned into dessert, fall is a feast of colors and flavors. The WALKING WITH WONDER phrases will tickle your senses encouraging fun and fanciful writing.
This year, revel in the wonders of Autumn and take three weeks to record your revelations three paragraphs at a time. $129.
Both Courses start September 20th and end October 8th. Upon registering you will receive an email with the details of what you can expect from me ( regular, personal feedback) and what I expect from you ( commitment to daily writing ).
More information and testimonials can be found in previous blog entries.
Contact me, Beverly A. Kipp at bkipp@frontiernet.net to register, and for any questions. Your registration guarantees you a place in the course.
You are invited to follow my blogs at http://beverlykippquesthouse.blogspot.com
http://beverlykipp.blogspot.com
QUEST HOUSE FALL 2010 OFFERINGS
WEARING THE WORD, based on Scripture passages, focuses on “clothing” yourself in the verses that we so often carry and in our hearts but do not necessarily wear in our actions or on our tongues.
The participants of the summer 2010 group found this course life-altering. For returning participants, there will be a new group of Scripture passages. Join us on this amazing journey and, for three weeks, immerse yourself in THE WORD. $129.
WALKING WITH WONDER
Pumpkins turning orange on the vine, ruby red apples waiting to be picked off the tree or turned into dessert, fall is a feast of colors and flavors. The WALKING WITH WONDER phrases will tickle your senses encouraging fun and fanciful writing.
This year, revel in the wonders of Autumn and take three weeks to record your revelations three paragraphs at a time. $129.
Both Courses start September 20th and end October 8th. Upon registering you will receive an email with the details of what you can expect from me ( regular, personal feedback) and what I expect from you ( commitment to daily writing ).
More information and testimonials can be found in previous blog entries.
Contact me, Beverly A. Kipp at bkipp@frontiernet.net to register, and for any questions. Your registration guarantees you a place in the course.
You are invited to follow my blogs at http://beverlykippquesthouse.blogspot.com
http://beverlykipp.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Chapters
Life is a series of chapters. Like wedding vows, life is better and worse, richer and poorer, sickness and health. And it is mix and match. A chapter might be better and poorer or richer and sickness.
My life has been richly blessed. Unequivocally. And I was blessed to be raised to recognize and celebrate the joy in all chapters. Every one.
The challenge for me is not ever, "why me/why now/why this?". Rather, my struggle as a mother, a grandmother, a friend, is when the true and genuine needs of one child/grandchild/loved one, while easy to meet, in fact, causes true and genuine pain for another one.
It seems simple when our own chapters are mixed, but when the chapters of the ones I love don't mix and match, how do I juggle that? How to give wise council? How to make choices that celebrate one even while accepting that another is hurting? That is the challenge I face.
One rich and wonderful chapter of my life has just drawn to a close. It was joyous, it was painful.
The next chapter is on the horizon. I would love for it to be only joyous, but somehow, I expect it will be a mixed bag: pleasure and pain, delight and distress, joy and sorrow.
Still, my life is richly blessed. Unequivocally.
I hope, at the beginning and end of each chapter, that all of the people I love can say the same.
My life has been richly blessed. Unequivocally. And I was blessed to be raised to recognize and celebrate the joy in all chapters. Every one.
The challenge for me is not ever, "why me/why now/why this?". Rather, my struggle as a mother, a grandmother, a friend, is when the true and genuine needs of one child/grandchild/loved one, while easy to meet, in fact, causes true and genuine pain for another one.
It seems simple when our own chapters are mixed, but when the chapters of the ones I love don't mix and match, how do I juggle that? How to give wise council? How to make choices that celebrate one even while accepting that another is hurting? That is the challenge I face.
One rich and wonderful chapter of my life has just drawn to a close. It was joyous, it was painful.
The next chapter is on the horizon. I would love for it to be only joyous, but somehow, I expect it will be a mixed bag: pleasure and pain, delight and distress, joy and sorrow.
Still, my life is richly blessed. Unequivocally.
I hope, at the beginning and end of each chapter, that all of the people I love can say the same.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Gratitude
Thanks Giving. A full time job if, like me, your life is blessed with a family who loves you and enough.
What is enough and why is it so different from one to another?
I have enough food, enough money to make ends meet - or come close - and enough to share without too much discomfort.
I have enough heat and a fan, enough water, enough rest - except when I stay up too late on a work night and play here on the computer.
I have enough love; enough coming in and enough going out. That keeps love from getting stagnant you know, when you share it.
I have enough clothes to wear, and most of them fit.
That is a lot to be thankful for. Don't you agree?
My niece, Sarah Kipp, is an amazing woman who is making it a practice to keep a daily journal entry about all that she is grateful for. I write on it every few days because I applaud her efforts and because it makes me feel good.
That's right. Keeping track of my blessings, my abundance, makes me feel better. Just like she said it would. In fact, it makes me feel GREAT!
soooooo,,,,,,,,,
I have decided to regularly jot down a note of my own gratitudes here at
The Quest House, A place of Healing and Inspiration.
What could possibly be more healing or inspiring than giving thanks?
Read along,
comment often, and add your own blessings.
Sarah's motto is
Transforming the World... One Thank You at a Time.
Amen I say to that, Amen.
for your reading pleasure, and for inspiration, her links are
http://www.gratitudegala.blogspot.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/gratitudegala2010/letter
enjoy
oh, lest i forget, today I am thankful for you, the folks that make my time here worthwhile, the ones who let me know I have inspired them with my words, the ones who laugh, yup, you. That's what I am grateful for today.
joyfully, beverly
What is enough and why is it so different from one to another?
I have enough food, enough money to make ends meet - or come close - and enough to share without too much discomfort.
I have enough heat and a fan, enough water, enough rest - except when I stay up too late on a work night and play here on the computer.
I have enough love; enough coming in and enough going out. That keeps love from getting stagnant you know, when you share it.
I have enough clothes to wear, and most of them fit.
That is a lot to be thankful for. Don't you agree?
My niece, Sarah Kipp, is an amazing woman who is making it a practice to keep a daily journal entry about all that she is grateful for. I write on it every few days because I applaud her efforts and because it makes me feel good.
That's right. Keeping track of my blessings, my abundance, makes me feel better. Just like she said it would. In fact, it makes me feel GREAT!
soooooo,,,,,,,,,
I have decided to regularly jot down a note of my own gratitudes here at
The Quest House, A place of Healing and Inspiration.
What could possibly be more healing or inspiring than giving thanks?
Read along,
comment often, and add your own blessings.
Sarah's motto is
Transforming the World... One Thank You at a Time.
Amen I say to that, Amen.
for your reading pleasure, and for inspiration, her links are
http://www.gratitudegala.blogspot.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/gratitudegala2010/letter
enjoy
oh, lest i forget, today I am thankful for you, the folks that make my time here worthwhile, the ones who let me know I have inspired them with my words, the ones who laugh, yup, you. That's what I am grateful for today.
joyfully, beverly
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Wondering what to do?
Sign up for Walking with Wonder!!!
Starting tomorrow. This daily writing exercise is designed to open your eyes to the smallest of wonders in each and every day. Using the Radmacher Focus Phrase™ process you will be sent a phrase each night and write three paragraphs to me each evening for three consecutive weeks,Monday to Friday.
Don't over think this decision. For $129. you can end your summer having "seen" all there was to see in these last few weeks.
This is what some of my writers have said of this experience -
I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, feels that they "don't have much to say" because most days I found I had a lot to say! FC, Rhinebeck
This process really opens your eyes and your heart and Beverly really knows how to guide you. SP, Clinton
Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up We Start Tomorrow!!!
Joyfully, Beverly
Starting tomorrow. This daily writing exercise is designed to open your eyes to the smallest of wonders in each and every day. Using the Radmacher Focus Phrase™ process you will be sent a phrase each night and write three paragraphs to me each evening for three consecutive weeks,Monday to Friday.
Don't over think this decision. For $129. you can end your summer having "seen" all there was to see in these last few weeks.
This is what some of my writers have said of this experience -
I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, feels that they "don't have much to say" because most days I found I had a lot to say! FC, Rhinebeck
This process really opens your eyes and your heart and Beverly really knows how to guide you. SP, Clinton
Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up We Start Tomorrow!!!
Joyfully, Beverly
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Imagine
Imagine waking each week day to a new “phrase of awareness”. A phrase that opens your eyes to the many chance opportunities we all have and don't see.
Imagine seeing them! Then imagine recording them in three simple paragraphs and sending them off to me.
If you have long wished that you had a daily writing practice, this is the way to begin! If you are in a transition in your life, struggling to sort out which path to take, or simply feel dull more often than you would like, wake up by writing!
There is no red pen; spelling and grammar are traded in for the delights of discovery.
We all need accountability for success. As the moderator of RADMACHER FOCUS PHRASE™, I am your accountability factor. I will send individualized
responses to reflect back what you share, to cheer you on, to applaud your discoveries.
In just three or four weeks you will be amazed at what you have seen in your daily routine, at work, at play and in the mirror.
"Walking With Wonder" will be offered in August. A three week course designed to open your eyes to the smallest of wonders in each and every day. August 2nd through August 20th, Monday to Friday. $129.
Ongoing Enrollment in "Wearing the WORD", an amazing experience of using daily Scripture verses as a way to enhance your spiritual journey. Three weeks $129. Four weeks $149. New Scripture passages each time so feel free to return over and over again. Invite a friend on this journey with you for a 20% discount for each of you through the month of December.
Fasting and Feasting will be offered in September. Details soon.
A comment from a recent participant,
I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, feels that they "don't have much to say" because most days I found I had a lot to say! FC in Rhinebeck, NY
Imagine!!
Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net with questions or to register.
bevelry kipp phraseologist, writer, speaker
Imagine seeing them! Then imagine recording them in three simple paragraphs and sending them off to me.
If you have long wished that you had a daily writing practice, this is the way to begin! If you are in a transition in your life, struggling to sort out which path to take, or simply feel dull more often than you would like, wake up by writing!
There is no red pen; spelling and grammar are traded in for the delights of discovery.
We all need accountability for success. As the moderator of RADMACHER FOCUS PHRASE™, I am your accountability factor. I will send individualized
responses to reflect back what you share, to cheer you on, to applaud your discoveries.
In just three or four weeks you will be amazed at what you have seen in your daily routine, at work, at play and in the mirror.
"Walking With Wonder" will be offered in August. A three week course designed to open your eyes to the smallest of wonders in each and every day. August 2nd through August 20th, Monday to Friday. $129.
Ongoing Enrollment in "Wearing the WORD", an amazing experience of using daily Scripture verses as a way to enhance your spiritual journey. Three weeks $129. Four weeks $149. New Scripture passages each time so feel free to return over and over again. Invite a friend on this journey with you for a 20% discount for each of you through the month of December.
Fasting and Feasting will be offered in September. Details soon.
A comment from a recent participant,
I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, feels that they "don't have much to say" because most days I found I had a lot to say! FC in Rhinebeck, NY
Imagine!!
Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net with questions or to register.
bevelry kipp phraseologist, writer, speaker
Saturday, July 3, 2010
It's not too late
Practice Encounter - read the entry before this - has TWO starting dates in July, sooo, if you were thinking of giving this a try, it is not too late.
The first group is starting Monday July 5th, but several participants needed a bit of time after the holiday before starting so they will begin Monday July 12th. Each course is three weeks long.
Come on. Be bold. You know you want to.
join in the delight of discovery this hot summer month.
email me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to register and begin PRACTICING ENCOUNTER!!!!
beverly
The first group is starting Monday July 5th, but several participants needed a bit of time after the holiday before starting so they will begin Monday July 12th. Each course is three weeks long.
Come on. Be bold. You know you want to.
join in the delight of discovery this hot summer month.
email me at bkipp@frontiernet.net to register and begin PRACTICING ENCOUNTER!!!!
beverly
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Birdsong
It is a deliciously cool summer morning.
Early.
I rise from the bed that the cat and the dog have shared with me and pad down the stairs lit with stained glass window light. It is time for tea.
Cup in hand I return to The Quest House - the cream colored walls and the cool blue ceiling welcome me.
This little room in my home, once a nursery, once an office, is now the second heartbeat of my home beating next to the thrum of the kitchen drum. It is here that I write and read the writing of my clients and friends; here that I dream of the days to come - a time when The Quest House will be another house; a guest house with a great room and a garden and rooms for the wounded and for dreamers to come and be nurtured, to be healed, to be inspired.
I open the rich warm gauzy orange curtains to let in the early morning light and the still cool breeze of morning and then turn to my computer.
Tap, tap, tap. Scritch, scritch, scritch. I slowly swivel back toward the window.
Perched on the peek of the silver porch roof dances a chickadee. We eye one another before she skates down the slope and hops into the lush, dense green of the maple tree singing as she goes.
Ah, to start the day with a melody at my window and a song in my heart.
May your day be as richly blessed my friends.
Early.
I rise from the bed that the cat and the dog have shared with me and pad down the stairs lit with stained glass window light. It is time for tea.
Cup in hand I return to The Quest House - the cream colored walls and the cool blue ceiling welcome me.
This little room in my home, once a nursery, once an office, is now the second heartbeat of my home beating next to the thrum of the kitchen drum. It is here that I write and read the writing of my clients and friends; here that I dream of the days to come - a time when The Quest House will be another house; a guest house with a great room and a garden and rooms for the wounded and for dreamers to come and be nurtured, to be healed, to be inspired.
I open the rich warm gauzy orange curtains to let in the early morning light and the still cool breeze of morning and then turn to my computer.
Tap, tap, tap. Scritch, scritch, scritch. I slowly swivel back toward the window.
Perched on the peek of the silver porch roof dances a chickadee. We eye one another before she skates down the slope and hops into the lush, dense green of the maple tree singing as she goes.
Ah, to start the day with a melody at my window and a song in my heart.
May your day be as richly blessed my friends.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Practicing Encounter
Practicing Encounter - imagine!!!
Imagine waking each week day in July to carry a new phrase of awareness with you that opens your eyes to the many chance opportunities we all have and don't see.
Imagine seeing them! Then imagine recording them in three simple paragraphs, yes, just three, and sending them off to me.
If you have long wished that you had a daily writing practice, this is the way to begin!
If you are in a transition in your life, struggling to sort out which path to take, or simply feel dull more often than you would like, wake up with writing.
You need not be an English major. There is no red pen; spelling and grammar are suspended and traded in for the delights of discovery.
Join me from July 5th til July 23rd, three weeks, Monday through Friday. You just might encounter the real you!
Like joining a gym or starting a more healthful eating plan, we all need accountability for success. As the moderator, I am your accountability factor and I send individualized responses at least twice a week to reflect back what you share, to cheer you on as you write, to applaud your discoveries.
At the end of three weeks you will be amazed at what you have seen in your daily routine, at work, at play and in the mirror.
Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net for details and to register.
The cost is $129
beverly a kipp
The Quest House
A Writing Place of Healing and Inspiration.
Please forward this link to all your friends, post it on your face book page and help me spread the word. Become a follower. Encourage one another and join the fun with a friend or give the gift of writing with a gift certificate for Practice Encounter. Thanks for your support.
Imagine waking each week day in July to carry a new phrase of awareness with you that opens your eyes to the many chance opportunities we all have and don't see.
Imagine seeing them! Then imagine recording them in three simple paragraphs, yes, just three, and sending them off to me.
If you have long wished that you had a daily writing practice, this is the way to begin!
If you are in a transition in your life, struggling to sort out which path to take, or simply feel dull more often than you would like, wake up with writing.
You need not be an English major. There is no red pen; spelling and grammar are suspended and traded in for the delights of discovery.
Join me from July 5th til July 23rd, three weeks, Monday through Friday. You just might encounter the real you!
Like joining a gym or starting a more healthful eating plan, we all need accountability for success. As the moderator, I am your accountability factor and I send individualized responses at least twice a week to reflect back what you share, to cheer you on as you write, to applaud your discoveries.
At the end of three weeks you will be amazed at what you have seen in your daily routine, at work, at play and in the mirror.
Contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net for details and to register.
The cost is $129
beverly a kipp
The Quest House
A Writing Place of Healing and Inspiration.
Please forward this link to all your friends, post it on your face book page and help me spread the word. Become a follower. Encourage one another and join the fun with a friend or give the gift of writing with a gift certificate for Practice Encounter. Thanks for your support.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Offering Radmacher Focus Phrase™
THE QUEST HOUSE A writing place for Inspiration and Healing is offering Radmacher Focus Phrase™
Focus Phrase is a three week daily writing process which invites you to look at your day through the lens of awareness and intention. Participants are given a new phrase to work with each weekday for three or four consecutive weeks. Conscious attention during your day provides a means to capture the intricate moments of joy and wonder (or perhaps heartache or fear) that otherwise go unnoticed or unaddressed. Focus phrase allows you to set the course of your day; rather than unconsciously riding the wave of work and play you are attentive to the highs and lows, the ordinary moments and the extraordinary ones and to capture them by writing about them in your own words. In forwarding your reflection (no more than three paragraphs) to the moderator a mirror is held up for you to see anew the sentences and paragraphs that make up the story of your life.
Quest House Summer 2010 offerings
WEARING THE WORD, based on Scripture passages, focuses on “clothing” yourself in the verses that we so often carry and in our hearts but do not necessarily wear in our actions or on our tongues.
It is a three week course and enrollment is ongoing. Scripture passages will vary, so join in often and immerse yourself in THE WORD.
PRACTICE ENCOUNTER
A delightful way to truly engage in all that summer has to offer one day at a time, one phrase at time. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enjoy every shooting star and every thunderstorm and record it in this chapter of YOUR life JULY 2010.
WONDER IN THE WORKPLACE
In August we will focus on the delight to be found in the workplace.
Contact me Beverly A. Kipp at bkipp@frontiernet.net to register, for fee information and for any questions. You are invited to follow my blogs at http://beverlykippquesthouse.blogspot.com
http://beverlykipp.blogspot.com
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wearing the Word
WITH MY WORD…
deposit MY WORD into the bank account of your heart; paint MY WORD on your soul; write MY WORD on your hand; wear MY WORD like sacred jewelry; let MY WORD lead what you teach; include MY WORD as the base of your conversation and as if it were the spice in your food; let MY WORD be the road you walk; invite MY WORD to be the dawn that wakes you and the lullaby that sends you to sleep.
a mary anne radmacher paraphrase from Deuteronomy 11:18-21
That is the framework for the next three exciting weeks that I will share writing with seven amazing women.
It is a process that has changed my life and my relationship to THE WORD. Somehow, the act of reading scripture, and the decision to WEAR scripture in the way she describes, changes it. It helps me keep my promise. I feel like I always have it with me.
I will share my own writing here when the Spirit - with a capital S- moves me.
In the meantime I will be reveling in the opportunity to read what others are writing as they go about their ordinary days seeing extrordinary
Stay tuned.
beverly
deposit MY WORD into the bank account of your heart; paint MY WORD on your soul; write MY WORD on your hand; wear MY WORD like sacred jewelry; let MY WORD lead what you teach; include MY WORD as the base of your conversation and as if it were the spice in your food; let MY WORD be the road you walk; invite MY WORD to be the dawn that wakes you and the lullaby that sends you to sleep.
a mary anne radmacher paraphrase from Deuteronomy 11:18-21
That is the framework for the next three exciting weeks that I will share writing with seven amazing women.
It is a process that has changed my life and my relationship to THE WORD. Somehow, the act of reading scripture, and the decision to WEAR scripture in the way she describes, changes it. It helps me keep my promise. I feel like I always have it with me.
I will share my own writing here when the Spirit - with a capital S- moves me.
In the meantime I will be reveling in the opportunity to read what others are writing as they go about their ordinary days seeing extrordinary
Stay tuned.
beverly
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Don't miss the chance for wonder.
"Wearing the WORD" starts MONDAY!!!! There are a few more openings to join me for 15 days of wonder. Write each day in response to a prompt sent the night before. It is amazing what you "see" each day when you change the lens you are looking through.
Some have asked, " why Scripture verses? I am not a church goer!" and this is my reply.
Scripture is universal. If I told you one of the phrases we - yes we - would write to was " Do unto others," you would know the phrase, the meaning in a traditional sense and would not hesitate to jump in understanding that the Christian Scriptures have something to teach us about ourselves. Remember, this is about self discovery, not a creative writing or journaling course and not a term paper. There are no pre- requisites. "We write to learn what we already know." is how the one and only mary anne radmacher puts it. ( go ahead - look her up and be wowed by her. )
So, whether you belong to a church community and know the books of the Bible by heart or are afraid to enter a church for fear it will fall on you, know that the phrases and Scripture verses I will send you are compelling, challenging phrases, but they are not obscure, not arcane, not a set up and the only grade at the end will be the improvement in the grade of your daily life!!!
See the previous post for specific details, and EMAIL ME AT bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up or ask questions. Only three days till we get started. ENJOY.
beverly kipp
The Quest House - Writing for Healing and Inspiration.
Some have asked, " why Scripture verses? I am not a church goer!" and this is my reply.
Scripture is universal. If I told you one of the phrases we - yes we - would write to was " Do unto others," you would know the phrase, the meaning in a traditional sense and would not hesitate to jump in understanding that the Christian Scriptures have something to teach us about ourselves. Remember, this is about self discovery, not a creative writing or journaling course and not a term paper. There are no pre- requisites. "We write to learn what we already know." is how the one and only mary anne radmacher puts it. ( go ahead - look her up and be wowed by her. )
So, whether you belong to a church community and know the books of the Bible by heart or are afraid to enter a church for fear it will fall on you, know that the phrases and Scripture verses I will send you are compelling, challenging phrases, but they are not obscure, not arcane, not a set up and the only grade at the end will be the improvement in the grade of your daily life!!!
See the previous post for specific details, and EMAIL ME AT bkipp@frontiernet.net to sign up or ask questions. Only three days till we get started. ENJOY.
beverly kipp
The Quest House - Writing for Healing and Inspiration.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
AN INVITATION
This is an invitation to join me for three weeks, 15 weekdays, of writing. Beginning June 14th I am offering a Radmacher Focus Phrase™ session titled Wearing the WORD.
Focus Phrase™ is a process created by mary anne radmacher, a writer, speaker, artist, and "inspirator" whose work is well known. Google her and enjoy what you read. Purchase one of her books and be inspired.
She says this about the focus phrase writing. " It is a process which promotes discovery, personal insight, greater observation and daily writing practice."
After a lifetime of Bible study and church service in many capacities, working with mary anne has made me look at the ordinary moments of my daily life and at my life-long spiritual journey through new eyes. I wish to offer the same for you.
Whether you are new to the Scriptures, or have been reading the Good Book for years, this course will change what you see allowing you to focus on the ( FRESH) way God is at work in YOUR everyday life.
This will be an intensely personal process and is not "canned" content. In addition to the daily phrases and general instruction, support and encouragement, you will receive personalized feedback from me several times each week.
Wear the WORD will draw on Scripture from Philippians, Luke, Jeremiah, Colossians and Isaiah.
Our first day of writing together will be June 14th and we will write Monday through Friday for three weeks ending on July 2nd.
The cost is $ 129 for three weeks: $99 for the first two weeks for those of you who may be traveling the first part of July or who want to try it out for a shorter period of time. If you have questions, or to register, contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net
Those who have enjoyed my teaching have said,
" Beverly ... was very inspiring ," Donna B.
and
"What a gift you have given me." Beth C.
and
"You have a special and rare gift. It is yours and delightful and inspiring. Keep doing it." R. L.
I look forward to Wearing the WORD with you.
Beverly
Focus Phrase™ is a process created by mary anne radmacher, a writer, speaker, artist, and "inspirator" whose work is well known. Google her and enjoy what you read. Purchase one of her books and be inspired.
She says this about the focus phrase writing. " It is a process which promotes discovery, personal insight, greater observation and daily writing practice."
After a lifetime of Bible study and church service in many capacities, working with mary anne has made me look at the ordinary moments of my daily life and at my life-long spiritual journey through new eyes. I wish to offer the same for you.
Whether you are new to the Scriptures, or have been reading the Good Book for years, this course will change what you see allowing you to focus on the ( FRESH) way God is at work in YOUR everyday life.
This will be an intensely personal process and is not "canned" content. In addition to the daily phrases and general instruction, support and encouragement, you will receive personalized feedback from me several times each week.
Wear the WORD will draw on Scripture from Philippians, Luke, Jeremiah, Colossians and Isaiah.
Our first day of writing together will be June 14th and we will write Monday through Friday for three weeks ending on July 2nd.
The cost is $ 129 for three weeks: $99 for the first two weeks for those of you who may be traveling the first part of July or who want to try it out for a shorter period of time. If you have questions, or to register, contact me at bkipp@frontiernet.net
Those who have enjoyed my teaching have said,
" Beverly ... was very inspiring ," Donna B.
and
"What a gift you have given me." Beth C.
and
"You have a special and rare gift. It is yours and delightful and inspiring. Keep doing it." R. L.
I look forward to Wearing the WORD with you.
Beverly
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