Lord, help us find our way back...

My Sabbath Song today is about our world and the economic path we have taken the past few decades... and i pray...Lord, help us find our way back...

as i pursue my dreams i have often asked the Lord to guide me to my deeper purpose...and He has responded by leading, and sometimes dragging me kicking and screaming, into my deeper purpose...

"Most of the companies I admire in the world I think have a deeper purpose. I've met a lot of successful entrepreneurs. They all started their businesses not to maximize shareholder value but to pursue a dream." -John Mackey, CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market, Inc. in a Wall Street Journal interview

looking to increase shareholders gains seems to have enabled a few blinded by greed people to bring our economy and our very lifestyles to the brink of collapse...

"Over the past few years, there clearly has been an erosion in the country's financial values. This erosion has happened at a time when the country's cultural monitors were busy with other things. They were off fighting a cultural war about prayer in schools and the theory of evolution. They were arguing about sex and the separation of church and state, oblivious to the large erosion of economic values happening under their feet." -David Brooks, The New York Times

we can no longer do business as usual..nor should we look to the past to repair the present and the future...we must look for new ideas and new people to be the visionary leaders who will accompany us on our journey out of this darkness and despair...

"Select capable men from all the people...men/women who fear God, trustworthy men/women who hate dishonest gain." -Exodus 18:21

if we had not been trying so hard to negate and devalue our "one country under God" founding principle...perhaps we could have elected/followed/believed those capable, trustworthy individuals who hate dishonest gain and not have been led to this place we find ourselves in today...

yet i stand firm in belief that we will find those visionary leaders who are out there for everyone to see...

"My deepest vocation is to be a witness of the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch." -Henri J.M. Nouwen

and we can catch a glimpse of them if we are open to the possibilities...

"There are people among us who are ethical, responsible and diligent. I hope your story encourages those who toil in obscurity to know that their reward is simple-- they will be ready when the test comes. We need to try to do the right thing every time, to perform our best because we never know what moment in our lives we'll be judged on." -US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger from a Wall Street Journal article by Jeffrey Zaslow

so i make a call to those of you who read my musings...to be open...and aware of those visionaries who touch your life and whose words resonate within your heart...

"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teachings show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you." -Titus 2:7-8

as i follow my path on this journey of my life i struggle to live by the words above...and of an old Irish prayer my Irish grandparents taught me...

"Three wishes I ask of the King when I part from my body: May I have nothing to confess, may I have no enemy, may I own nothing! Three wishes I ask this day of the King, ruler of suns: May I have no dignity or honours that lead me into torment! May I not work without reward before Christ! May God take my soul when it is most pure!"

all photography copyright rebecca e. parsons 2009

felted purses...

this is a felted purse made from thrift store sweaters...underneath are my painted purses (Doodle Bags)...click to enlarge and see the detail...i felt wool sweaters in the washing machine...line them with beautiful fabrics with pockets

the best party of the Universe: LIFE

my friend, Juan Reyes Florido, write this on facebook today...

We have been invited to the best party of the Universe: LIFE. Enjoy it and Help others to enjoy it...

you are my sunshine...somer thompson...

my heart is heavy this morning as i am lifting prayers for a beautiful 7-year old girl, Somer Renee Thompson, who was abducted walking home from school on monday afternoon...almost 48 hours later her body was found in a landfill in Folkston, Gerogia...some 60 miles from her home... get the full story with video here

she loved the song 'you are my sunshine'...as do i...this makes me think of my grandfather, who called me sunshine every morning and often sang the song to me...here johnny cash and bob dylan sing it...

i promised a post about the legend of the feather...and i think it is appropriate today...since i heard the story from my beloved grandfather who sang the song to me...

i found this little feather the day Somer went missing...

this morning i found this little dancing feather...

the legend of the feather

as told me by my grandfather

even as a child i always picked things up from the ground as i walked...you have seen some of them here and in my artwork...

i used to go to my grandfather's office to meet him in the afternoons...we would stroll home together...we would stop and buy a newspaper at the newsstand and he would always get me candy or my favorite a sticky bun at the bakery...while walking home with my grandfather one day, i picked up a feather...and he told me this story...

when you find a feather, it was placed there by your guardian angel...he or she was flying very close that day...so they are very special...and you should always stop and thank your guardian angel for protecting you and watching over you...

my grandfather was always finding subtle ways to share his spirituality with me...he went on to tell me that, if you found a big feather...it was usually St. Michael the Archangel or it could be one of the other Archangels-Raphael or Gabriel...and that the feather was really, really special...

yesterday i found this large feather...

other feathers that have been set before me in the recent past...

please pray for Somer's family...

my morning meditation...

i wish to share with each of you the peace and the comfort i receive on my morning walk by the sea...it begins very early, sometimes it is still dark...at other times the sky is beginning to show the promise of a new day....as i continue to walk, prayerfully...meditatively the first glimpse of the sun is often as the top edges of the clouds above the horizon become tipped with the flames of the sun...this morning i was not alone as a beautiful, 4-foot tall great blue heron was feeding at the edge of the sea...
sometimes she poses for me..today she was skittish and flew south after a few photos...
i watched as her wings spread wide and she glided down the coast...i am blessed to have her near for even a short time...when i turned to walk again the sun was beginning it ascent preceded by rays reaching into the heavens...this is my favorite moment...just before the sun appears...
the the sky turns sienna and golden as the sun climbs above the clouds...and then...
it bursts forth...a brilliant white light in the golden sky...and her rays seek me over the ocean...
and i stand in silence as i feel the warmth touch me cheek...and thank God for the gift of a new day...
i soak in the scene so as to remember everything...i breathe in slowly the salty scents of the sea...and i am truly captivated...mesmerized...
it rises higher above the ocean...and the rays become more intense...and i smile...
the water covers my feet as i stand in awe at the beauty...the majesty of this special moment in time when i am alone with the sun and the sea...and my life is full of meaning and i understand why i am here...

for today is going to offer me a perfect chance to seek, then to study and experience the grandest answers...as i watch...listen, and before the end of this day, i will have a chance to be Divine...for someone is counting on me to be.

"When we settle in our hearts and minds that God's Word can be trusted, we solve a lot of problems in our lives." -Tony Evans, God Can Not be Trusted (and Five Other Lies of Satan)

the heron left behind a feather for me this morning...someday soon i will share the meaning of the feather...

off to the pawn shop...

enough said...

*artwork by Married to the Sea

GHOULS Just Wanna Have Fun!!!

i am partying with vanessa and the gang at

a fanciful twist come join us...

Halloween Time....

Tonight upon your pillow

Close your eyes and hide your head

For the fairies and the goblins

Will be hovering around your head...

My card to you...
My costume...
Close up of headgear...one for outside...one for inside...

Happy Halloween to all my ghoulish friends...I will be dancing the night away...but I forgot my shoes (and pants)...am dancing barefoot...don't step on my toes... thank you ghouls....for hosting such a wonderful event...

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

The scariest thing on Halloween is you! You definitely don't want any kids in costumes crossing your path - and you're willing to scare away any who do. You definitely think of yourself as someone who has a dark side. And part of having that dark side means not showing it. Your inner child is full of wonder and very sweet. You fear people taking advantage for you. You are always worried about protecting your own interests. You're prone to be quite emotional and over dramatic. Deep down, you enjoy being scared out of your mind... even if you don't admit it. You are a total overachiever and workaholic. You're the type of person who plans their elaborate Halloween costume weeks in advance.

What's Your Halloween Personality?