Polka Dots of Joy … by Jocelyn Faire

There was a time I wondered if I would run out of crafting ideas. It seemed every year something new came along, and I would love to try my hand at it, from folk painting, to decoupage, to muslin starched dolls, Christmas angels, wax candles, wood crafts and so much more. Soon I realized as long as creativity thrived, there would always be more projects.

In the last number of years my creativity has been in seeking beauty, sharing

sunsets at Clear Lake, Mb

it with others via photography, intentional connections, fun picnics. The focus has moved from doing to being; being in the midst of God's creativity. Sometimes I wonder who paints the skies every morning or night. Who dips the frost on the trees? Who writes the river's song?

This summer I want to spend time intentionally with a book at the river's edge, or viewing the sun moon and stars. I want to become an aficionado of the abundance of heavenly created artwork

With that in mind I would love to share a poem by Mary Oliver.

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?



Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

 —Mary Oliver

Jocelyn is the author of Who is Talking Out of My Head. She also blogs about hope in the hard places at:  http://whoistalking.wordpress.com