A Garden of Visible Prayer--perfect for the Catholic Gardener

Are you Catholic?  a gardener?  Do you know a gardener who is Catholic?  This blog is for you!

My friend, Margaret Realy has written a wonderful book on creating prayer gardens.  This week, some of her fans and I are trying to bump up her sales and get it on the Amazon Top 100.  Why?  Because it's Spring--a time for new growth.  Because it's the Easter Season--a time for rebirth spiritually.  Because Margaret is a lovely woman living on her disability and deserves some help.  Most of all, though, because the book is a fabulous gift to anyone wanting to create a more prayerful surrounding.

Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer this week--especially April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link.  

Here's a little about the book:

Have you ever wandered outside and wished you could find a place to just sit and pray, a garden space to find solace in the demands of today’s world? Do you desire to create a garden space that will help meet your spiritual needs? Have you wanted to create a memorial garden and not known how to begin?

A Garden of Visible Prayer shows you how to develop a contemplative outdoor space in a creative and systematic manner. Whether you are a new gardener or an old hand, wanting to create a public or a private retreat area, this book will guide you in a step-by-step approach to discern what leads you, personally, to a deeper sense of spirituality and then how to take that information to create your own outdoor space for prayer.

This book is unlike the beautiful glossy garden books that leave you hungry for a lovely landscape or the inspirational books on developing your faith that do not meet your need to experience prayer in nature. A Garden of Visible Prayer helps you feed both hungers for natural beauty and spiritual insight.

Set up in a systematic approach, this book breaks into three easily understandable units to create an outdoor retreat: discern, design, and development. In the discerning process you will establish what elements in a garden lead you to become quiet and introspective, fostering spiritual growth. The next section guides you in designing your prayer space; where to locate it, where to place the features you have chosen and how to select plants. There is also a section on Catholic traditions in the garden at the end of the book. The final chapters on development tell you how to install your garden based on your design.

Gardens are places of growth, not only for plants but for our souls as well. Creating an outdoor spiritual sanctuary, no matter how small, is now within every gardener’s reach.

Sound good? Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer this week--especially April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link.    (Yeah, I sound like one of those internet sites that sells the self-help books, but seriously, I  was very impressed with this book and with Margaret as a gardener, a writer, and a friend.)

I have a black thumb--seriously, I can kill a silk plant--but I still enjoyed this book for the faith content.  Margaret goes way beyond generic ideas for making a beautiful spot to pray:  she uses concrete examples of other gardens and has pulled in a lot of the symbols and lore about specific plants to help you make a garden that is truly meaningful.  I am saving my copy for that information alone.  Here's what some other readers have said:

Long time gardener and author, Margaret Rose Realy believes that solace and the gentle voice of God can be heard in a garden. Take a walk with her within the pages of her beautifully crafted unique book, A Garden of Visible Prayer as she descriptively guides you every step of the way to create your own personal retreat space, incorporating a variety of elements, which will lead you to prayer. Even with meager means or a small space, by following the steps in this book, your end result will be a distinctive and beautiful setting in which you can bask in God’s creation and where you may very well hear His voice telling you to, “Be still and know that I am God.” Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is a Catholic speaker and author of numerous books and EWTN TV host.

Many books can show you how to design a garden that pleases the eye and ensures good plant growth, but few books help you create a garden that promotes your spiritual growth.    Margaret begins by giving you tools to determine the spiritual aspects that you want in your garden as well as the sensual and physical characteristics that influence site, plant and accessory selection. She then provides practical design techniques, pointers on plant selection, soils and media, containers and tips on planting trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.  This book is useful for anyone designing a new garden but invaluable for those of us looking to create a space for meditation, contemplation and prayer.  Dean M. Krauskopf, Ph.D., Extension Education Emeritus, Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service

This is the season for coaxing new life from the ground and creating a beautiful space.  Why not do that for your soul as well?  Please consider buying A Garden of Visible Prayer this week--especially April 15, Margaret's "Amazon Day."  Use this link.  

Waxing--Not for Wimps

My personal torturer...er trainer...Ryion participated in his first body building tournament this weekend.  It's been one of those "bucket list" things for him, and he's in it for the fun, doing the beach body/board shorts competition rather than the actual how-many-veins-can-you-pop section.  Nonetheless, he's taken it pretty seriously.  He worked out extra--we all did a lot of abs one week! He went on a special diet to trim some of the fat and water weight. (No idea where this supposed fat was hiding.)  For a few days, he drank this stuff that looked like antifreeze and was supposed to "cleanse" him. (Let's not even get into the jokes there.)

Nothing, however, was as bad as the waxing. 

I have never had gotten any part of my body waxed, but I've seen it on TV (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, in fact) and just watching was enough to put me off it forever.  Ryion, of course, went for the full body wax.  He said it was the most painful experience of his life--and apparently, it went on for five hours...and he didn't even finish.  When they did one armpit, he called it quits!  He said he has scabs.  So he came to work the next day with a one sore armpit, an hour of sleep, and half his body undone.    When asked if he was going back, he empahtically insisted he'd just shave.

Some of the ladies are veteran waxers.  I guess for those who handle childbirth, this is child's play?  (I'm not testing the theory.)  So we got to hear the relative pain levels of armpit vs. bikini waxing.  You shouldn't wax right after tanning; you should go a couple of weeks before an event, because you might get bumps, then have it redone the day before.  (What?  Do this twice?!)  There's a whole science around removing hair!  I hurt just listening to them!

I will work out.  I will go through all the circuit torture I need to.  But I will stay away form the wax!  That's too high a price for beauty!  After his experience, I think Ryion feels the same.

And, as it turns out, he did just fine with his half-waxed body, after all.  He placed first in both his divisions, and was overall champion--all on his first competition ever, one of the biggest in Utah!

Good thing the prize package didn't include a free body wax.

Way to go, Ryion!

Stomping on Jesus and the Power of Words

Not sure how many of you have seen the article about the Florida university professor who asked his students to write Jesus on paper then stomp on it.  Long story short, one student refused, and allegedly (the university denies it) got into trouble for refusing to do the assignment.  Now, they are saying, the assignment should not have been given.

My original reaction was, "What possible reason would anyone have for assigning kids to 'stomp on Jesus'?"  Then I read in the article that the professor got the idea from a lesson on the power of words.

And my head hits the desk.  Repeatedly.

Let's look at this scenario.  Professor asks students to write an important word on paper.  In this country, which still is primarily Christian, that word is "Jesus."  It's on paper:  it's just a word, a combination of letters, right?

So stomp on it.

One student refuses.  Now here is where it gets stupid.  Instead of insisting he "finish the assignment," he should have been asked, "Why not?"  Let him reply:

Why not?  Because it's more than just a meaningless combination of letters.  It stands for my Savior.  It stands for the core of my beliefs.  It stands for something sacred.  I'm not just stomping on a piece of paper.  I'm stomping on Jesus.

THAT is the reason behind the lesson. Words have power.  Words have meaning.  And some words have meanings that deserve respect, even for just the word itself.

Think about it: why do we care if someone burns a flag or burns someone in effigy--it's just a combination of materials after all.  Or is it?  Why does it feel so cleansing to write an angry letter and then rip it up--those are just letter combinations.  Or do they stand for something more?

IMHO, Professor Poole failed his own lesson, because he totally missed the point.  The Florida Atlantic University officials failed the lesson, because rather than making sure it's applied properly in the future, they are going to remove the lesson totally.  I'd even say any true believers who stomped on the paper missed the point, because words stand for things, and they disrespected what should be the most respected thing in their lives, all because a teacher suggested it.

And the boy who refused?  Give him an A.  He gets it.

Book Promotion: Fun with banners

It's been going around that social media posts with pictures are twice or more times as likely to get read and re-posted than those that are just text.  (Are we becoming and online picturebook people?)  I've been seeing this work effectively with Cheryl Tardif and her book, Submerged, and Beth Barany recommends a book tour banner, so I thought I'd give it a try for Greater Treasures.

I made this in Photoshop Elements 11, using the title graphics and the background my cover artist was kind enough to give me.  Thanks Sarah (http://www.sarah-janelehoux.com/coverart.htm) I was so tickled with it, I decided I'd make some others to hold reviews, one-liners, etc.  Here's an example:

Once I finished that, I thought, I should do this for some other books, too.  So I started on Live and Let Fly, which is also a DragonEye novel.  This background is actually a marble scheme I pulled from http://gimp-savvy.com.  I used filters to change the colors.  (It's the Enhance menu in PSE11.)  I'm still playing with the color scheme:

The nice thing is, I can make a template banner and easily change the captions.  I think they'll spruce up my facebook page, and I can use them on my websites and for other people's blogs.  Maybe if I get ambitious, I'll make some with just Vern and use it for some of his stock sayings. 

What do you think?  Is this something that gets your attention?  Would you want to do it for your books?  How would you use them?  Let's share some ideas.

Psychological Benefits of Circuit Training

It's been a frustrating couple of days on several levels.  Monday started with a double-barrel shotgun of irritations, and no sign of getting better...and it was only eight in the morning.  I was so late to my circuit training class, I almost decided just to skip for the day and go back to bed.  However, I made myself go to the later class instead, even though I was feeling the time pressure.  Why?  I'm finding that working out helps me feel better about myself.

There are a couple of things at work here.  Sure, as you get healthier, it can affect your mood; and sure, seeing my body shape up is good for my self-image.  However, today, it was something more basic.

If I worked out for the hour, I would have accomplished something.

That's been the kicker for me these past few days.  Sometimes, it seems that no matter how hard I work, how careful I am, how well I follow the Recipe for Success, something or someone beyond my control steps in to declare me inadequate or show me that I'm not going to succeed, anyway.  Or I'll do everything right, and still not succeed for who-knows-why.  When I'm working out, however, the goals are clear--jump on the box as many times as you can in 60 seconds.  Run at your fastest pace for a minute.  Did it without passing out or throwing up?  Increase the speed!  Lift as much weight as you can for as many reps as you can.

I have an personal trainer/instructor who can show me if I'm doing something wrong, but really, it's pretty cut and dried:  Grab the weights, stand like this, lift, lower, repeat.  I'm not in competition with anyone but myself, so if I improve or even just persevere through the hour, I succeeded.  No one judges my performance, misinterprets what I'm doing, or scolds me publicly.

Even on the weeks when I gain in weight or inches, I can point to why--the donut, the burrito.  There's no mystery why I failed, and if I failed (as in meeting the weekly goal), it was not from some outside influence, mysterious or not.

So despite the sweat and the achy muscles and how I shiver when I cool down, there's something comforting about circuit training.  I'm glad I went on Monday.  I still spent much of the day in a crappy mood feeling like nothing was going my way, but at least that hour of exercise was a success.

When not to blog..and the Star Trek trailer

I've had this blog open all weekend, and now, it's 9:30 pm on Sunday, and I've still not written it.  It's not because I don't have anything to say.  It's just that I don't want to blog about any of it.

Blogs are public, and as an introvert, I am wary of my public face.  To me, blogs are not the place to divulge certain things because...

...they are petty.  I might unload these on a friend, or maybe in a small chat with other writers I trust.  However, I don't want to air them to the world at large.  In addition to the fact that they make me look petty--and I can be, but I don't need to advertise that!--they can be hurtful to others.  I HATE HATE HATE hurting people, especially inadvertently.  I seem to do that enough, anyway.

...they are private.  Some folks love sharing their inner selves. I only do that with close friends.  Also, I'm wary of divulging too much of myself.

...they are hurtful.  We all think spiteful thoughts sometimes.  Not all are petty, either, but that doesn't mean I need to share.

...others have already said it better than I.  If I know someone has, there just seems no point in beating a dead horse.

Anyway, some weeks that means I have a head full of thoughts, and nothing to blog.  Here's the latest Star Trek trailer instead.  I'm geeking out a bit that the actor who plays Sherlock Holmes is the villain.  Love his voice!

Circuit Torture, Week 10, RUN!

Today's post really isn't funny, so if it helps, imagine me on the treadmill while you read this.  Honestly, I run like Velma on Scooby Do.

I hate running.  I really do.  I hate the pounding of my feet; I hate being out of breath, and I hate the monotony of it.  I would rather do 10 minutes of sit-ups than a 10-minute run.  My knees hate it, too.  So it's probably no surprise that once I left the Air Force and it's mandatory mile-and-a-half run, I never jogged or sped off unless it was after a wayward Fabian child. 

Guess what's an integral part of circuit torture?  At least it's only one to three minutes on the treadmill.  Not a lot of time to get seriously discouraged by the panting and the monotony.  However, over the past 20 years, everything associated with running has deteriorated, including my knees.  I discovered to my dismay (but not surprise) that I could barely manage 30 seconds at a 4.5 level on the treadmill my first week.  (That's about a 15-minute mile rate.  To compare, in the Air Force, I ran the mile and a half in 13:45.  And that's not a great score.)

Still, I kept doing as best I can, and my personal torturer, Ryion, kept pushing me and kept things varied--sprints one day, slow jog on a high incline the next, straight run after that.  One minute today, three tomorrow, two the next day...  I got shin splints (remember those from my military career, too), so I went to the elliptical for a couple of weeks, again pushing myself, trying the treadmill a day before going back tot he elliptical.  Basically just not stopping.

Today, I ran at an 8:13 mile pace for two minutes after having worked out for an entire hour, including running at slower paces.

I feel pretty good about that, and I've discovered when it's only for a minute or two at a time, I kind of like running.

The moral of the story, of course, is that you shouldn't let a discouraging beginning deter you.  With slow and steady progress, you can make great strides.

Great Weight Write-Off: This week's winner, Grace Bridges!

This weeks' winner is Grace Bridges.  Grace had a huge setback shortly after tarting the first challenge with us, when she wrecked her leg doing aerobics (or was it zumba?  Either way, it was painful!)  For many weeks while we were sweating physical training, she was sweating physical therapy.  Once her doctor declared her fit to start working out, provided she take it slowly, she started swimming and doing whatever she could.  She's not only recovered full use of her leg, but has lost over two pounds.  Congrats, Grace!

Grace has asked us to tour Avenir Eclectia, a short story collection.  Now, I have a couple of flash pieces in here, but let me tell you, when I read the book. I was blown away.  Grace accomplished the highly improbable.

Imagine setting up a world (or in this case, a solar system)--just the bare bones, a few rules, a little landscaping, some basic history, and a couple of beasts.  Then, you invite ANYONE to write in it.  Flash stories.  Snippets.  Scenes hither and yon.  Maybe relating to each other; maybe not.  Meanwhile, other than checking for obvious contradictions, you just sit back and watch the world evolve.

And then, when things are looking pretty good, you select some of the stories--by dozens of authors involving a multitude of characters, locations, and events--and string them into a coherent novelesque story collection.

Ladies and gentlemen, Avenir Eclectia:

Avenir Eclectia: The colony the universe forgot. This novel-length anthology contains 138 microfiction stories by 18 authors, tales of space and planetside and the people who live there - each tale weaving into the others to create an overall tapestry image of the colony. Space station bureaucrats and rag-tag orphans, moon mining, underwater cities, telepathic sea creatures, giant bugs and extreme seasons are just the beginning. Get the paperback (254 pages) at http://amzn.to/ZO1ie7 for just $5.98 or the ebook for $2.99. Edited by Grace Bridges and Travis Perry, and published by Splashdown Books. New microfiction stories also appear twice weekly for free at www.avenireclectia.com.

 

Dragons Don't understand Come-Ons

This is an article I wrote for a blog when Live and Let Fly came out in e-book in 2011.  I love this book, I really do.  Vern is witty and fun, the plot is a roller-coaster of close scrapes and touching scenes, and the characters gave me their best.  Sadly, it has not sold well, and won't be going into print.  I've gotten back the print rights and may self-pub it, because I like having hard copies of my books.  In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of the fun, and if you enjoy this and like e-books, please check it out at http://tinyurl.com/LiveAndLetFly or http://tinyurl.com/amazonllf.

My latest book, Live and Let Fly, is a super-spy spoof starring my dragon detective, Vern.  I’ve written a lot of Vern’s cases over the years, but this time, Vern’s going to have to travel to places in the Mundane world working as an undercover agent.

There’s a problem being an undercover agent in our world, however.  Dragons just don’t blend in with the population.  So I had to turn Vern human.

Vern has been human once before, thanks to a demon’s curse, but it was a harrowing and confusing experience that he’d mostly forgotten.  (You can only imagine what it takes to make a dragon forget an experience.)  This time, however, holy magic transforms him for a good cause.  Nonetheless, it’s kind of a harrowing experience for him, especially when he discovers that he looks the same as when he was cursed—a rather gorgeous man with dark, Irish looks.  He panics and whines until an exasperated Sister Grace suggests they stuff him full of sweets until he gets fat and develops acne.

     “Will that work?”

     “No, you silly dragon, and that’s the point!  You have this form because if you were human, that’s the form God would have given you.  It’s a trustworthy face.  Just be careful around the ladies.”

So, not only does he have to deal with uncomfortable shoes, intercontinental plane flights in coach, and the moniker “Drake Muldoon,” he’s got to watch out for women.  Only problem is, he’s a dragon—androgynous and sexless.  What’s he know?

Poolside at the luxurious island resort, Vern manages to fend off one interested lady by telling her he’s “devoted” to someone.  Later, he and his partner, Charlie, have to meet their contact at a big hotel party.  They pass by a couple necking behind a potted plant, but it doesn’t phase him.  As a dragon, he’s seen plenty of humans mating.  He can handle the dancing part, too.  Dragons love to dance, although their dancing is aerial, aggressive, and thoroughly enjoyable, but also completely without sexual overtones.  Thus, when he and one of the beautiful women he’d been dancing with head off the floor and to the bar for a drink, he’s thinking they’re going to cool off.

Not quite what she had in mind.

"Better," I sighed. She started to order us some margaritas, but I stopped her and ordered an iced coffee. "If I have anything alcoholic now, I'll be asleep before I hit my bed," I told her.

"Can't have that," she murmured. "So, do you have plans for Festival? I hear it's a fascinating ceremony." She dragged the word "fascinating" out in a way I probably should have recognized but didn't. Hey, I was tired.

I shrugged. "My friend Nigel's not much for parties. We'll probably just hang around the hotel."

"Doing what? The power's going to be off, you know. For the whole weekend, we're going to live like the primitives."

"Kirsti should like that," I murmured. Yeah, I was tired, and my legs felt like lead. If I'd been a dragon, I would have flexed my claws to work out some of the kinks; instead, I pointed and flexed my toes just to keep them from stiffening up.

The bartender gave us our drinks, and we clicked glasses. The cold coffee felt wonderful going down my throat. I took three big swallows before I realized I was being careless. After all, what's the cliché in these cases? I rolled my next sip around my tongue, testing for any trace of drugs. Aliciya watched me, a shy smile on her lips, fingers twisting her hair. I grinned back.

She leaned forward and started rubbing my knee. That felt good.

I purred. Dragon brain, dragon reaction. I shut my eyes and relaxed.

"Hey, you, don’t fall asleep here. I've got to ask you something."

Oops. I sat up and leaned on my elbows. I looked straight into her eyes so she'd know I was paying attention. "What's that?"

"Well, Kirsti's sweet, so she just sort of takes things at face value, but I want to know. You're not married?"

Huh? "No."

"Engaged?" She leaned a little closer.

I shook my head.

"So, just how...devoted...are you?" She licked her lips.

That's when I realized, she wanted to drag me behind the potted plant!

Oh, oh.

Dragon brain plus human body equals vocal cord short circuit. All that came out of my mouth as she leaned closer was, "uhhhh..."

Vern gets out of it, though not quite in the way he expected.  I hope you’ll read about it and all his other close calls as a human and a dragon in Live and Let Fly.

Weight Loss Update 2: How Real People Lose Weight

Can you believe it?  It's been eight weeks since I started my exercise program (circuit training, affectionately known here as circuit torture), and changed some dietary habits to lose some of this blubber I've been carrying around for a decade.

Here's my story:  Back in 2002, I weighed 120-125 pounds and was in good shape.  I didn't do any special exercise or dieting, either.  But something happened in that year that caused me to gain 30 pounds without any appreciable changes in diet or habit.  My doctor says I was just getting old (I was 35).  Maybe it was the SlimFasts I was drinking instead of meals that summer because it was too hot to eat.  Whatever, it came on and would not come off.  I did try dieting at that time, but with no luck.  I had every medical test under the sun--finally sparking the "You're just old" comment.  I went to a naturopath.  Nothing worked.  I gave up and settled in with my new size, and gained another 20+ pounds over the decade.

This is me on Jan 25, 2013

This year, I decided I'm tired of being the shape and consistency of a pudding bag.  Even more, I'm tired of getting out of breath going up a flight of stairs or when I lay down at night, which actually scares me some.  I don't care overmuch about the weight, per se, but I hate not fitting anything properly, and not finding anything that doesn't make me feel dumpy when I catch my reflection.  So, if I'm going to be 169, I'll be a fit 169.

I'm not dieting.  It does not work for me, and I don't have that kind of discipline.  Instead, I've cut sodas, desserts, and fast food drastically, and started exercising 5-6 days a week.  I also drink a gallon of water a day.  Two weeks of this past eight, Rob was home on mid-tour leave with the goal of hitting every restaurant and fast food place he's missed for eight months.  Even with looking at the low-cal options, I was taking in way more calories, sodas, and sweets than I had even before I started this regime.  However, if I can't have a little backsliding, then this is not the lifestyle for me.  The only thing I'm staying faithful on is the exercise program.

In the end, I'm pretty happy with the results of the past eight weeks.  I lost body fat, nine pounds, and a couple of inches in the waist.  Some places where I increased inches, I'm seeing muscle instead of wobbly fat, so I don't mind.  Nine pounds is about a pound a week, which is what they say is healthy weight loss for a long run.

	15-Jan	8-Mar		loss
weight	169	160		9 lb dec
body fat	38.5	36.6		1.9 dec
chest	38.7	36.8		1.9 dec
bust	41.1	38.2		2.9 dec
waist	39	36.9		2.1 dec
hips	42.8	40.5		2.3 dec
abs	42	39.5		2.5 dec
thigh	22	22.8		.8 inc
calf	15	15.3		.3 inc
bicep	11.6	12		.4 inc
forearm	10	9.8		.2 dec
neck	15	14.2		.8 dec

Here's my photos from yesterday. 

You can actually see some definition in my arms.  Funny thing is, since I started exercising, I don't have nearly as much trouble with carpal tunnel, either.

Please note that I am not posing or sucking in my gut or doing any of those photo tricks to make myself look better.  I'm also using the same shirt.  The idea is to see my progress in an everyday manner.

I post these because I think that the media--from advertising to talk shows--puts a lot of emphasis on quick and extreme results.  So tell me:  does this inspire (or reassure) any of you in your own weight loss efforts?  What are you doing to have a healthier you this year?