Our New Logo

When determining where to place precious financial resources, AWBA has been very intentional about budgeting as much as much as possible directly to our programming.  Keeping our fees within reason for those tending to the unending flow of medical bills has been the best way for us to remain accessible to those we serve.  Your donations have helped tremendously in  that effort.  At the same time, we also appreciate the value of getting our message out in a way that is simple and consistent.   A logo helps identify us within the community we serve.  After almost four full years of ministry, our Board decided it was time to create a logo.   Two donors were generous enough to offer a reduced fee and an in kind donation to make this a reasonable project for AWBA at this time.

When meeting with our design team at Miller Strategic Marketing, their process helped us better identify our brand that resides within our mission and vision statements.  We determined that there are several things the logo needs to communicate:

~ AWBA offers a warm, friendly place where people are accepted just as they are.
~ It’s a friendly place where people can go to catch their breath and build faith and hope.
~ It’s a community of caring individuals who will provide loving support to those with chronic illnesses.

To capture the essence of this brand, the word we chose to “own” is “Community”, and the gate within the logo serves as the entrance to that community.  The team at Miller developed a look and feel to reflect this identity, and to communicate these important points to the public. We believe that the warm, relaxed type font combined with the gate image delivers the look and feel we were going for.   Our full color beloved gate image used up to this point will remain on our website, blog and in other places.  There is much affection for this "secret garden" image and it is our intention that the logo builds on that.

None of this is of any use if we do not deliver on what we desire to accomplish in those points mentioned.  If at any time there is something we can do to provide an even more welcoming community environment as one impacted by a chronic diagnosis,  please let us know.  

Welcome to our new logo.  Over the next few months it will begin to appear in our print materials as well as on the web.  One person noted that she likes the "connection" depicted with the letter "A" touching the "W".   What do you notice?

Learning to Walk in the Dark

Since moving to the country, my husband Roy and I are developing a new relationship with the darkness.  We travel winding back roads on our way home from evening meetings in the city hopeful that we remember the twists and turns, and that we can see the deer before they decide to appear in the middle of the road.  We are consistently aware of the lunar cycle anticipating the bright evenings offered by a  full moon, and the clarity of a starry night in the darkness of a new moon.  We took deep delight in gorgeous July nights when the lightening bugs danced amid the corn fields in front of our house and essentially made us lose track of time as we watched them prance and twinkle -- thousands of them lighting in that mysterious movement that only a creative God could have dreamed of.  To see the Milky Way after many years of suburban living is a deep delight that takes my breath away.  We have adjusted to the darkness of our bedroom at night without the street lights.  We keep a night light on in our bathroom but there were a few "stumbles" as we re-learned furniture placement and how to walk in the dark.  Roy rises at 4 a.m. on weekdays and is the most skilled at navigating the darkness.  

As I have l made these adjustments and observations, I am mindful of the metaphorical "dark" that many walk when living with a chronic diagnosis.  I often hear people speak of dark night of the soul, living in darkness, a time of confusion and darkness, pushing away the dark -- none of it good and, often, lacking hope that light will come.   On one level, I understand that light is so much more beautiful when experienced within the darkness as I have experienced with this move.  Yet, when it comes to the seeming "dark" places of sadness, loss and difficulty, any sign of light or beauty is so much harder for me to claim.  I can see it in retrospect but it can take a very long time to be known by me.

I am a fan of writer Barbara Brown Taylor and knew that her most recent book, Learning to Walk in the Dark had been released earlier this year.  In the chaos of our move, this fell off the radar and I forgot about it.  The title found its way to me again a few weeks ago.  I found a copy at the library and could not put it down.  When someone is impacted by a book as I was with this one, the first response is that "everyone must read this book."  We all know that is not often the truth of the situation.   It is simply a book that found its way to us at just the right time.  However, I do pass it along as an option to consider if you find yourself navigating a season of spiritual darkness.  Ms. Taylor offers a perspective that we don't often hear taught but is one that, at its core, I suspect many of us have wondered about and couldn't quite articulate.  She writes,

"… I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion.  I need darkness as much as I need light."

Whether or not you pursue this book for yourself,  I pray that your seasons of darkness do not overwhelm and that points of light make themselves known when and where they are most needed.

For Parents of Children With Autism

AWBA is preparing for two upcoming programs featuring Touch Drawing.  Recently we have been contacted by parents of children with Autism about their interest in our developing a program to serve them and, possibly, their children with a Touch Drawing experience.  If this is an event that would interest you, click the survey link below to provide us with your input.  The survey includes eight short questions and should take only a moment of your time.  If you know of others who might be interested, please provide them with this link and ask them for their input. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2X3Q99N

Are You a Leaner or a Lifter?

What is it that causes us to make things more difficult than they need to be?  I heard a wonderful message on Sunday from a retired United Methodist pastor.  It is to important to keep our ears open to the wisdom of those who have walked this earth longer than we have!  He was talking about our tendency to be a "leaner" more than a "lifter."  When I choose the hard way, the worrisome way, the anxious way, the distrusting way, the doubting way, etc. everything in me leans and becomes a weight on myself and on others.  That is not how I have chosen to live my life these days.  To be a lifter is to choose being in the present, trusting that God will provide the right thing at the right time, and inviting hope more than doubt.  It is a daily beginning again to choose this better way to live.  

I am growing into my artist self (she is definitely a "lifter"!) and there have been times that I have made the creative process more difficult than it needed to be.  I recall one day last spring so incredibly beautiful that I had to capture it somehow.   I tried to paint it but God's creation so overwhelmed my senses that day that everything I painted was inadequate.  I then chose the simple way to capture only the colors of the blooms that caught my attention.  When I look at this picture below, I remember the colors, the warmth of the sun on my skin, the smell of spring - it all comes back.  Rather than leaning in to create a perfect image, I am now lifted whenever I see this image.

I am also relearning how to pray in a way that is "lifting".  Poet Mary Oliver shares that desire so well …

Praying

It doesn't have to be

the blue iris, it could be

weeds in a vacant lot, or a few

small stones; just

pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try

to make them elaborate, this isn't

a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(Thirst)

Thank you, Bob, for a "lifting" message as I continue to re-create a more life-giving way of being present in the world.  Thank you Mary for always stating the truth so simply.

For those who have not visited our Facebook page recently, we are now posting a Friday morning blessing if that would be a support for your journey.

May you choose an attitude of lifting for this day and may you, then, be equipped to lift others. 

What Energizes You?

As a Benedictine Oblate, I focus on maintaining balance with work, study, prayer and leisure.  This past Saturday I led a retreat helping men and women develop a life-giving balance within their particular circumstances.  The one area that seems to often be lacking is that of leisure, rest, refueling.  It can be hard to carve out seemingly "nonproductive time" for something that is fun and infuses fresh air into our schedule.

With our recent move and all of the details that flow from such an undertaking, I have become very aware of my need for leisure.  Last Friday, my husband and I continued our annual tradition of almost 9 years attending a local festival, Lily Fest. Because we had such a full day of things still to complete, we were only there a few hours.  It was a challenge to keep this commitment in the midst of other tasks grabbing at us.   But those few hours, well spent, were incredibly life-giving.  Visiting with artists amidst the beauty of these beautiful gardens filled the dry places in my soul from these recent months of intense work.

Part of this annual visit always includes listening to the music of Mark Thunderwalker whose concert takes place in a garden surrounded by water lilies and dancing dragonflies.   Mark is a gifted musician who plays the Native American Flute as well as crafts them.  His wife, Sheila, is also a gifted artist.  I purchased one of her pieces in addition to a few of Mark's CDs as gifts.  To listen to some of Mark's music, here are a couple of  YouTube links 

Following Spirit 
Today We Begin

You can order his CDs by visiting Mark Thunderwalker.

Identify those activities that energize you and get them on your calendar.  In those places where you may feel limited in what you can do, where you can go, etc. ask God to show you what is within your means for refueling.  Lily Fest is always one of those "big" things.  I also have smaller activities like sitting in my favorite chair and listening to quiet music that energize me throughout each day.

May you make space in your day today to "waste time with God" by simply inviting the Spirit to nourish you.

Faith and Patience

Poet Mary Oliver shares the poem, "Black Swallowtail" in her book, Red Bird.

The caterpillar,

  interesting but not exactly lovely,

humped along among the parsley leaves

  eating, always eating.  Then

one night it was gone and in its place

  a small green confinement hung by two silk threads

on a parsley stem.  I think it took nothing with it

  except faith, and patience.  And then one morning

it expressed itself into the most beautiful being.

~ Mary Oliver

When we choose to learn the lesson, waiting teaches faith and patience.  As my husband and I settle into our long-awaited new home in the woods, this poem takes on a deeper meaning.  I can recall so many instances of "caterpillar life" in new circumstances requiring a new expression.  Some of those circumstances were particularly harsh and very unwelcome intrusions.  Some, like this move, carried their own form of harshness in all of the upheaval and change but were welcome at the same time.  Transition is a process of releasing what is known and comfortable and trusting that new life is on the horizon - always beginning again.

For some interesting tidbits about this metamorphosis (and the source of the above image), and to view a time lapse slideshow of the birth of a swallowtail butterfly visit

http://www.pbase.com/rcm1840/lifecycleofblsw

If this image speaks to you, I invite you to take a few minutes to wonder how the life stages of the black swallowtail may have something to say about your life stages.  There are seasons of life where it seems I am crawling, hanging, or anticipating flight for a painfully long time.  Recalling an image like this reminds me that the one place in which I feel stuck is not all there is.  Something else is coming.  If I can hold onto faith and patience rather than trying to take control, God will bring the new thing at just the right time.  It may not be what I expected.  It is not always I wanted.  But, God is good and will help me to fly within that new place.

As you look at these web images and reflect on the words of Mary Oliver, what most resonates with you?  

~ "munching" along at a very slow pace feeling somewhat unlovely; or 

~ dangling from a barely present thread as your old home breaks open wondering "when, if, how …"; or

~ acknowledging the place you are in and embarking on a new way of being fully present in that life.

If you would like to share your own experience for the benefit of others, post your thoughts below.  

October Event - Expressive Art as Healing Process

Expressive Art as a Healing Process

An Introduction to Touch Drawing

A fund raiser to benefit the programs and services of AWBA

Friday, October 3, 2014

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Gilgal Farm Retreat Center

"Springs of Living Water" - Judy Smoot

Since posting preliminary information about this fund raiser open to the public, we have received quite a few requests for further information.  As a result, all details have been finalized and we have chosen to open registration.  Directly from our website ~

Gift yourself with a day of healing art in the countryside of Fairfield County at Gilgal Farm. Rest, refuel, and refresh as you experience expressive art as a healing process while helping raise funds for those served by the ministry of Always We Begin Again. This event is open to the public.  You will be invited to experience the simple expression of Touch Drawing and visit with the horses of Gilgal Farm in the quiet and peace of this sacred space on the outskirts of Lancaster, Ohio. 

For a detailed brochure, registration information, and links to additional information,  visit the Upcoming Events page of our website.   Space is limited so early registration is encouraged if you are interested.  Myself,  Chris Harnden and Deb Aichele will be your guides for the day.

I have found Touch Drawing to be a meaningful practice for myself and have enjoyed introducing it to others.  If you know someone impacted by a Parkinson's diagnosis, read about the  September pilot program for Touch Drawing, "Listening Beneath the Words."   It is fund raisers like the October event that make this September series available to the Parkinson's community at no cost.

Any questions or wonderings about either of these?  Email me at director@myawba.org.