Greetings, all!

I decided to add a new sub-category to the My Art section of this website. It's called Doodle Art. Doodling is great for stress relief, gaining new ideas for other projects/tasks and just having fun. I hope you enjoy this new section. It's what I like to refer to as freestyle art or brainstorming...sort of like what I do when coming up with ideas for my novel (and am still in the brainstorm phase of that!).

Here is a sample of what you'll see:

When looking at the gallery, you might have to linger for a few minutes to see more than a bunch of lines or whatever. What do you see when you look at these pictures?

​Enjoy! :-)

​"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." John 13:34

My aunt shared an article with my dad who then shared it with me and now I'm sharing it with you. The message is amazing...so very applicable to our world. One day at a time, one person at a time, we can make this world a better place through unconditional love and support.

Regardless of our ethnicity, circumstances, preferences, and so on, we need each other. Not all of us are prepared to admit that or not. So when you can free up some time in your busy day, find a comfortable corner and read this article. Let it ruminate. Relatable? For me, most definitely.

This article is a powerful excerpt from the book Show Up: Step Out of Your Story and Into Someone Else’s (Dust Jacket Press, 2016) by David Staal.

Loneliness is a large and growing problem. God said in Genesis 2 that it’s not good to be alone, and that truth remains unchanged. Data continues to pile up that proves God’s point. Go figure.

Good news: Every church has the solution. But do they know?  

Although we’re hardwired to connect, our society has gone wireless. Why? Look no further than busyness. It’s like a firewall that prevents one person from noticing what’s happening with another person. 

Yet, when given the chance and a calorie of forward motion, compassion knows how to outmaneuver complexity. I had to take a trip to Haiti to figure this out.

While there, our missions team assisted local tradesmen rebuilding homes an earthquake tore down, ignored the chemical-warfare-like odor emanating from burning trash, and prayed for wind. We also visited an orphanage for several hours.

A week later, we returned home—but a part of me stayed in Haiti after someone ambushed my heart. No, I didn’t meet God in anything to do with the earthquake’s damage. No, He didn’t seem to appear in any smelly fires. And He certainly had no presence in the wind, or lack thereof. Instead, an unexpected sacred moment came in unusually quiet and unspectacular fashion. It took place at the orphanage when I met a Haitian boy no older than three.   

Without a doubt, the American team brought joy to the orphanage. Partially from the beachballs and bottles of bubbles, partially from the small candy packs, and mostly from our group’s high spirits, the result of a day spent away from the construction site. Despite the appeal of revelry, one little boy drifted off to sit alone, under a tree and against a wall. The truth is that people who most need someone to show up for them very often appear a step or two away from all the action.

I barely noticed him as I chased a ball kicked out of a lively scrum that bopped and booted anything inflated and brightly colored. A shallow drainage ditch separated the quiet plot of shade he occupied and the rest of the compound. Maybe it was curiosity caused by his tears; maybe it was a Divine nudge. Who knows—but I rolled the ball toward the crowd, turned away from them, and made a long stride across the trench to sit down next to the little guy.

The only Haitian-Creole words I know include my name, age, and how to ask for the nearest bathroom. He was only three and rightfully knew no English. Good news: to show up for someone doesn’t require clever words. Or sometimes, any words at all. Silence is so under-appreciated and under-utilized.

With all the fun going on all around him, why did he feel so sad? No easy answer came to mind. So I thought about his life. This beautiful little fella arrived in the world like everybody else, but his life took a very different turn. To live in an orphanage means he spends every day with a lot of people but doesn’t have parents. He has to compete for attention, and the competition looks stiff. Real young, real small—he’s probably overlooked a lot. From watching how the kids interact with one another, he definitely experiences a lot of injustice within these walls; in games, in meals, and in life overall. With nothing to call his own, he finally has a fun-looking beachball kicked his way, only to have someone take it right away. Countless scrapes, putdowns, and pushes out of the way. This is not the way life is supposed to work. No mom to hold him. No dad to defend him. No one to rely on. No wonder he was sad.

His life brought tears to my eyes, too, so I scooched closer. There we sat, under a tree and against a wall next to a ditch full of stagnant grey water, tears streaming down our faces. Unable to communicate but clearly able to connect at a level deeper than any conversation could ever flow.

With eyes fixed on the drainage swill, his hand grabbed hold of my little finger and squeezed. Not the grip of someone trying to inflict pain. Rather, the clutch of someone sharing pain and not wanting to let go of the one person who noticed. Eventually, maybe four of five minutes later, he popped up and before I could even shift my weight to stand, he let go of my finger and wrapped both arms around my neck. Definitely the best hug I’ve ever received.

He took a half step back, and as we both wiped tears off our cheeks, a grin appeared and his eyes went bright—as if a window shade abruptly rolled open to reveal full sunshine. As quick as a bullet, he ran toward the crowd and the chaos, reloaded for fun.

It’s easy to watch people from a safe distance. It’s easy to fear speaking the wrong words or feel too busy. It’s easy to do little or nothing, or to stay safely within the walls of what’s familiar and comfortable. The people held down by loneliness rarely lift up their voices to ask for help. If we wait until asked to show up for someone, the wait will run long. In most cases, such a request will never happen. It’s hard to make a personal difference from a distance—even when the separation measures only a few steps.

Money will not fill the gap. The orphanage receives strong financial support. They possess plenty of toys, food, and a sturdy structure. But all that made no difference in the moment with my little friend. His was a more basic need, felt by more people than you and I can comprehend. What he needed most is something everyone can do: anyone can care enough to sit down and stay a moment. Even me.

Was the direction of his life altered that day? Nope. That’s not the point of this story. In the process of an act as ridiculously simple as a shared moment of time and attention and reaction to his life, my little friend opened my eyes to what the world needs most—people willing to show up for one another. No process to follow. No expectations. Not even effort to fix the situation. Meet him where he’s at regardless of where I’ve come from. 

Loneliness is a hole people find themselves in, for whatever the reason. I’ve been that person enough to know the only solution: someone willing to show up and extend a hand—or even just a pinky.

As a website owner, I feel it's important to audit my site every now and then. After all, just about everything in life needs some sort of upgrade/change, right? So this evening, I decided to update the site. I didn't look at everything because there's so much material...and because I need a decent night's sleep for a change. LOL.

Text improvements have been made to the Welcome page, and the Contact Me page received some necessary design updates. I removed the open links to Twitter as that particular account is receiving some necessary changes, as well. No worries, if you already follow me, you will still have access.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact me!

Cheers!

Please help support Lyme Disease Awareness this month (and all year around)!

I will update the Everything Lyme section of this website periodically and will be most active on Twitter. Have a contribution to make to the Everything Lyme section? Please contact me. I'm interested in hearing from you.

Reading the Bible in a year...it's something I haven't attempted since I was a child.

​While surfing Christianity.org, I found an excellent "beginning to end" plan and decided it would be a good addition to this website (and good for me as well!). If interested in a guided plan, please check out the Read the Bible in a Year section. :-)

I love Pinterest. I can sit and look at interesting pictures for hours if given the time, which, on a bad Lyme day, I tend to do.

Recently, Fairy Tale fan art caught my eye, in particular an hourglass by rchella. I wanted to put my own spin on the work...changing the hourglass and giving it a unique background. After a long night of vigorous drawing and a second night spent working on the details while at Starbucks, I completed the piece. By the way, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I do love Starbucks. Except when the noise of the giggly teenagers can't be drowned out by the smooth base pouring from my headphones and when couples at neighboring tables need to totally get a room instead of swooning and driving this single lady up the wall. 

Anywho, the name of my most recent creation is "Melt Into Me". It captures the essence of a boy trapped in a cold, depressing world melting into the warm, tropical paradise of a cheerful mermaid (and she's not the kind of mermaid that sends sailors to their death, mind you). It's sort of a love story in the making, providing a sense of hope and anticipation. Not everything in the world is cold and gray.

Enjoy! :-)

Hi everyone!

So sorry I haven't posted in a while. 2018 didn't start as I'd hoped...being in treatment for Lyme and Bartonella has its complications sometimes. Without getting into details, I'll just say that I've had some pretty sweet days, but also some rather crappy ones, too. Despite it all, I AM getting better and that's a wonderful feeling. It's sooooo important to (even on the worst days) keep the faith, remain hopeful...and find ways to just laugh out loud and have fun. I've taken to playing silly games, for example. Computer chess, old fashioned and computer Scrabble and Poker with my fam. I won back my Poker Championship title last month and am totally bragging because I'm very proud of myself and feel there should be a ring or a belt to mark the achievement. Hey, the competition was tough! 

I am going to get back to the blog one of these days. There are a few ideas in the works right now...they just haven't been completely developed yet. Like, I've been doing "Bible in a Year" and I want to share that chronological plan on this site. When the design is complete, it'll be under "Free Gifts." 

​In the meantime, thank you for continuing to follow me even though I haven't been a regular poster. You all are awesome and I hope 2018 is your best year yet; one that is full of love, joy, success and fulfilled potential. :-)

Love,

​Jen

PS: If I don't get a chance to say it, Happy Valentine's Day (in advance)! Doesn't matter if you're single or in a relationship, everyone deserves to know that they're loved. And deserve chocolate...especially single people like myself. :-)