COAST
COURIER
A
newsletter from
Karen O'Connor Communications
Autumn
2009
Dear friends, family, and colleagues:
Greetings from Watsonville, California.
News from our corner of the world:
Happy Autumn!
On the home front:
| Farewell to the summer blooms in my meditation garden. |
Thanks, Charles for all your planting and tending.
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We are enjoying this season of new beginnings: grandchildren back in school, Charles and I starting a new study with our church home group, and I'm working on a next book for Harvest House, and helping my son Jim Sweeney write and design his Internet portal for his four online businesses in the job search market.
Mairin, my eleven-year-old granddaughter and I went to see Wicked in San Francisco. What a treat! |
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| In May I returned to Ohio to visit my oldest daughter Julie and her five children. Every one of them, except Julie, is taller than I am. I certainly 'look up' to these grandchildren who at one time I cuddled on my lap. |
Making cinnamon vegan rolls with Caitrin
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Julie and Karen putting in a little work time at the kitchen table
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| On the career front: |
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| I attended the International Christian Retail Show (Christian booksellers' convention) in Denver in July. Met one of my writing students, Renetta Butler, visited the historic and beautiful Trinity United Methodist Church with its amazing stained glass windows, and enjoyed watching the 'blue bear' peek through the windows of the convention center. |
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I conducted two workshops for one of the Mount Hermon Summer Family Camps during August and will be speaking for the I-55ers at First Baptist Church of Salinas in October, and in November I'll keynote the SmileCare Dental Symposium in Newport Beach, California.
My book, Gettin' Old STILL Ain't For Wimps will be republished with a new title and cover art in 2010 and my newest book, Don't Forget Your Senior Discount: 365 Reasons Why Getting Old Ain't So Bad will also be released in 2010 from Harvest House. Cover art still in process. |
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My writing critique partner, Sherry Kyle, snapping photos during one of our nature walks together.
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| Just for fun: |
| My husband Charles and I are going to Mendocino, California in late September for our '09 vacation. We're looking forward to exploring more of the California coastline now that we live 'north.'
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Photo courtesy of QT Luong
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| Enjoyed a visit to the Filoli Mansion and Gardens in Woodside, CA with my husband Charles, and friends Carol and Don. |
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Some things to consider. . .
Reflection:
This month I'm anticipating getting into some deep house cleaning as we prepare for the holidays, guests, and entertaining. I don't relish such a chore but I've learned to use it for my growth. And so I end this newsletter with an essay that appeared in my book, Squeeze the Moment: Making The Most of Life's Gifts and Challenges (Regal Books, 2005).
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness (Prov. 31:27).
IN PRAISE OF HOUSE CLEANING
Feather duster. Check.
Sponge mop and tile cleaner. Check.
Furniture polish and rags. Check.
Glass cleaner. Check.
Rubber gloves. Check.
Vacuum, bucket, and toilet brush. Check, check, check.
No getting around it now. I had everything I needed. It was time to roll up my shirt sleeves and clean our condo. I started in the living room. What should have taken about thirty minutes, took an hour. I got lost in the watercolor paintings on the wall. I lingered over each one, remembering the artist as well as the circumstances that led us to purchase them.
The lovely landscape by my friend Elisa Gittings, the desert scene by Georgianna Lipe, the exquisite rendering of Rock Creek in the Sierra by Lady Jill Mueller.
I chuckled as I thought about my taste in art before I met my husband Charles. It certainly has moved to a new level since then. Together we visited art galleries, museums, and local art displays from New York to Los Angeles over the past twenty years, and our home is now a small museum of our own, displaying the many pieces we fell in love with.
Next I vacuumed the furniture and the carpet. I stopped from time to time and examined each item closely, as if for the first time. I'm grateful for the choices we made–the beautiful colors and textures, and I'm thankful for the money to buy them. Lord, you brought those funds to us in the nick of time!
As I continued from one room to the next, my eyes filled with tears. Every item I touched had special meaning. Books and DVDs and videos brought music and viewing pleasure to our lives. Our stove and oven and sink and disposal and fridge and water filter assured us of moment-by-moment convenience and sanitation–something two-thirds of the world will never enjoy, including those in the border towns of Mexico, my neighboring country.
I moved from the kitchen to the den and then to my office, touching, dusting, straightening books and family photos, small collectibles, appreciating in a new way the people behind the scenes: the artists, the craftsmen (and women) who wove our carpet, put together our computers, built our furniture, laid the tile, and installed our appliances.
I swished the toilets, thankful to have not one, but two. I spritzed the windows and enjoyed the view of the San Diego Bay across the street, and the trees in the yard with huge magnolia blossoms. And I stood beneath the simple wooden cross hanging over our front doorway, aware that it was Jesus who made this life possible for me, not by anything I did, but by his sacrifice on the cross.
I stood back and observed what I had accomplished within a few hours. Our home sparkled. It smelled fresh. It felt good to the touch. And I had exercised my body and spirit.
I gathered my cleaning tools and put them away.
Feather duster. Check.
Sponge mop and tile cleaner. Check.
Furniture polish and rags. Check.
Glass cleaner. Check.
Rubber gloves. Check.
Vacuum, bucket, and toilet brush. Check, check, check.
And one more thing. Thank you, God, for the physical strength to do this work. Now I see house cleaning as a prayer, as well as a task. It's good for our home, it's good for my body, and it's good for my soul.
I'd love to hear from you.
karen@karenoconnor.com
If you're interested in reading my blog, please check it out:
www.WordyKaren.blogspot.com.
Till next time, be well, and may you be blessed.
Karen
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