re-beginning-again

So I am here. In Texas, though I am not sure that where I am has much to do with who I am anymore. At least not as much as I would long to use for excuses, constant excuses. Being here, with friends, has allowed or triggered something in life to open up to me for the first time. Refilled and re-spirited. I am happy. I have a husband, who, might I say, is blowing my mind every day with the amount of wisdom and wit that he displays regularly. And two of the best partners in crime I could ask for sleep just rooms away now. Together we make the Tree House. Its the house of dreams, and hopes. In reality our house is extremely worn and torn; though I like to assume that's from all the love it got over the years, I don't think I am ignorant enough to believe that. But its a 'fixer-upper' and that's all I wanted anyway. A project, something to work on that gave meaning to my day, an allowed my family to feel less nervous about house hold duties. And its allowed each of us to spend time with it, to make it our own.
These photos are from the Tree House garden. They are the newest member of the fam. And we all love them. Gardening is the other thing that is constantly blowing my mind. Self-sufficiency is freedom, and I long for it. And beyond that, it has opened my blinded eyes up -once again- to what actually exists around me, all the time, with intricate inner workings and secret plans. Who would have thought life is already beautiful.
Soon we are going to have a swing in the back, with a meditation rock garden. That will be... needed, that will be life giving. A hammock is in the works for the front, so Elise and I can wear sun glasses and spy on the neighborhood, looking out for amusements and oddities, and possible needs to meet.
And we found tire number one today for a tire-tower that will encase our growing potatoes. Then when ready, we will kick them over and it will be a potato party. Maybe we will invite the neighborhood kids to come over and have some fun kicking them down. Either way, no matter, life has future for me. And I just wanted to share.
"The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses." ~Hanna Rion

if I were another person besides myself

Body Art

Here are some photos I found of some pretty cool body art. I think its all a little weird, though I like it a lot.

Paco Peregrin

Paco Peregrin. One of my favorite photographers.

SXSW 2011 keepin' Austin weird

Yup, that's who you think it is ^



never seen more "hula-hoopers" in my life

Authority rules your whole life, the authority of the past and the present, of the dead and the living, and your existence is a continuous invasion and violation of yourself, a constant subjection to the thoughts and the will of someone else.

its snowing outside and...

All I would like to do is change myself-make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves, like our deep primitive longings beckon us to do. And to a certain extent, by aiming for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute...I can to a certain extent change the world; I can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. I can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach the deepest and furthest caves of humanity. And I say, there is nothing that we can do but love, and dear well spring of truth, hidden deep inside, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.

Ticky-tacky

1. Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky-tacky, Little boxes, little boxes, Little boxes, all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. 2. And the people in the houses All go to the university, And they all get put in boxes, Little boxes, all the same. And there's doctors and there's lawyers And business executives, And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same.

3. And they all play on the golf-course, And drink their Martini dry, And they all have pretty children, And the children go to school. And the children go to summer camp And then to the university, And they all get put in boxes And they all come out the same. 4. And the boys go into business, And marry, and raise a family, And they all get put in boxes, Little boxes, all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same.

12:07 on a Sunday

sew. sew. sew. There a few things in my life that I feel I have control over. No, that's not it. There are few things in my life that I feel/am aware of. I say feel/am because sometimes I think I have trouble deciphering between the two: how I feel and what it is. God is always doing so much, and I'm always freaking out trying wrap my brain around all of it at the same time. I'm making the decision, who knows how many more times I'll have to make this decision in order for it to stick, but I am making the decision to not freak out...instead I will wait in anticipation. Joy, there can be joy in anticipation, and I am determined to get that joy back. Kahlil Gibran says this about joy:

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, "Joy is greater thar sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater." But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced. When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall."

I don't want to be empty, or balanced, rather always running, and never at a standstill. Sewing is one of the few things I feel like I can do, with little effort, and feel accomplished by, at least today. So I will let that carry me through. Numbs fingers, creative thought, productivity, workmanship, quiet, relatively still. I can let something very small be that stability, and wait in anticipation, every stitch, pushing the needle through, tying off, wait some more, wait in anticipation for God. I had an image of what waiting for God should look like and I got it, it clicked, so Ill share it with you.
There is a tree, its something I've never seen before. The only comparison I am able to make is a cherry blossom, or dogwood. Its beautiful and healthy, covered in gorgeous green leaves. But there are no flowers, and my deeper self reveals to me that the flowers are waiting. They are waiting in anticipation, with joy and laughter for there time of blooming to come, they are longing and in love. Everything is right. Seasons change, and it is right, flowers long for their time of blooming. And I realized then that I am also longing to push forth from the branches and bloom, with beauty, but the thing I have been lacking is the joy and the mystery, the awe and beauty that you can only ever find, from waiting...

I will learn to wait, and I will learn the joy that can only be found in that waiting place.

Earth Day!

Earth Day was a pretty good success. For those of you following let me fill you in. At Lake Eola here in Orlando FL my friend and I (Elise Dressler) set up a booth to sell our recycled/re-used handmade crafts to raise money for our journey to Youth With A Mission in Lakeside, Montana. Youth With A Mission is a not-for-profit organization that does domestic and foreign aide work (all over the planet...woot!) Elise is joining this organization to do a Discipleship Training School that will cost her nearly $6,000.00 This upcoming September (2010)!! A Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a 6 month program that allow 3 months in Montana to learn about yourself, your gifts and talents and how they can be used around the world to save lives, and end social injustices all for the sake of Love. The last three months she will travel abroad and live overseas to put this into practice. I attended a DTS in January of 2006 and it changed my life forever. It ruined my old life, tore it apart, and gave me something new, something real. I am so excited for her to have this opportunity, but she can't do it without your prayer and financial support. All workers for Youth With A Mission (YWAM) are volunteers and greatly depend on God and others who see the needs our world has, the needs that have to be met.
My husband and I, Ellison, will also be going back into YWAM. As I said previously, I have already done a DTS in Montana, an my husband did his in Germany (there are bases all over the world). And we are going back to join staff. I was on DTS Staff just over a year in Germany, and I loved it. But I feel it necessary to be based out of America, where there is so much pain and blindness. We will be joining Base Staff and Music Company.
Base Staff gives us the opportunity to live in America and serve the base as needed, to establish community and to make the base more self sustaining (project number one, start a green house!!) Music Company gives us the resources necessary to write and record our music, and to then tour around the world to bring awareness to social injustices, and to the never ending need for love.
If you're interested in supporting Ellison and myself, or Elise Dressler, feel free to contact us at anytime www.elisedress.blogspot.com and raeannmason@gmail.com You can also check out Youth With A Mission Montana's website at www.ywammt.org

Oh yea, and keep your eye out for new crafts by Avos Creations (handmade by Elise and myself)!

The wonderful Land of Colors

So I've recently taken up the act of crocheting. It's wonderful. Its takes my mind off things, and its great creative outlet. If you want me to make you anything, let me know, and we will talk price.

In April of 2007 I staffed my first Discipleship Training School. We had a three month lecture phase that took place here in Germany. During that time I had a one-on-one with a wonderful German girl named Sahra, who is now one of my closest friends, I led a small group, and prepared for out two month outreach trip I led, which left in July for Israel. This is a picture of the market in Jerusalem, the Old City. It's beautiful there.

Afghanistan

Friends. I have recently decided to go to a place in which I have longed to see for years now. Afghanistan. Here at YWAM Herrnhut, Germany, I have been invited to attend a two week trip with the base leader to Afghanistan. Jan (the base leader) is a photographer, and that is one of his biggest passions. Together we will encounter the lifestyle that is so foreign to the western eye. He will capture this in his photos while I will do what I can to express it in words. And together we will make a news letter, a magazine, something that will hopefully change the views our world has on this forsaken place. There is a beauty and a lost art which must be re-discovered. Jan and I believe that God has purpose and plans that he is already arranging in Afghanistan, the Middle East and the world. We are to be part of that plan and that restoration. There is a team there working with the villages and we are going to encourage them and remind them of Gods love for them, that they may disperse it to the people in which they encounter. We are not going to save Afghanistan, we are not going to tell them their ways are wrong and that they need to turn from their cultures. We are only going to serve them and to show them the love that God has shown us. I believe that is the only thing that can change a mans way: the love of God. Afghanistan isn't a place where the population is muddied with terrorist, as most of you reading this may think. It is a place filled with culture and religious devotion, which many of us lack. They are a peaceful nation and have caused no more havoc in this world than the United States of America. Their lifestyles are devoted and peaceful, and I am sorry that only the radicals have caught the eye of the media. A few decisions in the government, a war, a religious uprising, none of these things can change a heart, none of these things can refuel life into ones existence. So I feel I must go, but only for a short while, only that my heart may be reminded of Gods beauty in a way I have never experienced. The I will return, not having made an effect that changes Afghanistan as a whole, but the heart of one man his ability to understand his own value, is worth all of my years on this earth. And this will not be the last place I go.