Tag Archives: reality blog

2021 At the Vicarage Week #2

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Jan. 8th- Today we took ‘Lella home and she got to meet her sister Abigail!

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The Franklin family is once again reunited!!!

James was so excited to have ‘Lella home he met us half way down the stairs. What a great dad he is!

Jan. 9th- ‘Lella no sooner got home than the Vicarage got busy with ministry work. Saturday was a full day of answering e-mails and Facebooks and getting my powerpoint ready for Sunday morning sermon. I will be preaching a message entitled “Manifest the Mission”.

Jan. 10th- Preaching day. I had forgotten how preaching tuckers me out. It’s time for my Pentecostal nap.

https://fb.watch/2-22R25bCG/

Jan. 11th- Today I did a video on what it means to do life together with other people. Then I took my friend Grace to the bank, the grocery store and the pharmacy.

You can find the video and comments HERE.

Jan. 12th- Today Wendy our church receptionist and I went to help Grace again. Today we were working through some stacks of old mail that were causing some consternation in Grace’s life. It’s not hard to do life together. Sometimes it just takes time and a couple of garbage bags.

Save a Tree (or a Forest) By Reducing Your “Junk” Mail |

Later in the afternoon I went to practice music with Patrick a member of our worship team.

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Jan. 13th- It always amazes me how much ministry can dispell an otherwise quiet life. Needs arise and opportunities abound. It is never a question of what to do. More often it is a question of what not to do. Tonight I taught The Wall Prayer meeting. I used the passage from Ephesians Chapter 4: 1-15.

You can find the video HERE

Jan. 14th- Music lessons today and worship theory. I began looking into Green Energy sources today. Had a conversation with a company called Energy something or other. They said our roof is not suitable for panels. I will get a second opinion, but something tells me they are probably right….Maybe we should look at wind power.

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The Quiet Approach Of a New Day

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I love to begin with the quiet of a new day.

I love to rise before the rest of the house does and slowly gather my thoughts in prayer for the first couple of hours of the emerging morning.

I love to watch the sun rise over the back yard, bringing light to the Vicarage once again. It feels like a victory each time I see the sun wink into existence, to know that I have beaten the heating orb to the punch one more time.

Somehow catching those first quiet rays sets me up for the rhythm of the rest of my day. It is as if those gentle morning moments breathe something fresh into me that can carry me through into all the peace, creativity and strength I need for the rest of the day.

I love experiencing the quiet approach of a new day. How about you?

The Imagination Of A Two-Year-Old

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We took ‘Lella home today. She was so happy to see her mom and dad and to meet her baby sister Yve.

Having Daniella with us here at The Vicarage has been a great way to start this new year. The last eleven days have forced us all into her rhythm of play and imagination, and while it has been a bit tiring, it has been very good for all of us.

Lisa Johnson, a friend of ours who teaches pre-schoolers reminded us that the lovely thing about children ‘Lella’s age is that it is not hard to entertain them. Give them a card board box and their imagination does the rest.

‘Lella reminded us what it was like to try new things. She reminded us about the wonder of discovery.

And she also taught us that it is OK to leave all the energy out on the playing field and to rest when you are tired.

I think the lessons we have learned will serve us well as we face the blessings and challenges of 2021.

On the World Going Bonkers

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Have you noticed that the world has gone bonkers?

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I guess the world has always been bonkers…well at least since that Adam and Eve with the tree episode.

Every once in a while though the world just chooses to show its true nature more flamboyantly than others. Now is such a time. This has been a season of “Wowsie-Wowsie-Woo-Woo” to beat the groovy off a hippie poet.

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I guess I should not be much surprised by what is happening in the world. This is what God has been telling people to prepare for… for well a long time. Maybe part of the problem is we really didn’t believe God or His prophets or His Word.We don’t really want to accept that the truths of the end of the Bible are coming to pass before our eyes.

The Christian believers among us want to keep believing that Jesus is coming back to judge the world, but we want it to be painless. We want it to happen. We even say “Even so Lord Jesus come quickly.” We just don’t want anything to do with the process of His coming. We certainly don’t want to admit that there are aspects of our lives which will experience that process of judgment, because we’ve let bits of the world’s bonkers into ourselves.

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Bonkers is going to be with us for a little while longer folks. So we had better figure out what to do with it. Here are some suggestions for dealing with bonkers:

  1. Focus on God not the world– worship, pray, read the Word, fellowship with other believers who are focusing on God not the world.
  2. Focus on the mission– God gave us a job to do. We are to reach the people around us with the good news of Jesus Christ. Do your job and stop focusing on things that are not your job.

3. Pray about things and leave the results with God.- Stop telling God how to do His job. Give Him the situations that are vexing you, that are above your pay grade and trust Him to deal with them.

4. Stay in your lane- God has given you an area of influence. Stop pretending its bigger than it is and influence things you actually have authority over. Stop trying to influence things outside your realm of influence. You will only make things worse by involving yourself in things you have no business in.

5. Choose the fruit of the Spirit not the works of the flesh-

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5: 19-26

IS THERE SOMETHING IN THESE STEPS THAT SPEAKS TO YOU? TELL ME ABOUT IT.

Rhythm-Schedule/ Music-Math

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Wow! Yesterday’s article brought forth such good discussion on the subject of rhythm and schedule! Check out the full convo at RHYTHM OVER SCHEDULE.

In developing my thought process on the subject of life rhythm and scheduling life I thought it might be helpful to use an analogy here….

RHYTHM IS TO SCHEDULE AS MUSIC IS TO MATH.

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MATH IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MUSIC BUT MATH BY ITSELF IS NOT MUSIC. CONVERSELY MUSIC WITHOUT MATH IS JUST DISORGANIZED SOUND.

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In order for music to be music there must be intentional variation in pitch (speed of vibration) and intentional meter and rhythm which comes by counting out the pace of the notes. But there is something else music possesses which is harder to quantify. That is the spiritual/ emotional connection with the human soul. Music is more than just pitch and rhythm. It is heart. It is connection. It is divine spark.

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IN LIKE MANNER SCHEDULING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF LIFE RHYTHM BUT SCHEDULING BY ITSELF IS NOT LIFE RHYTHM. CONVERSELY LIFE RHYTHM WITHOUT INTENTIONAL SCHEDULING IS JUST A COMFORTABLE WAY OF LIVING DEVOID OF CREATED PURPOSE .

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Our life rhythm is the pattern of living that taps into our giftedness from God. So in order to tap into our divine gifts we need to intentionally schedule the pattern of living that draws them out.

What I learned, was that just having a schedule planned out according to my life roles did not necessarily mean I was tapping into the divine giftedness God had planned for me. My mistake in scheduling was that I allowed others to define my life rhythm by placing their expectations upon me. I let other people tell me what my role in the world was. I scheduled my life only according to what other people required of me. I was not strong enough to assert my own rhythm. I was not strong enough to say “no” when the expectations of others led me away from the life rhythm which fed my soul. I was like the tiger above…filled with all kinds of power but not using any of it.

So about three years ago I began to create a schedule which served my life rhythm rather than making my life rhythm serve my schedule. I view my rhythm as a cycle or a circle….like a clock. The rhythm is divided into seven sections: prayer (this is the first section of the cycle and for my giftedness to be released the most important), physical activity, rest, writing, work, relationship, and study (this is the final section of the cycle and for my giftedness to be released I think of it as second in importance).

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Just like on a clock you cannot go to the second hour without making it through the first hour. So in my rhythm I cannot go onto physical activity without first praying. On the other hand I cannot jump from work into prayer without first spending at least some time in relationship and study.

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Is this the right way to do it? Honestly, I don’t know if there is A RIGHT WAY of scheduling or living according to a life rhythm, but it is the way I have found that works for me in this moment.

SO TELL ME HOW YOU SCHEDULE OR WORK ACCORDING TO LIFE RHYTHM.

…So About That Book

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, The Stories

Those of you who have followed me for any length of time, know that I have been toying with the writing of a book for several years now.

I actually started the publishing process a few years back and had a contract signed with a publishing company. Then life got in the way and the dream died.

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But here’s the thing, I am a big believer in dead things coming back to life!

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This year the book came out of its proverbial grave clothes and now it is coming out of the shadows. I finished Pork Chops With the Sentinels Of Azatan just before Christmas!

Yes Ray it is done (Ray is the guy who keeps asking me about it)!!!!

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I have contacted my publisher and they have released me from my contract as they are no longer in a position to be able to publish me. This frees me up to take the next steps towards publication of my first novel!

So here I am posting the first steps on this journey to the first completed work by J. Lillie. 2021 is the year folks! Here we go!!!

Stewarding Artistry

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I wrote this line yesterday. ” I intend to steward all my artistry towards kingdom provision.”

It came out of me, but I am not really sure I was the thought’s origin, because I am not sure I really know what it means.

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Does that ever happen to you?

As I have considered revamping Lillie-Put my main thought was about doing something to deepen my community outreach:

BY CREATING MORE CONVERSATIONAL PIECES.

BY BEING MORE FAITHFUL TO READ THE COMMUNITY’S WORK.

BY BEING MORE ENGAGED BY FAITHFULLY POSTING AND COMMENTING ACROSS MY MEDIA PLATFORMS.

BY ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS.

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But as I began to write that my heart knew that something was missing. In reaching inward I found the line.. I intend to steward all my artistry towards kingdom provision.

So what does it mean to steward my artistry towards kingdom provision?

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Here are some thoughts fresh of the presses of my brain. Stewarding artistry towards kingdom provision means:

GIVING ALL THE ART MORE SPACE IN MY LIFE.

GIVING ALL THE ART MORE TIME.

FOCUSING NOT ON QUANTITY BUT ON DEEPENING THE QUALITY OF MY CREATION

FINISHING THE WORK THROUGH THE POINT OF COMMUNITY RELEASE, AND BY THAT CREATING PROVISION FOR ME…FOR THE VICARAGE…FOR THE CHURCH…FOR THE KINGDOM.

Can you add to this list?

…You May Have Noticed.

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You may have noticed a slight change in Lillie-Put’s content in the New Year.

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Posts with a few more words…fewer of what I call one minute wonders…. fewer posts over all. It is intentional and those of you who know me know I am becoming all about intention.

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My goal this year is two-fold: Community and Stewardship. I intend to build community… and I intend to steward all my artistry towards kingdom provision.

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To do both of these things: I need to deepen the conversational nature of the blog; I need to focus on artistry and I need to be reading more of your blogs.

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In order to accomplish this I will be approaching the blog more as an open journal, a chat room and a photography/ sketch book. I will still be joining challenges, just fewer than I use to. I will also be increasing the time I spend reading your material and chatting with you about it. Above all and the goal will always be creating community and creating kingdom provision. That might be part of a new tag line…Creating community and Kingdom provision…Yeah I like that!

On Oz Being Two-Tired

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My granddaughter, ‘Lella, calls me Oz. This is Oz’s house.

I guess to a two-year-old it could look like The Emerald City.

‘Lella has been with us all this week and will be with us into next week while her mother and father await the birth of “Lella’s sister, Yve. We are having a blast!

I come to the end of every day feeling accomplished and entirely ready for bed. I think all of us at The Vicarage would say the same. We are not too tired to go on. We have established a very relaxed and manageable rhythm after all. But we are “two-tired” for sure.

The last time I held the energy of a two-year-old for more than an afternoon, I was in my twenties and I weighed eighty pounds less than I do now. If nothing else being two-tired has reaffirmed that I will be losing this weight, because soon I will have two granddaughters to be chasing after!

2021 At the Vicarage Week #1

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

Here are some daily highlights from the first week of 2021!

Jan. 1st- Well I did not make it to midnight on New Year’s Eve. I never do. I started rousing around 4:30 A.M. and finally got rolling around 7:30. I walked the dogs and then made a breakfast of stuffed French toast and bacon.

Daniella will be with us until little Abigail finally puts in an appearance, but that is OK because we are working into a good rhythm:Morning chores and then morning ride, followed by lunch afternoon nap (in which I get afternoon chores one), and then some afternoon activity, followed by supper making and eating, and then wind down time which usually includes a Disney movie, a call to Mom and Dad, and a few stories before bed time.

An afternoon of throwing pine cones in the brook

Jan. 2-Baby Abigail is still a no show, but Daniella is taking it in stride. We seem to have discovered a pretty good rhythm for our days.

I started drawing again thanks to a drawing prompt journal given me by some artists friends at Christmas. Thanks Ken and Betty. Note I was a little daunted by the concept of Angel’s wings…I opted to try a feather.

Jan. 3rd- Church Day! First church service of January!

https://fb.watch/2OhTeg6YCn/

Jan. 4th- We played in the snow.

January 5th-

My book is finished! I heard from my publisher last night. She is releasing me from contract so I can be free to pursue other publication possibilities. I am not discouraged though. I was pretty sure that this was going to be the outcome since I have been so long in completing this work. I am very excited about the forward momentum I am sensing now!

Jan. 6th- And the world welcomes Abigail Yvaine Franklin!

Born 7:45 P.M. 8 lbs 12 oz. 19.5 inches long

Jan. 7th- The last few days Daniella has kept us really busy. Now that Abigail is born tonight is the night we prepare for Daniella’s return home after 11 days with us. That means laundry and tubby!

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It has been a fun, busy, and memorable week here at The Vicarage.

HOW WAS YOUR FIRST WEEK OF 2021.