It is Final Friday time! Some art exhibits of note:

At City Arts enjoy the exhibits Testing by Curt Clonts, Ditch by Conan Y. Fugit, The Rhythm and Power of Landscapes by Pam Hayes and Pulp by Phillip H. Ness.

At Reverie check out charcoal drawings by local artist, Zach Rathbun.

At Clutch Studio brows the Bad News Company Pop Up Shop.

And see the AIGA WSU Student Group at Silo Shop for their pop-up shop of unique, handmade goods.

See at map and more Final Friday details here.

Tonight, February 23rd, see Kathleen Grissom at Watermark with a reading and signing of her book Glory Over Everything at 6:00.

This Saturday the 25th, come to Wichita Art Museum’s WAM BAM Bust-a-Move. Join the fun at this 3rd annual disco party blowout beginning at 11 for costume prep and 1:30 for family dance fun.

Did you know our city ranked one of America’s most artistic towns on expedia.com? Atta way, Wichita.

Want to help sponsor a wonderful City Race that benefits children in our community? See some details here.

Tomorrow night, Friday the 24th, at Mead’s Corner help celebrate the release of Kansas artist Zack Manuel’s album The Sunflower State.

And check out the rest of the week’s Food Truck Schedule at ICT Pop-Up Urban Park.

 

Library:

Check out the next upcoming Academy Awards Short Film Screenings today at Central and Saturday the 25th at Warren Theater.

Interested in starting your own small business? Register for the Small Business Administration/SCORE’s program this Saturday from 1-2:30.

Have a great weekend!

Timeout

Costco vortex

Glory

 

Your 7 Days?

I have been processing so much: the immigration/refugee situation, white majority, a division of We the People, a life-changing conference.

Hubs has been the main sounding board, as working full time does not warrant hour-long walks at the Y with heart friends. Nor does it lend itself to musings over mochas. But it does allow for school lunches and wiping noses and laughing out loud more times a day than I have in years. I love the exhausting – sometimes frustrating, always entertaining – work of being at our boys’ school.

Something I’ve been thinking about our current political climate and this administration relates to parenting. One side effect of being a parent for 9 years is the instinct to reward ridiculous behavior with no attention. Unfortunately, we cannot ignore what is in front of us. It looms darker and heavier each week.

So it seems the answer is not to ignore. But remain kind and brave. To speak up and speak out and make phone calls and learn more about our Constitution. I’ve never wished I was more versed in what the law of our nation says.

We ask for the refugee and elevate the voices of those to whom none of this is new. We read blog posts, yes, but also (slightly less biased?) news articles. And fully published books. These feel foreign to me lately and that I want that to change.

But you know what else we do? We unplug our phones and snuggle our people. We eat a late breakfast and drink tea with friends. We remain open to our neighbors and coworkers because His strength in us is bigger than our need for some quiet. But we take that quiet time. We guard it zealously when necessary. We get out our cameras and recapture hope in images and life in moments. We paint or write or draw or build as God made us to do. We cheerfully give and fire our perfectionism and get a pedicure. Because no one has the right to take away our joy. No one can take away the Joy.

I’ve been hoping to have deep and insightful paths appear before me lately. But instead I’m doing the next right thing rather than allowing the huge picture to overwhelm. These days that gets me nowhere and we’ve got places to go, don’t we? Besides, “after obedience, the courage was waiting for me.” So let’s obey whatever that looks like for you today.

And together on our President’s Day? Let’s remember all the good that has happened on this soil and the ones who led. But let’s not pretend it has always been a dream. Especially for those on whom we built this dream. I hope we remember and repent, love and listen anew today. There is hope, but hope comes from things yet seen. We the People are not where we need to be, but we can choose to move that direction.

Help us, LORD.

“I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?’

Nehemiah 2:7

Last time we looked in on Nehemiah’s journey. He had the king’s favor and set a time for his departure. Today we get to see a bit more of his detailed request.

I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors beyond the River that they may pass over me in their territories across the other side until I arrive in Judah.”

The word for pass over is particularly interesting. It is the Hebrew word abar and its most concise definition is “to alienate.” In this context, the safe conduct Nehemiah is seeking is to be ignored, alienated in a foreign land. To simply be passed over until he arrives safely in Judah.

Feeling overlooked or passed over is ordinarily hurtful. To feel unseen is sometimes worse than feeling hated. At least the hate acknowledges your existence.

But in Nehemiah’s situation to be passed over meant survival. It meant fewer hassles and entanglements on the way to his destination: Judah, the land of his forefathers.

And in our situation it can also be a positive. If we’re seeking to please our Commanding Officer alone, we too will have fewer entanglements on our way to our Destination. Oh, we engage. We love and serve and grieve and pray. But we are not so entangled with lesser pursuits that we miss The Way.

Friends, we have our marching orders. We even have the divine method. Anything he asks us to sacrifice is worth it. Not pain free, but worth what is ahead and guaranteed to be surpassed. And we have One Who was passed over on His Way to the Destination. It was certainly not pain free, but His loss is our reward. We, too, can set our faces like flint to please One.

Because Worthy is the Lamb.

Today is the last day to register for the Sedgwick County Extension Office’s Design and Grow Gardening Workshop. The class is this Saturday, February 18th from 9-3:30.

Coming up at Watermark:

Brit Bennett will be hosting a reading and signing of her book The Mothers tonight at 6.

See Cindy Jenson-Elliott Saturday the 18th at 2:00 for an author talk and signing of Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams a Life in Nature.

Then on Monday the 20th catch Albert Goldbarth at 6:00 for his book The Adventures of Form and Content.

And finally Alex George in conversation with Clare Vanderpool of his book Setting Free the Kites.

The Women’s Fair is this weekend, February 17-19th. See local vendors, exhibits, and shows.

You can win a Painted Carousel Horse in a raffle to help restore the Joyland Carousel at Botanica. (Plus Botanica is hiring!)

Upcoming live music at Mead’s Corner:

Piper Lour-Renee with Roni Lowry Friday the 17th from 8-10.

Plus, Brandon Ellis with Colin Wilmore on Saturday the 18th beginning at 8:00 pm.

And join the fun of Game Night at Reverie this Saturday the 18th beginning at 5:30.

 

Library:

Over the next week enjoy the 31st Annual Film Festival at the Library. See all upcoming events and film screenings here.

Next in the Civil Rights Discussion is tonight from 7-8 at WSU Hughes Metroplex. Enjoy Mining the Trust Gap: Ferguson and Americans’ Changing Views of Police Behavior.

And don’t forget:

Have a great weekend!

Grandparent Love

Incredible conference + an ocean glimpse

Space Station

Glory

 

Your 7 Days?

“Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me,

‘How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’

It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time”

Nehemiah 2:6

Last time we got a glimpse into Nehemiah’s request: both the fear and the faith. Today we get to see the king’s answer.

“The king, right next to the queen, asked, ‘How long will it take for your journey to come to pass? When will you turn back to us?’

It seemed acceptable before the face of the king to freely release me. So I set an appointed time.”

We can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Nehemiah’s request was acceptable before the king. The months of wondering and praying for the brothers and sisters in his home city came to positive fruition.

How about us? Is there a journey He is taking you on? I appreciate that when Nehemiah said he set a time, the Hebrew means “appointed time.” As in, Nehemiah might have spoken some dates, but God had already appointed the time.

We can trust His timing, friends. After all, He knew just when the timing was right to send the Ultimate Leader to us – to lead us to His heart.

 

It is 2nd Saturday time. Explore all the participating shops along Douglas and save.

See Lydia Reeder tonight, February 9th, at Watermark for an author talk and signing of Dust Bowl Girls at 6:00.

Come to the Wichita Art Museum tonight from 6-9 to hear from Exhibition Speaker Elizabeth Jacks, Executive Director of Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole House.

Also at the Art Museum this weekend, come for Poetry Out Loud Saturday the 11th from 10:30-12:00 to hear high school competitors recite poems for a panel of judges.

Then on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday the 14th, joint the Museum for Colors of Our Heart Art Start at 10 and 1:30.

Check out Cooking Matters for Parents Program through the Wichita Moms Blog.

And if you’re stuck on what to give that special someone for Valentine’s, you should read about getting a Little Squiggly from the Zoo.

Today, the 9th, at 9:30 join the fun of Little Nature Lovers at Great Plains Nature Center. Also, don’t miss Naturally Crafty on Tuesday the 14th from 10-12.

This is fun: Ladies, dig in your purse for an old lipstick and bring it in to Green Acres West or Bradley Fair this Saturday the 11th for their Lip Stick Swap. Trade in your old shade for 50% off a ZuZu lip product.

This Saturday the 11th, see Shapes at Mead’s Corner and Bernardus w/William Bloom Wednesday the 15th. Gotta love live music and great coffee.

And check out Coffee By Candlelight at Reverie for your sweetie. There are still a few tables left.

Plus, enjoy the Indoor Farmer’s Market this Saturday from 8-12 at the Sedgwick County Extension Center.

 

Library:

Get your kiddos registered for the new 2nd Saturdays of Code class this weekend. Or perhaps their more interested in the Cupcake Crusade for grades 3-5 at Central.

And don’t miss the Toddler Dance Party later today or the Anti-Valentine party for teens on Tuesday the 14th, both at Rockwell.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Puppy love

Fun times with long-time friend

Enjoying local art

Library love + sunset glory

 

Your 7 Days?

“I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’

The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.'”

Nehemiah 2:2b-5

Last time we were allowed a glimpse into Nehemiah’s sadness of heart. Urged on by the king’s curiosity, today we get to see Nehemiah’s explanation.

“I was utterly, increasingly, violently afraid. But I said to the king, ‘Why not be afflicted when the graves of my fathers are decaying in their city and the gates are eaten by fire?’

The king asked, ‘So what do you want?’

Then I prayed to Elohim, Creator God of Heaven, and answered, ‘If it pleases you and I’ve been a faithful servant before your face, let me go, dispatch me to the city that I may rebuild it.”

The Hebrew is intense for Nehemiah’s fear. Very is two separate words – one meaning to mulitply and one for intensity. And, honestly, haven’t we all been there? When we have several months, like Nehemiah did, to think over how we will go about following through with something, the anxiety can tend to increase. Multiply in intensity.

Although it is clear our leader was held in high esteem by the king, it wasn’t a guarantee that his response to Nehemiah’s bold request would be well received. Truthfully the king could do whatever he wanted with his subjects, including releasing him from service or putting him to death. And as we’ll see later, Nehemiah wasn’t simply asking for a leave of absence. He was requesting the king’s blessing with provisions.

This is a big ask. No wonder his fear heaped up over the months.

But when the king gave him permission to make his request, Nehemiah did the right thing: prayed to Elohim, the Creator God who made everything, including the powerful monarch before him.

Friends, I think this is where we will get our much-needed courage during our tenure here. Our fears can multiply, but we can still show up, be honest, pray one last time, then boldly request. Whether it is before a powerful king or in prayer against principalities & powers that seek to destroy the image of Creator God in others.

Or both.

But as we prayerfully and wisely consider how to both honor and stand up for others in the same breath, let’s keep in mind the One Who bowed before the Most Powerful King. Who was very much afraid, confessed honestly, and made His bold request. Then bowed down to the will of that King.

And because He ultimately bowed, we who believe in Him can follow suit, never needing to fear our ultimate future.