Artist's Game of Telephone.

I am reading this blog for class that was featured in the Huffington Post that is amazing. It is called 7 Rings; An Artist's Game of Telephone. One day a poet posts a poem and a visual artist has 24hrs to respond to the poem with a painting. That painting becomes the next day's post and a new poet has to respond to that painting in the next 24hrs. That poem becomes the next post, and the game goes on and on like that. It is really interesting so I thought I'd share it.

ring ring ring     (<-- click)

2 random thoughts.

As I spent some time in prayer this Sunday evening at home, I felt two random thoughts come to the forefront of my mind. I thought I'd share them:

1) I took a trip to Mammoth last week with my quirky Antioch Family. My friend Jae got a vision from the Lord that really shook me up. He said he saw an arm with really strong forearm muscles and really strong biceps, but the joints in the elbow, wrist, and shoulder were extremely weak. He felt like this represented the church. Individuals are strong but if our connections to other parts of the body are weak we are essentially ineffective. This year let's focus on strengthening not only ourselves but also on connecting more than ever to other believers. I dare you to ask God who in your church to love on this week, who to bless with an encouraging note (not a love note, that is stalking), who to buy a small gift for, who to go to lunch with, who to call that maybe you feel awkward around, etc...let's BE the church.

2) I try to remember as often as I can to pray for the victims of human and sex trafficking. In my opinion it is the worst crime the world has ever seen, it breaks the Lords heart and consequently my own. Today while I was praying the Lord led me to pray not only for the enslaved but also the captors. It felt weird, honestly. But we are to love our enemies, right? I prayed that the people at the head of this evil "business" would be softened, healed, and fall in love with Jesus. I realized that if they become radical lovers of Jesus, they would be absolutely the most effective people at tearing down the entire operation. So it doesn't have to be human trafficking, but whatever you are passionate about, pray for the people who look like the bad guys. If we can turn the bad guys of all crimes into Christians...what will the victims have to fear anymore? Pray big in 2011, God is moving like crazy..


that's all. :)

Maya Angelou and 2011

I don't know if everyone can feel it...but most of the people I've heard from can...the excitement of this new year. 2009 passed without much exuberance the same as 2003 and 1994. But something about this new year is different, something about 2011 is worthy of celebration and jubilee. The Spirit of God is moving in a new way, ready to pour out fresh blessings and revelation and growth.

On 1/1/2011 the Lord put it on my heart to read poetry every night before going to bed. I didn't think I owned any books that I hadn't read yet, but I found one on the shelf called Celebration, by, Maya Angelou. The very first poem in the collection shook me to the core. It almost felt prophetic. It encapsulated all of the things people had been talking about for the upcoming year, all of the things the Lord had been laying on my heart for 2011. As if the butterflies in my stomach weren't enough for me to know that the Lord was using this poem to speak to me....the next night I went to see Narnia (which is amazing) with some friends of mine (Mady and Maritza). Afterwards we went to Borders to look at the C.S. Lewis books and in the church theology section between Mere Christianity and Screwtape Letters was a very familiar book. In the completely wrong section was Celebration by Maya Angelou, just waiting for me.

We all sat down in the aisle and I read the poem to the girls. We made some  Nietzsche fans upset because we were blocking their section for the next 15min as we prayed, but it was a powerful time with God. Anyhow I thought I'd share this poem with you, I've bolded the parts that really stuck out to me.

On the Pulse of Morning

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.


But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here. 

You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spilling words 

Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out to us today, you may stand upon me,
But do not hide your face. 

Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song. It says,
Come, rest here by my side.


Each of you, a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more. Come,
Clad in peace, and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the rock were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.
The River sang and sings on.




There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African, the Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheik,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.


They hear the first and last of every Tree
Speak to humankind today. Come to me, here beside the River.
Plant yourself beside the River.


Each of you, descendant of some passed
On traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name, you,
Pawnee, Apache, Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet,
Left me to the employment of
Other seekers -- desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Arab, the Swede, the German, the Eskimo, the Scot,
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought,
Sold, stolen, arriving on the nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am that Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.
I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree
I am yours -- your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.


Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream. 


Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands,
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For a new beginning.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness. 

The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out and upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country. 
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.


Here, on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, and into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope --
Good morning. 

plain scenes (Christmas).

Saturday December 18^th was Antioch’s (my church) Christmas Show and it was phenomenal! The evening started with an hour of free desserts, chatting, and fair trade Christmas shopping. The lights dimmed at eight and the show started. Beautiful solo carols were sung, poetry was read, break dancers wowed the audience with their flips, worship was beautiful, and as the night was coming to an end a ballet was performed with a perfect 4 year old angel (Collette Curry) that stole the show.

There was also a live painter, Ashley Setzler, at the front of the stage all night. Her painting was displayed the next morning at Sunday service as well and as I worshipped, the Lord really brought it to my attention. At first glance it is a rather plain scene, a bare lamp stand, a light bulb with no shade illuminating a shabby brick wall covered in moss. But if you look long enough you realize that the orb of light coming off the bulb forms an ocean blue circle. That is at least interesting…brick isn’t usually blue. Then the moss begins to look too calculated, not just random splotches but perhaps something more intentional. And then the entire message of the painting becomes clear. Here is this rather ordinary looking site that upon closer inspection is actually setting the entire world alight.

            This really ministered to me. So many days feel so ordinary in life. Wake up, go to school or work, take out the trash, worry about spending too much money on Starbucks, make dinner, try and go out every once in awhile, get some sleep, do it again. I sometimes forget that I have the living God inside of me, the same power that rose Christ from the dead, that my Savior came to give me abundant life! Looking at this picture I felt challenged to let God use what I consider to be my very ordinary life to do unfathomable things. I felt challenged to take more risks for the Kingdom, to ask God for more divine appointments in my life, to use me to love a very dark world. In the midst of very ordinary moments God can use us to illuminate the world. When things feel cold, damp, dark, and moldy God surprises us with beautiful miracles that seem to come out of nowhere.

            Is this not the first Christmas story? A dark night, a young girl everybody thought was a tramp, no place in the hotels or motels, a baby being born in the coldest most unglamorous place imaginable…and then God did it. Lit the world on fire with the glorious miracle of his perfect son.

The stork flew by, baby delivery.

On Monday night at midnight we drove to the hospital because my sister went into labor. Are they not the cutest couple ever? My brother-in-law Cody is holding the go-bag (that they've had in the car for a month) and her purse. Aly, my sister, had contractions all the way into the labor and delivery department and we knew this baby was coming quick!

My family slept in half-hour increments throughout the night in the fluorescent lighting of the hospital waiting room. At 5am my dad and I made a starbucks run and by 6am everybody sort of had their wits about them again.

Carter Reef Padrnos was born November 9, 2010 at 6:09 am, weighing 7.9lbs, and 20in long. perfection.

Welcome to the family little one, we love you so so so much!

10 perfect little toes :-)

Daddy and son.

Aunty Nata loves you precious lil guy.

cute little going home outfit.

as an aunty this is by far my favorite picture, look at those big doe eyes!

It started out as a joke with my sister, but I'm thinking of keeping it:

how do you feel about the name "aunty mongo"?

Children in Nature.

Nature 

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As a fond mother, when the day is o'er,

Leads by the hand her little child to bed,

Half willing, half reluctant to be led, 

And leave his broken playthings on the floor,

Still gazing at them through the open door, 

Nor wholly reassured and comforted

By promises of others in their stead,

Which though more splendid, may not please him more;

So Nature deals with us, and takes away

Our playthings one by one, and by the hand

Leads us to rest so gently, that we go

Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay,

Being too full of sleep to understand 

How far the unknown transcends the what we know

Baby Shower Cupcakes

I'm going to be an aunty very soon! My older sister,  Aly, was due on Halloween, and while we were glad not to have a little goblin, it seems like he should've come by now! He is 6 days late and we are so anxious to hold him! His name is Carter Reef Padrnos, pictures coming soon of him hopefully!!

Anywho...I did the cupcakes for her shower and had a lot of fun with them. 

I handmade the toppers out of scrapbooking stickers and lollipop sticks, really affordable and easy method.

I used really simple recipes for vanilla, devils food, and strawberry cupcakes because I was baking for over 80 women and everyone likes the basics :-)

I'm starting to get the hang of frosting with tips, adding a bit of Meringue powder to the frosting really helped.

HURRY UP CARTER!!