Sandra Heska King

daring to open doors

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Dared: To Paint a Wall Chartreuse

April 19, 2018 By Sandra Heska King

    Chartreuse. The color of your creativity. That phrase pinged around my head this morning. I wrote it on an index card, attributed it to L.L. Barkat, and pinned it to my bulletin board. But then I wondered, “Did she really say that—like that?” Laura Barkat has unofficially mentored me for several years. Last […]

Filed Under: Blog, Dared

Becoming Mindful in Place: Under the Maple Tree

June 15, 2015 By Sandra Heska King

  I’m sunk into a red sports chair in the shade under the backyard maple. The site of the Great Lilac Massacre is behind me and in front is the home of the baby bluebird murders. In my mind, I still see the blood-splashed walls and little pecked heads. The grandgirl no longer plays softball, […]

Filed Under: Blog, stillness, stories and reflections, writing

Compassion: What Makes My Blood Boil?

July 11, 2014 By Sandra Heska King

    I stretch out under a crisp white sheet on a soft mattress, head sinking into the pillow. A student will do the procedure today. She applies the electrodes. One… two… three. “Yay, they’re warm,” I say. She cocks her head. “They are? Oh, they were sitting next to the machine.” “You should store […]

Filed Under: Blog, book studies

Straining Memories

July 8, 2014 By Sandra Heska King

memories

    I’ve heard the story many times. I’m dawdling as I dress for school in front of the furnace. My mom’s trying to speed things up. If I miss the bus, she threatens, I’ll spend the day in bed–at least until the bus would normally return late that afternoon. I don’t care. I miss the bus. […]

Filed Under: Blog, book studies, scribbles, stories

Where is Your Safe Place?

July 3, 2014 By Sandra Heska King

safe place

Safe Places I remember a scorched blanket or crocheted spread wrapped around a baby doll. I remember sitting in the center after finding matches on the bedside table and Grandma Dummer’s yelp and a splash of water. I remember forts of fern with stems stomped down to form a center where I could hide when life got hot. On […]

Filed Under: Blog, book studies, poetry

Scripture Sunday: Create

June 15, 2014 By Sandra Heska King

When he [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” ~ Luke 5:4 (NIV) :: “Wade where Jesus is still creating you. Choose creative whitespace.” ~Bonnie Gray critical voices beached boats, empty nets, dead dreams fish deeper water :: it’s never too late to […]

Filed Under: Blog, poetry, Scripture Sunday, Spiritual Whitespace, stillness

Making Manifest: Introduction by Dave Harrity

May 1, 2014 By Sandra Heska King

Today’s the day we start our devotional journey through Making Manifest: On Faith, Creativity, and the Kingdom at Hand by Dave Harrity, and I’m all tingly with anticipation. I can’t wait to see what happens when a group of us intentionally take some time over the month to daily slow down, still ourselves, listen, and create a […]

Filed Under: Blog, book studies, Making Manifest, stories and reflections

when the river breathes

November 26, 2013 By Sandra Heska King

Frio River

The Frio splashes on tires, and Charity rolls down the window so we can bathe in the sound of it. Right away I feel a shift in my spirit and a nauseous-not-nauseous sense in the pit of my stomach–anticipation as I melt into this thin place that’s thick with the presence of God. The sacred […]

Filed Under: stories and reflections

life after art: good enough

September 3, 2013 By Sandra Heska King

art after life

My husband would be the first to tell you he is not particularly handy. Even though the Handyman Club of America sent him a card in the mail designating him as a member in good standing. How that came to him is still a mystery. When he was in school, all ninth grade boys had […]

Filed Under: bible studies, stories and reflections

in which I fall in love with a dead man

July 5, 2013 By Sandra Heska King

love

  We had a nodding acquaintance over the years, he and I. I admired some of his work, even spent a little time with his horse who stands proud in a garden only an hour away. But I didn’t know him. And to deepen our relationship was not in my mind map. Not at all. […]

Filed Under: stories and reflections

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I’m Sandra, a camera-toting, recovering doer who’s learning to be. still. Read more…

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sandraheskaking

Just another backyard photo… Just another backyard photo…
From my backyard tonight. From my backyard tonight.
Just another sunset. Just another sunset.
“I would like people to remember of me, how inex “I would like people to remember of me, how inexhaustible was her mindfulness.” ~ Mary Oliver in “ A Little Ado About This and That.”
Current situation. Current situation.
“This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” “This spark of life that wavest wings of gold” ~ Thomas Wentworth Higginson in “Ode to a Butterfly”
🦋
We pulled all the milkweed because it just could not support all the caterpillars. They were eating it bare and most of them died because they ran out of food. This one butterfly found this one lone volunteer.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright futur "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." ~ E.B. White (as quoted on today's page in my Franklin Planner)
"May you experience each day as a sacred gift wove "May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder." ~ John O'Donohue in "For Presence" from To Bless the Space Between Us
🌴
Tri-colored heron stalking breakfast in my backyard.
“. . neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes “. .  neighbor’s tree hangs heavy with mangoes. They are moving in a week. They say a family from Belarus bought the house. I hope they don’t care much for mangoes.”
**
“Beautiful Sweet Things” at https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/
"People do not grow old. When they cease to grow t "People do not grow old. When they cease to grow they become old.” ~ Emerson

It's been a while since I've written anything on my blog. Like 3 years. But I just wrote my first post on Substack. Come see?

https://sandraheskaking.substack.com/p/ten-years-ten-things
Spent a couple hours this morning with friends fro Spent a couple hours this morning with friends from @spanishriverchurch picking up beach trash. Little bits of colored and clear plastic, big bits of plastic, bottle caps, broken glass, strings, ropes, straws, socks, fast food containers, paper, cigarette holders and filters—and a couple unmentionables. Took extra care around the turtle nests. Last count was about 70 pounds, but there were also some bigger things like an abandoned chair and a plastic tent. And a big piece of burlap or something with a fishing lure and giant hook attached. D found a Macy’s gift card that he almost tossed in his bucket. But we brought it home to check the balance—$24.60! We should be able to turn that into something useful for someone. 😊
H Already dead, I am living my afterlife here in t H
Already dead, I am
living my afterlife
here
in the form of a human.
~ Xueyan from Time Peels All to Original White

Thanks to @tspoetry for introducing me to this beautiful collection via an Every Day Poems selection.
The cats attacked the window all night. The dog wo The cats attacked the window all night. The dog woofed all night. This morning we discovered the would-be burglar imprisoned between the screen and the glass on our bedroom slider. 

When I stepped out to release it (no bail), I was surprised by this brief bit of backyard beauty.
For most of us, knowledge of our world comes large For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?" ~ Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
#prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michigan #prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michiganstateuniversity
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faith Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. ~ Psalm 136:1
A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana in the background until I downloaded the photos. That, I believe, is the one that got caught in one of the openings in the neighbor's chain link fence. We tried in several (safe) ways to dislodge it without luck and could think of no other option but to leave it. Somehow it apparently dislodged itself. We also believe this is the pair that was getting into another neighbor's garden. We haven't seen either one since the last cold snap, so we are wondering if they survived. 
🌱
Thinking some may have tumbled from their perches last night. Pretty sure it will be raining iguanas tonight since we are under a frost advisory. It's cold. And windy.
Just sing... sing a song... Singing our way into Just sing... sing a song... 

Singing our way into the weekend.
"We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramse "We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt is in the Wind
Now you see me... now you don't. Now you see me... now you don't.
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