I woke up smelling rain….and thinking of dahlias.Seeing a girl so newly married and in love that if you told her the sky was purple she would have believed it if it came from his eyes. I was that girl.
Standing beside the carport of our first modest house, I was planting petunias and dahlias, covered in straw mulch, stardust and dreams. Perched beneath the eave of a green house under a peculiar blue sky, I remember the smell of that rain. Wondering if I’d get my flowers in the ground before the clouds broke free.
Soon the house would have new siding, brick window casings and a new front porch. And because the roof was flat and tarred, men from our church descended upon us early one Saturday morning, raising pitched rafters and putting on a new roof. It was like an old-fashioned barn raising in the suburbs! They wore blue overalls with pockets of tools and handkerchiefs. One carried Bible tracts in his back pocket and just before the work began, I heard a whole bunch of deacons high on my little green house say a hearty prayer and a big hallelujah amen (kind of like a Baptist football huddle but not…)
We suddenly had an attic and beautiful wood stained siding in the course of one day. I can still see my Dad up on the ladder, hammering and laughing with the motley crew, along with my father-in-law who covered his balding un-churched truck-driving head with a neck gator so that he could dodge impromptu Scripture-throwing and splinters at the same time. I needed to spruce up the outside with bulbs and patches of prayed-in dirt.
The year was 1979. I was expecting a baby and the move had been difficult. My mother-in-law moved boxes for me and put my house together. I just wanted to plant things in the ground.
The chorus in the shingled sky continued. They hammered. And sang. And prayed. I ran as fast as I could from flying nails – as fast as a pregnant woman could run – and served iced tea, carefully and slowly walking barefoot through the grass filled with tape measures and lumber, wondering how we would ever repay them for such kindness
And then it started to rain
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They kept hammering. But faster. |
Everything in the universe is composed of five elements: wood, fire, earth, water and metal. I had all five elements on top of my house at the same time. It was like watching spiritual improv on my own personal green Mount of Transfiguration! Jesus told a crowd of people that His Father sends rain to the just and the unjust. During my green house days, I saw Him send rain on the churched and the un-churched. My neighborhood had never heard such.My house was transfigured in a day.My heart was changed forever.
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| My African water jug |
Which brings me to why I think I know what my heart was trying to tell me this morning some forty-three years later when God as my Witness, I sat straight up in bed and smelled earthy rain clear as day. Not a cloud in the sky outside. But I’m sure I heard a thunderclap in my bedroom. It came from way back in the suburban days of newborns and baptisms, deacons and dahlias…
Two simple words have been floating around in my consciousness for about three years now and they won’t let me go.
Remove judgment.
The year of 2019 was a banner year of bodacious struggle, you see…literally raining down on my pencil head with a force so ungodly I didn’t think I’d survive it and that was before the pandemic began. I had a right to hate. I had a right to seek revenge. I had a right to….to…..undo myself.
Remove judgment.That’s what Spirit said.
I’ve been trying for three years to fine-tune that command. “But they did this…” Remove judgment. “And then they did that!!…” Remove judgment. “But they deserve to pay for what they did. They are the unjust. Right?”Remove judgment.
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NOV 4 – 6th
Our 2022 Theme is
No Freedom, No Peace
I don’t have to tell you what’s going on in the world. From tanks in Ukraine to ongoing conflicts in many parts of the globe to headscarves flying off in Iran, we’re in a battle for universal and personal peace. We’re in a storm calling for independence in a world saturated with oppression. We need freedom.
The whole world is in a foxhole.
Why do we need freedom? We need freedom to speak. Freedom to love. Freedom to lie down peacefully at night without bombs falling outside our windows. Freedom to worship. Freedom to abstain from worship. FREEDOM. Economic and social.
Freedom from guns on the street. Freedom from racism, sexism, ageism, xenophobia, classism, discrimination and prejudice. Freedom from oppression. Freedom from corruption. Freedom from the worry of nuclear war.
And most importantly, freedom from the worries in our heads that keep us unhealthy and enslaved.
Deepak Chopra said,
“When you feel unbounded and free, you will begin to heal yourself.”
It’s hard to remain unbound
when the world wants to keep you in chains.
Are you free? And if you’re not, what is holding you back?
I am convinced that no amount of peace can spring from even a sliver of bondage.
Figure it out. What is keeping you bound?
Where is YOUR freedom?
How precious is it to you?
What does your liberation look like?
What makes you free?
What will you do to get it?
What makes a country free?
What makes our planet free?
What will we do to protect it?
When you fight for your freedom you are fighting for your peace.
When we fight for OUR freedom, we are fighting for our peace.
That’s everything.
But what if your freedom infringes upon my freedom?
Are we free?
No.
We are even more estranged. We are at war.
Make sure your “freedoms” cause no harm to others.
No Freedom, No Peace
See how that works?
We are peace bloggers. It’s what we do.
This isn’t a rallying cry for more war. That wouldn’t be in our wheelhouse.
It is not an if-then statement. It is not a threat against power. Under the conditions of a peace movement such as this, we are acknowledging that one cannot exist without the other. It is clear we are talking about mutualevolution, not revolution….UNLESS…your revolution is quiet and peaceful, productive and compassionate. Then I’m all in.
This is my challenge to you this year.
When you find yourself in the middle of an invasion or unwanted change, surrounded and bound, reclaim your freedom.
Let’s get FREE!
Note: You can make it personal or you can write about the national and global issues facing us. Your choice.
Get your own peace globe HERE.
Peace Globe Templates HERE.
Special Ukraine Templates HERE.
Thank you for continuing to inspire me. Thank you for being a community of life-changers, givers, and lovers of peace. Thank you continuing to share your powerful images and words with all of us.
See the thousands of peace globes flying in the official gallery from 214+ countries and territories since 2006 when we started.
Let’s go! It’s a launch!
How To Links:
How to Get Your Peace Globe FREE Peace Globe Templates How To Put Your Peace Globe on Facebook Get Your Own Peace GlobePeace Bloggers GROUP
Contact me at blog4peace @ yahoo.com if you have questions.
Images: Mimi Lenox, Pixabay
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©Mimi Lenox All Rights Reserved Blog4Peace™ BlogBlast4Peace™ Blog For Peace™ Post4Peace™ BlogBlast for Peace™ Peace Bloggers™ Peace Globes™
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| Use this graphic to promote. Share! |
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| Free templates |
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| Latin for “Grant us Peace” |
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It’s hard to remain unbound
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| Use this blank template to make your own peace globe |
Images: Mimi Lenox, Pixabay
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| Created by Eileen Trainor |
#2 It’s time to create something funky and retro.
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| Created by Rose @ Walk In The Wood (Connecticut) |
#3 Because nobody really believes you’re groovy and you need to prove them wrong.
Created by Thumper Thinks Out Loud (K A Thompson)
#4 All the radical internet kids are doing it.
Created by Jobi Harris in Florida
#5 You’re too old or too late for Woodstock
#6 You can make a statement without getting a tattoo!!
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Created by Silvia Hoefnagels in Ireland
#7 We’re blowing each other up.
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#8 Seriously, you should be sick of #7 by now.
#9 Words are Powerful…this matters
Created by Ann Adamus at Zoolatry.blogspot.com
#10 Blogging for Peace brings people together from all over the world. And it’s free.
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Here’s a blank background. Grab it and use it. Decorate at will. Sign it. Post it. Wherever you are online. Nov 4-6, 2022 You’re a peace blogger. Welcome to the movement.
Follow Me 
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Join us for BlogBlast For Peace Nov 4 Like Our Facebook Page ~ Peace Store How To Get Your Own Peace Globe”
Sometimes you have to think outside the box. This lovely blog does just that. Today’s Peace Globe of The Day comes from WhiteBear and Rainfish (location unknown) Submitted in November 2008 and documented #1476.
Thank you for continuing to inspire.
The fabulous Jamie White still blog HERE. She has been a peace blogger for sixteen years. I just read a moving post on her blog about Uvalde. We hope you will take a moment to read.
Join us for BlogBlast For Peace Nov 4 Like Our Facebook Page ~ Peace Store How To Get Your Own Peace Globe”
There once was a blog called Sans Pantaloons in the United Kingdom. We loved the creativity and poetic nature of this author. Just look at the peace creations! Today’s Peace Globes of the Day. Thank you for continuing to inspire.
Scotland
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The Official Site of Blog 4 Peace 
