“Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice!”
Philippians 4:4
As a second annual event, the various creative individuals associated with Highland Lake collaborated for an Art and Music Walk with various locations around the lake. Brigid O’Neill LaGier’s gallery featured in this posting was one of the locations to display a variety of unique pieces.
Included in the above display were Brigid’s mixed fiber, watercolor and oil paintings; colorful painted gourds by Bill Mihalko; watercolors by Carolyn Gilligan; fabric wall hangings by Joanne Nolt and The Tofino/Loriginal Series featuring Tofino Photography https://www.tofinophotography.com/ and oil painting interpretations by Loriginal Designs, which also included acrylic wall hangings and art cards.
Also featured was information about my book entitled “My Father’s Greatest Gift: Life Lessons from a Black English Labrador Retriever” where Chert Dog enjoyed many summers cooling off at Highland Lake, as expressed in “Swimming, Boating and Walking with the Pack.” http://www.loridmarchell.com/
There also were musicians around the lake with various gatherings throughout the weekend and fabulous fireworks to celebrate Independence Day! A wonderful celebration of the arts and the importance of family, friends and our beloved animal companions sharing time together makes Highland Lake a welcoming location to so many!
Another gathering of friends, family, pets and musicians singing along on a picturesque afternoon on July 4th. Cheers to all the talented individuals who share their gifts of creativity with such passion, flare and joy!
Since I enjoy painting on material with acrylic paint and then quilting it into a wall hanging, I thought it would be a fun project for Nandhana and Sanjana to do! They both have their own style and really did a terrific job! We used a photograph from Taughannock Falls State Park. They admired the wall hanging below that I did and asked if they could make one, too!
Pictured below are the young budding artists at work painting in the basement with the material taped down on a hard board. Once their paintings were completed, I sewed the quilting in and backed them into wall hangings and added some shimmer, sequins and glitter! These will look lovely displayed in their new home!
A short video of the girls in their painting process is linked below!
And of course, we must have visiting time with Jaco Kitty!
These young ladies are very talented and Nandanah plays the violin and takes piano lessons from me as well! Below is a final photo of these two little angels all dressed up! See Grandma Marge’s PINK Orb in the photo above Sanjana? She’s always flying!
“Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in creation.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Through the inspirational, pristine and professional photographs taken by Tofino Photography, following are Loriginal Designs oil on canvas colorful painting interpretations together with Tofino Photography’s corresponding extraordinary photography.
Both the photography and the art prints are available for purchase through Tofino Photography. Contact the link for Tofino Photography below for more details.
The majesty of the sunrise at Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to the inner serenity and peace felt by the moon reflecting upon the water in Bar Harbor brings to mind Daniel 3:52-90. It begins “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” It continues “Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” Praise and Thanksgiving is the message! Amen.
“Delicately we breathe in the crisp air and splendid colors washing over our souls in magical bliss.”
L.D. Marchell
“Oh to be as content as a cat; Meditative purring and soothing at that!”
L.D. Marchell
“The conscious pause, observing. The ripples flow in soft rhythms. Alignment.”
Lisa Ann Carucci Lash
“Stabbing, swirling, rapidly rushing; Carrying us ever swiftly to a new dimension. One must be open to allowing the seasons of life.”
L.D. Marchell
“When the Holy Spirit lays something in your heart, move without hesitation. You have no idea who may be depending on your immediate obedience.”
The Word For The Day
“So ever softly whispers ring; Across the timelines loved ones sing. Showering blessings bountiful store; Imagining these precious ones; Is what conscious awareness is for.”
Brrrrr, is it ever cold and windy from this high vantage point! All I can remember, really, is somebody took me for a long car ride and when the vehicle finally stopped, I was thrown out of it into a very dark and scary night. I am so thankful that I have excellent night vision because it helped me negotiate my unfamiliar surroundings. The side of the country road had pieces of rock salt which went in between my “20 paws and 22 claws” and I let out a squeak as I attempted to find some soft snow to wash away the sting. Yep, I was born with five toes on each of my paws and two extra claws which are located nicely between my “thumb” and four toes on my front two legs. Do you think THAT is the reason why they left me here? I know I have really big paws, but that’s what makes me unique!
Then, this really LOUD truck went chu-chugging along by where I had been soaking my paws and the bright headlights startled me as I ran away from the roadside into the pitch blackness of the slopping field below. There were rocks and clumps of snow together with prickly bushes and a barbed wire fence. Somehow I negotiated through the midnight maize towards some dried grass and welcoming brush. This seemed like a reasonable spot to take a rest for a bit, or so I thought. All of a sudden, some type of wild animal came out of the blindness of the night running right towards me! I must say my heart skipped quite a few beats as it felt as if it had jumped up into my throat as I sped towards the closest tree I could find. I climbed up as high as I could because I am still very young and don’t weigh very much yet so the very tiny limbs can support me.
Well, do you remember me telling you about how many toes I have? Now I know why God equipped me with such gargantuan paws. For what seemed to be an eternity for me, I held onto those fragile branches atop that big old oak tree. The wind picked up and the tree began to sway in the wind as I trembled and clung even tighter to the tiny branches. Then, the sun began to rise up over the hilltop as the sunlight shed some warmth on my nearly frozen body. Some chickadees flew up to see me as they sang their morning tunes. In different circumstances, I would have been dashing after THEM up the tree, but in my current situation, I was gladdened by their company.
Once the sunshine began to allow me to see my predicament more clearly, I literally wanted to take my one paw and place it up over my eyes in disbelief. What in heaven’s name was I going to do to get myself out of this situation? I had climbed so far up this friendly oak that my only solution would be to attempt to turn around and climb DOWN the tree. That’s about when the hypothermia began to set in. I hadn’t slept all night. I was hungry and dehydrated so I did what any logical person would do in a similar situation – I began to cry. What happened, though, is that I couldn’t stop crying. I’m sure you’ve heard this expression before: HAULT – don’t let yourself get too hungry, too angry, too lonely or too tired. Well, I had reached full-tilt on all four of those topics and then some!
As I cried deliriously, the most amazingly wonderful thing happened! A woman had been walking alongside the road and heard my calls. She climbed over the barbed wire fence and was underneath the tree looking up and talking to me. When I finally took a few deep breaths and subsided my almost hiccup crying reaction I was having, she began walking around the bottom of the oak’s trunk as she attempted to climb up a few branches. Then she motioned for me to jump down to a bigger limb which was quite a caper from my perspective. I just couldn’t let go. She then climbed back down the tree and went on her knees and prayed. Now, these past twenty-four hours have really encompassed the full spectrum of emotions for me, to say the least. Here I was last night being discarded by someone who didn’t appreciate me to this gal who not only tried to climb the tree to get me, but is now praying for me?
That was the “ah, ha” moment for me as I took my “first of many quantum leap of faith” to a lower limb and my enormous claws and paws grabbed onto the tree’s bark firmly. She encouraged me as I knew I would have to jump one more time before she could climb up to reach me. So, I literally closed my eyes when I sprang the second time and landed on the side of the trunk with pieces of the oak’s rough outer layers and small branches falling away. It was then that I truly learned what unconditional love really is. As she reached for me, I felt this amazing calmness come over me because I knew I had been saved.
Enveloped in her comforting and warm embrace, she wrapped her rainbow-hued fluffy yarn scarf around me and held firmly onto my paws else I decide to spring out of her arms. At this point, that was the last thing on my mind! Trembling and exhausted, I kept dozing off on our walk down the road and up the hill to where her home was nestled. As we approached our destination, a neighbor met us and offered a few cat toys, litter box and comforted me as I welcomed her kind words.
When we walked down the driveway to her home, a loud ruckus of several dogheads barking startled me as I almost sprang out of her grasp. Gladly, these friendly but very talkative neighbor’s pets were contained in a large fence surrounding their property. Whew, thank goodness for that! I’m sure they are friendly as they were my older brother’s girlfriends, but just the same, I am a kitten – not a doghead.
“You can develop good judgement as you do the muscles of your body – by judicious, daily exercise.”
Grenvile Kleiser
My favorite reference book is Roget’s Thesaurus for the various meanings behind the proper usage of words. Under the word judgement are five separate meanings!
Intellect
Discrimination
Decision
Condemnation
Sentence
Through our lives lessons we learn to access intellectually the power of sound judgement in arriving to conclusions in decision-making in our lives.
The use of discernment in terms of discriminating what serves the highest and best for all concerned is utilizing another aspect of sound judgement in our lives. This can also be used towards spiritual discernment.
Our freedom and power of choice comes into play when we are calling upon utilizing out tool set in making decisions based on judgement.
Criticizing and lower vibrational fear based thinking is involved in condemning others acts, beliefs and behaviors without compassion when judgement is used in this context.
And then there is the legal system associated with controlling and manipulating others in sentencing them due to the judgement ascertained upon their actions.
“I love when things are transparent, free and clear of all inhibition and judgement.”
Pharrell Williams
It became apparent to me this morning that the summons I recently received to serve on jury duty placed me in an awkward state of mind. Who am I to pass judgement on someone else? Have I lived their life, was I raised in their environment, have I experienced the social, moral, mental, spiritual and emotional influences that they have had and walked a mile in their shoes? And even then, who am I to judge? The log in my eye requires much more attention than the speck in my brother or sister’s eye.
“Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
It also became apparent to me when someone commented on something inadvertently directed towards me, it made me dig deeper in questioning myself to find the meaning to the feelings which were conjured up within me.
We all know that we are not to take things personally, yet there was a hidden message in what was said that made me “chew” on the concepts as I kept asking for a deeper understanding as to be clear about the message this messenger brought to me.
“Judge not lest you be judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
Matthew 7:1-3
Worthiness and self-love are core issues of the heart which are oftentimes disregarded in our early growth and learning process which eventually catches up to us.
“What is not fully exposed earlier in life is revealed and made up for in development.”
Author Unknown
So the truth of the emotionally charged comment revealed an insightful level of understanding for me that was two-fold. First and foremost, when someone is unfairly judged, they unconsciously direct that towards others. Secondly, by it “affecting” me, it shows that I still have more inner self-healing to work on in that area of my life. It’s always about the refining and improving of yourself on this personal path of enlightenment, as all messages are a present to open and reveal the gift of inner growth.
So I am forever grateful for this message, for it has revealed a much deeper appreciation of conscious awareness towards others as well as teaching me what is most important in taking care of myself. It all comes down to compassion, unconditional love and forgiveness.
“Circumstances and situations do color life but you have been given the mind to choose what the color shall be.”
John Homer Miller
The conclusion to my summons? It is clear that I will most probably not be selected for jury duty as it is not for me to judge – it is, however, essential to be compassionate towards all as our life is a journey of the heart.
“Once I used to think that shadows were to hide; But now I am very clear that that is where faith, hope and love abide.”
L.D. Marchell
“It is family which has no boundaries in unconditional love, surpassed by blood lines, defined by the attunement of the heart, we seldom glimpse the vast array of soul family members until we become awake within the consciousness of the heart which speaks truth in all its purity. Therefore, become aware of your soul family as they are calling you home.”
Connie Andrea Marchell
“The conscious pause of the moment; The silent pause of the mind. The alignment of connection; Of the soul to the Divine.”
Lisa Ann Carucci Lash
“Mindfulness = apparent by the breath of life, the peacefulness of nature, the energy from Gaia, the embodiment of the greatest gift of all – life to share, give, receive, embrace – memories of a lifetime.”
L.D. Marchell
“The hawk’s confirming wings,
In circles up above,
Fly closer to us in,
A message of pure love.”
Lisa Ann Carucci Lash
“Those that mind don’t matter; And those that matter don’t mind.”
Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel)
“It has become apparent to me that the more I learn about others, the better I feel about myself; It is by selfless love that we die to self where then Christ can shine brightly through our lives. Crucifixion of the heart, then, is where the Sacred Heart of Jesus Shines.”
Connie Andrea Marchell
Look Up!
“Gold and White; Rays of sun; Infinite Love.”
Lisa Ann Carucci Lash
“Tire swings; Peaceful things. Nature brings; All of me.”
“Sing of deep blue skies; Of traveling mystical clouds arise.”
L.D. Marchell
“The buds push forth the Autumn leaves; In preparation for the upcoming Spring.”
L.D. Marchell
“Be it the child who teaches the parent, or the parent that instructs the child; Great Wisdom is gleaned from the mouths of babes, it seems.”
Connie Andrea Marchell
Park On Sunday
Crisp of air,
Swift of foot,
Skating, futbol, play.
Love and laughter,
Geese and friends,
Autumn, Park on Sunday.
Lisa Ann Carucci Lash
“Joyously we skate and sing; Ever mindful of the simple things.”
Connie Andrea Marchell
“Oh the happiness that springs; From just the simple, humble things!”
L.D. Marchell
“Doghead is pretty easy to learn; You just have to speak from the heart.”
“My Father’s Greatest Gift: Life Lessons from a Black English Labrador Retriever.”
L.D. Marchell
“In the fresh air and sunshine bright; I find true meaning within my life. Through the twists and turns that weave our path; the meaning becomes much clearer when you look back!”
L.D. Marchell
“Ever joyously we sway and swing; Upon nature’s beauty of everything!”
“We step into nature, Our hearts open wide, We see all before us, Of all that’s inside.
Above and below us, Reflected around, In treetops and water, God’s love is abound.”
Lisa Ann Carucci Lash
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for Good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10
“When perfect balance is achieved, all pathways are full of joyous adventure that make one’s heart sing!”
Connie Andrea Marchell
“If by chance you caught a glimpse; Of dancing lights and fragrant sights; Might you glance upon the trees; Speaking ever softly in the autumn breeze.”
L.D. Marchell
“Art is the accomplice of Love.”
Remy de Gourmont
“For when awakening rushes through your very being, all else ceases to exist; For you become melded with All That Is.”
L.D. Marchell
” Tread gingerly upon Gaia’s sacred ground; Ever mindful of her greatest gifts she so richly displays; Her magnitude graciously abounds.”
Connie Andrea Marchell
“Sing of colors bright and exhilarating sites; Of expansive moments saturated with a heavenly lights.”
L.D. Marchell
“For it is the parent which nurtures the child; Such is the womb of Gaia showering Her Everlasting Love. Be ever in a state of gratitude for Her great gift to us; For through Her, God Speaks ever softly to our hearts.”
L.D. Marchell
“May your heart be always full of joy; Embracing the precious gift of Life!”
L.D. Marchell
“For in the woods I wander for solace, insight and understanding; As the dwellings of wildlife convey, our true home is where our heart is.”
L.D. Marchell
“As if to say a splendid day, which warms the heart and enliven’s the soul; Such are hours spent in Nature’s glorious enchanting thorough!”
L.D. Marchell
“Care no more for the opinion of others, for their voices. Do the hardest thing for you. Act for yourself and face your Truth.”
Katherine Mansfiled
“Yesterday’s memories of a lifetime bring forth glowing present moments to cherish; Life is a gift-embrace it with all of your heart!”
L.D. Marchell
As some of you know, I survived a car accident, which gifted me the opportunity to a glimpse of crossing over (NDE) while I was in a coma. It’s the chances that you don’t take which make one complacent, as home is blissful, surreal, saturation of rapturous, joyous, unconditional Love. Promise yourself to stretch your comfort zone every day, this could be your only today, so make it the most meaningful experience of your life!
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.”
Isaiah 9:1-2
The past few days have been remarkable in the phenomenon of nature, be it in the gathering of hundreds of bees, the singing of birds in the trees, the brilliant colors exhibited in the sky, one must simply wonder and ask the Universe “why?” The humor in this rhyme is my featured Jaco Kitty, who has a habit of talking extremely loud and oftentimes sounds like he is asking the question, “why?” He also squeaks with a cadence sounding similar to the goldfinch chirp! As he welcomes in the morning light, his wonderment of the day to unfold is greeted with joyous anticipation, as if to say “why not?!” The lessons that he teaches me about patience and the perfection in timing cannot be overly stated. I do believe as I have referenced in my first book, “My Father’s Greatest Gift: Life Lessons From A Black English Labrador Retriever” that Chert Dog sent me Jaco Kitty to teach me the necessary next lessons in my life in order to learn how to take quantum leaps of faith to soar and fly. Jaco is one of my greatest teachers as his present moment involvement in all that surrounds him shows me to take in everything as it is a gift. When Jaco took a leap of faith from an oak tree to the lower branch the year I found him, he taught me about trust, joy and patience that day. I hope that we can be open to these small, daily reminders every day about how very short our time is here. Let us be reminded continually to take in what is most valuable in our lives and embrace it!
“Now remain these three things: Faith, Hope and Love; and the greatest of these is Love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
“Adapt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
Henry David Thoreau
“The setting sun, and music at the close, as the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last, writ in remembrance more than things long past.”
“Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in creation.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Through the inspirational, pristine and professional photographs taken by Tofino Photography, following are Loriginal Designs oil on canvas colorful painting interpretations together with Tofino Photography’s corresponding extraordinary photography.
Both the photography and the art prints are available for purchase through Tofino Photography. Contact the link for Tofino Photography below for more details.
“Mine is the silver and mine the gold, says the Lord of hosts. Greater will be the future glory of this house, than the former, says the Lord of hosts; And in this place I will give peace.”
Haggai 2:8
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
1 Corinthians 1:9
“Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:16
“As a consequence, your faith rests not on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
“Thoroughly unprepared we take the step into the afternoon of life, or still we take this step with the false preposition that our truths and our ideals will serve us as hitherto. But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning. For what was great in the morning will be little at the evening and in the morning what was true at evening will become a lie.”
“The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche” C.G. Jung
“It’s is like this: when I was a child I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I became a woman my thoughts grew far beyond those of my childhood, and now I have put away childish things. In the same way we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at His reflection on a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see Him in His completeness face to face…There are three things that remain – faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13: 11 -13
In honor of Tofino Photography for providing the extraordinary inspiration from “A Tofino Sunset Series” to create a mixed oil and glaze on canvas piece as a “Loriginal” creation. This is the second of three in the Romeo Series artwork interpretations.
“All things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
Matthew 21:22
As an Artist, Pianist and a Creative Life Coach, I am continually opening myself up to a variety of inspirational experiences to expand my horizons. Tofino Photography has brought a whole new perspective to my landscape, seascape and wildlife palette’s perspective! The pristine, untouched captivating beauty of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada is a kaleidoscope of color full of richness, solitude and preserved nature.
This oil painting is an interpretation of “Romeo’s Sunset Rapture”¹ with similar composition, texture and colors, yet allowing for the essence of deeper hues intrinsic to the moment captured in timelessness to be preserved. Through these splashes of vibrancy, frequency and light, our spirits quantumly soar!
“This is the mastery that is inside the DNA…of love, unity and peace…For when the DNA is working at 100%, you have the empowerment of the Creator fully manifested within…The efficiency factor is not chemical, but informational. It’s about multidimensional energy…not chemistry.”²
“The transcendental state of Being lies beyond all seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting – beyond all thinking and beyond all feeling.”
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
There are sacred moments in time where all the senses are so attuned that you feel saturated in the love of the Universe! It is places like Highland Lake which have brought that sense of awareness in timelessness. Prior to having internet and cell service there, it seemed to magically bring you to a place of peacefulness, wonderment and awe as moments seemed to span lifetimes!
There is a glorious Willow Tree named “The Lady of the Lake” whose graceful limbs with lacey leaves reach towards the heavens! Her hour glass womanly figure-shaped trunk has weathered many a winter’s wind and basked in the summer’s vibrant glory! An earlier limb was used for children to swing out into the lake as they would splash cheerfully into the water! Through the years, she had to relinquish this part of herself to the past, full of memories of her lifetime!
On the pathway walking around Highland Lake there is a stoic moss covered tree known as “The Lord of the Forest” whose stately presence breathes embodiment to all of nature.
Further along the pathway around the lake, there is a section where the stream and pond flow out into the lake. Oftentimes you will see turtles and bullfrogs, together with dragonflies and you may even encounter a fairy or two!
As you continue along the pathway, the senses of sight, taste, smell, hearing, feeling and knowing are awakened in the freshness of the fragrant, soothing air. It is moments like this which span our awareness of time and we become one with all that is around us and within us. This bliss full state of consciousness allows for incredible insights as the mind drops into sacred heart-centered alignment and inner knowing. You may see a spiritual rainbow cone, or even an orb or two!
Peaceful mornings and throughout the day, the lake transforms her appearance into something new! There is much to be learned from her deep lesson of inner knowing.
Cloud formations pass throughout the day, bringing colorful rainbows, angelic wisps of glistening crystals, as the sunlight reflects brilliantly off the textured glassy water.
And so after a splendid sunset, the campfires begin to emerge surrounding the water’s edge. Oftentimes, the fireflies will gather around the sloping hills as the crickets and peepers and tree frogs begin their harmonic evening melodies which accompany the sparkling starts lighting up the gradually darkening vast evening sky.
Sunfish Sailboats sport around Highland Lake with moments of gusty winds and other peaceful doldrums. There is a gentleman who has configured a way to sail his rainbow colored sailboat around the lake using just the one arm that he has – remarkable the ingenuity of the power of invention, determination and necessity!
Then there is the early morning choir of birds singing, as the stillness of the morning air and water invigorates the soul. Timelessness revisited.
Various boating activities and music festivals as well as floatilla competition are just some of the many activities at Highland Lake. Not to mention the fireworks! They simply begin on the Fourth of July weekend and continue throughout the season!
And so our lives are to be lived to their fullest, richest, reaching for the stars, pressed down and flowing over! As my Mom would say, “Keep Joy in your life, Jesus wants it that way!” and as Grandma Marge would say, “Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Joy, Joy, Joy!!!”
“Rejoice in the Lord always! And again I say, rejoice!”
