“Whether offered from within a spiritual or religious tradition, or outside of one, prayer and praise bring the self into relationship with the mystery that not only unfolds around us, but also lives within us. When we remember that we are connected with all that exists, the ever growing divide between spirit and matter can begin to heal.” —Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
“My vision of the world? My hope for the future? This topic sounds a bit big. Allow me to start small… [T]he key for understanding a causal chain of great consequence is in your hand: any change in attitude changes the way one sees the world, and this in turn changes the way one acts.” —Brother David Steindl-Rast, from his essay, “Gratefulness Happens Before Thinking”
Welcome to Day 6 of the Wonders of Worship (WOW) series. Today we ponder the Prayer of the Day.
I remember the day these two acorns caught my attention while on a walk in Texas. As Brother David writes, they “change[d] the way I [saw] the world.” After meeting them, my step was lighter and I knew that some day, I’d paint them.
Ways to Engage:
- Practice Visio Divina (receive, reflect, respond, rest) with the painting.
- This sweet, animated video about the life of an acorn reminds me of the parable of the sower. Early on in this project, I decided to paint seeds in the images for the prayer elements of worship. Watching this video caused me to reflect more on that.
- Download the B&W image. Color it on your own or with a friend. Color in silence or while listening to the audio version of the essay linked above. Let it inspire further contemplation/conversation.
- You do you. Trust your intuition and engage in the way your heart desires.
To download the black and white image for personal use: on a computer, click and drag the image to your desktop; on a phone, press on the picture until it gives you the option to save it to your photos. The image is formatted to fit on an 8.5″x11″ piece of paper, but feel free to print it whatever size you’d like.
Background: I created a series of forty 5″x7″ watercolor paintings inspired by the elements of worship. It was work commissioned by a project with Nourishing Vocation with Children at St. Olaf College, a program funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative.
As the paintings are shared, you may notice a pattern:
- Music = Songbird
- Prayer = Seed and/or Fruit
- Word = Leaf
- Order of Service = Element of Nature
- Season = Insect with a Flower
One final creative invitation for this project remains for me: to paint a Tree of Life holding all forty elements. I plan to share its progress here.
For this series, I am grateful to have used handmade paper from White Dragon Paper and watercolor paints from Natural Earth Paint.
vonda drees art 
You are an absolute blessing…thank you for your witness.Love, MarianneSent from my iPad
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It brings light to my heart knowing we’re on this journey together, Marianne!
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Really enjoying this series. Today’s video about the life of an acorn reminded me of the time my toddler granddaughter ( who is 18 now) and I gathered acorns in the yard. When we had a large family, all with their hats neatly in place, we set them in front of leaf tables on top of twig chairs and after the simple grace she used before meals, allowed the acorn family to have a feast. When the feast was over (and she became bored) we threw the acorns into the mulch of the flower beds so the squirrels would find them and hide them for their winter food. Thanks for drawing forth such a wonderful memory and also reminding me to ‘bloom where I am planted.’
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Oh my goodness, Robin! I hope to someday make such sweet nature memories with my own grandchildren. What imaginative play! So grateful for your story!
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