Custom Rosaries and Anglican Prayer Beads

Appealing Rosaries

2012-02-02T21:36:00.001-06:00

I longed to make Catholic Rosaries that had the same character as my Anglican Prayer Beads. By that I mean I wanted them to be made of Olive Wood, Gemstone, and other natural resources. I wanted people to feel the beads and not wire links. I am pleased with how my Rosaries are accepted. And most important of all I wanted them to be affordable.

The following comments are shared from my Amazon Store:

"Awesome buying experience! I received it before the estimated delivery date. The rosary is beautiful and the love it was made with can be felt. Incredible!"

"... a devoted artist that creates beautiful Anglican and Roman Catholic Rosaries. She ships almost before she receives the order and will make special Rosaries upon request."

"Super fast shipping. It arrived before the first date on the estimated delivery range. Item was exactly as described. I couldn't be happier with the transaction."

2010-04-12T12:31:00.001-05:00

I grew up in Oregon near the Pacific Ocean. I used to walk the beaches and think about “stuff” as I wandered down the beach. It was a great place for prayer. I cannot help but think of the “Foot Prints in the Sand” Poem. Walking a Labyrinth has the same affect on me. I find my stress is immediately lowered as I find my way along the trail.

Someone told me that Labyrinths became popular in Europe in the early years of Christianity. Many people made Pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The Labyrinth served as a Pilgrimage to those who could not make it to Jerusalem.
There is a wealth of information about Labyrinths on the Web. Check out: http://www.gracecathedral.org/community/labyrinths/ If you cannot find a Labyrinth to walk or if you are unable to navigate over a rocky path, don’t give up. There are wooden finger Labyrinths that offer a similar experience.
From Caroline Adams, "Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love."

Walking a Labyrinth

2010-04-12T11:59:00.002-05:00

I received this invitation to walk a Labyrinth. A church was going to have a large canvas Labyrinth for just one day. I had never seen one before. I entered the church and the lights were dimmed and people were quietly walking on this strange looking path. Some of the walkers had their Rosary Beads in their hands and some had prayer shawls. It was very quiet and soft music that seemed to be Celtic was playing. Thus I began my very first Labyrinth experience.

Since that very first experience several years ago, I have encountered several Labyrinths along the way. If you are in Santa Fe, New Mexico, you will find a lovely one at the St. Francis Cathedral. It’s right in front so you cannot miss it. I’ve been told there is also one at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. But if you scout around your community you may be surprised to find a church , park or retreat center with one. When we were traveling in Alaska we found a wonderful Labyrinth at the Catholic Diocese Center in Fair Banks.

I grew up in Oregon near the Pacific Ocean. I used to walk the beaches and think about “stuff” as I wandered down the beach. It was a great place for prayer. I cannot help but think of the
“Foot Prints in the Sand” Poem. Walking a Labyrinth has the same affect on me. I find my stress is immediately lowered as I find my way along the trail.

Someone told me that Labyrinths became popular in Europe in the early years of Christianity. People who could afford to make a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land and the Labyrinth served as a Pilgrimage to those who could not make it to Jerusalem.

If you cannot find a Labyrinth to walk or if you are unable to navigate over a rocky path, don’t give up. There are wooden finger Labyrinths that offer a similar experience.

From Caroline Adams, "Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love."

Easter: hope for the world

2010-04-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

Last night my husband and I attended the Easter Vigil. It was a glorious service. We started the evening with no lights as readers presented the Creation Story from Genisus and the Parting of the Sea from Exodus. When the Gospel was read the lights came on and the music was wonderful. We watched over 50 people be Baptised and Confirmed. We kneeled and sang the Litany of the Saints which is my favorite and I am always listening for my Saint.

I am sharing from the Taize page a portion of a wonderful Meditation.

Meditation by Brother Alois

The Easter Gospel tells of a woman, Mary Magdalene, weeping, full of confusion, as if Jesus’ death had sealed the failure of all her hopes. Yet whereas the apostles of Jesus hid behind locked doors out of fear, she went to the tomb. This act expressed not only her grief, but also an expectation, however confused it may have been. It was the longing for a love that the greatest suffering could not completely wipe out.

So Jesus, the Risen Lord, came to her. And he did this in a completely unexpected way, not triumphantly, but so humbly that she did not recognize him, taking him for the gardener.

Jesus called her by name, "Mary", and that would change everything. Mary recognized in her heart the voice of Jesus. She turned to him and called him in turn: “Rabbouni, Lord”. A new life began in her; she was confident that Jesus was close to her, even if his presence was now different. Then the Risen Christ sent her: "Go to my brothers; tell them that I am risen!” Her life received a new meaning; she had a task to accomplish.

We too are like Mary Magdalene at the tomb. As there was in her, there is a longing in us, and often unresolved questions. Sometimes we feel this longing as a lack or as emptiness. We may express it by a cry of distress or, without words, by a simple sigh. In that way our being begins to open up to God. It is the longing, even confused, for a communion; it already allows us to live by trusting in God.

Then Christ calls us by our own name. He knows each one of us personally. He tells us: "Go to my brothers and sisters; tell them that I am risen. Convey my love by your life."

Please visit http://www.taize.fr/en_article8389.html for the entire article.

2010-03-30T11:22:00.000-05:00

"Being Christian is a path, or better: a pilgrimage, a walk together with Jesus Christ," underlined the Holy Father at Palm Sunday Mass on an extraordinary spring morning in Rome. He said it is in this communion on the path towards Jerusalem that we find our way to the "new City of God."

This Sunday we celebrated the Blessing of the Palms and we participated in the reading of the Gospel. I have been to so many Palm Sundays but this one was particulary lovely. A bright sunny morning greeted us with just a little more wind than we needed. But as the people arrived and we crowded together it wasn't so uncomfortable. Once the Palms had been blessed we followed the procession into the Church.

I love the words of Pope Benedict when he calls this experience a pilgrimage. This week offers so many opportunities and every one of them will support us on our pilgrimage.

Lent: Turning to God

2010-03-13T11:46:00.002-06:00

This comes from the Taize Site and is a wonderful, inspiring article about Lent.

Lent first directs our thoughts to the image of the desert, the one in which Jesus spent forty days of solitude, or the one that God’s people crossed by walking for forty years. Yet when these weeks before Easter returned, Brother Roger liked to recall that it was not a time for austerity or sorrow, or a period to cultivate guilt, but rather a season to sing the joy of forgiveness. He saw Lent as forty days to prepare to rediscover little springtimes in our lives.

At the beginning of the Gospel of St. Matthew, when John the Baptist proclaims “Repent!” he means: “Turn to God!” Yes, during Lent, we wish to look towards God in order to receive forgiveness. Christ has conquered evil and his constant forgiveness allows us to renew an inner life. We are invited to a conversion: not to turn towards ourselves in introspection or individual perfectionism, but to seek communion with God and also communion with others.

Turning to God! It is true that in the Western world, it has become difficult for some people to believe in God. They see his existence as a limitation on their freedom. They think they must struggle alone to build their lives. That God walks alongside them seems inconceivable.

A year ago I visited our brothers who have been living in Korea for thirty years. On the way, another brother and I had youth meetings in several Asian countries. What struck me in Asia is that prayer seems natural. People belonging to different religions pray spontaneously in an attitude of respect, even adoration.

Of course, in those societies there are no fewer tensions or manifestations of violence than in the West. But a sense of interiority is perhaps more accessible, a respect for the miracle of life, for creation, a focus on mystery, on an afterlife.

How can we renew our interior life by discovering and rediscovering a personal relationship with God? In all of us there is a thirst for the infinite. God created us with this desire for an absolute. We must let this aspiration live in us!

Among the songs of Taizé, there is one that can sustain this longing. The lyrics are by a Spanish poet, Luis Rosales, who was inspired by St. John of the Cross: "We walk by night and, in order to find the wellspring, only our thirst illuminates us." For some, the Lenten season is a time of fasting. Not that asceticism has value in itself, but in each of us there is a longing deeper than superficial longings, a more essential thirst, and this thirst can shed light on our path.

If we sometimes walk at night, or if we seem to be crossing a desert, this is not to follow an ideal; we follow a person, Christ. We are not alone; he goes before us. Following him involves an inner struggle, with decisions to be taken, the faithfulness of an entire lifetime. In this struggle we do not rely on our own strength, but we surrender ourselves to his presence. The path is not laid out in advance; it also means being open to surprises, creating with the unexpected.

And God does not tire himself out in setting out on the road with us once again. We can believe that communion with him is possible and never get tired either of always having to resume the struggle. We do not persevere in order to come before God in the best light possible. No, we agree to move ahead like poor people of the Gospel who put their trust in God’s mercy.

Lent is a season that invites us to share. It leads us to sense that there is no spiritual growth without consenting to give something up, and to do so for love. Once when he was in the wilderness, Jesus, moved by compassion for those who had followed him, multiplied five loaves and two fishes to feed everyone. What signs of sharing can we accomplish in our turn?

The Gospel encourages simplicity of life. It calls us to bring our own desires under control in order to succeed in setting limits, not by constraint but by choice. This call is becoming very relevant today, not just on a personal level but in the life of societies. Freely chosen simplicity enables those who are privileged to resist the race to acquire what is superfluous and contributes to the struggle against the poverty imposed on those who are deprived.

During this time of Lent, let us dare to review our lifestyle, not to make those who would do less feel guilty, but for the sake of solidarity with the deprived. The gospel encourages us to share freely while setting everything in the simple beauty of creation.
The daily newspaper "La Croix" asked Brother Alois to write a meditation for the great Christian feasts during the year 2008-2009.Last updated: 25 February 2009

A Family Altar

2010-02-24T23:34:00.002-06:00

A family went to the Holy Land and took their 5 year old with them. The mother narrated the sightseeing the first day. She pointed out the various places that had historical significance in Christ’s time. The next day she did the same thing and later that evening the 5 year old asked, “Where did we see Jesus today?”

A family altar provides a place where you and your family can reflect on where you have seen Jesus in the every-day activities of your life. We walk in prayer knowing events occur daily that strengthen and sometimes, test our beliefs. A family altar is a place to put such occurrences in a tangible manner. The Altar is a place to share victories and losses, concerns and problems-solved. It is a place to say “thank you” and a place to say “help.”

For the past few years I have made a commitment to follow The Rule of Benedict. Benedictine spirituality asks one to see God’s presence in everyday places and relationships. I have learned when I look expectantly for something; I inevitably begin to find it over and over again. A family altar makes tangible the sacred moments and actions that occur everyday in our families. As each family member contributes to the altar it becomes a common table – a place to celebrate and share our triumphs and a place to receive family support in times of need.

What to put on the altar? Just about anything that represents a feeling or concern. Perhaps a report card, a grandchild’s art, an invitation, an obituary, a newspaper article. Maybe a set of car keys to announce a new driver in the family, a toy that was nicely shared, a lab report or a picture of a pet. The list is as unique as each and every family.

Your altar may be a place of sharing and story telling. If it is located in the center of the dinner table then it will become an active part of each day. Perhaps, the altar is in a quiet retreat. It could be in a place where you go to center and be close to God in prayer. The kitchen is often the center of family life and could be just the place for your altar, or maybe it is right on the door of your refrigerator for all the world to share.

Sue Bender is the author of a book called “Everyday Sacred.” She speaks of Buddhist Monks roaming the countryside with a “begging bowl.” A Monk begins each day with a small bowl and faith that by day’s end it will have contained all that is necessary to sustain them on that day. A family Altar is a visible place of faith. It is our reminder that with faith we will receive all that we need to sustain us each day. Sharing this faith with your family is a powerful statement.

About my Wonderful Business

2010-01-22T00:33:00.000-06:00

The first set of Prayer Beads that I bought were so special. I couldn’t bear to part with them. I carried them in my pocket, my car, and my purse. Each bead held a message for me. “Be Still and hear The Word,” the beads seemed to say.

Soon, I wanted everyone to have prayer beads. I gave so many away. The first ones were of recycled jewelry and not very sturdy. Someone asked if I could make them for a Stephen’s Ministry Group and other’s wanted them for a choir, and still more for Daughter’s of the King. And so my business started.

Where have my beads been, you ask? Well they have been just about everywhere. You’ll find them in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Holland and the good old USA. More importantly, they have been in birthing rooms, board rooms, vestry meetings, exams, airplanes, backpacks, tanks, purses, pockets. And just who has my prayer beads? I’ve made them for Catholics, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, and many more. You will find them in the hands of ministers, soldiers, sailors, police officers, nurses, teens, doctors, grandparents, students, parents and even cowboys. And what makes them so special? Your prayers of course!

These praying beads are made of natural materials like gemstones and olivewood. A few are made of glass. Each set is unique. I do not mass produce. My prices are low because I want everyone to be able to afford them. And over the past 12 years I have found wonderful, loyal suppliers who have not increased their prices. I ship immediately because nobody likes to wait. I will provide a discount for purchases of 10 or more sets. I will always repair broken prayer beads and usually I do not charge unless you lose most of the beads or the cross.

Please enjoy my website. It’s organized by types of crosses and rosaries. I strive to accurately describe each set. If you find a mistake or problem on the site, please let me know. I’m the webmaster and the bead stringer. I am assisted by a loving spouse and two Golden Retrievers.

Almost Christmas

2009-12-23T13:35:00.002-06:00

About 10 years ago - maybe longer - a nice lady came to my church and showed us how to make Anglican Prayer Beads. Something really happened to me as I sat there quietly stringing beads. It was the same feeling that comes on me when I serve at Communion. I still have that wonderful feeling of being surrounded by love. That's the best I can do to describe it.

Lately I've been twittering the daily office from a variety of Anglican and Catholic resources on line. I hope you are enjoying this because I sure am! You know there is a way to incorporate this with your prayer beads. As you read the office and open your heart does something hold your attention? Is there a sentence or phrase that catches your eye? Hold that thought and repeat it. Meditate on it. You will be practicing a simple form of Lecto Divina.

Here's some resources for you: http://www.gotquestions.org/lectio-divina.html
and another is: http://www.qvdays.org/pdf/lectio_divina.pdf

Praying for All to be Well

2009-12-15T18:20:00.002-06:00

We just returned from Oregon. Both of my parents are in not-so-good health. My mother decided it was time for Hospice to be brought in. I am so thankful to have them caring for my dad. My 90-year-old parents are not very well acquainted with Hospice. They are not very comfortable talking about death so this was an enoroumos step for them.

My mantra these days is "All will be Well." Julian of Norwich, who some believe was the first woman to write a book, made her mark on the world with these powerful words: "All will be well
And all will be well
And all manner of things will be well."

Talk about an "attitude of graditude!" This all happened when she had a visionary experience during a serious illness. Years later she is credited with writing what is now called, "Showings or Revelations of Divine Love." So when things are seemingly at their very worst knowing that "All will be Well," provides abiding hope to me.

How's Business?

2009-12-05T22:00:00.002-06:00

Sometime last year I began relaxing about my little business. I stopped paying for tons of advertising and consulted my business manager on high. Letting Go and Letting God - seems to be working. At least I think I'm being a bit less like Martha.

Not being absorbed in trying to figure out advertising, I've begun to really enjoy Twittering. It causes me to dig deep and return to the practice of praying the Daily Office. This is a good thing for me.

I love this business of making pray beads and rosaries. I enjoy hearing from customers. They are like family to me. Now and then I receive a broken set to repair and I find myself remembering putting it together and I wonder where it has been and how it has comforted.

Now that I have more or less figured out Twittering, I'm going to try hard to turn my attention to this little blog. This is a discipline that I need to embrace.