tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:00:31 +0000making a differenceeditingOpen Eyeswomenmusictravelvocationgratitudewritingkidspublishinghttp://siretona.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)Blogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-2667643997215917337Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:14:00 +00002011-08-26T09:48:01.532-06:00womenmaking a difference "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." ~ Proverbs 14:1 Here's an excerpt from Spiritual Mothering by Susan Hunt. The wise woman will have a building influence in her relationships; a foolish woman will have a destructive influence in her relationships. And this influence extends beyond the home to every part of her life where she has thehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/jKM5i94EicM/encouragement-in-action.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/jKM5i94EicM" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/08/encouragement-in-action.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-1106256094298647732Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:28:00 +00002011-08-26T09:47:33.430-06:00womentravelmusicI first heard Carrie Catherine’s song “Sunshine Baby” when I covered her songwriting residency in Southey (Oct ‘08) for the Last Mountain Times newspaper. “Sunshine Baby” reminded me of a lullaby Mom used to sing to us: Good Morning, Merry Sunshine. Every since that little Southey encounter, I’ve been following Carrie’s career, particularly watching for a recording of “Sunshine Baby”! Recently, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/9mOJ46SFTPo/merry-sunshine-baby.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/9mOJ46SFTPo" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/04/merry-sunshine-baby.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-3059140933806649583Sun, 10 Apr 2011 03:31:00 +00002011-04-09T21:34:11.294-06:00 Are you a creative woman who wants to think more carefully about why and how you do what you do? Check out Regent College Summer School. I especially recommend my friend Chelle’s course: Chelle Stearns: Beauty, Brokenness, and the Cross: Exploring Atonement Theology Through the Arts, July 11–22 Of course there are lots of other courses to check out here. Better view of above video here. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/dZkygb-NoB4/what-to-do-this-summer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/dZkygb-NoB4" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-to-do-this-summer.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-136720135014314333Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:35:00 +00002011-03-31T11:35:20.855-06:00 Often when people tell me they are not creative, I tell them, “Creativity is the ability to use other people’s ideas well.” The idea came from a college textbook that made a strong impression on me two decades ago: Creative Teaching Methods by Marlene LeFever. My sister is getting married next month and because I live far away from her, I’m compiling a cookbook using The Great Family Cookbook http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/13U9BHvLCyU/what-is-creativity-part-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/13U9BHvLCyU" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-creativity-part-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-7199610365752485263Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:55:00 +00002011-03-31T11:31:06.192-06:00 View Full Album When I was a kid, my mom sometimes accused me of being stubborn. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Both of us are strong-willed. Mom and I are also curious, and share an insatiable desire to improve things. Living in Taiwan, my friend Crystal learned to recognize a look of critique in my eye and she would say, “If you were doing it?” I learned to check that impulse http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/CHw-LKJTBJU/what-is-creativity-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/CHw-LKJTBJU" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-creativity-part-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-3784780429776190922Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:35:00 +00002011-03-21T10:35:46.848-06:00 When butterflies cocoon, it is the end of a life stage. When our lives change, it is the end of something. It is also the beginning of something else, something potentially more beautiful. Even so, no matter how good the result might be, we can’t see it. Changes bring identity shifts. We experience loss and we grieve. One of my friends is a nurse. Well, she used to be a nurse. Now she’s http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/LfW72ExSW8E/identity-part-1-grieving-losses-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/LfW72ExSW8E" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/03/identity-part-1-grieving-losses-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-165196169058513737Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:33:00 +00002011-02-21T20:33:32.524-06:00A woman in our church recently received her second radical brain surgery to control her epileptic surgeries. She was having around 28 seizures a day, and now they are reduced to about 14 this week – huge progress. Her language abilities have been damaged, so she comprehends but it’s difficult for her to find words and form sentences in reply. Even so, her mother reports that when J sings, the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/Ja2OhU2anww/brain-connections.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/Ja2OhU2anww" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/02/brain-connections.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-8918343203122039082Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:28:00 +00002011-02-12T16:28:40.705-06:00You may know that through Siretona Creative, I empower women in the arts. That’s pretty specific and pretty broad at the same time. Somewhere in a box – probably in storage at my parents’ place – I have a book called God the Worker by Dorothy Sayers, in which she links our work and creativity to God’s creativity: we are made in his image, therefore we reflect his character. Even those who are “http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/Q_lhiztJ8qE/we-are-all-creatives.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/Q_lhiztJ8qE" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/02/we-are-all-creatives.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-6018853420659376017Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:42:00 +00002011-02-01T11:43:57.481-06:00Colleen Taylor & Kevin McCubbin December 30, 2010 First photo album: AH Photography. And I’ve been blogging over here. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/XQQa6lfsmrI/by-way-i-got-married.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/XQQa6lfsmrI" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2011/02/by-way-i-got-married.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-7952719096196731888Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:46:00 +00002010-09-14T23:58:24.109-06:00kidsgratitudemaking a differencewritingI sat beside a young girl on Sunday morning. Her dad was teaching Sunday School and wanted her to sit in the main service, so we sat together taking notes. Her amazement at my copious writing led to a beautiful conversation, which I wrote about here.The conversation filled me with wonder. I loved telling her dad about it later, feeling as if I was a real partner in the work of raising this child.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/uH7koZ0VIGY/woman-with-girl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/uH7koZ0VIGY" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/09/woman-with-girl.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-5009279360382505034Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:46:00 +00002010-09-08T08:12:31.085-06:00gratitudevocationIn June I emerged from a long, dark, difficult winter. Creativity had been present, yet somewhat forced. I was waiting, hoping, grieving, and underemployed. But in June, suddenly hope became sight as I suddenly found good work that covers the bottom line and frees me in so many ways.Steady, gainful work gives new definition to my schedule and new meaning to rest. Sundays have been particularly http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/VWo2wFtQrTs/sabbaths.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/VWo2wFtQrTs" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/09/sabbaths.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-2084319795773092104Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:06:00 +00002010-09-06T09:10:30.564-06:00 Do you agree with Martha's conclusions?Post a comment to win a copy of Notes from Over the Hill.Draw date and winner announced next Monday.______________________________________________A source of family discord that I suspect has been around ever since the invention of indoor plumbing has come to the fore again, this time in the form of email jokes. I refer to that bone of contention, the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/2uQ4cof3hro/martha-mondays-up-or-down.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/2uQ4cof3hro" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/09/martha-mondays-up-or-down.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-7178724248865868138Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:12:00 +00002010-08-30T09:12:22.507-06:00 I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about elevators, but the last time I rode in one it suddenly occurred to me that nobody under the age of 50 would be likely to remember when they were not automatic but were run by real, live people. My daughter thinks she probably saw one of the last of those, with a metal grillwork door and a white-gloved operator at the controls, at the Banff Springs Hotelhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/VMevgmtghIg/martha-mondays-elevators.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/VMevgmtghIg" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/08/martha-mondays-elevators.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-3384767187414526110Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:16:00 +00002010-08-23T11:16:34.928-06:00 Do you remember life before Medicare? We didn’t call a doctor until we’d exhausted our own home remedies. There were exceptions, of course. We couldn’t cope with broken bones or kidney stones, but for many ailments which now send us to a clinic for antibiotics we relied on mustard plasters, hot compresses and various other odoriferous and unpleasant concoctions. We practised preventive http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/MyHfUlYYSUY/martha-mondays-life-before-medicare_23.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/MyHfUlYYSUY" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/08/martha-mondays-life-before-medicare_23.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-4245528302777638287Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:35:00 +00002010-08-18T09:35:55.241-06:00Do you ever buy something then leave it in the package for who-knows-how-long? I did that with Christine Dente’s CD Becoming. Bought it in a bargain bin at Scott’s Parable in Saskatoon, but didn’t open it until this week. Providential timing, perhaps, because the second song speaks directly to things Kathleen and I are wrestling with as we edit Samantha’s First Story for release in the near http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/MQmji6NPEEo/bigger-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/MQmji6NPEEo" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/08/bigger-story.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-1718029059907959045Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:07:00 +00002010-08-17T00:33:48.110-06:00 Have you ever been asked what you would do differently if you could live your life over again? It’s something we like to ponder, even if only to reassure ourselves that we made the right choices. People generally feel that they would live their life the same way. There are probably exceptions. With the benefit of hindsight, quite a few prison inmates might do things differently: either stick http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/068UFt24uR8/martha-monday-next-time-id-be-tougher.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/068UFt24uR8" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/08/martha-monday-next-time-id-be-tougher.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-6386712052549516922Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:00:00 +00002010-07-21T12:00:51.895-06:00I had not noticed how far away I had gone until Thursday morning I had a dream about driving in a car with Brad Jersak. I don’t recall saying anything to each other. It was just good to be riding together. That same morning, I got in my car for the half hour commute to work and the radio was off. The dream reminded me to leave it off. It was pure exercise that morning: keeping silence as a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/SWhg6y8X0Vo/driving-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/SWhg6y8X0Vo" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/07/driving-home.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-529302293893317111Fri, 14 May 2010 05:52:00 +00002010-05-13T23:55:16.463-06:00 Book - Children Kathleen McMillan of Aldergrove, British Columbia, for BlueBeary (Siretona Creative) Wendy van Leeuwen of Listowel, Ontario, for Terrific Tuesdays (Gumboot Books) * * * * * I’ll be singing “Child of My Heart” at the Canadian Christian Writing Awards gala in Mississauga, ON, June 16th. It would be so thrilling to accept an award for BlueBeary. But it’s enough to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/aP5S4K57pug/bluebeary-finalist-in-ccw-awards.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/aP5S4K57pug" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/05/bluebeary-finalist-in-ccw-awards.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-6163266972637888561Sun, 09 May 2010 05:45:00 +00002010-05-08T23:45:24.834-06:00For my mother and her sisters, who said good-bye to their own mother just a few weeks ago. I love you all very much. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/M_S6gGOpXhg/new-song-my-mothers-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/M_S6gGOpXhg" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-song-my-mothers-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-3915114490658598299Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:36:00 +00002010-04-27T14:01:55.041-06:00travelmaking a differencemusicwritingI’ve been asked to sing “Child of My Heart” at The Word Guild Awards Gala in Mississauga, Ontario on June 16th. My parents are donating Aeroplan miles for the flight so I can share this song. In the fall of 2008, I co-wrote this song with Lisa Cornish, Dara Hallett, and my mom, Betty Taylor, for a fundraising banquet for OptionS Pregnancy Centre in Regina. In January 2009, Dara and I sang ithttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/FkCjEsUHk3Q/child-of-my-heart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/FkCjEsUHk3Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/04/child-of-my-heart.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-5028623123213649342Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:34:00 +00002010-04-20T17:42:24.207-06:00WANTED: Sponsors to help me get to Write! Canada and the Canadian Christian Writing Awards in June. Last year, the song “Child of My Heart” (which I co-wrote with Lisa Vanderlip Cornish, Dara Hallett, and Betty Taylor) won Award of Merit for Song Lyrics at the Canadian Christian Writing Awards. This year they have asked me to sing this song at the awards gala. The song is a duet between a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/45Cosu_5H_c/getting-to-write-canada.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/45Cosu_5H_c" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/04/getting-to-write-canada.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-3883433367469244748Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:45:00 +00002010-04-11T22:45:07.341-06:00I love Jean Vanier’s practical insights: A community needs this gift too, especially if their ‘grandmother’ also has a fund of commonsense. We too often tend to dramatise our weariness and anguish. We weep and forget why we are weeping. We identify with the agony of Christ or with the most disadvantaged of the world. An older woman who has experience, who is comfortable with herself, knows http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/3LuEDXivUyA/gift-of-grandmother.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/3LuEDXivUyA" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/04/gift-of-grandmother.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-878248227574940148Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:29:00 +00002010-04-10T13:30:35.788-06:00In September 2008, my friends Dave and Chelle Stearns introduced me to the music of Karine Polwart. They had discovered her while studying for their PhDs in Scotland and suggested that her song Follow the Heron might suit my repertoire. Oh indeed. Karin’s website bio describes her style this way: “A former children's rights worker, Karine allows images, narratives, questions and wry comichttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/CIYc4THHVXg/daisy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/CIYc4THHVXg" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/04/daisy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-3933752081054481081Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:43:00 +00002010-04-06T11:43:50.571-06:00 Writing is so much less about inspiration than it is about obedience. People say, ‘I don’t write unless I’m inspired,’ and that just makes me annoyed. I don’t think there’s ever been a time when I was inspired. I just open the files and sit there and work until something comes. I’ve written about a hundred poems and I think about two of them ‘just showed up.’ ~ conversation with Sue Plett, poethttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/yraLnV-Yz3M/inspiration-vs-obedience.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/yraLnV-Yz3M" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/04/inspiration-vs-obedience.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080903438986329030.post-5623857095787346609Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:39:00 +00002010-03-23T02:39:31.596-06:00I’m doing layout for the village of Duval centennial calendar. My brother Jeffrey sent me the pictures tonight and this one made me laugh out loud! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Siretona/~3/j52mAD5V318/historical-fun.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Colleen Taylor)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Siretona/~4/j52mAD5V318" height="1" width="1"/>http://siretona.blogspot.com/2010/03/historical-fun.html