Feast Day of the Annunciation

March 30, 2025 joanna seibert

Feast Day of the Annunciation

“Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:26-38

We are in the middle of Lent, with Holy Week approaching, but last Tuesday, March 25, we took a brief break to celebrate the feast day of the annunciation to Mary that she will become a God-bearer. We hear the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, "Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you! "

What is it like to see an angel? Would we, too, be perplexed, as is Mary? Do we see angels and not recognize them? What does Gabriel look like?/

Imagine that an angel appears to us as we are seated here reading this message. Is it a man or a woman, or can we tell? Is she dressed in white, blue, or pink? Does he have wings? Does he bring us a flower? Is the voice loud or soft? Is there music?/ Imagine being called by God's messenger that we are the favored one, that God is with us.

"Greetings, Edie, Sam, Sally, Henry, Michael, Amanda, Linda, Mark Freida, Henry, Vickie, favored one, the Lord is with you! God has called you to a special mission. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you. Nothing will be impossible with God. A new life will be born within you."/

All of creation holds its breath, awaiting our answer. What is our response?/ I am too old, too young for new life. I am a man. I cannot have something born within me. The age of miracles is over. How can something new be born in me? The place inside me is not a pure and holy dwelling for the birth of the sacred./

Gabriel's message is alive and meant for each of us this Lent, not just for the historical Mary so many years ago. It is for you and me.

The angel Gabriel appears individually to each of us, asking if we will accept God to be born within us through the Holy Spirit. We each have that chance, daily, hourly, and especially yearly, during this Lenten season. The miracle is still taking place. The gift is offered this afternoon. We only need to be open to receive. We are all favored by our Lord, as is Mary. He is with us as he was with Mary. We are offered that same opportunity of new birth within us as she was.

My prayer for this Lent and coming Holy Week is that each of us will answer the call as Mary does, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." May these words be daily on our lips and in our hearts as God sends his messenger to announce his arrival in each of us./ May we also keep our ears open to the voice of another angel at the empty tomb, who will soon announce that the Christ, this new life within us, has now risen from the dead.

The birth announcement has been made and heard.

Feel new birth kicking within us.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Dodie Horne: A mother's Life in Poems

March 29, 2025 joanna seibert

A mother’s life in poems

“Communion

Eyes look down.

Souls look up.”—Dodie Horne, Root &Plant &Bloom, Poems by Dodie Walton Horne, edited by Jennifer and Mary Horne, 2020, p. 104.

Dodie wrote poems from childhood. She died prematurely in 1994, at age fifty-nine, from a brain tumor. How ironic that a woman who dearly loved words died of cancer in the center of her body where words form. Dodie’s daughters, Mary and Jennifer, surveyed around 370 of their mother’s poems and beautifully packaged and published them as a gift to us.

The book is divided into sections by subject, headed with lines from her poems. For example, “They Brought Me Spring” is about motherhood. “Life in Little Rock” is about younger adulthood and self-acceptance. The “Calendars and Clocks” section is about time passing and aging. “The Questing Why” concerns religion and the spirit.

Dodie was a girlfriend, soul friend, and masseur who cared for my wounded body through many physical trials. I loved visiting her in her last home deep in the woods in Ferndale, except I was never certain each time if my car would make it through the winding, rough dirt road!

I visited Dodie during her illness. I remember leaving magnolia branches in her room on our last visit in July. She never spoke. She died soon after the visit. I treasured the thought that the magnolia fragrance filled her room and helped midwife her into God’s arms. I could not hold back tears from the synchronicity of Dodie’s last writing, “REAL LIFE,” that Jennifer and Mary left in the book.

“— ‘REAL LIFE’ events are not necessarily events; this evening in July shows me that the magnolia candles have finished spreading their light and dropped to the ground, replaced by glowing lightning bugs random cool breezes. I look out on this scene and feel it with all my senses.

—And there would be, there is: writing—in itself an act of gratitude. ‘REAL LIFE’ goes on.” 1

As our large magnolia tree blossoms by our house, I always remember Dodie and what she taught me.

Dodie couldn’t hold back the words of love and gratitude she gave to so many people in her lifetime and now beyond.

1 p. 188.

Joanna Seibert https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Travel

March 28, 2025 joanna seibert

Travel

Guest Writer: Shannon Seibert

Post Europe Trip March 2025, final thoughts.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain

Travel is, in my opinion, the most excellent classroom where history comes alive, where art, architecture, food, and culture create new spaces in our minds, and most importantly, where we connect with people outside our little corner of the earth.

I learn, grow, and expand my worldview. My perspectives are challenged. My circle of influence is broadened. It makes me more humble, more grateful, and more curious.

I remember when Americans, as a whole, were proud that we were a melting pot of different people, cultures, religions, and customs. America wasn't just a dream but an IDEA, a way of thinking. I think we have forgotten and lost being proud that we are a melting pot.

Historically, many wars, hate, and loss of life are about rejecting melting pots.

All nations, peoples, governments, and cultures have flaws and flawed histories. They all have their challenges, corruption, and failures. But what is the beauty they offer?

What are the lessons they teach?

What can I bring home and improve my own "backyard"?

Here are a few things I brought home this time; some are repeats of previous trips.

1. Slow down. Your work will still be there; no one is coming to take it away.

2. Sit with friends over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, OFTEN, and for extended amounts of time.

3. Offer signs in multiple languages. In Serbia, signs were offered in FIVE languages to make things more accessible to more people.

4. Church doors had many, many languages. One church had eight languages inscribed on its main doors! Churches offered services in two different languages every service.

5. City centers are pedestrian, and all shopping is located in one area. Families and friends could gather here; kids ride bikes, and babies learn to walk. City centers are where life happens together.

6. FREE public transportation

7. Every city had a memorial/remembrance of the holocaust (probably the darkest stain on European history). They remember not to be ashamed, not woke, not DEI. They just don't want to repeat history! They acknowledge it and REMEMBER so they don't repeat it.

8. There are anti-fascism monuments in every town.

Monument against War & Fascism in Vienna.
**"Gate of Violence":** A large chunk of granite with carvings representing victims of the war, including chained laborers, gas masks, and a woman giving birth (symbolizing the rebirth of Austria).

9. Focus on doing ONE thing really well. Multi-tasking is overrated and lessens the quality overall. Whether it's sausages, pastries, oils, wines, or beer, just do that ONE thing really, really well.

10. In general, people are people. They want to live in peace, have a secure existence, provide safety and opportunity for their children, worship how they choose, have a trustworthy and helpful government, and live FREELY.

One final story is from Serbia, a place with a corrupt government (per our guide), where votes are bought, coerced, and manipulated. Only 30% support the current administration, but they win elections because of the corruption and false propaganda that is rampant—a fragile "democracy," no doubt.

But Serbia is also a place where 300,000 Russians have resettled and 100,000 Ukrainians have fled since the start of the Ukraine war. We know why the Ukrainians are there, seeking safety. But why so many Russians? Primarily because they have sons who must serve in the Russian military. The parents don't want their sons to die. They are there to save their children's lives; all 400,000 just want to save their children's lives. I think all parents can empathize with that.

Shannon Seibert Shannon@smallworldbigfun.com

Joanna Seibert joannaseibert.com