Author Archives: In Search of the Beautiful

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"If you have love for all the world, the whole world is beautiful". -Mother Gavriella

Uniting Disparate Peoples

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A small sermon spoken at St. Andrew Orthodox Church, Delta, CO on the West Slope of the Rockies

Greetings and Blessed Feast on this Day of Pentecost. As we luxuriate in this rich blessing of the coming of the Holy Spirit, some of us here might be tempted by thoughts of unworthiness. “How can such a loser like me, such an insignificant person have a place at such a wonderful feast?” We might even have imposters syndrome, thinking at any time someone may tap us on the shoulder and say, “We don’t serve your kind here.”

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Fragments of Thoughts: Not of this world

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Don’t feel like you belong? Well, that’s probably because you are not of this world… Through all the brokenness, longing, and ravishing, a silent figure approaches but keeps silent, he knocks but does not enter. He too is not of this world even though he entered it. He created it in perfection, and it will one day be refined to perfection but right now we are in a cosmic drama of having the choice of which side to join: life or death.

There is a piece of art that adorns the walls of Keble College, Oxford in their side chapel called The Light of the World. It pictures Christ wearing a crown of thorns, holding a lantern that is shedding light on the dark scene, and knocking on a door. Painted by William Holmen Hunt in 1853, this icon is hauntingly beautiful in its use of light. And while much can be said about the brilliant workmanship of the masterpiece perhaps what is most remarkable about the painting is what is missing; the doorknob. The door on the outside lacks a doorknob. He knocks but we must answer.

Though the curse has long been broken
Adam’s sons are still the prisoners of their fears
Rushing helter-skelter
To destruction with their fingers in their ears
While the Father’s voice is calling
With an urgency I’ve never heard before
To come in from the darkness now
Before it’s time to finally close the door

Adam, Adam, where are you?

Don Francisco

Though we resist it, our very being is crying out to answer the one who gives us life. The angels and the saints are praying for us to finally give ourselves wholly to our creator; not just our good parts but the broken, and the hurting parts. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20)  

References

“The Light of the World.” Keble College, http://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/about/chapel/light-of-the-world/.

Francisco, Don. Adam Where Are You? 1977, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKB2Q7JOIws.

A Good Family Book

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penderwicks-gardam_fotor_collageThe Penderwicks is a series of books that is about a family. There are 5 books in the series that are about different parts of their life.

The first book in the series is about 4 girls named Rosalind, age 12, Sky, age 11, Jane, age 10, and Baty, age 4. They are on vacation with their dad and Hound, the Penderwicks’ dog. The girls’ mother died from cancer right after the youngest Baty was born. The family is on vacation to a place called Arundel, a breathtaking mansion in the Berkshire mountains. This book is about their adventures in the mountains Continue reading →

The Mystery of the Peanut

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transcoderThe following is a guest post from a 10-year-old boy who is one of my classmates. This research project is the culmination of a year’s study in English grammar and writing styles that homeschoolers in Classical Conversations perform in grades 4-6.

George Washington Carver was the most popular black man in the late 1800’s. He was born in 1864. Although born into slavery, he became a world renowned scientist. He is often referred to as, “The Plant Doctor “, which began at only ten years old.  He learned from Creator God, which inspired his love for nature. He became a professor at the south’s famous black college, The Tuskegee Institute.  With all his diligence and honors he received, he is most famous for helping others for free. Continue reading →

Hopes and Dreams

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Girl Scouts of the USA.svgDo you ever daydream? I do. Many of my daydreams are possible now and some are possible later. Girl scouts is a dream possible now, and becoming a doctor can wait for later.

Girl scouts is one activity I enjoy doing now. In girl scouts, there are 6 levels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador. In all these levels, there are different badges. A scout can do different things for these badges by making goals. One of my goals is to make 400 refugee and school kits. Since my friend, my sister and I enjoy traveling, we want to travel around the world as a troop. Continue reading →

Dickens Meets Shakespeare

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Tuesday, November 15/28, 2017
First Day of the Nativity Fast
Commencement of Advent in the Orthodox Church

SMSG Publicity Shots - 15

Bob Cratchit & Scrooge, © Francois James 2017.

Have you ever thought of seeing a mash-up of Dickens and Shakespeare? If you love Dickens and Shakespeare, then Scrooge Meets Shakespeare’s Ghosts would be the show for you. If you have read the story A Christmas Carol or seen one of the movie adaptations, you are probably familiar with the plot.

In Scrooge Meet Shakespeare’s Ghosts  the Ghost’s are all different from the ones in the original tale. The Ghost of Christmas Past becomes the three witches from Macbeth. The Ghost of Christmas Present is played by Hamlet’s Father’s Ghost. The Ghost of Christmas Future is ghost of Caesar in Macbeth. The rest of the characters remain the same so you can see the rest of the show with the all-time favorite story by Charles Dickens. This rendition of Scrooge also features old carol tunes sung with original lyrics written for Dicken’s and Shakespeare’s timeless characters.

There are two shows in December and the price for tickets is not too much. If you would like to learn more and buy tickets please visit our website.

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My First Move

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moving-tips.jpgIt is super hard to move away from a home that you grew up in. If you lived in one place for over seven years, you would probably be very attached to the house. The first time I ever moved was when I was ten years old.

At the beginning, when I was told our family was going to move, it seemed worse than it really was, because I was looking at the bad side of things. One time in the car, my mom told me that moving is like holding a half full glass of water. Half of the glass is empty standing for the bad things about moving. The part with water stands for the good things.

There is a saying “If life gives you sour lemons make lemonade out of them”. This means that instead of walking around sulking and crying instead make your life full of excitement. That way, the next time you move, you won’t be so scared.

 

A Not So White Winter

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Our whole family loves winter. It is a season of fun. I like winter when it is snowing. I fly outside into a blanket of white. This winter [of 2016-2017] we did not have much snow except one pretty big blizzard. The blizzards’ snow was so deep and fluffy and so fun to play with that we stayed outside for a whole two hours! You could make snow houses, snow men, or slide down on hills. The rest of the days of this winter were much warmer. So the snow melted fast.