Flung Pooh. Feng Shui Autism

Drying lavender we picked from
Shasta Lavender Farms. It now adorns our home with its pungent healing aroma.

Dark days hit us all….It is learning how to feng shui the darkness and distraction, in order that the light might dominate and help reorder, a very full life and keep it on the calmer side, this is a helper to my joy. It takes mind control (taking every thought captive), which by now, I should be proficient at, but alas, I am still crafting. For me, it has been learning how to have dominion over useful, but often times dominating distractions such as television and electronics and distracting thoughts (just as God gave Adam and Eve dominion over every living thing in The Garden of Eden [we have the right stuff to do this]). By “this” I mean to take these “things” prisoner as it were (sometimes in our minds, where battles rage) and pull them into the spotlight of Truth. The effect is, rather than being stuffed into a life that feels off, or just not right, a vibrant Life is dumped into my human mold as Light, which colors every corner of my created being. This gives clarity, to make choices based upon the right information. For life lived fully; to grow in love towards Him and those around me. This doesn’t mean that from this point on everything I look at, think about, will be beautiful, but rather, what dominates is indeed shown in its true light and more easily categorized; are my thoughts useful to my situation, or do I need to capture them and bring them into the light. Some dissipate in The Light and others are revealed and used, or are prayerfully considered in order that they might be dealt with properly.

The dried lavender now hanging
in our home.

Thoughts are things, not random wisps of smoke that vanish (Who Switched Off My Brain, by Dr. Caroline Leaf). Taking them captive and categorizing themas, helpful,
or destructive is a very valuable thing. The non-useful, or destructive get erased as we sleep and the useful are exercised and solidified in that same state. This takes some practice and living in the moment, as they say, as well as being attentive to our thought lives. When I am in transition from a cloudy spot and dragging my spirit and thoughts into the light-it helps to choose something soothing to help roll the head and heart along to that restorative state. Music, art or creating something like a blog; reading a positive, or well written book, something creative that links me to The Creator, or meditating on a healing scripture.

Noticing beauty adds light

Restoration is a word I am in love with. I like to fix run down things and make them beautiful and it takes me a good bit of time to adjust when anything jagged comes into my smooth world, especially if I can’t make it glisten. Bad news I categorize as broken. I don’t know why, but it scratches me up, I take it personally. It takes going to The Giver of Life for the situation and for my own pricked bleeding emotions, that causes my heart to remember why it was created and how it was created. Only then is the heavy burden eased allowing my life to return to its normal, healthy God centered light, so that I might tend Zach and my family from the positive, the beautiful spaces that lend themselves to healing. Oh how I love the peace of faith, of knowing the real God who sees all and knows all, who cries, feels and holds His children through difficult times and laughs with us during celebrations! Our daughter Rachel was just married last weekend and how I felt the smile of God on that union and that event. I also feel His heart break and tears raining down on Zach’s situation. He feels, I feel…we are becoming one, He understands me, though I am heartbroken to say, I hardly know the vast, I AM; what an adventure lies ahead.

Life, the Giver thereof keeps my load light and balanced; I start adjusting the weights with things I am picking up along the way and then "whoop-whoop-woah" as my cowboy daddy would say, I’m all over the road with legs of jello.

Heart feeling is how I operate. I’ve noticed that I seem more pensive than most. I felt…different growing up. I was often teased as being a daydreamer, when in fact, everything, every word that came into my world I mulled over and over in my brain like a rock tumbler till it came out smooth and slick. I have become okay with the fact that God is my manufacturer and this is how He made me to operate. It has been a help in the way I tend my family, but especially the everyday chore of tending Zach. I have rounded the corner of my sensitivities by thinking on good things, Philippians 4:8 has been a section of living-salvation for me. Every situation can be sweetened with positive, helpful thinking. Thinking on things that are honest, just, and pure and of good report seem to be a much better way to keep ones mind on The Good One and balance ones world in that, "resting in the Arms" position, if you will. Not that jagged, sour things should never enter our world (we all have difficult things cross our paths), or pray for situations and others who are undergoing hardship, or hurts; that’s body-life, community. It is the living frame of mind I’m talking about; what I do with darkness, or distraction. I want a mind and body that work from the riches of God rather than the poverty and depravity of unregenerate man. Disconnecting, or focusing on the horror of a situation never helped anyone. Engagement, love and prayer, I have found, are not passive.

Good dwells in the world despite all the bad. God made us all to operate best from love, to help, to pray, to bring The Light into every situation. It has been scientifically proven, the human brain and body work best from a place of love, not fear. I believe I can send that Love and Light through my prayers, because most days it is just little old me and Zach up here on the hilltop. I pray for and over a situation while changing a diaper, hanging sheets on the line, or plopping dollops of oat/raisin loaded cookie dough onto parchment paper lined sheets-this gives me a great since of satisfaction. I feel as though I am impacting the situation with rays of Light and Love like some sort of christian cupid.

White sheets drying in the sunshine.

Light enters, while I’m thinking on Goodness, Creation and that kind of Love that human love is only a shadow of. The kind that cares deeply about the whole person, body, soul and spirit.

Lavender, white sheets hanging in the sunshine and the past two weeks of family and grand babies, a grand high-mountain wedding of a darling daughter, these are some of the good things I have been thinking on today. His smile and His pleasure always show me the way home.

Sunset Light from Staunton Hill

Try not to light your face with a smile when

you bite into these babies!

Gluten Free Lemon-Lavender Shortbread Cookies

½ cup pasture butter, softened

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar, or organic cane sugar

4 teaspoons grated organic lemon peel

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup Namaste, Perfect Blend flour

2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons non-gmo cornstarch

¼ teaspoon ground mace

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 rounded tablespoon of culinary lavender

Drizzle:

½ cup Confectioners’ sugar

2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Combine the flour, cornstarch, mace and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. (Dough will be crumbly.) Shape into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, press dough to ½-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 1-inch fluted cookie cutter; place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick cookies with a fork. Reroll scraps if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until firm. Cool for 2 minutes before carefully removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Combine confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over cookies

Making appropriate toys that our children like to play with. Zach loves it when we take the time out of our day to play with him. It is a wonderful way to bond and relax.

Zach, like most severely autistic children, likes to play by slipping small things in slots, like under doors, cracks in tables, or through the cracks in the boards on our outdoor deck.

At first I tried to get him to play more “normal” things, but that seemed to frustrate, so now we actually make up “slip through” toys that encourage color recognition, faces in his life and shapes. We have a shelf full of these handmade toys and “we” play them every morning at the breakfast table and during our afternoon “couch time”. This encourages bonding, touch, eye contact and generalization (which is very difficult for Zach).

Zach never seems to tire of these games, but some of us do; when I get tired of playing the same thing over and over, I invent a new one by going to ToysRus, the craft store, or I walk the isles in our superstore and gather ideas and supplies to put together something new. Sometimes they are a hit and other times, not so much, like the one I made out of a shoe box, cut up an old ripped little critter book (after replacing it with a new one), pasted and taped the Grandma and Me pictures on the outside, cut holes in the middle and put small whiffle balls inside; or the time I bought counting bears in three sizes and colors, big, middle and little (this is one of his favorite computer games on Millies Math House). I hot glued three bears of different sizes and colors to the top of a plastic container, cut holes in the top with a hot knife (careful) and offered him the colorful hand made toy. He didn’t get it. Oh well, we win some and we loose some.

I got this idea of making my own toys one Christmas when I couldn’t think of anything to buy Zach that would put a smile on his face. I created a poker chip game by cutting a slot in the top of a tupperware container and filling it with poker chips. This is one of Zach’s favorite games even today, years later. He dumps them out in a large tub, or on the floor and we put them back through the slot. Simple, yes, and this makes him so happy. He is doing something he can do on his own, it’s something he can teach us to do and I think it gives him a since of accomplishment and encourages him to try similar things.

I imagine you can think of some unique games your child will love playing. I love to recycle and try to use what I have at home. It causes the eye to see creativity where it wouldn’t otherwise see fun and games…buttons, shoe laces, poker chips, dice, origami paper, doubles of family photos etc...

You will make your child smile. What a great reward!

Recycled mayo jug with a hole punched in the top. Children’s domino (these make a wonderful clacking sound when they are dropped in. He likes the sound and the smooth cool feel of the dominos.

Made by one of Zach’s school teachers. Pipe cleaners wound into circles, a little packing tape and a recycled shoe box
covered in blue construction paper.