rattled

 

Rigid fury.

Held against my will.

Computer hostage.

My wife told me to disengage. Walk away. 

Sitting on the wooden bench. Brain buzzing stuck. So upset.

I ended up standing beside the pond, staring down at my bare feet in the grass.

It was just then ----- my cell phone came alive ---- and a voice reached out to help untangle my emotions.

A friend who was led to call me. A little bird told me, he said. 

Like an angel. Like divine providence. Like a glass of cold beverage. Like a companion. Familiar and patient.

In due course we were telling each other corny jokes and laffing. It was salvation. The rigid clamp gave way to freedom. I ended up in our front yard, seated on the sun bench, birds chirping, clover between my toes, a grin on my silly face. So sweet.         

restoration comes when I hold my cat Pookie. Fur against my finger tips.        

Laying still on deck cushions, sun light 

Recall the rescue.

When I was carried

being low

being weak

still loved

exhausted 

anytime rest comes

sleep

recovery

lingering

drifting 

mindful

yes

song medley

Song Medley by Karl Marxhausen    

18 minute video.

The energy is present today. All five songs put down in one take. The order: (1) Alli nall  (2) Following  (3) Infinite Mercy  (4) Beloved  (5) Recall   All songs under copyright with Karl Marxhausen, Carrollton, Missouri.

The Lord leads my wife and I every day. Each day an adventure. We work out in the Chillicothe YMCA pool two or three times each week. We meet with friends over lunch at small cafes in Carroll and Ray County, in north central Missouri. North America. 

-------------------------------

From day to day, each day takes us somewhere.

In it all Jesus is real. The moments surprise. He lifts, he speaks, eagles glide, the yard grows green. I am grateful for Jan my wife. We are a team in our retirement. Fluid. Mindful. Kind hearted. You will hear the surprises of joy in these songs.

Thank you for being a part of my life. Today the courage returned to post music on the Moss Creek Journal. To stay up on making a video or typing at the keyboard takes energy and effort. Much time is far away from this activity. But today work was given here.

Stay in touch dear reader. Leave your comments and encouragement down below in the comment box. 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

gushing out

in the day of assistance i recall these moments:

my friend was diligently searching  

i was there when he finally found the needed document.

he drove us back to the agency. the process for his assistance was set in motion.

it was beside his car that i noticed this scene. there were noisy motors pumping dirty water from a trench cut through a main street in the center of downtown Carrollton. men bent over engaged in this work. 

it dawned on me i was seeing the physical action of assistance for my friend. a visual scene of hope, of engagement, of a deep problem being solved. 

"LOOK. this is a picture of what work God is doing for you right now," i told my friend.

lots of light uncovering dark dealings.

a problem is being UNCOVERED in BROAD DAYLIGHT.

across the courthouse lawn, on the far side, a tall yellow ladder ran up from the sidewalk to the roof of a brick building. i told my friend "people are working on the roof. what might that mean?"

"jacob's ladder. angels going up and down," i added.

"IN THE MYSTIC REALM," he mused.

"i think God is working above in the heavenlies. On earth as it is in heaven. things we cannot see. being done for you!!!" the metal sculpture on the courthouse lawn was whirling round. its spinning parts added to these moments. 

just off the downtown square fire hydrants were gushing onto the street.

i teared up. what a visual!!! 

the recurring picture that comes to me.  Jesus is a fountain springing up, over flowing, ready and eager to give.

this hydrant was at first and main streets. it was a yelo hydrant.

one more memory: my friend and i had gone out to lunch. from the mix of people present to eat, an unexpected believer came up to me and began to talk. And what he spoke tied directly into this day of assistance.

 

words of assurance calm the listener over the cell phone.

in the hands of god. 

as a foot note: 

the following day the work downtown was complete. no road blocks. no one working. no hydrants flushing. i rubbed my eyes. i just happened to be there when all the commotion was going on. and my friend had seen it too. 

wow. just for us to see. thanks.

stop think color

 

I make time to pause and reflect. 

What stands out from my day? 

Consider. Drift. Wonder.

These moments tell me I am alive.

----------------------------- Listen. Watch. Click on video. 17 minutes.---------------------------------------------------------------------DOUBLE CLICK on PHOTOS to ENLARGE.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

                    

june drawings 2019

   It's June 2019.  Photos from my Nebraska days at the Centennial College are not clear enough to use for the upcoming reunion. Vicki Van Steenburg phones me from California. A former Centennial College alum she likes my idea. I had talked about doing an inked drawing from photos I had. That way the artwork could be new and original. Her subsequent phone calls kept lighting fires under me. Energizing me. 

Here are my new drawings from that montage. Double click on images to enlarge.

(fellow student with clamp light and black hat. student with wrestling T-shirt. strips of torn paper dancing above our heads. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(Centennial friends in Commons Lounge watching unfolding tableau. Student on hands and knees, paper torn from discarded Lincoln phone books, A work in progress illumined by light. Staged in Love Hall next to the Neihardt Residential Center, University of Nebraska - Lincoln in 1976.  Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(Centennial student pinching strips of paper, released to flutter, watching the ballet drift to the floor. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(four UN-L students at Student Union, building with wood blocks. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(student with wood, with wall sign. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(Centennial student building his tower. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)



Vicki is pleased with this contribution. Two ink montages will be on display at Love Library at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska during Centennial Reunion October 11- 12, 2019 



Schedule and details for October Reunion 

The ink work fuels me with joy and giggles ...... as my research continues to unfold.........

walk with long string -- drawing 2019

      One day when I was a student at the Seward Public High School -- some classmates of mine went with me at the City Park in Seward, Nebraska -- to walk with a long string. My father recorded the event. Double click on images to enlarge.

A follow-the-leader activity. Everyone holds on to the long string and goes for a walk.

 
City Park, Seward, Nebraska. Circa 1973. (photo by Reinhold Marxhausen)

My classmates Jeff Bowman and Herb Jensen lead the rest.


Three years later --- in 1976 I attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I lived in a dormitory on 16th Street. The Centennial Educational Program was housed in Love Hall, next door to the Neihardt Residential Center. I took independent study classes thru Centennial.

On afternoon in 1976 --- a dozen students from that complex met together to go for a walk. A walk around the campus while holding a long string. Dubbed the "String Walk." It was ad-lib. Impulsive. Creative. Something us centennial-ites enjoyed doing. Laughing. Exploring.

There were no photographs of that outing.    It was spontaneous.

When I talked with Vicki Van Steenburg over the phone 43 years later -- the fun and excitement of my Centennial years came back to me. Energy from those wonderful memories egged me on to do a pencil composition at my desk.

Last month the inked 18 by 24 inch illustration was complete and mailed to the planning committee in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Here are portions of that work.

 (rampark parking garage and elevator. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(up and down front steps of Nebraska state capitol. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(front door to back door, through department store. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019) 

 (the string itself. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(going through Nebraska football fans, outside the Lincoln stadium. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)

(starting at the beginning, front steps of the Centennial College. Ink on paper. Karl Marxhausen. 2019)


Two ink works will be on display in Love Library on the campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Centennial College Reunion will be held October 11 and 12, 2019.

The two day reunion with full details CLICK here.