I don't know how I ever got so lucky as to have a life coach for a sister. The other day, tight with tension and frustration, I called her and she listened through the ranting to help sort out the real heart of something that wasn't making itself clear to me.

When we hung up I remember thinking that it wasn't fair that she was my sister. This wisdom and insight deserves to go much further than me and a few knotty life problems. 

Now it is. 

Debuted on July 21st, 2018 Lorene hosted her very first "Creating Your Eden" workshop, as a sort of beta version for the real thing which... wait for it! Is in the works to come to where I live, in NC. 

CREATING YOUR EDEN

I don't add my name (such as it's worth) to endorse almost anything - I barely wear company logos or graphics on tee shirts, because I really have to believe in something. #ads on Instagram bother me and I've un-followed a decent amount of people because it didn't seem like the lives displayed in their ads were real. 

Having spent 30 years getting to know Lorene has verified the fact, she's the real deal. Sure, we're related, but it's more than that. She's spent the last 7 years within in-depth, self-motivated and professionally-driven study, and her passion for this topic of restoration of heart and soul and body has started to bubble over.  

She mentioned the other day that she wonders if she'll ever be able to get out of the book of Genesis? The topic of how we were created originally fascinates her, as a light for some of our knottier problems of identity, broken dreams, and unhealthy ways of thinking. 

It was an honor to witness the beginning.

THE MENU

We kept the menu simple for light refreshment afterward. 

mixed nuts

honeycomb

home-baked dinner rolls

peaches and blueberries 

THE DECOR

pine boughs

candles

deer and sheepskins

grasses 

Lorene has always had a knack for turning simple, out-dated spaces into something beautiful, and her talent didn't fail her at the July workshop. She, with some of her husband's nieces, shoveled out hundreds of acorns out of the family camp building, to the dismay of the squirrels. They hung pine boughs from rafters, set up candles, and by the time I got there it was already a new and improved version. 

THE EVENT

It was in keeping with the simplicity of the setting, the food, and set in nature (as such an event probably should be, no?)

 At any rate the atmosphere was welcoming and cozy as 8 women gathered to hear about how God created mankind originally, and how we can renew our minds and dreams. I'll tell you about one thing that has turned and re-turned in my mind ever since. At the end of the teaching time Lorene gave us all an assignment to write down one thing we want, or dream about, or desire. It was private, we didn't have to share, but she wanted us to put it in writing, and then think about how we'd feel if we got it. I stopped her to confirm that because didn't she mean we should write down how we feel if we didn't get it? 

"No," she said. "Write down how you'd feel if it came true." 

This was new to me. Why ever would you want to be disappointed even more when it doesn't come true? Then I began to see how dry and pinched my way of thinking was; to be honest, I'm still processing the ramifications of it since she asked me the other day if I dream, if I believe my future is for good, not evil. 

Suddenly, I see how I've been curled up in a little ball, protecting myself. Not a triumphant way to live, not as God intends. 

I'd like to laugh at the days to come. 

This is your invitation to attend, if you live in the North Carolina area or beyond. The event is slated to be sometime in October or November, date, time and place TBA. Enter your email address in the list below to receive updates of when, where, and what to expect. 

I hope to see you there! I'll be the little shadow with the camera, snitching food. 

L. Raine