St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration

This upcoming weekend is the St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration. This is one of our premier releases each year. It's the entire experience we rejoice in: The masses of amazing women celebrating femininity and fitness together -- and the high energy that eminates from the city of Boise for blocks as we all gather there! It's quite the experience, and our birds surely feel the positive excitement as they soar with their own strong wings, to soar for us!

Because of the rainy weather last year, we chose to cancel the release. It was raining cats and dogs! Those wonderful women still had a very fun, memorable year! However, this year, the weather forecast looks stunningly gorgeous and A Breath of Heaven Doves, both the feathered and the human-type, are ready to CELEBRATE!

The race will take place in downtown Boise, right at City Hall, bright and early this Saturday morning, September 26, 2009.

Happy Earth Day

Today, Wednesday, April 22, 2009 is Earth Day. We focus on caring for our planet -- this amazing and vibrant Earth created by our Maker, especially today. Globally, I care deeply that we honor that creation and be good stewards of it. Still more specifically, the part of the day that is close to my heart is the desire to protect it's purity and beauty for my family and my animals. This is where it becomes a personal cause.

I am touched by the title to a book written in the early 1960s by marine biologist Rachel Carson. She entitled the book "Silent Spring," awakening the idea that if we continue on this destructive path against our planet, we would risk a future without the songs of birds, due to certain devastating pesticides and chemical agents that were being used, then.

A favorite song is brought to mind: "Big Yellow Taxi." A portion of the lyrics say "Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone: They paved paradise and put up a parking lot..." and "Hey, farmer, farmer, put away your DDT. I don't care about spots on my apples, leave me the birds and the bees -- please!"

Reflecting on Carson's thoughts and upon the sentiments in that song, today my prayers are especially for this big beautiful planet Earth and the profoundly rich life we have in the presence of all creation... most specifically for the Dove Lady: Birds.

I want to sing like birds sing, not worrying

about who hears or what they think.

Jelaluddin Rumi

St. Luke's Hospice Bereavement Seminar

Saturday, November 8th brought us a "grey-skies" sort of day -- yet the vivid autumn leaves on the trees and other living landscapes made the day pop with color. One of the special events the day flowed with was a very special program St. Luke's Hospice lovingly put together for the families they've served in the last 6 months: A bereavement seminar.

Individuals who'd lost a loved one in recent months were led through workshops, activities, and therapeutic discussions to assist them in their grieving process. The day was concluded with the interactive white dove release by A Breath of Heaven Doves.

Following our specially-written reading, we invited loved ones, one at a time, to approach the microphone. There, Gail (of St. Luke's Hospice) would hand each person one of our individual release baskets, containing a single, snow white dove. The grieving person would say the name of the loved one they were honoring the memory of, and would then open the lid to release their special bird.

Once the individuals had their opportunity to participate in the release, 4 care-takers from St. Luke's Hospice each opened the lids of 4 white wicker trunks. From those trunks, 80 birds flowed into the sky like a graceful white river. The guests who were there seemed to richly embrace the memories of their loved ones with great love and affection as the birds winged their way into the heavens. They watched, with tears, and pointed to the skies, as the birds continued circling, the flock making certain each of their own was able to join up with them before heading home.

And then, there was a calming peace.