There is wonder all around us…
Listening… I dip into these podcasts, here and there.
Reading… this piece here about what the author learned this summer…thought-provoking .
Watching… really enjoyed Nicole’s footage and her thoughts on her Shakespeare reading journey.
Noticing…the dark lingering longer, the brilliance of the moon, barn swallows are still here, don’t go my friends!
How about you? What are you listening to, reading, watching, or noticing? 🌾🍂🍁🌻🥀🌚🌝🪵🐿️
{previous check-ins and intro to series}
Don’t you feel a tug, a yearning to sink down into the silence and solitude of God? Don’t you long for something more? Doesn’t every breath crave a deeper, fuller exposure to his Presence? It is the Discipline of solitude that will open the door. You are welcome to come in and “listen to God’s speech in his wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all-embracing silence.”
Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 109
Focus Areas:
Spiritual ~ I was a bit sluggish this week about REALLY pressing into my quiet times and calming myself down enough to enter in. We came off a wonderful, but exhausting graduation party for my oldest son and it takes me a long time to recover from events. I kept up with my group reading plan, but didn’t deeply meditate and pray/journal as much as I want to. The end of this week has been better and it feels so good to soak in Matthew among other things. My sister reminded me of Pray As You Go app which helps me focus as I begin my prayer times. ♥️
Physical ~ I honestly struggled a bit with getting in the groove with my food. Just grazing and bingeing, even on “healthy” things. Out of exhaustion or anxiety, finding myself feeling hungry in my MIND not legitimately hungry in my stomach. I found that listening to the audiobook of Rezoom by Susan Peirce Thompson or Half of Carla’s YouTube really helped me calm down a bit. Not making or having unhealthy choices in the house really helps me, too. I did get out on my walks with my audiobook. I’m 56% through Klara & the Sun and 😯 it’s thoroughly intriguing. I bought a new tshirt and struggled with the mental battle about my worth because it was a bigger size. 😞 Just be brutally honest here. I am excited to receive it, though, and support my friend’s creative endeavor .
Mental ~ I had so much fun updating my book journal and purging/ organizing my reading stacks. I decided to focus on one particular stack of things I’m reading with others or have wanted to read for a long time. I gave myself permission to set aside books that were too silly, not grabbing my attention, or just weighing me down. I read a few poem’s every day (Oliver, Wordsworth, and Native Nations poems) and it was so nice. I’m super interested in learning about the “Balkans” area after finishing the historical fiction thriller The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
Emotional~ I had some hard relational talks this week that were good. I tend to avoid and stuff down which isn’t healthy. I really tried to keep up on some household rhythms and it’s amazing how much that lifts my mood. Just putting a fresh weed 😄 bouquet on a clean dining room table with tablecloth, washing the dishes after each meal, etc. Being outdoors really helped me! I also did a fun video about my favorite things and I wrote two snail mail letters. I’ve been trying to sleep a little in afternoons lately and it’s SO nice. I did get a little Totoro stamp set and some new, darling stickers which was a blessing. Maybe I’ll show them to you next week. Stationary is the way to my heart! 😂💕
Servanthood ~ this was tough this week. I think coming off the graduation party made it extra hard. I want to focus more on the little things I can do for those around me and do them well. Not be so distracted. I was able to do some fun things with others last week and it was wonderful to connect in those big things, but I can see some daily practices I believe Jesus wants me to give more in. ♥️ He is so gracious and faithful to help and strengthen us. I do want to start gratitude journaling again to practice thankfulness and get outside my head. Look for a Joy Journal entry soon, hopefully.
Verse Focus for Coming Week:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
How about you? How did your week go? Bless you all! 🌿🌟❣️✨🌙🌻🌧️🍎🥦☕️🌳🌱
{Introduction here to this series}
For a habit is a delight in itself; poor human nature is conscious of the ease that it is to repeat the doing of anything without effort; and, therefore , the formation of a habit, the gradually lessening sense of effort in a given act, is pleasurable.
Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p. 121
My focus areas:
Spiritual: been really trying to keep up with my YouVersion apps Bible readings with friends. However, I decided I needed a slower soak also, so I began the New Testament this week and wow, it’s been so lovely. Just Jesus’ words. Journaling and meditating on it all. I’m reading a few devotionals and Mary Oliver’s nature poetry has been turning my heart 💜 to my Creator. I’ve been prioritizing spending my quiet time outdoors, too, because it adds so much.
Physical: I was able to get out for a long walk one day and listen to an audiobook. It was wonderful! Hopefully, going again today. I tend to be pretty sedentary, so walks are something I want to make time for. I adjusted my food a lot this week and checked in with my sister each night. I felt very ‘hangry’ at times and journaled etc to help. I’m admittedly seeing a few things that are creeping in that I can’t be moderate in. I will be just taking those out of my diet. I know this seems extreme, but for me, it works. I’m trying something I’m calling BLE Lite (Bright Line Eating), in which I follow the plan closely with a few planned exceptions. I’m definitely easing back in as this program is pretty intense and structured. However, I do think I work better with clear boundaries.
Mental: I’m trying to chose good books to read and journal/narrate/collage about them. Slowing down to create or discuss calms and soothes my anxiety. I participated in a Zoom book discussion on Anthony Trollope’s The Belton Estate. I can get too introverted and find myself “hiding” and I want to challenge myself and grow, not stagnate. I’m rereading a challenging book about home as a ministry and it’s so good. I’ve been taking naps with my 4 yo occasionally and this makes a huge difference physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Emotional: I took off the week from YouTube and it’s been so nice. I’m on a year break from Instagram. I enjoy aspects of social media, but I have to balance these delicately otherwise, I personally find myself anxious, discontent, and not present. Naps, nature, walks, etc all contribute to a more balanced emo 🖤 state for me! 😄 I also did a few creative things this week that filled my cup like collaging, filming book reviews, sending a penpal letter, and writing. I took myself on a coffee date and also picked up a favorite magazine. I want to be careful not to always associate buying things for comfort, because I actually find more genuine peace in the things that cost 💲 NOTHING. However, occasionally, it’s fun to get a special gift. 💝
Servanthood: I won’t be giving a ton of actual real life details here as this is a personal area between me and Jesus, but, I do want to share action steps I want to try. I want to include one or more children in whatever I’m doing around the house, ie – take a child grocery shopping or take walks with kids sometimes, etc. I want to plan some activities to do WITH kids that aren’t work related. The reality of life here with a big family is we are often working together. That’s good, but I also want to do purposeful fun activities occasionally.
Verse Focus for coming week:
…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.
from 2 Peter 1:3
So, overall, a good week, and I’m hopeful! Planning on checking in next week. Thanks for being here. ❣️❣️❣️ Let me know how you are? Lots of love, Amy 🖤🌲🖤
Granny never seemed to worry what time it was. 🌲She got up with the sun and went home when it went down. She took things slow and easy, never hurrying at all. ♥️No matter how often Satsuki asked Granny to teach her something, Granny never complained🌿, and no matter how often Satsuki made the same mistake, she never lost her patience.🍓
My Neighbor, Totoro: The Novel by Tsugiko Kubo, original story and art by Hayao Miyazaki, p. 107
There is wonder all around us…
Listening… How to Heal Your Relationship with Food
Reading… on the top of my stack: Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers & Reflections by Macrina Wiederkehr and Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. A wonderful, intriguing bit of Miyazaki to fill your joy cup.
Watching… slow, peaceful vlogs.
Noticing…summer flowers, clouds, barn swallows, warmth, and summer smells! 🌿
What are you listening to, reading, watching, & noticing? ♥️🥰🌿
~drift~
I took the stack of ‘not for sale’ notes
from the kitchen counter
I float freely, clutching them
wondering which of all
my memories
will get packed away
or $1.99’d at the yard sale
who puts monetary value
on mothering moments
tears, grubby-fingered gifts?
The sandy Texas whelk shell,
the lone star-shaped button
from that one Marshall’s skirt,
will these be for sale?
They haven’t even touched the shelves
of my tattered friends, dog-earred, wrinkled.
Is it all reduced to trash to be
talked and hashed over?
The Post-Its crumple a bit
in my filmy grip.
I peek out the sun-bleached,
red gingham curtains and see
a crowd of crow-clad mourners,
truly all that’s left behind that’s-truly true,
all that love huddled on that hill.
All the dregs, threads, life
will be packed up, garbage-bagged.
The Post-Its flutter to the floor.
I’m back in my pine box.
Songs being sung.
Soul not sold, bought with blood,
drifting off.
Memories Post-It-seared on Souls.
Not for sale, ever.
~A.M. Pine
{If you are interested, read here for this series Piece #1 and origin story.}
I’ve been holding my stale breath for what seems an age. I release the musty, dusty, time-worn puff in one lingering whiff. The old, bent figure of a woman startles for a moment, but then shuffles deeper into my innards. Something about the way she moves reminds me of yesteryear. The wind shifts outside, my half open door creaks, branches brush my windows, the keys tinkling in her bent hands. “So, you’re still standing, eh, Maggie. Your bones aren’t a wee bit broken,” she mutters…a memory flashes through my hall, down the twisty staircase, a bit of ashes stirring on the forgotten stone hearth. I shift a little, creaking and groaning. That name rings a bell… “Maggie”, memory whistles up the chimney and into the gloaming. These old rafters and cobwebbed corners aren’t what they used to be, but they remember. Time-stamped. She shakes out her rough dress, along with the gloom and pats the shrouded furniture. “Such promise, such love, wee lass, you were filled to the over brimming.” Birdsong bursts forth out of doors and I’m flashing back to a young servant lovingly scrubbing my wooden floor to a golden-hued gleam. “I dub you Margaret,” she had whispered to me, “after my sweet departed mother.” She lifted her small pale face, dark curls pulled back in a very similar kerchief that she wears even now, old wise eyes caressing me down to the last rusty, hand-hewn nail. She had come to us, myself and the family, through tragedy. A motherless waif that brought joy to the widower and his young son. Her cheerful songs, bubbling, snapping eager quickness brought all out of the gloom of our missing mistress. Memories stirred as she pulls off sheets, fingers dusty frames, and creeps quietly about, reverently. But then things turned, I remember now, shivering deep. The youngster and herself were swept away by a rush of water, he never to be found. Master blamed the sweet lass, but it were a freak thing. I sigh again, a bit of dust shaking down from loft. So much loss. She looks up, green eyes still sharp, “ Well, Maggie ‘ole girl. It seems I’ve been forgiven, heavens be praised, “ she mumbles a bit grimly. “In yet another death, there’s yet a bit more life worth living,” that small smile I now well remember sneaking out. She rustles in her gray striped apron pocket, a creased letter pulled out. I shift and squint to get a good look. It’s a letter about a will, Master has passed, leaving me to her! I rustle a bit in contentment. The warmth, delicious smells, and care she gave flashes in again. The will goes on to say that he knew how much his son loved her and how much I meant to both of them. “Well, let’s see if we can love ye a wee back into health, old friend.” She grabs the old wooden bucket and heads out to the stream, I’m for sure certain. Love has come home again.
A.M. Pine
🖼️♥️I’ve been loving the newsletter of Austin Kleon and he recently quoted Amy Krouse Rosenthal and it really struck me! She said, “Pay attention to what you pay attention to” or something along those lines. It really got me inspired, so my online writing group and I, Kim, Christi, and Sam are working on pieces that are inspired by the things we’re “paying attention to”! I’m really excited about this project and hope to continue it here at my blog even after our group completes the initial challenge. What about you? What’s inspiring you? Have you ever specifically created your own creative piece off someone else’s work? 😄♥️🖼️
Nothing less than the Infinite will satisfy the spirit of a man…
Charlotte Mason, School Education, p.9
What truth do I preach better than I practice?
Oswald Chambers
•flamboyant feet•carhartt clavicles•winged words•living loved•grave gratefulness•pilgrimage path•long lingering•dirt death•soul soup•nourishing newness•single step•ugliness underneath•deep drought•creator’s creation•ravenous ravens•sojourner’s song•brewed breath•crushed comfort•yeasty yearning•hearth hopes•flowers first•purifying poetry•charcoal clinging•silhouetted self•death depth•wayfaring woman•soaked seed•milled manure•winnowed wine•loamy light•cruciform crush•affection advent• “speaking silence”*•indigo image•skeletal skies•seafarer’s seasons•pride pestle•ground grain•peeled pear•juiced joy•
Some of my inspiration:
RM’s song “Wildflower”*, the ritual and smell of grinding coffee, reading Joy Clarkson’s Aggressively Happy, watching a murder of crows in a stubbled corn field, reading Live No Lies by John Mark Comer, the new year approaching, and rereading The Broken Way by Ann Voskamp.
•wee flicker of little candle ‘Christmas at the Burrow’• the warmth and deepness of freshly ground and French-pressed black coffee in Christmas mug•the glimmer of light off the gingerbread men salt & pepper shaker•little, snowy glass cottage trinket•reading Beauty Chasers with Annie, chapter by chapter, discussion•Sophie racing around the house, her orange-y tail twitch, her sweet whiskers, her ‘cat-ti-tude’•the glow of the old-fashioned Christmas tree lights • Ella’s Christmas spirit and excitement• a juicy, sweet pineapple• Gideon’s love of baths•Schielch animal dioramas everywhere• a friend talking books with me• zoom reading nights with online kindred spirits •Peanuts postage stamps from dad•rubbing coconut oil into little chapped hand•dipping deliciously into aggressively happy by Joy Marie Clarkson•finding swirls, sparkles, and wind sighs in the coldest time of the year•
The work of humanity is to see one another safely home. ♥️
Penelope Wilcock
Something about a new fresh month always super excites me! This year has been a challenging year for me with my writing and creativity. I’ve had some setbacks in my health journey, bad habits creeping back in, and sleeplessness. Unfortunately, that lends to my creative pursuits being put on the back burner. I’m challenging myself here at the blog to post something three times a week for November at least, prayerfully till the end of the year. Just to get the habit rolling again!
How about you? Do you have writing or creativity goals currently? Anything you want to revive? Are you reading or practicing any habits that are helpful? I’d love to hear!
I’m currently continuing all the autumn/ Victober reads{a Victorian literature read along during October}, and enjoying my large TBR stacks. I’ve been enjoying Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on YouTube. I’ve also been drawn to Hercule Poirot episodes. What’s currently filling your well? 😄♥️🔍
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 