Little spores puffed off of these red bits when I ran my fingers over them! 😃♥️Worlds with the world Our friends said this is Hepatica Woodpecker evidence!
How was your week? We are just itching for it to warm up a bit more, but overall a good week! We had homeschool co op, my tulips/daffodils are peeking up their heads and looking 👀 around suspiciously, a local play that two children are involved with, and one of my children is being baptized! ♥️😍
Happy First Monday in January, friends! 🌲❄️ A bit of a ‘what’s-on-my-heart-currently-collage”…
…There is a Tenant here.
Come home, roamer of earth, to this room and find
a timeless Heart under your own heart beating,
a Bird of beauty singing under your mind.
~excerpt from ‘The Kingdom of God’ by Jessica Powers~
I’ve been thinking a lot about the character Kel in the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce. I really like how fiercely tenacious, loyal, and single-minded she is! It made me think of this clip of my favorite K-pop star. It is insane how hard he throws himself into this dance. How am I living out my life and my faith? Am I fierce, tenacious, loyal, insanely hard-working towards all the Lord Jesus is whispering to me? I realize that these art forms are fictional and unrealistic, but they inspire me deeply! And that makes them real to me. How ‘bout you? What’s jumping out to you?
A beautiful, rich song from Josh Garrel’s album Home for you as you start a new week and for those of you back-to-{home}-school moms out there! This is why we sow and invest!
Words I loved in 1 Chronicles ~ sing, proclaim, declare, thank, testify, boast, remember, ascribe, save, gather, rescue, humble, strong, courageous, willingly, undivided, keep, carry out ~
I’m slowly starting to work on poems for my annual joining of the Peace Poem Project. (There’s still time to sign up! worldpeacepoets@gmail.com ~ you mail out a poem on a postcard throughout February) I’ve started So Big Edna Ferber with 3 buddy reading friends! It’s beautiful so far! I’m also 3/4ths my way through The Goblin Emperor. It’s a very interesting fantasy so far, so slow and full of cozy details. I’m going to be limiting social media, in the hopes for beautiful boredom and a quiet mind to settle down over me, mantle-like.
When you pay attention to boredom it gets unbelievably interesting. – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Feeding my body as well as my heart & soul…☀️
I’ll leave you with this quote of gorgeousness and a poem…
I have been finding new comfort in the two words, which are used by each of the four evangelists in telling the end of the story of the feeding of the Five Thousand. They speak of “broken pieces”, and the same words are used by two in telling of the later miracle. There was nothing over but broken pieces, and yet of those fragments our Lord said, Gather them up that nothing be lost. Even so, our dear Lord cares for the broken pieces of our lives, the fragments of all we meant to do, the little that we have to gather up and offer, and He will use even these fragments. He will not let even the least of our little broken things be lost.
Amy Carmichael, p. 177, Edges of His Ways, emphasis mine
It’s a cold, ill, rainy wind that blows no good today. Soooo, of course, that makes me think of books. Ha. Who am I kidding. EVERYTHING makes me think of books. 🙃🤓😌😏😂♥️
I wanted to give you a heads up on a GORGEOUS nonfiction writer I’ve found this past year. Her writing is poetry to me. I’ve almost finished up Slowing Time by her as it’s set up seasonally so I am waiting for the winter section. She is of a different faith tradition than myself, but ties her practice to nature and the seasons so beautifully that I find I can pull out things that speak to me as a Christian.
I think she has only four books, so I hope to collect the last of hers which I’m waiting to find called The Book of Nature.
Have you discovered a new-to-you writer/artist/singer this year?
Love 💕 occasionally reading quickly through the Gospels in KJV…
I jumped on the shovel edge in my daughter’s pastel rainbow crocs. I found myself falling backwards, feet up and over, crocs, scattering. I burst out laughing, after mentally checking my ache-y, forty-something self for injury. I sure hope nobody I know saw me in the front yard of my parent’s home. 🤪😏👀 I planted the bulbs with my five year old as he stared at me with wonder. “Ok, ok, kid,” I thought, “it’s pretty unusual to see your mother shoveling and sweating, not to mention falling over.” Ha. 😂
We just finished this as a read aloud. We all adored it! 🕯️🪔🕯️
I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ parable of the sower {Matthew 13:1-9} in relation to being a mother. Could it be that the enrichment of their soul earth is our primary, creative work? Our magnum opus? It’s sweaty, unseen, thankless soul-shoveling work. We add manure, pull out weeds, we prepare the soil with truth, beauty, and rich, good things. Why? By faith, slowly, we trust that eventually it will be ready to receive the seed of God’s Word.
My daughter made bread and I used up leftover rice for chicken, veggie, rice soup… 🥣 ♥️
Weaving in and out of this preparation, we grow in our gardening skills ourselves. We limp around on our bruised backsides 😏, callused palms smarting, and keep strewing bits of life and light. We stretch and use all the God has given us. RM’s song “Wildflower” stuck with me deeply after it was first released. He is speaking on his creativity journey, but the idea of growing a lasting, perennial ‘flowerwork’ instead of an instantaneously burnt out flaming firework. The bright and flashy is gone in a second. Long, lasting work takes a kind of death and humilty. Once the seed is tucked into the earth, it’s a work of long trust and patience. Motherhood and our creative work both need this mustard-seed faith and fallow season.
“Flower field, that’s where I’m at
Open land that’s where I’m at
No name, that’s what I have
No shame, I’m on my grave.”
~RM, English translation, Genius.com
The character Isobel in the YA fantasy, An Enchantment of Ravens, found out through her painting, the stark emptiness and abject horror of immortality. It’s not glamorous to work, live, grow old, and die while serving, creating, and loving, but it’s human. The created of a Creator creates. That makes it enough. It’s prayer and worship. Thankfulness by fullness of being. So much around us is so empty and vacuous. Without true meaning. A life of meaning means toil, back breaking, long-haul work with faith.
“I ask where you could be right now
Where you go, where’s your soul
Yo, where’s your dream?”
~ RM
Four years of reading journals! Blue sparrow one is my new one… ♥️♥️♥️I left Goodreads and have loved this tactile way of creatively engaging with my reading.
So, where do our dreams go? They are still right here. Transformed into something human AND Spirit-powered. They may change form, a weaving in and out all that we are doing. Seasons of our servanthood with the gifts we’ve been given promise new morning mercies. Just as I can surely count on the perennial return of my mom’s tulips and daffodils, I can trust this slow, quiet blooming process is working in my children and in me, too. Thanks be to God.
Sweet, dirty little feet…💕💕💕
How about you? How do you view relationships and creativity? How are you cultivating a culture of creative work while maintaining closeness and connections to your faith, family, and friends? I’d love to hear any thoughts! I’m still trying to flesh out what this all means…
Is there anything more cozy then journaling and journals? 😄♥️ It’s no secret that I’m a journal fanatic! We are trying something different this year in our home learning of combining our multiple journals into one. I’ve had the opportunity to journal alongside my children and it has been such an enriching experience. I don’t often share my children’s work, as that’s their own, but don’t mind sharing what I’ve been recording myself. 😆 So much richness! 😍I’m learning every day right along with my children. I have music lyrics, quotes, drawings, etc in here already! I treasure it. Do you journal?
What you learning or diving deep into? Isn’t life grand? 😄♥️🙌🌿🍄🌻
Listening…Great Pumpkin and Harry Potter Ambient Music. I’m also enjoying Nicholas Nickleby audiobook while I follow along in the book.
Reading…I’ve begun a lot of my Victorian TBR, Dickens, Gaskell, and Yonge. but I’ve been enjoying light, cozy stories inbetween. Kiki’s Delivery Service, Thimble Summer, and The Language of Spells.
Watching…I’m back to watching YouTube/or going on Instagram only on Saturdays. It really helps my focus and sanity during the week. A new favorite YouTuber that I can’t wait to watch more of is CleoPatrick.
Noticing…the main thing I’ve noticed lately is that our Barn Swallows are gone. 🥲♥️ We’ve been seeing a few butterflies still and our temperatures are fluctuating a lot. My son saw a “V” of geese on Sunday. We’ve been trying to get outdoors more because we know the cold, snowy is coming.
How about you? What have you been reading, listening to, watching, or noticing? 🍁♥️
..is my surrender to the crushing narrowness of earthly existence the beginning of my liberation from it, precisely because this surrender is my “Amen” to your human life, my way of saying yes to your human coming, which happens in a manner so contrary to my expectations?
Karl Rahner, Watch for the Light, p. 74
Spiritual
I’ve begun a reread of The Life of Prayer by Edith Schaeffer and have really been enjoying a refreshing and convicting look at prayer. I’m loving how she lays out that prayer is first worship, then for repentance, and FINALLY for requests. A reminder that I sorely needed, (looking at you, whiny prayer journal)! 😂📓😌 I decided to choose a reread for my Advent devotions from my shelf, Watch for the Light: Readings forAdvent and Christmas, and it has been so thought-provoking. I’ve streamlined my prayer journal a bit, also, to help refresh my reflection time. I’m also slowly buddy reading The Christian Year by John Keble with two friends this year.
Physical
Honestly, I’ve made some huge health goals, but have really been struggling. I tend to hide and binge 🥲 eat through my exhaustion or big emotions. 😩🖤 Food addiction is a real thing, friends. This trying to process in unhealthy ways. I’m laying out here what I mentioned to my support group, too, I’d love to fit back into these lovely Carhartt overalls that I had got for myself in 2021. But more than size, I want to learn to be vulnerable with people when I need help, deepen my prayer practice, and use my love of creativity and journaling to process my thoughts and feelings. I acknowledge here, too, that sometimes I actually need to get OUT of my head/books/social media 😖 and feelings and change my thoughts upward to Jesus and outward to others. 🖤
Mental
I’m finding that taking short walks with music or an audiobook has been clearing the mental cobwebs. I’ve also really enjoyed instrumental music/soundtracks. I’m seeing that I’m handling the early sunset and waning light of this year much better than last year, by pressing into the unique beauty of THIS season. I’ve REALLY been blessed by poetry this year and hope to do a post about that soon.
Emotional
I’ve been noticing lately that overwhelming feelings threaten to drown me if I don’t purposefully choose to take life in small moments. Our whole, ‘wild and precious life’ is made up of these minute moments. I’ve forgotten the way of small bits of joy and gratitude a bit, 🥲 and it is always so wonderful to hear that still, Small Voice gently guiding us back into The Way. I found that free with my Audible account, the audiobook of Hinds Feet on High Places, is available and while I know that the allegory is very ‘on the nose’ in this book, it is one of my favorite books of all time. I identify with Much-Afraid SO much, but I mostly love this book for the picture of Jesus, my Lovely Shepherd.
Beautiful Jackie Morris postcard from a friend.
Servanthood
My son and I were talking the other day and we realized that this really isn’t an easy area. Some individuals may be a bit more servant-like naturally, but I know that I need to practice it and make it a habit. I’ve been working hard to reach out consciously to one person a day. This could be a text or popping a card in the post, focused listening to those right in front of me, or bigger things as the Holy Spirit leads. Of course, I also end up being SO blessed 🥲 in return by this.
But as for me, I will watch ♥️expectantly for the LORD. I will wait ♥️ for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. ♥️ Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; ♥️ Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me. ♥️
from Micah 7, I recommend listening to this song after savoring these verses.
Thank you for being here. You are a blessing and are loved. How ‘bout you? How are YOU truly doing? Glad to be doing this life with you. 🥰🌾🍄✨🌙❄️🥗☕️🌲🍂🍁🖤📝📚📖📓💌📬🗝️🧺
What is inspiring you or bringing you joy currently? Please join me in comments, in your journal, or on your blog!
🌷I’m grateful today for…🌷
||for newly minted 14 yo daughter 🥰||her delight in completing her Redwall Series collection ||reliving memories and enjoying photos of almost 2 months of participating in a local production of The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, what a wonderful experience and lots of new friends ||people who devote themselves to care for others in dangerous or difficult places|| those who are adoptive or foster families || new to me music, Sarah Sparks || for Jane Brocket, Sarah Clarkson, Tresta Payne, andTerri Conlin’s email newsletters, full of beauty, encouragement, and delight || for my church ladies Bible study on Philippians||
||sunlight on forsythia and Charlotte Mason, glimpses of spring hope || springy play lists || for little boys who ask for Christmas trees 🎄 during spring snow storms || friends who send me videos and photos of our local Aurora Borealis sightings || prayer 🙏 || daffodildowndillys and the promise of tulips 💐 || clothesline flapping noise|| cat snuggles, whiskers and darling purring with contented closed eyes || lovely return visits to favorite reads, in this case The Alpine Path by LM Montgomery || warm, brown sweatshirt and oversized cozy black sweater || warm, cozy glow of lamps||
|| birds daintily eating dog food on deck|| wrestling with a short piece on Gerald Manley Hopkins for friend’s magazine ♥️🌿✒️📝||time away with hubby learning about serving our world with love, with a bit of space for quiet contemplation|| delicious, quiet breakfast with our pastor and his wife|| enjoying the nooks and crannies of our hotel|| long car conversations with my husband ||birthday surprises arriving and special food ingredients waiting on countertop ||little boy excitedly helping me wrap gifts for sister|| trying how to figure out how to send a surprise to Canadian penpals 💜😏🤓💌📬📦 💸🤑😂|| lovely books stacked everywhere here to dip in and out of||
||our friendly local public library || a felted bit of sunrise, gift from a daughter, shining into my soul||magazines +coffee + Trader Joe’s + my sisters = ♥️♥️♥️||contemplating books that impacted as a woman/mother/caretaker in an ongoing series|| sunshine 🌞 in Wisconsin, never take it for granted ||plan to take daughter & friend to craft store and fancy ice cream 🍦 soon, she’s so excited ||
I believe this is “La Discessa dello Spirito Santo” mentioned on pg 155, School Education by Charlotte Mason ~ so gorgeous! {Google image} If it’s not the right one, oh well, I still love it! 😂♥️
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 