Saturday Shout Outs

With my first writer's conference quickly approaching, here's a quick shout out to two of my favorite resources:

• Edie Melson's - The Write Conversation. In the top left-hand column of her site you'll find a list of helpful (and practical) posts regarding the upcoming conference.

• Your Writer's Group just posted this on Writer's Conference Do's and Don'ts.

- image courtesy of realztenisfanz

My Friday Fave

Once upon a time...the way every fairy tale begins, right?

My favorite fairy tale includes a handsome groom, a wind-blown veiled bride, children in the procession, and loved ones in attendance.

The Prince Charming in my favorite fairy tale is not son to a king of a temporal throne, but a son of the King, Who will rule and reign forever.

The children in the procession were not nieces and nephews, but sons. The bride did not wear white, but ivory. After all, this bride had unfortunately been divorced not once, but twice, by the age of 27.

The bride in my favorite fairy tale had given up on true love -- the kind that perseveres, always hopes, and never fails. A true kind-of-love not only for herself, but for her two sons as well. Anyone can fall in love with another person, but to fall in love with another, their two children, with no hope of children of his own? This would require a special man like no other, a true Prince Charming.

His name was not William, but Brian. Her name was Catherine, with two sons, Brandon and Zach.

And their love? They will live happily ever after, as promised by their Bridegroom, the Author and Perfecter of their true and oh so wonderful twenty-one year old love story.

Litter Where Life Once Stood

First blooms from my grandmother's (and great-grandmother's) roses
blush when bid "say cheese!"

Roses from Maine sip life from an aqua vessel.


On the day following historic tornadic activity in the South,
seeing litter where life once stood,
I find solace in quiet, still, and simplistic beauty.


"He has made everything beautiful in its time."
Ecclesiastes 3:11

A First Timer Preparing for Blue Ridge

"Dwell in possibility."
Emily Dickenson

Emily's quote, featured on my favorite mini-notebook pad, reminds me that the abundant life Christ spoke of in John 10:10 is one of exploration, challenges, and a whirlwind of possibilities -- which is exactly what I expect as I head to the Blue Ridge Writer's Conference in a couple of weeks as a first-time conferee.

While the trip is out of my comfort zone on oh-so-many levels, preparation is the key, right?

Mentally:

• Most conferees prepare an elevator pitch. I'm personally hoping for a stairwell pitch (or better yet, a coffee cup pitch!) I don't befriend elevators.
  
• I'm attempting to curb my excitement over the face-to-face meetings with all my cyber-writer friends from the Blue Ridge yahoo group and the Light Brigade. Lori, Dee Dee, Julie, Cynthia, and the list goes on. Is that heaven I taste?
  
• Resting the unknown in the Known.
  

Physically:

• I've been forewarned! Exercising has increased in preparation for lots of walking at Ridgecrest.
  
• Supplies have been purchased and will soon resemble what's fondly known as "Edie's notebook". She's amazing!
  
• Business cards are printed and poised for the exchanges to come.
  
• Have Purple pens (my fave) and plenty of paper. Ready to travel.
  

Spiritually:

Praying to...

• Remain focused on WHY I am attending BRMCWC: to learn. Not to impress or to compete, but to hone my skills. (Before my feet hit the floor this morning the words "Just because it's a calling doesn't mean it's easy" crossed my mind and collided with my heart.)
  
• Remain focused and joyful as I consider WHO has made - and will make - all the possibilities possible.
  
• Seek out opportunities to serve and bless others at the conference, as Vonda suggested in our last meeting.
  

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."

-Matthew 6:33, The Message

A Son's Love

A favorite post of mine (March 2008) in honor of Good Friday:

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son,' and to the disciple,'Here is your mother.' John 19:25-27

Today, as I read through these verses, I was struck by the love Jesus showed for his mother by referring to her as "woman" instead of "mother". This wasn't the first time. Remember John 2:4? Mary informs Jesus the wedding party was out of wine. "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." At first glance, the term seems a bit harsh, but if you were to dig a little deeper, you would find this to be a polite term used in their culture. Polite, yes, but it's obvious that Jesus is distancing himself from his mother. He is gently breaking the news to her that He is no longer her responsibility.

Let's linger in John 19:26 a little longer. Moms will find this pause especially uncomfortable. We have an innate knowledge of the power our children's words hold over us, whether they are 3 or 33. Jesus knew it too.

The word "woman" must have brought immediate comfort to Mary's heart or else Jesus would have remained silent. As a loving Son, Jesus wanted His mother to remember who He truly belonged to. As her Savior, Jesus wanted her to remember His only purpose in life. His time had now come.

The lesson for us as parents? Remember that our kids are not our own. It was God who wove them together in the depths of the earth. It was His eyes that saw his/her unformed body. It was His omnipotent power that ordained their days before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139: 15, 16) Jesus' words to Mary over 2,000 years ago holds incredible freedom for parents today who are willing to grasp these truths and live accordingly.

As a mother, I'll admit there are times when I become fearful over my sons' futures. I want them to be safe and secure (and okay, close to home.) But as their co-heir in Christ, I desire only God's plans and purposes for their lives. Whether or not I can see or understand those plans makes no difference. That's not my calling as a parent.

While gasping for every word, Jesus reminded Mary, and us today, that while parents play a vital role in the lives of their children, it is God alone who gives them a purpose for it. We must decrease that He might increase.

Thank You, Jesus.

My Wednesday Wandering

A girl can only inhale so much paint before having to take a breather...literally!

After the final slap of paint hit the wall (and okay, a few drips on the floor), I headed outside with camera in hand.

An old-timey bottlebrush bush that produces
brilliant red plumes, similar to...you guessed it!
Bottle brushes.

This rusty old metal chair rarely beckons me to sit down,
but it always solicits a smile from its favorite owner.

Chartreuse...oh, the beauty!

French lavender + a puff of wind = a delightful diversion

The charm of a white picket fence never grows old...

especially when bookended with roses.

A gargantuan rose bush infused with the scent of baby powder,
ordered from a company in Maine three years ago,
and not given much hope to survive.
Do tell.

Peonies peeking through...on the brink of blooming.
I wait in anticipation.

The first bloom of the year
from my grandmother's rose.
Spring has officially arrived.

I'm not sure what appreciated my Wednesday wandering the most -- my mind or my lungs -- but there's something to be said for stopping to smell the roses.

Where can you wander today for a little refreshment?

Reflections from My Word Pool

Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, author of Poemcrazy, encourages her readers to create a word pool -- simply put, a place where we collect words -- any words that tickle the ears!

Being the office supply nerd that I am, I had just the right journal for the task. Any small hardcover journal with a Charlotte Bronte poem inscribed on the front cover is screaming to be used as a word pool.

My first entry? Sky spit

Entries following a trip to Lowes for paint color chips?
Baked Brie
Pensive Sky
Steam White
Billowy Down
Quietude
Reflecting Pool
Cosmic Dust
(Doesn't this list make you want to grab a paint brush? Please don't answer this, Brian.)


I consider myself a collector of several things -- but none more beautiful than words.

My Friday Fave

In honor of National Poetry Month, kudos continue for some of my favorite poetry books -- and Poemcrazy, by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, is certainly no exception.

The San Francisco Chronicle summed it up best: "Wooldridge wants each of us to connect with our inner poet. Savvy...optimistic, warm, unpretentious."

My favorite line in the book so far?

"Poems hang out where life is."

It's Official...

I spent much of my childhood with both grandmothers, who lived only several miles apart. Both were family centered, prayer warriors, and passionate about their Lord -- but each possessed unique qualities all their own.

One...

• quiet and more to herself, except with family, whom she served faithfully
  
• enjoyed staying home
• laid back, finding pleasure in simple things

The other...

• outgoing, abundant energy
• community-driven, a servant's heart
• outspoken, but with a smile and a "bless her heart" to polish off any sentence that may have been said in haste. (Like any good Southerner would! ha!)
  

Two different personalities blended to create an amazing example of the kind of grandmother I've always wanted to emulate...and now, I'll have that opportunity!

Yes, it's official -- Brian and I are going to be grandparents! Sarah is due in November and we can't imagine a greater blessing just in time for Thanksgiving.

I look forward to seeing how the Lord will create a beautiful and unique blend of grandmothering for Tammy, my dear friend (and Sarah's mother), and myself, as we will now partner to be the best grandmother's possible for this little one. It's a journey we're both looking forward to traveling together.

Ma-Ma and Grandmother would be proud.

The Battle for a Five-and-a-Half-Inch Space

Chances are if you've watched The Masters for any length of time this week you've seen the commercial with the guys carrying a portrait of Bobby Jones while sharing his famous quote, "Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course...the space between your ears."

And so it goes for us as Christ-followers -- except we're not in competition -- we're in an outright battle for the space between our ears. It is this five-and-a-half-inch space that determines our actions, choices... victory or defeat.

It's no wonder the enemy wastes no time in targeting our minds. If he can take this strategic space captive through fear, discouragement, doubts, etc., our actions are sure to follow. "If" being the key word as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians that we are to choose to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. The choice is ours.

For the Christ follower, victory in the five-and-a-half-inch-space is won in a fifteen-inch-strategic-space-inspired-by-The-Master...an open Bible.

-image courtesy of minoritynurse.com

My Friday Fave

Reasons why the GPS on my shopping cart is set to office supplies upon entering Target:

• colorful notebooks, notepads, and journals
  
• inspirational script on covers
  
• keeper of thoughts and dreams (and okay, doodling)
  
• creative flaps and snaps (chartreuse pad is a mini steno book)
  

As Dorcas Lane on Lark Rise to Candleford would say, "It's my one weakness."

Places Created for Cartwheels

He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19

It's not claustrophobia that causes my spirit to do cartwheels when reading this verse, but the simple wonder of it all.

David knew much about cramped places. While on the run from Saul he spent many a day crouched in the cleft of a rock or sleeping in deep dark caves. But he also knew much about deliverance and the freedom that inevitably followed, as stated in verse 19.

Most of us won't find ourselves hiding in a dark cave (especially those of us who define camping as staying in the nearby Comfort Inn) -- but what about these cramped places?

• an unteachable spirit
• a difficult relationship or a dead-end job
• fears
• discontentment
• feelings of hopelessness
• bitterness
  

Choosing to emerge from our cramped places of refuge frees the Holy Spirit to usher us into spacious places of immense peace, boundless joy, limitless opportunities, and unfathomable forgiveness.

Spacious places to run, not hide -- places created for cartwheels, not confinement.


What spacious place could your Father be calling you to enter today?

-image courtesy of evite.com

Once Upon a Time...

It began with a Barnes & Noble gift card. My love for poetry, that is.

As often happens with love, I didn't go in search of poetry. It found me. My intention that January afternoon was to use my gift card for purchasing books to help hone my grammar/writing skills. The result, however, was my returning to our Starbucks table with an armload of books such as:

• Writing the Life Poetic, by Sage Cohen (my favorite!)
• Writing Poetry from the Inside Out, by Sandford Lyne
• The Poet's Companion, by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux
• Poem Crazy, by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge

Was it the color of their bindings that first caught my eye? The captivating covers? The snappy titles? A divine curiosity?

I'm still unsure as to why this love for poetry emerged as it did, but I can confidently say it was a match made in heaven.

Sunday's Splendor

Discoveries such as these
bring me to my knees
in awe of God's intricate nature.

Here's to the Happy Dance!

I thought my dancing days were over when disco hustled out of sight, but I was wrong! I discovered a new genre of dancing this afternoon upon receiving my first official writing contract. It's called the "Happy Dance!"


The money wasn't much, but the sense of accomplishment? It was rich.

Thank You, Lord.

- image courtesy of weddingbycolor.com

My Friday Fave

Initially, this magazine intimidated me. Now it intrigues me.

Informative articles, writing prompts, contest opportunities, and inspiration permeate the pages of Poets & Writers.

And that's no April Fool's joke!


This week's writing prompt:
Spend a few moments examining an old photograph--a found image, a photo from childhood, an iconic shot from history--and give it a title. Then put the photo aside and write a poem using this title.