beautiful

Today Was A Beautiful Monday

~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.  Psalm 150:6

Today was a beautiful Monday.  Even though the temperature was a little warmer than this time of year calls for, it was a low humidity day, so very pleasant.  When Rocky came home from work we went to the park for a walk.  Two laps is a mile.  I did not make two laps today.  It has been a while since I walked and I was breaking in new walking shoes, so opted to take it slow and easy.  I did one lap and a small stretch in the parking lot.  Rested.  Then, did a few laps in the picnic shelter. When not walking, I enjoyed sitting at one of the tables  looking out over the countryside.

Towards the end of the walk there is a fairly steep (at least to me) hill to climb.  I usually turn on this hill and walk a few steps backwards.  This affords quite a beautiful view of the surrounding hillsides.  In the middle of one little hilltop there is a charming barn with a silo standing at attention as if on guard. It was quite idyllic with white clouds floating in blue sky, balmy breeze and birds chirping.  I, of course, did not have a camera to capture the view, so you’ll just have to paint a picture in your mind with my words.

That is one of the things I love about words that are written.  It gives me a chance to use my imagination.  I can picture the barn and silo the way I want them to look.  I can make the barn any color I choose, or even weathered gray with a tin roof all rusty around the edges (my favorite, I think).  The silo can be stone, or galvanized metal; new or timeworn. The sky can be whatever shade of blue I need it to be and the clouds can take on shapes that spark further fantastical imaginings.  And the bird song.  Sweet melodies composed just for me.

Yes, today was a beautiful Monday.

Imagining in grace,

Teresa

31:22 The Danger of Beautiful Words

~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

I don’t consider words dangerous in theory.  I love words.  I do however think that in practice words can be dangerous.  And not just in those situations where you dash off a quick reply to someone and say something you shouldn’t before you think.

I’m talking about a more subtle danger.  The danger of hiding behind beautiful words.  Sometimes as writers we have something to say but we are afraid of how it will be perceived so we manipulate the words until they sound acceptable and in the process we lose the message.

I love those lyrical, roll off the tongue phrases that seep into your bones and become part of you.  A well placed phrase can stir just the right emotion. There can be something quite poetic in our writing, even when writing about something as mundane as doing dishes or as serious as our relationship with God.

We just need to be careful that the beautiful writing is a vehicle for the message not a mask to hide the truth.

writing in grace,

sadie

You can find other 31 Day writers here.  Go check them out, you may find some new friends.

Day 3 – Living in Truth

~ Teresa ~ 2 Comments

I want my writing to come from truth, therefore, I have to be willing to dig deep to the root of my recent reluctance to write .  I can only weave the words into meaningful beauty if they have a foundation of truth to stand on.

The truth is that depression rears its ugly head and leads to inertia and feeling overwhelmed, which is really the root of the procrastination I talked about yesterday.

I have had a history of what I would call mild to moderate depression most of my life.     Sometimes, change, like our recent move, can trigger an episode.  The time of year (late summer into early fall) can also trigger deeper depression.  In my case the season followed on the heels of the move.

Once the movers left and the boxes were unpacked, I finally sat down to rest and realized that once again, I was in a bluesy funk.  So, I just slowed way down and sank into it.  I did need rest –  the move followed an 18 month period in my life that was fraught with illness and recuperation, which also probably contributed to the depression

I have accepted the fact that I cycle through depression, but I don’t have to accept it as a condemnation.  I can trust God in spite of it; I can choose to wallow in it or learn from it.  Sometimes, in our darkest hours our faith grows the strongest.

This journey I’ve invited you to take with me is all about doing something positive in spite of the funk.  It’s living even though my heart feels trampled; trusting, even when my soul feels crushed.  It’s giving voice to the dream; weaving beautiful words from truth.

Living in Grace,

Sadie

There are over 1000 joining in the 31 Days of Change  challenge over at Nesting Place  – they’d love for you to join them