Sure there are many things that make me smile, but here are just five things in particular that brighten my winter:
A Snowy Neighborhood–Last week we got our first snow this winter here in Alabama. I love how snow changes the atmosphere, making it so peaceful and bright.
Good Friends—I love, love, love my friends, and I’m bountifully thankful that Yahweh has brought each and every one of them into my life. What a blessing! ❤
Hot Chocolate–This goes along with the snowy weather. After we played in the snow last week, I made hot chocolate for the fam. Since we rarely have hot chocolate, it’s a treat around our house. I savored the warmth. Winter never tasted so good.
Home by Josh Garrels–I am incredibly excited about this new album due to be released in early April by my all-time favorite artist. His music changes my life.
Today’s Burnt Pumpkin Pie–Because it reminds me that even when I have a super-productive day in the kitchen, I can still make mistakes, and that the best way to deal with it is to chop off the blackened crust and smile. Who needs the crust anyway?
How about you…What are some things that have brightened your winter? What makes you smile?
Ever since last Wednesday, when I discovered Brandon Heath’s song “When You Look at Me,” I’ve listened to it every day (and sometimes several times a day).
The song feels like summer. And despite the fact that it was snowing outside my window, the imagery of redemption in the chorus resonated with my soul.:
It’s like I’m barefoot running through a golden field
Like a child that’s how you make me feel
Oh Lord when You look at me
It’s like I’m twelve feet tall without a care
Your forgiveness feels like floating on air
Oh Lord when You look at me
I love happy music that glorifies my Savior. It fills me with joy and reminds me of what Yahweh has done in my life.
It’s like the weight of the world falls off of me
And I can just be who You’ve made me to be
Oh Lord when You look at me
I dream of spring, when the world turns green again.
I dream of playing my guitar outside in the sunshine and listening to the birds twittering in the treetops.
I dream of something else that spring will bring too.
High school graduation.
In many ways my senior year has been my best year of school. Perhaps knowing that I’m about to graduate causes me to enjoy it more. I’ve learned so much, studied hard, and can now see the finish line in sight. Life is about to change.
But will it really change that much?
I won’t stop learning and growing and studying–that’s a way of life for me. But soon I’ll be able to study what I love–writing and the great art of fiction.
But for now, it’s still winter, and I’m snuggling up with blankets to keep warm and reading my many school books, like a good little student.
I see spring smiling in the distance, and I can’t wait to greet her.
Houston Cole Library (courtesy of www.stripes.com)
I’m sitting on the seventh floor of the university library in town. All is quiet as students are studying for final exams. The sun is setting against the mountains, causing the windows on the west side of the library to burn bright orange.
A young lady stands in the landing in front of the elevators. She looks similar to how I imagine the protagonist in my novel to look. She has pretty features with long black hair and light tan skin. As she stands there gripping her stack of books, the sun shines through the windows at just the right angle to eclipse her in golden sunshine. It outlines her black hair and causes me to stare longer than I probably should. After a few seconds, she enters the elevator and leaves without a clue that she had ever been eclipsed by sunshine.
How many times in life do we go about our daily routines without realizing that we’re eclipsed by majesty? How many times do we ignore the simple wonders around us–the bright orange sun setting against the hills, the steam rises from the neighbors’ roofs in the morning, the stars turning black skies into dreamy seas of glitter.
Life is beautiful y’all. And sometimes we forget that.
Conquering NaNoWriMo–Because writing 50,000 words in one month is tough and rewarding. Now it’s time to delve into structuring and outlining my novel, and I’m actually excited about that, which is quite surprising.
Krav Maga–Because it’s the best martial art in the world (although I am a bit biased). I’m thankful that I’ve been learning Krav Maga for two years now and still haven’t had any major injuries. (But there’s definitely been plenty of scrapes and bruises along the way.)
Blots & Plots Blog–Because Jenny inspires me and reminds me that writing can be a ton of fun.
Senior Year of High School–Because it’s exciting to know that graduation is near. It’s like breaking into a sprint when I see the finish line in sight, trying to pack in the extra credits and finishing with a personal best (or something like that).
You know that feeling when you truly understand someone and they truly understand you? You don’t feel lonely or weird, but accepted–understood. It’s as if they can see your whole heart–all the ugly and the good–and they still love you.
That’s what I felt the other day while reading a powerful bit of writing from a dear friend of mine. It filled me with such joy. She understands. I understand. We are kindred spirits.
And then I realized something. I realized that as encouraging as it is to find a kindred spirit–as joyful as it is to relate to someone–what’s even more astounding is that God understands me.
He sees me–every hidden sin, every lingering doubt, every ugly scar, and every beautiful part of my existence. He sees me. He knows me. And still He loves me.
He understands me far better than any other human being, and far better than I’d ever want to. He understands me enough to send His Son to suffer far more than I ever have. He became human. He cried. He served. He was beaten and flogged and died the death of the accursed. And then he rose again so that I could have life too, so that the whole world could have abundant life.
This is what it means to be understood.
This is the greatest love. The love that can only come from a God who sees us, and knows us, and still loves us through and through.
Earlier this month I spent a week and a half at Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee, camping with friends and family. Each night as the cold blanketed our campsites, we gathered around the campfire.
I’ve always liked campfires, but this past camping trip gave me a new appreciation for them.
The campfire was for comfort. It not only warmed us, it warmed the atmosphere too, creating a peaceful setting.
The campfire was for memories. Between cracking jokes, telling stories, and singing praise, the campfire was a place of fellowship–a place for new life to glow like the flames.
The campfire was for relaxing. Staring into that fire helped me slow down and think. Think about life. Think about faith. Think about what had brought me to that moment.
But as amazing as the campfire was, it wasn’t truly the campfire that brought us together. Faith is what brought us together. As we celebrated the Festival of Booths that week, sitting around the campfire under the starlit sky, we were family–brothers and sisters in Messiah. Our voices rose in praise as the sparks flitted from the fire and our prayers billowed like the smoke.
Fall Weather–For the past few days the weather has been gorgeous. The windows are open. Birds tweet. The wind blows, and the leaves are starting to change colors. Fall just might be my favorite season.
“Run” by Josh Garrels—This song goes along perfectly with fall weather and life in general. I’m so excited about his new album due to be released this fall.
Pistachios–I used to not like them, but for some reason I love salted pistachios now.
Kisses From Katie–I’m only to the sixth chapter of this book, but I fully envision a blog post after I’ve finished it. Simply incredible!
Teaching Piano–For the past few months I’ve had the pleasure of teaching my three youngest siblings piano. Hearing their songs lilting through the house and seeing their excitement to learn makes me excited too.
I’ve started another rough draft of my novel (the third one, to be exact). For the past two months I haven’t had the discipline and initiative to work on it consistently. I’ve only written about 10,000 words on this new draft, but I could have written so much more by now. There’s always something else to get done. I’m a high school senior, and as much as I want to write this book, school is still more important (at least that’s what I keep telling myself).
But blaming my busy schedule is a sorry excuse. In the seventeen years that I’ve spent on this earth, I’ve learned that if I want to have time for something, I usually find time for it. Most of my excuses are just excuses for laziness. And as a writer, laziness is my archenemy. It produces nothing. It benefits no one. It kills art.
So I pray a quick prayer before I sit down reluctantly to type out another chapter in the book. I pray for inspiration and help, because most of the time it just isn’t there. Even though I wholeheartedly want to write this book, most of the time I don’t feel like putting in the effort that it requires.
Which leads me to a big question:
Why am I writing this novel?
If I’m writing this novel because I feel like it, then I better stop right now. This book isn’t about me feeling fulfilled or accomplished. It’s not about seeing my name on the front cover (even though that will be amazing). It’s not about me; and sometimes that’s a hard thing for us writers to grasp. I’m writing for a higher cause–something beyond myself. There’s a voice in my head that tells me to keep writing. It tells me that this story has purpose, that it’s important somehow, and that it would be wrong for me to abandon the narrative.
That voice is hope.
Hope is my motivation, even when completing the novel seems almost impossible. Hope assures me that all these countless hours and crazy ideas and thousands of words will someday blossom into a novel, and that novel will in turn blossom the hearts of readers.
It’s this hope that propels us all into the future. We don’t all write novels, but we all face challenges. We all have to fight against laziness. We all have to push through the resistance in our heads telling us to quit.
We all need hope.
That hope comes from above, from our loving Father who gives us the courage to do great things. All we have to do is accept it, allow it to fill our hearts and minds, and let it guide us through the struggles. It’s not always easy. But it is simple.
