a million little ways

Have you heard someone say, "She's a real piece of work." Their eyes narrowed, one hand on a hip, the other hand out, finger pointed, their mouth tight, twisted to one side, their nose, elevated.

Have they said it to you?

Are you searching for value, for dignity? For someone to notice, appreciate you and what you do?

http://bit.ly/15zptkk  (click to see the 1:34 video trailer for her book)

In the brand new book by Emily Freeman, a million little ways, she speaks in her quiet, gentle, graceful (grace full) voice. Not a to-do list of a million things to do. I'm sure you don't need help making that long list. Not lists of ideas of what is art and how to craft it.

 Instead, Emily offers a glimpse into the heart of art. The Creator. A life. A masterpiece. A beautiful creation by a loving Lord. Yes, that would be you.

"...I hope to prove myself a worthy companion, an intuitive observer of the art of God. Still, there is one thing I know for sure: I know you are an image bearer with a job to do. And the simplest description I can come up with for what that means is this: You are art and you make art.
And the only place to begin uncovering what your art looks like is to start right where you are."

She says, "Now, look at Ephesians 2:10. 'For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.'...The English words used in this text - masterpiece, sometimes translated workmanship - these are translations of the original word...poiema. Our English word poem comes from the same Greek word. Workmanship, masterpiece, poem - all these words in Scripture are used to describe God's work - you and me.
"God calls you his workmanship, his poeima. What happens when God writes poetry?
"We do. We happen.
"We are walking poetry, the kind that moves, the kind who has hands and feet, the kind with mind and will and emotion. We are what happens when God expresses himself."

I desperately want to do justice to Emily, to convey to you the heart of her message and encourage you to pursue and learn what she has to offer. The words have layers, like an onion. Peel them back, work deeper, uncover the hidden meanings. And, maybe cry while you are cutting to the heart. One line I particularly appreciate, because it is filled with freedom. "You are a poem, not a robot." Yes, poems have patterns and rules and structure. But also the freedom to create and breathe, heart and soul, within those words.

I could go on quoting, but it would be better if you read the book yourself.

What does this mean for me? How does this change my day, my attitudes, my actions? My art is here. This home, this family, these relationships, as I go through my days, freedom and excitement happen as I create art. Not one perfectly brushed canvas or one perfectly worded manuscript or one perfectly weeded garden, but an expression of who I am, in a million little ways.

Are you a piece of work? Yes, in a wonderful, amazing way.

Thank you, Emily.

The book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Dayspring.
Emily's blog: www.chattingatthesky.com

I forgot to mention, Bloom Book Club with (in)courage is hosting a series of interviews with Emily, two days a week, now through Nov 21. You can listen in anytime to hear Emily chat about her book and share her inspiration.

Your Top Ten?

"The more that you read,

the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go."

-Dr. Seuss

My Ideal Bookshelf, edited by Thessaly La Force with art by Jane Mount holds over a hundred interviews with creative people from a variety of disciplines around the world. Each of the contributors interviewed  listed the books they would have on one small bookshelf.

The suggested categories:

• My Favorite Book
• the Book that Changed My Life
• the Book I Read Again and Again
• the Book I Love the Most
• the Book that Made Me Who I Am
• the Best Book I Ever Read
• the Book that Makes Me Cry Every Time

A sample page, sort of randomly chosen

The artist designed and drew the spines of each book, creating a variety of displays, books stacked different directions, sometimes with decorative props or bookends, each shelf a colorful, interesting display in itself. 

Some of the lists are predictable: the chefs are cookbook fans, the designers hold biographies of famous designers, the professors stack up the classics in their genre. Favorite children's books are lined up with difficult philosophical works. Fiction and non-fiction, practical and fantastical, science fiction, textbooks, political and spiritual - the variety was amazing. Many of the books were not familiar to me.

I did not make a list of to-reads. Mostly, I was fascinated with their lists, looking for a glimpse into the character, the loves, the interests, the education of each person. Each facing page includes an interview. I didn't have the chance to read them all. Some couldn't define why a certain book was on their list, why they loved that book so much. Some just liked the design of the cover. Others had life-changing, life-determining events inspired by the books. 

The last page is for the reader to fill in. With pencil, because your list today may be different from next month or next year.

Okay. This is the hard part. A challenge.

Make your own list. Your ten books to put on your one small shelf.

"Your favorite favorites. A snapshot of you in a moment of time."

Here is my attempt. If you know me at all, limiting the list to just ten is tough.

• the Bible
• My Daily Meditation, John Henry Jowett
• Lord, Teach Me to Pray, Kay Arthur
• L'Abri, Edith Schaeffer
• Winter Solstice, Rosamunde Pilcher
• The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
• Walking on Water, Madeleine L'Engle
• One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp
• Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew
• Passionate Gardening, Lauren Springer and Rob Proctor

Okay. I did it, edited it to ten. Phew. Would be easier if I could do it by categories. Ten of each category. And this list is not written in concrete, but in pencil. These books stand the test of time, have been read many times, have made a difference in my life. Yes, there are more, but for today, this is my top ten.

What does your list look like?

A Walking Stick

"Take this stroll through life; take a pencil as a walking stick."

-Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge 

We walk the dog, most days. We walk and talk, the son and I, about his Civil Air Patrol experiences, about the latest book he is reading, about news clips and how it will affect us, or not. Or, we just walk and gaze at the mountains, the space around us, the sky - if there is the sound of a plane or jet or helicopter, he looks until he spots it in the wide expanse of sky. The dog, she loves to get out, especially in the two open fields where we can let her off leash and she bounds around us. Blind, she bounds ahead and then back to make sure she knows where we are, staying on the familiar gravel of the path, feeling her way along, sensing somehow when it is time to turn back toward the road home, time to clip on her leash.

For me, the walk is a good time to clear my head. Release the tensions. To not think about what needs to be done back at home; instead, to absorb the space and the sky and soar with the birds.

Our daughter sent me this quote from The Slight Edge, a book we have both read, about motivation and working toward our goals, little steps at a time. She commented, "You don't have to draw life, you can write it out. Cameras can't catch how you feel when you see something picture worthy."

 The art of keeping a journal starts with the art of capturing our feelings, our responses to the life happening around us. Sometimes, I need to set aside the pen, the camera, the computer and pay attention to what is going on in the people, the sky, the animals, the plants around me. Pay attention to how I feel.

 Pick up that pencil walking stick: walk, talk, breathe, look and see, really see what is around you. Then, there will be words to express the feelings, the scenes, the events of daily life.


 

Do You Feel Like You Are Pulling This Wagonload?

January, a quiet month, few words, a photo each day.
Photo source: an old post card, Frances and Mary Allen, Deerfield, Massachusetts, c. 1900

It's All in the Attitude

"Your attitude is an expression of your values, beliefs and expectations."

-Brian Tracy, a motivational speaker and author.

"The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.
Do you understand?" 

-Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate. Perhaps not the wisest person to validate a quote, but the truth lurking here is worth the risk of the source.

drawing by littlebitzoart.wix.com/littlebitzoart

Drifting

                                                                Drifting

"Am I drifting? Am I focused?
Either answer is fine, just so long as I'm aware."

-Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic


This cute little plate hangs on her wall, a reminder to focus. Or not to focus.

Not to drift, unless the drifting is intentional. And, sometimes, we do drift. Time off. Time to back away and take a long look at where we are headed. Time to think. Retreat. Time to wonder. Time to enjoy.

Or, time to focus and dip in the oars and steer a straight path, the goal in clear view.

Intentional. A choice.

I copied this from one of Rachel's books, years ago - don't remember which one - and had it for a long time on my bulletin board, a reminder to me, to be intentional with my choices.

Some days are good for time with the kids, time to putter, time to relax and think. Other days are good for a full schedule of productivity, the lists checked off in my planner. As long as the choice is made with intent.

The key word, I think, is aware. Awake to the myriad of choices we can make in any given day. Conscious. Mindful of the actions we choose, or do not choose. Aware. And to make those choices with a heart of gratefulness.

Re-Focus

This week's Friday Five word was Focus. I had trouble focusing this week. As evidenced by the miscellaneous piles mounded on my desk. Too many projects going at once. Starting too many new projects. Scrambling to finish old projects so I can move on to the new projects. A mountain of library books to read. I realized something, they are all non-fiction: gardening, dog training, cookbooks, writing skills, motivational, home decorating, local hikes. No wonder I am having trouble reading them all. When I read that word, "focus," my first thought was the eye of a fly. You've seen them, I'm sure, magnified pictures of the eyeball of a fly with its thousands of mini-eyes looking everywhere. Which is why it is so hard to smash them with a fly swatter. See, even my writing is all over the place this week, attempting to look everywhere at once.

What to do about it? How to focus in on what I should be doing?

Start with the basics. These people, this house, this home. Cooking, cleaning, home teaching. Time with each individual. That pretty much fills my days.

I wrote before about the Pomodoro Technique. A method of short, timed, concentrated efforts. These are great, especially for those nagging jobs I just don't ever seem to get around to doing. Set the timer, focus for twenty-five minutes, get it done. Easy. Simple. But it takes the effort to set the timer and focus. It helps, knowing it is a short time. Okay, I'll give this twenty-five minutes. That's all. Makes if feel less overwhelming. More possible. There is a website, free information, lots of terrific ideas for help with priorities.

Last weekend, I filled a raised bed, planted seeds, moved two tomato plants and a nasturtium from pots. Here is the latest, today, my tiny lettuce seeds sprouting up. Still may be too late in the season to get away with producing anything from my small garden, but I am having fun - a race with the season.

My three favorite gardening books are:
Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew
Passionate Gardening, Good Advice For Challenging Climates, by Lauren Springer and Rob Proctor
and a new favorite (one of my many current library books) Gardening on a Shoestring, by Rob Proctor.
Do you have favorite gardening books?

Focus. An art. A skill. Like any art or skill, it takes practice, technique, learning, failure, attempts again. Over and over. Re-focus.

The Seeds You Plant

We went to an outdoor seminar on composting today, sponsored by our county at the local park.

Pouring rain, kind of fun to get all soaked and stand around with other gardeners, all of us drenched and motivated to compost and help our gardens to flourish, the natural way, using the processes that have been around since creation. He didn't say it that way, of course.

 This quote is in the April, Country Living Magazine.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant."

                                                                           -Robert Louis Stevenson

Great Intentions

I start the weeks with Great Intentions. Coffee mug full, my planner charted, my days rich in accomplished tasks. Productivity flourishes. Results guaranteed. Then--oops, reality hits.

The problem - my list this Monday looks pretty much like it did last Monday. With Great Intentions.
I would like to point a finger at interruptions and events beyond myself. The difficulty is me.

"I'm tired."
"I don't feel like sorting that file right now."
"I don't feel like exercising this morning."
"I don't want to scrub that shower."
Or, "I feel like eating that brownie."

Instead of doing what I plan, I go by feelings-of-the-moment. And at the end of the day, or the week, the lack of checked off accomplishments is discouraging. Part of the problem is being on idea overload. I read too many books or magazines or spend too much time on-line reading about cleaning, or organizing, or writing, or home teaching, or health, or nutrition; instead I miss the actual doing. The reality.

Have you heard the term, "Reverse Engineering?" Chalene Johnson, in her book, Push, explains reverse engineering as a way to achieve a goal. Think of the goal, accomplished. Then, work backward, through all the individual, small, steps that would be involved in meeting that goal. Begin the steps, one by one, in order to accomplish the goal. It is a helpful way to focus and clarify the needed tasks. (But you still have to do them.)

                   REVERSE ENGINEERING

One of my projects this week is sewing a dress for upcoming weddings. Last week  I set aside twenty minutes in my planner for three days. Small chunks of time. Twenty minutes doesn't seem like a major chunk out of my day. It seems quite do-able to fit in a mere twenty minutes. I might not have finished, but, I didn't even start.

Also, the file drawers I want to sort out. Condensing six file drawers down to three, part of my "get rid of half" mantra. Sounds monumental. Overwhelming. It is. But it won't get done by thinking about it or looking at it. Little chunks, set the timer, or do just a few files at a time, a little bit each day.

 Great Intentions can become more than targets. Shall I let you know on Friday how I do this week?



As a balance point, I realize the value of time is not in productivity alone. Time spent with the guys, time to study and learn, time to enjoy and thrive in all that is going on around here, time talking with distant, grown kids - these are the vital activities that do not go into my planner because they are already part of my days, part of life. It is the extra tasks, the in-addition jobs that I ignore far too easily. Without getting too philosophical, life is not about the doing, but about the living. Savoring, appreciating, thriving in each beautiful day.

Great Intentions. Reverse Engineering. The joy of life.
How do you balance the doing tasks with the living?

Long Division

"Yes, it is complicated. Yes, the format of the process changes a little from what you have been doing and the steps get involved. But they are routine steps, taken in the same order each time. Each step, taken, in itself, is simple. No secrets, no surprises, just do the steps."

"Please, do not set your pencil down and stare out the window between each step. It drives me crazy! Keep moving, complete one step, move on to the next step, with the pencil in your hand."

Is there irritation, impatience in my voice? I try to be patient, I really do. If it just didn't take him so long.

He does concept math. Since he was little he understood the twenty-three"ness" of a number. To him, twenty-three plus eighteen is calculated in terms of the quantities, the values of those numbers. We "normal" people think, three plus eight, put down the one, carry the one, add one, two and one to get forty-one. He would see the twenty-three and the eighteen and "see" what they would be together. Actually, I have no idea how he sees it, but he figures it out. His process is difficult to transfer to the steps of long division, keeping the columns lined up and taking the steps in order.

How many times do I do the same thing? All the intentions in the world will not get the job done. I can visualize an end result, but how to get between here and there? That becomes a muddle. All I can see is the mess and the confusion and the random"ness" of it all. I have to stop, take each piece or each step or each day one at a time, and do what needs to be done. That is all. And stop staring out the window. Keep the pencil in my hand.

Take the steps, one after another. Don't get sidetracked, distracted. Then the job will get done.

Unfrozen

Some days I am frozen. Stiff, immobilized, inflexible. Cold, rigid, hard. Numb.

I am not referring to winter weather.

This is a state of mind. Unable to think. Overwhelmed. Afraid to move forward, not willing to turn back. Stuck. Right where I am. Unwilling. A statue, with nothing to say or think.

Picture an ice sculpture on a well laden table at a high-end banquet. The carved ice is there, an elaborate decoration, not really for a purpose. Just there. Some days, that statue is me. No creativity. No imagination. No excitement at the joy of life.

Don't have a photo of a fancy ice sculpture. Will a snowman do?

How to melt my frozen heart and mind?

These are ways I have found to shovel the snow, begin the thaw and conceive  growth.

• Exercise. Some (most!) mornings I do not want to get up early. I know, though, that it always feels worth it after the exercise session. I have to think ahead while I put on my exercise clothes and push play on the DVD. Go through the motions - the motion will create warmth to melt the stiffness.
• Read. My morning Bible and devotional reading (Valley of Vision, now),  sparks life and reminds me of the Lord's love and care. Later in the day, time to read, alternating fiction and non-fiction inspires me, challenges me, offers plenty to think about. 
• Prayer. Reaching outside of my narrow short-sighted world, alert, aware of the needs of others.
• Reach Out. When I would rather hide, connect with others: make a phone call to distant family, write a letter, send an e-mail, play a game with the kids, reach beyond myself, extend a hand to others.
• Organize. I know, this is strange to include in this list. I am learning (a long process), that less stuff is liberating and that empty space breathes life and energy and creativity into my days. I have been dreading a project, cleaning out our floor to ceiling linen closet. I would open the doors, stand there and look, unable to move. Overwhelmed. For weeks. Finally, I took a deep breath, carried armloads to the table, sorted into piles, got rid of at least half of each pile, some much more. The momentum carried me on. Took me about an hour, a task I'd been procrastinating way too long. Motivates me to liberate the next area.
• Music. I miss having a piano and hearing the kids play for hours each day. But, I have CD's downloaded on my computer, a wide variety of styles, depending on the mood. Our son has picked up his mandolin again. I like hearing him pick at the strings, feeling his way through a song.
• Write. Journal, characters, scenes, free-writing, like limbering exercises. Just start, that's the hardest part. Pick up the pen, plink on the keyboard.
• Lighten Up. Laugh, smile, throw a snowball. Don't be so serious. Seriously!

The frozen ground yields to the warm breeze, the sun, dappled through the trees melts away the ice. The hard dirt loosens, allowing growth to spring up, new life to stir and produce. Fresh ideas take root and come alive. Unfrozen.
Are there are other (maybe better) ways you become unfrozen?

Fierce

Fierce.
A scary word.
An angry word.
A strong word.

 I saw this word used in an unexpected way. I love it when unrelated blog posts are related, like people writing on a similar theme and they connect. At least in my head, they connect.

Rachelle Gardner, a literary agent, posted a quote from Ira Glass, a radio announcer. Click here to see her link:http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/10/advice-for-beginning-storytellers/. This is a transcript from a u-tube interview. On the video, he elaborates that we must fight for our goals, little by little, over time. "It's gonna take awhile...You've just gotta fight your way through. Be fierce. Be a warrrior."

This week, on TheNester.com, she posted the same interview with the video transcript done in a creative variety of fonts:http://www.thenester.com/2011/10/31-days-day-18-fight-your-way.html. Fight Your Way.

Also on The Nester, she wrote another post about using the limitation of time. "Do you feel led to write a book, start a ministry, invest in friends? Maybe you feel led to be a room mom. How much time a month are you fiercely protecting to do that Thing which you feel called to do?" http://www.incourage.me/2011/10/lovely-limitations-12-days-a-month.html

A radio announcer, a book agent, a popular blog writer, all saying a similar thing. Decide. Fight. Protect your time. Fiercely.

Our black kitty is fierce. Or so he thinks. We try to make sure he is in before dark. If we forget, his mournful yowling alerts us to his presence outside and his tough-guy stance against the neighbor's cat intruding into his yard. Really, he is just a big old (he is 15 or 16) baby with an attitude. But his attitude helps him be tough when he needs to - protecting his space in our yard.

What am I challenged to fiercely protect? My exercise time in the early mornings. When it gets derailed due to schedule changes, I can't wait to get back into the routine. When I wake up early, I actually want to put on the exercise clothes and get started. Strange, I know. Wouldn't have thought it possible. When I can't, I want to.

And, the family, the home we are building here. Time spent with them, reading, playing games, talking, doing stuff together, before they all move on. I know for a fact how fast that time goes.

I wish I could say I protect my writing time fiercely. Another blog post this week, a guest post on Michael Hyatt's blog, wrote that the one thing needed is courage. If you are attempting to establish a new habit, the thing most needed is courage.   http://michaelhyatt.com/one-thing-you-must-have-to-get-fit.html. The courage to take those little steps, to schedule the time, to eliminate at least one excuse.

So, I am tackling my writing time this week. Having the boys accept that from this time to this time I will be at my desk. And, protecting that time, fiercely. With courage. Establishing a solid habit, just like I have been able to do (with the help of our daughters) over the last year and a half with my exercise time.  One day at a time, one hour at a time, building the habit, making it happen. With courage. Fiercely. A gentle warrior.

What new habits would you want to tackle, fiercely?

Motivating a Person (Yourself)

Last weekend I attended a marathon as an observer. I am not a runner.
This weekend, we spent two days as spectators at a golf tournament. Nor am I a golfer.

Both events, even though I was not a participant, were fun to watch, inspiring and challenging. Lots to learn from observing people, and watching the athletes as they work to achieve their goal. Whether it was one more mile to the finish line or an errant golf ball that just did not go where it was supposed to go, the struggle was how to handle the challenge or disappointment.

There were the very few at each event that were there to win, who knew they had the speed or the skills necessary to be the one at the top. For me, it was exciting to see how many were there to work at developing their own personal levels. Their motivation came, not just from competition with others, but from deep within themselves, bettering their time or their score, achieving a new personal level.

The university golf teams at this tournament were young men and women from several states, matching their skills against each other and against themselves. Our son, participating with his university team from Arizona, played at a golf course near our house. We were able to attend two days, riding along in our golf cart, quietly watching and offering words of encouragement. He is fairly new to the sport and new to competitions like this, learning a lot about himself and the skills he needs to develop.

At the golf tournament, we saw lots of frustration: golf clubs thrown, exasperation at missed putts, exhaustion as the eleven hour day wore on, endurance stretched to the limit. Others were able to laugh at their mistakes and encourage those around them, still able to keep up their confidence and work through the next hole.

The strongest impression I came away with was the value of personal strength and inner motivation. Even at a competitive event, the real competition is with yourself. It has to come from within. A mental challenge. A physical challenge. An emotional challenge. Especially in a more individual sport like golf or running a marathon, your worst opponent is yourself.

For all of us, even if we are not runners or golfers, life has its sand traps.

Sometimes we have to hit the ball out of tall grass (but first we have to search and find it, knowing it dropped somewhere in that area).

A water hazard can block our path.

Boredom sets in if we have to wait, and wait longer. We just want to play, to get going, to keep moving. Instead, we wait and watch from the sidelines.

The small steps may be our downfall. We can cover the distances, but fall behind at the little details, the putting.

The goal, sometimes, is not even visible, hidden around the corner, out of sight. We have to hit the ball knowing it will take several steps, several hits ahead before we even see the flag, the putting green.

Or, the basics of life get in the way.

 The spacious views of the golf course, tucked in the middle of a crowded, busy industrial area were a reminder to find the beauty, even in hidden spots.

There are lots of life lessons in any sport. Perhaps that is part of the reason sports are so popular. Spectators are reminded to work hard, to tackle the challenge of meeting their goal. For me, it was a reminder that I need to be much more than a spectator, to be sure I am meeting my challenges with strength and focus.

Half-Crazy

Two of the kids ran the half-marathon in Long Beach this weekend, 13.1 miles, or 20k, "because I am only HALF Crazy" as it says on her headband. Our daughter flew in from Colorado, her brother joined her in the challenge. What motivates someone to run a marathon? There were 30,000 participants: marathoners, half, 5k, walkers and a bicycle route. We were advised to get there early and even though we left an hour before we'd planned, this is what we met.

Sitting on the freeway. It took one hour to go four miles, all the cars funneling into one lane to get to the downtown area, the parking, and the race events.

I went to cheer them on and enjoy watching the crowds. Could have been a fun study just in the t-shirts the runners wore; "If found lying on road, drag across the finish line."
The strangest runners I saw? A man running, balancing a watermelon on his head!? Didn't get a photo. Was too busy trying to figure out if he had it glued on to his hat or if he was actually balancing it, his neck twisted at an angle to hold it there.
Second prize goes to a man running backwards - yes, backwards- wearing skin tight leopard print leotards. No photo of him either...

A local children's hospital drew and painted the artwork copied onto each mile marker. Their full-size canvas painted posters were hung along the route, adding color and creativity to the already busy scene.

Participants ranged all ages, kids to octogenarians. Two much older gentlemen ran alongside each other, chatting, teasing, challenging the other, laughing, like running a marathon was an everyday ho-hum event.

Toe Tags

Coming around the last corner, the last stretch to the finish line. Marathoners and Half runners finished at the same point. The route went around the marina, along the beach path, and looped back through town to this almost-done point, 13.1 miles, 26.2 miles for the full marathon. They wore a tag on their shoes that contained a chip which recorded their personal start and finish times as they crossed the line.

Coming to the end of the run, the first marathon runners coming in at the same time, just under three hours.

She's almost there!

The crowds connecting with their completed runners, congratulating and cheering for them.

Participation medals, a job well done.

What motivates the wide variety of individuals? The young, the old, the wheelchair athletes, the groups supporting various causes; they would each have their own story, their own reasons. Each of them has something in common: finding the strength to push themselves, to dig deeper and bring it on, to know that each step, each pace brings them a little closer to the finish line and a deep sense of accomplishment. They did it!