Blog
Behold Playfulness: Find Joy in Your Creative Writer’s Heart
Play involves risk. Creativity embraces gambles. When we engage in the work of writing, we sometimes forget the fun of it, the way it can be a bit of recreation. The Surprising Joy of Constraint After my husband's recent birthday supper celebration, our local grandchildren amused...
Play: Reclaiming Childlike Joy with God
What’s your quintessential image of summer? How does it involve play? Bare feet, jumping waves at the beach, wading in cool mountain streams, swimming from one end of the pool to the other end, and picnics in the backyard round out my summertime vision. It’s being outdoors. It’s being carefree....
The Editor’s Joy: Caring for Writers and Their Words
I spent three days in May attending an online Editors Conference. Workshops and keynote speakers fascinated and educated freelance editors. I pondered editorial possibilities for the writers I serve. As an editor, I care about words and the writers who write them. I pay attention to the teeny...
Eastering On: Your Invitation to Celebrate and Behold Joy
Easter morning shouts, “Celebrate!” We greet one another with jubilant phrases: “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!” After forty days of Lent, full of fasting and the ups and downs of Holy Week, we are more than ready to celebrate. This is, after all, the...
Behold Hope: A Writer’s Journey to Joy
“This is just what I was hoping for!” It’s my favorite refrain from writers who I enjoy working with as a book coach, writing coach, and editor. This deep desire to see their words come into being may date back decades or may be a fresh endeavor. Either way, joy dances when words exude wonder....
Snapshots of Holy Week: Behold Grief. Behold Hope.
In decades past, upon arriving home from my travels, I rushed to the photo-finishing shop, in a hurry to drop off undeveloped film, eager to see the snapshots of memories made. A few days later, I pushed the glass door open again as the cling-clang of the bell announced my arrival. I joined the...
The Writing Life: Writing about Grief
Grief visits us all. Perhaps the grief of the day feels small, one drop upon a large pond. Perhaps the grief of the day descends like a sudden storm on a calm lake, upending all in its path. Grief accompanies loss. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ book On Death and Dying details responses to grief:...
Behold Your Grief
On Ash Wednesday, I enter the dim sanctuary to hear my beginning and ending declared: “from dust you are, to dust you shall return.” (Gen. 3:19) The rector marks my forehead with ashes. In the starkness, I mourn. I ache. I long. I grieve. So begins Lent. Reminded of our...
From Doubt to Delight: Stepping into Your Calling as a Writer
You, dear writer, are beloved by God. You are the apple of His eye. You are His design. He chose you. You are His child. He adopted you. He delights in you, His creation. You are His workmanship. You are His masterpiece. His affection for you never comes to an end. His love for you extends...
Behold Your Heart! Behold Your Belovedness!
In January, snow and ice descended on Savannah. Camellia blossoms encased in ice encapsulated the unusual winter storm that shut our town down. Behold, God, full of creative wonder, sprinkling white beauty in the deep South! Can you imagine the lofty Rocky Mountains encased in stifling...
TRAINing: Faithful Writing Rhythms
Every morning, God is faithful. Every noontime, God is faithful. Every evening, God is faithful. Constant. Sure. Trustworthy. Ever present. Faithful. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy...
Deconstructing Lectio Divina
Nestled in the corner of a strip shopping center, my favorite Colorado Thai restaurant served scrumptious pineapple chicken curry. Eager to replicate the dish, I set out to decipher the ingredients and spices involved in the creation. I scribbled down notes as I savored each bite at the...
