We had friends over for dinner today, and so I made from scratch brownies, grilled pork loins, creamed corn, and peas. As I was preparing the food, with my hands messy and unable to press voice record on the phone, my mind wandered to the things I believe, to the things I believe inform my writing and me as a writer.
Jeff Goins says you should write for a worldview, which I think I do, but for some reason when I heard him speak on it this past week, it clicked in my mind a bit differently. It felt more like a question than an answer, so maybe that’s why I thought about it when I my hands were busy. When hands are busy, that’s the best time to write, only you can’t.
So I am attempting to call up my thoughts and write them down now. Some of these things don’t seem like things that in have anything to do with writing, but I think maybe they do.
I believe that corn is the best fresh from the farmer’s market or garden.
Fresh flowers and fresh food make me happy.
I will go out of my way to make a meal from scratch instead of out of a box.
There is something comforting about working with your hands. That’s why I love to bake – to feel the dough in my hands like a little girl with her play dough, only real dough is way more comforting.
Grace is the best gift anybody could ever experience, and I want to give it to as many as possible. I hope that my words here are graceful, life-giving words.
You’ve Got Mail is my favorite movie, right beside Anne of Green Gables, and if I could I would write just like Kathleen Kelly does to Joe Fox in her emails to him. I love Kathleen Kelly. Until recently, I didn’t realize how sometimes I idolize characters and subconsciously try to be them. I’ve been a collector of books, because I wanted my house to be full of books just like hers. I love daisies, because aren’t they the “friendliest flowers”? And who could forget the smell of pencils in the fall?
I prefer fiction to nonfiction, and in my wildest dreams, I would write fiction.
I like to have a lot of space to think. Without it, I just really don’t know what I think. Sometimes, I don’t know until I write.
I believe that God is three persons: Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They inform everything I do. God is amazingly tender to me, but I will absolutely miss Him if I don’t pay attention. His works are mighty and magnificent, though I often sense Him most in the stillness and quiet.
Being a highly sensitive person gives me a unique perspective, and I often feel others emotions over or as much as my own.
There is holiness in our mundane moments, and the table is a sacred place.
I believe that church moments happen best outside of a church facility, usually inside the home, but sometimes on the street – you just have to keep your eyes open for opportunities to love.
I believe we are all longing for home, that this homesickness is a symptom of our ache for God.
The best pastors are shepherds, and by that, not merely a teacher who preaches but one who understands and empathizes in our humanity.
I am learning to believe that I am an artist. It is one thing to say that I am a writer. I write. Occasionally. Sometimes it is associated with teaching. But I hope to be a writer who is an artist, who creates art with words. All writers probably are teachers, but isn’t it easier to learn through the lens of beauty?
I believe that life is affected more by emotion than just information, but it’s a toss-up at times. Truth sets us free and all that.
A good shoe is the best makeup – how beautiful are the gospel feet with a good pair of shoes on. 😉
“Today is always fresh with no mistakes in it – yet.” Miss Stacy, Anne of Green Gables
A good friend is rare, but worth every ounce of energy it takes to find.
Reading is a gift, so I try to teach my kids to love it. Movies are pretty good too.
The highest achievement of life is loving well. Love God, and let His love flow out to others in every way possible.
And then there are those things that I believe that I have not identified – the ones I recognize only when I am frustrated and have the sense that I am not living like I want to live. Next time, I will pay attention to the frustration and identify the hidden belief.
I believe that death should come daily and resurrection too. This is a hard one to live as I believe. I am not sure I often do. How do I sacrifice daily for Jesus? It is a tough question to ponder in these United States.
I believe that beauty is internal, that one’s appearance is not the source of their beauty, but that it helps to dress oneself nicely from time to time and that when you do so, you are a good steward of your inner beauty.
I believe that it is a God-given gift to know your own darkness, because then you better appreciate the Light.
I believe the Bible is the greatest book that informs all my other beliefs about God and life, that it is the “infallible word of God,” which leads me to tell you that I do not believe in works based salvation.
I do not believe that Christians have to read the Bible every day to hear from God, but that it is better if you do.
I believe that Christians experience God best when He’s set them free from religion, even though even most Christians get caught up in religiosity at times.
I believe God loves me (and people) at all times, even when I fail, and even when I fall. I believe that He has given us guidance and rules to aid us, not to break us.
Most of all, and this truth is foundational, I believe that my God is the very best person. He is good – all the time, even when I don’t hear Him and when I don’t understand His ways. He is good.
Hospitality is a great expression of the gospel, and slowing down is vital to life.
Simple living is good living.
Sweet tea, mason jars, and rockers on a porch are always good, and you cannot have too many tables set as altars in one’s home, so I have four.
Home is where God is, and I carry Him in my heart.
Grace is crazy, and I believe it is the hope of a world gone crazy.
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