Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. (Psalm 68:19 KJV)

Choosing this daily challenge of adding one element to the canvas motivates me to keep my eyes open for inspiration. I write quotes in my journal. I snap photos with my phone. These practices sharpen my inner eye, keeping me in step with what the Spirit prompts next.

Whether it is a decision regarding what color or technique to use each day, or how to use my time or be attentive to the needs around me, I have to tune my ears and keep my vision clear.

I witness and observe and document the world around me. Why? To notice the abundance. To remember how lavishly God “loadeth benefits” daily. Not just to me, but each and every one of us.

Want another reason that I keep a list of these grace-filled experiences? Because I lose hope. It gets lost under the weight of so many, many seemingly heavy thoughts that assault my mind, my memory and my mood. So on the days when the weariness becomes unbearable, I cry out for help to see the goodness in the land of the living. And then I wait. Sometimes I despair. And then I just take a deep breath, and wait some more.

Then when I lift my head, something catches my eye or a little joy presents itself. A nudge to embrace the Presence of the present moment. A drive through the park on a balmy winter day, eating a quick lunch and then walking around the lake. Wondering why I always stay on the paved path, I step off onto the sandy beach. I move closer to the water, waves crashing on the shore. A closer look reveals how the wind and water are breaking up the film of ice from the colder days before, and the crashing, broken ice somehow warms my cold heart.

These little nudges show me where I left off, taking me to a place or a thought or a memory that realigns my perspective with the goodness that surrounds me daily.

I leave you with a sample of daily graces from recent days, a compendium of things to weigh together, to sift through and gather some inspiration.

Light and Love are on my side. (Melodie Beattie)

Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been. (Alan Alda)

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day whispering, “I will try again tomorrow.” (Mary Anne Radmacher)

Goodness is the only investment that never fails. (Thoreau)

The ultimate work of art is YOU! (Lisa Sonora Beam) 

Check out Lisa’s 30 Day Journal Challenge to kindle some inspiration in your soul.

What are some of the benefits God bestows on you daily?

Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool! (Isaiah 1:18 NLT)

To share with, to talk with and to spend time together these are the acts that build community. To enjoy these experiences with others brings light into the darkness. For God to proclaim that He desires community with us moves me to tears. To be reminded that God actually lives within the believer perplexes me, yet comforts me, too.

The preacher said, sometimes he looks in the mirror and asks Jesus: “Are you really in there?” That made me smile, but it’s true.  I wonder, “Are you really in me, Jesus? How can this be?” The mystery of communion.

To be connected through fiber optics and electricity and computer keyboards and bits and bytes of technology is its own mystery. And for this community, I am thankful. To share our hearts and lives with words, images and challenges. To cheer one another on in our faith and creative pursuits brings me great joy.

I leave you with some fresh happenings:

1.  I “found” my word for the year!

Practice.  I want to continue my practices of writing, making art, running and taking care of myself, and encouraging others in the process.

2.  I wrote a “new beginnings” poem, as challenged by Lynn Morrissey and Elizabeth Stewart.

Now
Enter
With

Bright
Energy–
Gain
Insight into
New
Nuances.
Infuse
Now with
Great expectation.
Selah.

3. A blank canvas becomes a 366 day challenge to add one element each day. To see how the canvas changes each day, follow me on Instagram: kelrohlf . Also I will be documenting the process at my souldare website and blog.

 

 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13 ESV)

Please welcome, my friend, Lynn on this first day of the New Year! Enjoy her poetic reflections, and consider her challenge to pen your own acrostic poem. Here you go! 

New Beginnings
by Lynn D. Morrissey

Now, as I
Emerge from my chrysalis,
Wings still wet and weighted, still needing to be primed and pumped and filled
with life and
Blood and strength, before I rise air-borne, I
Envision possibilities—what shape dried wings will take when lifted up with air,
what horizons eyes will see when searching high above the
Ground, high above outmoded patterns, ways of being.
I take time now to picture and plan, practice and prepare,
Not taking to the skies before my time,
Not aborting my flight through over-eagerness, unsteadiness. Only
In patience, in measured waiting and pulsèd stillness, my
New beginning will come—suddenly,
with a rush of wind, a whirl of wonder, in God’s own
Good and perfect time. And because I will be ready, I will
Soar!

Greetings in the Lord, and Happy New Year! I posted this acrostic poem on my Facebook page recently, and author Elizabeth Stewart loved the idea and said we should challenge other writers to flesh out a poem of their own, using the same New Beginnings “spine.” I love what she wrote at her Just Following Jesus blog. Click here to read.

I teach this poetry technique to my journaling students, and they are always amazed by what they write (especially since many have never tackled poetry before). It’s called the alpha poem (or the abecedarian), because originally, one penned the poem from A-Z, having each line begin with the next letter of the alphabet; but one can also use an acrostic phrase, song title, name, etc., which is written in bold and vertically on the left. The poem wraps around horizontally to the right. You’ll find yourself spinning a poem amazingly quickly, as each new letter pulls you forward to new observations and words you wouldn’t customarily have used. I often give alpha poems in pretty frames as gifts for birthdays, graduations, retirements, and memorials. Because they are so personal, I can’t tell you how much they are treasured by their recipients. Consider giving them as gifts of your own in the New Year.

With the bright dawning of 2016, why not try your hand at a NEW BEGINNINGS alpha poem of your own, and see what unexpected and profound insights God gives you to capture in such a small, precise container. Watch the magic of the acrostic unspool, pulling you into new insights, a new year, and a fresh start. Be sure to share with us on your own blog or Facebook page! Happy 2016, friends, and never forget that Jesus alone is the Alpha and Omega!

 

Lynn D. Morrissey is a Certified Journal Facilitator (CJF), founder of  Sacred Journaling, a ministry for reflective journal-writing, author of Love Letters to God: Deeper Intimacy through Written Prayer and other books, contributor to numerous bestsellers, an AWSA and CLASS speaker, and professional soloist. She and her beloved husband, Michael, have been married since 1975 and have a college-age daughter, Sheridan. They live in St. Louis, Missouri.

Poem and other text by Lynn D. Morrisey (Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.)

Butterfly photos by Sheridan (Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.)