Tag: 30 Days of Lists

Word Love

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1 ESV)

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I collect words. I cut them out of magazines to use in my collage work. I enjoy sifting through them to see what surfaces. A phrase may catch my eye. Or a word that I haven’t defined before may jump out at me, like vintage. Then I will get out my dictionary or use the online version to dig deeper into it’s meaning and origin.

Vintage is related to wine and wine making, but has come to mean “being the best of it’s kind.” (dictionary.com) It can also mean obsolete or old-fashioned. It’s root word is related to redeem. Maybe I like vintage things because I get to redeem them from being thrown away.

When I see that vintage is related to redeem, then I want to look up the meaning of redeem, as well. I could spend hours searching for related definitions, and I may even check out the synonyms and antonyms for greater understanding. I can’t explain my fascination with all things word related, but I do love that the apostle John makes the connection between the Creator and the Word.

In the beginning . . . God spoke and the world was formed.

In the beginning . . . words were used to create.

In the beginning . . . the Word was with God and was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

A particular word’s usage can change over the years, but the Word of God remains the same and endures. As Isaiah penned:

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11 ESV)

The words inspired by God in Scripture remain my guiding light, but words in the dictionary often draw me closer to God in ways that is difficult to express.

Listing words in categories can be enlightening, too. Earlier this year, I created a collage of “happy words.” It makes me happy just to look at them, and wonder what they might mean for today or for tomorrow. Words comfort me, as much as knowing that the Word of God dwelt among us to proclaim His love.

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What are your happy words? What do you love about words?

 

 

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Five Lists in One Day

Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me. (Psalm 103:2 NLT)

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hubby, me, bride, groom and my momma

So many good things happened over the wedding weekend that I could never list them all. But we experienced the calm and delight of God over the whole experience. In the above picture, the smiles and laughter exude the joy and peace we all felt.

I have been spending all morning reliving the moments with thanksgiving in my heart. (To see more photos and video clips, check out my Facebook page.)

As I sat on my porch swing scrolling and checking the news feed for posts about the wedding, I was just stunned with how generous God continues to be. His love overwhelms me. His creativity delights me. And His timing is always good.

The lovely couple is off to a great start with the goodness of God as the foundation of their love.

And so I return to my life . . . thinking, reading, journaling, blogging and sharing my love for lists and all things creative.

I said I would catch up, so here we go:

List #11 Date Ideas: Instead of going with the traditional idea of dates for couples, I am thinking of ideas for connecting with our Creator. Creative ways to express love and devotion. Here are a few: go to the park and journal, sit on my porch swing and enjoy the morning bird songs, make a collage prayer for someone who needs some encouragement, go for a walk and enjoy nature. (For more ideas check out my series based on Pam Farrel’s 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time.)

List # 12 Weekly Rituals: On Mondays, I spend the day reflecting on the past week and plan out what’s next. Tuesdays, I meet with some magnificent friends to pray and in the evening share dinner with my mom, my sister and the kids. Wednesdays and Thursdays are for errands and appointments. Fridays are for fun or teaching my art classes. Saturdays are for catching up with family and friends. Sundays are for teaching God’s word with my husband and worshiping together.

List #13 DIYs that I want to try: Check out my Pinterest boards to see what creative pursuits are on my mind. I want to make a light box for taking still life photos.

List #14 On my shopping list: My neighbor and good friend, Paula, gave me a challenge to buy 10 items for my wardrobe for $25 (thrift stores and yard sales, here I come!) She picked items from catalogs and magazines that coordinate. I have until August to find them all.

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List #15 Things I love about GOD: There are many things that I love about God, but one of my favorite things is the way He surprises me with gifts. This happened with finding my dress for our son’s wedding. To read about God’s provision read here.

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me and my niece getting ready on wedding day

So many more good things happened, and even when we faced some difficult times, we still witnessed God’s love pursuing and comforting us.

Writing lists is a great way to remember. Even the Psalmist does this:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:2-5 ESV)

 

 

 

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Two Lists and the Giveaway Winner is . . .

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139: 7-12 ESV)

photo-003First business of the day: To announce the winner of the Giveaway. Congratulations, Cecelia! (Drop me an email, so I can get you your book, kelrohlf@souldare.com)

Cecelia writes a Scripture infused, heart encouraging blog over at Quiet Spirit, Following My King. We met through Random Journal Day over at Dawn’s place.

As this week unfolds, I have been counting the days until our oldest son’s marriage (and wedding day) to the love of his life.

Three more days!

Amazingly, I have been keeping up with the 30 Days of List challenge, until a day or so ago. I like to keep up with things, but also give myself grace. (So don’t be surprised if I start playing catch up again next Monday.)

On to today’s lists.

First list includes favorite websites or blogs…I’m going to stick with blogs. When I got serious about blogging a couple years ago, I frequently “linked” with other bloggers. Two bloggers who I have remained “in touch” with over the past few years make it on to this list.

Jody at Three Way Light (Jody shares her daily, life long love for learning, her journey with Jesus and her poetry. We resonate. We are kindred spirits, we both love words and their origins. I hope you will give her blog a visit, and poke around the archives for some sweet treats wrapped in words.)

Dawn at Enthusiastically Dawn (of Random Journal Day fame, also a poet, great encourager of journaling and using your planner in creative ways. Dawn loves words, which makes us kindred spirits, as well.)

I have met many other great bloggers through both of these ladies. If you visit the Random Journal Day posts, you will meet them, too. Jody has a bloglist on her site, so you can check out who she likes to read. I wish I could list all of those that I follow, but I think I follow close to 50 blogs, so . . .

I will mention Daisy Yellow Art blog, where I first found out about art journaling LOVE. It’s the place where Tracy Garcia hosts ICAD (Index CARD a Day challenge.) Everything she does is infused with color and grace. Enjoy!

So the second list for today would be: “On My Wishlist”

I don’t really keep a written wishlist, which kind of surprises me. I sporadically add things to my Amazon wishlist. But I guess today, I am in a more philosophical mood, so I am going to list all the things that I wish for you, the readers of this blog, to enjoy:

peace, love, joy, happiness, good health, soundness of mind and spirit, physical safety, hope, a future secure in Jesus’ love for you…these are just a few things…I wish you well and thank you for reading. I’ll be back soon.

I would love to hear about some of your favorite blogs in the comments, and even your wishlist!

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What’s in my bag

I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going.This is too much, too wonderful—I can’t take it all in!

(Psalm 139:5-6 The Message)

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Gathering my Bible, my favorite bag and my stack of devotions and heading to a secret place to meet with Jesus, lover of my soul brings great delight and calm into my day.

I long for this time like my first cup of coffee in the morning.

Yesterday got away from me and I missed connecting and lingering with the triune God, who bids me to come away as often and as much as I want.

Oh how I need Thee . . . every moment.

This day, I unpack my bag to share what delights me, as I yield to the welcoming presence of Abba God.

A list of potentials ways to hear His love filled voice:

The Literary Study Bible (Crossway)
Prayers for a Woman’s Heart (Julie K. Gillies)
The Listening Heart (Judy Gordon Morrow)
The Language of Letting Go (Melody Beattie)
Proverbs: The Ways of Wisdom (Kathleen Buswell Nielson)
Journals
Art supplies
Magazines for collage
A library book: The Sketchbook Challenge (Sue Bleiweiss)

I won’t necessarily use everything that I have gathered, but having these items in my bag or nearby invite me to settle my heart and cultivate the discipline and joy of listening.

What’s in your “bag” that settles your heart into God’s presence?

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Least Favorite Words . . .

Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. (Psalm 139:4 ESV)

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As I work through the prompts for 30 Days of Lists, every once in a while a topic seems to stump me. Today was such a day.

I love words. I don’t really have “least favorite words” to put into a list. But I do have words that I wish would never come out of my mouth. There is some comfort, as well as conviction in knowing that God is aware of a word that I will speak even before it exits my lips.

I like to collect words. I have the word “latte” on our buffet, a gift from our oldest son. I have the word “read” in my art studio because reading is one of my favorite ways to learn. My sister gave me a word sculpture that says “Life is Good.” I often paint the word “love” into my art because God desires love.

So when asked to write a list of least favorite words, I had to think more in categories rather than specific words. (And if I told you my least favorite word begins with “b” and resides inside your nose, that would just be gross, so I won’t mention the word.)

I do not like words that hurt my feelings or yours. I don’t care for angry, loud words or razor sharp ones–those cutting remarks cloaked as little daggers of disapproval. The kind of words that people claim were only jokes, but really are sucker punches to our egos. These are some of my least favorite kind of words.

I avoid words that are discouraging, degrading, disappointing or disgusting. I do not care for words that deprive others of their value or make them feel less than loved.

I dislike words that misinterpret a situation. I don’t like words that support lies or fail to keep their promise.

Sometimes words will fail me. But the WORD of God never does, and in fact the LOVE of God never will.

What are some of your least favorite words?

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