Tag: Making Manifest

(re)imagine: to form a new conception of

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:20 The Message)

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As I have journeyed this week, through the adventure of Making Manifest, my relationship with words, poetry making and art has deepened. My approach to creation is being renewed, revised and re-imagined.

The exercises gave me time and space and direction to write. The following poems flowed out of putting pen to page, birthed from revised journal entries. Ten sentence challenges offered me a safe place to rearrange and revise and revisit an idea or a thought. I culled from the exercises snippets and images and tiny memories.

Awakening I

my body awakes me
before the radio clock
tunes into KMOX.

to rise or roll over?
the urge to pee
gets me out of bed.

the covers call me back
to snuggle and sleep
a little more,

to wait for the
radio voices to
coax me out of bed
later.

Awakening II

gypsum encrusted,
mortar-chipping hands.

vegetable stained,
weed-pulling hands.

tree bark-ripped,
wood-stacking hands.

cracked, hurting, not
quite bleeding hands.

Awakening III

I remember the way you used to speak to me,
while I sat for hours holding you
on my knees

soft hair,
tiny completeness.

Sweet aroma of baby lotion and
sour spit-up.

An expression of two–
a tangible someone
to call our own.

Awakening IV

bits and pieces
glued
here and there
to tell a story
or not

an attempt at
adding beauty

making a mark
plumbing the depths

resurfacing to catch
a glimpse

of being something
new, not
seen yet

Linking with Sandra Heska King and other Manifest Makers! (Read Sandra’s offering and at the bottom of the page you will find the link-up!)

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 4

(re)evaluate: to once again determine the value of

 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5:37 ESV)

Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong. (Matthew 5:37 The Message)

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I am a “yes” person. I readily give my yes to most requests; however over the years I have learned that “no” is an appropriate answer as well. So many times, when I’ve said “yes” hastily, I find myself overwhelmed, and in a place of regret and re-evaluation.

Now I pause, before I give assent to an opportunity. As a writer and artist, the skill of saying no and meaning it is crucial. If I said yes to everything I would never write and I would never enjoy my art studio.

As a created, creative person I have learned what primes my pump and I know what fuels my enthusiasm for my work. I need a balance between solitude and community.

Today, I am choosing to say yes to a community that will be saying yes to reading, responding to and re-visioning our writing lives around Dave Harrity’s book, Making Manifest: On Faith, Creativity and the Kingdom at Hand. Our host for this interactive group is Sandra Heska King, a fellow blogger and word lover, who serves up sweet morsels of life at her place, where she focuses on the “still” life.

Check out these two recent posts from Sandra to get a flavor of what she offers.

Richard Foster on Silence and Writing (This post caused me to re-evaluate my yes and no answers to life.)

Making Manifest: Your Days are Waiting (This post gives you a taste of Sandra’s savory words and luscious photography.)

(For the month of May, I will be reflecting here about the “Making Manifest” adventure on Thursdays.)

Here’s a intro video to the idea of “Making Manifest”:

and a reflective poem, I penned in response to these thoughts milling around in my head.

Yes and no.
No and yes.
These are true answers,
honest to God responses.

Maybe, a pause–

a moment
to reflect before
answering no or yes–

cultivates rest.

 

 

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 16