Linda Ford

I love nice journals. The other day I went to the Levenger web site (http://www.levenger.com/) to browse their lovely offerings. They sell Circa notebooks that come in a variety of styles. These notebooks are very versatile. The coils are actually buttons so you can rearrange  pages at will.

How cool is that?

They offer other journals too. I mean, how can you resist a journal called ‘contemplations journal’? Doesn’t it make you want to sit down and jot down important thoughts?

But that is part of the problem with expensive journals. It seems you should save them for something really notable.

One of the best known journals is the Moleskine journal. This one has been used by many famous writers and artists like Hemingway.

A few years ago I bought a small, purse-sized one at an airport.

But I found I couldn’t jot down messy ideas and thoughts so it has remained largely unused. I pulled it out the other day and decided if it was for noble, quotable words then I would use if for that and started to write down quotes I have collected. They have no particular subject matter. Just things that caught my attention.

‘What I need is a woman who marries me for my money but is really bad at math.’

“God promises to preserve us from evil but not pave over every pothole in life’s road.”

“In the 60s the hippies took acid to make the world seem weird. Now the world is weird and people take prozac to make it seem normal.”

“If Jesus is NOT God there is no life in Him. If He is the Son of God there is life in no other.”

Australian artist Bill Meyer: Every thought is a seed. If you plant crabapples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.

Capturing these little nuggets and rereading them is a great way to stretch and refresh my soul.

By the way, you can catch me guest blogging this weekend at http://petticoatsandpistols.com/. Everyone leaving a comment will be entered to win a copy of my Christmas book, Christmas Under Western Skies. Pop on over and leave a comment.

There is a book, popular among authors and artists, called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She speaks of filling the well. By this she means replenishing the reservoirs of our being so, as creative people, we can draw from that source.

Artists need to continually fill their mind with images in order to paint or write. But everyone needs the same refreshment in order to live life with serenity. Caregivers need time for renewal. Mothers need a break. Face it, life wears us down and we all need to be refreshed on a regular basis. For a few weeks I want to talk about how to accomplish this. How to find refreshment for your weary soul. Or your depleted creativity or your dry inner being. Ps. 23:3 reminds us that God restores our souls. God fills the world with ways to be refreshed and restored.

I don’t aim to present an exhaustive list, only to point out a few ways. Hopefully my ways will trigger other things you could enjoy doing. My ways, for the most part, take little time and little money. Sometimes an afternoon or an hour or even a few minutes will suffice.

Now to get on with it. This week I found refreshment in Autumn.  In her poem, Walking, Dilys Laing describes autumn this way:

Walking

By Dilys Bennet Laing

“I walked on bracken, and dry leaves after

That flamed with color and crackled with laughter.

I walked on the earth as the seasons came

And under my feet it was never the same.”

Autumn is colors. Red, yellow, gold, brown.

An exuberant burst of color that is almost more than our senses can take.

Or…

Hidden colors tucked into dark places.

Both the overabundance and the tiny flashes are a treat to the senses and the soul.

Autumn is patterns. Shadows and shapes that draw the eye.

Autumn is wildlife. The honk of geese flying overhead in a V. Choreographed flocks of blackbirds dancing across the sky in the hundreds. Never bumping into each other.

Signs like this beaver-chewed tree stump that remind us of life all around us.

Autumn is sounds. Walking by the river in a nearby park I think of Thorton Burgess books such as The Adventures of Peter Cottontail and how this author gave nature human characteristics such as the laughing brook.

I like the rustling reeds.

There is something muted and soothing about autumn sounds.

Autumn is the promise of spring seen in berries and seeds.

I spent a couple of hours at a nearby park reflecting on the beauties of the season.

Do you need refreshment today? How about a walk, or drive in the country? If it’s too cold to be outside, why not find a coffee shop or restaurant with a window that allows you to enjoy the season?

Enjoy. Be refreshed.

In Canada this is our Thanksgiving weekend when we celebrate the harvest and rejoice in all God has blessed us with. Seeing as we live in one of the best areas of the world, there is much to be grateful for.

This year I made a commitment to every day write in my journal 5 things I am grateful for. I call them my gratitudes. My father was an excellent example of being thankful. Early in life he made a decision to not complain. He lived that out to his dying day which endeared him to his caregivers. One of them told me of an incident when he was first moved into a care facility. He didn’t like it. He especially didn’t like sharing a room with a man he didn’t know. Each night he knelt at the side of his bed and prayed aloud. The nurse said she overheard his prayer one night. He said, “Help me not complain even though I don’t like my situation.” He went out of his way to find things he could like and reasons to be happy.

I want to share some of the things I am thankful for. In no particular order.

1. Family.

2. The birds and flowers outside my window.

3. Sunshine. Sunrises. Sunsets.

4. Meaningful, satisfying work–both in caregiving and writing.

5. Friends, old and new.

6. Our garden. Yes, despite the work I enjoy the produce.

7.  The internet, computers, email–all of which have made it easier to research, easier to write books and easier to keep in touch with people.

8. The Bible–a source of encouragement, instruction, hope.

9. Church. I feel truly blessed to be able to attend a church where the singing is noisy, the people friendly and the message clear and crisp.

10. God’s love especially as it was demonstrated through Christ. I recently read a little poem somewhere. 

‘I love you big–this much,’ a child will say

And thrust his arms out wide.

So baby Christ grew up to love that way,

With outstretched arms He died

‘I love you big–this much.’

What are you especially thankful for at this time of year? Do you try and cultivate a spirit of gratefulness?

Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.

I had a great time at the ACFW conference. So many good things that I can’t even say which was best so in no particular order, here is what I enjoyed.
1. Meeting with editors of Steeple Hill–the publishers of Love Inspired Historicals.
Here I am with Tina James on the left and Emily Rodmell is on the right. Very charming ladies. I especially liked that they said they liked my writing. 🙂
2. Meeting with other Love Inspired authors. They are such a fun, supportive bunch.
Getting together with these ladies is definitely one of the highlights of going to the conference.
  
3. The hotel, the food, the banquet. We were treated royally.
4. The teaching. Michael Hague took us through his excellent plot-structure that includes the outer journey and inner journey. You can find out more of what he offers at www.screenplaymastery.com
5. Visiting Indianapolis. A very pretty city.
This monument forms the center of downtown. I went to the top and enjoyed some nice views. The monument itself is beautiful up close and a real tourist attraction.                                                                                                                   
 Then there was the canal walk. A nice quiet place in the midst of the city.
I guess the only not-so-good part of the trip was getting home. We got to the airport to discover our flight had been canceled. We were rerouted on separate flights so I couldn’t even travel with my friend. I went from Indianapolis to Denver to Vancouver to Calgary. Got home at 2:30 a.m. in the midst of a snow storm. Still, it was worth it I suppose.

I confess I didn’t always feel museums were high on my list of things to do. I remember groaning when my father would interrupt our travels in order to visit one. But I have since learned to enjoy them in part because I usually visit them with a quest in mind or several. I want to discover things about certain time periods, the settlers of the area, the specifics of the area.

I my travels I have discovered lots of great museums.

In Whitehorse, Yukon there was the Log Church Museum. To a large extent this museum traced the history of missionaries and the church. It was very well laid out with audio clips and great displays.

The  The story I liked best was of the Bishop who ate his boots. Lost in the dead of winter, out of food, he boiled his boots for soup. He managed to get out alive though in bad shape physically. A Mountie patrol who later got lost in the same fashion did not fare as well.

Also in Whitehorse is the  MacBride museum. Besides the main building there are several smaller buildings.

A NWMP outpost and Sam McGee’s cabin.

I discovered another wonderful museum in Haines, Alaska. The Sheldon Museum

Besides being in one of the prettiest places I have ever seen, it was full of information.  I was especially impressed with the description of the Tlingit way of life. ..from the layout of the houses to showing how they weaved their robes.

Skagway, Alaska also had a beautiful museum especially the house.

Inside were many displays and a great assortment of books for purchase.

Have you ever heard of seal gut parkas? They’re waterproof which is about the only reason I can think of considering them.

But I think hands down the museum everyone enjoyed the most on our trip to Alaska and Yukon was the SS Klondike in Whitehorse.

We were given a guided tour that was very informational.

The ship traveled up and down the Yukon river taking gold prospectors to Dawson City. It had a beautiful lounge for first class passengers and less attractive accommodations for the others.

This is where second class male passengers slept.

If you ever get to Whitehorse I thoroughly recommend this tour for your consideration.

Museums.

They’re everywhere and they are full of interesting things.