The Beauty of Words by Steph Beth Nickel

When we think of blessings, typically, we think of the positives in life. We may also think of a secular perspective on how God shows His love for us by showering us with things that make our lives easier. Thus the hashtag that was going around for a while: #amblessed

But we know from the Scriptures, and from our lives, that some of the richest blessings don't seem like blessings at first. Second Corinthians 12:10 provides a tremendous perspective for every believer. When we are weak, we are in a unique situation to experience God's strength.

So...

What does this have to do with beautiful words?

The power of words is similar to blessings.

Yes, there are words that virtually everyone would consider beautiful. From the uplifting poem for which each word was carefully chosen to the note of encouragement that brings a smile to the recipient's face. From the work of fiction that makes us laugh out loud and leaves us feeling all warm and fuzzy to the nonfiction book that ends with a practical and invigorating charge to readers that motivates lasting change.

But could there be a deeper kind of beauty?

Years ago, when asked who my favourite author was, one of the first names that came to mind was Edgar Allan Poe.

Are you surprised? Shocked? Horrified?

I answered as I did, not because I enjoy horror or even Poe's works as a whole but because of all the authors I've read, few have chosen their words so carefully that not only does the reader see a detailed mental picture of each scene but also experiences the atmosphere the author was seeking to create.

To me, that's one of the most powerful expression of the beauty of words.

As writers, we can transport readers to an entirely new world. We can touch their hearts and stir their emotions. We can take them by the hand and help them make decisions that can change the course of their lives for the better.

Sometimes our words will be like a breath of fresh air.

At other times, we will have to choose words that relay our own challenging experiences or someone else's in order to be believable and in order to point toward a future hope the reader isn't currently able to see.

And what about those words we write only for ourselves?

When my children were young, I often poured out my heart in my journal. And many times, I was working through the challenges I was facing as a young mother. If others read those word (or if I went back and read them now), would they be uplifting? Encouraging? Beautiful? Not by the commonly held definitions of those words.

So, why would I consider them beautiful?

At the time, they allowed me to deal with the struggles I was facing. My inadequacies as a mother. My desperate need for God's intervention in my life.

While I have no desire to reread my old journals, there was a power to the words that found their way onto paper. And in that power . . . a certain beauty.

So, whether we're writing for our eyes only, for our closest friend, or for the public, may we chose our words carefully, may we seek to ultimately encourage the reader, and may we create beauty that can breathe life and hope into a moment or possibly, a lifetime.

Steph Beth Nickel is the former Editor of FellowScript and the current InScribe Contest Coordinator. Steph is an editor and author and plans to relocate to Saskatchewan from Ontario to be close to family in 2027, Lord willing. (Headshot Photo Credit: Jaime Mellor Photography)

The Beauty of an "Awe Walk" by Sandi Somers

I awakened early and felt an urge to go for a pre-dawn walk that morning of June 14, 1995, to one of my favourite Calgary nature areas—Weaselhead. It was a thickly-treed area that I so enjoyed hiking every so often. The sky was clouded over and there was a possibility of rain, so I wore my raincoat.

As I began my walk, I breathed in the fresh earthy fragrance and absorbed the idyllic atmosphere of trees whose leaves had recently burst into their green June fullness.

Raindrops began to fall. Softly they landed on tree leaves—music to my ears. I pulled my jacket hood over my head and heard the gentle drops.

Just then a least flycatcher with his characteristic "che-bek" began to sing beside my pathway. He was hidden among the tree leaves and I had to carefully search to spot this tiny brown bird, smaller than even a house wren (photo and song here).

Something about that beautiful moment inspired such great awe that I couldn't express my feelings. Eventually I discovered that the Psalms would give me words for what I could not say. I especially loved Psalm 104, savoring the eloquent word choices and imagery. The beauty and grandeur of God almost took my breath away.

O Lord my God, how great you are!

You are robed with honor and majesty.

You are dressed in a robe of light….

You make springs pour water into the ravines,

So streams gush down from the mountains.

They provide water for all the animals…

The birds nest beside the streams

And sing among the branches of the trees…

My walk that morning has been an example of what Professor Virginia Sterm called an "awe walk", or a beauty excursion, walking in nature with the intention of tapping into something that brings a sense of wonder.

(NOTE: A beauty excursion can also be to other places—an art gallery of majestic paintings, a museum, a bookstore where you find a gem, a Christmas craft sale where you discover beautiful wood carvings…)

The question is: How can we capture beauty in our writing through nature “awe walks” or other beauty excursions? Writing can deepen our experience as we take photos, journal, write a poem, compose a song, or add to an article. Here are several angles:

- Engaging our senses sharpens our attention and “thickens” our writing, to use Carol Shields’ concept. Writing the scene as fully as possible makes a good story that captivates our readers’ attention and imagination.

- Including metaphors and unique verbs improves the variety and quality of our sentences and makes our writing sing.

- Marvelling on the wonder gives us an emotional boost. Psychologists say that wonder, joy, beauty, and awe bring down such things as anxiety, depression, stress, anger, and fatigue while increasing restorative effects such as vitality, vigor, and positive emotions. As we give ourselves a moment to feel joy and calm or excitement and amazement, we can attempt to write our emotional responses in these transcendent moments.

- Giving time to write of our gratitude and worship our Creator God is a necessary component. As we delight in our Lord, the beauty of nature and of our relationship with Jesus flourishes in our lives and writing. Doing so enables us to discover a spiritual meaning, a universal truth that our readers can relate to. William Blake wrote an eloquent poem on discovering the universal truth when he wrote:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.

The author Harold Best advised: “Remember that God makes things beautiful from the inside out…elegant …Join up with the mind of the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”[i]

As we write to engage beauty, our lives can have a great impact. I’m reminded of someone who said that the testimony of a survivor of Cambodia’s Killing Fields was “something beautiful for God.”

God is developing us into a beautiful work of art and faith. A faith that fuels trust and hope. Pay attention to how you experience God’s presence and tell how beautifully He is working in your life.

Sandi Somers’ writing passion is to help readers grow their faith in Jesus, including their vision of what God wants them to be and do. She writes of her love of nature, gardening, travel, and family in several genres—devotionals, personal essays, and Biblical fiction. Sandi lives in Calgary, Alberta, the delightful city between the Rocky Mountains and the Prairies.

[i] Michael Card, (Scribbling in the Sand, Downers Grove, IL, IVP, 2002), 123-124.

Top Image by Pixabay

Beauty Beyond Sight ~ Valerie Ronald

 

How do I convey beauty to one whose eyes can no longer see? An irreversible eye disease has recently robbed my grandson of his vision. From now on his 25 years of visual data will be the only images stored in his memory. Though he is learning to experience beauty with his remaining senses, visual beauty can only be conveyed to him second-hand by the spoken word of another who sees it. 

 

 Already the rest of his senses are adapting. His brain has the remarkable ability to repurpose itself, reallocating the visual cortex to process information from hearing, touch, and smell. As saddened as I am by his loss of vision, I am also challenged to find ways to describe beauty to him that he can interpret through his other senses. His loss of vision causes me to view visual beauty from a unique perspective, searching for metaphors that capture the essence of what I see and translate it to a different physical sense. 

˗˗The sky is as piercingly blue as the clear song of a meadowlark. 

˗˗Her hair curls around her face like the softness of a summer breeze on your cheek

˗˗The swift flow of a mountain stream is as brisk as the scent of a pine forest. 

Jesus was a master of using visual metaphors to describe spiritual truths. He chose appealing illustrations from nature to convey spiritual concepts to temporal humans. He said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10 NIV). As He spoke these words, the woman might have imagined a spring of fresh, clear water bubbling up that would never run dry˗˗a beautiful picture of the everlasting spiritual life offered to her by Jesus, the Messiah.

 

As a writer who believes in Jesus Christ, my desire is to find descriptive words to convey His beauty to those who are spiritually blind. His beauty is found in His perfect character, His loving purposes, and His exact representation of His Father in heaven. The infinite facets of who He is offer me endless opportunities to describe Him, so those who cannot see Him now will hopefully open their spiritual eyes to see how beautiful He truly is.

 

In coming to terms with his new physical reality, my grandson is developing the ability to know beauty without the means of sight. Already he experiences beauty in the sound of a loved one’s voice, in the touch of a child’s hand, in the scent of rain on the breeze. I pray He will also find beauty in the love of His Saviour.

Valerie Ronald writes from an old roll top desk in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, with her tortoiseshell cat for a muse. A graduate of Langara College School of Journalism, she writes devotionals, fiction and inspirational prose. Her purpose in writing is to encourage others to grow in their spiritual walk. 

Beauty and Writing by Carol Harrison

What brings pleasure to my senses? As I pondered the prompt for this month's blog post, I scrolled through photos from the years gone by. Beauty in everyday moments filled the screen and brought wonderful memories to mind. It filled my senses as I could remember the scent of a flower, the chill of the air, the noise of rapids, and see the majesty of the rugged peaks. 

Beauty found in moments of sunrise through the trees or across a snow covered field, colouring the sky with vibrant colours as a new day began. I paused at photos of fast flowing, white water rapids tumbling through the Niagara Gorge and remembered their roar and the splash of water onto the observation deck. Other photos showed a storm laden sky with dark ominous clouds hiding the brilliance of the sun as the earth waited for drops of moisture. 

There is a delicate beauty of a blossom no matter where it blooms. I've snapped a photo of a lone, stunted sunflower brightening up the shoulder of a highway on a dreary, cloudy day. Another photo reminds me of the beauty a bouquet of flowers brightened a hospital room or on my dining table.  

The list continues as I scroll through photos and bring memories to mind. Yet I also find beauty in my favourite paintings or prints hanging on my walls, some made more special because I know the artist. There are pretty knick knacks, many with stories to go with them sitting on shelves throughout my home. They range from delicate, fragile china ornaments to the sparkling insides of a geode or the round smoothness of an old marble. 

There have been so many times I wish I could capture the beauty of everyday things with more than word pictures like a fantastic photo or accurate sketch. Yet that is not the gift God has given me. I must use words to capture the imagination, fill the senses, and evoke memories for the readers so they feel like they are transported to that time and place.  Everyday moments offer such a diverse subject matter for our writing and the opportunity to create wonderful word pictures. Each time I sit to write I need to remember to engage all the senses in order to offer the readers the most enjoyable, engaging experience they can have with the words on my pages. 

God created the beauty in the world around us for us to enjoy. Psalm 24:1 says "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein." My words are a gift God has given to be used for His glory and the enjoyment of the readers. I need to continue to trust Him and learn more about the craft of writing and then practice it. 

 

Carol Harrison lives and writes from Saskatoon, SK. She loves to find the beauty in everyday things around her and then try and capture them with a photo and word pictures. 
 

A Caretaker and an Ambassador by Lorilee Guenter

After a winter that seemed like it would never end, the temperatures have soared. Yards are greening up. Fruit trees are covered in a profusion of blooms. Greenhouses display flowers in every colour you can imagine. Some flowers there await the gardeners creative touch in combining them. Others fill hanging baskets and planters of all shapes and sizes.

I have been working in my yard and garden for 25 years. It continues to change and evolve. I continue to learn. The process reminds me that a lot of time, skill and care is required to create those prepared arrangements.

I have been writing for less than 25 years, except for my journals. Like my garden, my writing continues to change and evolve.  Polishing pieces into interesting poems, stories and essays takes time, skill and care.

I continue to work to learn my craft by reading, writing and attending workshops. Like Bezalel and Oholiab in Exodus 35:30-35, others have been given the ability to teach. I benefit from them sharing their skill, wisdom and knowledge.

I participate, with God, in creating beauty in my yard with and oft critical eye. I need to pause and remind myself that it is not meant to be an ongoing to-do list. It is meant to be a place I can observe a small slice of God's amazing, varied, intricate creation. He causes the flowers to bloom in their time. He has invited me in as a caretaker of this particular piece of creation.

I participate in sharing a slice of God's story, His amazing, intricate, complex story. Sometimes in my writing I become focused on what isn't finished. Here again, I am learning to pause and reflect. My words teach me as I process the wonder of the world around me. Others inform me as I contemplate the words God called them to share.

When I put down my pen, and share my writing, I trust God will cause those words to bloom. He is in control of the time and the place they grow. I am invited in as an ambassador of His story of everlasting love, mercy and grace. 

Lorilee Guenter enjoys gardening, reading and more. During the summer, her and her husband often hit the trails at nearby parks. He carries a camera. She carries a sketchbook.

Writing that Makes My Heart Hurt by Michelle Joy Teigrob

I really appreciate this month’s invitation to consider beauty and the infusion of holiness in our writing. I’ll be honest: I have tended to aim mostly for simplicity and clarity as a writer. Part of this stems from my former job in journalism, but I think I also just naturally incline towards plainness in both my life and work.

However, I was intrigued to notice my heart straining with longing as I considered how I might weave the qualities of beauty and holiness more intentionally into my writing.

Just after learning about this month’s prompt, I happened to be reading through Job 38 and 39 for my day’s devotional. “This is what beautiful, holy writing looks like!” I murmured to myself. “Of course, it’s holy,” you may be mumbling in response, “It’s Scripture.”

Would you agree, however, that there is something extra special about the words attributed to God in those chapters?

Consider even just a couple of excerpts from God’s challenge to Job:

- Have you visited the treasuries of the snow? (38:22, NLT)
- Where is the home of the east wind? (38:24b, NLT)
- Can you hold back the movements of the stars? (38:31, NLT)
- Who can tilt the water jars of heaven…? (38:37b, NLT)
- Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest? It lives on the cliffs, making its home on a distant, rocky crag. (39:27)

As I read these chapters, my heart expands with longing. It is rather like homesickness, though a homesickness for something I’ve never experienced, a place I’ve never visited.

Perhaps this is what beautiful, holy writing does – it makes our hearts hurt for something more, something other, something beyond what we can pull up on our screens, pay for with a card, or otherwise instantly consume.

As I ponder all this, I feel quite inadequate to ever be capable of writing in such a way. But maybe that’s okay. Maybe the first step isn’t to go out and try my hand at it. Maybe it’s fine to simply to seek out such writing and immerse myself in it. If anyone has suggestions for books and articles that you would say exude the qualities of beauty and holiness, I would love to hear.

Blessings.


Michelle Joy Teigrob is an author, college instructor, mom of three, and wife of one. She grew up as a missionary kid in Belize, Central America, the youngest of 10 children. In addition to her twin’s death, she has since lived through the loss of two other sisters. Michelle's new book, Joyfully Star-Mapping through Life's Dung Piles, shares about her journey through her wrenching sadness. Visit www.michellejoybooks.ca to learn more.

Invisible Beauty. Tangible Beauty. Heavenly Beauty. By Peggianne Wright

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship." (Psalm 18:1 NLT)

I believe beauty is a choice we make. But also an instinct; a subconscious reaction and shift of emotion to an external circumstance. To experience beauty is an act of faith.

Recently, as I was walking home from our community mailbox late one afternoon, I witnessed a "falling star". The split second experience made me want to tell everyone. I couldn't wait to get home to tell my husband what I'd witnessed. And yet, in this brief but beautifully mesmerizing phenomenon, I felt a warm stirring in my chest, a highly personal and private moment where I heard my own small inner voice saying, "That was God!"

The meteor I witnessed was likely hundreds of kilometers away and the object itself likely only a few centimeters in diameter. Massive yet minute. Global yet intimate. God's beauty is inexplicable and inspiring.

"O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." (Psalm 104:24 KJV)

And just as God orchestrates a spectacular act so small and yet so enormous as to remind us that He alone is the Creator of all (Genesis 1), in that very moment it felt like His personal message was displayed for me alone and yet for the entire world simultaneously.

As a Christian writer, I bear the enormous responsibility of speaking to my audience in words that point them to our Lord in a personal way and yet in kinship as brothers and sisters of Christ. At the same time, my deep faith reminds me that the burden is not entirely my own but is borne through the guidance and collaboration of the Heavenly Father.

To a writer, words are the tools of creation. God has gifted and equipped us with the ability to inspire beauty in every keystroke. In the dark moments of a writer's life, beauty will be born through the story that leads the reader towards light and healing. Through experiences of joy and happiness, beauty is magnified and shared when a writer inspires the reader to smile and feel uplifted. Beauty is private yet public as each experience comes first from deep within a writer's heart, touched by the Holy Spirit, and then amplified to the world at large.

Beauty unfolds for the writer when a reader is moved to both share and yet personally savour our words—God's words—of meaningful inspiration and nurturing. Beauty is experienced when our messages stir a reader's sense of intimacy yet communal connection to God and His Word.

A "falling star", or meteor, is basically a piece of rock that has been flying through space for perhaps billions of years, and vapourizes with a brilliant flash upon entering earth's atmosphere. From the day of Genesis 1:1, that piece of rock was traversing throughout the galaxy waiting for its moment to blaze one dazzling moment of beauty into the sky over my tiny place on this gargantuan planet. Every moment in time is on God's schedule, unfolding at His command. The beauty within our written messages is also being formed within God's plan and being read and appreciated, reflected on and embraced at just the precise right moment for someone in our audience; His perfect timing.

Whether invisible, such as a lilac-scented spring breeze, tangible, such as a newborn fawn, or heavenly, as a miracle fulfilled, beauty is a gift that inspires our writing. When we draw from every form of God's beauty, cobble it into a collection of thoughts and reflections, and share it with others, a beautiful gift is both given and received.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11 ESV)

Peggianne Wright is a published author and is the founder of the pet parent ministry Paws To Pray, blending her passion for the Lord and all-things-K9 to form this unique, faith-based community. Peggianne is an ardent Bible study student, devoted dog mom, wife of 44 years, and lover of music. Her blogs Spiritual Scribbles and Fur-Kid Fanatics can be found on her website www.PawsToPray.ca and you can follow her on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PawsToPray/ and on IG @Sister_In_Prayer.

 

Even Ugly Can Become Beautiful by Bob Jones

  

“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the

longing to find the place where all the

beauty came from.” C. S. Lewis

 

“God makes everything beautiful in its own time.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

“What could be more beautiful than people

becoming what God intended them to be and

having some small part as a writer in

their transformation.” NJ Lindquist

You and I may disagree on what is beautiful, but we can agree there is beauty all around us. We all enjoy something pleasing to the eye. Beauty can move and convert your heart to new thought, new faith, and new horizons.

You can find beauty in writing about raising a family, making a marriage work, advancing the causes of justice, and in contexts that range from the mundane to the mysterious. Perhaps the most intriguing beauty may rise, as NJ Lindquist asserts, from some small part you play as a writer in people’s transformation.

Poetry and prose possess a beautiful quality. And even though we can’t always physically see it we know it when we feel it.

And for writers, or any creative for that matter, even ugly can become beautiful.

Start Ugly

As Jason Dauphinee points out in, 10 Uncomfortable Truths For People Who Lead With Heart,

“Never brainstorm sitting still. Start ugly. Write the bad version. Sketch the crooked line. Motion tells your nervous system you’re safe enough to wander— and that’s where the real work begins.”

Writing the "bad version" has been a fruitful writing practise for me. As well, starting with the ugly, the suffering and hardships in life, has been a way to discover beauty.

 

In Home Behind The Sun, authors Timothy Willard and Jason Locy offer a spiritually rich perspective on beauty:

“It’s easy to focus on the brokenness and miss the beauty – to get hung up on the ‘what-if’ of a situation. No matter how dark our world, no matter how many shadows cast their despair on us, beauty remains. No matter how much pain and suffering rise to conquer us, God overwhelms them, causing good to come from even the blackest circumstances.”

Take away all the colours of the rainbow and you won’t get darkness; you get pure and radiant white. No matter how hard you try to black it out, light seeps through the cracks.

Willard and Locy observe that what we see as beautiful points to something else - the thing behind “the thing." It’s not really "the thing" we desire at all. We see beauty and we long for God.

5 Observations of Beauty

1. Our souls were made to run on the practice of worship, law-keeping, truthfulness, honesty, discipline, self-control, and service to God and others, which is beauty.

2. When we live contrary to our designed purpose, we dry up and lose the capacity for beauty.

3. Beauty is in the brilliance of the everyday - in innocence, forgiveness, physicality, deformity, art, music, mathematics, relationships and more.

4. Beauty is that surprising clarity that arrests and liberates our attention, evoking awe and wonder and opening us to the eternal.

5. God is beauty and beauty is love.

 

Which observation stood out to you?

Where do you observe beauty? Please comment at the bottom of this post.

Thank you.

Longing for Beauty by Lorrie Orr

 

June 2026: Writing as beauty. In his book Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, John O'Donahue writes "to participate in beauty is to come into the presence of the Holy." What does creating beauty mean to you and your writing? How have you sensed God's Holy Spirit filling you as he did Bezalel and Oholiab in Exodus 35:30-35?

Beauty is God's invitation to delight in him.

Wonder and awe whisper to us that there is

something beyond, something more.

Steve DeWitt, (Eyes Wide Open)

It's Sunday evening, May 31. Sunlight streams through the window onto the vase of peonies on the dining room table. How beautiful it is. I fill my eyes with the extravagantly ruffled pink and white blossoms while my mind ponders the question of beauty, and the fast-approaching deadline for this post. I had thought this would be an easy post to write, but instead, I've found the topic so vast that it's hard to pull something coherent together.

I have always been appreciative of beautiful things in the world, but it is only in the past few years that I've come to realize that embracing beauty is a personal core value - something that is important to me and that acts as a guiding principle in my life.

When I attended a concert in La Sainte Chapelle in Paris years ago, I marveled at the exquisite beauty of the chapel expressed through architecture, glass, stone, and paint. The music that soared upwards to the curving arches and filled every nook and cranny of the space was equally beautiful. Creative expression is a reminder to me of one way that humans are created in the image of God.

 

The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located

will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came

through them, and what came through them was longing...

For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower

we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard,

news from a country we have not yet visited.

C. S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory)

This ache of beauty, this longing I feel, reminds me that I am a spiritual being with a desire for something beyond myself, for that which is greater, for God himself. The Psalmist longs to "gaze upon the beauty of the Lord" throughout his life. The beauty of this world is a reflection of ultimate beauty, of God himself. More than an aesthetic quality, beauty has the most impact on me when I recognize God's presence in the things I experience.

In L. M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle, Barney says "There are so many kinds of loveliness." Beauty comes in myriad forms and I am glad that the Apostle Paul encourages us to think about lovely things. Beauty is multi-sensory, not just the things we see or hear. Human interactions such as watching a mother with her young baby, or cars pulling to the side of the road to let an ambulance by, or a conversation with a grandchild - all of these things, and so much more, are experiences of beauty.

Beauty does not erase the brokenness of this world, but something in me was created to absorb beauty and to recognize its divine source. As a writer, I long for my words to point to the beautiful grace and goodness of God. The goal of beautiful writing is to make the reader feel some emotion. Even when my writing is not explicitly spiritual, when someone reads my words and discovers a longing they cannot perhaps explain, that is beauty.

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island.

Her first book, Life is Short but Wide, a memoir of 21 years

in Ecuador, was recently published.

More of her writing can be found at 

Substack

her slice of life blog

Where to Write by Brenda J Wood

 

Where do I write? Who knows for sure!
I write on paper, anywhere words endure.
I write on the table. I write when half-dead.
I seldom though sometimes write on my bed.

I write when I'm bushed,
And I write when I’m shushed.
I write on the porch
And even by torch.

I write in a crowd with noise all around.
I’ve written in private, surrounded by sound.
You simply can't stop me. I write 'cause I must.
I’ve even been caught writing on a bus.

I write 'cause I’m able. I write here and there.
I write all my problems and even my care.
How do I do this? See what I said?
Most of my writing is done in my head.

(Top )Image by landsmann from pexels.com

Brenda J Wood has authored more than fifty books. She is a seasoned motivational speaker, who declares the Word of God with wisdom, humour, and common sense.

Woodlawn Blue by Joylene Bailey

 ~~~~~

I've written in many places in my lifetime: at the island in the kitchen as dinner simmers on the stove, on my dining room table before the dishes have been cleared away, in coffee shops, on the front porch in the mornings, in a journal on a cruise ship, on my daughter's couch with a newborn grandbaby in one arm ... and the list goes on. I can write anywhere. But I would say my most creative work happens when and where I can be solitary and uninterrupted. That place is at my desk in the early mornings.

Jane Austen wrote several novels on a portable mahogany writing desk which she placed on a small twelve-sided tripod table. This was in the dining room of the home she shared with her mom and sister. In the movie, Miss Austen Regrets, there's a compelling scene that takes place in this room. I don't know how true it is to Jane's life, but it depicts everything I feel when I am deep into writing and an interruption occurs.

In the scene, Jane is writing at her little desk when sister Cassandra comes in to set the table. Cassandra is being as quiet as one can be with clinking silverware and porcelain plates, but Jane is distracted from her writing. She doesn't move, save for lifting her pen from the page and holding it there until Cassandra leaves the room. Then she begins to write again. It's the action of someone who doesn't want to lose the thought, so she freezes in time to hold onto it until the distraction is done. How I resonate with that! I need quiet, with no interruptions.

I'm pretty sure I'm writing all the time. I'm certainly observing with writing in mind, even when I don't realize I'm doing it.

The way the cashier tucks her hair behind her ear becomes the quirk of a secondary character. Questions my grandkids ask turn into what-ifs. How a certain word rolls off the tongue in the middle of a conversation with the piano tuner fills the blank in my manuscript. It's all fodder.

But the actual sit-down-work-at-my-computer writing happens at home in my favourite room. For years I'd dreamed of this space. It had to be big enough to embrace my quilting, my own library, and a spacious writing desk. This dream was finally realized four years ago when I entered my sixties.

The walls are painted Woodlawn Blue, with trim in Cloud White. Large windows on two walls face north and east, letting in golden sunrises and lots of light. Wafting breezes billow the lace curtains. If that sounds idyllic, it is, even when quilting projects clutter the sewing table and resource books crowd my desk. It's a place where I can close the door if I need to, when I don't want to be interrupted. My best work happens here. It's my sacred space.

I come here in the mornings, when the light shining through the windows sweeps the bookshelves with a golden pink glow and tiptoes across the floor into the living room beyond. The only distractions come from outside: birds chirping in season, our neighbour's rooster cock-a-doodling, the odd coyote howling in the distance. However, these are less distractions than they are reminders that God is over all. It's here, in this sacred space, where I feel His pleasure when I write.

Jane Austen might have wished for a more private place to write, at a proper desk with an ergonomic chair. But maybe not. After all, she managed to write seven novels that have remained popular for over two hundred years, mostly on a little twelve-sided table. Would she have considered that her sacred space?

I finished this post on my granddaughter's tenth birthday, in my daughter's bright living room. At times it was noisy and chaotic with excitement. So yes, I can write anywhere, but I do write best at home, in my sacred space of Woodlawn Blue.

~~~~~

Feature Photo from Pixabay

Joy writes from her Woodlawn Blue writing space in lake country, Alberta, where she lives with The Cowboy and their livestock - a dog and two cats. As a gentle encourager, she writes short stories, articles, and poetry for adults, and stories for children. She is working on a longer work of fiction. Find more of her joy-infused writing at Scraps of Joy.

 

We Can Write In The Margins by Mary Folkerts

Life is a beautiful, breathtaking, awe-inspiring journey strewn with hard decisions, unexpected diagnoses, unfulfilled dreams, and broken promises. No one is exempt from hard things. The expectation of a pain-free life is unrealistic, but that doesn't mean it can’t still be a wonderful life!

What if there was a way to reclaim that brokenness and bring some purpose to the hurt we’ve experienced by leaving breadcrumbs of hope for others to follow? Bread crumbs that lead those who find themselves in similar circumstances to a place of understanding and maybe even peace?

When our daughter was born with Down syndrome, I found myself scouring the internet, looking for words of comfort. I wanted to know what others before us had experienced, how they dealt with the diagnosis, the best resources and therapies, and the possible outcomes. Would she reach the milestones, read books, or ride a bike? What potential did she have for a quality life? We were not the first to ask these difficult questions, and I was grateful to those who took the time to be vulnerable and share their stories.

The experiences we have in life always change us. They can make us better or bitter. If we let them make us better and stronger, we have an excellent opportunity to share what we’ve learned with others and how it can, in turn, help them. Sharing our journey will be the continuation of our own healing process.

Inspiration strikes us wherever God is—which is everywhere and anywhere

To share your story doesn’t mean you must have a designated desk and chair at which you spend hours upon hours writing. It can mean writing it down in the margins of your day, before you begin your chores, or in the evenings as the day winds down. It can mean that when you find yourself alone, on the drive, in the garden or in the bathroom, that the words pour out and you grab your phone or paper to quickly record what God placed there.

Now, in saying that, when a deadline looms for a project, or I have dedicated work I need to get done, I find I like to go into my room and sit at my desk (or walk on my walking pad as I have a standing desk). When I turn on my lamp and set out my laptop, it triggers my brain that it’s time to get to work. I have been working on a poetry book—poetry for the anxious soul—slated for early fall publication, so this is where I will do this work.

Inspiration strikes us wherever God is—which is everywhere and anywhere. We need to be ready to capture those words before they are lost to the wind.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a member of Proverbs 31 Ministries' COMPEL Writers Training, involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/

Writing in the Sacred Space by Sharon Heagy

As I snuggled down among the bedclothes not quite ready to leave that sleepy half-awake state, a thought came to my brain. It's Mother's Day. The airwaves and social media had been bombarding our thoughts since Easter, spouting ideas and filling mothers' brains with visions of lovely Sunday brunches full of pastel colours, cloth napkins, real silverware and well dressed, perfectly behaved young children in glass walled restaurants where the sunlight beams in with heavenly rays, when what moms really want is a nap. I found out recently that many a mom would like to check into a hospital, just for a day or two, not to be sick but to have some rest and be served meals that someone else cooked. And even though that is not the reality of hospital life any more than a perfect Sunday Brunch, it gave me solace to know that I wasn't the only one who had that thought cross their mind when life with kids got crazy.

Mother's Day for many means choking down burnt toast and scrambled eggs, with a few crunchy shells thrown in for good measure, while wide eyed, expectant, flannel clad children look on as Mom, who may be riding post birth waves of hormonal instability, takes those first few bites of an almost inedible breakfast made with love. With a few gulps of coffee to wash it down and regain use of her vocal cords she announces, "It's wonderful. Thank you so much! I love it." The chubby cheeked cherubs break out in ear-to-ear smiles, relieved that Mom is loving their feast. Before she can clear her plate the kids are bringing out homemade artistic gifts from the cut and paste club, where more paint and glue stick to clothes and hair and hands than to paper. And the drawings! A wee bit Picasso and a wee bit 'what on earth is that' which, now that I think of it, is much like some Picassos. Mothers must develop an ability to discover the intention of their young artists without causing distress and unhappiness and ruining their, I mean her, day.

For many, this day of recognition is wonderful and welcome, for others it is a day to be endured and for some it is a day filled with sorrow. Yet, all these reactions come from a place of love. Whether it be a longing to share love, a love that has been lost or a love that stands beside the bed wide eyed. And all of it comes from God, who is Love.

When I popped awake that morning a few weeks ago, I realized that writing doesn't always need a specific place or time. In fact, I was amazed that my brain was firing at all in those early moments. The hamster that runs the wheel in my head hadn't even had breakfast and my desk in the basement was basking in a sunbeam dust dance.

Even as I write this post, I am not in the familiar surroundings of my own house or town but I am in the big city watching over my grandchildren. It had me a bit worried to be honest. The pressure of a deadline in the uncertainty of life on a different schedule had me slightly nervous. But what I am finding is, it is good to write in unfamiliar places with fresh perspectives. It is a good exercise, not to be feared but embraced!

The kids and I were walking home from the store and were taking a shortcut down the lane when we came across a pile of dirt and a ladder on the lane side of a fence. I asked them to make up a story about the ladder and the dirt, which both seemed to be in odd spots. Why was the dirt not closer to the gate? And why was the ladder there? It seemed to have no purpose whatsoever in the place it had been set. We could not see through the fence to see what was on the yard side that might explain this mystery. They came up with a few ideas as I encouraged them to go beyond the obvious and use their brilliant imaginations. While listening to them, my own mind was swirling with possibilities that would somehow connect to Jacob's ladder.

Heading home after walking the youngest to school, I was forced from the sidewalk by a bike gang and was almost attacked by some of the wildlife in this city! Ok, really there was just one kid on a bike and I stepped out of his way and the wildlife was a single rabbit. But the ideas were there.

The ideas will come wherever your brain goes. Recall all the places Paul wrote. He wrote while travelling, while ministering, and while in prison. The nudges and notions will come wherever Love lives, which is everywhere. He who is not bound by time or space can take whatever we encounter and turn it into a piece for His purposes. Though I know this, it still comes as a revelation after being told to set up a specific space for my creative juices to flow. It seems to me now that both are true and if both these things are possible, how many more wonderful pieces will be added to the puzzle of writing as God leads.

I still prefer to write in the sacred basement space, but I am coming to realize wherever I am is sacred because He is there. Thanks be to God.

 

Sharon Heagy writes from the wonderful town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, where she lives with her husband, a big dog and furry cats. She writes to bring hope and humour to a world that needs both. She can be reached at sharonheagy@gmail.com


Thanks for taking the time to visit today. God bless.

Welcome to My Office by Dana-Lyn Phillips

 

I consider myself lucky in a lot of ways. My home office comes with its own coffee machine, refrigerator, stove and sink. Not only does this make endless cups of coffee convenient, but it also ensures that I can have a hot lunch each day if I want.

If you’re confused, thinking that it sounds like more of a kitchen than an office…you’re right.

We live in a 950 square foot bungalow with only a partially finished basement.  With a husband, two kids, and a dog, there's honestly no where to go...ever.  So, that's why the kitchen table has become my desk.

Is it ideal? Of course not, but I work with what I have.

When I first started writing daily, and setting up a space on Substack, I was spending 12+ hours a day at the table with a small laptop. It wasn’t long, before this ergonomical nightmare created problems so deep within my body, that it took multiple osteopathic treatments to recover.

That prompted the purchase of a very expensive, memory foam seat cushion, which has brought my tushy, and back, much relief. Honestly, it was worth every penny.

My laptop sits on a shoebox that is layered with books, in an effort to raise the screen to the optimal height. A quick trip, to the electronic graveyard in our basement, provided me with an old keyboard that enabled me to type at a more appropriate level.

I’m not going to lie, it’s not pretty, and it’s definitely not professional, but it gets the job done. That’s all that matters…right?

Before any writing takes place, my mornings begin with God. Since my writing (mostly) focuses on encouraging others in their faith, I would never be equipped, if I was not feeding myself spiritually first. I generally rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading for topics, and references, so this is the most important part of my day—vital to my own spiritual growth, but also for the success of my writing.

Next, is a hot cup of coffee and a quick call with mom. Yes, we talk every morning. Since my father’s passing, two decades ago, this has become a daily routine. Not only is it a good check-in, to make sure she is alive and well, but it’s also a time of encouragement. My mom is one of my biggest supporters when it comes to my writing.

By 9:30 a.m. the work begins. Everyone has finally left home for work or school. The dog has been out at least three times (insert eyeroll here), so he’s finally ready to settle in next to me for the long haul.

My mornings are generally super productive. If I am on a roll, I will often write until 1 p.m. at which point my stomach reminds me that I missed lunch. A quick bite to eat, and a loop around the block with the pooch, enable me to return to the kitchen chair for another couple of hours.

I’m not often distracted, but when I am, it is usually because it's a really nice day out and I find myself staring out the window. Since the eye doctor once told me it’s good to take breaks during the day to stare into the distance and reset my eyes, I feel these breaks are not only justified but mandated.

I’m still pretty new to this world of writing, so I haven’t dealt with writer's block often, but when I do, it’s pretty scary…especially when I have a deadline to meet. The best antidote, I have found, is prayer, and playing some Christian music way too loud. On days when I am really stumped, there may be some dancing, but I will deny it if anyone asks.

Maybe one day the kids will move out and I’ll have an office of my own. One with corner windows, a new computer, an ergonomical chair, and a built in speaker system necessary for those rare days when writer’s block hits and nothing will suffice but a dance party.

It’s good to have dreams right?

 

Dana-Lyn is a wife, and mother to teenage boys as well as a 14-year-old cava-poo named Hockley. She is passionate about encouraging Christian women in their faith and is stepping into her mid-life "calling" as a writer. Her happy place consists of a comfy chair, a great book, a hot cup of coffee and a chocolate…or three! You can read more of her work at https://plansfargreater.substack.com

My Places to Write by Alan Anderson

 

Physical Places

I write most often at home in the front bedroom and always with the curtains open. Morning is my preferred time of day to write, and I never write in the evening. Home is where I am most comfortable writing, and perhaps the familiarity of home adds to a sense of belonging as the words flow.

I also enjoy writing in a local coffee shop in the company of other people. I don’t, however, interact with them, but I can write as if alone. There is something about the atmosphere of the coffee shops I am attracted to that allows me to concentrate and write with focus.

A Different Perspective

As I developed this blog post, thoughts kept going through my mind about a different perspective of “place.” I kept thinking of the perspective of one of my all-time favourite writers, John O’Donohue. With our Celtic backgrounds, I am drawn to his words as a life-giving drink of water. I resonate with his term, “inner landscape.”

The Place of My Inner Landscape

My favourite place to write is a place inside me where my mind and heart meet. In time, my soul engages, and my writing receives my embrace. This is my inner landscape, a term I first read about in books by the poet John O’Donohue. O’Donohue explores the inner landscape in books like Anam Cara and The Inner Landscape. Lord willing, I will write more about the inner landscape in a future post.

This inner landscape is the place where I absorb life within me and around me. This place, where the joys, sorrows, experiences, and memories of my life proclaim who I am. Within this place, my poems and stories are born.

I have heard writers say they like to write for several hours per day. Energy and concentration are my fuel for writing. My approach is based on the energy available to me from my inner landscape. For instance, my energy level one day might be higher than the day before. In such a case, I might write for three hours, where the day before might have been for one hour. This approach works for me and helps me accomplish writing projects.

Highway traffic, shopping malls crowded with people and impersonal stores, all remind me I cannot write amid noise. These crowded spaces drain my energy and frustrate my creativity. For me, such noise drowns out the words within me.

My wife, family, my church, strangers, the world around me, help form and bring to life the words that make their way onto a page. This inner landscape, this sacred space from which I write, is where I hear God’s still small voice. This still small voice requires I listen. If I listen, I will focus on what I am to write.

The acknowledgement of the reality of my inner landscape sets my writing free. My imagination can bounce all over the place, but my reflective nature allows imagination to be brought into focus. I don’t just write and hope for the best. The words that come to life express what I want to say to my readers.

My inner landscape is with me whether I write at home or in some more public physical location. This inner landscape, this place where I write from, has formed my writer’s voice and writes the story of who I am.

 

Alan lives in a small village called Deroche, British Columbia, with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He enjoys walking on the dike near his home, with trees all around and where he finds inspiration to write. He has occasionally written articles for FellowScript Magazine and is a regular contributor to the InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship blog. Alan’s website and blog is https://scarredjoy.ca. He also writes on Substack.

The Search for the Ideal Writing Spot by Steph Beth Nickel

 

a coffeeshop 

i wish

but the espresso machine

the buzz of conversation

the bell that sounds

every. single. time

the door opens

nope

not a coffeeshop

<sigh>

the park

i should be walking

i should be taking photos

i should have worn

bug spray

sunscreen

a hat

nope

not the park

<double sigh>

my desk

nonexistent

happens in the midst of renos

 in its place

couch that needs replacing

multipurpose couch

reading nook

dining area

location for napping

for now

the couch is it

my makeshift writing spot

ideal

far from it

but workable

temporary

a spot

to be grateful for

but maybe

just maybe

i'll give the coffeeshop

or even the park

another try

how about you

Steph Beth Nickel is the former Editor of FellowScript and the current InScribe Contest Coordinator. Steph is an editor and author and plans to relocate to Saskatchewan from Ontario to be close to family in this year or next. (Headshot Photo Credit: Jaime Mellor Photography)

A Variety of Writing Spaces by Sandi Somers

 

I once read an article about all the gymnastics the author Vivian Gornick did to set herself up to write her book. She needed the perfect desk, the perfect light, the perfect life. While she busied herself with all these preparations, the time for writing never came.

“Relatable, right?” the article went on to say. “The truth is, you can write anywhere, anyhow, on scraps of paper, while you are bored, miserable, or half dead. So sit down and write your book.” (Thanks also to Lorrie for her delightful poem on how she can write anywhere).

My writing spaces (among others)

I begin in the early mornings at my kitchen table for my quiet time with the Lord. In the coziness of a small space, it feels intimate. My mind is clear and not yet filled with the day’s responsibilities. Often I encounter a new gold nugget from deep in the Lord’s treasure house, and an idea sparks for a devotional or article. I write an outline-of-sorts and then dictate the pre-draft or draft into my cellphone to be later transferred and developed into a Word document.

Then I move to my dining room table where I revise or edit. Why the table? My current home has a small office with a north-facing window. When I first moved here, I wrote in that office. One spring morning, I emerged from my writing to sit in the sunshine on my east-facing porch. “I can’t continue to write in there—it’s too closed in!” I told myself. After experimenting with different rooms, I chose the table in my large living room with a window to the east. Occasionally I look up from my work, and my spirit expands to the world around me—snow, sunshine, and at this season, tree leaves budding out.

From spring to autumn, I walk to a nearby park or pond (that’s the photo above). Walking helps me process prayers, life issues, and gives me writing ideas or solutions.

At night ideas can flow in that in-between sleeping and waking state. I turn on the light and scribble a few notes, or even an outline, in a notepad I keep beside my bed. Very often these ideas are significant, and writing solidifies what might dissipate by morning.

I also write notes during church services and while waiting for my doctor’s or dentist’s appointment.

Why do authors choose their writing spaces?

I love reading about how famous writers designate a specific time and place to give focused attention to their work. Check out Nicole Bianche’s article here.

● To ensure they won’t get distracted.

Maya Angelou needed a sterile space away from home. She rented a hotel room, stripped any artwork from the walls, and wrote.

I couldn’t be like Annie Dillard who wrote in a dark room. She even said the children playing a game outside would distract her, so she pulled down the blinds and drew a picture of the children. My question was: Does she have ADHD? Is she easily distracted? (I shiver to even think of writing in this darkness!)

● To establish routines to heighten motivation

Ernest Hemingway said he sharpened 12 pencils first thing in the morning. As a writer before the computer age, he needed to be prepared for his day’s work.

The prolific Isaac Asimov kept five or six typewriters in his writing room, each for a separate book he was working on. When he began for the day, he would choose a topic, go to that specific typewriter, slide in a blank paper, and type his many words. (We can equal that. With our computers, we can click from one project to another in seconds.).

● To focus, despite spatial limitations.

Jane Austen of Pride and Prejudice wrote from the table in their house, a house with parents, five daughters, and servants. When guests arrived, she’d tuck her draft pages under a book and be sociable.

Authors with small children adapt. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a major influence on freeing slaves in the US, often with a child on her lap. Our Canadians Karen Stiller and Patricia Paddy initially had to clear away someone’s artwork or homework before they could begin. When making a business call, they hoped the little ones would be quiet long enough before yelling, “Mom!”

Conclusion

No matter where we write, we write for the Lord. I’m often reminded of Psalm 45:1: “My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.” And as Dallas Willard said, “you must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God.[i]


[i] Dallas Willard, in Patricia Paddy & Karen Stiller, (Craft, Cost & Call, Victoria, BC: Friesen Press, 2019), 97