Seeing Things Differently by Steph Beth Nickel

It's so easy to go through life on fast forward and miss the wonder all around. And at this time of year, if you do take the time to slow down, the biting cold, the blowing snow, and the overcast skies may get you down. We must choose to see things differently, to focus on the beauty in the midst of it all.

I love to take pictures. There's nothing that cheers my heart like going for a photo walk and looking at life through the lens of my camera.

God created an amazing world. And Romans 1:20 says, "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made" (ESV). Amazing!

Below are some of the pictures I took in years gone by (when we had far more snow). What warms your heart when the cold winds blow? What have you learned about God from His creation?

Uncreative but Passionate! by Tandy Balson

I have never thought of myself as a creative person.  While others were busy with wondrous creations I referred to myself as craft challenged!

As long as I can remember I have had a passion for singing. This was my creative outlook. When I was a child my mom taught me songs that she’d learned as a girl. We would always sing in the car rather than listen to the radio.  I joined choirs in school and carried the love of music into my adult years.  

When my daughter was in Girl Guides I had fun learning the Brownie and Guide songs.  Soon I became Area Music Trainer and went from group to group teaching songs, musical games and folk dances to enthusiastic girls and their leaders. I stayed with the organization for fifteen years and sharing music was one of the highlights for me.

One of my musical outlets was as an active member of the Sweet Adelines, a women’s chorus that sang four-part harmony acapella.  I also spent many years as a member of church worship teams. This was the ultimate passion for me as singing praises to the Lord enabled me to feel connected to him in a way that nothing else could.

Our little church closed five years ago and the desire to join the worship team at our new church was never present.  I enjoyed singing as a member of the congregation, but didn’t feeling the calling to be part of the music ministry.

God replace this passion with a totally unexpected one. Gradually I felt him calling me to start writing. He has inspired me and given me words to share. This has fulfilled me in a way that only music had in the past.  To accompany the writing I have discovered a new-found interest in photography. My trusty iPhone camera is ever present!  These two new passions have helped me focus on the wonders and beauty that God surrounds us with everyday.

Although I look at creative people and think how nice it must be to have their talents, I refuse to say it will never happen. A few short years ago I wouldn’t have believed I had the ability to write. God can do amazing things when I trust him. I’ve heard of a business in my area that gives lessons in working with stained glass.  Maybe God will lead me in that direction!

Activities that Feed my Spirit - Ruth L. Snyder

I have come to realize that some activities are almost as important to me as breathing. Music and taking pictures of nature - enjoying beauty, are two activities that feed my spirit. I also enjoy baking and crafts - sewing, knitting, crocheting, and cross stitch, but crafts have had to take a back-seat while I raise my children. My kids encourage me to bake often!

A selection of pies I made

 Steve Bell describes beauty this way:

"I think beauty is one of the touchstones that everyone can relate to. You see a great sunset and, believer or non-believer, at that point you're connecting to something you know deep in your soul, which is far beyond something you know in your head. And music has the ability to connect people...like a sunset can, or a great vista...it's a tool to bring people to a sense of transcendence. There is something beyond me happening here." (Why do we hunger for beauty?)

 My parents are both musical. My dad played an E-flat alto horn - similar to a french horn, but with a larger mouthpiece. He also whistled, and sang bass. I heard my mom play accordion and piano, and she also talked about playing a sousaphone in a marching band during her school years. We spent many hours singing as a family, during family devotions, at church, and while traveling. I learned how to sing both soprano and alto from listening to my mom.

As a young child, I remember longing for the opportunity to learn how to play the piano. My parents were missionaries and moved frequently, so we didn't have a piano for many years. However, when I was nine I attended school for a year in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe). Although my siblings and I were five hundred miles away from our parents, one benefit was that I was able to take piano lessons. In one year I learned enough that I was placed at the grade two level when we came back to North America. I'm thankful I was able to continue all the way through completing grade 10 piano and theory.

Today I share my love of music by playing at our church, leading our church choir, accompanying and singing in the Elk Point Community Choir, and teaching private piano lessons as well as Music for Young Children.

My dad was a printer, but one of his hobbies was taking pictures, developing, and printing them himself. (This was when you had to load film into your camera and pictures were developed using chemicals in a darkroom.) Since we lived in southern Africa at the time, we were able to go to game parks where animals like lions, giraffe, and crocodiles lived in their natural habitat. Although I didn't enjoy having to sit still for what seemed like hours, I did enjoy watching the images come to life in the dark room. My dad also took many pictures of the beautiful African sunsets - even in black and white they looked amazing.

Today I often take walks and snap pictures as I go. When we travel, I take my Sony a200 with me. I have also been asked to take pictures at events like anniversaries, motorcycle Sunday at our church, the Elk Point Dinner Theatre, and of course, our InScribe Fall Conference. Nature is still my favourite subject.

Pink-tipped roses

Winter beauty

Sunrise from my window

Elk at dusk in Jasper

I also shared a post on my personal blog today of some pictures I took on my iPhone during my morning walk. You can check it out at http://ruthlsnyder.com/a-little-slice-of-heaven/#.V2AiTmZ_w7w.

What feeds your spirit? How do you enjoy and share beauty?

The Making of a Creative by Steph Beth Nickel

I believe creatives are fueled by exposure to creativity and to those with a creative spirit.

Many of us remember books from our childhood. Among my favourite authors were P.D. Eastman, whose children's books I still quote, and Carolyn Keene. Nancy Drew books introduced me to the cliffhanger, which kept me reading "just one more chapter."

"Are you my mother?" "But the big thing just said, 'Snort!'"

Nancy Drew books captivated me as a young reader.

And even before I could read on my own, I remember snuggling with my mom as she read to me. I suppose that's one reason I have such fond memories of reading as a child.

While it's true that not all readers grow up to be writers, it's safe to say that most writers are readers. Considering the vast numbers of books in my library that I have yet to read, which I'm adding to regularly, this is certainly true of me.

Again, this is thanks to my mom. She didn't simply love reading; she loved books themselves.

I remember the thrill when one of my assignments, a board book for children, was selected and put on display in my school library. How cool is that!

I also remember a silly little kids' story I wrote many, many years ago. When I rediscovered it in my closet, I laughed and laughed as I read it. My English teacher wasn't nearly as impressed with my brilliance as I was. I suppose that was my first negative review. Oh, well!

I used to write poems by candlelight. I can still picture myself doing so. Poetry-writing persisted over the years. For quite a while I wrote a poem every day for my first blog, free2soar.

I remember my mom reading a complaint letter she wrote to Green Giant about their canned or frozen corn; I can't remember which. It was incredibly clever. She wrote it in the form of a poem.

Writing is not my only creative endeavour that goes way back. 

I loved to take photographs . . . and still do. 

I'm not sure where my love of picture-taking came from, but I'm thankful just the same.

And last I'll mention my interest in painting and drawing. In fact, I was accepted to the Sheridan fine arts program when I was 17, but I wasn't ready to move away from home. Plus, God had a better plan for my future. (Thank you, Lord!)

A few years back I dabbled with abstract painting just for fun. I feel compelled to stress those last three words, "just for fun."

I can also trace my interest in fine art to my mom. Although she didn't do much of it, she was quite good at painting. 

Ultimately, I attribute my creative spirit to the Lord. It is part of my being, part of what makes me me.

But humanly speaking, I look back and see my mom's fingerprints all over my creative spirit. 

Thanks, Mom! You will forever and always be loved and appreciated.

 

Joy Breaks - Ruth L. Snyder

"Do you have an 'artist's date?' What do you do to re-energize yourself for writing?"

As I read other posts in February answering the above question, I have to admit I've felt pangs of jealousy. I'd love to have the freedom to enjoy many of the re-energizing activities mentioned, but at this point in my life it's just not possible. I have five children ages 6-17 in my home, including three teenagers and individuals with special needs.

Ann Voskamp reminds us:

"Comparison is a thug that robs your joy. But it's even more than that - comparison makes you a thug who beats down somebody - or your soul."

Now there's food for thought! So, instead of focusing on what I can't do, I'll share what I AM able to do to re-energize myself for writing. I call it taking joy breaks:

• Choose gratitude. When I'm tempted to grumble, I make a list of things I'm thankful for and focus on those things. This focus inspires me in my writing.

• Go for a walk in nature. I'm privileged to live on a quarter section with space to roam, natural beauty to enjoy, and fresh air. Taking a walk gets the blood pumping, muscles moving, and oxygen saturating my blood. I often feel like writing after I take a walk.

• Find inspiring quotes. Every day I keep my eyes open for quotes that speak to my heart. Often I use WordSwag or Canva to make a graphic and share it on my social media. I've found this not only encourages me, but it also inspires others and helps promote other authors' work as well.

• Take pictures. Taking pictures makes me pay attention to beauty. It can be all around me and yet I miss it because I'm so busy rushing to get everything done. My camera has helped renew my energy and capture precious memories I would otherwise forget.

A sunrise picture I took in the middle of getting my children ready for school

• Have a leisurely bath. This one takes some work, because like most Moms, as soon as I go into the bathroom, one of my children desperately needs me. I've become more intentional about when I take my baths - early in the morning before my children get up, late at night after they are sleeping, or after they've all gone to school.

• Be attentive. A couple weeks ago my husband and I took our three boys to Edmonton (a 2 1/2 hour trip one way) for appointments. We left at 5:00 a.m. and stopped at a truck stop in Sherwood Park for breakfast. The bathroom we've usually used was closed for cleaning, but I was told there was another bathroom on the other side of the truck stop. I followed the directions, but couldn't find the ladies' bathroom. A man was cleaning, so I stopped and asked him. I wasn't thinking about writing at all, but when I saw his name tag, my mind started whirling with ideas.

• Take a nap. Sometimes the best thing I can do for my writing is get some sleep!
• Read a book. Here are some books I've started reading: Growing Grateful Kids: Teaching them to appreciate an extraordinary God in ordinary places by Susie Larson, A Lifelong Love: What if marriage is about more than staying together by Gary Thomas, The Holy Spirit & Power by John Wesley, Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran. How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn, and Self-Publishing Boot Camp: Step-by-step to publishing, promoting and selling your book in print and every popular ebook format.

 I'm thankful for the joy breaks I can take. Do you have other ideas to share?

Ruth L. Snyder serves God as a wife, mother, music teacher, and writer. Her published works include articles, devotionals, short stories, and novellas. Connect with Ruth at http://ruthlsnyder.com

The Write Year by Steph Beth Nickel

A year to do nothing but write . . . what a thought!

If money weren’t an issue, I’d travel to Jasper, Alberta, with my hubby and meet up with our kids. (Dave loves it there and we’ve never vacationed in the mountains together.) I would also hop on a plane and visit our eldest son and his girlfriend in Scotland. Nathanial desperately wants to show us the sites. (And I think he’s just a tad homesick too.)

While I know I’m supposed to spend this glorious year writing, just imagine what wonderful inspiration I would get from my travels.

I would write blog posts galore and include photographs from my adventures. (I could write an entire book on Life through the Lens. Hey, maybe I’ll do that anyway. Dibs on the idea.)

I would also write an abundance of picture books and articles for children’s magazines. (I love writing picture book manuscripts. I just have to find an agent or publisher. Speaking of that . . . if this year to write could include having someone else find homes for my writing and take over the marketing end of the business, I would be beyond thrilled.)

I would love to write novels, but having so many wonderful friends who have done so, I wonder if I have the stick-to-it-iveness to see the process through—time and time again. Perhaps, I would focus on short stories and novellas.

If you’ve seen the Disney movie Up, you will understand me when I say I have Squirrel Syndrome—or as I prefer to call it, Butterfly Syndrome. I tend to flit from one thing to the next.

Barbara Sher wrote a book titled Refuse to Choose. Some people seem to be born knowing exactly what they want to do in life and they make a beeline for whatever it is. However, God did not make us all that way. I am eclectically-interested and eclectically-involved. For the most part, that’s exactly how I like it.

So, would The Write Year look much different than my life does now? Well, yes, since most of my writing-related endeavours involve editing other people’s work (which I love, by the way). But when it comes to writing, I would still flit from one project to the next. I would write for preschoolers and seniors—and for most everyone in between.

There is one project I would likely jump into with both feet if I had the opportunity. Since Deb Willows’ memoir was released, people have been complaining that it is too short and want to know when her next book is coming out. Given an entire year to write, we could make tremendous headway on Book 2. So, if I had to choose a single project, in all likelihood, that would be it.

But since I don’t anticipate the windfall that would make this possible, I will continue to rejoice in the opportunities the Lord brings my way and I will seek to remember God’s command in Colossian 3:23, which says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord” (ESV).

You can read more of Steph’s writing at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests. You are also invited to visit her website, http://stephbethnickel.com/