April Wrap-Up

In the last couple of weeks, I have been stricken with excusitis. You know, that disease where excuses are the symptoms but the real problem is fear.

Excuses like:

• no time
• too many interruptions
• too sleepy to think

when the real culprit is the fear I've nothing else to say. Nothing that anyone wants to read, anyway ...

As so often happens when I've a problem, the answer will come out of my own mouth! (The Lord has a sense of humor and often uses me to "encourage" me.)

My "formerly-homeless" friend Elizabeth was telling me of her struggles to create art. We had a conversation today that stepped on my toes. She told me she threw her painting down on the table and walked away intending to never come back until inspiration strikes again.

We are at that comfortable stage of friendship where you can pretty well say what you think and I remarked we southerners call such actions "hissy fits."

Then, I told her, "You know, teachers have to teach every day. Mechanics have to work on vehicles every day. Doctors have to practice medicine every day. What makes creatives think they can just work when they feel like it?"

Oh wow! I said to self, "Self, are you listening?"

Just because I haven't woke up with a "big idea" floating around in my brain, doesn't mean I shouldn't write.

After all, 

You can edit anything but a blank page. ... Write Practice, “11 Writing Tips That Will Change Your Life”

I've let practically a whole month go by while writing a whole lot of nothing... the saving grace is my quote journal. You guys, this is one of the most useful tools! Each month, I start a blank page and copy and paste any quote, conversation or link that I want to remember. I started out with just using quotes but now have branched into journaling on those pages as well. All I have to have is just a "seed" of an idea that I saved and I can do a search and find my quote or idea.

Then just to make things fun for me, the Lord let this gem pop up in my inbox in the form of a post from Michael Hyatt:

“In other words, keep your eye on the prize. The lack of discipline is really a lack of vision.”

Ouch!

What else happened in April?

Well, it makes me happy to organize something ... so this cute little coffee station happened just using things I had around the house.

And, of course, Easter!

My Beauties!

Also, a question I pondered in April:

Where do you feel at home in the world?

Emily Freeman wrote about the not only obvious answer to the question (our own homes, or in my case, my little modest rancher-bungalow …) but she talks about her city evoking feelings of hominess.

In my thinking, besides my home, I feel at home in my church sanctuary, and my outdoor sanctuary, Lake Arrowhead.

Sometimes I get homesick for all three. It’s a good weekend when I can say I’ve spent equal parts in all three.

I could go on and on about all the things pondered in April, but there is no need to do a month's worth of posts all-in-one. May is here, and I've already made the determination to post more frequently.

What happened on your journey in April? Got any plans for May? Leave a comment and share - I'd love to know!

~~~

I am sharing this post with the community at #TellHisStory and at Arabah Joy's Grace&Truth.