Claymation - Carol of the Bells

My little brother and I get a kick out of this.
Every.
Year.

3BT Monday

Finished, Twinkling, and The Nutcracker

1. My Christmas shopping is complete. Still a little wrapping to do, but what a relief to have it all finished...and just under the wire at that.

2. A friend and I take a drive to check out all of the lights and decorations near my neighborhood. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is our soundtrack while the lights twinkle on a backdrop of snow.

3. It's my first time to see The Nutcracker live. The snowflakes are my favorite, and I wish I had taken more ballet classes as a child.

Bonus: Skyping with my family for a pre-Christmas celebration. Seeing my Grandma experience skype...priceless.

3BT Monday - Snow Edition

1. Waking up early on a weekend and seeing the ground blanketed with several inches of snow, I crawl right back into bed and snuggle in for just a while longer.

2. Nowhere to go, no place to be. Hot chocolate, wool socks, and Christmas movies. I smile at the window as snowflakes float softly by.

3. My boots crunch along the sidewalk. I'm careful not to disturb the tiny paw prints left behind from a neighbor's morning walk. Back inside I enjoy a clementine orange, and I light a Christmas-y scented candle.

Thoughts on Advent

Moving into Advent but not at Christmas just yet, I find myself keenly aware of the space between waiting and fulfillment, between questions and their answers. There is that all-too-familiar tension between what already is and what is yet to come.

I feel a kindred spirit with folks like Simeon and Anna and imagine how they must have felt when they were young. Believing and certain, but having only longing as company while they kept watch. And today I'm drawn more towards words like "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" over the more celebratory Christmas hymns.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

3BT Monday

Jingle Bells, Christmas Hymns, and Twinkle Lights

1. As I get ready for work, the clasps on my makeup bag clink together and sound like sleigh bells. For a split second, I catch my 5 year old self looking around for reindeer.

2. Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb lead a smallish group of us in hymns and Christmas carols. I'm reminded of days in college sitting around with folks and a few guitars and singing for hours.

3. Warm and peaceful and snuggled under a blanket, I fall to sleep basking in the glow of twinkle lights.

Courage and Enthusiasm

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
~Anais Nin

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing."
~ Duke Ellington; Irving Mills


So, the whole writing a novel thing? Weeeeell. I've been procrastinating, see. And finding excuses. Which makes me sound like a crazy person because I LOVE to write. I love being creative. And why would a sane and reasonable person put off doing a thing that brings them joy? Why? I've been trying to figure out that very thing.

And I think I'm on to something.

When I started writing this story I needed it to be perfect and great and ART, which made it difficult to produce any art at all. Quietly, fear crept in and whispered that no one would want to read it when it's finished, and that I probably wouldn't be able to finish it at all, and that I wasn't disciplined enough to make it happen.

So, I tried to make my creative heart more disciplined. Military style. A regimented writing schedule. A salute to the laptop. And I failed miserably. Because my creative heart is not a robot. Yes, commitment and discipline are part of the process. But the driving force is undeniably enthusiasm. Joy, not duty.

So, I'm taking smaller more manageable steps. Finding the courage to brave the fears. Writing one chapter at a time, one paragraph at a time instead of trying to complete the whole finished project in one sitting. Reconnecting with the joy of story-telling and letting that be my motivation.

Courage and Enthusiasm.