Snow Days and Sanctification

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016 Lindsey P. Brackett2 Comments

The problem with calling a snow day early is expectation.

My kids want to go to bed late, then get up early and play in the glorious snowfall they’re sure came in the night. Snow days are supposed to be like Christmas morning. All shiny bright and sparkling in the sunrise.

That’s not what we rose with this morning. Clouds hang low in the gunmetal gray and a stillness–a waiting–pervades the air. Is it coming? The landscape, my children, all holding their breath and hoping.

But you know, in our instant gratification life, maybe a little waiting, a little anticipation, a little crush to our super-sized expectations isn’t really so bad. The weather—especially storms of any type or shape or name—might just be God’s reminder that we are not, despite our best efforts, actually in control of this spinning orb of life.

This letting go (you’re picturing Queen Elsa on a snow-capped mountaintop right now aren’t you?) takes effort. This year of sweet sixteen, when I’m actually turning thirty-six, has stamped my soul with one simple word: NEW.

The problem with letting everything always stay the same—as comfortable and cozy as that may be—is we will never grow or stretch our limits by remaining in our routine. I tell myself this as I look at my carefully scheduled planner with its hours blocked off for my freelance work and realize this won’t happen today because my routine has been disrupted.

And while I need to maintain some level of reliable working hours, I know I also need to allow myself to be transformed, renewed–changed by the everyday disruptions that come and go… or linger awhile and set up camp and create something I never expected.

I always thought that newness of soul was a sudden, jarring, final step in knowing God. A one-time shot of making me into His image.

But there is no final step. That transformation from sinner to child of God continues daily.

I dug into this today. Romans 12:2 from the Amplified Bible (because I’m a word nerd).

And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].

Progressively changed…as I mature spiritually…progressive.

Still happening.

Not a one-time shot.

But an everyday renewal–a choice–a trying again with a deep breath and a mind focused, not on the expectations I have for this world, but on the expectations (all GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT) God has for me.

Sometimes new looks like the perfect drifted snowfall. All expectations met.

Sometimes it looks like the muddy mess after.

The weather changes, shifts, settles into a pattern, but always, always welcomes a cycle of death to life.

Because it’s the muddy mess that holds the hope of spring.

What is something new you’re learning? About yourself? About God?

3 Ways to Love Your January House

January 15, 2016 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t always love–or am even grateful–for my little house. We’re cramped and it’s rare we host a large gathering (though it does happen!). We’ve got a For Sale By Owner sign in the yard right now and a list started because this time we’re really going to do it–the staging, the packing, the make-it-cute-for-others deal that comes with putting your house on the market.

But even so, every now and then I look around and catch my breath and wonder how much I’ll miss this little house when the day finally comes that we load a UHaul with ten years and too many books.

I always love my house more post-Christmas. Once I get that tree down and pack away decorations, my space feels reclaimed. And sometimes I leave in storage some of those knickknacks that got bumped for my snowman collection and I don’t miss them.

12341193_10208408755241800_67162533974793496_n-2 — Because my 9 year old is a genius, we found a place for the Christmas tree by splitting the sectional. And yes, that basket of laundry is part of the decor.

Because there’s margin, white space, an empty spot I can either fill with something new or old or just leave open, inviting, reminding me that a new year is a new start and I don’t have to fill each blank just yet.

3 Ways to Love Your January House

Let something be empty.

A table, the buffet top, a shelf. Leave space for the gifts, both tangible and not, that will come your way this year. My goal is always the kitchen table. It’s our hardest working surface and if I don’t keep it empty, there’s no where for me to work, dinner to be eaten, or a cup of tea to be poured while someone sits with me and pours out heart words.

My decorating savvy friend told me I need to break up the pictures. Who knew?

Put up something new.

We (and by that I mean Joshua) actually put up these shelves right before Christmas and then we loaded them down with Christmas, so now we’re figuring out their purpose. Too much is there right now, and I’ll be simplifying this weekend, but just having a new look for our living room has lifted my heart. And this was a cheap DIY. We bought a board and brackets at Lowe’s, stained the board, cut the lengths we wanted, and ta-da! Instant room makeover. (Again we is really just my husband. I contributed by handing him the picture I had torn out of Better Homes and Gardens at least two years ago.)

Make cleaning fun.

12227193_10208212930746310_8722451274328871376_n — She wears a hat and a mermaid costume. You know, whatever it takes.

Don’t know about you, but my house always feels a bit grimy once I put away all the decorations. (I think it’s because I’m allergic to dusting. Not dust. The actual act of having to put down my book and clean.) So last fall I began ordering all-natural cleaning products from ePantry. My favorites are Mrs. Meyers because everything always smells so good and fresh. I don’t know about you, but while bleach may work, the smell stings my nose and doesn’t make me feel very welcomed in my own home. Celebrate that you’ve finally put the last box of ornaments away and order this special January cleaning kit from Mrs. Meyers and ePantry.

Everything here is completely free with a $20 purchase. The site is easy to navigate and the sweet staff will help you choose great products for your home that you’ll actually use and enjoy. Already a subscriber? Just click here to redeem this offer.

Tell me–what do you love about your January house? And do you have any cleaning tips for keeping a house picture-perfect during a sale season? Help me!

And in case you missed it, I finished book 2 of my #60Booksin2016 challenge. You can read my thoughts on Dear Mr. Knightley right here.

writing

A Really Short Story about Short Stories

November 17, 2014September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

My first short story came out on Saturday. In a real live magazine that you can subscribe to online or read in print (especially if you’re my mama and you’re waiting on my complimentary copy). I’m all sorts of tingly thrilled while at the same time, like all writers do, trying not to over analyze that on that same day I found out I’m not a finalist in a contest I entered.

This writing business is a lot of hurry up and work while you wait. Then news come down all at once and it’s all elation and pits of despair because I rarely seem to just land in the middle of that swinging pendulum.

But still, I get to call myself a real, live published writer. And over the next few months, I’ve already received confirmation that three more pieces are coming out. Another short story in Splickety Prime (this one’s my take on A Christmas Carol because I can’t go through the season without a Scrooge reference) and some little anecdotes for Thriving Family magazine which you can get for FREE right here.

So after years of talk and scribble and dream and excuse I’m finally doing this writer thing. Not just the blogger thing because they are both the same and different in all sorts of ways.

It’s all crazy coincidence and God’s timing. You know how I met the blog editor for Splickety?(Sometimes I guest post over there.) She’s friends with Jennifer. Who I roomed with at Allume, because I didn’t know anyone and she put out a notice on the Facebook page that she needed a roomie. Then seven months later I’m in a keynote address at a different conference and she sends me an Instagram notification that I need to meet her friend Bethany because she’s deduced from our pictures that we’re in the same room at right that very moment. Which gave me the courage to meet these people who teach classes at this conference I’d never been to before and led to enough confidence to submit and well, that’s the rest of the story.

Oh, and Bethany and I have back to back stories in the current issue. Which made Jen and me all sorts of giddy.

So that’s what I’ve been doing. Pounding the keys in a different sort of telling. The kind that’s hopefully going to lead to a completed manuscript by Christmas.

I’m writing stories.

I tell you true ones here. But it’s my hope that someday when you pick up a novel with my name on it, you’ll find those ringing of the same.

Friday Five · linkups · reflections · writing

When It’s Just Fine to be Finished {five minute friday}

July 25, 2014September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

On Fridays the writers gather at Lisa Jo’s. We write in five minute increments like ones scared braved. We’re not supposed to edit or backtrack or over think, though everyone confesses to that at least once and that’s why there’s grace for even the most ordinary of writing tasks.

Except on Fridays five minute ordinary becomes extraordinary. Join us? Link up here and give us your five minutes on

Finish

He says it in a sweet little voice that bears no trace of sarcasm or disrespect. In answer to everything I say.

“It’s time to take a bath now, Gus.”
“We’re going outside to pick tomatoes.”
“Do you want to go see the goats?”

Fine.

Fine, he says with his two-year old lisp and blond curls bobbing. I know he says it because he hears me sigh it in exasperation and his sisters reply it when they’re tired of being asked.

I know it has so many meanings. But sometimes that little four letter word just means what it is:
Fine.

It’s fine. It’s okay. It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. Let it go. Pass it on. Breathe deep.

It’s fine to be finished.

Lisa-Jo is passing the baton. Four years of wild five minute writing in flash mobs and dark bedrooms and late nights that have gradually gotten earlier because let’s face it–all us mamas are tired by 10 p.m. on Thursday, and she knows it’s time to pass it on.

She’s mentored my writing from afar since the day a friend forwarded me that old Gypsy Mama page and I thought who is this woman who knows the words my heart is whispering and weeping even though we’ve never met?

She told me in a crowded room at a conference last fall that I would know when the time was right to write that book that God has laid on my heart and I’m laying back down at His feet.

She was right.

And that time came before I was really read to wrap my mind around it and for months I’ve been trying to do it all.

But I think I’m finished too.

I think it’s time I admit that it’s fine if the blog doesn’t get the best of me and instead that part goes to my children and the legacy of words I truly hope to leave.

It’s fine to let what was once the best thing become something I used to do, for the sake of doing what I’m meant to do at this time, this season, this moment.

It’s just fine to be finished with one season so another can come.

I’m not shutting this down….just taking a break. I’ll be posting sporadically and not worrying about being faithful for numbers or platforms or expectations. I have long believed my best writing comes from when my soul is prompted and I need an alter to remember. This past spring I got caught up in trying to promote and that really didn’t work well for me or sit well with my heart for this space. This is the place that has given me the courage to try for new and bigger dreams and I want to honor it with words that are worthy. But mostly, I need to live and focus on those who share my home and life and give breathe to every word I write.

linkups · writing

Why I Write (a Blog Hop)

July 22, 2014September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

One of the great things about the internet is how this network of satellites and landlines brings people together. I love finding other women who understand what it means to be a writer, a creative, and a busy mama with way too many projects half-finished on the shelf. But it’s a really busy place too, and with so many people making so much noise, I sometimes struggle with wondering what I have to bring to the table. So when Christie asked if she could include me in this blog hop for writers to share their whys and wheres, I was honored that she had found my little space of rambling an encouragement despite all my shortcomings.

Christie and I met in real life, actually, at the incredible Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. (A conference I wouldn’t have really known about had it not been for my real life friend Amy, who has been my cheerleader in all these endeavors for the past several months.) We were both taking a course in freelancing and discovered we had both been a part of the (in)courage writer’s group. She’s a beautiful person, inside and out, who uses her blog At the Well to reflect on the intersections of faith and motherhood while reminding us as women what it means to really sit at the well of living water with Jesus.

I love how she answered these questions and admits that the process isn’t always easy but when God has given us words, we are powerless to ignore them. Words are a legacy we are leaving to the next generation of the faithful. I’m stealing this reminder from her blog:

You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Cor. 3:3 (NIV)

So why do I pack lunches and pay babysitters and hide in corner booths of restaurants with free Wi-fi? Because when I don’t, I’m not being His letter. I’m not preaching the gospel I know.

So here are my thoughts on the questions of why I do this writer thing now.

What am I writing or working on now?
So many things….likely too many. But as much as I’d like to dedicate myself to one project whole-heartedly, that just doesn’t seem to be my nature. I’m getting better about prioritizing and turning down projects that I don’t need, but I’m still not as focused as I should be. The good news is, I believe God is helping me narrow my overflow of ideas into the places He wants me to be. So right now I’m working on three major writing projects but I’ve managed to narrow each one to suit my style and build off one another.

First, I’m in the editing/finishing stages of my first novel. It’s been a work in process for a looooonnnngggg time, but I can see the end and I can see how God has grown me and groomed me to tell this story. It’s not the same story I would have told five years ago when I first sketched out some weak pages, but as I’ve grown as a writer, it’s grown to be the story that it’s supposed to be. I’m hoping to pitch it officially this fall.

Secondly, I’m freelancing. I’ve had some success recently with Splickety Magazine, Thriving Family, and Georgia Magazine published one of my favorite stories back in May. For Splickety I’m writing my first short stories and guest blogging about writing. Thriving Family lets me use my parenting “expertise” and I’m working on some articles for Georgia Magazine and similar publications that let me talk about one of my favorite topis: living local. I’m thrilled to finally be seeing my words in tangible print and that others are giving credibility to my work. I know it’s not all about that, but honestly, bills have to be paid. Writer’s conferences aren’t free 🙂

Finally, I’m blogging. It’s not as regular as it once was, but that’s okay. Something I learned at Allume was that it’s far more important to have quality than quantity. So that’s what I’m focusing on now. Blogging is my outlet, it’s my publishing without worrying about fitting a genre or a category, and it’s my connection to those I love to share my life with.

How does my work differ from others of my genre?

This is a tough one for me. As a “mommy blogger” I don’t feel that different from others. But as I’m working to enhance my writer’s voice, I think I’m finding what does set me apart. Ann Voskamp posted recently about a quote that inspires her “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I think that’s really where my voice is. I didn’t realize how much of the slow life I was missing until I quit my full-time outside the home job as a teacher to stay home and just be a wife and a mom. And I love that “just”. There’s value and admirality in this role and it’s taught me to be a better writer because I’ve become hyper aware of my children and how quickly this stage of life is passing us by. I don’t want to miss a thing. I want to revel and delight and enjoy. Then I want to tell you all about how there is grace and amazement and peace in growing gardens and waterfall hikes and popsicles on the porch everyday. I’m seeing this in my fiction writing too. For me, the stories I write aren’t about the big changes people make. They’re about all the little things we wake up to on a daily basis but are at risk of never appreciating. My stories are all about those moments when we realize what it means to really breathe in grace.

And wow, giving words to this makes me feel like I’m finding my focus all over again.

Why do I write what I do?

Sarah Mae talked about “making alters” at Allume. She was referencing how the Israelites would make actual alters when God had done something incredible they didn’t want to have the next generation forget. Then ever since she said that, I’ve heard that phrase over and over in various capacities. And it’s helped me give a name to why I blog–it’s how I don’t forget what these hardest and most glorious moments of motherhood were like. Fiction writing is like that too–there’s a handful of stories in this world and we tell them over and over again and again in new and exciting ways because these themes of overcoming failure and desperation and experiencing grief and love are tales we need to never forget. My freelance work is all about that notion of being astonished when I really pay attention. I am beyond blessed to live where I do and have the opportunity to share it with others. I want families to come away from their screens and their booths at McDonald’s and know how easy it is to go on a picnic and shop a farmer’s market. This world is not scary. It’s beautiful and God gave it to us for our delight and our sustenance. I hope when I share stories of how I camp or hike or cook with my kids, that others don’t feel put down. Rather, I want them to feel empowered. I hope other moms say to themselves, “Well, if she did that, then so can I.”

How does my writing process work?

Yeah….I don’t know. All I know is I look for pockets of time I can steal and then I write. I like to get up early, but I have to be up super early to beat my kids out of bed. So during the school year, I’m aiming for 5 a.m. That’s when I do my best writing on the novel because I can almost always get a solid uninterrupted hour. Then I just try to find time for all the rest. Naptime sometimes works. I almost never write at night (except for Five Minute Friday) because I’m usually completely drained by 9 p.m. I make myself prioritize. If there’s a deadline for a publication I want to submit to, I work on that first. If I haven’t blogged in a few days, and I have a story I want to tell, I get that out of the way and I’m always better for it. I like these short pieces for freelance and blogging because I can almost always finish it and feel a sense of accomplishment. Short stories are good for that feeling too. If I get a story idea, I jot it down and if the muse is really working, I move that to the top of the list. (I wrote this story in two hours. It was just flowing.) I’m trying to build a cache of stories I can submit. This probably sounds a little crazy, but if I’m working on something I believe the Lord has given me, I can usually work at lightening speed. It’s a mom thing too. I know I only have a certain amount of time, so I have to guard it carefully. I’m doing this post today while my kids are at a Mother’s Morning Out program and I’m already 8 minutes over the allotted time I gave myself to finish this project! But that’s okay because I’m really learning about myself right now and that’s been completely worthwhile.

I’m grateful and blessed to be included in a community of writers who understand all that crazy rambling. The women I’m passing this hop onto are recent discoveries, but I love how I can visit their blogs and feel their heart.

Amy at The Little Farm Diary is a new real life friend. We connected at the community theater and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to get to know her (and her sweet daughter) better over the next few weeks as we perform. You absolutely want to click over to her page and check out her sweet farmhouse style.

Andrea over at 7-7-at-7 is a friend from my (in)courage group and I love her honesty about being a “newbie” to publication. It’s hard to into this industry and you need a thick skin. Having friends who have experienced these ups and downs is a blessing. She’s a creative writer and a fabulous photographer.

Erin is who I’m sending #fmfpartysnailmail to this week! The coolest thing was when I got my list and her name was right above mine–just like her hometown. We’re getting together for lunch someday soon and I can’t wait. She has a beautiful blog and I love popping over and reading about her life as a newlywed…ah, those days from twelve years ago that I so didn’t appreciate.

So who are some of your favorite writers or bloggers? Why do you carve out time to be creative? I’d love to know and share.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!