S is for Spontaneous

Spontaneous: 

performed or occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus

having an open, natural, and uninhibited manner

Watch a little child play for just a few moments and you'll observe spontaneity. 

My little grandson recently discovered his 'talent' for making Donald Duck-like quacking sounds.  It's hilarious because he looks so serious when he's doing it, even though we are all laughing uncontrollably.  He's just being who he is in that moment, with no inhibitions.  What a joy is is to simply observe him smiling, laughing, and being goofy without a thought of whether it's 'proper' or not. 

I wonder when was the first moment that we as little children, became inhibited or cautious, wondering what others might think, and second guessing our actions?

No matter if we are planners or more impulsive, it's a good thing to be spontaneous at times. It will bring out that inner child that needs some fun!

Thursday 13

Well, I haven't been around much, but today I'm dropping in to post another Thursday Thirteen. This time around I'm going to list 13 items that have all served the same purpose at one time or another. Can you guess what purpose?

1. post it note
2. pencil
3. string
4. candy wrapper
5. piece of yarn
6. scrap paper
7. hair clip
8. paper clip
9. elastic band
10. popsicle stick
11. bobby pin
12. clean tissue
13. feather

Take a guess!

~Start~

Day 21 Start

Twice in my life I’ve written 50,000 words in one month, as part of National Novel Writing Month. How did I do that?  I simply started writing. 

Pretty well every single day of those two consecutive Novembers, I put my butt in my chair, put on some inspiring music, and began typing. I knew that I had to write at least 1600 words every day in order to meet my goal. I put off doing other evening activities during that time because I seriously had to write! 

Every day was a new day to start writing. It didn’t matter that my writing wasn’t the best.  I just wanted to accomplish my goal. And it worked. By the end of the month, I had a sense of satisfaction knowing that my book was completed.  And I was amazed at the ideas that flowed once I got into the writing groove. At times I didn't know in which direction my story would go or what would happen to a character. The writing wasn’t necessarily great, I know that. BUT I was amazed that it was coherent and made sense, and I was really enjoying myself. The first book was called Goodbye to Yesterday and the second was titled One Thousand Words  (as in ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, but you’d have to read the story… ). Riveting titles, eh? ;)

Nothing really gets done if we don’t decide to just start, putting our feelings aside. I guess that’s called discipline. 

Does this reminiscing inspire me to start a new NaNoWriMo Challenge come November? I'm starting to think about it. 

Good for the Soul

What better way to spend an hour or two on a beautiful Sunday afternoon than out in nature? 

To leave the city, even if it's only for an hour or two. 

To feel the crunch of the leaves and twigs as I hike up the winding path up to the top. 

To reach the top of Gibraltar Rock, getting a bird's eye view of this beautiful lake and surrounding hills.

To be reminded of the gift of life -- to feel my heart pumping and hear my heavy breathing. 

 To stop and watch for signs of life. 

To be alone -- no other humans around except for me and the one I love.  

To watch my little dog romp about and be such a trooper, even though his little legs have to work double time to climb this winding path. 

To say thanks, God, for the beauty you have created for us to enjoy and for the healing touch of your creation. 

Getting my craft on..

With teaching Gr. K-2 children shape and space concepts every Thursday morning, I've been spending a lot of time researching creative, engaging activities. That leads to the fun part of teaching -- getting to watch the children enjoying the creative process.
Maybe it's due to it being the middle of winter (not getting out enough!), but I have been enjoying some creative endeavours. Besides knitting and a little furniture restoration, today I created a very cool craft which I am pleased to say turned out very well.

Our church is having a 'life group fair' next weekend, and I am promoting a "She Reads Good Books" book club. We were encouraged to add some pizzazz to our table spaces, so I decided to make this:

book fan

I experienced a twinge of regret as I worked on this, because of the necessary sacrifice -- a hardcover book. I was encouraged to think of this as 'repurposing', not ruining. I think I'll go with that. This was one of my  favorite read alouds from days gone by, but I'm pretty sure I have another copy somewhere. And besides, this 'fan book' can be undone in the future. No spine ripping required for this craft.

I actually like the outcome of this folding craft so much, I'm planning to keep it up on my desk shelf for a while.