evaluating the NaBloPoMo experience

i've been meaning to post a few thoughts about National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), which, in case you missed it, was simply a challenge to post something on your blog every day for the month of november. and there are two days left in the month.

i first heard about it in another friend's blog, and i thought, hey! cool. now i can blog every day and have a "real" reason to do so. (as if my other reasons are invalid, like blogging for personal expression, blogging for fun, blogging as a creative outlet, blogging to communicate with family & friends, etc. sometimes i think i need a reason to post what i want to rather than just do it and have fun with it. it's not like it's a graded assignment. but "why blog?" is a different topic and i'm not going to go into it now.)

i learned something about my blogging self the first week in: when the job is to post every day, my creativity gets stilted. there were a few days when i'd sit at the computer for over an hour looking for a topic to write about that tickled my fancy. i even googled "memes" and scrolled through dozens of prompts trying to be inspired. then i'd think, "well, that's a good topic, but there's probably a better one! let's keep looking!" like it was my last blog post ever. then the kids would wake up from their (sometimes simultaneous) naps and my window of blogging time would slam shut. "shoot! i guess i'll post something about candy!!" yeah, that's brilliant! and that was only DAY TWO! :)

i have discovered through this process that it'd be more fun if i had approached it with a goal or plan in mind before it began. you may have already read that i prefer to be organized in the nerdiest of ways (visions of monica geller with her label-maker dance through my head). maybe blog about family on mondays, and movies on tuesdays, photography on wednesdays, you get the idea. or post 30 different "favorites", one for each day. there are a lot of creative ways i could have approached it. but never having done it before, i just jumped in without a map, and did the best i could. there's nothing wrong with that method either.

i look forward to blogging as frequently as my creativity or impulse tells me to, which is still pretty frequent (2-3 times a week). i'll post when i have an idea, rather than look for something to post about. the burden of obligation will no longer be there (blogging will not be a daily "duty").

next year, will i do it again? i don't know, maybe. probably. and you should too, just to see where the experience takes you. i'm sure i could have gotten more out of the experience if i had engaged in the NaBloPoMo community more, and if i had had more time in general. the whole thing seems like an unwritten chapter out of Writing Down the Bones, a really cool book by Natalie Goldberg. you talented writers out there know exactly what i'm talking about.

cheers to all of you who participated, and to you, dear readers, for skimming through and commenting on some of my posts this past month. it was fun! (i don't mean to make this sound like some kind of farewell post to my blog, 'cause it's not! never fear!)

movies... popcorn... fun times!

last weekend, i got to go see

it was an animated fairy tale brought to life, just as the preview indicated. there were no surprising twists, you knew all along who was going to fall in love with whom - the fun was in watching that happen (and let's face it, watching Patrick Dempsey). amy adams, the lead, was adorable. the musical numbers were appropriately sweet and cheesy. the villain was annoying (just like all animated villains are)... and it ended happily ever after. i saw it with a middle schooler that i hang out with from my church. i knew i had to see it with her because when i first heard of this movie, i immediately thought, "this is one i'd be dying to see if i was a sixth grader".

and this weekend, i get to see

yay for going to the movies! and yay for a husband who watches the kids and gives me the chance to have a treat like this!

(p.s. thank goodness nablopomo is just about done. i have blogging fatigue, in case you couldn't tell.)

didja miss me??

i'm back!

we just returned from atlanta several hours ago. blissfully reunited with our daughter, whom we missed sooooooooooooooo much. she actually squealed when she saw us. then... "mommy!" "daddy!" "eli!" "mommy!" "daddy!" "eli!!" (you get the idea)... it was so great. plus, my mom & dad are here and tomorrow we're celebrating t-giving! great family, great food, who could ask for more?

yes, it's true, i was doing great with nablopomo until i left town. the convention had a digital lounge with about 6 computers. you can imagine how motivated i was to stand there in line while folks caught up on youtube videos and facebook comments. each time i stood there i thought, "what are they gonna do to me if i don't post? absolutely nothing! whatevs!" and went and did something else. i'll more than make up for it in the next few days, of that you can be sure.

it was fun. it was tiring. it was loud. it was powerful. more later.

and i'll do a Best Shot Tuesday tomorrow, if i have time!

how have y'all been?

NaBloPoMo Day 13 - creatively stalled edition

I'm truly at a loss for words, and I don't have that much time to write something thoughtful or creative today anyway. Lots to do!

Here's a picture of me in 7th grade (13 years old). My hair is still that long now!

Gotta run. Laundry, cleaning, time with God, the kids - they're all waiting for me. Peace!

find my peace

The following is my submission for our church's annual Advent devotional book.

I do the middle school girls’ Bible study for Wednesday Night Alive at my church, and my faithful attendee is Lily, a sixth grader. I love that girl. She didn’t know me at all that first day, and now she shows up without fail and spends an hour talking about scripture with me. My hat’s off to her. She has no choice but to pay attention and discuss things with me, and she’s a great sport about it. I’m proud of her and happy that I get to spend that time with her. Recently one of my lessons touched on my favorite verse in all of scripture:

Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Lily and I spent time discussing Jesus’ (our High Priest’s) temptation in the desert; how he fought back the devil with the power of memorized scripture; how the devil was preying on Jesus when He was physically weak; how Satan has no pity for us when we’re down (1 Peter 5:8); how we’d be utterly and totally lost if Jesus had, at any point, given in. His refusal to worship the devil allowed him to continue on in his mission to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you Lord!!

I like to wrap my head around the fact that before Jesus came, believers couldn’t directly talk to God. Jesus is what bridges us to God the Father; his death makes us sinless in God’s eyes. And I think of those old priests who went in to the Holy of Holies on the believers’ behalf; only they could go in, and even then, it was only like once a year. Can you imagine? Believing in God and not being able to just talk to Him whenever you want? When Jesus died, the curtain was torn and everyone was given an all-access pass to the Holy of Holies. That is a privilege! O how I take it for granted.

I’m tempted a lot. I mess up all the time. My soul is clean only because Jesus forgives me. What a tremendous comfort it is to me to remember that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin”, and because of that, He knows how I feel. You bet I’m going to run to His throne in confidence, resting back at his knees, soaking up that mercy and grace that He has for me in abundance. Thank you Lord, for coming to this earth and saving us. More than that, thank You for knowing how we feel.

“O how I would have despaired
If You had not come found me there
I can lean against Your throne and find my peace

Find my peace…”

~ Jennifer Knapp, Peace

NaBloPoMo day 1