Genieve Dawkins's Blog, page 11

maranatha! The Launch Lookbook

Hello world! This time it isn’t a computer program, but the maranatha! fashion collection that’s saying hello to the world. Here’s what I’ve been up to lately. A picture says a thousand words, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Dear Death…

Writing 101, Day 9: Reinvent the Letter Format‏

Some might say a post in the form of a letter is trite and overdone.

Dear Death,

I’m not a fan of writing letters to entities that might actually be able to strike back, but I’m kind of tired of seeing you lately. First there was that week at the hospital that interrupted my last Writing 101 course. Thank God for that second chance, but the horror stories are still fresh in my mind. Then there were the pet poisonings. I’m not going to revisit that. Then there were the kids. So many kids. Then the chickens. So many chickens. Then Zara. Yesterday, Death, you came for Ash. It was almost too much for me.

When I was about to give up, you came again and tried to take Beeri and Bori! How ambitious! It was then that God intervened and stopped you in your tracks. It was then that I regained my perspective. It was then that I regained my hope.

You see, Death, I fully grasp that you have your work to do. Work that simply must be done. My crying and wishing otherwise doesn’t change anything. What must die shall die. I understand that it is appointed unto man (and maybe beast) once to die. It’s an appointment that we all must meet. But I also understand that you work by appointment and now I understand that you’re not the one in charge of the appointment book. So, I’m wasting my time writing to you.

Goodbye.

…trite and overdone…

Writing 101, Day 6: The Space to Write

I suppose people who don’t write wonder how the process works for those who do. I used to get asked about my writing habits all the time. It never happens anymore though, quite coincidentally during this same period when I’ve chosen to rest from those labours for a season and seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Do I have a process? I’m not really sure I do. I like to write in calm, peaceful spaces where I can let my thought processes and creativity flow freely without interference from other people’s spirits. When I had that luxury, I was very productive. I have a lot of drafts from the solitary period of my life that need polishing before they can be released into wherever. So, the single most important aspect of my process is peace.

I like to sit anywhere I can get comfortable to write. My last two novels, three books and about three screenplays were written sitting on the floor. In fact, the vast majority of my work was written sitting in a hard spot on the floor. It helps the creative process when I’m not too comfortable. These days, I do most of my writing around a table. It’s a much less productive space due to multiple interruptions, so I mostly blog, since blogging is like writing in staccato. Eventually, I’ll take the blog posts and compile them into a longer format work because I like it when my work functions on multiple platforms. It makes more sense from a business standpoint and I’d like to think it widens my reach.

I used to do most of writing the old-fashioned way, taking a pen and notebook and just scribbling down whatever came into my head. This actually leads to a lot less rework because I have to do the rewrite while typing the whole thing out on a computer. I’ve given up on that for now because people kept taking my notebooks. It gets quite painful to write chapters only to never see them again, so I’ve strictly typed my first drafts on a laptop for the past seven years or so, and I’m careful to back up as often as I can remember.

What do I need and want in a physical space? I need to not be too cold or too hot. I need a few moments alone to think. I need somewhere to rest my back and take breaks. And tea. I want lots of cups of green tea infused with some herb. I like mint and jasmine, or a cup of Earl Grey. After that, it’s me, prayer, God-given inspiration and clacking keys.

Take Our Poll

Writing 101, Day 5: The Space to Write

I suppose people who don’t write wonder how the process works for those who do. I used to get asked about my writing habits all the time. It never happens anymore though, quite coincidentally during this same period when I’ve chosen to rest from those labours for a season and seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Do I have a process? I’m not really sure I do. I like to write in calm, peaceful spaces where I can let my thought processes and creativity flow freely without interference from other people’s spirits. When I had that luxury, I was very productive. I have a lot of drafts from the solitary period of my life that need polishing before they can be released into wherever. So, the single most important aspect of my process is peace.

I like to sit anywhere I can get comfortable to write. My last two novels, three books and about three screenplays were written sitting on the floor. In fact, the vast majority of my work was written sitting in a hard spot on the floor. It helps the creative process when I’m not too comfortable. These days, I do most of my writing around a table. It’s a much less productive space due to multiple interruptions, so I mostly blog, since blogging is like writing in staccato. Eventually, I’ll take the blog posts and compile them into a longer format work because I like it when my work functions on multiple platforms. It makes more sense from a business standpoint and I’d like to think it widens my reach.

I used to do most of writing the old-fashioned way, taking a pen and notebook and just scribbling down whatever came into my head. This actually leads to a lot less rework because I have to do the rewrite while typing the whole thing out on a computer. I’ve given up on that for now because people kept taking my notebooks. It gets quite painful to write chapters only to never see them again, so I’ve strictly typed my first drafts on a laptop for the past seven years or so, and I’m careful to back up as often as I can remember.

What do I need and want in a physical space? I need to not be too cold or too hot. I need a few moments alone to think. I need somewhere to rest my back and take breaks. And tea. I want lots of cups of green tea infused with some herb. I like mint and jasmine, or a cup of Earl Grey. After that, it’s me, prayer, God-given inspiration and clacking keys.

Take Our Poll

Strength in Weakness

"My strength is made perfect in weakness."

— Opoponax Dreams (@OpoponaxDreams) August 19, 2011

“My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Such intriguing words. This thought-provoking quote is actually shortened from the original text of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church:

2 Corinthians 12:9

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Paul suffered from an unspecified “thorn in the flesh.” I’m sure most of us can relate. Here was a man who could work all sorts of miracles. Paul’s handkerchiefs could heal people, so powerful was even the sweat of his brow, but here we find him asking God for deliverance from this thorn. He asked, asked and asked again. On his third request, he got a surprising response from the Lord. This thing hadn’t come upon him by accident. His lack of deliverance was no accident either. His prayers weren’t falling on deaf ears. He was afflicted because the Lord saw that this weakness would be beneficial. His strength, and the Lord’s strength in Paul’s circumstances, would be perfected in this weakness, not diluted by it.

Paul, rather unexpectedly, regarded the whole thing in a very positive light.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Glorying in infirmities? Say what?! Taking pleasure in reproach and lack and distress?! His joyful attitude shows that he grasped a truth it would baffle most of us to even begin to understand: God knows what He’s doing.

Paul happily accepted his position. He was suffering, but God had told him his weakness was actually his strength. He knew that reliance upon himself was a vain pursuit. God holds the reigns and controls the outcomes. God is strong. In fact, God is all-powerful. God didn’t need any help from Paul to accomplish what He needed to do. Paul’s submission to God’s will and acceptance of his own mortal weaknesses would be more beneficial to his ministry than a faithless railing against adverse circumstances. It was all alright. God was strong, so Paul, though weak, was strong.

It’s a lot to digest, isn’t it? Thinking of my own life and my own circumstances, I can clearly see where I’m not so gladly accepting of God’s will as was Paul. I can see where I don’t act like my weaknesses are a blessing. I can see where my faith is small. I only pray that God will help me to step out of the mindset that is common to man and learn to revel in my adversities. Lucky me! When I am weak, then am I strong.

A Story in a Single Image

Writing 101, Day 4: A Story in a Single Image

Inspiration comes in many forms. What we see everyday certainly does inspire us, sometimes without our knowledge. Our vision shapes our thoughts and our thoughts shape our actions. These thoughts and actions shape who we are.

Psalm 101: 3

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes

This picture, my inspiration for this story, was taken with the help of my mother, who acted as the the location scout and assistant on this photo shoot. She never does that, so you can see that this gorgeous image means a lot to me. Looking at it got me thinking about those special fleeting moments you get to share with the people you love.

Each moment could be your last. I always feel a pang of something, possibly regret, possibly just a stomach twinge, when I suffer a loss and realize that the last moment I spent with a person was the last moment I’ll ever spend with that person. Loss is inevitable and life goes on, but I have to keep reminding myself that life is a timeline. Nothing on that timeline is constant, nor is everything on my timeline supposed to last forever.

You’ve probably heard this many times before, but it never fails to ring true. Try, try really hard, to appreciate the people that God has placed in your life. Love them while you have that chance. Sitting around making and singing sad songs about what you wish you could tell people might sound romantic, but the reality of missing those chances isn’t romantic at all. Some people in your life may be trying. Pass your trial. Some people may bring you joy. Appreciate them and take a moment to say thanks.

As for me, I’ll have to take all this advice to heart and love the people around me, learn from the people I find it hard to love and grow in grace each day the Lord grants me on this earth.

Writing 101, Day 3: One-word Inspiration – Home

Home

It was almost three years ago that I once again set my eyes on home. I haven’t left since.

It was an awakening. Everything was strange, yet familiar. You assume you’ll always remember, but you never do. The problem with memories is they’re static. Life, however, is dynamic. This means your memories are somehow always wrong.

When I came home I found a bag hanging right where I’d left it some five or so years earlier. It should’ve stayed the same as my memory demanded it remain. But it wasn’t the same. It had been virtually untouched by human hands, but time had ravaged it. It was the same bag alright, but somehow dim and, shockingly, old.

The people I was seeing again had the same problem as the bag. The old people were time-ravaged and grey.  The children of my memory were now tall and gruff and hairy and lumpy and adult. They were annoyingly familiar yet strange.

How time changes things.

That night, tired and disillusioned, I crawled into my old bed and was delighted to find that it was just as soft and welcoming and pillowy as I’d left it. Old familiar voices and smells floated through the open door of my bedroom as I drifted into sleep. The night noises, a symphony of chirping frogs and crickets and whatever else was out there, were the same as always. The city noises and siren blasts of my life had faded into nothingness. My life had changed in a moment, in a day.

As I tossed and turned, trying to find that perfect sweet spot to cuddle down into, the reflection in my old wardrobe mirror caught my attention. I looked at that face staring back at me as if for the first time. Was I also strange in my old familiar place? Had time done to me what it had to everything and everyone else? Did I need to look at this old world with new eyes?

I sighed and closed my old/new eyes. As I fell asleep, I felt peace wash over me. My memories might have been aged, battered and bruised, but home was still home. There really is no place like home.

Things I Like

Thinking of things I like isn’t a thing I like. It’s just so introspective and personal and so finite and so final! I like so many things. How do I pick a bunch of them for a list? I decided to just do a list of the first 10 things that came to mind. Here they are, in no particular order:

My cats, all of them, even the ones life threw at me unexpectedly. The same goes for my goats, big and baby, and all my wonderful feathered friends.
My family; quirks, idiosyncrasies, loudness and all.
Long walks in nature, especially long walks in nature with one goat (not all of them!).
New dresses.
Shoes!
Digging about in the soil and planting things.
Fantasizing about getting a puppy.
Gorgeous sunsets and sunrises.
Driving through acres of sugarcane fields and listening to the happy song the cane plants sing in the sunshine.
Taking pictures of all sorts of random things.

What are the things you like?

I write because…

I write because…

I write because it’s as natural as breathing.

I write because that’s what God has sent me to do.

I write because I can share a smile, a laugh, a word of encouragement and the GOOD NEWS.

I write because you can read.

I write because I can read and writing flows naturally from reading.

I write because you must know the truth.

What is the truth? The truth is the word of God. Here’s what He has to say:

Romans 10: 8 -13

The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

John 3: 16 – 18

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

I write because I am.

Wordless Wednesday: The Evil Eye

Matthew 6:22-23

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!