Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 95
June 19, 2014
One Good Thing Every Day: June 19, 2014
As I read Emily Dickinson’s Poem 376 and a passage about Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, I admonished myself for being crabby this week. I suppose I could make excuses as thunder rumbles overhead again. But, I won’t. I will take a cue from Job, who had plenty of reasons to complain. I will seek to apply Paul’s advice to the Philippians. I will remember a gloomy forecast does not need to cloud my attitude.
…‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile…’
June 17, 2014
One Good Thing Every Day: June 17, 2014
After several days of thunderstorms, sunshine streams through my windows. The beams of these inspirational words will light my way today.
“The beauty of the earth is but a breath, and a man is but a shadow…” from Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby as quoted in A Charles Dickens Devotional.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Emily Dickinson’s “You’ll know it–as you know ’tis Noon”
June 8, 2014
Writing 101: Commiting to a Writing Habit
Write about the three most important songs in your life — what do they mean to you? Today’s twist: You’ll commit to a writing practice. The frequency and the amount of time you choose to spend today — and moving forward — are up to you, but we recommend a minimum of fifteen uninterrupted minutes per day.
This poem describes the three lullabies I sang to my sons at bedtime. Each is unique to them.
My Three Songs
1.
Over and over, ten times and one more,
my voice swells, an arch of a rainbow
with color wheels of choruses
passing through a cumulus thunderhead
shushing gusty gales into whistling breezes.
2.
In valleys, low and deep,
my cries echo, reverberations
rustling rose petals, vibrating
violets, a measured refrain
toward the next crescendo.
3.
Lulling nonsense lyrics
a child mimics with a mother’s lilting tune,
a skimming over Irish seas
until a rolling, lolling into dreams
upon a coverlet hill of clover-leaves.
Can you name the three songs?
June 3, 2014
One Page at a Time: Maintaining Discipline, Forming Habits, Establishing Rituals
Part Two
Forming Habits: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
“A writing life is built by habit, page by page, with a few perks thrown in–like indulging in buying books or making many visits to the library because your reading is another habit. Or not feeling guilty for going on a binge at Staples or Office Depot.” Barbara Ambercrombie as quoted in A Year of Writing Dangerously.
“Writer’s are people who desperately need habits to fill their days.” Ann Patchett as quoted in A Year of Writing Dangerously.
“I have found that the wonder of life is often most easily recognizable through habits and routines.” Anne Lamott as quoted in Stitches.
“I’ve found that writing novels is an all-absorbing experience–both physical and mental–and I have to do it every day in order to keep the rhythm, to keep myself focused on what I’m doing. Even Sunday if possible….Whenever I travel, I get thrown off completely. If I’m gone for two weeks, it takes me a good week to get back into the rhythm of what I was doing before.” Paul Auster as quoted in A Year of Writing Dangerously .
“I have forced myself to begin writing when I’ve been utterly exhausted, when I’ve felt my soul as thin as a playing card…and somehow the activity of writing changes everything.” Joyce Carol Oates as quoted in A Year of Writing Dangerously .
As I mentioned in my previous post about discipline, my dad was my first writing mentor. One of the things he taught me was it takes six weeks to form a new routine. Running during my 300-mile summer was a relatively short commitment one when compared to writing a novel. But, establishing writing habits are similar to solid training for marathon.
I admit I have never run a marathon. My writer-reader friend has. She trained last summer, ran her race, and accomplished her goal. But, she has not stopped running. Through the dismal duration of winter, she took herself to a local 24-hour gym when sleep remained dormant or temperatures dipped to dangerous. As far as I know, she still wakes early to run near the creek now that spring has sprung. What began as a calling and a personal challenge remains a habit.
I wish I could say the same for my running habits, but I have switched to walking. It is nicer on my hip-pointers, and my husband will join me. I am trying to figure out how to motivate myself to walk more in the winter. But, for now, I’ll enjoy this season.
I have been training toward a different marathon. After fifteen years, I think it is about time I finish my novel. Its route is completely different from the one I anticipated back then, but I have mapped it better this time. At least, I know how it begins and ends and have 49,975 words written in between. Now it is time for word training, adjusting chapter intervals, and rerouting if the path proves impassable. Either way, similar to Minnesota’s roads, it is still under construction with many plot holes to fill.
Fortunately, in the process of roughing out my novel, I have formed some soothing writing habits smoother than that pun. Each day I begin with reading and journal writing. When I miss this time, I feel tight and fidgety. I make it up later in the day and catch up on my reading the next day. But, it is not the same as doing it before the rest of my day starts. Almost six months into the year, I feel confident I have formed a lasting habit. The readings and writing structure may change, but the practice will remain.
On a recent my walk with my husband, I was reminded about the bad, even ugly, part of habits. I said I had not written anything that day.
“Good. You need to take a break.”
A break? ! Maybe a coffee break…with my computer in front of me.
But, I know what he was saying. So, I didn’t write anything the rest of the day. I spent that time with him.
Another wake-up call was when my youngest said he wanted to stop playing guitar. I was about to give in, then thought twice. I decided I would take him to his lesson. My oldest son has been doing the shuttling recently so I could use the hour to write while my middle son was at another appointment. Great for my writing and highly appreciated by myself and my local coffee shop! But, my youngest son’s interest in guitar was dwindling because, while his guitar-playing brother was doing me a favor, it just was not the same. So, I took him–and my rough draft–to the lesson. He passed his theory lesson, moved forward with his song, and I read-through one chapter. Win-win.
Writers–as well as runners, musicians, and anyone striving toward a goal–need habits to support their efforts. But, balance is necessary or those habits threaten supportive efforts required to meet the needs of others. Taking a break can be one of the best habits if it shows others they count more than the daily word count.
One Good Thing Every Day: June 3, 2014
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
“With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
My grandmother once told me Psalm 91 was her father’s favorite. Because my grandfather died the day after I was born–a story for another time–it is one of my favorites, too. But, for some reason, I wrote “3/2/1989 (bad lesson)” in my baptism Bible next to this passage.
I think it had something to do about this boy I liked. We were friends, but he hadn’t been talking to me as much lately. He seemed more interested in talking to this other girl. I thought I could be interested in someone else, but, no, I decidedly liked him “more than a friend.” Apparently, when I read this scripture, it struck me hard. I knew the kind of boy I wanted to date, the kind of man I hoped to marry. I didn’t know if this boy fit those parameters. I knew I hoped he did.
I think that “bad lesson” had something to do with hoping for the wrong thing. I believe now, as I probably did then, that God wanted me to place my hope in Him and to hope God’s best for this boy regardless of my puerile feelings. “Bad lesson” was my resigned acknowledgement I got the message.
Reading this passage today, I smile. That boy and I are still friends. I see how God has fulfilled these words in his life. Even as he has endured some of life’s trouble, God has shielded and strengthened him. He has become a man of integrity, loyalty, and compassion. He is still the kind of boy I want to date. In fact, I did. We started dating March 7, 1989, five days after I wrote “bad lesson” next to Psalm 91. He is still the man I hoped to marry. I did, twenty years ago. He is still the man I want to grow old with. Today I rejoice how God’s Psalm 91 lesson and blessing made a young girl’s wish come true.
June 2, 2014
Writing 101: Unlock Your Mind
To get started, let’s loosen up. Let’s unlock the mind. Today, take twenty minutes to free write. And don’t think about what you’ll write. Just write.
And for your first twist? Publish this stream-of-consciousness post on your blog.
Before I could free write this entry, I had to make the bed. Next I dusted the main floor. Then I vacuumed. As I did this, I thought about what I would write to strangers who know nothing about me. Except that I need to make the bed before I write. Actually, I spent an hour this morning reading and mulling and blogging before I made the bed. but when it came to writing a blog like this one straight out of my head the editor came out like a housekeeper with her feather duster. and she would not let me put anything to paper until I did something about that unmade bed. why do I feel the need to make the bed? by the end of the day I will be as it will be…unmade. will I feel loved with its sheets wrapped around me? or will it be like I feel when I see a blank piece of paper? Unfulfilled until it is filled? when all of me is asleep again and wafting in the dreams I wake from wondering about the hazy real, will I remain a dust mote drifting in a ray of sun cast through the window i promise to clean tomorrow or the next day or the day after that? or will I be the glass vase I shine today buff until it glows? will I untangle the mass of yarn balls that seem to conjoin when I am not looking when they are just sitting together in my knitting basket un-needled yet somehow felting together. how does that happen? why do I vacuum the carpet when the dog with scratch fur onto it five minutes later? why do I wash the entry floor when it rained last night and mud is sure to enter? why bother unless there is something to fulfill in the cleaning? in the action of the mundane there seems to be a calm. in a made bed I see smoothness. in a wiped clean counter I smell a fresh breath. in a vacuum line a path to promise bids me to walk across it. I think there must be something to it just like the blank page. the blank page I did not want to write this free writing on because I knew I wouldn’t finish. I knew it would not be edited. the editor in me would see the misplaced commas the clutter of words the want for some word i could not remember the action of a verb inactive. and very soon my timer will go off and this post will end before I am ready. then what? is it again all for nothing? like a dust mote? like dog hair floating back onto the carpet? like a twisted hodge-podge of remnant yarn I’m tempted to cut a part or simply throw away? But, then it might be like when I thought I lost my great-grandmother’s needle last night. I searched–and sorted along the way– until I found it under the footrest of the couch. a double-point set of needles is pretty useless without five needles. a double-point set of needles belonging to my great-grandmother seems extremely valuable at 11:00 at night. It seems a relief in the morning to have found it before turning on the vacuum. It seems a relief to not lose sleep or admit the loss to my mother. it seems a relief to know those remnant bits of yarn are stowed under my spare needles for a time when I can unwind them carefully. they might be of use again someday. this post might be of use someday, too. if anything it will show I care about commas, spelling, and grammar. because I don’t plan to change what I have written here. no this will be a hodge-podge for another day when I can untangle it. well, I might change the spelling. I might add in a comma here or there. I might stop writing like e.e. cummings. after all, a day requires a made bed to make it fulfilled doesn’t it. there is something about peeling back the sheets at the end of the day and climbing in to the coolness, the softness. it is like stepping…
One Good Thing Every Day: June 2, 2014
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Life verses are similar to memory verses in that they are memorized. But, the quality of the memorization is wrapped up in experienced memory as well. Often, more than one life-changing episode brings the particular passage to mind.
My parents gave me a new Bible when I was baptized at age twelve. Proverbs 3:5-6 in the New International Version was the scripture my pastor wrote under his words of encouragement to me that day. I committed that scripture to memory, not realizing I would need to cling to it that spring after my family’s move to Missouri. I was surprised when I needed it after we moved back to Minnesota. It helped me understand why they moved to Ohio, and I didn’t. When I found myself living a town away from where that baptism Bible was given and inscribed, I understood anew God’s personalized plan for each person. Whenever I face difficult decisions, I repeat it in my mind until my heart renews its belief. As in the “yellow wood” of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” following its path “has made all the difference.”
What verses in your life have made a difference in the paths you have taken?
May 30, 2014
One Good Thing Every Day: May 30, 2014
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
While reading familiar, memorized scripture, it becomes easy to gloss over deeper meaning or new insight. But, this time I thought about this verse for longer than a glance.
I think nothing of flipping on a light when darkness fills a room. But, what of the young shepherd sitting on a hill through the evening watches?
His eyes adjust as far as humanly possible to the night’s shroud. The moon and stars provide a dim glow even as they cast shadowy images to trick him. His ears listen for prowling predators and stealthy bandits. If he lights a fire against the one, he alerts the other to his presence. He will shiver in the cold to avoid a flame. He recalls a psalm his father once taught him around the one lamp, filling their home with light. He imagines the rationed oil, used for burning and for bread, glowing in the lamps’ reservoir. The words, entering his mind and seeping into his heart, seem to flow through him. Even his feet feel warm. Beyond the sleeping sheep, the path toward home appears illumined with the approaching dawn.
May 28, 2014
Strive for Balance in Post Design
Interesting that I caught part of “The Karate Kid” over the weekend and heard Mr. Miyagi’s balance advice to Daniel. This blog offers great advice about post design. But, before I apply it, I better get my own karate kid to class!
Originally posted on The Daily Post:
Once you’re in a blogging groove and the words begin to flow, you naturally begin to look for ways to enhance the look of your posts.
Adding images is a great way to reinforce ideas, emphasize or illustrate a specific point, provide visual breathing space within lengthy text passages, or even inject humor. When using images, take some sage advice from Mr. Miyagi of Karate Kid fame:
Better learn balance. Balance is key.
But this is blogging, not karate
Ah yes, grasshopper, but did you know that balance is one of the bonafide principles of design?
Balance is embodied in a visually pleasing arrangement of the items on a page. For extra credit, you can read up on the different elements of balance.
Balance dos
While it’s your blog and you can do (almost) anything you want with it, here are some fast…
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