Witness

 

Living out in the country like we do, I get to witness new things every week.

Like this morning, I went out to feed the barn cats and returning I heard who-whowho-who in the trees of our neighbor’s property. I stood and listened to the whooting. It seemed almost fake at first. Then as the rhythm progressed, the owl calling in the dawn, the irregularity of it’s call created the feeling of reality in my brain.

Last week I witnessed a funny, sad, scary moment when the four deer that visit each day moved into our front gardens munching on whatever they could find. I looked again and one deer had a bucket on her head. Her ears weren’t inside the bucket so I had hopes she could shake it off. I thought about going out to help, but I knew the group would just run away into the woods. The other deer stood still and watched the crazy one with the bucket on her head, like some teen crazy stunt drama in my front yard. Later that day I found said bucket, so all is well with that deer. The small herd has not been back since the incident.

I’ve watched barn cats give birth and conversely mourn for their dead kittens. I’ve seen chickens sit in my presence and roosters walk away from a fight with me.

I’ve seen a huge 10-point buck chase his herd past my window.

I’ve seen run-away dogs, hungry, ribs showing, refusing any food I offer.

I’ve seen raccoon antics on my bird feeders, possums sitting on my front porch doing a cat imitation, crows warn other crows that I’m on my walk, woodpeckers chase bluejays from their tree and black birds chase crows from their trees.

I’ve seen the most beautiful rainbows to which no camera would do justice. I’ve seen cloud formations that no one would believe even if I could find the words. I’ve noticed raspberry patches dry up and move to new locations. I’ve seen buzzards show up during butchering time. I’ve seen a falcon fly straight-arrow, four feet from the ground, past my window, grabbing a sparrow without a flinch of flight pattern.

I’ve seen hawks dive for rodents and snatch them back to the big cottonwood in the back. I’ve seen all sorts of birds the books say I’m not supposed to see. I’ve watched spiders do things the books say they aren’t supposed to do. I heard bird song I can’t identify, even with the websites and apps. I hear the sounds the birds make quietly, privately as I move past their nesting place.

I witness the effects of rain on our gravel driveway, rivulets of quasi creeks pushing our expensive stone further down the hill ending in mud puddles.

But most of all, I witness how God cares for his creatures, how they use whatever He gives them to make a life for themselves. I’ve tried to make order out of chaos and witnessed how fast life goes back to nature, then realized that my order might be the chaos.

Witness – 12-16-22 – FMF

 

Hidden

 

 

A Discovery

I suddenly found myself writing a short story that surprised me, delighted me, made me smile. Where had it come from?

And then I realized there were millions of things hidden in my mind locked inside file cabinets that I never knew were there.

I don’t remember how I found out about the book “Fast Fiction” by Roberta Allen. I must have been searching for a new writing book, perhaps a writing magazine or maybe Barnes and Nobel. It doesn’t matter anymore. I found it. I bought it. I read it. I worked through it.

The method she used intrigued me. She wrote the book “Fast Fiction” after running a series of workshops in New York. In the book she states that she originally fell upon the method as she sat in front of a painting in an art museum. The painting sparked a story in her mind. She quickly wrote down the bones of the story to finish at another time. She continued this throughout the museum and discovered she had found a new way to create raw material for creative writing pieces.

Allen also wrote “The Playful Way to Serious Writing,” also one of my favorites, using the same methods.

I use both books to spark fresh writing; to dig out new things from my dusty, cavernous brain (can you hear the echo?); and to spur me on during my November Adventure.

 

My Practice

As per Allen’s suggestion, I set a timer for five minutes, read one of her specially designed prompts, and write as much as I can before the timer goes off. This writing is by hand. It must be by hand for it to work for me. There is something more primitive, more tactile, more visceral when using a pen and paper. The physical effort of writing connects new places in the brain.

No crossing out allowed. No fixing “mistakes.” Her method is as reactionary as possible. The hidden things in the brain are prompted by a word or a phrase or a picture. I write about the first thing that comes to mind. Many of these things are uncomfortable and even painful. But she urges her participant to write them anyway.

Another way to use “Fast Fiction” is to create raw material for an entire novel. Sometimes after a session of six writing prompts in quick succession, I see a patterns, a relationship, or a bigger story emerging.

And all these things were hidden somewhere in the file drawers of my brain.

 

God is In Charge of Hidden Things

God talks about the hidden things too. The more we work on our relationship with God, the more He reveals to us things we didn’t know were there. Sometimes it happens to me when I’m reading His Word. Sometimes when I am worshipping in church. Sometimes during the message. Sometimes while I’m praying. Sometimes while I am writing. These are precious times for me, times of convicting, or insight, or truth, or realization.

But there are things that will be hidden until God is ready to reveal them. And that is okay with this bear of very little brain.

 

Passages to Ponder

“But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” – Mark 13:32 (NASB)

“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” – Luke 8:17 (NASB)

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” – Jeremiah 33:3 (NASB)

“But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.” – Luke 12:2-3

“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.’” – Matthew 11:25

 

www.robertaallen.com

~

 

Hidden – 10-27-22 – 31 Days of Writing About Writing

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Know

 

My life has been full. I’ve done a lot of things. Most of those things were done with others by my side. I know a lot of things, but that’s because of all the people I know.

 

What I know:

I know how to boil water, cook eggs several ways, make toast, clean most of the parts of my house, do laundry with acceptable results, bake bread, make lasagna, create well-rounded nutritious meals,

I know how to make coffee (perked, drip, Kerig, press, cold-press, espresso latte/cappuccino/short-pull/Americana/skinny/double/triple/frap/iced and others.

I know how to run register, old-style and computer, count out change, and recognize a short-change artist – and it truly is an art form.

I know how to stock shelves with or without a ladder.

I know how to talk to angry, frustrated, scared, happy, grateful, silly, offensive, abusive people on the phone.

I know how to create an advertisement in InDesign. I also know how to format newspaper pages in Quark.

I know how to write a short story, novel, poem (rhymed and unrhymed, metered and unmetered), press release, article, real-life story, interview, letter, card, and note.

I know how to remain invisible.

I know how to get someone’s attention.

I know how to treat someone with respect.

I know how to avoid scammers, salesmen, manipulators, intimidators, dominators, liars, thieves, bleeding-hearts, beggars, and dangerous people who mean me harm.

I know how to read the Bible, worship God, pray to Jesus, ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit, listen to God’s voice, His urging, His direction, His warning. But I’m still learning how to help others to do the same.

I know how to clean up someone else’s mess.

I know how to dig a hole, plant a tree, start a garden and tend it, mulch a patch, cut branches, trim bushes, pick up trash, yell at stray dogs, shoot raccoons, trap possums, help with building projects,

I know how to add supplements to my diet, eat well, eat smart, and help others do the same.

I know a little about essential oils and their uses, but the knowledge base is huge and ever growing.

I know a little bit about raising children.

I know how to identify birds at my feeder.

I know how to play the piano, the organ, the flute and on a lesser level the clarinet, the trumpet, the French horn, the guitar.

I know how to teach.

I know how to research.

I know how to darn socks, repair jeans, sew masks, clothing, pillows, drapes and quilts.

 

What I don’t know:

I don’t know much. The list of what I don’t know grows faster than what I do know.

I don’t know when I’m going to die (this is a good thing).

I don’t know if this household will ever be debt free (even though we’re continually working on it).

I don’t know if all my children are truly saved (I leave this is God’s hands – every day).

I don’t know how to make that little heart shaped thingy on a latte’.

I don’t know how to build a fence.

I don’t know how to change the oil in my truck. I know how to change a tire, but I’m probably not strong enough. It’s a big truck.

I don’t know how to dance with a partner.

I don’t know how to lose weight, my weight, the stubborn extra pounds I carry with me.

I don’t know how to explain the difficult Bible passages.

I don’t know how to explain the easy Bible passages.

I don’t know how to give a sermon or teach a Bible class.

I’m not sure how to write a devotional, though I have written one.

I don’t know how to run the mower, the weed-wacker, the tiller, the Farm-all tractor.

I don’t know how to drive stick, even though someone taught me.

I don’t know how to trouble-shoot a computer, a printer, a copy machine, a fax, a cell phone.

I don’t know how to make nuclear fusion.

I don’t know how to create a sculpture out of stone.

I don’t know how to felt, make things out of resin or glass, drive a fork lift, fix a Lamborghini, write code for spy-ware, or work the line in a factory.

I don’t know how to install a furnace or fix a boiler.

I don’t know how the take blood or use a pressure cuff.

I don’t know surgery, law, or police work.

 

But I know the One who holds the entire universe and heaven in His hand, keeps things running, and teaches everyone what they need to serve Him. And that is the best knowledge of all.

 

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” – Matthew 10:29-30 (NASB)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5 (NASB)

“We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” – 1 John 3:19-20 (NASB)

“Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.” – Psalm 130:4 (NASB)

“For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” Psalm 103:14 (NASB)

Know – 10-25-22 – 31 Days of Writing About Writing