Last week I started two new projects. One is a new novel, called, Roxy, and the other is my spring 2014 herb garden. I’ve really changed my approach to doing things. At one time, I read everything I could get on a subject and talked to people about how they did things. I tried to follow steps and instructions as closely as possible. I was anxious and uptight about how things were going to turn out and I often became stressed over them. I also felt as if someone else cared how I did it and was looking on judgmentally. That didn’t help at all.
It’s a good thing for us to have some idea what we’re doing, to read, do research, and take lessons, but at some point, we just have to launch out and see what works for us. What I’m doing now is an amalgamation of everything I ever read, thought, knew, and felt.
Last Monday I got out some notes I’d made by hand on Roxy and started putting the story on my computer. I used Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s Book in a Month, Raymond Obstfeld’s, Fiction First Aid, and Leigh Michaels’s, On Writing Romance, for prompts and inspirations, but I read only until I lost interest and then went on to something else. Also, I’m pacing myself, and it’s making my writing entertaining to me. I’m putting TLC into my characters and I can hardly wait to see what they do next. I’m taking care to see that each chapter is in decent shape before going on to the next one. The most important thing, the one that makes the difference is, I’m staying connected with my intuition. To me, that’s the same thing as being in touch with the Holy Spirit. The things He does when I attend Him are wonderful.
As for the herbs, Bill and I had strong new wood built into three raised beds for our plants. The beds have been ready for a month, they started calling to us last week and we went shopping for the plants. We bought six plants, all different. They are:
- Basil
- Tarragon
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Oregano
- Marjoram
We read the directions and we planted them right, but with our own feelings for them, you might say loving each one and wishing it well. We plan to use them on the spot as well as to harvest and freeze-dry them at their peak. They make everything taste so much better, even when we follow our hearts in knowing what dishes to put them in.
On the way out of the store, a song played in my head…“High hopes, we have high hopes, high in the sky, apple pie hopes.” Yes. Hope is one of the most important things in the world, and we need to allow our Lord to set up things in our lives for us to hope for and to work toward. We need big things and small, spiritual and material to occupy our minds and give us the opportunity to be co-creators with our great and mighty God.
#hope #herbgardening #writing #mondayblogs