Writing

My blog has been rather quietly lately. Why? Well, for a few reasons. Sometimes I go through these phases where I feel too private to share my heart. Other times I am frustrated that I do not have the energy or time to write something of substance so I choose not to share anything. Other times I can't string a sentence together to save my life. Lately I have been enjoying sharing beautiful quotes from #wildandfree.

I often find that my mind hums with beautiful words in the last, few, quiet minutes of the day, only to have them claimed by sleep. Then morning approaches and with it, a tidal wave of demands and time constraints. Sometimes, in the afternoon, when Levi is napping, I have enough headspace to write,  but I am overcome with guilt that I should be using my time to  clean or exercise. While I enjoy sharing the odd muffin recipe and photos of my life and children, I often long to share the deeper stuff the keeps me awake at night, and permeates my thoughts during throughout the day - my struggles, victories, challenges, frustration and discoveries. Sometimes I feel like I should keep my blog content "joyful" as the title of my blog is "A Joyful Life", but when I think about it, a joyful life is not a life void of conflict, sorrow and brokenness, it is a life lived with Christ.

At the moment Nathaniel and the girls are still sound asleep and Levi is enthralled with the hair dryer I just handed him. I am nursing a mason jar of piping hot earl grey tea and  wondering how much time I will have before Amelia wakes up and requests breakfast. I recently read a fascinating article by Kim Brooks called "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Mom: Is domestic life the enemy of creative work?". It was funny, honest article about the challenges of trying to balance creative work with the needs of rearing children and how they are at odds with one another.

I don't profess to have any great skill in the writing department, but it is something that I enjoy doing. It not only helps me work through my issues, but also allows me to capture my musings in a concrete form that I can revisit later. It's probably the reason why I have diligently kept a journal since the age of seven. The act of writing, of weaving words together,  is not only therapeutic, it is creative and soul nourishing.

At any given time, have at least thirty or so blog entries that I have begun but failed to finish for one reason or another. I know that editing is an important part of the writing process but it a whole lot less fun than pouring thoughts onto a page.