Hi. I’m Sandra/Sandy/Snady/SHK, and I’m a Tweetspeak Poetry workshopaholic. I want to believe that the investment I make in these workshops will pay off, that I’ll eventually/someday reap what I sow in terms of my bank account. That may or may not happen. But I’m pretty sure that what I invest in self-care is immeasurable […]
When I Was No Writer And My Words Were Poo
“I like good strong words that mean something.” ~Jo March (Little Women) I chinned the rusty barrel near the hem of our woods. The carbon petals curled and separated. The ashes fluttered high and melted into the atmosphere. Cremation complete. The weekly newspaper over in the next county had rejected my fiction story—the […]
Dreaming With Darwish: Nurture Hope
The poet Mahmoud Darwish believed there needed to be a time gap between an event and the writing about it. My thoughts about this latest dare are like “cotton ginned by the wind.” Maybe I need a wider gap. I’ve sat most of this past week in “A State of Siege,” a long text […]
Becoming Mindful in Place: When You Don’t Feel Like Walking
I’ve been crying again and don’t really feel like doing this walking assignment for my Becoming Mindful in Place workshop, but I carry my key and a heavy heart out to the garage. I drive Hope, my new red Jeep, down the paved entrance lined by American flags and through the gate. I bear […]
Becoming Mindful in Place: Under the Maple Tree
I’m sunk into a red sports chair in the shade under the backyard maple. The site of the Great Lilac Massacre is behind me and in front is the home of the baby bluebird murders. In my mind, I still see the blood-splashed walls and little pecked heads. The grandgirl no longer plays softball, […]
Look. Light. by Laura Lynn Brown
I first met Laura face-to-face on a writer’s retreat at Laity Lodge where we discovered we’re both deep see divers–as in seeing deep. She makes music with her words and on her tin whistle. Some day maybe I’ll buy another harp–a small, portable one–and team up with her for a duet. Or not. […]
Richard Foster on Silence and Writing
I’ve been a Richard Foster fan for years. I’ve got the first editions of Celebration of Discipline (named by Christianity Today as one of the top 10 most influential books of the 20th century) and Freedom of Simplicity. Way back when, I led a Sunday School group through FOS—which probably amounted to simply reading aloud every […]
40 Words of Lent 2014: Day 30 (Plus An Invitation and a Giveaway!)
“We need solitude in a world that wants to visit, quiet from a world that wants idle chit-chat, and steadfastness in a world where everything’s changing and transient. We need time to gather the little pieces of ourselves that scatter.” Word Count: 40 ~Dave Harrity in Making Manifest: On Faith, Creativity, and the Kingdom at […]
31 Days on Coming to Grips with My Age ~ Day 16: Sip by Sip
To steep ourselves in every moment. This is how we should live, no matter our age. Types of Tea and Their Health Benefits Tea should be taken in solitude. ~attributed to C.S. Lewis Do you drink tea? Alone or with company? What’s your favorite kind? Why?
You’ve Got to be Dreaming! Plus Making Music (or Not) and a Retreat
I had a dream. It came in a big walnut box banded with black and white. It was the first piece of furniture we bought together after our wedding, and when I closed my eyes, I could see my fingers fly up and down those keys. I took lessons weekly after work, and she made […]
