Places for (Edgy) Faith Writers to Publish

Anyone who’s read my blog for any length of time knows I love lists of resources. Perhaps it’s the teacher in me? For those of you who might be new to writing, I wanted to give you a leg up and let you know some places to submit your work.

I’ve written for many of these, but some are on my bucket list of places to submit one day in the future. Let me know if you have other information for me to add to this list and feel free to contact me via the query form on my blog or other social media to ask questions.

Here are some places for writers to submit their work:

Online Collaborative Blogs (you’ll be paid in readers & community)

SheLoves Magazine

I’m one of the editors, so I can speak most specifically to this site. SheLoves is about Jesus, justice and juicy living. The best submissions are personal narrative, not preachy. We love stories that share your heart, not just quotes and Bible verses. You can email your submissions to Kathleen Bertrand at shelovesmagazine@gmail.com. For more submission info, go here. They only accept previously unpublished pieces. Here are the themes for 2018–usually due the 15th of the previous month:

June: Transitions
July: Territories
August: Fire
September: Edge
October: Warrior
November: Gathering
December: Glory

The Mudroom Blog

The Mudroom is gritty, raw and real. The women here are world changers and justice-seekers. They love Jesus, but aren’t afraid to ask the hard questions. I’ve published here several times and have had a really great experience. Visit here for submission guidelines and monthly themes (which are usually amazing). They only accept previously unpublished pieces.

Altarwork

Altarwork is a collaborative blog featuring fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, music and visual arts. I’ve published several pieces with them and they don’t mind republishing previously published work. To submit a piece for Altarwork, visit this page.

Scraping Raisins, by me;-)

This year I am using themes for each month, so take a look at the themes here and let me know if you’d be interested in submitting a guest post! I’m looking for personal stories from 500-1000 words.

(In)Courage

Okay, so I wouldn’t normally consider (In)Courage “edgy,” but they just announced 10 new writers that are edgy, so we might begin to see a bit more of that! 😉 Submissions to (In)Courage are quarterly, so you have to watch for the two-week window. You can usually submit the first two weeks of December, March, June and September. Visit this page for more submission info.

Literary Mama

Not for faith writers, per se, but I’ve always wanted to write for them. They put out info about places for writers to submit their work on the first Wednesday of every month.

RELEVANT (online)

RELEVANT will publish previously published work, so if you have a blog post that’s done well, you might want to think about sending it along to RELEVANT. Be sure you keep an eye out, though, because they most likely won’t inform you whether or not they decided to run it. This year, I had a surprise birthday present when they ran my piece without my knowledge. Visit here for more submission info.

Red Tent Living

I’ve been meaning to submit here for a long time because I love their vision and the authenticity of their writers. Visit here for more submission info. Submissions are theme-based and due the first of the month. Here are the current themes.

Sojourners

This is also a site where I’ve wanted to contribute because I respect and admire their work. For submission guidelines, visit here. This link also includes info about submitting to their print magazine.

For Missionaries and Expats:

A Life Overseas

This was the first place I ever had a piece published, so I have a fondness for this site (it was also the place I had the most engagement and visits to my personal blog as a result of publishing). This is a fabulous online community of thoughtful missionaries and expats. To submit a post, email Elizabeth at emarietrotter@gmail.com and write “Guest Post” in the subject line.

Velvet Ashes

I wish Velvet Ashes had existed when I lived overseas. This is a vibrant, active, and encouraging community of women who are mostly all living away from their passport cultures. VA offers online small groups, an online retreat (the next one is the 19-22!), and a weekly link-up on Thursdays for bloggers, called “The Grove”. For current themes and submission guidelines, visit here.

Writing about Motherhood:

For Every Mom

This site will also publish pieces that have been published before, so I’ll often send the editor, Jenny Rapson, any pieces that have done well on my blog. They will also take pitches for paid pieces, though I haven’t done that yet, so I don’t have any tips. For submission info, visit here.

Coffee + Crumbs

This is a lovely blog featuring quality essays that is still on my bucket list to submit to. Check here to see if they are open for submissions (they rarely are).

If You Prefer to Get Paid, Try These:

iBelieve

This is a Christian site that features articles about faith, relationships, calling, health, beauty, devotionals, motherhood and career. They do pay for articles, though it’s not a lot. You can submit queries here.

Think Christian

From the website: “Think Christian serves the devout faithful who are also fans of popular culture. In music and movies, television and video games, we seek to find—in the words of the Apostle Paul—“whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.” Our task as a digital magazine is to consider how popular culture and its cultivators interact with God’s story, and we do this with grace, appreciation, and discernment.” Email editor Josh Larsen with pitches and queries: jlarsen@reframemedia.com

Christianity Today

From their site: “Articles for CT should be factually sound, well researched, and pertain to modern Christianity. We are interested in profiles, interviews, feature stories, book reviews, and opinion pieces that are expertly written and well supported, provide a fresh perspective, and connect the eternal message of the gospel with current trends, culture, events, and news. First-person articles should apply your personal experience to a broader concept of faith and biblical truth.” Visit here for guidelines on submitting to CT.

Washington Post, Acts of Faith

From their site: “The Washington Post’s Acts of Faith offers breaking and ongoing news, analysis and opinion about major religion stories. We tackle anything where faith, spirituality, ethics and values live, from politics and culture to science and education. Please note that we are considering a limited number of submissions right now. Acts of Faith is edited by Sarah Pulliam Bailey (spulliam@gmail.com).” Visit here for more submission info.

Print Magazines (some pay, some don’t)

Faithfully Magazine

Editor-in-chief & founder: Nicola A. Menzie

Faithfully Magazine is a news and lifestyle publication that covers issues, conversations and events impacting Christian communities of color. It’s also the first print magazine I was ever published in! For detailed submission info, visit here. They do not currently pay.

Image Journal

Editor & founder: Gregory Wolfe

Image Journal is a beautiful magazine featuring fiction, nonfiction and poetry. For submission info to either their print magazine, Image Journal, or their daily blog, Good Letters, visit here. They also have a yearly week-long writer’s workshop called The Glen that I’ve had my eye on for a while.

Plough Magazine

Managing editor: Shana Burleson

This is a quarterly magazine featuring poetry, book reviews, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual arts related to faith, culture, justice and community. (I really need to write for them…) For submission info, visit here. The site says they will pay an “honorarium” (I’m not sure what that means) for their print articles, but are unable to pay for online articles.

Ready Publication

Editor-in-chief & founder: Gail Dudley

Ready is a quarterly print and digital publication designed with the beautiful diversity of women around the world in mind. To submit an article, visit here.

Relief Journal

Editor-in-chief: Daniel Bowman

This is an annual print journal that accepts poetry, fiction, graphic narrative, and creative nonfiction. Their reading period is October 1 – March 31. For more submission info, visit here.

Ruminate

Editor-and founder: Brianna Van Dyke

This is a gorgeous magazine that publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and visual art. To find more info about submitting to the print magazine, visit here. They also have a blog, so visit here for info about submitting there. They pay a little for pieces for the print magazine, but I’m not sure about the blog. Ruminate also runs contests throughout the year. (Side note–they are located in my city in a renovated barn!)

St. Katherine Review

Managing editor: Angela Doll Carlson

The guiding principle at Saint Katherine Review is “Inquiry seeking Wisdom.”This print magazine accepts poetry, creative nonfiction, reviews and fiction. Contributors receive three copies of the issue in which their work appears, plus a one-year subscription. For more submission info, visit here.

Have you signed up for my newsletter? New subscribers will be entered to win a free copy of this gorgeous magazine, Ruminate. If you’re already a subscriber, head over to my Instagram post and tag up to four friends to be entered to win there! Giveaway will be open until this Friday at midnight (MT). Sorry, only U.S. residents and no bots, please!

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

***

Our theme for April is “Books and Writing,” and I hope to share my favorite books, podcasts and resources for new writers. Click here if you’re new to the series and want to catch up on old posts. Be sure to follow me on social media and sign up for my newsletter below so you can be alerted of new posts. Please get in touch at scrapingraisins (dot) gmail (dot) com if you are interested in guest posting on this topic!

Places for (Edgy) Faith Writers to Publish

April 18, 2018April 18, 2018

A Writer’s Hotbed of Stupidity, Saints & Selfies (#FFW)

As a stay-at-home mom to three tiny children, I no longer feel fluent in socializing or adult conversation. So, as you might expect, a writing conference where I had to meet and interact with some of my writing heroes was a hotbed for saying and doing stupid things.

Lest you think I’m exaggerating, here are a few foot-in-mouth moments for your entertainment:

1. I saw an author I admire and said, “I read half your book!” #whatNOTtosaytoanauthor

2. I tweeted something Deidra Riggs said during a panel about sex and without thinking, my husband replied something about loving when I talk dirty, accidentally including Deidra in the reply. (okay, so that one’s on my husband)

3. I told a magazine I couldn’t write for them yet because I have other writing projects now (they didn’t ask me to).

4. I chucked my stuff on a chair, then chased Ann Kroeker down the hallway and slobbered all over her.

5. I told a girl she looked “so familiar” and she said it was because we had met two days earlier.

6. I couldn’t go into the expo room for two days after seeing my face on a poster about new authors. (denial, perhaps?)

7. I think I may have sat next to Fleming Rutledge on the flight to Grand Rapids, but didn’t realize it until I got to the conference (this is why you should always make small talk on the plane).

8. I started talking to Shannan Martin in line in the bathroom and when I walked out, I realized I still had my dirty paper towel balled up in my hand.

9. I often said the first thing that came to my mind when I met someone–usually pertaining to their appearance. “You’re so much shorter/thinner/taller than I thought!” Generally not a good idea.

But apart from my many blunders, the conference was still a fabulous experience.

Here are a few highlights for me from FFW:

1. Hearing Luci Shaw and Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughters tell stories about Madeleine, my greatest writing hero. (Did you know Madeleine L’Engle loved playing ping-pong?)

Luci Shaw & Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughters

2. Spending time with other writing friends talking, crying, trading stories, and sharing on a level I so rarely get to relate on in my regular life.

3. Meeting some of my writing and life heroes: Deidra Riggs, Luci Shaw, Sandra Van Opstal, Shannan Martin, Addie Zierman, Lisha Epperson, Ann Kroeker, Katlin Curtice, D.L. Mayfield, Amy Peterson, Christiana Peterson, inspiring writers from my publishing House, Herald Press, my editor, friends from SheLoves, Redbud Writers’ Guild and my other writing group, and so many others.

4. Meeting my heroes reminded me that even though a writer may have thousands of followers on social media, it doesn’t mean they don’t struggle with insecurity and imposter syndrome like I do.

5. I sat in five fiery sessions about race that burned away my idealism, selfish motivations and pride involved in being a white woman who writes about race. It reminded me that these discussions are messy, complex and yet so necessary in spite of the discomfort. I’m still processing many of the conversations, emotions and challenges.

Deidra Riggs, Karen Sallow Prior, Sandra Maria Van Opstal, Kathy Khang, Katelyn Beaty, “Still Evangelical in the Age of #MeToo?”

Lisa Sharon Harper, Marlena Graves, Kathy Khang, “Writing for Our Lives”

5. Overall, the best part of the festival for me was putting people to the avatars and remembering there is flesh, bone and spirit behind the names and faces on the 2D screen.

Did you attend the Festival of Faith and Writing this year? What was your biggest take-away?

Have you signed up for my newsletter? New subscribers will be entered to win a free copy of this gorgeous magazine, Ruminate. If you’re already a subscriber, head over to my Instagram post and tag up to four friends to be entered to win there! Giveaway will be open until this Friday at midnight (MT). Sorry, only U.S. residents and no bots, please!

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

***

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018

No More Fear for Kids~Interview with Author, JoHannah Reardon + Book Giveaway

I’ve always been fascinated by peering “behind the scenes.” Before a show, I always hope to glimpse the actors and catch them being ordinary people. I think most of us are interested–why else would we sit and watch hours of “extras” about the shows, movies and lives of cast members we love? Books are no different. I’m so curious about what inspires us to write and the process each of us takes. In this interview, author JoHannah, a friend of mine at Redbud Writer’s Guild, takes us behind the scenes of her newest book, a 40-day family devotional on fear for kids around age 8-12. But even if you don’t have kids, JoHannah has some fabulous lessons to share about how she has conquered fear in her life.

If you love free books like I do, be sure to read to the end for instructions on how to win a copy of this book!

1. Why did you write No More Fear for Kids?
I have battled a lifetime of fear and anxiety that began in childhood. I was afraid of everything and didn’t know how to process that fear. When I became a Christian, I knew the answer was in Christ, but I didn’t know how that translated into my day-to-day living. It wasn’t until I took 40 days to give up fear that I realized the stranglehold it had on me. With that in mind, I wanted to help kids get a head start on dealing with their fears when they are young. I could have avoided a lot of angst if I’d dealt with my fear much earlier in life.

2. Why 40 days to give up fear?
I did not attend a church that practiced Lent, but I worked with many people who did. I thought it would be useful to examine any habits that I knew I needed help with. So for a couple of years, I gave up food and media as everyone else I knew did, but one year I decided to pray about what I should give up. I felt as strongly as I’ve ever felt anything that I was to give up fear. That 40-day journey was absolutely life changing and broke a pattern that had dominated my life from as far back as I could remember.

3. What approach does your book No More Fear for Kids take to overcoming fear?
The 40 days of giving up fear taught me that I had a warped view of God. Since that time, I’ve been meditating on who God truly is. Knowing his good and loving character has helped me to trust him with all that happens in my life and world. In No More Fear for Kids, I stress these characteristics of God, as well as wrestle with what it means that God is a judge, that I should fear him, and that he does get angry. By understanding that I don’t have anything to fear from God has been huge in my journey away from fear and anxiety. So, by closely examining God’s attributes, I found that he was faithful and that giving up fear was simply believing that and trusting him with my life.

My hope in No More Fear for Kids is that children will gain a healthy understanding of God and realize that he loves them beyond measure, giving them a safe harbor no matter their fears and anxieties.

My hope in No More Fear for Kids is that children will gain a healthy understanding of God and realize that he loves them beyond measure, giving them a safe harbor no matter their fears and anxieties.

Click To Tweet

A. W. Tozer said that what we believe about God is the most important thing about us. By giving kids a right view of God’s attributes, their fears are put into perspective.

4. Is simply knowing who God is enough to overcome fears?
Good question. Before I started my 40-day journey, I knew God’s attributes intellectually. However, I hadn’t engaged my emotions in relation to his attributes. In the vein of Christianity I grew in, emotions were considered unimportant and even unnecessary. I was taught to put emotions aside and just go with what I knew to be true. So much about this is good and necessary; yet, it caused me to so disconnect with my emotions that I denied them. I decided I wasn’t afraid, even though I was terrified all the time. That’s why taking 40 days to just concentrate on my emotions of fear and anxiety were so important. I had to face those emotions head on by acknowledging them and by realizing God was trustworthy enough to deal with whatever was causing me terror. That experience with God was what caused a breakthrough for me.

5. Since you gave up fear, have you had any relapses?
I had one relapse when my husband was gone on a trip. I heard some noises in the night and felt the old panic begin to rise. I sat up in bed with all the old fears pouring in on me. But then, I felt angry—angry at Satan for throwing this old pattern of fear at me again. I said aloud, “No, Satan! I am not doing this again.” The fear lifted and I went peacefully back to sleep.

Then when I released No More Fear: 40 Days to Overcome Worry, my adult devotional, and No More Fear for Kids, I began to (ironically) fear that I had just found something simple to placate my emotions and that I couldn’t really offer help to anyone. But that week, a couple of men murdered someone in the town next to mine. They fled to my neighborhood and a massive search occurred. As the police examined every shed, camper, and nook or cranny a person could hide, general panic took over those in my town. People called me and told me I could come stay with them until these men were caught. I was elated when I realized I didn’t feel even an iota of fear. I would rather face armed murderers than return to the prison of fear I’d been locked in for so long.

6. What do you hope a child will come away with after reading No More Fear for Kids?
First of all, I hope a parent doesn’t just hand the child this book and let them read it on their own. It’s designed for discussion between the parent and child, giving the child an opportunity to talk about their fears and misconceptions about who God is. That said, for each child who spends 40 days in my book, I pray the following: that they will be able to identify their fears and rest them one by one at Jesus’ feet, knowing he will banish them. That their experience with God is so powerful they would rather face the worst life can throw at them than return to a life of fear and trembling. That their relationship with Christ becomes so real and palpable that it will affect every part of their lives and permeate it with inner peace—for years to come.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: WIN A FREE COPY OF NO MORE FEAR FOR KIDS

To win, be sure you’re signed up for my newsletter, then tag up to four friends on my Instagram post about this book who you think might be interested in reading this. I’ll enter you one time per new friend you tag. I’ll announce the winner on Instagram on Monday, April 16. Sorry, no bots and only U.S. residents!

BUY No More Fear for Kids from Amazon.

More About JoHannah:

JoHannah Reardon was a Christianity Today editor for nine years. In that time she built and managed their Bible study site, ChristianBibleStudies.com. She also served as an editor for Today’s Christian Woman and Gifted For Leadership (now CTWomen and WomenLeaders). She currently serves as the senior editor for The Redbud Post and is the author of 14 books, including devotionals and novels. Although she loves her work, her favorite things in life are teasing her husband, annoying her children, and spoiling her grandkids. Find out more about JoHannah and her books at johannahreardon.com. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

***

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

**This post includes Amazon affiliate links

April 6, 2018April 6, 2018

My 14 Favorite Books on Writing and Creativity

Sometimes I’d rather read about writing than actually write. Perhaps I secretly think I’ll glean enough from their advice and experience to produce a crop without the same effort? I pared this list down a bit (believe it or not), and while the majority are about writing, a few are for creatives, by creatives.

Do yourself a favor and dash over to Goodreads, Amazon or to the library and add these to your ever-expanding reading list.

The Artists Way, by Julia Cameron

One of my favorite things about this book are the quotes in the margins. Before I begin writing, I sometimes browse through for writing inspiration. I often think of her reference to “restock the pond” and “refill the well” when I feel creatively depleted. She says, “When we work at our art, we dip into the well of our experience and scoop out images. Because we do this, we need to learn how to put images back.” (p. 21)

The Art of Memoir, by Mary Karr

Mary Karr is hilarious. I heard her interviewed on several podcasts before I read a single book of hers and I confess I still haven’t actually read one of her memoirs. As I’ve been writing, I often think about how she said the reader needs to feel like they’ve zipped themselves into the author’s skin. (Kind of gross and Shel Silverstein-esq, but so helpful.) And I’m going to give away the ending because it makes me cry:

“None of us can ever know the value of our lives, or how our separate and silent scribbling may add to the amenity of the world, if only by how radically it changes us, one and by one.” (p. 218)

The Art of the Personal Essay, edited by Phillip Lopate

I had this anthology for an advanced writing class in college and LOVED it. It’s not a writing book, per se, but has examples of some of the best essays of all time by Annie Dillard, G.K. Chesterton, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin and Adrienne Rich, among many others.

The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself, by Susan Bell

I first heard about this from Ann Kroeker on her incredibly helpful podcast for writers and quickly checked it out of the library. I’m struggling to write my first manuscript, so I wasn’t sure if I should be editing as I go along, or if I should wait until it is all completed to wade back through the mire to make sense out of it all. This book helped me figure out a strategy that works for me and provided some tools to edit both at the micro and macro level. My only tip would be to make sure you’ve read The Great Gatsby before reading this book because Bell uses that book as an example in many of the chapters.

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

I’ve listened to many hours of writers sharing about writing and their favorite books and this one is probably mentioned the most frequently. Lamott loves to share the story about her brother who procrastinated on a project about birds for school and had to finish it the night before. Their father told him, “Son, we’ll just take it bird by bird,” and that became Lamott’s mantra for writing–just take it “bird by bird.” Along with this, the second most quoted part of this book is the author’s permission to create SFD’s, or “s**ty first drafts.” I’ve taken much consolation in that.

Breath for the Bones, by Luci Shaw

Less technical and more spiritual, this book spiritualizes the work of the Christian artist. My favorite parts are when she talks about the Holy Spirit as her muse and mentions walking around at attention, with her antennae combing the air. I once heard a writer say every book is a conversation with another book, and I feel like this book is in conversation with Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water and Barabara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. It’s probably one of my favorites in this list.

Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke

The main reason I list this book here is because it is so often quoted that I think every artist needs to at least say they have read it. Here’s the infamous quote (though the rest is worth reading as well): ”

“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.

This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose…”

Life Creative, by Wendy Speake and Kelli Stuart

I read this book in the perfect moment of my writing career, just as I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it or possible to be a mother to little ones AND try to be a writer. Life Creative is the type of empowering, inspiring and fire-lighting book that women need to remind them they are called to this important work of being creators.

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-fiction, by William Zinsser

This was also assigned reading in one of my writing classes nearly 20 years ago and when I reread it last year, I could see why. Zinsser’s voice is usually in my head as I edit: “Clutter is the enemy” (p. 15), “Do I need it at all? Probably I don’t” (p. 79), and “Every successful piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn’t have before” (p. 52). Thank you, sir. If you need a refresher on the craft of writing, this should be your go-to book.

Several Short Sentences About Writing, by Verlyn Klinkenborg

Similar to On Writing Well, this book celebrates simple, concise work. The entire book is written as a list of sentences, so you can see his point about varying sentence length play out throughout the book. He writes,

“No subject is so good that it can redeem indifferent writing. But good writing can make almost any subject interesting.” (p. 129) This book is a perfect mix of creative inspiration and technical advice on the craft of writing. It’s a quick read, but every sentence packs a punch (sometimes clichés are just exactly what you want to say…).

Walking on Water, by Madeline L’Engle

This is my all-time-favorite book on creativity and spirituality. I wrote a whole post about it for SheLoves here and often quote her in my work. My favorite quote from the book is this:

“If the work comes to the artist and says, ‘Here I am, serve me,’ then the job of the artist, great or small, is to serve. The amount of the artist’s talent is not what it is about. Jean Rhys said to an interviewer in the Paris Review, ‘Listen to me. All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don’t matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake.” (p. 23) We feed the lake.

Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg

I remember seeing a quote by Natalie Goldberg and being intrigued. The quote was something like, “Writers get to live life twice.” So I put her book on hold in the library and devoured it in less than a week. Now, as I write, I often think about the composting I mentioned in my last post and the redemption of what feels like waste as we write. This is a fabulous companion to the other writing books on your shelf. I wish I had bought it, not just checked it out of the library.

The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard

I read this book long before I started a blog, submitted an article or even began calling myself a writer. And when I shyly stepped naked onto the screen, Dillard’s words empowered me:

“Why do you never find anything written about that idiosyncratic thought you advert to, about your fascination with something no one else understands? Because it is up to you. There is something you find interesting, for a reason hard to explain. It is hard to explain because you have never read it on any page; there you begin. You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment.” (p. 67-68 emphasis mine)

Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, by Roy Peter Clark

This is also a very practical book for writers who may have been at it a while and need to hone their craft. It’s added to my personal editing checklist as I read back through my drafts and consider if I’m using active verbs, being too wordy, or losing my subject in long sentences. This book feels a bit like when I used to study theory and practice scales as a piano student–less sexy, but very necessary.

On my “To Read” List:

A Writer’s Diary, by Virgina Woolf

The Art of Nonfiction, by Ayn Rand

Creativity Rules, by Brenda Seelig

If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland

Light the Dark, edited by Joe Fassler

Rumors of Water, by L.L. Barkat

Writing About Your Life, by William Zinnser

What are your favorite books about writing and creativity? I’d love to hear!

***

Our theme for April is “Books and Writing,” and I hope to share my favorite books, podcasts and resources for new writers. Be sure to follow me on social media and sign up for my newsletter below so you can be alerted of new posts. Please get in touch at scrapingraisins (dot) gmail (dot) com if you are interested in guest posting on this topic!

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

**Includes Amazon affiliate links

Writing & Creativity #writing #writerslife #amwriting #booksonwriting #bookreview

April 3, 2018April 3, 2018

Writing Garbage

Three years ago if you had told me I’d be calling myself a writer today, I would have chuckled and said, “Right. I wish.”

Natalie Goldberg talks about writing being like a compost heap. All those journal entries, letters, emails, short stories, articles, and blog posts mingle together in their juices and every once in a while a stunning tulip pushes her way up and out of the mush. I had about 30 years of composting—mostly pure garbage–before I ever published a word.

This month on the blog, the theme is books and writing. I’ll share some guest posts from writers who have called themselves professionals much longer than I have. I’ll also have a book or two (or three) to give away to readers who love books as much as I do. Be sure to follow along on social media and share with your book-nerd and writerly friends.

I signed a book contract this February, though it won’t be published until fall of 2019, so it still feels distant and surreal. I confess I suffer from major Imposter Syndrome most days (check out a couple great podcasts by Lead Stories about that).

But I’m writing the words and adding compost to the pile, trusting something holy, hopeful, and transcendent will emerge from the heap. Before I begin writing, I pray for those who read my book—that this wouldn’t just be about me, but that we’d be together in it all. I ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration, wisdom and winsome words.

But mostly I beg God for permission to write badly. At least at first.

Julia Cameron says it like this:

“Remember that in order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one” (The Artist’s Way, p. 30)

I pray for freedom to run my fingers over the keyboard without obsessing, over-analyzing or self-criticizing, with the reckless abandon of my naked children dancing around the living room after a bath. I need that level of confidence, self-indulgence and blind courage.

Many writers have said you can’t edit a blank page, so I’m filling the page with words and then giving myself time to wade back through the sludge. I’m hoping to find some gems buried there.

This month is about writing and books mainly because writing is at the center of my story right now. I hope this theme will somehow intersect with wherever you are in life—even if you’re not a writer. Perhaps insert whatever thing God is calling you to do that causes you the greatest amount of self-doubt or quivering-in-your-boots and relate in that way.

Now that I’m a writer, I read the Bible with new lenses. As I read Ecclesiastes recently, certain passages suddenly glowed with new meaning. Wise Solomon writes,

“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” (Eccl. 11:5-6 ESV)

Writing demands feisty faith.

Writing demands feisty faith.

Click To Tweet

We till, plant, and sow, then God whispers miracles from mounds of trash. He infuses bones with spirit breath and tiny seeds hidden in the ground with life. Our job is to show up, trust the Light to do its part, and keep doing the work of tilling, planting and watering. Then we sit back on our heels, and do some waiting for the tulips to grow out of our years of faithful composting.

***

This month, I hope to cover some of the following topics, so you can treat this introduction like a table of contents for the month and check back here for updated links. I probably won’t have time to do all of this, but here are some topics I *want* to cover:

My Favorite Books on Writing
Redbud Writer’s Guild vs. Hope Writers
#WOCwithpens (And a White Evangelical Woman’s Place in the Interwebs)
Interviews with Authors
What Should I Write About?
Juggling Motherhood and that Other Thing You Love to Do
Favorite Podcasts about Writing
10 Reasons You Should Start Writing
How to Start a Blog (ok, so this could be like 10 posts…help?)
Book Reviews
Summary of My Favorite Sessions at the Festival of Faith & Writing
Editing Checklist (s)

***

Our theme for April is “Books and Writing,” and I will share my favorite books, podcasts and resources for new writers. Be sure to follow along on social media and sign up for my newsletter below so you can be alerted of new posts and free book give aways. Please get in touch at scrapingraisins (dot) gmail (dot) com if you are interested in guest posting on this topic!

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

**Includes Amazon affiliate links

Writing Garbage: Natalie Goldberg talks about writing being like a compost heap. All those journal entries, letters, emails, short stories, articles, and blog posts mingle together in their juices and every once in a while a stunning tulip pushes her way up and out of the mush.

March 31, 2018March 31, 2018

Simplify Friendship {Guest Post}

By Anna Moseley Gissing | Twitter: @amgissing

Exactly one year ago, I hopped in my Smart car and drove across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, to a basement apartment in Wheaton, Illinois, where I unloaded a few boxes and settled in to a new home. The next day I drove to my new job as an editor for a Christian publisher. I left my husband and two kids in Pennsylvania until our house sold and my husband found work.

A couple of months later, my family joined me in Illinois, and my husband started work the next week. We frantically searched for quality sitters and fun summer camps in a place where we knew no one and nothing.

But finding a permanent home in Illinois wasn’t easy. We moved into another temporary place but left our furniture in storage and lived out of boxes for the rest of the summer.

At last, we found a new home at the beginning of August, and we started the long process of unpacking and settling in. But we were also registering the kids for school and sorting out drivers’ licenses and doctors’ visits, now that we had a permanent address.

When our kids started school just a couple of weeks later, we thought we might make some progress toward feeling “settled.” But then I changed editorial positions within my department. The chaos and complexity of life in transition continued.

I was discouraged when I missed my goal of being unpacked by the time we’d been in our home one hundred days. Based on past experience, I knew that I should keep up the momentum. If I didn’t keep pressing forward, treating my weekend days like unpacking boot camp, I might wake up ten years from now to see those same boxes still stacked in my laundry room.

I needed to be single-minded: Until the one-year anniversary of our move in August, I would focus on working hard at my new job, helping my kids adjust to a new school, and unpacking. We could meet people and explore our new community later.

It felt like simplicity. Instead of spreading myself too thin, committing to new activities and social events, I’d do fewer things and do them well.

And then an Instagram post made me reconsider my simple routine.

Some good friends had reunited for a retreat in North Carolina. Their smiling faces caught me off guard. The retreat happens every year in early February, but I forgot. I had decided that friends were on the back burner until I was fully unpacked and settled at work.

Though there was a simplicity to my plan, it was oversimplified.

I had put off friendship indefinitely. I had isolated myself from friends far away, waiting for more time to invest. I hadn’t met new friends either—I couldn’t find the time.

In my quest for simplicity, I cut out vital parts of life. It was time to reconsider.

During Lent, I committed to connect with a friend once a week. I started with a bang—coffee out with a local friend. The next week I took a long lunch break to get to know a new colleague. Later our family connected with another family to cheer for our favorite sports teams as they battled one another.

But it was going to be tough to do something that intentional each week.

So I started experimenting. Instead of setting up phone dates with my far-away friends (which took weeks to schedule and inevitably fell on days that were super stressful so that by the time the appointment arrived, I wanted to crawl in a hole), I took chances and called when I had only ten minutes to chat. Out of the blue, at odd times.

Sometimes I got voicemail. But sometimes I didn’t. These brief calls warmed my heart and changed my days. I didn’t hear about everything that had happened in the last six months. But it wasn’t necessary. I never realized that ten minutes could change so much.

Those ten-minute calls were ten minutes that I wasn’t working or unpacking. During those calls, I branched out from my simple plan to put off friends until I had finished my other work.

And yet, I discovered a new simplicity. Simple friendship. Simple ten-minute visits.

In your life, you may not be preoccupied with unpacking or editing books. Maybe you have decided that you can’t invest in your friends while you have toddlers at home. Maybe you feel like you have to choose between friends and exercise or friends and sleep.

Perhaps you should give simple friendship a shot. Who can you call today?

About Anna:

Anna Moseley Gissing loves words—reading, writing, speaking, teaching, and editing. When she’s not editing books for IVP Academic, you can often find her unpacking or helping her kids with homework. Connect with her on Twitter or Instagram at @amgissing.

***

This concludes our month on the theme “simplify.” Thank you to Anna for guest posting! Our theme for April is “Books and Writing,” and I hope to share my favorite books, podcasts and resources for new writers. I recently signed a book contract, so I am in the thick of it and have many thoughts about the writing process. I’ll also be attending The Festival of Faith and Writing in April, so I want to share some of the content I learn there with my readers. Be sure to follow me on social media and sign up for my newsletter below so you can be alerted of new posts. Please get in touch at scrapingraisins (dot) gmail (dot) com if you are interested in guest posting on this topic!

I’ll be writing a post this month for SheLoves about fasting from my Smartphone and from some social media during Lent, so you can read about how “simplifying” went for me this month.

What about you? How are you continuing to simplify? What is working for you? What isn’t working? I’d love to hear on social media or in the comments here!

Happy Easter!

Leslie

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

How to Simplify Friendship? The older we get, the more complicated friendships seem to get. How can we simplify and still have friends as we age?

March 12, 2018March 12, 2018

The IHOP Days of Motherhood (#threekids)

(I wrote this in February of 2017, but it still holds true.)

The IHOP Days of Motherhood

The middle-aged woman at the checkout aisle across from me quickly looks away as I glance up. My five-month-old is strapped to my chest, sucking on the side of the baby wrap; the other two kids are now riding the one cent plastic horse ride next to the lotto ticket kiosk. I wonder what the woman is thinking as she watches me drop coins on the floor, lecture children and bag my own groceries with a baby strapped to my chest.

It could be, “What a precious mom—she’s doing such a great job.”

But I suspect it was, “Thank God that’s not MY life.”

These are the days when my husband fears he’ll come home from work and find I’ve abandoned them all. I’ll call him from an IHOP off the interstate somewhere in Nebraska and say,

“Oh, that motherhood job? I quit. I decided I can’t do it anymore.”

And so instead of running away forever, I’ve escaped for two hours. It’s seven degrees below zero today, but the sun is streaming through the window, spotlighting the stardust lazily floating in the air. For once, this coffee shop is nearly empty and I have the couch spot by the fireplace with the mosaic table all to myself. Men are talking loudly in the back room. They began their meeting with prayer and I hear church words punctuate their conversations like “Old Testament,” “Bible” and “Communion.” I don’t even mind, because—for once–the voices do not belong to anyone related to me.

These are the weeks when my nose is right up against the oil painting of my life and all I see is a blob of sticky paint. I can’t get enough distance to know that this week, this day, this moment of juggling a sick, crying infant while my other two children beg for more milk, more cheerios, more love, more attention, more, more, more is a mere dab on the canvas. A stroke of grey on blue.

Nap times, Monday through Friday, look like this: We finish lunch and my two-year-old hands me a board book about an acorn, while my son chooses The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I swaddle the baby and get him situated to nurse, guarding his head with my hand as the other two scramble onto the couch, all bruised elbows, knees and wet noses.

We read a picture book about a small acorn waiting on the ground as each animal approaches and asks that the acorn serve it in some way: scratch its back, provide shade, shelter or food, which it promises to do when it becomes a big, strong tree. The acorn begins to break apart, sending roots down and leaves up. Eventually, the acorn disappears entirely and a tree stretches out and up. The other animals run to make good on the promises made in it’s infancy.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Edmund is playing hide-and-seek and thinks he is following his sister into the wardrobe when his feet crunch on snow. He discovers a magical world in an ordinary closet. I slide the bookmark into the binding, easing off of the couch without disturbing the still-nursing baby. My older son protests, begging me to read more.

“Time to go potty,” I say.

I momentarily lay the baby on the guest bed and hoist my daughter into her crib, making sure she has her baby dolls, water and blankie. She immediately turns on her tummy, hugging her water cup to herself.

“Goodnight, Mom,” she says, pretending she’s a teenager instead of a two-year-old girl with pigtails.

I scoop up the baby and meet my son in his room, waiting for him to wriggle his feet under the sheet before bringing it to his chin. He turns and snuggles closer to me as I sing the usual three songs, pray and receive “two kisses on two cheeks,” all with a baby attached to my breast.

By the time I close the door, I feel the baby go limp and gently lay him down in his bassinet in our room. Pausing, I smile at the miracle of three children in three beds, quiet. Creeping down and pushing the button on the hot water kettle and throwing a tea bag in an oversized mug, I sit down at the computer. Just as the aroma of black tea infused with cardamom and cinnamon begins to seep into the room and the thoughts begin to flow, footsteps echo in the hall.

“Just need to use the potty,” my son announces. I hear soft cries coming from our room. Sighing, I get up from my chair to retrieve the baby.

***

Last Thursday I got everyone out of the house after much weeping and gnashing of teeth to go to Bible study, but found an empty, unplowed parking lot when I arrived. It had been cancelled. No way was I going back home.

Plan B was a coffee shop where my children made such a shrieking, toy-snatching scene while I was nursing the baby that an irritated man snarled at them, “This is a COFFEE SHOP.” As if that means anything to a two-year-old.

So Plan C was to brave the snowy roads and drive an hour to the children’s museum because even if I had to drive 20 miles an hour, they’d be STRAPPED IN–the only legal way to physically bind my children for an hour. The car was quiet the entire way, which I counted as a gift from God Himself. At the museum, I sat dully watching the children play, too exhausted to even pull out my phone. I enjoyed the hours of not having to say “No,” “Don’t” or “What were you thinking???”

The baby screamed the entire ride home and my daughter woke up in hysterics when we pulled off the interstate at our exit. I convinced my husband to meet us at a restaurant because I still couldn’t bear the thought of going home.

Friday I dragged all three children to the doctor’s office and let them play with the germy toys in the lobby. An hour and a half and 75 dollars later, the doctor confirmed my suspicion: all three children had colds and no, there was nothing he could do. The baby had a fever that night resulting in neither of us sleeping and my son threw up all night and morning—of course this all happened AFTER the doctor’s appointment.

I talked to my high school best friend on the phone, who is laps ahead of me in the motherhood race, with an 11, 13 and 15 year old. After venting about my disobedient, selfish, irrational, unkind children, she sent me a string of texts, which I read when I got up with the baby at 2 am.

She reminded me of the time her four-year-old daughter poured water on the head of a girl during the girl’s birthday party. Her daughter had also been responsible for breaking up the playgroup my best friend started because she was such a terror. Plus there was the time her teacher had informed my friend that her daughter was the worst student in class.

But then my friend detailed what her now-thirteen-year-old had done that day. She woke before everyone else, got dressed, made breakfast for her daddy, did homework and then helped her younger sister with her homework. She cleaned up the living room, then played the piano for the congregation at church that evening.

My friend ended her text with this: “My take is that your son is going to be the brightest, most successful in his class. And since daughters are amazing, your daughter is going to be your future bestie. And the baby, well, he is bound to turn out wonderful because … well … as my mom always said [my friend is the third born] … the third is a charm.”

Eyes burning with tears, I stood in the darkened kitchen, phone in one hand, sleeping baby in the other. Friends like this grab my arm and drag me back for the distance needed to give me a view of this life canvas I’m living. One day my children will provide food, shelter, comfort and shade for themselves and others. One day they will be strong, tall and be able to stand on their own.

But today, they are tiny and vulnerable. And the lifespan of an acorn is a stroke of the brush in the huge painting of their life and mine.

Today, though it is cold outside, the sun is shining in this coffeeshop and I have the gift of a morning to breathe. A sliver of space to remember what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I step into the ordinary wardrobe and for just a short time, I remember the magic and feel the crunch of snow at my feet. I am gathering strength. I glance out the window at naked branches, then write:

Bare trees showcase blue sky.
Branches weighted with snow sigh
in joy of bearing their beautiful burden.

On Motherhood: Bare trees showcase blue sky. Branches weighted with snow sigh in joy of bearing their beautiful burden.

Click To Tweet

I am ready to go home, to do this. I am ready to be a mom again.

***

Thank you for meeting me here in this space. The theme for March is “Simplify,” so you can start here to read posts you may have missed. If you are a writer or just a person with words burning in your soul and are interested in guest posting, email me at scrapingraisins@ gmail (dot) com. I’m looking for personal stories on this theme in the 500-1000 word range. If you haven’t yet, be sure you sign up for my mid-month and monthly secret newsletter for the latest posts and even some news, discount codes and book giveaway information that only Scraping Raisins subscribers get!

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

*Contains Amazon affiliate links

These are the days when my husband fears he’ll come home from work and find I’ve abandoned them all. I’ll call him from an IHOP off the interstate somewhere in Nebraska and say, “Oh, that motherhood job? I quit. I decided I can’t do it anymore.”

March 9, 2018

Where to Buy Used Clothing Online

The danger of watching documentaries is that they can alter your entire life. After watching The True Cost on Netflix two years ago and discussing it with a friend, we decided to stop buying cheap clothing, called “fast fashion,” from places like Forever 21, Old Navy, Target and others and start buying used or American-made for us and our family members.

It’s taken a little scavenging, but with the help of thrift stores and consignment shops like Once Upon a Child and Clothes Mentor, it has been doable. (And just FYI, I have bought NEW shoes, undies, boy’s sized 4T pants and socks for all of us! Don’t bother buying used little boy pants, they’ll have holes in the knees within the week! We’ve also had a hard time buying men’s used clothing.)

I’ve had success buying used clothing online, so I wanted to share my research with you.

ThredUp

Buy and Sell: clothing for women, children, maternity, handbags, accessories, jewelry

Of this list, ThredUp is my preferred site to buy used clothing. The website is very easy to navigate and search for specific items, they do free returns for damaged clothing, and they have a large variety of styles. They also have a great referral program where you get $10 to spend and the person you refer gets $10 to shop after they place their first order. Of the two times I’ve ordered from them, each time I did receive one item that had a hole in it, but was able to return the item free of charge.

If you use the promo code SCRAPINGRAISINS through the end of April 2018, you will receive 35% off all first-time orders up to $50.

Patagonia Worn Wear

Buy and Trade in: men’s, women’s, kids & baby clothing, packs and gear

You can turn your used Patagonia clothing in to any Patagonia retail location and get store credit. They do the washing;-) It looks like the credit you get is maybe half off retail price?

Swap

Buy and Sell: clothing for men, women, kids, maternity and toys

They have a referral program and for every friend you refer who makes a purchase of $20 or more, you earn $20 of credit. Free shipping for your first order of $10. You can buy and sell. Right now, they have $3 days until midnight of March 10th. One thing I like about this company is that they sell used costumes for kids!

ReStitch (Online Goodwill)

Sells: women’s clothing, including maternity and plus-sized clothing

You get 20 percent off your first order. To me, the items look a bit expensive for buying used clothing sight unseen, but if you’re looking for something specific, you could try this out.

More Expensive, but Fancier:

Tradesy

Buy and Sell: designer clothing, bags, shoes, accessories

The fine print: return clothing you don’t want within four days, free of charge, for store credit. Join the mailing list and get $50 off your first purchase of over $400 …

Poshmark

Buy and Sell: men, women, & kids’ clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, accessories

You have to create an account with an email address before you can shop. You give your dress size, shoe size, zip code and follow three brands you love to shop (I found it annoying to scroll through all the brands) and then you get a message that says: “Your personal shopping network has been selected.” This was not my favorite online shopping experience, but again if you need something specific you might want to give this one a try. The prices seemed reasonable for the non-designer brands.

BONUS: A Cool Company that Loves the Planet and Supports Ethical Business Practices:

Renewal Workshop

Buy: men and women’s NEW clothing

From their site: “We started our company to solve hard problems and to create new systems that do what is good and right for people and for the planet. We’ve been working day and night over the past year to build a new factory in the US where tons of clothing and textiles are being diverted from landfill and made into renewed apparel, upcycling materials, and recyclable feedstock.”

Shipping is free for Renewal Workshop members, but $8 otherwise. They don’t have free return shipping, but you can return within 90 days. Site lists the “renewed price.” The men’s brands are Ibex, PrAna, and Mountain Khakis, women’s had those, plus Toad & Co. and Indigenous. Still pricier than I would normally pay for new clothing, but probably better quality. One section of the site says “all Renewed Apparel is priced at 25-40% off the original retail price.”

This article and this article explain why I am trying to buy used and American-made clothing instead of going the “fast fashion” route. But you should watch The True Cost documentary … if you dare;-)

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

Where to Buy Used Clothing Online

March 7, 2018March 7, 2018

Mom Fail #3,477

I forgot pajama day. I picked my son up from preschool (*yes, we started preschool in January) last week and I watched, horrified, as all the children filed out of the classroom wearing PJ’s. My son came out wearing jeans with torn knees and a batman T-shirt. Now, on the scale of world catastrophe/human suffering/poverty, this ranks low, but when your full-time job is mothering, then missing PJ day at school feels like ultimate failure.

My husband dropped him off at school and neglected to mention it to me, probably because he knew I would have rushed back to school with PJ’s for my son. But instead of telling my son how terrible I felt, that I was an awful mother, and I’d make it up to him by buying him ice cream, I waited to see if he’d mention it. He didn’t. I looked at his little face, scrutinized it for sadness and saw a happy little boy with a construction paper craft dripping with glue in his hand. Phew, deep emotional scars averted. I hoped.

I don’t know if it’s because I used to feel capable and reliable—in my pre-kid days, I mailed notes to friends, called my nieces and nephews on their birthdays, sent out Christmas cards, and brought meals to new moms. But something about having three children has made me the worst friend, housekeeper, wife, neighbor, cook, and Christian person. And it’s not even making me the best mom. I win at nothing. Guilt strangles me at every turn.

I took the kids on a walk in the afternoon, pushing my one year old in the stroller as the other two kids rode far ahead on the sidewalk. I didn’t even feel nervous that they were out of sight because the roads in our city have such wide shoulders.

Moving from Chicago with her narrow lanes, Colorado’s wide roads used to feel strange and unnatural to me, but now I’m thankful for the extra space. As I thought about this, something hit me.

Mothers are gifted with wider roads. We are given the largest margins possible that allow us to veer off the sidewalk and not get run over because of our carelessness. God gives mothers more space.

There are times in life when we will be able to make meals for friends, send Christmas cards with hand-written notes, lead book clubs and groups at church, teach Sunday school, be the room mom, the soccer coach or the friend who watches friend’s kids on a regular basis, but these years when we have tiny kids at home are not those times.

Last year I went to an elaborate Christmas party put on by a friend.

“I wanted to do a party, too, but when I saw you were throwing one, we decided to just come to yours,” I said, embarrassed by my laziness.

She looked at me hard.

“I would have never attempted a party like this when my kids were little like yours,” she said. “I just started doing this last year when my youngest turned eight.”

It’s taken me nearly six years, but I am ready to say yes to support, self-forgiveness, and grace, and no to guilt. I’m ready to stop comparing myself to the super mom I think I should be and accept the human-person-with-limitations that I am.

I’m ready to stop comparing myself to the super mom I think I should be and accept the human-person-with-limitations that I am.

Click To Tweet

And I’m ready to let myself off the hook, put my achievements, abilities, and education in storage for the season, and pat myself on the back for getting dinner made, children clothed, occasionally bathed, and teeth brushed (okay, so my husband mostly does the teeth).

Yes, I forgot PJ day. But if my son reads this one day, I hope he doesn’t hold on to all of my missteps and foibles, but remembers how I read him books, sang him songs, let him “help” make waffles, tickled him relentlessly, danced with him in the kitchen, told him about Jesus, took him to parks and museums, and occasionally even got down on the floor and pretended to be a wolf, tiger or octopus caught in hot lava.

If you are on the other side of this season and see one of us at the grocery store wrangling our one, two, three or more kids in the cart, will you please smile at us? And will you tell us something we really need to hear?

Can you please say, “Mama, you’re doing a GREAT job.”

At any rate, I know God sees me, holds my guilt and smooths my hair like the tender Father he is, whispering as I fall asleep, “I know, honey. I know you feel bad, but I also know you’re doing the best you can. And you know what? That is more than enough.”

***

[*Aside: For those of you thinking, “Wait, I thought they weren’t doing preschool this year” … turns out my very structured little boy didn’t appreciate my free spirited/unstructured/spontaneous ways, and afternoon preschool three days a week during the (theoretical) naptime of the other kids = a (theoretical) break for me. I still follow too many #unschooling moms on Instagram, though, wishing I were that mom … wait, this post was supposed to be about letting go of mom guilt/comparison … and I’m actually off Instagram for Lent, so that helps 😉 ]

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

Mom Fail #3,477. "I’m ready to stop comparing myself to the super mom I think I should be and accept the human-person-with-limitations that I am." --Leslie Verner

March 2, 2018

The Sacrament of Childbirth {for SheLoves}

I wrote this post for SheLoves Magazine. It’s probably the most personal thing I’ve ever written.

I was shocked by how similar childbirth was to watching my father-in-law die. There is the pacing, the patience, the impatience, the watching for signs of death—or life. The living room transforms into a tunnel where the outside world is fuzzy and out of focus and inside, all senses are heightened. As the time for birth—or death—nears, erratic breathing ushers a soul into another world. There is pain. There is relief. There is hope. There is life in death.

Death and birth are undeniably spiritual for the person who’s spent time in that sacred space. Something, Someone, is invisibly present in the room with you at the gate. I’ve stood at that gate—a portal to the other world—four times now. Once, as a soul went on to the next world, and three other times, as my body welcomed three souls to this world.

Childbirth is natural and supernatural, real and ephemeral, earthy and otherworldly, you are lost forever, and find yourself anew. Birthing is raw, primitive, immodest. You abandon propriety, trusting the process. An imprint of Eden, you are naked again—and unashamed. As a woman in labor, you follow a script written thousands of years ago that billions of women have followed. You are not the first, but that does not diminish, but rather enlarges the sacred space you are given permission to occupy.

Heaven heaves spirit breath beneath the thin veil of the natural world, sending reality floating up as you tenderly hold the edge of the sheet, gasping at what lies beneath.

You glimpse the divine, who weaves numinous tendrils of time, matter, rhythm and grace to draw this new being out of your body and into the world. You are not alone. The Creator is coaching, whispering, caressing your sweaty hair, kneading your tense shoulders, clothing you in the timeless mystery of mothers who have entered this transcendence…

continue reading at SheLoves Magazine

Tag: Scraping Raisins

Places for (Edgy) Faith Writers to Publish

Online Collaborative Blogs (you’ll be paid in readers & community)

For Missionaries and Expats:

Writing about Motherhood:

If You Prefer to Get Paid, Try These:

Print Magazines (some pay, some don’t)

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

A Writer’s Hotbed of Stupidity, Saints & Selfies (#FFW)

Here are a few highlights for me from FFW:

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

No More Fear for Kids~Interview with Author, JoHannah Reardon + Book Giveaway

BOOK GIVEAWAY: WIN A FREE COPY OF NO MORE FEAR FOR KIDS

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

My 14 Favorite Books on Writing and Creativity

On my “To Read” List:

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

Writing Garbage

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

Simplify Friendship {Guest Post}

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

The IHOP Days of Motherhood (#threekids)

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

Where to Buy Used Clothing Online

ThredUp

Patagonia Worn Wear

Swap

ReStitch (Online Goodwill)

More Expensive, but Fancier:

Tradesy

Poshmark

BONUS: A Cool Company that Loves the Planet and Supports Ethical Business Practices:

Renewal Workshop

This article and this article explain why I am trying to buy used and American-made clothing instead of going the “fast fashion” route. But you should watch The True Cost documentary … if you dare;-)

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

Mom Fail #3,477

Sign up for the Mid-month Digest and Secret Newsletter Here:

The Sacrament of Childbirth {for SheLoves}

Welcome to Scraping Raisins!