Tuesday, January 5, 2021 Gleanings #1

I’ve been thinking about how I want to use this blog this year, with the idea of being a little bit more focussed on certain types of writing. I’m thinking of setting aside each day of the week like so:

Monday: Random thoughts
Tuesday: Gleanings from what I’m reading
Wednesday: Watercolor/Art
Thursday: Poetry or photo-oriented writing (like most of my posts last year)
Friday: Fiction (short)

It’s not set in stone yet – just thought I’d give it a try and see how it goes. I’d certainly be open to any feedback you have, my illustrious readers. It would be really fun to have an alliteration for each day (already have Watercolor Wednesday and Fiction Friday).

Elisabeth Elliot, Keep A Quiet Heart
“So many lives seem honeycombed with small failures, neglectful of the little things that make the difference between order and chaos. Perhaps it is because they are so seldom taught that visible things are a sign of an invisible reality; that common duties may be ‘an immeasurable ministry of love.‘” P. 84

I used to tell my kids that if they did nothing else before they left their room in the morning, they should at least have a discipline of making their beds every day. It’s surprising what can flow from the discipline of doing small things. A funny story about that, though. One day I came downstairs and told my son Josh (about 10 at the time) that I’d noticed he hadn’t made his bed and it had grieved me deeply. This was said tongue-in-cheek, of course. He ran upstairs to make his bed and then came down with a triumphant look on his face. “Mom,” he said with glee, “I noticed you didn’t make your bed this morning and it grieved me deeply.” It’s so rare that I don’t make my bed in the morning that I still can’t fathom how I overlooked it that day; God has a good sense of humor.

J. Alastair Groves & Winston T. Smith, Untangling Emotions
“…Paul Miller once quipped that anxiety is wasted prayer. …doing anything with our fears, especially chasing your thoughts on the hamster wheel of anxiety, short-circuits the very purpose for which God gave us the capacity to feel anxious. Our anxieties are meant to lead us straight to him. Every time.” p. 109

As I told a friend recently, I live in the land of “Worst-Case Scenario,” and it’s not a fun place to be. I love the idea that anxiety is meant to lead us to God. As I’ve gotten older, I have been learning to take these things straight to Him, but I still get on that hamster wheel now and again.

Emily Dickinson, excerpt from Poem #257, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
“The Rainbow’s way–
A Skein
Flung colored, after Rain”

Nice bit of imagery, that.

Addison Leitch (second husband of Elisabeth Elliot – heard this in one of her speeches on the podcast)
“When the cross of Christ cuts across the will of man, somebody has to die.”

Think about that last one for awhile.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these gleanings, if you have any. Also, feel free to share your gleanings with me!

I’ll probably delete this while writing more quotes down in the morning.