A Lovely Place to Dwell

I guess you could say it all started with a bear . . . a bear called Paddington. Quite a few summers ago I sat outside
with a group of friends and watched as the story of an educated bear from Darkest Peru came to life on an outdoor screen. My thought: This is absolutely lovely–the story, the cinematography, the innocence! A seed was planted in me to create something lovely–to tell a story that submerges the reader in wonder and leaves them feeling . . .well . . . good.  That’s it, just . . . good. I had an idea; I knew what needed to be written, but I wasn’t ready . . . or so I thought. After jokingly sharing my “idea” with my agent at the time, she insisted (very lovingly of course) that I jump on it, take a breather from my current project, and set to work on something new.  I had no idea what such a leap would do to me! The words came easily, I smiled and laughed out loud almost every time I sat down to write–there was that one time I got a bit teary, but I will save that for another day–and most importantly, I found a piece of myself that had been suppressed by marketing and self-inflicted social media expectations. I found my something lovely. I remembered the little pieces of me that were just waiting for me to pick them back up–hobbies, interests, relationships, femininity to be embraced, and a quirkiness to expose.

Then there was that scripture. That one scripture that pressed into my soul and would not be quiet. Whatever is lovely . . . dwell on these things. Suddenly, and quite unintentionally, I was overwhelmingly discerning between the lovely and not-so-lovely. I saw it in films, books, antiques, people, macarons (I adore macarons!) and moments. I craved it and made it vocally known to anyone who would listen! Have you seen this movie? Did you read that book? And oh, the macarons! They’re SO lovely!

I’m going to finish what I started, dive into my “idea“ and dwell on all the bits of loveliness that help me to remember and keep me focused on my quest. So now, I’ve kind of become a collector: A collector of lovely things. I use Pinterest to organize all the loveliness, so feel free to hop over and click around . . .  I hope you will find it A Lovely Place to Dwell.

Want to know more about my quest for loveliness . . . keep reading!

Philippians 4: 4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.