The Painful Part of Writing

January 24, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Feel Again // Thoughts from writing a memoir

[This blog post first appeared on the Invictus Writing Project‘s website.]

My memoir-writing class had one assignment for tomorrow: write one of the 12 scenes that makes up your story, preferably an emotional scene, a turning point.

Easy enough, right? A simple 500-800 words. Wherever the keys lead me. I should be able to do that in my sleep!

Wrong.

Instead of writing what I knew I needed to write about, I avoided tapping into the mindset needed to write this emotional scene. It was too raw, too difficult. I didn’t want to go there.

Writing is hard. Good writing that is, as Brad, our professor, has told us many times.

Once you’ve got the ball rolling, once an emotion has been unveiled and dealt with, once the essence of what you are writing is clear, it’s easier than making a batch of cookies (something I’ve been doing since I was 6 years old).

It’s the reliving the past that gets me.

Crock-Pot White Chicken Chili

January 23, 2013 • 1 Comment

I have exciting news for you today.

1) The weather for the rest of the week is forecasted to be warmer than yesterday!

2) I am now a contributor for Honest Cooking Magazine. This recipe was also featured on their website today.

If you love food, and you like learning and reading about all things epicurean, I suggest you go download their free iPad magazine. Right. Now.

I know soup can’t make this cold weather go away, but it can certainly warm the body and soothe the mind. This White Chicken Chili is no exception. Did I mention you can just throw everything in the Crock-Pot and walk away?

After sorting through recipe after recipe online, I wanted something less time consuming … With this semester requiring me to be on campus for 12 hours straight on many days, I don’t have time to stand over a stove and stir my soup. This recipe needed to be made easier. So I rewrote my own!

The texture of the shredded chicken is arguably the softest and juiciest I’ve ever cooked.

Now that your “I don’t have time to cook anything” excuse has been put to shame, it’s time to get to work and warm up with White Chicken Chili!

5 Reasons to Get Off the Couch

January 21, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Throughout my writing career, I am destined to spend the majority of my life in front of a computer screen, sitting in a chair, most likely in a small, indoor space. Many of the jobs available today possess these same attributes. More than ever before, we are a culture that sits.

And it’s not just our waistlines that are paying the price — our minds are suffering too. A sedentary life lacks movement, and a life without movement is static and dull.

I began writing this post yesterday, but I didn’t finish it until this morning. Ironically, the reason I couldn’t seem to crank any words out was because I had been sitting for more than an hour already.

Sitting zaps our motivation, inspiration and energy.

I had to do something about my lethargy. I needed a jumpstart, and fast … so I got out of my chair. After taking a step outside, pacing the kitchen, making a cup of coffee and doing some light stretching, I was as good as new.

We were made to move.

Our legs were made to take us places and let us dance, walk, run and leap. Our minds and bodies were made to interact with the world around us; they were not made to be molded into couches.

palm tree paradise and inspiration

I heard a commercial the other day that I think sums up what I’m getting at here. The jingle went something like: Inspiration does not favor those who sit still. If for no other reason, moving mentally stimulates us, allowing inspiration to motivate and enlighten us.

Here are 5 other reasons to get off the couch and get moving!

Why Lance Armstrong Is Still a Hero

January 18, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Last night was Part 1 of the Oprah, Lance Armstrong “World Exclusive” Interview. I didn’t expect much going into it, but I was curious to see what Lance had to say. The interview exceeded my expectations.

Much will be written about this, and much will be said about Lance’s story and his admittance to using performance enhancing drugs, but I think we should examine what it means for all of us, and what it says about the world we live in.

Early in the interview, Lance reflected on his Tour de France triumphs.

“Looking back, you have this mythic, perfect story,” he said. “But it wasn’t true.”

Citing his perfect marriage, victory over cancer, and seven Tour de France wins, Lance acknowledged just how epic that part of his life was … and although it wasn’t all “true,” as Lance points out, I don’t think the doping takes away that epicness that many who looked up to Lance felt in regards to his story. He was a hero.

The Heroic Myth

We all have heroes in our lives that we look up to. We relish in their stories of courage, bliss and adventure.

This world needs heroes. Without them, there’s no one to look up to, no one to put on a pedestal, no one to make us feel like we are a part of something that is larger than life. That’s what heroes do — they make us feel like anything is possible, like impossible is nothing; they make us want to be better. These are all good things.

But we take things too far. We want to believe our heroes are superhuman, so we place high expectations on them, only to be angered or shocked when they fail to live up to these gold standards. Yet every hero is a human, and no human is perfect.

There is only One who is perfect, and that is our God, who never fails us (Psalm 136).Read More

Oven Roasted Turkey, Brie + Blackberry Panini

January 15, 2013 • Leave a Comment

I almost did a backflip at Meijer this morning. However, considering the gymnastic phase of my life only lasted for a short, three months, I decided to hold my excitement inside.

You know you’re a foodie when you freak out about Brie being on sale. To be exact, it was $2 off.

It’s not too often I buy gourmet cheeses. Havarti, Gouda, goat, Brie: I love them all. But I am a college student, and typically, my budget only allows Cheddar, provolone and Mozzarella purchases … the usuals. Not that there is anything wrong with those kind of cheeses. All cheese is delightful! Some cheeses are just better.

Tuning In to a Tuned Out World

January 14, 2013 • Leave a Comment

The Gathering, the church I attend in Muncie, began its first series of the year yesterday. As I walked into the sanctuary, I immediately noticed something was different about the room. Chalk boards lined the whole length and width of the left wall.

“Before I die, I want to …,” the black slates read, over and over again in rows.

One person had taken chalk to the board and wrote in “… change the world,” after the repeated phrase.

Waiting on the World to Change

Starting in Nehemiah 1, our pastor, Joshua, started to paint a picture of the character and faith of Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king. After hearing that the people of Israel have been scattered, and the walls of Jerusalem have been broken down and burned with fire, Nehemiah weeps.

But he doesn’t just stop there. He prays with devotion for those who are hurting or have turned away; he then confesses on behalf of all of Israel (v. 6-7).

Then, starting in verse 8, he prays for grace and restoration. “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name’” (NIV).

Nehemiah saw what was happening in his world and did something about it. Although he lived in a much different time, when news could take as much as 45 days to get from one city to the next, he didn’t turn away from the information. He ran toward it.

I wonder how a man like Nehemiah would feel in today’s world of infinite information. Would he pay attention, or would he, like so many of us do, turn away?

Lauren Gaskill

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