Trees

"When you put something into words, it leads to so many other thoughts." ~ Madeleine L'Engle

Ah . . . quotes. They certainly stir my imagination. Although I'm a writer, I don't have many words and imagination to draw from. I could never write a fiction novel. The words just arn't there. So I'm satisfied to write here and there and enjoy the words of others!

Like Garrison Keillor who wrote the following quote:

"Stones and trees speak slowly and may take a week to get out a single sentence, and there are few men, unfortunately, with the patience to wait for an oak to finish a thought."

Now that's something to ponder. Sitting under an oak tree and listening to it speak. Could there be anything quite as easy? The only catch is time. If you don't have it, you miss the words of the tree.

Joyce Kilmer, 1886-1918, wrote the following poem titled "Trees"

"I think I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree,
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray,
A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by people like me, But only God can make a tree."

"A tree that looks at God all day . . ." How I treasure the imaginations of others that cause me to ponder God's ways that I've never imagined. And to think, an old oak tree begins with an acorn, like this one that Jerry is holding.

"If you have never heard the mountains singing, or seen the trees of the field clapping their hands, do not think because of that they don't. Ask God to open your ears so you may hear it and your eyes so you may see it, because, though few men ever know it, they do, my friend, they do." McCandlish Phillips

We get so much from trees: shade, especially on hot, searing days; homes for birds, nests for squirrels, sap for syrup, wood for fires, decoration for streets, rest for our backs, mulch for gardens, a sanctuary for worship, shelter for animals, and frames for my pictures!



"Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young--a place near your altar." Psalm 84:3

Three quotes about trees that captured my attention and opened my ears to the sound of trees. Yes, I like quotes.

And more important . . . trees give us baby leaves, God's special hope just for me!

My Friend the Book

I am a reader. I love a good book. Whether fiction or non-fiction, a good book stimulates, satisfies and opens my mind to worlds I'm not familiar with.

Recently I found the following post on books as I perused another's blog site. This quote began Mary's post: "A book reads the better which is our own, and has been so long known to us, that we know the topography of its blots, and dog's ears and can trace the dirt in it to having read it at tea with buttered muffins>" Charles Lam, Last Essays ofElia, 1833.

Mary Carroll, at www.dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com begins her thoughts:
"Do you have a favorite book, battered and dog-eared, that you read again and again, for the sheer joy of it? You know the sort I mean--the one where you slip gently into the story as if visiting with old friends. Just the act of opening such a book can sweep us away to another world. There is a line from one of my favorite movies--You've Got Mail--where the main character wonders whether her quiet life has been a timid one: 'So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?'

"As someone who has also led a 'quiet life,' I'm not sure if I'm the right person to answer that question. I quite like my quiet life. But I am an enthusiastic visitor to other places and times through my favorite books. And it seems to me that a really good book can lead us to discover our own inner landscapes as well."

What is your favorite book? Are there many that capture your attention and draw you to them at different times? I like Mary's words, " . . . slip gently into the story as if visiting with old friends." And it indeed feels like that. It is surprising how much you miss in the first reading,and find in the second or third reading.

what are you reading?

The Word "Passion"

In recent weeks the word "passion" has come to my mind. First, from a movie I had not seen before, and second, from a book I recently purchased.


The movie is Jane Eyre, and no, I had never read the book or seen the movie in all of my 61 years!It was by chance that my friend, Kathy, sent it home with me Christmas week, along with several other movies she enjoyed. It was the passion of communication between Mr. Rochester and Jane that captured my attention. I have replayed the tape a number of times, skipping through the movie entirely, except for the dialogue between those two. Passion is the word that keeps jumping out at me.I'm just not talking about sexual desire. Passion goes way beyond that.


Then, just the other evening, I began Amy Gaither Hayes new book, "A Collection of Wednesdays." The first chapter is titled, "Passion." She writes: "The word passion has lost much of its original fire, but it continues to burn in me . . . Like many Americans, I associated passion exclusively with sex . . . When I studed for my MFA in acting, Paul Steger explained that people who live with passion about their lives, their work and their relationships were the kind of people he sought out . . . They are the only [people] with something going on behind the eyes." Amy continues, ". . . living with passion--true passion--requires living with pain . . . A life of passion also contains space and quiet."

The Passion of Christ is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. The Crucifixion of Jesus is an event central to Christian beliefs.

A number of years ago I was asked what my passion is. My answer was writing. And it continutes to be my passion. I have to write. I need to write. It's what I've been called to do.

I think I'm going to enjoy Amy's new book. The chapters are all one word, such as "Books, Mentor, Wisdom, Rest and Calling." And I just ordered my own copy of Jane Eyre because I know I will be drawn to that passion of dialogue again.

What is your passion? Does it take center stage in your life? Do you pursue it with intensity and deep interest?

Yes, passion is definitely in my mind, cheering me on to do what I've been called to do! What about you?


One morning early last week, I caught this snap of a February sunrise. The sky was amazing. I filtered it with a poster edge and like the results.

"Writing" Musings . . .

It is certainly obvious that I am a note writer since my blog is titled NoteWriter. I gravitate towards note writing like I do one of those Utz's potato chips I told you about in my last post! So I wanted to give this other delight in my life center stage like I did the chips.

In the book "Behind the Stories", it is written about Jane Peart, Christian fiction writer, "“God made her to love being alone. Jane has all the necessary elements needed for a life to write: ability to be alone for long periods of time, dedication to goals, discipline to make time to work, and willingness to simplify other areas of her life. She sees guarding her writing time as part of the discipline of her calling. If God made her a quiet person who would rather write than attend a function, then she should write and not feel guilty. It is a priority to her.” (condensed)

Reading about other writers brings clarity to my mind. Many times I wonder if I'm being selfish by spending so much time alone. But knowing other writers realize and accept being alone to write helps me to stop wondering and continue writing!

Another word I want to share about writing comes from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a Victorian Englishman:

"'One of the deep secrets of life,’ Lewis Carroll reminds us, ‘is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.’ Perhaps that is why letter writing is such a centering, peaceful experience . . . When I sit at my desk and write a letter, I am focusing my attention on someone else. It is as if I am pulling up a chair to have a heart-to-heart conversation with someone stimulating . . . I’m certain my blood pressure goes down when I sit quietly, pen in hand, writing to someone I care about . . . Writing a letter to a friend creates a calming effect and invariably lifts my spirits.'”

I can certainly affirm those words! What a delight to sit down and write to someone. At some point in your life, you must have received a letter or two in the mail. How did that make you feel? Someone writing to you and you alone. If ever there was a way to encourage the heart it is to write someone their very own note or letter. And as Dodgson said, "Writing a letter to a friend creates a calming effect and invariably lifts my spirits." Double delight! You are encouraged and your recipient is encouraged!

Why not give it a try? I know you'll be glad you did.

After seeing a snow heart in a magazine a few years ago I couldn't get the image out of my mind. So I was determined, this year, to create my own snow heart whenever God blessed us with the beauty of snow. Jerry worked with the snow, and I supplied the poinsettia leaves for it to sit on. In honor of Valentine's Day, may your heart be as pure as this snow heart of mine, and His love be alive in your heart!