Why Write?

March 26, 2015Lori Rennae Chapman Leave a comment

Everyone is creative in some way. Whether you build, paint, cook, write, or carry out the special gift you have, you are being creative. This creativity is a way of writing the stories of the miracles we experience each and every day. We do not always know what the story is telling or how it is being interpreted by others, but the story is being told in a very unique way by you. The brush strokes that create an amazing picture or the combination of spices in an incredible dish is God sending miracles through you! So today could not just be “Why Write?”, it could be “Why Create?”. Do not miss out on another day going by that you do not create and tell the miracle you see through your creativity!

Why Write?

Someone once said to me

You write when you have something to say.

Now whether this was their words

Or someone else’s words,

I do not know.

But I do know that I have not said things in a long time.

When you witness a miracle,

It’s like you see another side to life.

Your changed and it takes time to process that change.

You open up to senses and feelings.

Senses and feelings that are just not in this plane of our everyday lives.

You wonder and think and imagine.

You just have a keener sense for everything.

I really thought I knew about miracles.

Like when God gave me my soul mate.

Or like when you lay eyes on your children for the first time.

Or you see how your parents love you no matter and forever.

But these were so much more blessings than miracles.

Miracles come from nothing.

Miracles are the unimaginable.

Miracles are unexplainable.

Miracles are for everyone.

Miracles are when God takes His hand and touches someone.

When He opens someone eyes.

When He helps them speak again.

When He helps them walk again.

When He makes the unknown truly known.

Then you really witness a miracle.

Some people think miracles are God giving us what we want.

Some people think miracles are God providing what we need.

But miracles are something we can never conceive.

Miracles are grace.

Grace is the unknown love.

We will never know how the great gospels really felt.

How they really felt when Jesus showed them God’s grace.

We really have only their words.

Words picturing miracles.

Words praising God.

Words of the unknown.

But we do experience miracles.

We have no clue what we are experiencing.

We have no idea what the unknown love feels like.

We have no clue what we are witnessing.

But witnesses write because we do need to say something.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Sometimes it is very difficult to remember that sharing our creative gifts are not always about us. It is something greater than us! So do not hesitate—you have no idea who you may change today! Thank you so much for being with me. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you share your life with me!

Love,

Rennae

Grace

Heaven’s Scent

March 19, 2015Lori Rennae Chapman Leave a comment

Finally—here in Tennessee they are back! The ice is melting and the sun is bringing forth the beautiful bulbs hidden beneath! I hope this week you think back to some brilliant color or smell that takes you inside your self and helps you discover something significant. Buttercups do this for me! As far as I can remember my Em always had a small bright pottery vase that would hold the first buttercups. The scent would permeate the kitchen and just brighten our dreams and hopes for sunshine to come. It is amazing how God sends us these small gifts of hope. This week reflect on your small gifts of hope from God that excite your soul!

Heaven’s Scent

You hide from me.

I wait for you.

As the snow gives way to rain,

I peer expecting your arrival.

My soul needs sunshine.

My face needs warmth.

My heart searches for hope in the days ahead.

Your coming always shows me God.

The trees are still bare

And the grasses are crunchy.

But a few greens begin to appear.

I wait patiently.

The fragrance of your kind takes me back to memories of love and light.

Your little bright color beams forth like the sun at the sea.

I wait patiently.

Then as I walk among the brown and grey grasses, there you are!

A small but gloriously bright jewel!

Yellow with the smell of a thousand angels!

Glowing like a thousand candles!

A preface of the smells in heaven!

Upon your glowing face,

I know I see, hold, and can feel the love of God.

This is why I wait.

I can know in my heart that every year God will send you as the messenger of hope.

Buttercup, narcissus, jonquil-

You are my God appearing to show His faith in me as his servant!

You will be there very year!

And you give me the hints of what heaven is like!

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Sorry I was a little delayed this week. I have been way under the weather. I really appreciate your patience and continuing to read with me this week!

Love,

Rennae

Blessings

Who I Really Am….

March 10, 2015Lori Rennae Chapman Leave a comment

I love celebrations! I have a birthday this week! I am so excited! I have found over the years that I really need to describe who I am for myself, not necessarily for anyone else. When we write down all the qualities that we display or know about ourselves, it helps us to grow. We can examine strengths and weaknesses. I like to call it an “inner selfie”! Unfortunately many times we only do this at our birth or our physical death. And at those two times the process is usually carried out by others. So I thought—Yes!—I need to see me and celebrate this birthday! I hope you find the courage to write about yourself and celebrate who you really are! By the way—Happy Birthday!—Everyday! Let’s celebrate who we are!!

Who I Really Am….

I am a proud woman.

A woman from the South.

Yes, a Southern belle who finds her ancestors are a true part of her.

The Irish temper and passion.

The English order and honor.

I am round with curly hair.

I have skinny fingers and ankles.

My complexion is beautiful!

With laugh lines and cry lines.

The Southern heart of compassion, love, and honesty.

I am a woman who has lived.

One who has no regrets.

And one who looks to the future with hope and faith.

A woman of old convictions and of new directions.

A woman who loves her family.

I am a woman who cares deeply for her family.

I am the most proud of my children who have always been and are incredible people.

I have sinned and ask forgiveness.

I am a woman who has made mistakes.

But I am a woman who has tried to live right.

I find comfort in flowers and their textures and smells.

I love the smell of hyacinths and dirt in the spring.

A woman who loves the motion of water

And what it provides as I take a hot shower or a cool deep plunge into the pool.

I am a blessed woman that found her soul mate when she was young.

I was and am the daughter of loving parents that provided everything they could for her.

I am a Southern woman that loves art and all its colors.

I can stare at Monet or Marjoline Bastin all day.

I love books, china tea cups, shells, and skulls.

I am a Southern woman that loves nature and wildlife,

Especially deer, birds, bunnies, and puppies.

I find rocks totally amazing with their shapes and forms!

I am a woman who is amazed at the stars in the winter sky.

I love every season and how it gives me a reason to decorate and celebrate!

I am a woman that loves new experiences

And can be entertained by the simplest things.

I have a sensitive heart with a caring personality.

I love people.

I know who you are when I meet you and shake your hand—

That comes from my Granny Jones.

I know no strangers—

That comes from my Mama and Daddy.

I am totally right brained,

But I organize to hide that.

I am a perfectionist.

I don’t always focus well

And my mind likes to swirl around to different things.

I love a pen and paper where I can write.

I am a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ.

I am sometimes frightened and scared,

Not always knowing why.

But when it comes to dying, I feel safe.

I love a great love story.

A Southern woman with a Southern drawl.

I am very innocent when I live life

Because I want to experience it all for the first time every

time.

I have a great passion for my purpose.

I was an exceptional educator

I am a dedicated worker.

I am a vessel in which my Creator can use for His purpose.

You can accept who I am or not,

But most importantly I will accept myself.

My soul was before this world,

And my soul will continue afterwards.

I am not just a proud woman,

I am a proud person!

No! I am a proud soul!

Existing within eternity through my Creator!

This is really who I am!

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

I so appreciate you celebrating with me this week! You are so wonderful for reading with me. Step up and have the courage to express who you find yourself to be. May you discover how wonderful birthdays can be!!

Love,

Rennae

Journey

The Ghost

March 3, 2015Lori Rennae Chapman Leave a comment

We have this enormous white birch tree on our hill leading to our pond/wetland (better known as the frogs’ home!). I really never appreciated this particular species of tree until I started watching this particular one live from year to year. Its absence of color makes it the most spectacular portrait! It stands out against all the other colors that are shown by nature changing over the seasons. I have learned how delicate it can be and how strong it can be. I have seen it nourish other living things, and I have seen it give life through seeds and roots. There is one thing for sure, it is always there—constant and steady. This beautiful tree reminds me of some of the people in my life that have been constant and steady. People I could and can always seek for strength, encouragement, and love. So if you have not—go and hug your tree today! “The Ghost” that breaths wind into your life and allows the colors in your world to burst forth!

The Ghost

The background is blue.

A blue that is bright and light.

The white skin pops against the blue canvas.

The white, pasty arms show the signs of growing and living.

The cracky flakes display the effects of the wind and the water and the sun.

The sounds of the ghost are soft,

But constant as the winds swiftly move by.

In the dark the ghost makes it sound as a whisper in the air or the blow of a kiss.

Against the dark, grey sky, the figure fades into the grey wash.

Then within a season of change,

The once obscure figure pounces forward with multiple greens.

The ghost feels a burst of revival as it displays one shade of green after another.

Birds find a home within its arms,

And insects discover their haven within its body.

As the ghost grows, the greens turn to gold, brown, and orange against a crisp cloud in the sky.

The gold, bronze, and orange drop to unveil the naked beauty beneath.

Another moment has past,

And another year has gone.

And the Ghost continues to breath the wind,

And paint the sky with its life and soul.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Thank you so much for joining me this week. I feel so honored that you take your time to visit with me and are willing to listen to my words. I hope your life is brighter and lifted by reading.

I miss you- Em and Mama Hick (but you are forever with me). Thank you Danny, Jim, Lis, Lori Lynn, Cam, and Seth. Thanks to all of you for being my “Ghosts”!

Love,

Rennae

Blessings

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