Dear Heart,

I know I’ve been so quiet these past two weeks.  I’m not quite sure why it is I’ve felt so unable to speak, when all of life is swirling around me.  Summer is pushing, undulating forward, like a lazy river smoothing its body over rocks, lapping gently along the blades of grass standing too close to its passing.

It’s been a little over a month since my book Finding Spiritual Whitespace has been released, and I find there is at once too much to be thankful for and yet too many feelings of uncertainty.  About what the future holds.  About what this present means to me, now that my story is walking out into this world. Into the hearts of kindreds.  Stories that have lay hidden are now touching others to tell theirs too.

And I’m more sensitive now to the fact that a new chapter has begun.  It’s really a new life, being led by rest, rather than by meeting expectations and setting goals.

I’m learning, this fragile, soft and quiet part of me — my heart — is where my voice that whispers. That changes the very air between me and God into an intimacy of being known.  That goes beyond just getting things done for Him. 

All my life, I’ve longed for home.
Maybe home is where my heart is…
because that’s where God is.

I’m sorry I still find it easier to put you to the side, dear heart.

But, I can never go back to the old life.  Surviving.

God gave you to me, heart, so that I can be real. Human.  Alive.

I’m learning — guarding my heart — instead of ignoring it — brings me back to the intimacy of being known. 

My heart brings me home.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
~ Proverbs 4:23

It has been said the heart is deceitful, but that passage in Jer 17:9 is referring to the heart that hides from love. From God.

The heart is only deceitful when we hold it back — from bringing all of our heart out in the open. As is.

Just like a new dawn lightens the sky in delicate-thin movements, like colors mixing in the steady hand of a watercolor artist, we’re never too sure if our eyes are playing tricks on us.

But, as light lifts into the sky, we see the sun slowly, gently covering, pulling a blanket of  warmth over the earth — to reveal under each shadow, a blade of grass, a quiet wildflower still and standing in the night. And all around it, pockets of soil.  New life.

Don’t be afraid, heart.

The fingers of God are quietly resting, soothing you in your restlessness.

Let Him hold you.

Tell Him all you have been over-thinking.

You don’t have to be strong.

There is beauty inside you.

You are home to Jesus.

Just as you are.

 Are you feeling blah even though all seems alright? 

It’s your heart. Longing to just be you. And rest.   

Will you let God hear what your heart has to say? 

Let your heart ache. Follow your heart.

Let your heart come home. 

~~~~~

Pull up a chair.  Click to comment.  Love having you here. I’ve missed your company.

(psst.  sorry we missed last week’s Whitespace Linkup. My blog’s server got hacked and I wasn’t able to post!)

~~~~~

A Soulful Whitespace Giveaway
Win a Custom House Portrait Watercolor Painting
by Janine Crum

Our homes are one of the most tender parts of our memories.  Home is like the backstage to the stories we live — where we make a life, fall in love, cry, laugh and dream.

A home carries so much meaning. It can be goodbye to an old chapter.  A home can mean a hello to a new chapter.

Today, I have a very special giveaway from a friend who has taken the journey of spiritual whitespace —  Illustrator and Watercolor Artist Janine Crum.  It’s a custom painting  (valued at $90) of your home.

I first met Janine three years ago a church newcomers dinner.  Janine moved here to Silicon Valley California from South Carolina.  I didn’t see her for two years, until I spoke one Sunday worship service about Finding Spiritual Whitespace.  

Janine read Finding Spiritual Whitespace and it’s inspired her to listen to her heart, to make room in her life for art and open her own online shop of prints (congrats, Janine!). (scroll down to read her story below)

If you have a home you miss, a new home you’re treasuring — or you have a friend who is — Janine can transform a photo of your home into beautiful, handart.  Janine can illustrate a custom watercolor painting of your home, just for you.

After entering today’s giveaway, if you’re looking for a gift for a wedding, housewarming, or special birthday gift, browse her whimsical shop. 

ENTER TO WIN:

1.  Click to share a comment by Wednesday midnight 7/30/13.  (2) TWO winners will be selected randomly.

2. For extra entries:  Share on Twitter or Facebook and let me know in a new comment.

Who is Janine Crum?

The journey of rest has led Janine to reconnect with her heart, her childhood, her home, and her art.

As I began my journey through ‘Finding Spiritual Whitespace’, I realized that I had a little girl inside of me longing to be the artist she knew she always had been.

Prior to reading Bonnie’s book, I had been scared to let my art be more than a just hobby because I thought it wasn’t important — it wasn’t a responsible use of my time.

Little did I realize that it is important, especially to God, because it’s who He created me to be; an artist, a creative person.

Once I started making room for whitespace in my life, specifically making time to paint and draw each day, (even if just for a few minutes while my children were napping) something lovely started to happen — I began to feel alive again, I began to feel like me again — the refreshed version of Janine. 

What started out as simply making room for whitespace in my life has now turned into a way for me to encourage others through my artwork by selling prints online.

I’ve recently been exploring the idea of what “home” means since I come from a divorced home and my husband and I moved cross-country (away from “home”) a few years ago and have started a family of our own.

Where my home is has always been a question I’ve felt unsettled about, until I finally began to realize it’s where I am with my husband and kids — the people I love most. It’s where I am.

So, I created a series of prints reflecting that idea and painting custom house portraits as a way to pay tribute to the wonderful memories we create inside of our physical homes together. 

~~~~~ 

Today’s post is part of my special Book Launch Tour Series  {21 Days of Rest: FindingSpiritual Whitespace}.  Click here to read Day 1 and the entire series on rest.

Now It’s Your Turn!

Whitespace Thursdays Link Up

Blog about your whitespace moments. 

Publish your post ANY DAY of the week.  

Link up on Thursday.  Visit & comment on the post before yours.

Use the Whitespace Thursday Linkup Badge.

Write what prompts your heart. Share your voice.

Today’s Writing Prompt (link up anytime): Share a whitespace moment this week. 

Other writing prompts:

* If you’re reading the book, share your discoveries. How is the book speaking to you?

*  Share your whitespace moments.

– moments of beauty and rest
– feeding your soul
– your alone time with God

* Choose your own open writing prompt.  Be you.

Thank you for using #spiritualwhitespace to share your pictures on Instagram & Twitter!
It’s fun to see the moments that feed your soul this week!

{email subscribers, click here to link up your post in the Whitespace Linkup.}

Take The Journey of Rest With Me

Take the Finding Spiritual Whitespace journey to make space to rest, despite whatever chaos and stress clutters our everyday lives.

Take the journey of self-discovery with Jesus with journal prompts for individual or intimate group exploration. Let’s live a better story of rest. Together.

Purchase a copy of my memoir-driven guidebook for yourself and your friends.  Because rest isn’t a journey we need to take alone.  We need each other.

Because some stories can’t be told on a blog.  They are so intimate, they can only echo in the sacred space of the printed page. Letters from my heart bound together for you.

Let’s be kindreds. Let’s meet between the pages of Finding Spiritual Whitespace.