You are an inspiration to someone (probably lots of someones), because you are awesome and amazing.
Today’s journal prompt, however, is to write a thank you letter to a person who inspires you. I encourage you to share the letter with the person.
And in the meantime, shout out who inspires you in the chat!
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.3.16-17.NLT
I have a Youtube playlist where I read aloud from 19th Century American literary texts, and I thought I’d share those here. In addition to reading the texts, I add my own commentary and analysis. I hope you enjoy them.
The first step of a writing mindset is belief. Check out this video where I discuss just that.
I googled “Why you should read daily” and got 3.5 billion hits in .99 seconds. I recognize you don’t need me to tell you why you should read every day, but I feel like I have a little something to add to the discussion.
You’ll have fun. If you read what you enjoy, you will enjoy reading. Often we think we should read this thing or that thing, and that’s when reading becomes a chore. Sometimes we are pressed to read things we don’t like, but just because you’re reading something you don’t like doesn’t mean you can’t find something you do like.
You’ll discover what you like to read. The more you read, the wider your reading selections become. And in broadening your reading diet, you’ll learn you enjoy more genres and styles than you previously imagined.
You’ll learn about yourself. Reading puts you in the middle of situations you may have never encountered in your real life. Through these opportunities, you learn how you feel about certain topics, how you believe you would react in certain situations, and how much stress you can take before hurling a book across a room.
You’ll learn about others. Reading puts you in the middle of situations you may have never encountered in your real life. Yep, I just said it, but I’m saying it again. Through these opportunities, you’ll learn about perspectives that differ from your own, about mores and value systems you didn’t know existed, and how to empathize with people who aren’t like you.
You’ll become critically engaged. Reading forces you to examine writing patterns and styles. You may not recognize you’re doing so, but the more you read, the more you recognize what works and what doesn’t work in writing. You learn what persuasive arguments look like, how to describe a beautiful sunset, and how to keep an audience engaged. And as you learn these things, you begin applying them to your own writing. Additionally, you learn more about topics that matter to you and about the world more broadly. Reading makes you an informed citizen of the world, all without leaving your comfy chair.
You’ll change the world. Reading helps you learn, and learning changes you. Once you’ve learned something, you live differently based on the knowledge you’ve acquired. The new way you show up in the world affects those around you and around them and so on and so on, until your circle of influence reaches infinity.
Do you want to learn your unique design, become critically engaged and change the world? Read a book. Who knows where it will take you.
If you’re interested in learning how LELA House can enrich your reading, sign up for LELA House emails HERE.
And comment below with what you’re reading currently. My current reads are in the comments, too.
What has God called you to do? What is keeping you from doing it? Who are you letting down right now because you’re not doing your job?
And that’s your journaling prompt for today.
I have a Youtube playlist where I read aloud from 19th Century American literary texts, and I thought I’d share those here. In addition to reading the texts, I add my own commentary and analysis. I hope you enjoy them.
I’ve been posting about big changes coming to LELA House while the website is under construction, so I thought I’d make a little video introducing LELA House and what LELA House community as all about.
In short, LELA House community is about helping you discover how God uniquely created you to make a difference in the world. Please join my mailing list to stay connected to all that is on the LELA House horizon and begin to discover and live out God’s purpose in your life. You can join my mailing list today by clicking HERE.
How often do we hear people telling us about finding what puts us in a flow state? I read about it often. Lots of good articles about flow exist. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (the father of flow) the following eight attributes characterize flow (https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/).
I’ve been thinking about flow for a few years now, and I never knew what got me into a flow state. I never felt like I was in a flow state. Then it happened to me twice.
The first time I was reading a book, and I realized I’ve spent a lifetime in flow state while reading. All books don’t take me into flow, but the most engaging ones do. I completely concentrate on the book while other concerns fall away. I have goals, rewards, and immediate feedback in mind as I read, even though I wasn’t cognizant of that. I read to learn, to find myself in the world, to be entertained, to experience beautiful writing. Those are both my goal and my reward, and I can tell whether or not I am getting that immediately. Time definitely transforms. I could read for an entire day and not realize it. I find the act of reading itself pleasurable, and I venture to it for my own purposes. It is intrinsically rewarding. I read with ease, but the best reading material challenges me with vocabulary, structure, context and content. I simultaneously lose myself to reading, yet I recognize I’m controlling my reading endeavors. Yes, all eight hold true for me.
The other time I was in a flow state, I was creating an event calendar for LELA House. I was sitting in bed reading my bible and had an idea. I almost never interrupt my bible reading for anything, but I knew I needed to write down what was on my mind, so I dashed to my office, grabbed my laptop, got back under the covers and began planning. I figured if I got the inspiration while reading God’s word, then He must have work for me to do. Five hours later, I realized I desperately needed to go to the bathroom. I hadn’t bathed. I had overlooked breakfast (and I never skip meals). I normally would have gone to the bathroom at least twice in that time span. It was actually lunch time, but I didn’t even feel like eating. My entire morning routine was destroyed, and I was oddly excited about it. I went to the bathroom, crawled back into bed with my computer, and settled back in for another two hours, when the need to relieve myself and eat forced me up. Seven hours seems excessive to me to work on an event calendar, but I certainly experienced flow while creating it. I had a problem to solve that engaged and challenged me. I got to research. I got to think, plan, write, and color code. More importantly, I got to orchestrate ways to serve people by helping them explore life, learning, literacy, and creativity.
And I’m realizing where I find flow coincides with what God created me to do in the world.
God created me to support and equip people as they discover the work God created them to do. I do this through helping people explore themselves, their passions, and their creativity through coaching, reading and writing practices, and community connection.
As a virtual education enrichment community where seekers, dreamers, and visionaries explore life, learning, literacy, and creativity through coaching, courses, and community, that’s what LELA House is all about. If you are seeking your next step in life, LELA house can help support and equip you to discover your purpose, practice your passion, and grow to your next level.
Currently LELA House is undergoing construction, but please join my mailing list to stay connected to all that is on the LELA House horizon. More importantly, joining my mailing list will help you discover and live out God’s purpose in your life. You can join my mailing list today by clicking HERE.
What have you been avoiding because you’re afraid you’ll fall? Journal about that today and focus on two things.