Beach in the Fall has its own Charm

Hey everyone! First of all, just a brief note about the events in the world this week. Although I am deeply interested in politics, I almost never talk about it online because I cannot physically tolerate all of the divisiveness it stirs up. Our world is going crazy right now and our future is very uncertain. North America is divided as we have never seen it before. 

We are divided by our beliefs and by who we trust. There is a feeling of antagonism in the air and for those of us who have a sensitive nature, it can be deeply disturbing. One of my Facebook contacts this week said that it made her want to go look at some landscape pictures. Well, that's why I bring you this blog. 

For me, looking at the beauty of God's creation is one of the things that helps bring the peace back into my heart.

In nature, I am reminded that God loves me enough to bring up the sun every day so I can live another twenty-four hours. I see his whimsy in the flowers, his power in the wind and his intellect in the structure of the seasons.

This week, having been stuck to my laptop, I was almost faint from missing fresh air and trees and water. So, last night I ventured out into the "outside world" and away from my writing cave, holding the hand of my incredible husband. By the time we got out, the sun was falling fast but we were still able to get our fill of these beautiful sandbars that extended over 30 feet from the shore.

I can never resist a sandbar. The sand was squishy and wet but so exciting -- a beach where there is usually none. Even though it was already dusk, you could still see the reflections of the shoreline in the water, still as a cat waiting to pounce on its prey.

A Walk Along Lake Winnipeg

Well, I'm back! With a change in pace...I have decided to try this blog again. If you are getting this blog by email, please excuse me for showing up unannounced in your inbox.

You subscribed to me a while back and then I abandoned this blog. Now, I am back and ready to go, at least for now. I will share more of my plans for the blog in the weeks to come but for now, hi again.  I hope we can become re-acquainted. If you are shocked at receiving this email and wish to unsubscribe, I will not be offended whatsoever. I will be sharing my walks with you, with some talk about God and perhaps a bit of cooking. If that appeals to you, stick around. If that doesn't sound like your cup of Red Rose, no problemo.

This was my walk this morning. I had been a bit in the dumps and stayed up all night working on writing-related things. The hidden blessing, of insomnia, though, if you play it right, is that you get to watch the sun rise. I went out at 7:15 but just missed whatever display there might have been for the day. It was still so lovely, though. The water so still it seemed to be an extension of the land.

The hidden beach was there and I could not help but follow its path, a narrow ridge along the rocky shore of Lake Winnipeg. I absolutely adore the rich colours of contrasting browns and blues, with a splash of autumn tree blossoms. I could just eat this up!

Sixteen Ideas for Organizing a Small Kitchen

16 Ideas for \Organizing A Small Kitchen

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful Easter weekend. It is now Sunday evening, and I am feeling truly refreshed, from a luxurious Spring Break. My husband booked some time, off, too, and we truly enjoyed our little house in the woods, and allowed ourselves some time to simply "be."

What I am Learning About Wood

Oh, the things I am learning about wood! More than I ever dreamed of knowing! 

Yes,wood has become my world for the last few days as my gorgeous husband and I prepare ourselves for the winter coming soon upon in our little house in the woods.

On Saturday, we went out to the bush to do some woodcutting, and wow, was this fun. Yes, I am not kidding … it was actually fun, even though it was also so dirty, muddy and backbreaking. 

But how amazing it is it to go a quiet place in the middle of this Manitoban forest and imbibe in that air that is so fresh that it makes you feel like you’ve never even heard of the word, “pollution.”

This was my first woodcutting excursion and there was a lot to learn. Here are things I learned this year:

• In order to cut wood in Manitoba, you must obtain woodcutting permit from the Manitoba Conservation Office.
  
  The permit cost us about $40 and allowed us to cut down 6 cords of wood, which should be almost enough for the winter, depending on how harsh the winter is. They also give you a map that shows where you can cut. 

•  Try to find the cutting area beforehand, because sometimes those maps are pretty confusing. Knowing where you are going really helps keep everyone's moral up!
  
• If you are looking for wood you can burn right away, try to find some“standing dead” trees, trees that were dead or almost dead but had not yet fallen to the ground.
  
• Watching a tree fall truly is an amazing experience. To
  
  see a forty feet Jack Pine go down is awe-inspiring, like watching a giant topple to the ground!
  
• Always carry an chainsaw wrench and an extra chain, if possible, in case one chain goes all funky on  you. Yes, that happened to us, and we did not have the chain on hand. (Truth be told, it is lost somewhere in our house, yet to be determined.)
  
• A log splitter is worth every penny you spend! We got ours on sale, for $229, and are rejoicing at this wise purchase! Two of us were able to cut and split half a cord of wood in about six hours. And imagine if I was in shape! But seriously worth it. 

My husband now calls me his “Lumberjack Girl.” Well, I'll take it! 

But lumberjack girl or not, we still have some serious work ahead of us. Note to self: start earlier next season, like in the spring! Like about eleven more trips into the bush to cut wood, to get ready for the winter.

But cutting wood sure reminds me of how dependent on nature, and God, we really are. In the city, you are so shielded from that reality because your food is packaged at a fluorescent-lit grocery store and your heat is brought to you mindlessly through your register vents. 

But when you have to actually go out and work HARD for your heat, instead of just paying a bill, it makes you feel much more connected to the source of that heat. 

And pretty thankful for the creation that God has made. Those beautiful trees that make me pause with their arresting beauty also keep us warm, protect us from the sun and wind, supply us with oxygen, give us houses to stay in, and furniture to keep us comfortable. I am grateful! 

All photos are taken by author, Sharilee Swaity. Copyright 2014. 

Nature is a Tranquilizer --- With No Side Effects!

Lately, I have been awestruck by the beauty that surrounds us here at our place in the woods. In fact, I am so excited by the grandeur that surrounds us that I can barely contain it. 

And although I do my best to capture this splendor in through photography, the pictures don't include the musky, fresh, damp smell of falling leaves and fragrant grass.  Nor can I show the soft choir of the birds: geese squawking overhead, ravens complaining loudly in the perch, sparrows fluttering in the bushes.  

The fall leaves create a careless, reckless canopy across our soil, as trees, almost naked now, can be seen in all of their structural glory. 

I confess that sometimes I feel so love with this place that is makes me ache with gratefulness, and I feel as thought I never want to leave, not even for a day. I revel in this beauty which is as a caress to my soul. 

Have you ever been anyplace like that? Had the feeling, that a place in nature feeds your spirit and mind? If you have, you are not alone. In fact, even science is starting to recognize that nature is a antidote to stress.

You could even say that the beauty of nature is a tranquilizer. And the best part is that it has no side effects or worrisome interactions.  

I believe that nature has been designed for us: to heal us, physically, mentally, and spiritually. And science confirms this belief. A 2010 study done by the University of Sheffield found that individuals who were even just presented with images of peaceful nature scenes were more tranquil, and their brains were more connected, than those who viewed images of busy traffic. 

Well, if just looking at the images had that great of an effect on an individual, how much greater much be the effect of actually being physically immersed in a tranquil nature scene! 

And the flip side of the coin was that just viewing a picture of traffic caused brain connections to be disrupted. Wow! So, what kind of connections are we losing after a week of having to sit in the middle of busy traffic? No wonder we feel so stressed out! 

An article from the University of Minnesota refers to several more studies which point to a number of mental health benefits obtained from spending time outdoors, including stress reduction, better relationships with others, and the ability to pay better attention.

Therefore, I encourage you to find yourself some nature this week, and simply bask in this natural tranquilizer for a few moments. It will be well worth the investment in time! 

And tell us your stories. Do you have a favourite place, that makes you want to sing out with joy? Where is it? How often do you go there? 

Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for regular updates with Blogger or through my Facebook page.

Weird and freaky facts about our brains!

Picture of a brain, via Wikipedia Common

Hey there! How are you? Well, living in the woods can get awfully quiet at night, which is the time I tend to watch videos on my computer. 

Lately, I have been watching this amazing Christian scientist named Caroline Leaf. Wow! Have you heard of her? I first saw her on the James Robison show and was fascinated! What she teaches about is THE BRAIN.

Now when I say "the brain," I don't mean the smart kid in the class. I mean the way our brains work, and function, and how that affects our lives. Wow, I shoulda warned you we are going to get deep--deep--deep ... 

Here's goes. Let's dive right in. 

First of all, get this. Our thoughts are real things. What does this mean? It means that our thoughts are not just abstract concepts only existing to each one of us, personally. Instead, thoughts are actual living things that can be seen, and documented with the latest in brain imaging.

Woah! To try to get a handle on this, check out this video of the brain as thoughts are being formed:

Neuroscientists are now working on methods of being able to "almost" read someone's thoughts, based on which part of the brain is active when varying stimuli are shown:

The scientists cannot read exact thoughts, but they can pick up clues of what is being thought of. Wow, this research makes a lot of the science fiction from the '70's much less fictional! Yikes! 

You may wonder, how is this this information relevant for our everyday lives? Sure, it is fascinating to be able to show off my knowledge in the obscure field of neuroscience, but what else is it good for?

Well, according to Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroscientist and a Christian teacher, it is immensely relevant. And encouraging. I have downloaded Dr. Leaf's book called Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking and Health. 

This book explains how we can affect our own brains, and control our thinking, so that we are not depressed and negative. This is so encouraging! To know that we are not doomed to negative thinking, because we have been diagnosed with a certain condition, or because we have been through some very bad experiences.

The latest science in brain research coincides so perfectly with the Scriptures. The Bible is full of teaching that says we are what we think. One example is Proverbs 23:7a: As a man thinketh, so is he.

I love learning about the brain, and how new thoughts form. This new knowledge gives us hope that anyone can change. And that anyone can learn. Even those with learning disabilities. Those in mental hospitals. Those that seem hopelessly addicted. Even me. Even you. Now, I hope you feel encouraged. Because I sure do! 

And please let me know what you think in the comments box below. Do you believe anyone can change for the better, no matter how hopeless their situation might seem? Tell us your story! 

Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for through my Facebook page.

Happy Earth Day

Today is Earth Day! This is supposed to be a day when we recognize the earth and all that it gives us. I think this is a great idea. Today, I want to go for a nice long walk and just get immersed in God's beauty again.

I wrote a poem today called, "Oh Earth ... Oh God ... A Poem About Earth Day." It's about taking advantage of the things that God gave us on this earth, and being grateful. Our earth is messed up but I think the answer lies in turning back to the one that created in the first place. I am "preaching" to myself, most of all. So often I worry about the problems and forget to thank God for the gifts. 

Sometimes (often) I get so caught with writing that I forget to take the time to actually enjoy all that I have been blessed with. Writing is a profession where you are not moving. You are sitting. And while you write about amazing things, you can't forget to do amazing things. To me, that's a balance I haven't found as of yet.

What about you? Do you feel your life is a good balance between the doing and the "talking about doing?" If so, what do you do to achieve this balance?

About Starting Over

This is me.

Well, I am going to change the purpose of this blog slightly. This is a new blog, and I have been trying to figure out the best things to write about. As you know, so far, I have just been writing about writing itself.

Upon reflection, however, I have decided to open this blog to make it broader. What will I write about? I will still be sharing, but rather sharing of my journey of life: what I learn, what I see. It's too confining for me to write only about writing, so I desire to open it up, and include other topics, too. So, all that was just a warning. We are leaving the "write only about one thing zone!" Beware!


So, let's leave that zone, and talk about starting over. I remember saying to one of my friends one time, "I just wished I could start over."

She then said, "yeah, me too, but you can't."

Well, I found her answer kind of depressing, but she was right, in a way. We can't really start over, without carrying over the consequences of what we did the day before. It will be there. It has become reality.


Let's say, for example, we want to lose weight (something I am trying to do right now). We cannot simply start over, and then all the weight is gone. We live with the choices we made in the days and years before, and if those choices led to weight gain, we are stuck with the consequences.


What we can do, however, is to do differently today. Or tomorrow. Even if we messed up again today, by eating a big amount of junk, we can "start over" tomorrow. And we can forgive ourselves for the mess, and start eating healthy.


And that applies to everything in life. Even if we got into an unfortunate job; if we married an non-compatible person, or we neglected to spend time with our kids, we can do differently today, or tomorrow. We can start looking for a different job, we can find ways to connect with our spouse, we can go throw a football around with our boy.


The Scriptures say that "his ... mercies are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22-23


God gives us new mercy every morning, and we can either take advantage of it, or keep bemoaning the terrible choices we made yesterday. There is always hope, as long as we are alive!


For more on my weight loss journey, see my blog, 100togo.
For more on my faith walk, see my blog, Prayers to my LORD.