Soul Care When You're Weary

by Lynn Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

I’m coming off an intense writing season and I’m drained in every imaginable way.

So the timing couldn’t have been better for me to get my hands on my friend (and the wonder woman who runs The Write Conversation) Edie Melson’s latest book, Soul Care When You’re Weary.

The idea behind this book is that in a world where our margin for recovering is shrinking (or nonexistent) and peace is elusive we all need a way to be refreshed at the soul level.

And Edie has a unique and delightful way to accomplish this.

Through devotions, prayers, and creative opportunities, this book will lead you on a journey. First is Triage where we think about what’s going on with us—we’re weary, weak, exhausted. Then we Rediscover Peace with reminders of how much God loves us and how He sees us. Then we focus on Reconnecting with Prayer Play and explore different ways to pray—out loud, through music, on walks. In Chapter 4, we learn to Let Go no matter what is going on in our lives and rediscover the rhythms of rest, and finally we Move On to Joy in Chapter 5 with the focus on finding joy, even in our most difficult and trying times.

If you are like many of my friends, and playing with mixed media, drawing, painting, and decorating are your thing, you will love this book. 

By the time you’re done, your book will be a riot of color. It will be thick with the things you’ve added to it. It will have leaves and flowers and bits of washi tape and paint and it will be a glorious reminder of how much fun it can be to worship God and draw closer to Him as you create with Him.

But . . .

What if you’re the polar opposite? What if paint brushes scare you? What if being asked to draw something makes your eyelids twitch?

What if you have no idea what washi tape is?

Is this book still for you?

YES!

I can say this with confidence because I have zero artistic ability. Really. My stick figures need therapy. And as much as I was excited about this book, I was tempted to, well, skip some of the creative connections. If I had to bust out a paint brush, then it wasn’t going to happen. 

But Edie has made it so easy. (And no, I still haven’t used a paint brush because I don’t actually own one). 

In the Forging a Creative Connection sections, Edie tells you exactly what you need to do, while still giving you a ton of room to run in any direction you feel led. I’m not artistic, but I can tape a leaf onto a page. I can go for a walk and talk to God out loud. I can make a grid and fill it with words of gratitude. I can take a picture with my cell phone. 

I can even decorate a Bible verse. Granted, my decorations tend to consist of arrows or lines, because that’s all I can do! And that’s okay. None of this is going to ever wind up on a gallery wall, and that’s the beauty of this book. The only gallery wall these pages ever need to be displayed on is the one in my heart. The one made and designed by the God who loves me and who loves to connect with me. And the one who already knows I can’t draw!

But as Edie says in the introduction, using our tactile creativity helps deepen our connection to our Heavenly Father in new and exciting ways. Ways that many of us have never explored. 

If you’re reading this blog, there’s an excellent chance that you’re a creative. Maybe, like me, you don’t own a paint brush but you paint pictures with words. You design worlds and decorate them with the characters that spring from your imagination. 

Just think of how amazing it would be to take that creative energy and redirect it. Stretch it. Develop it in a new way. A way that is all about reconnecting with God. 

If that sounds good to you, I know you will be encouraged and delighted by what you find within the pages of Soul Care When You’re Weary. 

Edie also has a free download on her website, A First Aid Kit for Weary Creatives. Stop by and pick one up for yourself or for a stressed-out friend.

Are you in need of some soul care? Have you ever thought about how you can use your creativity to connect with God? Do you have examples of times when your creative passion has fueled worship?

Let’s talk about it in the comments.

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

TWEETABLES
Where do you turn to for soul care when you're weary & the #writing leaves you empty? @LynnHBlackburn on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

When writers get weary, soul care is the answer - @LynnHBlackburn on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Lynn H. Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She lives in South Carolina with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Her new Dive Team Investigations series kicked off in March of 2018 with Beneath the Surface. The second book in the series, In Too Deep, releases in November of 2018 with the third book to follow in 2019. She is also the author of Hidden Legacyand Covert Justicewhich won the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel. You can follow her real life happily ever after at WWW.LYNNHBLACKBURN.COM and on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM.