Saturday, March 28, 2009

When Slumber Refuses to Abide...

I find myself surrendering to keyboard in the stillness of the night.
Alone, with nothing but the trickling fish pump and scent of hyacinths at my side.
My girls ignited a spark of a story with their shared observations last night.
It's not like any story I've contemplated before.
And yet, the spark caught flame in these wee hours of the morning, stealing slumber from blurry eyes.
I sought prayer for sleep to return, but alas, I was denied.
Complicated tugged for attention.
A novel for teens--a novel my girls might enjoy and benefit from reading.
Maybe not.
"But, Lord," I said, "I want to finish the story You started in me weeks ago. Can't you grow this idea later, once the other is done?"
"Jot down the ideas I give you now, let them smolder, catch fire, as you finish the other. I promise, ye of little faith, I will not forsake the other one, for there is value in both."
And once again, I'm reminded why I'm a woman.
What's one more thing to multitask?


Tithing time complete,
Summoning diary log posted to blog,
Next, obediently capturing the spark of Complicated,
Followed by more work on WIP, should slumber still evade me,
That is until the babes awake, and weekend family time rejoices.


Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

P.S. Feeling very poetic in these still, wee hours. Fearing what this will read like, but praising God for the guiding!

13 comments:

Jody Hedlund said...

Hi Eileen,
I had a hard time sleeping last night too. My mind was brewing with so many ideas,it just couldn't fall asleep, even though my body was exhausted.

A new book idea for your girls sounds like an exciting new twist on your writing path! If it's God leading, then he'll widen the path and you'll accomplish all he has for you to do.

Have a great weekend with your family.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Good morning, Jody!

Well, slumber did continue to evade. I clicked in two pages of notes regarding the spark of Contemplated, and then went to my WIP.

Slower progress on it than I had hoped in this silence, and now it's 6:35 here where I live, so I must soon wrap up and wake the girls for their respective duties of the morning.

As I work on my WIP I will continue pray over Complicated. I'm always leary of the unwanted one using these tactics to tug me away from what I should be doing. May God reveal the truth clearly for me.

I hope you have a wonderfully productive weekend writing and family wise.

Blessings,

Eileen

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Jody, P.S. I hope those ideas were WIP related, that should make the writing so much easier today. Love it when I have a clear plan ahead for the story.

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

My goodness, I have never NOT been able to sleep, but I bet you could sure get alot accomplished with no distraction. It looks like you did!

Jessica Nelson said...

Wow, cool poetry. :-) How fun to be so inspired by an idea that you can't sleep! And YA, too! Hope you had a nice day today, ye sleep-deprived woman! LOL

Pamela J said...

Eileen, I believe with my whole heart you did just what you needed to, that is to write down the points and information for "Contemplated" as it flowed. I agree it would have been lost. The time was well spent to jot them down in the quiet. I believe the Lord was at work here to have you write these down with no distractions to interfere. It MUST be a very important writing indeed! I look forward to hearing how it is coming along as it progresses, after your WIP is complete of course.
Pam Williams
cepjwms at wb4me dot com

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Sherrinda, for me to not be able to sleep is a rarity, too. I'm one of those people who need 8 - 10 hours a night and usually get it. This was an oddity for me, guess that's why I took it so seriously.

I did get much accomplished. And I hope your weekend was as inspiring as mine!

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Jessica, thanks for stopping by, I had a great day yesterday and today, too, thankyou!

Yesterday, despite my zombie state for the most of it, I managed to get everything for the tack swap sale ready with my girls, and at night during Earth hour the whole family played Horseopoly by candlelight. Today, we had a good day together at the tack swap, though not very financially rewarding, but good just the same.

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

What is a tack swap sale? And where do you live that you had an Earth Hour? And what is Horseopoly? What an interesting life you lead!! ;)

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Thank you for your encouraging words, Pamela.

We should never take anything for granted, and when something bubbles to overflowing, it's good to harvest it at least. Give it the opportunity to show its true value. We'll see, in time, whether "Complicated" is meant to flurish to maturity, or perish, as is. I leave it to God to decide.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Sherrinda, you crack me up!

I live in southern Ontario, Canada. Does the U.S. not host an Earth Hour each year? How strange. I would have thought they would. You (meaning the U.S.)seem as interested in the environment as we (meaning Canada)do.

Tack swap= king of like a garage sale but everything is horse related. All the equipment for horses and rider is lumped into the word "tack". The local therapeutic equestrian center hosted a tack swap today to raise funds for their program. Since all three girls of mine ride, we participated with the swap with outgrown riding boots, breeches, show shirts and jackets, and horse blankets,etc. Make sense?

Horseopoly=Monopoly, only you build heystacks for your horses and barns to raise the rent, and you purchase specific breeds of horses in building your empire. Again, in a house full of horse nuts, Horseopoly is what made it to our games room, over the normal, Monopoly.

See, we aren't so interesting afterall, just obsessed with horses and the environment, it would seem. LOL

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Oh yes, you lead a very interesting life from the sound of it. So how old are your kids and how did you get into all the horse-play?

I used to ride a friend's horse (they owned 10 acres behind our 1 acre property) when I was a kid, but the horse got spooked, threw me into a barbed wire fence, and I landed on my head, which knocked me out. I came to in the emergency room where they were putting 30+ stitched in my head and about 8 on my arm (from the barb wire). I haven't been on a horse since, though I really enjoy watching them from afar. They are beautiful animals.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Sherrinda:

Phil and I struggle daily with the dangers of this sport, but we are always reminded that God is in control. Our girls have loved this sport since we moved out into the country eight years ago and they are always riding safe--helmets on, in confined arena's with no barb wiring, thank goodness, and a coach and/or we are always present.

When they do go on trails, again supervised, it's in a walk, no trotting or cantering gates, and since they ride English style (jumping, no barrel racing) they never gallop.

It's a wonder that you can even look at a horse after that horrendous experience. Thank God He took care of you and protected you in the end from longlasting harm.