Winters’ Day In
Conversations on life, faith, stories, and creativity from author Talena Winters.
Pour a cuppa and stay awhile.
Want a Friday Night Date with a sweet new book?
One cold winter's night in 2013, I was sewing myself a summer dress (because that is completely logical, right?), and for the first time ever, I used the couture technique of setting my zipper in by hand.
And as I sat and hand-stitched my zipper, I wondered what might inspire someone to self-teach themselves to be a top-level designer.
How long would that take? And why would they do it?
Thus, the spark of an idea for The Friday Night Date Dress was born.
Moving On and Holding On
I'm terrified of the things about my lost son that I am forgetting. Every day that passes feels like it is taking me one day farther away from my boy.
Boulders and Balloons: When Sharing Isn’t Caring
Being human is hard. There is so much pain involved in this thing called "life." But it is also joyful. What makes life easier is walking this road with other humans, and sharing those experiences of joy and pain with each other.
But there is a time and place for everything.
My Greatest Fears
When your worst fear comes true, there’s no such thing as “getting over it” anytime soon. You discover who you really are, and what you really believe. Written less than two weeks after losing our youngest son.
Inconveniences I Would Rather Have (and “Things I’ll Never Do” song)
On Wednesday, I found I was grieving all the things that Munchkin will not get to do that I wanted him to be able to do. I find that writing songs helps me deal with very stressful and emotional topics, so I wrote "Things I'll Never Do". Here is a quick scratch recording on a video for this song.
7 Lovely Lemon-Fresh Things
When I think "lemons", I think "summer." And summer is just around the corner, so here are seven lemon-inspired finds to brighten your Saturday.
Keep the Strawberries, Kick the Cinquefoil
We all have "cinquefoil" in our lives. Eventually, though, we have to stop and examine the things we fill our lives with and ask, "Is this still of value to me? Is this something I want to nurture right now?"
7 Bee-YOU-tiful Sweet Finds
I am starting a new Saturday Feature called "Seven Things". It is a list of 7 items based on that week's theme that I hope will inspire you.
Since it is spring, I am thinking of all things bee.
What About Christian Fantasy?
I haven't read a ton of Christian fantasy books, but I have read some. And I always wonder afterwards if the real God of the Universe would behave as the author imagined he would. And I wonder if I really have the right while "playing God" with my own characters to cast the real God as one of them.
The High Cost of Inspiration
What makes someone inspiring? And why would I want to be that, too?
All That’s Left is to Love
Wow, yesterday's post about how Christians treat the LGBTQ community has sure generated a lot of great, constructive discussion (a little here and a LOT on Facebook), which is exactly what I hoped it would do. The comments have provided me with some more thought-food to chew on, and I hope it has done the same for many of the people engaged in the conversation.
An Open Letter to Matt Walsh and My Fellow "Christians"
Let's re-imagine a key scene from the gospels together, shall we?
The gathered crowd shouted in a frenzy of righteous indignation. Shouts of "stone her" and "kill the b__" rose into a cacophonic haze of hatred that all centred on the one young woman, barely clothed, who trembled in terror on the rough ground at their centre.
The Teacher started making his way through the crowd, and when men and women saw the look on his face, they fell back from his path in silence, wondering what he was going to do.
The woman squinted up at him, too, wondering what new terror was upon her.