Welcome to Soul Scents!
I’m glad you stopped in to visit! I don’t know about
you, but I often use my computer while curled in my chair, my feet resting
on my CPU, and something yummy to sip near at hand. I suppose it’s as
cozy as you can get at a computer. So, grab that steaming mug and stay a
while. I’m excited to share my heart with you,
even if it is cyberspace.
A few years ago God
placed a passion within me. The primary longing is to know God; to catch a
glimpse of His beauty, His love, and His humor. The next is to share Him
with people like you. I’ve
always been a scribbler. I have journals dating back to grade school and
my journal is still one of the first things I pack. More recently, doors
have opened for me to share thoughts more publicly.
Below is the first installment of my new e-zine,
Soul Scents. I’d like to send it to you every week. (There’s no
monetary commitment.) So, if you feel a little stirring as you read the
sample below, just click on the box underneath it to sign up. Of course,
you are free to unsubscribe at any time, so it's a no risk venture.
I’d love it if
you’d spend a little time browsing my website. I’ve shared with you about some books that have impacted my life and you can read
about them by clicking on the box for reviews. My husband and I are
focused on living in spiritual, mental, and physical health. If you’d
like to see some things that have helped us on our journey you can click
on the recommendations box. Pages are added occasionally so keep checking
back.
Besides
writing, I home school my four
children (and occasionally a few extras). If you’re interested in my
favorite curriculum, home schooling books, or thoughts on home schooling,
click on the home schooling box. Enjoy! I hope to hear from you!
~Paula
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Day
One
October’s
vibrant yellow hopes dissolved into the bleak grays and dull browns of
November and my heart felt the transition stronger than ever.
It
was a small thing really—an expected $20 that never appeared. It
wasn’t as though I needed it to feed the family or keep the electricity
on. I just wanted it for me. It’d been a long time since I’d had the
money to treat myself to my favorite store—one that sold scented bath
wash and lotions. I had a holiday favorite that came out every year or
two—Sugar Plum Spice. I dreamed of splashing it all over me in the
shower and then smoothing the luxurious scent into my arms, legs, and
feet. I could almost, not quite smell it—the fragrance of magical
moments. I’d wear it to anything special all winter
. . . my daughter’s holiday play, family gatherings, our annual
New Year’s Eve party. I dreamed of it for weeks before my birthday at
the end of October.
My birthday came
and went. The expected card held sweet sentiments but no check so I could
indulge in sweet smells. It seemed another blow in the long fall of unmet
expectations and empty coffers. I felt silly to be so discouraged over
such a little thing—but I grieved the lack.
In my women’s
Bible study group the leader challenged us to look underneath every desire
to find a deeper longing, a longing for Christ. I went to the Lord about
the scented lotion.
“Ever wonder
how I smell? Breathe deeply,” He whispered to my heart. “fill yourself
with me. Become the aroma of Christ to the world. Let My smell linger in
the air as you walk by.”
I searched the
scriptures for more of Him as I mediated on the thought that His aroma
must be lovelier than anything I’d ever smelled. He took me to 2
Corinthians 2:14. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in
triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the
fragrance of the knowledge of him.”
I asked the Lord
to let me know Him so deeply that His smell rubbed off on me. I didn’t
need Sugar Plum Spice. I needed more of Him.
The next summer my husband and I were vision casting,
searching for a scripture or phrase that captured my calling to write. The
Lord again impressed upon us 2 Corinthians 2:14 and from that experience
grew the name of the ministry God called me to—“Soul
Scents: Spreading the fragrance of Christ in hearts hungry for seeds of
grace.”
And so, with the birth of this new e-zine, I invite you to come with me on
a journey. This journey is to discover the wonders of our Lord—His
grace, His love, and His beauty. I know we won’t run out of places to
explore together as we seek Him. He is beyond finding out! I’ll share my
vulnerability with you as I pour my heart on paper. I pray the Lord will
take these words and use them as seeds to pull us both more deeply into
His heart of grace. Through the power of His Holy Spirit, may you and I walk forward with a whiff of His sweet scent lingering behind us.
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