By Jennifer Deibel, @ThisGalsJourney
I remember the day I recognized the importance of feeding my own soul. And it’s a reminder I desperately needed today—so I thought you might, too.
When we were living in Ireland, there was no shortage of creative outlets available. But I was in the throes of raising wee babes, learning to live cross-culturally, and working an incredible—but taxing—“day job.” I was tired in every way one can be.
Then one night, I joined a choir. I didn’t know any of the songs. I barely knew the language as it was instructed, lead, and sung all in Irish. And while I could speak it at the time with relative ease, reading and understanding the poetic nature of lyrics is a whole different kettle of fish.
I spent two hours with a group of people singing in the most beautiful language ever. Using our bodies – mind, voice, ear, heart – to become unified and create something beautiful. The songs continued in my heart and mind overnight, weaving intricately into my dreams. I woke up the next day with my soul full to the brim.
The next day, while I was tidying my kitchen, I put on some tunes and a song I had never heard before came on and I couldn’t help but dance around my kitchen. I twirled and shimmied and grapevined around the table, all around the kitchen and living room. I danced. My cup nigh exploded.
Soul Food. Are you feeding your soul? Your soul food likely looks different to mine. However, I believe God instills in us all these needs and interests.
Sometimes I fear we mistake holiness and Godliness for piety, stoic, quiet. While there is a time and place for these things, it was not a mistake that God filled me with such a need for music, dance, literature. And it’s not a mistake that the things that fuel your heart do so. He had a reason. And He has a reason for instilling your passions deep in your heart. What speaks to you? What makes you feel alive? What energizes you?
For some, it’s creative outlets, like mine. For others it’s time out in nature enjoying His creation. Maybe it’s solving a complex problem, using your higher-level thinking and reasoning skills. Or perhaps building something; making or doing something tangible. Whatever it is, feed it!
I cannot express the level of my energy I’d had in the days following the ones I just described. I was fed. I was full. I was satiated. It’s OK to feed your soul! We’ve heard over and over, that the more we care for ourselves, the better we can care for our families. Why don’t we do it??
At times it seems the Christian culture has told us that if we enjoy something, it must not be of God. Dear friend, don’t let yourself be blinded by that lie! While I do not believe in the “if it feels good, do it” principle some embrace, I do believe He has given us interests, passions, outlets and needs in which He delights to see us enjoy! Jesus promised us that He came that we might have life, and have it to the fullest. What joy comes from living fully, through the power of Christ, embracing all that He has created us to be! And when our souls are full, we will be far better equipped to this journey of writing to which He’s called us.
So, want to write the best novel possible? Feed. Your. Soul. And then get to work.
Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as an infant. She has worked there since she was a wee girl and will likely die there. Despite a sense that she was made for something more, Brianna feels powerless to change her situation, so she consoles herself by exploring the Ballymacool grounds, looking for hidden treasures to add to the secret trove beneath the floorboards of her room.
When Michael Wray, the son of local gentry, is sent to Ballymacool to deal with his unruly cousin, he finds himself drawn to Brianna, immediately and inescapably. There is something about her that feels so . . . familiar. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she commits to learning its origins, with the help of Michael. What they discover may change everything.
Fan favorite Jennifer Deibel invites you back to the Emerald Isle in the 1930s for this fresh take on the Cinderella story, complete with a tantalizing mystery, a budding romance, and a chance at redemption.
Jennifer Deibel, author of A Dance in Donegal, is a middle school teacher whose work has appeared on (in)courage, on The Better Mom, in Missions Mosaic magazine, and others. With firsthand immersive experience abroad, Jennifer writes stories that help redefine home through the lens of culture, history, and family. After nearly a decade of living in Ireland and Austria, she now lives in Arizona with her husband and their three children. You can find her online at www.jenniferdeibel.com . Her sophomore novel, The Lady of Galway Manor, releases Feb. 1, 2022 from Revell and is available for preorder wherever books are sold!