our most recent posts...
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There once was a prince who lived high up in the tipiest top of a castle tower. Even though he was only 11, he had done many princey things in his short life: he had lived in another castle across the sea, been captured by a wicked witch who turned him into a frog, been […]
January 16, 2018
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“You’re squishing me!” “You’re a pillow; don’t you like being squished? I loooooooooooove being squished. Physical Touch is my love language.” “Well, my love language is Alone Time, so get. off!” “Sorry, but since I too am a pillow, I don’t have any appendages that can help me to move from one place to another. […]
January 9, 2018
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Benji took a hop to get back in pace with his sister. He looked through the trees next to the path. There it was again—the bottom of a wooden staircase, the rest of it winding away out of view, a smiling face leaning out—
December 25, 2017
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“So,” Gabriel put a hand on Jesus’ shoulder, respectfully, and affectionately, “How are you feeling?” Jesus was donning a modest human body for his farewell party. “Excited as any kid at Christmas,” Jesus winked. “Huh?” Jesus left Gabriel, scratching his head, until the angel finally gave up trying to […]
December 19, 2017
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Molly and Edward danced around their freshly cut Douglas Fir with delight. Just last evening they went out from their little cabin in the woods to select just the perfect one. There it was, in amongst all the other firs, pines, and spruces, its branches waving in the crisp breeze, as if to say, “Me! […]
December 12, 2017
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The tale had been told From semesters ago One of both humor and warning Passed down and reused And caused us to muse In a dorm meeting held just that morning The lecture went as follows: There once was lad Who had it quite bad For a lovely young maid at the school He […]
December 5, 2017
who are the letter belles?
Belles-lettres is a French term that refers to writing as art.
"Letter," of course, refers to the written word.
And "belle" is a beautiful woman or girl which, of course, we all are. :)
Therefore, we four gals - Emily H., Elisa, Cedar, and Emily M. - are the Letter Belles - four beautiful women who also love the beauty of the written word.
This blog is the brain-child of Emily H., who envisioned a place where she and others could write on a regular basis. Since the #1 bit of advice given to writers is to "write, write, write," she figured the best way to make sure we were writing, writing, writing was to create weekly writing challenges that would be easy enough to consistently complete.
Short in length and as varied in subject as they are in style, these challenges give us all the chance to exercise our skill in writing narratives, poetry, memoirs, and essays. They also allow us to explore our humorous sides, our insightful sides, and even occasionally our sorrowful sides. The challenges let us play to our strengths and also force us out of our comfort zones.
AND...they're just a whole lot of fun.
We hope you find these posts entertaining and thought-provoking, and we really hope that if you are writing-inclined, you will be inspired to challenge yourself to write, write, write!
On the pages that follow, you can meet each of the Letter Belles and read a post from one of our "getting to know you" challenges.
Emily H
One of Emily's favorite posts....
What do I look forward to?
Of all the flowers, lilacs. If all the world’s flowers were taken away, I’d feel the saddest about losing lilacs. I don’t remember if there were lilacs in my childhood, but the way they look and smell is nostalgic to me. There’s lots of lilacs in my little Wisconsin city, Eau Claire—when they’re blooming (they’re blooming now), you can’t walk far without smelling them. And lilacs are not just flowers, they’re trees. Mountainous hedgerows, as tall as a house. Hearty, helpful, bountiful, beautiful.
Long days. I love that it feels like there is more time in the summer, because there is more light. It feels like tons of extra time. Twice as much time! It feels like things can be done after the kids’ bedtime!
The farmers market, especially in high summer, when the pavilion smells overwhelmingly of basil and mint. The pavilion looks over the river and a band plays during the farmers market every Saturday morning of summer.
My sister’s family coming to visit. My beloved, faraway sister, in my house, sharing my things, eating what I eat, enjoying what I enjoy. Doing my dishes and stuff. (Ha ha kidding)
One of Emily's favorite posts....
What do I look forward to?
Of all the flowers, lilacs. If all the world’s flowers were taken away, I’d feel the saddest about losing lilacs. I don’t remember if there were lilacs in my childhood, but the way they look and smell is nostalgic to me. There’s lots of lilacs in my little Wisconsin city, Eau Claire—when they’re blooming (they’re blooming now), you can’t walk far without smelling them. And lilacs are not just flowers, they’re trees. Mountainous hedgerows, as tall as a house. Hearty, helpful, bountiful, beautiful.
Long days. I love that it feels like there is more time in the summer, because there is more light. It feels like tons of extra time. Twice as much time! It feels like things can be done after the kids’ bedtime!
The farmers market, especially in high summer, when the pavilion smells overwhelmingly of basil and mint. The pavilion looks over the river and a band plays during the farmers market every Saturday morning of summer.
My sister’s family coming to visit. My beloved, faraway sister, in my house, sharing my things, eating what I eat, enjoying what I enjoy. Doing my dishes and stuff. (Ha ha kidding)
Puuuuuuuuumpkins. Storefronts lined with hundreds of pumpkins. The way pumpkins sound. The delight I have that it occurred to God to create such a thing as pumpkins. My parents visiting in the fall, insisting that we get pumpkins for our front porch.
Fall leaves, obviously.
Christmas lights.
Winter at the end of February. The days begin to get longer; the temperatures are not as cold. In the mornings and evenings the snow is blue and the tree branches are black against the sky. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. Looking forward to winter at the end of February gets me through dark, frigid January.
Our annual spring trip to Arizona to see my family. And to see the Brewers play spring training games. The heat, the smell of orange blossoms. My kids playing with their cousins. That special cousin friendship.
Church. I look forward to crying during hymns now and then. By far church is the most likely place I’ll cry.
My husband’s voice. His voice is kind, every day.
Looking at my daughter’s eyes. My little bouncy fairy girl with beautiful eyes.
The weight of my son as he sits on my lap. My pink-cheeked, moody, adorable troll of a three-year-old.
Coffee.
(full post below)
Meet Writer A - Emily H.
See all of the "What Do You Look Forward To?" posts here.
Elisa
About
One of Elisa's favorite posts....
Dear 6-year-old Elisa,
I only have 15 minutes to write you this very important letter because (you may not believe this) you grow up to write for FUN. In fact, you and your sister write for fun together. (I know, I know, she was one crazy baby, and you’re still eyeing her suspiciously and wondering if the tantrums have actually stopped. Don’t worry, they have. As a matter of fact, she’s actually way calmer than you are, and you’re going to spend the rest of your childhood and adulthood being the closest of friends.)
Yes, you and Emily are kindred spirits, and you have the best mom and dad. They love Jesus and they love you so much, so you end up deciding you’d rather not have a teenage rebellion, thank you very much. I’m sorry to say that you are going to move away from Illinois eventually. You’re going to leave the green and grassy hills for the dust and tumbleweeds of Arizona, but you know what? Those first few years will be a little hard, but in the long run you’re going to be really happy you landed there. (And speaking of hills, that little lump next to your house is not a hill, as you currently think. You will discover this when you and Emily go back to visit as adults, and try to roll down. It’s practically flat. I’m really not sure why you call it a hill right now.)
One of Elisa's favorite posts....
Dear 6-year-old Elisa,
I only have 15 minutes to write you this very important letter because (you may not believe this) you grow up to write for FUN. In fact, you and your sister write for fun together. (I know, I know, she was one crazy baby, and you’re still eyeing her suspiciously and wondering if the tantrums have actually stopped. Don’t worry, they have. As a matter of fact, she’s actually way calmer than you are, and you’re going to spend the rest of your childhood and adulthood being the closest of friends.)
Yes, you and Emily are kindred spirits, and you have the best mom and dad. They love Jesus and they love you so much, so you end up deciding you’d rather not have a teenage rebellion, thank you very much. I’m sorry to say that you are going to move away from Illinois eventually. You’re going to leave the green and grassy hills for the dust and tumbleweeds of Arizona, but you know what? Those first few years will be a little hard, but in the long run you’re going to be really happy you landed there. (And speaking of hills, that little lump next to your house is not a hill, as you currently think. You will discover this when you and Emily go back to visit as adults, and try to roll down. It’s practically flat. I’m really not sure why you call it a hill right now.)
Right now you may still be feeling a little sad that your friend Brian, who you rather liked, has been ignoring you ever since kindergarten started. Don’t you worry about that one bit. Things work out really well because you get to marry this wonderful guy named Todd. Yes yes, I know. You have a fish named Todd. This one is much handsomer.
Human-Todd is smart and tall and funny, and he really likes you. You’re gonna go all kinds of places with him! You’ll live in deserts and mountains and you’ll visit Europe and Asia, and after a while he’ll start a software business (what’s software? right...it’s for computers...never mind), and you’ll get to be a part of that a little bit but you’ll be really busy with all your kids.
“All your kids”?! That’s right, little girl. You and human-Todd will have FOUR kids, and they’re ALL gonna be boys! But don’t worry, having all boys turns out to be pretty awesome. In fact, I think these boys are the type of boys you’d be friends with. The oldest one even read (and liked!) Anne of Green Gables recently. But...even you haven’t read that yet.
You have so many good books in your future! Read them and love them! You’re going to make so many friends in those books, and your head is going to get so full of all the words you read that you’re going to want to write words of your own. It’s going to be great!
At six years old, your life has been precious and warm and happy and safe. God has been so good to you, and he’s going to keep showing his goodness to you all throughout your life. Life gets harder. It also gets even better.
(full post below)
Meet Writer B - Elisa
See all original "Letter to Me" posts here.
Emily M
Emily H
One of Emily's favorite posts was from the "Letter to Self" challenge.....
Dear Six-Year-Old Self,
What a sweet life you’ve been given: a warm home, parents who love you, two older brothers who tolerate you (which is pretty good for a little sister), and a church family who supports you fiercely. I wonder why, with all this affection in your life, that you doubt the love of God – the source of love?
You always want to obey, don’t you? It’s good to obey. It is, as you believe, the safest place to be. But, you will learn over time that your reasons for obedience – to win the approval of God and men—will exhaust you. You can’t do it. Sweet girl, learning that you are not the Savior will be a lifelong process. It’s okay though, because your Shepherd is holding your hand as you stumble over all those boulders of pride in your life. It hurts a little bit, but brokenness is the only way you can be healed.
If I went back now and warned you of all the hurt and pain you’ll experience by making this decision or that one, you would not be a very interesting person. And people would hate you because your life would be spoiled with only pleasures, and not true richness that sanctification brings. And so I’ll tell you this: believe that you are loved by God. I know…you won’t really believe it for a while. But when you do, it will change everything.
One of Emily's favorite posts was from the "Letter to Self" challenge.....
Dear Six-Year-Old Self,
What a sweet life you’ve been given: a warm home, parents who love you, two older brothers who tolerate you (which is pretty good for a little sister), and a church family who supports you fiercely. I wonder why, with all this affection in your life, that you doubt the love of God – the source of love?
You always want to obey, don’t you? It’s good to obey. It is, as you believe, the safest place to be. But, you will learn over time that your reasons for obedience – to win the approval of God and men—will exhaust you. You can’t do it. Sweet girl, learning that you are not the Savior will be a lifelong process. It’s okay though, because your Shepherd is holding your hand as you stumble over all those boulders of pride in your life. It hurts a little bit, but brokenness is the only way you can be healed.
If I went back now and warned you of all the hurt and pain you’ll experience by making this decision or that one, you would not be a very interesting person. And people would hate you because your life would be spoiled with only pleasures, and not true richness that sanctification brings. And so I’ll tell you this: believe that you are loved by God. I know…you won’t really believe it for a while. But when you do, it will change everything.
(full post below)
Meet Writer C - Emily M.
See all original "Letter to Me" posts here.
Elisa
Cedar
One of Cedar's posts....
There are few things I look forward to more than spring, and ultimately summer. Not just the seasons, but very specific, treasured things about them. I long for the feeling of warm sunshine on my skin. If I die from skin cancer, it will be well worth it. I even relish the feeling of getting into an oven hot car. I find immense comfort in the blanket of humidity that covers the lush, green Midwest.
I love the new lively shadows dancing on my floor, now that the leaves have returned. I tell my children that the leaves are waving at them, that they’re excited to be back.
I love the smell of warm dirt. I love to feel it in my hands, and welcome it back after it’s long, frozen sleep.
I love dandelions. I feel like they’re an incredible gift from God. Little sprinkles of sunshine, like God was having fun splatter painting. And it’s so nice that there’s one flower all children can freely pick, even in a perfect strangers’ yard.
Okay, so really I love all flowers. I feel so loved by God through them, the smells and sight and feel of them. And berries! Oh, nature’s candy.
I love the night sounds out my window, including thunderstorms, after the long, silent winter.
One of Cedar's favorite posts....
There are few things I look forward to more than spring, and ultimately summer. Not just the seasons, but very specific, treasured things about them. I long for the feeling of warm sunshine on my skin. If I die from skin cancer, it will be well worth it. I even relish the feeling of getting into an oven hot car. I find immense comfort in the blanket of humidity that covers the lush, green Midwest.
I love the new lively shadows dancing on my floor, now that the leaves have returned. I tell my children that the leaves are waving at them, that they’re excited to be back.
I love the smell of warm dirt. I love to feel it in my hands, and welcome it back after it’s long, frozen sleep.
I love dandelions. I feel like they’re an incredible gift from God. Little sprinkles of sunshine, like God was having fun splatter painting. And it’s so nice that there’s one flower all children can freely pick, even in a perfect strangers’ yard.
Okay, so really I love all flowers. I feel so loved by God through them, the smells and sight and feel of them. And berries! Oh, nature’s candy.
I love the night sounds out my window, including thunderstorms, after the long, silent winter.
I could go on and on, but before my time is up I must acknowledge that much of the glory of these precious things is in the anticipation of them—in the missing. Just as joy is intertwined with suffering, so summer must be intertwined with winter, for me.
(full post below)
Meet Writer D - Cedar
See all of the "What Do You Look Forward To?" posts here.
Emily H
thank you!
We'll be in touch shortly.
xo,
mary kate and ash