Welcome!

On this journey of sharing BLESSINGS

I am accompanied by some friends.  You can visit them, too.

Jackie  at  Jackie McBride

Abbie at Abbie Johnson Taylor

And, I am  Lynda Lambert

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Lynda’s Journal of Blessings – #766 – Book Gardening

©My Blog: Walking by Inner Vision, since December 2009.

>>  Book Gardening <<

 

 

__My Thoughts on the Last Sunday in May, 2026

I am thinking about  my most recent book project and  I will share it with you today.

Gatekeeper: 100 Poems of Faith

This  book-in-progress will be my 7^th published book.  I am happy to say that 6 of those books were written after  sudden and profound sight loss in October  2007.   Since that time,  I balance my days between tending my  flower gardens,  household  and property  management,  caring for my 8 cats, and creating art and writing.

This is the point where I need to just think through where the book is now, and where it is going, eventually  I bring  a new book  to the final draft.  At that time, I send it off for editing and for the cover design, and publication. I am aiming to reach that final stage by the end of June.

This process is very much like planting flowers in my gardens.  I call this creative time of working on the draft, book gardening.

Thus, I am making  satisfactory progress and will be glad when I have all  of the poems  selected  and  placed  in the  draft’s sections.  I am  nearly there, with spaces for  just a few more poems. I’ve been on an excavation mission, finding the right poems for the specific places in the book.

I need to say right now, I seek God first every morning, and I follow the path he has for me.  He shows me step by step, what I need to do.  I simply ask him for his help.  And, he is a generous Father, who gives his children all the help they need.

I’ve been diving into  five decades of published poems as well as poems that have never been seen by anyone other than me.  Some are complete surprises to me, as I uncover them, and this is delightful.   The massive surprise in this hunting project is that I am  able to pinpoint the exact time when I began a lifelong journey into  “a world of happiness and abundance.”  As  I began a scrapbook project while reading a  motivational book in 1980.

I discovered the scrapbook that I started putting thoughts and aspirations into at that time.  I wrote them down on the soft grey pages of my scrapbook.  I cut out photos to go with the ideas and dreams.   The scrapbook is labeled on the first page as

“My Journey Into the World of Abundance and Happiness.”

MJITWOAAH

 

The discovery of this Scrapbook, brought back the aspirations and dreams I had at that time in my life. It was the beginning step to a lifetime of living with anticipation, faith in the future,  trusting God to bring me to all the places he had in mind for me to enjoy.  The scrapbook gave me  the satisfaction of  seeing those early roots  visualized on the pages of the scrapbook.  This discovery also revealed the seeds I had planted in 1980.   I see the harvests that I have reaped since those first months of working in my scrapbook.  The scrapbook was a field of fertile ground, in which I was planting the seeds for my life journey.

As I work  to develop my next book, I know from experience that there are changes and additions  I will do before I reach the finish line. I am still planting the seeds every day, removing the weeds, and  developing the final harvest.

I plant  every poem in its location in the book. It’s just like planting my gardens, thinking ahead to how  each poem will bloom on its page.

As a  life-long gardener, I consider the physical space throughout the book . Every garden has pathways  and places where there is space for resting and meditating.  Placement of the poems in the book must be carefully considered, moved around if necessary, and given that final spot where it will  remain.  I am conscious of the atmosphere of the book’s pages.

I  carefully organize the book’s appearance, just like I would do when creating a  flower garden.   Each poem  is given honor on the page so that there is  balance  and closure, without distractions.

For today, I’ll be outside working this afternoon.  The plentiful rainfall we have enjoyed in May, has brought up many healthy and thriving weeds.  Now, I must deal with them all, and that is ok for I need sunshine and exercise.

My daughter gave me a new lightweight  wheelbarrow for Mother’s Day, and I feel like I am driving  a brand-new  Mercedes, as I roll it around through the gardens.  I might even catch a glimpse of the baby Whistle Pigs that were born beneath my potting shed this season.  I’ve put out a plate full of grapes to entice them to dine beneath the old Norway Maple tree.

Who knows?  One of the little creatures  might just stumble into a new poem today and appear on a page in my new book.

This is now the last day of May.  This week,  I will begin  to get the flowers planted in the containers on the porch, and in other places in the various flower gardens around the property.

 

__Scripture

The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8.   Read this entire chapter, Here

Our time here in this life on earth is very short and fragile.

Seek God’s direction for every day.  Stay focused on his Word, and discover the  steps of your journey with his direction and guidance.  He is the friend who will never leave you or forsake you.  Ask for his help with the dawn of each new day.  God is in complete control of our days and the earth that we are living on. There is no shortage and no limits to our world when we ask Jesus  to be our King and our Savior.

 

__Daily Action Plan

1_

The most important first step is to stop and pray.

Ask God to lead you in this project.  He will show you everything you need to know about setting some goals for your future.  He actually IS your future, when you ask Jesus to be your savior and guide through our journey of life. Without his guidance there is no lasting abundance or happiness. We were created for eternity and we need him to guide us every day.

This might be a good time to begin your own “Journey into  the Land of  Happiness and Abundance.

2_

After you pray for God’s guidance, it is now the time to  get started.

Select a scrapbook or journal and begin to write down your dreams and desires for the future.  If possible, find photos to put with them.

The scrapbook I used was rather large.  It has sturdy pages that are a light grey color.  All you need is a pen to write down your dreams, and if possible, find photos that you can put with those dreams.

I put in ideas of things I liked for the interior of my home, gardens outside, and  pictures of rooms and art that I liked.

I also pasted in some newspaper clippings of some achievements I had in art exhibitions, and letters I received from publishers, and announcements that were meaningful to me and encouraged me on this new journey in  1980.

3_

Be creative and put whatever you like in your journal or scrapbook.  Do whatever works best for you. God will guide your path, if you seek him every day.  No worries, no more!

©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026._

 

Please let me know how God  has shown you his path to follow this week.

llambert@zoominternet.net

 

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FYI

__Final Note:

What inspired me to begin writing blog posts about BLESSINGS?

Your comments and prayers inspire the best in me.

Let me know if this message is helpful to you.

Thank you for sharing my Sunday Blessings posts with others to encourage them and share the Love of Jesus.

©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026.

FYI: My Background:

Professor Lynda McKinney Lambert taught fine art and humanities at a Christian college in Western Pennsylvania, She was a tenured professor, an actively exhibiting artist, and a published author.

I created exciting courses across the disciplines – Art –
English  Literature – Humanities.

My courses were taught on campus during the spring and fall semesters.  In the summer, I taught in Salzburg, Austria for a month of travel and studies.

My passions in academia are poetry and fine art.  I author books and I create  fine art in several mediums – Painting  and  Fiber Art.

How I Found HOPEFULNESS in Unexpected Changes:

I discovered a new life after sudden sight loss. For the next two years, I learned to see the world and my place in it in an entirely new way.  I completed training for Personal Adjustment to Blindness, It took two years of training and lots of challenging work to learn to read and write using adaptive technologies for the blind.  Ad the months went by, God was showing me that my creative life would continue,, but in some new ways.

I began to write Divinely inspired life lessons

New experiences and God-directed Opportunities

New DISCOVERIES  to  share with the world

A NEW SEASON on the Narrow Path with Jesus.

 

365 Days – My ONE WORD for 2026

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Lynda’s Latest Books are now available on Amazon and all retail booksellers.

LOOK HERE.

Interview with Lynda Listen Here!

 

Each Day Holds Some Small Joy – Collection of Haiku and Tanka nature poems.

 

You May Also Like:

Songs for the Pilgrimage…A Collection of Poems and short writings from journals and travels

 

Get Lynda’s latest books!

Songs for the Pilgrimage:

Purchase  Lynda’s Books at Amazon

©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2025. All rights reserved.

Photo: Courtesy of Allauthor. Thank you!
Books illustrated were created by DLD Books.
Lynda has 6 published books.
Memoir, Poetry, Non-fiction.

More About Lynda

©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026.