this well-walked ground

Sun warms my bare neck. Birds chir-chir-chirrup on newly bloomed branches. I drizzle water over thirsty herbs--basil, lemon balm, marjoram, English mint--and breathe deeply their rising scent: fresh, alive.

Endless blue arcs over me. Leaves shimmer in light. A snake startles (himself and me), escapes through the fence. I stretch, roll my shoulders, look up up up. My feet feel light on this well-walked ground, this patch of earth that has companioned me through deaths and births, through heartache and healing.

see my everyday grace on Instagram

What if delight is always this close?

What if watering plants, smelling wet earth, stretching this beating-heart body skyward can be prayer?

What if the divine graces our everyday
(every day),
and we need only
slow down
breathe deep
and say
yes?

 

Celebrate the daily divine with us in Sprout: Delight, our nineteenth joy-boosting issue. Say yes to your delicious life in these sixty vibrant pages of art, poetry, essays, and more (only $6). Join me and sixteen creatives as we rediscover the sacred ground we walk, the blessed air we breathe, and the kindred spirits who gladly travel with us. Come. Your life is waiting. Click here to read more or grab your copy of Delight now.

 

Sprout #19 now available (the DELIGHT issue)

What if your everyday world sparkled with delight?

What if simple activities such as cooking for your family and washing laundry could feel sacred? What if you could awaken to the startling beauty of your seemingly mundane routines? What if delight weren't dusted off only for special occasions but lived in here and now, like your favorite pair of falling-apart jeans that smell like earth and sky?

When we practice grateful presence (again and again), daily delight is possible. Say yes to your delicious life with Sprout: Delight--sixty vibrant pages of art, poetry, essays, and more.

Join me (Amanda Fall) and sixteen guests in this joyful issue. Rediscover with us the sacred ground we walk, the blessed air we breathe, and the kindred spirits who gladly travel with us. Celebrate every day as if it were birth-day--because here, in this holy moment, we are made new and new and new.

Sprout online magazine: issue nineteen (seeds of delight) is now available!

 

Savor life's every bite with us:

+ 60 full-color pages (PDF instant download)
+ original mixed media backgrounds
+ handwritten notes from me to you
+ art and photography
+ poetry
+ essays
+ Thrive interview (Paulette Insall), Community Garden (michelle gd, Melanie Turner Corbett, rachel awes), Today I Will, much more
+ prompts to cultivate delight in everyday life

Purchase your copy here (only $6):
Issue 19 (Delight) $6:

Issue 19
Delight + subscribe to upcoming issues:
No Delight + subscribe next 2 issues ($15 - save $3)Delight + subscribe next 5 issues ($30 - save $6)Delight + subscribe next 11 issues ($60 - save $12)

 

Guests in this issue:

Paulette Insall, rachel awes, Ronda Armstrong, michelle gd, Diane Boisvert, Melanie Turner Corbett, Lisa Hutchison, Jenna Whittaker, Vivian Mannino, Julia Fehrenbacher, Marcie Scudder, suzanne l. vinson, Natasha Reilly, Maureen Helms Blake, De Jackson, Bo Mackison

Thrive interview series: Paulette Insall
Community Garden: michelle gd, Melanie Turner Corbett, rachel awes

 

Thank you so much for supporting Sprout. I believe in this mission with all my heart.

May these love-filled pages bless you. 

Purchase your copy here:

Issue 19 (Delight) $6:
Issue 19
Delight + subscribe to upcoming issues:
No Delight + subscribe next 2 issues ($15 - save $3) Delight + subscribe next 5 issues ($30 - save $6) Delight + subscribe next 11 issues ($60 - save $12)

NOTE: If you subscribe (thank you!), future issues will be sent on the 15th of each month to your PayPal email address unless you specify otherwise under Special Instructions: Note to Seller.

Sprout makes a great gift. Buying for a friend or family member? Purchase as usual, then wait for your email with download link (should arrive within a moment or two after completing payment), and forward that email to your recipient.

If you prefer the gift email to come from me, simply add Note to Seller on PayPal with your recipient's name, email address, and when you would like their issue delivered (immediately or on a certain date). If you purchase a gift subscription, I can also email your recipient and let them know details (again, leave Note to Seller). Thanks!

 

Problems? Questions? Email me at PersistentGreen (at) gmail (dot) com and I'd be delighted to respond.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page, the Community Garden (let's grow together).

loud joy & quiet calm

In the silence, I often rush to fill: play music, hum, even chatter to myself (I do work from home, alone, most of the time).

Today, though? Something tugs at me to be still and listen:

+ snowmelt trickling off roof, splatting windowpane
+ my fingers tip-tapping keys, whispering to the world
+ Kiki-the-cat snoring on our couch
+ my breath, constant, cycling, in & out even as I forget to say thank you

And earlier,

+ the rustle of pages turning, my feet on Jason's lap, our hearts beating, the easy togethering of our ten years: we know one another as we know ourselves: and yet, we are new every day

Last night's laughter still bounces in our newly loved-up home (have you seen our sunshine walls? Did you know summertime can come inside, even as snow flies outside? Can I even begin to tell you the joy that bubbles in me when I see these freshly ALIVE walls?). We gathered here for a family taco party, celebrating the visit of an uncle from South Korea, our stories filling this small space.

Both are beautiful: loud joy and quiet calm. Ebb and flow. I need this, and this.

sunshine walls;

reading bliss;

daydreaming Sprout: Delight;

rescued daffodils, heads bent but still bright

And so today I listen:

breath, constant companion (thank you),
ideas swirling in heart and hand--pen to paper,
my heartbeat quickening as I stretch and exercise,
the water outside falling & returning to earth
and the grass greening--
I swear I can almost
hear it. Can you?

Love,
Amanda

You are a divine spark. And courage? Your birthright. Fan your flames with us in Sprout: Courage, sixty fiery pages of hope and healing, brave stories and bold truths. Join us, passionate one.

Sprout #18 now available (the COURAGE issue)

You are a divine spark. And courage? Your birthright.

Within each of us burns a quiet fire: a radiance where vulnerability and strength meet, where toughness and tenderness ignite. Fan your flame with Sprout: Courage--sixty brilliantly colored pages of art, poetry, essays, and more.

Join me (Amanda Fall) and sixteen guests in this passionate issue. Dance with us as we root ourselves in truth, looking and listening deeply to the core of our lives. We are Spirit-led and Grace-fed. We are hurt and we are healing. We are bright-eyed and bold-hearted (even when we feel anything but). We are united. And oh, sweet one, we are luminous.

Sprout online magazine: issue eighteen (seeds of courage) is now available!

 

Stoke your soul-fire with us: 

+ 60 full-color pages (PDF instant download)
+ original mixed media backgrounds
+ handwritten notes from me to you
+ art and photography
+ poetry
+ essays
+ Thrive interview (Brandy Walker of brandyglows), Community Garden (Beth Morey, Lisa Hutchison, Jenna Whittaker), Today I Will, much more
+ prompts to cultivate a courageous spirit in everyday life

Purchase your copy here (only $6):
Issue 18 (Courage) $6:

Issue 18
Courage + subscribe to upcoming issues:
No Courage + subscribe next 2 issues ($15 - save $3) Courage + subscribe next 5 issues ($30 - save $6) Courage + subscribe next 11 issues ($60 - save $12)

 

Guests in this issue:

Brandy Walker, Heather Plett, Stephanie Gagos, Shawnacy Kiker, Dyamond Robinson-Patlyek, Beth Morey, Carol Smallwood, Lisa Hutchison, Jenna Whittaker, Julia Fehrenbacher, Marcie Scudder, suzanne l. vinson, Natasha Reilly, Maureen Helms Blake, De Jackson, Bo Mackison

Thrive interview series: Brandy Walker
Community Garden: Beth Morey, Lisa Hutchison, Jenna Whittaker

 

Thank you so much for supporting Sprout. I believe in this mission with all my heart.

May these love-filled pages bless you. 

Purchase your copy here:

Issue 18 (Courage) $6:
Issue 18
Courage + subscribe to upcoming issues:
No Courage + subscribe next 2 issues ($15 - save $3) Courage + subscribe next 5 issues ($30 - save $6) Courage + subscribe next 11 issues ($60 - save $12)

NOTE: If you subscribe (thank you!), future issues will be sent on the 15th of each month to your PayPal email address unless you specify otherwise under Special Instructions: Note to Seller.

Sprout makes a great gift. Buying for a friend or family member? Purchase as usual, then wait for your email with download link (should arrive within a moment or two after completing payment), and forward that email to your recipient.

If you prefer the gift email to come from me, simply add Note to Seller on PayPal with your recipient's name, email address, and when you would like their issue delivered (immediately or on a certain date). If you purchase a gift subscription, I can also email your recipient and let them know details (again, leave Note to Seller). Thanks!

 

Problems? Questions? Email me at PersistentGreen (at) gmail (dot) com and I'd be delighted to respond.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page, the Community Garden (let's grow together).