documenting | Plant Your Story

I’ve long held a fondness for quotations and lyrics. They are like little bite-size nuggets of inspiration or wisdom or sarcastic fun. I think I love them so much because of their easy resonance. That quality of “aha”: that quality that has me smiling the moment I read it or nodding my head or feeling nostalgic.

I find many times that someone else has voiced (and far better than I ever could) precisely what it is I may have been feeling or thinking. Other times, a quote or lyric holds a general tone or mood for something I believe or love or hope for. Or it is the “posterized” version of a more complex idea: short and sweet and to the point.

Quotes and lyrics have a unique way of striking a chord, getting to the point, and moving our heart in just a few short sentences. In a universal kind of way.

I used to reflect on lyrics and quotes quite a lot. I even had a blog tag “goofy for quotes” because I was a) that geeky and b) that inspired by the brief nuggets of truth.

Recently I’ve been finding a renewed and refreshed love for quotations and snippets while browsing and pinning on Pinterest. So many fabulous quotes have been shared and every time I come across one that gives me that resonating “aha” feeling, I pin it so I can come back to it later. And I’ve been cataloging and art journaling some of my most favorite quotes and snippets in one of my SMASH books.

And I wanted to encourage you to embrace the Goofy For Quotes. Because it’s that feeling, the “aha” resonance, the inner “yes!” or “word.” that our heart speaks when we see or hear a quote that moves us to remember it, that plants seeds for some amazing storytelling to be harvested later.

Listen to that resonating echo. Why does that particular quote or lyric strike a chord in you? That feeling is there for a reason. It’s there because it relates to you or speaks your heart or challenges you. And when we let ourselves think about it beneath the surface, there is a bit of our story there.

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You you can use a quote or lyric in a simple way that communicates “these brief words express exactly how I feel about a person”. As I did in this (very old) page when I scrapped a snippet of the song “You are My Sunshine”:

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Maybe the snippet speaks a truth you want to share with someone you love. A “scrapable, teachable moment”, if you will.

As was the case when I scrapped this quote from Albert Einstein. I wanted to share with Bugga what I believe is true and what Einstein stated in the perfect little “nugget”: “There are only two ways to life your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”:

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Or maybe the words of a quote or song speak to our heart and reflect deeper hopes. I had taken this photo on a bad day…a day that was full of bad news and worries. But I just love this photo of Bugga. And looking at it reminds me that, no matter the challenges we may face, we are so blessed. And that’s what the journaling is about. It’s about my wish for bugga..that she will always seek and find the silver linings and the blessings. I also included lyrics from one of my favorite inspirational songs. And the page became a kind of prayer for my daughter:

journaling reads: I love this photo of you. It’s moments like these where in an instant I am reminded of God’s grace and His majesty and all the beautiful ways He has blessed our lives. It can be easy to fall away into the world and find yourself a little too focused on worldly worries, wants, and preoccupations. I hope that you are presented with moments like these when the world gets in the way. Moments that remind you of what is most important. Moments that remind you that God loves you very much and that you are blessed. This song is my wish for you, my love.

Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life. To know and follow hard after you. Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life. To know and follow hard after you. To know and follow hard after you. To grow as your disciple in your truth. Because the world is empty pale and cold compared to knowing you my Lord. Lead me on and I will run after you. Lead me on and I will run after you.

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Sometimes quotes or lyrics or verses inspire us to challenge ourselves or live it more in our lives.

I was scrapping my “life verse” in this page..akin to a One Word, this was meant to be my compass for the year(s):

verse: Whatever is true, whatever is noble,whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent & praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

journaling reads: I’ve always had a struggle with worry with focusing a little too much on the worst
case scenario. I suppose it’s a self protection thing. But I’ve made a commitment to myself
and more importantly to God, to dwell not on that which is worrisome, but that which is beautiful. This is my “life verse”. My reminder to count blessings, give thanks, have faith and be God centered.

faith.family.fellowship.nature.learning.creating.G od’s provision all the good things

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But that “aha” feeling…it’s there because you’re feeling inspired to share something. A bit of you, a bit of your story. So I hope to encourage you with a simple, heart-led prompt series of shared quotes here on the blog. In the mean time, go and reflect on the words that resonate in you. Share them here if you are so inspired! ♥

One of the wellsprings of inspiration you’ll find here at Plant Your Story is a project in storytelling called Papyrus. It’s all about Putting Pen to Paper and I hope you’ll find it both inspiring and encouraging in your own scrapbooking and storytelling.

You can find Papyrus products in my store as well as inspiration in the Anthology; each release includes a set of page design templates accompanied by a a series of story driven journaling prompts and a spot of content in printable .pdf format. These printable .pdf pages will contain a sprinkling of story starters, a dash of encouragement with a side of creative inspiration designed to meet you right where you are, as you are, whether you love to write or not with the hope of nudging you to put pen to paper.

My personal philosophy for scrapbooking, storytelling, memory keeping, documenting, capturing, goodness…even *living* can essentially be boiled down to these 6 words:

everyone has a story worth telling.

The longer, spill my heart version of that can be found here: Planting Roots in the Story wherein I share in true Wordy McGee style my heart for documenting our stories. And that big fat ooey gooey heart is that storytelling and scrapbooking, for me, is about documenting and recording, it’s about remembering. It’s about saying “I was here”, it’s about taking stock in life, it’s about celebrating the every day, it’s about finding your voice and getting to know yourself better, it’s about writing love letters to those we care about, it’s about keeping a family history, writing biographies and an autobiography, and it’s about building a legacy. It’s about things that matter. Not to the world. Not to Tom, Dick or Harry or Lady Gaga. Not to anyone else but those who matter to me, to YOU. The ones we love, the ones we hope to teach and to learn from, the ones we share ourselves and our lives with. We are recording our stories. And in the process, we are *writing* our own.

And that’s what Papyrus and Putting Pen to Paper is all about.

The process of “putting pen to paper” comes easily for some..the words just flow like water. There is a comfort there. Others are less comfortable in their journaling skin. But the “how” is the same for everybody and it’s really simple. As with anything else in life, the growth and the fulfillment lives in: practice. So our motto is: “just press record”, “just start”. Today is the best time. And the comfort and the ease lives in: being authentic. Just be YOU. Doubts and hesitations live in comparisons. It doesn’t matter how much or how “well” anyone else journals their story. This is YOUR story. You are the author. And you’re the *only one* who can tell it.

So please do.