MEET THE TEAM
Today I want to begin to introduce you to the team of women who design, create, implement, administrate, manage, and advise this blog we call He Speaks In The Silence. These are women who pray, asking God for wisdom, then use their gifts to craft beauty for all of us. And I think you need to know them!
So… for the next many weeks we’ll be posting a fun profile of who they are, what they do, what they love, who they love, how they live and lots more delicious details.
If you want to take a peak at the list of questions we all got to choose from, here it is.
And since every single woman on this team is reluctant to go first, they insisted I jump in ahead of them to make sure the water’s not too deep!
From my heart,
Diane
I live in:
Tigard, in a house in the suburbs that I keep trying to make into a cottage in the country…
I contribute to the blog by:
Dreaming, thinking, praying, pondering, creating the team, studying, loving… and writing the content.
This year, God is revealing himself to me as:
Lover. And I gulp a little as I say that. Years ago I read a biography of a Victorian-era single missionary woman who claimed the Song of Songs as her favorite book of the Bible. Although she read the words primarily as an allegory of her relationship with God, (most scholars believe it is first and foremost an intimate look at real love the way God designed it) I was intrigued by the audacity of seeing Him as my Lover. And now I’m beginning to get it. To understand that His love for me is jealous, all-consuming, pursuing, protective, intimate, knowing, tender, accepting, and, in a beautiful way, just a little blind. He loves me (and you!) for who I am. Amazing. Magnificent. Life changing.
My favorite Portland spots are:
For wandering: Forest Park, the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, Bishop’s Close.
For eating: I love to try new places… small places… Northwest cuisine is fresh and innovative and down-to-earth and just so good.
For a good cup of tea: Smith’s Tea is a quiet, peaceful place.
For shopping for my home: Sellwood’s many vintage shops, full of a fun mixture of junk and beauty.
For a fun day of shopping with a friend: NW 23rd area, every shop is lovely and girly.
For a romantic dinner with Phil: Piazza Italia in the Pearl, so authentically Italian.
If I could spend a year anywhere in the world, I would go to:
For winter: I’d hole up in a cabin in Bear Valley, California. It stays snowed in all winter so I’d hibernate and write a book…
For spring: I’d choose someplace with wildflower strewn meadows and gentle sunshine, a farm maybe…where I could play around with writing another book…
For summer: I’d find a cozy cottage in the Lake District of Northern England. I’d wander the hills, read fairy tales, maybe even write a magical, mystical story for my grandkids…
For fall: I’d want a coastal hideaway on a wild and stormy beach. Maybe on the ocean side of Vancouver Island, or tucked into a cove near Carmel Highlands where I could take long walks on the beach and read great books and dream about writing one of my own…
One of my life scriptures is:
Psalm 40
I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.
The person who has had the biggest influence on me is:
No doubt about it, my husband. Phil has taught me and led me and loved me and shown me what it means to walk with God for more than three decades. He has allowed me to be myself even when the me-that-I-am-is sometimes peculiar and forgetful and introverted and intense.
The next big challenge I’m tackling is:
Slowing down to do just a few things well. Letting go of doing some of the things I love in order to keep my soul in a place of rest. Daring to trust God by creating space to listen to His words and to write what I hear.
On my perfect day I would:
Get up early…fix myself a pot of Marco Polo tea…read and listen, write and dream for a long while…putter around my home…take a long meandering walk with my dog, Jackson… go out to a late lunch at one of Portland’s food carts with Phil… walk around the city at night when the lights are just coming on… go home and go to bed early with a good book… and find time in there to write some thoughts about something…
Something I love to do every year is:
Go to my parent’s home high in the Sierra Nevadas. The view off the back deck is breathtaking! As we’re driving up highway 4 through the Gold Country on our way there, both of us start to relax, breathing in the fragrance of a place that has been a refuge for us. When we get there we love to hike and swim in the river and picnic by the stream that runs right through the town of Murphy’s. I read fun books, we take naps, watch movies, eat fresh foods, take long walks and dream big dreams. Some of our favorite memories as a family center around that little mountain town.
What I really want every woman to know is:
That real rest, real satisfaction, real hope and delight comes in that intimate closeness the Father longs to have with us. And that He speaks there- words that He wants us to hear- wisdom for life, for love, for happiness.
Where you can find me:
Website: www.hespeaksinthesilence.com
Twitter: @dianewcomer
Instagram: @dianecomer