a day in HER life - Lore Wilbert

Hello friends,

My name is Lore Ferguson Wilbert. I’m a writer who currently lives in the Dallas metro area, but I hail from about two hours from Montreal and miss the northern climate and people deeply. When Em asked if I would do A Day in HER Life post for her, my first thought was, “My life is so simple, who would want a running story on that?” But I found when I picked up my camera to document my day, it was actually the series of little things, the everyday things, the ordinary that bring me the most joy. I really love Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, “Live a quiet life and work with your hands,” and have tried hard to be faithful to that way of living. A print by Dana Tanamachi greets everyone who comes through our front door with those words and it’s been such a good constant for me, especially on days when it seems like everyone’s life is more glamorous than mine.

Our days start early. My husband, Nate, wakes around 4:45am and rolls quietly out of bed. As soon as he does, our two year old puppy Harper (who sleeps dutifully at our feet all night) inches her way up to his spot and stares at me until I get up too. As a rule I ignore her until 6am when Nate turns on our lights, opens our curtains, sits on my side of the bed, and prays for me before he leaves for the day. He thrives on discipline and his steadiness has been a gift to my right brained, procrastination-prone self. I get up when he leaves. I used to stay in my pajamas for a few hours (at least), but we have a male housemate so I get dressed before leaving our bedroom. This has also been a good discipline for me.

I head to the kitchen, make coffee and a green smoothie. I prep smoothie packs every week for the two of us, so they’re ready to just pull out of the freezer every morning. We just add a bit of juice, a couple handfuls of spinach, and some protein powder, and blend it in the Vitamix. Then I sit down with my Bible and journal. My regular Bible reading is fairly simple. I read one chapter, make 3-4 observations about the chapter (about God, man, me, etc.), and then write a prayer of confession, praise, or help. I’ve found this to be a very simple way of keeping me engaged in the text, while not being such a complicated study that I put it off (procrastination is my nemesis).

After reading Scripture, I catch up on some reading. My full-time job is to write, coach writers, edit, and think, so I consider reading to be one of the most important things I do. I read or listen to a poem (Poem a Day) and then I read all the pieces I bookmarked from the day before while I was on social media or feed reader. Some places I frequently read are Image Journal. Plough Quarterly. Fathom Magazine. The Hedgehog Review. The Rabbit Room. But I also will bookmark one or two current event news sites to glance at. After I spend about an hour reading, I’ll check into social media. I pursue pretty quickly, bookmark some things to read later, share a link or three from what I read, and respond to comments others have directed to me. Then I get into my work email. I keep my inbox really shallow, no more than 10-12 messages in there at a time. So my aim is to attack it with a vengeance everytime I get in there. I rarely check my blog email because it’s more like 10-12 hundred deep and ain’t nobody got time for that. After that, I will do a bit of personal writing, usually the sort that shows up on Sayable.net.

When 10am rolls around I take Harper (our puppy) for a walk. We live in a quiet neighborhood with a great trail across the street. I call it the Enchanted Forest Trail because we live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and we have to take our enchantment wherever we can. That’s a joke and if you’re from DFW, you get it. If not, well, it’s a concrete jungle here with very little natural beauty—which can kill a soul if you’re not careful. I’m back by 11 and then I get to work.
 
I usually write/edit/coach between 3-6 hours a day, depending on the day of the week. Each day I try to do two of each kinds of writing. For instance, today’s a Monday, so I do some personal writing for Sayable.net and then I work on a big writing project on my plate right now. Tuesdays, I edit in the morning and work on the project in the afternoon. Wednesdays, more of the same. Thursdays, I coach writers in the morning and meet with folks in the afternoon. Fridays are home days, where I give myself entirely to caring for our home, our menu, errands, etc. On writing days, my aim is usually to write or edit 2-3000 words total. That’s a faithful day for me.

I generally take a fifteen minute break every hour or so to just get up and get a quick thing done. Today I went out to the front yard and messed a bit in the garden for a few minutes. Then I took another break a bit later and folded some laundry. I also take pretty regular breaks in the day to discipline/train our puppy who thinks barking at passersby is something we enjoy and for which we ought to be proud of her. We do not and are not.

My workday is finished by 4:30 and I start dinner prep then. We mostly eat at home, everything from scratch and in season, and because it’s March, the pickin’s are slim. I make a batch of whole wheat pizza dough, sauté some mushrooms and spinach, use some leftover meat sauce from last week, and the end of the goat cheese and call it “Leftover Pizza.” Everyone seems to like it though. We have a pretty scheduled life and Mondays are generally the night we’re all home (my husband, our housemate, and me), so we try to eat dinner together then. It gives us a good opportunity to talk with our housemate, catch up on his life and things he’s thinking through. After dinner the guys do the dishes. Nate has done the dishes every night of our marriage (It’s his thing and I’m not complaining.) and I take a bath (That’s my thing and also, not complaining.).

We’re in bed pretty early on Mondays, usually by 8:30 or 9pm (most other nights we have things that keep us up later). We will often read (currently Wendell Berry for him and Kathleen Norris for me) or watch an episode of something (we’re really into spy shows). Nate is usually falling asleep by 9:30, so he prays for us, thanks God for his faithfulness, and prays we would sleep well and be faithful tomorrow and we turn the lights out.

That’s my day. It really is very small and very simple, but I’m deeply grateful for it. There were a lot of years I longed for this kind of simplicity and just didn’t see it ever happening for me. I also know that because God hasn’t given us children (not for lack of trying!), our lives are much more quiet and simple than other couples in their late thirties. I’m learning to not resent that, though, and just trust God has numbered our days according to his perfect will for each of them, and to be grateful. Thank you for joining me in this little glimpse of our day.

If you’re interested in reading more or following more of my daily goings on, you can read Sayable.net, follow me on Twitter and Instagram @lorewilbert or find me on Facebook by searching for Lore Ferguson Wilbert.

Thank you so much, Lore!
Incredibly grateful for your words, your ministry, and the time you took to share here.