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Posts Tagged ‘author’

Who Puts the Label On?

Posted in My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2012| 3 Comments »

Something kind of cool happened on Sunday and I was surprised by how much it boosted my confidence.  A guest pastor remarked on my introduction to worship, asking me where I found the piece that I had shared.  Before I could say anything two members of my church family who were standing nearby chimed in at the same time, “She didn’t find it.  She wrote it.  She’s a writer.”

The pastor’s response was, “You need to get that published.”

Of course getting published has been my goal for several years.  I still have moments of wondering if it will ever happen.  But being recognized as a writer by others really gave me a high.  I kept relishing those words over and over the rest of the day.

Isn’t that our goal as writers, to be recognized for what we do without having to come right out and announce it?  In fact, isn’t that anyone’s goal?  Spend time with children and have someone recognize you as a teacher?  Serve a great meal and have someone recognize you as a chef?  Hum an impromptu tune and have someone recognize you as a singer?

The ultimate flattery is having people see in you what you’ve set your heart on becoming.

The best model of this concept is Jesus.  He touched the infirm in a way that caused people to see Him as a healer.  He spoke the words that led people to call him teacher.  He walked in such a way that people followed, acknowledging Him as a leader.  And He died in such a way that people recognized Him as Messiah.

You can tell people anything you want but they won’t necessarily be convinced.  Show them through your daily actions and they will not only recognize you for what you are, they will also call it out to others.  Writer, friend, Christian – not titles I can put on myself.  Only when others put those labels on me do they have true meaning.

We need to work harder at living the role and not so hard at telling the role.  Hey – I believe that is the theme song of a writer – show don’t tell.

We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 2 Cor 6:6

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I Will Remember Sunshine

Posted in My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2012| 3 Comments »

I’m sitting at my desk looking out my huge window on a very dreary day.  It’s not storming, it’s overcast.  It’s not pouring rain, it’s a light drizzle.  It’s not dark but it’s not light either.  It’s gray.  It’s one of those days when your interests and emotions are not stirred in the least.

Bright sunshine always makes me long to get out in it, walk or garden or jump on the motorcycle.  Raging storms always send me into action repairing damage, bolstering up, hunkering down.  But days like today – they are uninspiring.  I don’t know what I want to do.

Life is so like that, isn’t it? There are good days when I want to shout and sing.  I have more energy than I can harness.  I want to have fun, accomplish things, be with people, sweep – anything that means movement.  There are stormy days of crisis when I have no choice but to jump to action. I find myself forced into fighting back, pushing through, climbing out.

But many of my days are like today, just days when nothing happens to fuel my fire. I don’t want to make plans for lunch.  I don’t want to think about the evening activities.  There’s just nothing that sounds appealing when surrounded by gray.  Even writing is hard because so much of my inspiration comes from my environment and no one wants a scene depicting a day with no extremes. I would call this a not bad, not good, middle of the road, no reason to get excited about anything day.

Here’s the scary thing about blah days.  On bright and beautiful days I am inspired to pick up my cross and follow Him.  In the midst of a big storm I am committed to pick up my cross and follow Him.  But on gray days, like everything else, I don’t want to pick up anything or follow anyone. 

I wonder if David’s day was gray when he let his army go to war without him and in his listlessness found himself pacing his roof top.  I wonder if gray days were the ones where Solomon looked beyond the borders and saw more color in foreign women.  Scary thoughts.

A gray day plan is critical if I am to keep myself on the narrow road, fully focused on moving forward and not sideways, or worse yet, standing still.

1)   Find purpose in every day. I must choose actions even on gray days that lead me forward.  Reach out to someone, pray about something, focus on a scripture, clean something, write something – do something I can look back on and feel good about.  Prov 16:3  Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.  Prov 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

2)    In a world of overstimulation, remember that God calls me to commit and to be diligent every day no matter the weather.  Col 3:23  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord and not for men. 

3)    Give thanks even when it’s not exciting.  1 Thess 5:18  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

4)    Remember glorious sunshine of past days that set my feet to dancing.  And remember raging storms that strengthened my grip on His mighty hand.  I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. 

In case you’re interested, my plan for lunch today includes my umbrella, my sweater and my Bible.

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The Boy Who Got Hit by the Ice Truck

Posted in My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2012| 5 Comments »

The annual Memorial Day trek to decorate graves with my brother and sister has come and gone. We faithfully visited the long list of buried ancestors, most of who we never actually knew.  My dad’s dad started the tradition and my dad drummed the mission of honoring our history into us.

For years my dad led the charge and narrated the day with stories about Aunt Evelyn and Great Grandpa George, of babies who died tragically and patriarchs who lived long event filled lives, and of the boy who got hit by the ice truck.  We listened but we didn’t write it down.  We always planned to, but time got away from us.  My dad is gone now and with him the details of lives that formed the roots of who we are.

So we find ourselves wandering the rows, pooling the bits and pieces we have, laughing, remembering and wishing we’d listened better.  We thought they were just stories. Now we know better.  Now we know they were the brush strokes on our life canvas.  It mattered that Genevieve’s toddler died of pneumonia and she never had another child.  My dad carried that little bit of sadness with him.  It mattered that one of Walter’s boys went bad and died in a gunfight with police. My dad carried that lesson in making right choices.  It matters that one of dad’s cousins whose name we can’t ever remember ran in front of an ice truck and was killed. My dad carried the reality of how tentative life is from that day forward.

Those pieces and more made up the man who passed on to us the integrity and compassion, sense of humor, passion and everything else that makes my siblings and I who we are today. These are the things we will pass on to our offspring and they will pass to theirs, if we keep the stories going.

Here’s the real tragedy in these ramblings.  I am a writer and I didn’t write the stories!  I used to think writing the next great fiction novel was the most important thing.  Now I know that it is writing the real stories, capturing the true seemingly unimportant details of a life – because my dad’s memories are my history. My present will become the memories that are my children’s history.  And on it goes – the oil painting that is never finished; the canvas that changes layer upon layer, the colors ever deeper and richer.

God knew it. He included in His divine Word stories of generation after generation, stories of dying young and making right and wrong choices, of being heroes and failures, of a father’s traditions being passed on to his sons. He made sure the stories were written down.  He made sure they were shared.  There is a lesson in every one. Just like the lessons hidden in my dad’s simple retelling of the life events buried beneath the headstones. 

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  Joel 1:2-4

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Always Enough Time

Posted in My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , on May 17, 2012| 6 Comments »

I was feeling my recurring frustration the other day over never having enough time to keep up on all I have to do, want to do and need to do.

Time is such a slippery commodity. Great plans can be sabotaged by the wasting of it. Great things can happen in a fraction of it. And great regret can be felt at the passing of it. My thoughts led me to how God values time. A few amazing contrasts came to mind.

God created the world in just six days. What a glorious, monstrous accomplishment in such a short time, right?

The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. There is nothing noteworthy that they accomplished other than the passing of an entire generation. What an incredible waste of a very long period of time.

Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days – a short time compared to many events recorded in the Bible. But I would guess that for Jonah those three days felt like an eternity.

Jesus ministered for three short years and yet was able to completely alter the course of history while accomplishing a direct route to eternal life. In the end, when you examine His prayers, He never asked for more time. He used the time He was allowed to complete the task He was assigned.

We all have the same number of minutes in a day, the same number of days in a week and weeks in a year. We get to make the choice whether to wander around like the Israelites, veer off course like Jonah, or make the best use of the time we have like Jesus.

As a Christian those choices apply to my ministry.  As a writer those choices apply to my writing. As a wife, mother, grandmother, Human Resource Director – for every role I play, the same choices are before me.

God, in His infinite and perfect wisdom, gave each of us enough time in this lifetime regardless of how long the lifetime lasts. And, praise the Lord, we won’t have to worry about time in the next because it’s infinite.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

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The Soul Deep Goal

Posted in My Writing Journey, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2012| 6 Comments »

Another rejection letter from a publisher, another disappointment, another talk to self about not giving up.  It’s a typical day in the life of a writer.  Still, each time bruises and causes a little soreness for a while.

I know the manuscript is good and I believe in it passionately.  My pep talk to myself reminds me that it just wasn’t right for this particular publisher.  I tell myself it’s an opportunity for improvement.  I remind myself that many well read books out there have a history of rejection.  Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected 140 times.  Stephen King’s Carrie was rejected 30 times and he actually threw it in the trash but his wife rescued it.  Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times.  It’s a tough industry.

When you are a writer, you can’t not write.  There’s always a story, a poem, a novel clawing to get out.  Although publication may be the writer’s dream, I don’t believe it is the writer’s soul deep goal.  The true, passionate longing of the writer is the pouring out of words, ideas, creative thoughts. 

As a Christian, I would equate writing with prayer.  The prayer warrior pours out her soul to God.  We know the prayer is good, we’ve put our best effort into it and we submit it to God, hoping to get the answer we want.  But that doesn’t always happen.  Often times it’s not the right fit with God’s plan just like a manuscript might not be the right fit for the publisher’s list at that time.

I honestly believe that while getting a prayer answered in the way we desire is our dream, conversation with God is our ultimate, soul deep goal.  We pray because we need to pour out our hearts to God.  We know He’s in charge.  We know He knows what’s going on.  And we know He has the right answer.  Our humanness makes us want to suggest a solution to our need.  Our spiritual side realizes we are being presumptuous.

Our job as a writer is to keep the words flowing, to believe passionately in what we write, to trust the agent or the publisher to evaluate our manuscript fairly and to accept the answer and move on.   Our job as Christians is to keep the communication lines open, to trust in God’s timing and God’s wisdom, and to accept His answers and move forward.

There is one great difference between writing and prayer of course.  I’ve never ever received a rejection letter from God!

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!  Psalm 66:20

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