writing

Our Very Best Chapter is Now

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Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 KJV

As we grow older often our tendency is to look back at past chapters in our lives and wistfully wish we could relive them. We think of how much energy we had when we were younger, forgetting our doubts, fears and impatience with others. We were always in a hurry but often getting nowhere. Or perhaps we look a little later, remembering fondly how we held our babies or walked our toddlers to their first day of school.  But God has an entire novel to write in our lives and though our earlier chapters were needed to build the plot, He has no desire to include them in the climactic ending of His story line.

In today’s verse where Jesus told us to pray for our daily bread, He was referring to the days when the people of Israel were wandering for forty years through the desert. They had no crops to harvest or village markets to purchase food in. Instead, God provided them every morning with one day’s supply of a Heavenly food called manna. It was said to have the sweetness of honey and the lightness of wafer. (A true angel food cake!) God also provided some rules about the manna. There was to be no gathering extra. Those who chose to disobey found that by nightfall it turned rotten and had worms crawling around in it. Yuck! But on Friday they were told to gather for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. That manna stayed good for two days. God was determined to teach them the same lesson we need. We should not waste time and effort piling up manna and missing the living we should be doing with those around us. By tomorrow, yesterday’s manna will stink! We must always trust that each morning God will give us what is best, and that it will be what is the very best for us. He hasn’t forgotten us, and the very best chapter that He is writing in our story is now!

Why in the World Would Anyone Want to Be a Poet – Part 2

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          Why in the world would anyone want to be a poet? First off, if I remember correctly, except for Robert Frost and William Shakespeare, few poets ever made enough money to pay the bills much less support a family. So why would anyone choose to write poems? Secondly, who even reads anything anymore, except text messages or social media posts. But here are three reasons you just might make the crazy choice to write anyway.

  1. It is For God’s Glory –   Because, whatever you do, eating or drinking or anything else, everything should be done to bring glory to God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Phillips

When we think of poetry and more specifically about ourselves as poets, we figure that our job is somehow different and more important than that of plumbers or housekeepers. But the Bible makes no such differentiation. All of us have the obligation to communicate through our work, the glory of God. Think of work like home remodeling One person installs the sink and countertops while another cleans it up as if Jesus were getting ready to cook a gourmet meal there. All of us are expected to get our job done for a specific purpose and with all the excellence we are capable of.

2)We have a simple story we are dying to tell –  But I am afraid that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led astray from the simplicity of your pure devotion to Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:18 AMP

During the 1700’s there was a small religious group called the Shakers who had an impact on our culture far beyond the few communities they founded. In 1848, Joseph Brackett, one of their leaders wrote a song titled Simple Gifts.

Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free

Tis a gift to come down to where we ought to be

Most of us can use a bit of that advice before we start to write. Sadly, entire library shelves (Not to mention websites) are filled with unread dusty volumes of dense impenetrable words. While these may be of some value to a few rare souls, if our desire is to communicate to a wider audience then we might need to follow the advice posted on our daughter-in-law’s refrigerator:

Simplify – Throw everything out!

3)It is within the city limits of what God gave us to do

Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others…2 Corinthians 10:15 ESV

To our modern way of thinking any sort of limit simply restricts our horizons and denies us the ability to reach our full potential. But Paul reveals that the secret of His effectiveness and success was precisely because he willingly and joyfully worked within the limits that God had chosen for him. The news flash from the Bible is that we are not called to reach everyone, but we have the chance to reach someone. For me that someone, who is like one of my own grandchildren. I usually keep a picture in my mind of one of their faces whenever I am writing (And rewriting, then chopping it down some more!)

So do you best for God’s glory, simply be yourself and rejoice in the city limits he has given you to live!

Questions From a Writer’s Journal

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I find as I grow older that I still don’t know the answers to the questions that I had when I was younger but am more at peace with not knowing. But I am discovering along the way that the Holy Spirit is helping me to begin asking some of the right questions.

I thought it might be helpful for others who also for one reason or another enjoy putting words together. If you are a Christian writer then we share a struggle with questions that are unique to that calling. Why am I writing? What are my motivations and goals? Money? Notoriety? Guilt? Loneliness? If we had x-ray vision and could see into hearts we might find out that some books we enjoyed reading have been born from motivations we never imagined. This morning I was touched when I came across this passage from the Apostle Paul as he invites us to look over his shoulder and peer into his writer’s heart.

Take a moment and let his words sink in and then ask yourself as I did today; “Are my words really born out of my own tears and personal experience? Do I really care about my readers or am I simply vying for their attention? Do I have a heart of love for my readers and are my goals for their good or is it all about me?”

Those are hard questions but I am convinced that finding the answers is more than worth the time and effort. What about you? What kinds of questions are you struggling with today? May you truly have a blessed week as you seek the Lord and write as He gives you stories to tell and words to say.