"For skillful and godly Wisdom is better than rubies or pearls,
and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared with it." Proverbs 8:11 Amplified

Thursday, December 31, 2009

2010 IS ON THE WAY



HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOGGING FRIENDS
It seems everyone is posting their resolutions, goals or plans for this new year which will make its appearance in 1 1/2 hours. I will make this post very short because this year is almost gone and you don't have much time to read it before 2010. :)
I want to give you a word from the Lord for your life:

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. Jeremiah 29:11 Message

How can we worry and fear when we have this promise for our lives.

Image: Diane Shaw

Monday, December 28, 2009

TARGET


I’m fidgety, grumpy and my heart is racing. I’m depressed, dispirited and want to throw things.

“Oh no, what’s wrong,” you might be asking.

It’s simple, I haven’t been writing. I’ve been doing lots of reading: books, facebook, blogs, etc. but I haven’t put my fingers and mind to the task of writing.

How can I say that God has given me a burden to write when I don’t do it? If I was my boss I would fire me.

When I was participating in NaNoWriMo I wrote every day and I was in my sweet spot. I didn’t get a lot of things done in my home, and my relationships suffered, but I wrote. There is a balance between these two, writing and the rest of life, and I will unearth it.

I have always been one of those people who can escalate my work volume when under pressure, not the greatest thing for my health, but I can produce, and do it competently, when I am under deadlines.

Do you need incentives or are you so disciplined that distractions are not an issue? I am not at that place so I need tools to keep my focal point in front of me.

Recognizing that there are lots of publications looking for short stories, the end of the year is a good time for me to start a spreadsheet listing publications and upcoming deadlines for stories.

I can envision myself starting each week at my computer, spreadsheet open, my eyes scanning the list, seeking my goal for the week: Get a story written and submitted. “Isn’t that publication fortunate that I know when their deadlines are so that they aren’t missing my incredible story?” (Smile)

Since I am a target oriented person my trajectory towards the bull’s-eye is researching publications and getting the spreadsheet established. I already have a folder filled with web pages of publications who accept submissions, transferring the information to the spread sheet shouldn’t take much time.

Although writing a full length novel is my goal I am hoping that using the press of meeting deadlines for short stories will keep me writing.

Who knows maybe one of those short stories will be the jumping off point for a new novel.

Photo: Dreamstime

Friday, December 25, 2009

Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas Vision



Christmas Eve, the house will be filled with people and dogs. My son and his girlfriend will drive down from Denver to spend the night and my daughter and son-in-law from Kansas will be spending several days with us. Our son and daughter in law, who live in Colorado Springs, will be coming over with our granddaughter.

I close my eyes and take in the sounds and smells. The noise of laughter and voices talking over each other is sweet to my ears. My mouth is watering from the smell of the brisket cooking merrily in the oven. I open my eyes and peer at the lighted Christmas tree, the presents pushed under it spill out into the room.

For the first time in over six years all my children will be together. My heart swells with joy. I will be like a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings.

Do you remember being disappointed as a child on Christmas morning when the one thing you really wanted wasn’t under the tree? It didn’t matter that you got boxes and boxes of gifts; the one thing you ached for was missing.

That ache is in my heart right now. After waiting for six years to have my children together we will miss the opportunity by one day. The vision is gone like a vapor blown away on the wind. My daughter will start a job on December 23 and they will not be able to make the drive from Kansas. She and her husband closed their retail business this summer and they have been looking for jobs for months. This job is a wonderful Christmas gift for them but their gift is my bitter pill.

Only another mother can understand the dull pain in my heart and the tears that well up at this loss. Some may think I am being foolish but this is what I am feeling right now and feelings are real. There is something precious and fulfilling in having your all your children around you at the same time. It is seeing and experiencing the fruit of your labors, loving and nurturing your children into adulthood. I would give anything to make this gathering happen, but I can’t.

I know that God will bring the healing balm of Gilead to my soul and that I will be able to have a thankful heart, but allow me a few days of lamenting and please don’t judge me.

Picture: MorgueFile

Sunday, December 6, 2009

PURPOSE


NaNoWriMo 2009 is over, but the writing continues. I finished the month with 72,479 words. I have another 20 to 30,000 more words to write to finish the rough draft. Then the fun begins: the editing. I am looking forward to taking my novel line by line and making it the best I can, then handing it over to others. I think it is a good story that others will be able to read and say, yeah, been there, done that.


God has a purpose and plan for every person He has created, yes that means you too. When you ask God what your purpose is He doesn’t say, “oops I forgot to plan something for you, I’ll see if I can find something in this bucket of left over bolts.”

You know that bucket, the one you have, the one that contains all the leftover screws and bolts from those assembly projects you have done. God doesn’t reach down in that bucket and pull something out, hand it to you and tell you to see if it fits. "Nope, that screw is too big," you hand it back to Him and He digs in again to try something else. And, no, He never throws up His hands and says, “I just don’t know what to do with you.” I’ve heard parents say that to their children but our Father God is never at a loss.

My Main Character thinks she knows what God’s purpose is for her life, but she has never asked Him, she is pursuing her own goals. All her striving to reach HER goal brings nothing but frustration, tears, anger and ultimately the worst betrayal, the Judas kiss from her father. When everything is stripped away she finally asks God, “What do you want me to do with my life?” And surprise, He has the answer for her. It has been in front of her all along.

Do you know what your God ordained purpose is? If you do, are you pursing it and stripping away those things that are a hindrance to that goal. There is nothing that will give you greater pleasure in life than being in the center, the bull’s eye, of God’s target. Every person in their place participating in God’s plan for their life brings total life to the body of Christ and the world at large. I know that sounds grandiose but think about the individuals called to be researchers, teachers, politicians, writers, mothers, accountants, carpenters, doctors, musicians, etc., each performing their God given purpose brings the world into harmony, like a symphony.

I’m sure you have heard of, or you know people who have worked for 20-30 years at a job they hate when their real love is fixing broken lawn mowers, they just have a knack for figuring out what is wrong. That knack may be God’s purpose for their life. Just think where we would be without someone to fix our lawn mowers. That may seem like a silly example but it is fact. No position is greater than another position. If fixing lawn mowers is the right position for you than you shouldn’t stoop to be the mayor of your town.

At the end of a year and the beginning of a new year most people give at least a brief glimpse back and forward to see where their life has been and where they are going, wouldn’t this be a good time to ask God what His purpose is for your life? Once you know, it is your responsibility to begin working towards that goal. Yes, I said work, it won’t be handed to you just because it is God’s purpose.

Here is a question for you. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail and money was not an issue?

When I was asked that question five years ago my answer was, to be a writer and a speaker. I was doing neither. Now I have had a short story published and I am working on a novel. This is God’s calling for my life and I love it.

photo image:flickr