Priorities of a Christian Writer

This last week, being a writer has looked like: filing a business name, purchasing a domain name, trying to learn the ins-and-outs of my web design program, and creating more passwords than I ever would have thought necessary.

I have to admit, I'm no businesswoman. I greatly dislike learning software, and turning my writing hobby into a business requires detail after detail after detail, each of which is a new experience with a learning curve attached. And as I prepare to launch my website and work through the detail-heavy process of preparing to self-publish my first little book, it's all a bit overwhelming. I am caught between excitement that this might actually all come together, a feeling of urgency about sorting out all the details and getting things done before school starts, and the nagging feeling that I do actually need to write something at some point...

All this wrestling with tasks and details has got me thinking about priorities. I have been reminded daily of the need to be intentional about what I want to accomplish each day, and my to-do lists have become very detailed and extensive. But as I sat down and mapped out how many weeks I had left before the beginning of the school year, I knew it would be all-too-easy to get myself on the wrong track and prioritize things God didn't want at the top of the list.

So I sat down and looked for verses about priorities. These two stood out as the verses I needed to keep in mind when setting my priorities:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2-3

Both of these verses remind me to keep my focus on God, and to make my relationship with Him my top priority. This means more than just "doing my devotions" when I get up each morning.

It means purposefully, intentionally taking time to shut out everything else and focus on God as I pray and read His Word.

It means taking my decisions and frustrations to Him first, before picking up my phone to text a friend.

It means yielding my list of things I want to do or accomplish to be conformed to what God has planned for the day.

It means being focused, but not inflexible.

It means keeping up a running dialogue with God throughout the day.

It means not quitting when I feel overwhelmed by all the details.

And finally, being a writer with a set of God-focused priorities means remembering that He is the One I am doing all this for in the first place!

What Do We Do With the Rest?

It was just a simple question, almost spoken in passing during one of Pastor's sermons. But it struck me at the time, and I wrote it down in my sermon notes.

I don't even remember the exact context of it now. I only know that the Holy Spirit used it to cause me to examine how I had used the days of "rest" during Christmas break. As I ran across this question again this week, I was reminded of the responsibility we all have to use the times of rest God gives us wisely and well.

This current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has left many of us somewhat -if not completely- isolated, and has cleared our schedules of the external things with which we keep ourselves so busy.

So what have we done with this opportunity to rest? Have we kept ourselves busy worrying? Have we filled up our extra time with binge-watching or social media, trying to numb loneliness or fear? Have we continued to rush from distraction to distraction, or have we used this time to rest in the Lord; to be still before Him? Have we brought our burdens and fears to Him, then enjoyed the rest of knowing that He has heard and will act for our good?

As the world around us has ground to a halt, have we allowed ourselves to slow down as well?

Being too busy has become somewhat of a habit for me, and it has taken a concerted effort for me to let myself slow down and accept this season of rest. Yet I know that God has provided it for a reason, and means for it to draw me closer to Him.

I have to be careful, lest I overcrowd my days with things that distract from the Lord, but that is not the only danger during seasons of rest. We might be as equally prone to squandering the season of rest by doing nothing. This week, I have struggled to stay motivated to do what I know I need to be doing.

 It often takes just as much effort to say "yes" to what God wants us to spend time on as it does to say "no" to things He wants us to avoid.

I have found that God sometimes gives me rest by having me do something that I might not think will promote rest. For example, I usually take a nap on Sunday afternoons (doesn't everyone?). However, during this time when I have more opportunity for physical rest, I have found it helpful to use that time on Sundays for extra Bible reading and study instead. This has helped me rest spiritually and physically, since giving up my nap makes me more tired when it's time to sleep.

Whatever your season of rest looks like, it has come with a responsibility, and we must each ask ourselves, "What do we do with the rest?" The answer will be a bit different for each person, and requires that we spend time being still before the Lord, asking Him to direct us throughout each day.

As always, the key is to stay focused on God and submitted to His will -even in our times of rest.

"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." 

Matthew 11:28-29

Imagine the Possibilities

About a year ago, my life turned a corner. I didn't realize it was a corner at the time, but corner it was, and looking back, it's amazing where that one little decision has led.

It was almost a year ago when I wrote the post entitled, "New Beginnings, Slow Transitions, and a Long, Straight Pathway". In doing so, I began a journey I hadn't intended to take, and embarked upon the adventure of quietly and unconsciously becoming a writer.

I have always enjoyed writing, but this past year as I began to write more and more, I found that the  more I wrote, the more convinced I became that writing was something God wanted me to be focusing on. So I continued to write.

Then, as the new schoolyear began to ramp up, so did my writing, with another unconscious embarking, this time upon the genre of children's literature. Thankfully, I had an encouraging little class of students, and when, in December, I asked if they would like a sequel to the one little story I had written for them, they not only replied that they would, they hounded me for it until I had finished it. Then other stories came, and I took great delight in reading them to my captive audience. Their pleasure in hearing the stories encouraged me to continue to write more.

In January, I began writing a study on Biblical contentment, and while in the midst of that project I "accidentally" began writing a novel. I quite enjoyed what little flowed out of the first idea which sparked the story, and I wanted to find out what happened next, so I began to write a little more here and there, but I had no idea where to start with plots and characters, and so very many decisions which must be made when writing a story of any length.  So I listened to writer podcasts, and ordered books on structuring and outlining a novel.

Then a few weeks ago, I went to a writer's conference. At that writer's conference, I shared the first page of the "accidental novel" with a kind woman who was a published author, and who told me that I should enter it in the Cascade Awards. I needed fifteen pages, however, and a synopsis, which meant that I had to make some big decisions about the plot, theme, and characters. That much is done now, and this week I sent in three entries to my very first writing contest. 

I don't know if I will win, or even if I will be a finalist in any of the three categories, but I do know that I never would have even thought of entering a year ago, and whatever the outcome, I am excited to have the judges' feedback on the pieces I entered, and I am glad to have exercised the courage to put my entries out there.

My point is, you never know what God will awaken in you as you yield yourself, your talents, your dreams and your aspirations to Him. As I wrote that blog post a year ago, I was laying one dream to rest, and felt I did not dare search for a new one, for fear that I would pick up the old one again in a different form. Then, as time passed, I began to feel that God was telling me to dream again. But I scarcely knew what to dream of, for God had led me away from that which I had spent all my dreams upon in the past.

Yet, God already had a new dream ready for me, tailored exactly to my place, my season of life, and to the state of my heart. He had taken away the old dream that I might focus upon the new.

But this new chapter of life doesn't necessarily entail a changing of the previous one; if anything, it just adds more work and more busy-ness to an already busy life, but it also adds another layer of purpose and vision. It encourages me to imagine the possibilities that exist when one serves a God with whom nothing shall be impossible.

And so I embrace the extra work, the extra pressure on my schedule, the sometimes late nights when inspiration hits just as I ought to be going to sleep, and with it I embrace the joy of doing what I was made to do, the satisfaction of a well-worded phrase or sentence, and the greatest thrill: that of having been used by God to write something which He has chosen to use in the heart of someone else.

I dare to imagine God using my writing on this blog and in other ways, to touch the hearts of others I would never have come into contact with before. I dare to dream of achieving, succeeding, not materially or in any worldly way, but I do dare to dream that I might achieve something for the kingdom of Christ through the ability He has chosen to awake in me.

 I dare to imagine that God could use me in ways I never could have imagined before and I dare to have the courage to step forward along this new stretch of my long, straight pathway, feeling that there are now mileposts along the way in the form of things God wants me to accomplish for His glory between here and my final destination. 

Labour of Love

I'm at the stage in life where most of my friends are in the season of child rearing, and several of them have quite a few young ones to take care of. 

Whether it's just one or a whole bunch of children, these young mommies have their every moment taken up with thankless tasks which seem at times so very tedious. Their lives are punctuated by another diaper to change, another load of laundry to fold, another meal to prepare, another argument to sort through between siblings, another sick child to care for... and the list could go on and on.

We have similar tedium in teaching, although teachers at least get somewhat of a break once their students have gone home. For us, the day looks like another shoelace to tie, another stack of papers to correct, another question to answer (which you've already answered for the class several times), another makeup test to give that student who was absent, another friendship to mend, another recess injury to patch up... only to get up and begin the cycle over again the next day. 

Tedious work is common to mankind, and I'm sure you could give your own list of tedious chores or tasks. So, since these things are part of life, how does God want us to view them? 

I heard in a sermon this past Sunday that in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, the phrase "labour of love" contains a Greek word which actually means tedious work. Just the mention of word tedious brings to mind certain types of work that I do not enjoy doing, but are nonetheless necessary. The Thessalonians would no doubt have thought of specific tasks when they read the letter from Paul, calling it not just tedious work, but tedious work carried out in love --and it was one of the reasons Paul was so thankful for the believers at Thessalonica. 

"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father" 

(1 Thessalonians 1:3-4)

The response of the Thessalonians to the kind of tedious work Paul observed them doing led him to characterize it as a loving endeavor. 

What a difference it would make to our lives if we saw the tedious tasks as gifts, rather than burdens. It would transform each diaper changed, each stack of papers corrected, each shoelace tied, each meal prepared, each load of laundry folded. It would turn each one from an unavoidable annoyance into a precious opportunity to demonstrate the truest kind of love -the same love that God shows us every day- the kind of love that delights to do even the smallest, most thankless task simply for the reason that we are doing it for the one we love. Not only would we have the opportunity of showing love to others countless times in a day, but with each bit of tedium embraced with joy we would demonstrate our love for God as well.  

So what tedium does God want to transform in your life today?

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. "

Choosing Rest in the Midst of Chaos

Have you ever had a week where you feel like you've fallen flat on your face spiritually?

The week before last, I had much to accomplish, and several definite deadlines to meet, as well as several extra projects that walked in --all on a week which I knew would end in a busier-than-usual weekend. I felt overwhelmed and got to the point where I was even having trouble processing new tasks and information. My to-do list was getting longer by the minute, and I couldn't even think through what needed to be done next!

Now, if you've read my post on When Life Gets Busy, you know that I knew exactly how to handle this busy season. I had all the spiritual tools I needed, and I had God Himself to help me meet the challenging week with grace and peace in calm efficiency, but did I?

Nope.

With every item added to my schedule I could feel the stress building up inside me, and although I knew how I should have handled it, I gave in and let myself feel hurried and frazzled as if it was all up to me to get everything done.

The old simile of a headless chicken seems very applicable...

Anyway, the whole week continued about the same way, and all the while the Holy Spirit was whispering an invitation to come and rest. -Not to ignore my responsibilities and give up, but to choose to rest on the inside while outwardly working to complete my necessary tasks.

You see, as much as we need physical rest (or maybe more!) we need to rest spiritually. Often, that means getting away by ourselves and taking the time with the Lord to reset ourselves, refreshing our spirits through God's Word and prayer.

However, we can't spend every minute in our prayer closets, and that is why we need to learn to rest in the Lord internally, no matter how chaotically life is swirling around us.

How can we do this? First of all, by remembering the truths of God's Word as they apply to our busy seasons. Psalm 119:165 says: "Great peace have they that love Thy Law and nothing shall offend them". God's Word can give us that extra motivation we need to get past that moment of reaction to a new stress. When another item was added to my list, I should have remembered that God's Word says that everything He allows in my life is for a purpose, and for my good.

That brings us to the second way we can choose rest: submission to the truths we know about God. Remembering that God means everything for my good isn't enough. In the swirling chaos of that busy week, I knew that God never makes mistakes and that He had a good purpose for the busy-ness He was allowing, but I chose not to submit to that truth. Submission to truth requires that I give up my "right" to feel that I am a victim, or that what God has allowed is somehow unfair or more than is reasonable. Submission to that truth also meant I could not congratulate myself on how well I was responding to the difficulties I was facing, or complain to others of how hard my week was.

Honestly, sometimes I just want to be grumpy, but that's not what God wants. Submission to God's truth is a surrender not just to the reality of that truth as it concerns God and His doings, but also to what that truth means about me and my attitude.

Isaiah 26:3 says:  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee"

The key to choosing internal rest is to remember and submit to the reality of who God is and what He expects from me in response to that which He has allowed for my good.

--A footnote for those who wonder if it really makes a difference: since that busy week, I have had another even busier, but this time I did choose to rest in the Lord, and not only was I at peace inside, I was able to stay on top of my tasks and finish everything on my list earlier than I would have thought possible!

God's way always works!

When Life Gets Busy...

The school year has fully ramped up, as have my church ministries and I am once again in the "you want me to be out past 8:00 on a schoolnight?" season of life where sleep and coffee are both highly prized commodities.

It's not just me, either. Everyone I know seems to be more busy now than they were even a week ago. --Funny how everyone tends to get overwhelmingly busy at the same time, huh?

So, how do we handle this intense busy-ness? The natural tendency is to madly rush through each day, distracted by all the things that demand your focus, trying to keep it all straight in your mind and sort out what needs to be done first. --In short, we tend to run around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off.

To cope with the overload of demands on our time, energy, and mental focus, most of us look for ways to pare down the demands, getting rid of that which is not "urgent" or "necessary"

And for many of us, one of the first things to be pared down is time spent with God in prayer. Maybe we don't cut it out all together (although it is very common for the busy Christian to rush out the door, meaning to get their time with God in later on, and then forget altogether in the hustle and bustle of the day, waking up late the next morning only to repeat the cycle.) My temptation when overwhelmed by how much I have to do each day is to minimize or cut short my time with God.  But as I was reminded in Pastor's sermon this morning, the busier we become, the more we need to pray.

Think about it.

When you feel you are taxed beyond your limits with the busyness of life, work, ministry, family, whatever puts pressure on your time, you can go to the omnipotent God who has no limitations, and who offers you His strength for each day.

Isaiah 26:3-4 is an oft-quoted verse, but have you ever stopped to consider the last part of verse 4?

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

Everlasting strength. strength that never ends, that never fails, that is never exhausted. Through God we have access to this strength. Ephesians 3:16 indicates that God does strengthen believers with His might.

So how do we access this strength?

Look back at Isaiah 26:3

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee."

The way to access peace in the midst of our busy-ness is to stay our minds on the Lord --to talk with Him in prayer and to read about Him in His word. When we take the time to stay our minds on Him, He helps us trust in Him, and notice why the "perfect peace"-filled individual is trusting God -"for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength". Ephesians 3:14-19 also ties God's act of strengthening to closeness to and knowledge of God on the part of the believer.

So working backwards, to get God's strength, we must trust that it is everlasting- that it is enough (and more!) for our day. And if we trust that God's strength is greater than our own, we will take the time to seek His strength by staying our minds on Him.

In other words, you have to be willing to put aside what you think is urgent and take time for God, trusting Him to enable you to get everything accomplished in your day.

I think it was Martin Luther who remarked to a friend that he had so much to do that day, he had to spend an extra hour in prayer. --That's the mindset we need if we are to live our busy lives empowered by God's limitless strength.

"He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day" 

-John Bunyan