Don't Give Up - Your Writing has a Place by Sally Meadows

If you're a writer or an aspiring writer, never, ever give up. You have an important story to tell, maybe many. It may take months or years for your writing to find its place, but I want to encourage you to keep on keeping on.

With my husband cheering me on, I left the workforce in January 2013 to pursue being a writer and musician full time. Over the past dozen years, I have had a number of successes, but there have also been many personal, relational, and financial challenges that have negatively impacted my writing journey. There have been times when life circumstances stole my desire and ability to write. There were times when I experienced rejection. There were times when life circumstances dictated other priorities. But I kept on keeping on.

I was thrilled early on in my journey to have my story “Love, Shania and the Whispered Wish” published by Chicken Soup for the Soul (CSS) in its Canadian bestselling version Christmas in Canada. That was in 2014.

In those first few years, two more of my pieces were shortlisted but didn’t get into the final publications. Since then, it became a personal writing goal to replicate my feat of getting published in CSS. Over this past decade, I have continued to occasionally submit stories to CSS, but to no avail. It felt like I would never be published in CSS again.

For over a year after the death of my husband, I had no desire to write. But in 2024, I found a way to segue back into the writing world. I made writing a priority and soon the writing started to flow. As difficult as it was to see my career fall by the wayside for the prior six years, it has been the source of many compelling stories.

One of those stories, called “Single Dog-Parenting,” caught the eye of CSS. I am thrilled to announce that my story has been included in the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul publication What I Learned from My Dog, releasing in stores April 1, 2025.

I recently read that CSS receives 4000-5000 submissions for each of its titles. It is a real honour that out of those many aspiring and experienced authors, my story was hand-selected as part of this 101-story anthology.

It’s sad it took such a devastating time in my life to come up with a story that resonated with the editors, but I am thrilled to have finally reached my goal of getting published in CSS one more time, almost 11 years later. I find joy and hope in that accomplishment. And I hope and pray the same for those of you who have been through your own valley experiences.

Remember, never give up. Your stories are important.

Sally Meadows is an award-winning author of children’s books and short fictional stories; a four-time national award nominated singer/songwriter; and a non-fiction contributor to writing magazines and anthologies such as Freelance, FellowScript, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and the Hot Apple Cider series. She delights in sharing her work at author readings for kids and adults, as well as speaking at writing workshops and conferences. Sally was the recipient of InScribe’s Barnabas Award in 2019 and the Janette Oke Award in 2020. She is also a Certified Colour Consultant helping women find their best colours to look, feel, and be the best version of themselves as Ambassadors of Christ. Connect with Sally at https://sallymeadows.com, https://instagram.com/sallymeadowsstudios, and https://facebook.com/SallyMeadowsMusic.

The Adventure of Living in Two Settings at Once by Michelle Strutzenberger

If setting is where a story unfolds, then we as Christians have an awesome advantage. We get to exist in two settings at once. Even while we walk, wander, wash and whistle on this physical earth, we simultaneously live and move in another setting – the Kingdom of Christ.

It can be rather fun to think of our lives in this way.

As we meander down the slushy street on a grey afternoon, the stranger walking towards us could likely never guess we are also, in that moment, travelling through another world.

When we rub the sleep from our eyes in the morning, no matter what the hours ahead hold, we can anticipate adventure because of this simple fact – we straddle two realities.

Perhaps the most wonderful, life-giving, heart-filling part of it all is this: That while our time in the one setting will one day stop, it won’t in the other. Our existence in the Kingdom of Christ goes on forever.

As writers of faith, we can see ourselves as brokers between the two realms. We bring back stories, lyrics, poems, and lessons infused with Kingdom of Christ air to share in the stale, dead fog of a society that believes one sad setting is all they’ve got and all they’ll ever get.

It’s really quite exciting, this opportunity we have. May we continue to be energized and active in making the most of it, until our two-setting existence is up, and we continue our adventure with Christ throughout eternity.

Michelle and her family enjoy hiking mountains and trails together. She is currently writing a series called, What Growing Up in a Mennonite Family of 10 Taught Me About Survival. To receive the bi-weekly tips, visit this link and subscribe.

Image by 👀 Mabel Amber, who will one day from Pixabay

A Sense of Place ~ Valerie Ronald

There is a phrase echoing around in my mind, simpler to describe than to define ˗˗ a sense of place.

It is warm golden pine needles carpeting the ground, spicing the air with each cushioned footstep. It is shafts of sunlight dropping down through tree columns, alive with dancing dust and insects. It is the rhythmic sound of waves swelling and receding, growing louder as the shoreline comes into view. Once beyond the trees, it is drawing in big breaths of salt-rich air, then kicking off my shoes and burying my toes in the sand, more fully alive here by the sea than anywhere else.

By the sea is where I derive my deepest sense of place, a setting for joyful contemplation when all goes well and for comfort when solace is sought. Walking along its shores gazing at the layers of moving water, distant mountains, and wind-swept clouds, my soul finds nurture and peace. I don’t live near it anymore but in some tender corner of my heart the sea will always draw me. I was happiest there as a child and dream of living near it again someday.

“Place is where meaning, belonging, and safety come together under the covering of our best efforts at unconditional love,” writes author Randy Kilgore. “Place beckons us with memories buried deep in our souls. Even when our place isn’t perfect, its hold on us is dramatic, magnetic.”

Place, that idyllic memory evoked by emotions connected to it. For me it is more a person than a physical setting. Yes, my heart responds to some places more than others, where special memories have their roots or beauty stirs me. At some point those places may be changed or even destroyed, but the One who gives me the most secure, eternal sense of place will be forever present.

Jesus Christ said, “Abide in Me, and I will abide in you.” (John 15:4 NIV) What a strange concept that must have been to the disciples listening to Him. Abide? Live in? Take up residence in Jesus? When read in context of the metaphor of the vine and the branches in John 15, abiding in Jesus makes sense. He is our vine, our source of spiritual nourishment so we, the branch, can bear spiritual fruit. Important as spiritual fruit is, it is not the main reason for Jesus wanting us to abide in Him. His desire is for intimacy with His beloved child, a sense of connection only achieved by living as close to Him as possible. Abiding, remaining˗˗when our inner spirit, the truest essence of who we are, takes up residence in the heart of Jesus. It sounds a bit mystical. True spirituality is a mystery, but the practice of it is simple. Spend time with Jesus. Seek, long for, thirst after, engage, know, hear and respond to … Jesus. Find Him in His Word, talk to Him in prayer, listen for His voice in your spirit, live in Him.

Being by the ocean gives me a sense of place because of significant personal epiphanies I have experienced there. Yet I have learned that my truest sense of place happens in my spiritual abode, the heart of Jesus, a place of love. “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now abide in My love.” (John 15:9)

Valerie Ronald writes from an old roll top desk in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, with her tortoiseshell cat for a muse. A graduate of Langara College School of Journalism, she writes devotionals, fiction and inspirational prose. Her purpose in writing is to encourage others to grow in their spiritual walk.

My Place to Be by Alan Anderson

 

“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19

 

The Dike

From time to time in my blog posts I mention the dike only a few minutes from where I live. The dike and the nature spread out before it is a powerful influence on my inspiration as a writer and its ability to calm my heart.

With the beautiful face of spring, the dike is even more alive. I love spring where I live. When I walk along the dike, a place of God’s delight, I sense the presence of God. His creativity as the Master Artist is unmistakable. His music is everywhere in the wind’s breeze, the songs of birds, and the gentle sounds of raindrops cascading off leaves of willow trees.

My Friends

The willows and other deciduous trees even now await spring to clothe them in the various shades of green, adding to the living portrait of nature around me. Did you know, if you walk close to willow trees, they just might give you a thrill? On the dike as one walks by the trees, the willows have often reached out and held the hand of passersby for a moment. A thrill to be remembered.

I realize the nearby mountains, birds, water bodies, grass, and even the gravel spread over the dike are friends. As friends of God, they hold my hand as I walk. They let me know I am not alone. My inspiration as a writer comes from the embrace of these friends. This is my place to be.

In this recognition of nature being a friend, the poet John O’ Donohue notes,

“This invitation to friendship with nature does of course entail a willingness to be alone out there. Yet this aloneness is anything but lonely. Solitude gradually clarifies the heart until a true tranquility is reached. The irony is that at the heart of that aloneness you feel intimately connected with the world. Indeed, the beauty of nature is often the wisest balm for it gently relieves and releases the caged mind.” (John O’Donohue, Excerpt from his books, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace (US) / Divine Beauty (Europe)

My Place to Be

My wife, Terry, and I, have lived close to the dike for twenty years. We never become tired of the scenic area around us. We have spent hours on the dike walking, talking, and just listening to the music of God’s creation. This is our place to be.

The dike is also my place to be. My place to soak in the inspiration to put words together. Walking the dike and allowing nature to embrace me helps me keep my inner inkwell full. This place to be lets me formulate how and what I want to write. This place where my friends live.

With spring comes more hugs from the warmth of the sun. The sky smiles as it sees me walking on the dike. Then an amazing wonder happens. Sunbeams break through morning clouds and kiss me on the top of my head. My place to be is full of such wonders.

My dear fellow writers and readers, I pray you are intimate with a place to be, a place you love.

Your Place to Be

May a place where God’s delight is fully alive embrace you.

May you know the thrill of a willow tree holding your hand.

May your friends express their love for you.

When you walk or rest in your place to be, may you know the sweetness of being kissed by a sunbeam.

 

Alan lives in a small village called Deroche, British Columbia, with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He enjoys walking on the dike near his home with trees all around and where he finds inspiration to write. He occasionally writes articles for FellowScript Magazine and is a regular contributor to the InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship blog. Alan is the new BC/Northern Regional Rep. for InScribe. His website is https://scarredjoy.ca.