Balance or Rhythm by Lorilee Guenter

"By The Book" photo by Bruce Guenter

Balance is a myth created to keep me from embracing the rhythms of life . Ecclesiastes 3:1 opens with "there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens." The list of opposites brings to mind the old playground teeter-totter. If the opposing individuals were similar weight, it was possible to get the teeter-totter to balance as a straight beam. More often the partners couldn't hold the balance due to weight differences. One partner would be pushed up while the other dropped down. The goal of a teeter-totter is to keep it in motion. The achievement of balance halted motion.

Instead of chasing balance, I'm working to create movement, and rhythm. Sometimes the movement is rapid, other times it is a languid motion that takes attention to recognize, like the slow movement through winter. We mark time through seasons, through months, weeks, and days. In some places it may seem like the entire range of weather happens at once. We hear the saying: All four seasons in one week, or one day," yet even during these times we're not experiencing January and July simultaneously. It is either January or it is July.

There's a time and a season for every activity. We are tearing down or we are building up (v.3); we are silent or we are speaking (v.7). If we talk strictly about balance, it lends itself to an absurd reference to ratios. If we speak 50% of the time we should be silent 50% of the time, just like January and July each have 31 days. They hold equal weight within the year. What happens when God calls us to speak up, or write, and we've already used up our 50% of speech for the week? What if a friend, neighbour, or acquaintance needs us to just listen instead of us interjecting our own thoughts. I recognize I've taken these on these to an extreme. No one expects us to count the minutes we speak versus those we are silent. No one tries to live January and July in alternating days. Instead I am learning to lean into a rhythm of seasons. With a rhythm I progress through alternating activity, emotion, responsibility, hopes, and dreams, each in their own time. I learn to give them the space they need. Sometimes I walk through them in a straight line. Sometimes, like with the weather, it seems like they all happen in a day. There' is no prescribed timeline. There's movement. If the season of grief is heavy, like the larger teeter-totter partner, it may take extra time to get to the dancing (v.4). The encouragement in these verses is that the dancing will come. Seasons change, in life as with the weather.

As I walk through this life I have been given, I'm learning to recognize my rhythms. They may not be the same rhythm as what God has given you, but he is walking with both of us. Ecclesiastes 3:11a "he has made everything beautiful in its time." Everything is known by God. Everything has a season, even when I can't see it. In the middle of the tears I want laughter because I don't like to cry. I can take courage from the fact the tears won't last. They have their season. I'm thankful that God knows what we need each season, each activity, and each day.

My writing seasons, my organizing seasons, my gardening seasons, and my life seasons all have a rhythm. Sometimes I notice them and sometimes I don't. My life season is in transition. The girls are adults and now need a different type of energy and presence from me than they did while growing up. My writing, my hobbies, and my studies no longer need to occupy the margins of life. Whether in the margins or not, my writing has times of reflection and times of action. Sometimes I want to linger in reflection even when God is calling me to the action of putting words on the page. Sometimes I want to rush ahead. I continue to learn that whether I'm laughing or crying, reflecting or writing, God is in the season with me. He is leading me from shadow to light. No matter the season, I can be confident of His presence and His leading.

Lorilee Guenter enjoys gardening, reading and more. During the summer, her and her husband Bruce often hit the nearby trails. He carries a camera. She carries a sketchbook.

The Rhythm of Prayer by Peggianne Wright

Photo credit: P. Wright 2026

Valleys of darkness and despair, peaks of sunshine and joy, monotonous straight lines of humdrum; our journey through life follows a unique path filled with ever-changing seasons laid out for each of us by God. I've learned over the years that this also applies to our rhythm in the craft of writing. The ebb and flow of inspiration, the interruption that disrupts focus, and the exciting new idea that strikes without warning also subtly steer a writer's life in many directions.

"My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure." (James 1:2-3 GNT)

On an "off" day I will sit here in my study, surrounded by my "four-legged colleagues" all cozily snoozing, my fingers sitting idle on the keyboard. A dozen opening sentences are typed and then deleted. Feeling the symptoms of an oncoming migraine, I'll stare into space in a struggle to concentrate, knowing the looming submission deadline is ticking closer, my inner voice admonishing me for having let the days slide by without completing my task. I pray for encouragement.

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15 NRS)

Yet, another day will find me at my desk excitedly tapping out a new chapter or devotional, the words flowing faster than my 60 wpm fingers can fly. Not a single distraction will interrupt my train of thought; my colleagues snuggled in their regular places, softly snoring a quiet chorus. I pray in thankfulness.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12 ESV)

And then, there are days that find my study in darkness, my colleagues scattered in all directions with their toys and games, my day dominated by a To Do list or appointment schedule. No writing to be done. I pray in confident anticipation.

When I first committed myself to the craft and dared to call myself a writer out loud, I often stressed and worried about meeting not only hard deadlines for the publications for which I was writing, but also the self-imposed deadlines I believed were necessary to advance to a higher level. After all, to be a writer you have to commit to writing those thousands of words per day, right? I read and followed the experts who pointed out that if any success was to follow, serious focus, routine, and discipline was required. I prayed for direction.

On a day when I'm struggling to get something written in the midst of an excruciating migraine (I suffer from a chronic condition), I stop and pray. I know I need the Lord's guidance and inspiration but also the touch of His healing presence. Sitting in relative darkness, I pray for fortitude.

Ecclesiastes 3 describes how the rhythm of life will move us throughout our earthly lives. As Isaiah 43:2 reminds us, God guides through the good times and hard, the busy times and the idle ones, the difficult circumstances and the celebrations.

Finding balance, in my personal experience, has evolved through the enrichment of my prayer life. As I pass through the ever-changing seasons of my life, recognizing them and then praying over them, brings God into the story and deeper into personal relationship with me. As I pray for healing, encouragement, gratefulness, wisdom, and more, I am also opening doors to my creativity; a precious gift from God.

The ups and downs of life will always follow God's plan. By staying in close relationship with Him through prayer, balance will emerge in all our circumstances.

"So I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are still alive." Ecclesiastes 3:12 GNT

Peggianne Wright is a published author and is the founder of the pet parent ministry Paws To Pray, blending her passion for the Lord and all-things-K9 to form this unique, faith-based community. Peggianne is an ardent Bible study student, devoted dog mom, wife of 44 years, and lover of music. Her blogs Spiritual Scribbles and Fur-Kid Fanatics can be found on her website www.PawsToPray.ca and you can follow her on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PawsToPray/ and on IG @Sister_In_Prayer.

Balancing Life And Writing by Bob Jones

  

Photo by Loic Leray on Unsplash

“Life balance is more about intentional imbalance.”

Brian Moran

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.

James Clear’s principle in Atomic Habits is like a neon directional sign pointing the way to wholeness.

I wanted to become a writer, and fortunately good advice came my way a quarter century ago. It was simply this:

Writers write.
So, write something every day.
It doesn’t have to be long or profound.
It doesn’t even have to be just right.
It does mean to just write.

Consistency rules.

Everyday I vote for writing.

Writing made me a writer and allowed me to live my life away from the keyboard.

Intentional Imbalance

So, every day, and usually at the start of the day, I write.

There have been seasons in writing a book that it was essential to invest long hours in segments everyday to complete the book on time. But those were short seasons.

Compared to the whole of my day, my writing time is way of out equalized balance with my other activities. I have a full time job at age 72. However, that is where Brian Moran’s quote comes into play. To balance life and writing is to live an intentional imbalance.

I must admit that I have to put a governor on my writing time because I love to write. How about you? I can get lost in writing, especially on Saturdays and realize 2-3 hours have gone by before I know it.

Energy Management

I’ve also learned that what is most profitable to manage is energy, not time. There are lots of books about time management but what created a breakthrough for me was an introduction to energy management.

Do what creates the most important results when you have the highest amount of energy.

I used to run first thing every morning and then work into the late afternoon. But my peak, creative energy is when I wake up. So, now I run or walk after 4:00 pm and start creating at 6:30 am.

Thank you for making time to read and if you will, comment.

Flexibility and Grace by Lorrie Orr

 

The famous lines of times and seasons in Ecclesiastes 3 tell us that “to everything there is a season.” How do you balance life and writing in the seasons of life? We all have lives that require physical presence away from the keyboard. What have you found helpful in maintaining balance? 

 

Photo by Lorrie Orr

I get up early, dress quietly and close the door softly so as not to wake my husband. I go downstairs to make a cup of tea, then climb the same stairs up to my studio. A neat stack of pages sits on my desk, the growing height an indication of the words typed and printed yesterday and the days before. Moments of meditation and prayer are followed by a productive hour or two of writing before I eat breakfast with my husband. I clean up the kitchen and do a few chores before returning to my desk to deal with correspondence, business items, and perhaps some editing.

Oh, if only. It's fun to dream about an ideal writing life, but that's all it is, a dream. In my real life, there is a garden to tend to, grandchildren to entertain, shopping and cooking that must be done, and a plethora of other tasks and delights to distract me from writing. And that’s okay. I like my varied life.

Writers throughout the ages have faced the challenge of their writing lives. In his article The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers, James Clear writes of authors who get up early, of others who rent hotel rooms for writing, and others who spend their days teaching and write in slivers of time. The key takeaway for me is that every writer has an individual approach to balancing life and writing. It may take time to discover the balance, and it’s likely to shift throughout life.

Flexibility is a key word for me. When I am engrossed in a project, I find it easy to dedicate more time to it, and I do get up early to work in the hush of early morning. This is easier now that it’s just the two of us at home. When my children were younger, I would use the time they were at school to write my articles or write while they were doing their homework. I fit my writing around the daily routines of meals and teaching. I don't determine to write every day. I try to write four days in a week, usually in the morning, but not always. 

Sometimes I must be intentional about my writing. It’s easy to get out of the habit of sitting down to write regularly and much more difficult to get back into a routine. There, too, however, flexibility comes into play. It’s okay to take time off when life presents challenges or other opportunities. As a teacher, I’ve always found sticking to a schedule in the summer almost impossible. Now that I’m retired, I give myself permission to take summers off.

Grace is another key word when it comes to balancing life and writing. Or life and anything! I can become quite negative about myself when I let things slip and I fail to meet the goals I’ve established. I am learning to give myself grace and to rest in the loving presence of God who loves me whether I write a single word or not. And I realize that sometimes God has other things for me to do.

Some days writing takes the form of words added to the Notes feature on my phone, or capturing a few thoughts on paper while I’m in the kitchen preparing food. These are small steps, but each step forward brings me closer to my writing goals.

The writer of Ecclesiastes also wrote these words: 

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding

it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled 

with rare and beautiful treasures.” 

(Proverbs 24:3-4) 

As I build my life and my body of work, I want to be wise, and am so thankful that God generously gives his wisdom to me, and to anyone who asks him.

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island.

Her first book, Life is Short but Wide, a memoir of 21 years

in Ecuador, was recently published.

More of her writing can be found at

Substack

her slice of life blog