December 06, 2018

Christmas Morning Every Morning - Guest post by Whitney Braun

We all remember the excitement we had as children the night of Christmas Eve. The anticipation keeping us up past our bedtime. The wonder of the lights, the wrapping paper, the stockings, and the sugary treats. We would hardly get any rest and wake our parents up much too early. We would rush to the kitchen to make sure that Santa stopped in and devoured his cookies. We would feel the all over thrill of ripping open the paper to find out what’s been hiding underneath.

What if we had that feeling every time we sat down to write? What if moments before we put the pen to paper we felt that all over delight? What if we couldn’t wait to discover the words that would flow from our minds onto the page?

I often forget this part of the writing experience. I brainstorm and outline and revise until the wonder is gone. I get to the point where I’m sick of what’s on the page, and I just write to meet a deadline. I forget that this is a gift—time to follow my dream. I forget how necessary it is for my health, mental and physical, to purge the stories from my thoughts to make room for more. My writing time is precious time that should be reserved for positive emotions.

Not everyone is a writer, but we are. God has given us a gift and a passion for something that not everyone has. Shouldn’t that brew up enough excitement to sit down at our keyboards? Knowing that God chose us to be the ones with a desire to turn our thoughts into pages is an honour—one I forget about way too frequently.

Lately, I haven’t had much time to write. As a new mom, my time is occupied elsewhere, so when I do have a few moments to get the words out, I feel that thrill. It’s refreshing. But more importantly, it’s an important reminder that God has given me this time. 
I will rejoice and be glad in it.



Whitney Braun is a Christian romance author with five published novels. She resides near Fort St John, BC with her husband, son, and crazy cat, Nacho. Chat with her on Facebook, @authorwhitneybraun, or visit her website, authorwhitneybraun.webs.com. 



6 comments:

  1. Good morning and I found your blog post very enlightening and shared it on my author page for more to enjoy the pine needle, Christmas Morning joy. Thanks for posting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a good reminder to keep the 'wonder' in our writing! thanks for this Whitney.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, Whitney, for reminding us never to lose our passion for our writing, despite the more onerous aspects of the craft, such as outlining, revising, and meeting deadlines. It takes a lot of hard work to keep the dream alive.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for reminding us of the "joy unspeakable and full of glory" that we should feel when we down to right. I am struggling with the article I need to write today. With the following sentences, you have inspired me to see the delight in the prospect of writing this essay.

    "What if we had that (all over thrill of putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboard) every time we sat down to write? What if moments before we put the pen to paper we felt that all over delight? What if we couldn’t wait to discover the words that would flow from our minds onto the page?" Thank you, Whitney.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, Whitney, for this inspiring post and the "What ifs" of writing--the delight and joy of writing. I've written the following words on a post-it note and placed it on my computer: "What if moments before we put the pen to paper we felt that all over delight? What if we couldn’t wait to discover the words that would flow from our minds onto the page?"

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank-you for this post- I too forgot: "that this is a gift—time to follow my dream. I forget how necessary it is for my health, mental and physical" May you savour the season of your life right now, life is full of many precious gifts.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to join in the conversation. Our writers appreciate receiving your feedback on posts you have found helpful or meaningful in some way.