January 13, 2019

My Main Incentives to Write by Wendy L. Macdonald



God’s nudges are my main incentives for showing up to write each day. My journal is my drawing board for most of my nonfiction writing. It’s where I record my faith journey—and my faith failings.   
One of my main incentives for writing is described in a verse I fell in love with while working through a Beth Moore Bible study. It encouraged me to write for a particular reader. Hints of what my brand should be have shown up at various times in my life, but this verse solidified it:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, 
because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
 to proclaim freedom for the captives
 and release from darkness for the prisoners.
 Isaiah 61:1 NIV



Each morning I choose a verse of the day from the passages of Scripture I’ve read. I don’t follow a strict reading plan. My simple read-through-the-Bible method is: Place a sticky note in the New and Old Testaments to mark where I’ve read to. Some mornings I read several chapters. Other mornings I may only read a few verses. On particularly stressful days, I skip my reading routine and dip into the Psalms for spiritual refreshment.

After choosing a verse, I record it in my journal and write a poem based on it. Later, if the poem is worthy to be shared, I edit it and schedule it and the Scripture verse on my author Facebook page with a nature picture I’ve taken. Often, an entire blog post or podcast is birthed from one of my verses of the day.

God’s Word is literally a lamp for my pen. When I show up and read it, His inspiration shows up too.



My heart is overflowing with a good theme: 
I recite my composition concerning the king;
 my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
 Psalm 45:1 NKJV

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
 because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
 and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free… 
Luke 4:18 NIV

I’m nosy-to-know what Scripture verse has been the most incentive in your writing life.

Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

9 comments:

  1. Your words are very inspiring, Wendy. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, dear Tracy.
      Blessings for 2019 ~ Wendy Mac

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  2. Hi Wendy! I don't have a particular verse but I do have a passage I resonate with. "When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was" (Job 2:11 - 13). It reminds me of how in grief there are times when even friends may not comfort us. Job's friends did, however, stay with him for a while. The passage resonates with me so much due to the context in which I write. It was the same in my chaplaincy work. In staying with people, even though words may fail, our presence may be more comforting. Thank you Wendy for sharing your love of Scripture in such a real manner.

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    1. Alan, what a gift you are to those who grieve. To sit in shared silence is often the best way to help someone.
      Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

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  3. Hi Wendy. I really like how practical you are in combining your scripture reading with your writing. There is an immediacy to it too which I think must help with both spiritual growth and creative growth. Thank you for sharing your method.

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    1. Thank you, dear Gloria. Yes, it absolutely helps my soul to grow and inspires my spirit to soar.
      Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

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  4. Your combination of nature photography, Scripture, poetry and personal experience makes for rich and inspirational reading, Wendy. I also like the way you really get into a topic when you start with your Five-Minute Prompts. I've read your blog when you tell us your readers when the five minutes is up, but you keep going because you're in the middle of something. I've admired this, but maybe it's time for me to actually try it myself. Thanks for setting a good example of faithfulness to your writing and sharing what God gives to you.

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    1. Dear Sharon, I hope you do try the prompts. I'm sure you will also "be in the middle of" it when you write. You are present as you comment. This is why I appreciate your words, always.
      Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

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