How to Strengthen Writing of Place by Sandi Somers

 

Calgary 2013

When I was taking a writing course in 2013, Calgary was in the midst of one of its greatest floods. I wrote an essay about driving to my favourite spots to see the floods along the Bow River and how riverside homes had been inundated.  

One American in the course was flabbergasted. "How can you drive around in floods?" she asked. "That's impossible!" 

I thought she was comparing my story to flood-ravished coastal cities from hurricanes, like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

I knew what I had done--or rather, hadn't done. 

I hadn’t made the place come alive. It was easy to skip over details because I was so familiar with our city, but I needed to envision a reader who’s never been to Calgary. I needed to convey the quality of “you are there” right with me, seeing what I’m seeing, hearing what I’m hearing, feeling the atmosphere. 

In other words, I needed to engage the senses. I needed to include how much of Calgary is hilly, with different levels carved out from ancient glaciers. I needed to write how, overlooking the Bow River below from one of the highest parts of Calgary, I sensed the eerie silence. No vehicles moved along the normally busy highway below, closed due to flooding. Nor did trains run alongside the river. And the air smelled, not the refreshing petrichor after rain, but the overpowering sense of wetness. The atmosphere of the city was tense. 

* * * 

I grew up in rural Alberta, in the area I affectionately call “Between the Rockies and the Prairie”, and while I live in Calgary, my rural roots are deeply ingrained. Writing in this context, I explored in depth of my life and our family history, and the people who made up this area ranching and farming communities. I delved into how Calgary evolved from the label of “Cowtown” to a modern city that celebrates our ranching and agricultural background through the Stampede. I detailed how the oil boom beginning in 1947 has led to our provincial prosperity and an entrepreneurial spirit.  

Through writing about my roots, I realize just how much place is part of our identity.   

* * * 

My life has taken me to many destinations. While on a trip to Europe and the British Isles, I mingled with different ethnic groups, different cultures, different customs. So often I was reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Acts 17:26 (ESV), that God has chosen each person to live in a designated place and in a particular time. This has influenced how I engaged with life outside my usual spheres. 

At one point, God opened an opportunity to teach missionary children in Colombia. It was a real-life immersion. While there, one aim was to write letters home filled with the uniqueness of Colombia and how it vibrated with life. I wanted to be the eyes and ears of the land, the culture, and people. 

Little did I know then that living in South America and other travels would provide a valuable linkage to many peoples and cultures I would later encounter while teaching ESL in Calgary. I discovered how their countries of origin influences so much of their lives. It became easy to spot such indicators such as dress, food, and music. But as time went on, I learned how family and clan values, religion, and world views shaped their identity, and how immigration impacted their new sense of self. 

In turn, these immigrants and refugees changed my own perspectives. In doing so, I’ve written personal essays, transforming my exotic world for Canadians. It’s important for me to communicate understanding and appreciation for the many cultures we brush shoulders with in our increasingly multicultural country. 

                                                     * * * 

As I write of how my life has intertwined with many places and peoples, I’m reminded of my own place of writing. I sit at my table, laptop facing the windows, praying for the Lord’s guidance to write what He is speaking into and through me. I reflect Lorrie’s prompt: “Not only did God give us the gift of writing, but he also gave each of us different life experiences, perspectives, and insights. … By seeking to follow God’s wisdom in how we write, we glorify God as Christian…writers.”

Marching in Snow by Brenda J Wood

He brought me out into a spacious place;

he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Psalm 18:19 (NIV)

I dare say that reading this verse brings to mind well-trodden paths, strewn with flowers and grassy mounds to rest upon at leisure. For the last several days, my area of Ontario is blanketed, no, smothered in snow. I can’t get out my front door. Plows are pulled off the roads. There are accidents where foolish drivers are determined to ignore warnings.

That is not me. I hunker down at the slightest tremor of trouble. I cower in safe havens while others trod six-foot deep paths.

And I wonder, does this affect my writing? Have I always taken the safe trails to avoid controversy? And if that is so, why is that? When I was six, my mom sent me to the school Halloween party dressed as a princess. She wrapped her engagement ring with string, put it on my finger accompanied with multiple warnings not to lose it. Thus, I stood at the corner of the school, refusing to join games or races…for fear of losing that ring. I wore the ring, but you might say that the ring wore me.

That’s what happens when we write safely. Even on Facebook, I find myself withdrawing if someone criticizes the content. When this happens, I look for something to say that will not offend. But is this possible? NO! Because there is always someone who won’t agree with you, not because you are right or wrong, but because they don’t like your words.

So, what then, do we write? Do we stay safely inside the house, dreading the snow, writing the same old stuff, or do we dare to step into the fresh air and tramp through unknown verse, mystery, perhaps science fiction?

I am still snowed in, but today I wrote this liberating piece to remind all of us to March in the snow. How will you march? In tennis shoes with little protection? Snow boots that reach only the ankles? Ski boots of over protection? I don’t know what is best for you. We do need to protect ourselves from the elements, but sometimes we have to dive in head first, forgetting our feet and their safety, but instead finding the truth of our heart, believing it and writing it no matter what might come of it.

Winter Image by Mariakray from Pixabay

Brenda J. Wood has authored more than fifty books. She is a seasoned motivational speaker, who declares the Word of God with wisdom, humour, and common sense.

Place Matters by Lorrie Orr

 

In this month's prompt we are invited to write about the setting of our writing. 

We all exist in time and place. I invite you to share how the setting of your life, the landscape around you, broad or narrow, finds its place in your writing? How does setting affect you? For some writers, the setting becomes as powerful as a character in the story. Alternatively, write a paragraph or two describing yourself or another character in a particular setting.

The relentless sun beats down, but it is the intense humidity that leaves me limp and drained of energy. I know a storm is brewing. Just when the heat becomes unbearable, I hear the rain coming like a rush of wind across the dense jungle. Within seconds it's as if the sluice gates of heaven have opened. Water drums on the roof of the house. It bounces in the puddles soon formed by the unrelenting downpour. The deafening sound carries on throughout the night. We sleep, oh, so soundly, hearing nothing but the steady deluge outside. By morning the storm moves on, the air is fresh and sweet, and we awaken with renewed motivation for the day ahead.

After moving to Canada in the early 2000s, I first heard the song He Reigns by The Newsboys. There is a line about the volume of believers singing that had me thinking about how loud that noise must be to be heard over rain in the Amazon. And I wondered how anyone who had not experienced the overwhelming din of a jungle rain could even grasp the intensity of it. It's a great line. Having experienced many Amazon rainstorms, I have perhaps a tiny bit more understanding than someone who has never lived anywhere but Victoria where the rain is much more gentle.

In many works of literature, the place, or setting, becomes a character. The Shire in J. R. R. Tolkien's works set in Middle-Earth represents an idyllic and comforting place of security. Who of us would not love to curl up in an easy chair in a Hobbit hole with a cup of tea and a friend to visit with?

Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay is set in Yellowknife, in the far north of Canada. When I read the book the landscape became as vivid as a character. I loved the descriptions of the vastness, the wildlife, the effect of a sun that never set. Hays knew the landscape and was able to convey the beauty and isolation of the North in a way that made it real to me although I had never seen it myself. L. M. Montgomery's heroes Anne and Emily (among others) live on Prince Edward Island. Reading her books over and over again, I learned of the red soil and the gentle curves of the landscape, so much so that when I did finally visit PEI, those things were familiar to me.

Images and metaphors of place abound in Scripture. Psalm 23 speaks of our Shepherd Lord making us lie down in green pastures, leading us beside quiet waters, and guiding us in paths of righteousness. The author could have said, "Relax. God will take of you and guide you." Instead, the imagery of a peaceful place guarded by a caring shepherd enhanced by specific details elicits emotions of trust.

Place. It matters. And as writers, it matters that we get our facts straight. I once read a story that included the lovely sweet fragrance of the colourful bougainvillea vines that drape over rooftops and fenLoces in lands more southerly than Canada. "Hmmm," I thought, "I don't remember bougainvillea having much of a scent." So I looked it up. I was correct. Pollinators are attracted by the bright colours that lack any scent. That small incorrect detail made me question other descriptors the author used.

To write about place we must engage all the senses of our readers so that they can picture in their minds the setting of our stories. God has placed each one of us in specific settings that we experience in unique ways. Psalm 18:19 says, "He brought me out into a spacious place," - a metaphor for a life of freedom. I am so thankful for this place and want to convey that sense of freedom in Christ that can exist in any physical setting that I write.

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island where winter is giving way to spring. 

I Want a Heart at Peace by Mary Folkerts

 

We find ourselves in a conundrum, don’t we? On one hand, we desperately seek emotional and mental peace, yet our actions often lead us in the opposite direction.

I must confess I am somewhat of a news junkie, often consuming more information—whether true or false—than is beneficial for me. Is it simply that I want to know what is happening in the world, or am I attempting to feel a sense of control because, as they say, knowledge is power? However, too much knowledge tends to make me more anxious rather than easing my mind. I wonder if this easy access to information is a partial cause of our anxious generation?

To counter the adverse effects of our stress-inducing information gathering, we try calming methods such as deep breathing and meditation and find some success. However, does this truly alleviate the internal conflict created by our need to know everything and the anxiety stemming from that pursuit? Constant exposure to negative world news and questionable information, layered with personal worries, culminates in more anxiety than ever. I’m not suggesting we remain ignorant or uncaring about all world events, but were we meant to know everything?

Constant exposure to negative world news and questionable information, layered with personal worries, culminates in more anxiety than ever.

What if, instead of our constant need for worldly information, we dedicated more time to learning from the One who truly holds control? What if we allowed God to replace our desire for control in our hearts with trust in Him? The more time we spend with Him, the more we realize He is trustworthy. He ultimately reigns above all worldly kings and rulers, ordaining and ordering all things. In John 16:33 (NIV), we read, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

If we genuinely learned to trust God and stopped pursuing control, would we discover our hearts quieted and our minds at peace? The more time we spend with the God of peace, the more peace we will possess.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a Proverbs 31 ministries COMPEL Writers Training member involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/

New Windows in My Heart by Michelle Strutzenberger

With the deaths of two beloved family members and the choice of my oldest daughter to move thousands of miles away, my heart has taken quite a beating over this past year.

Grief has a way of shaking up the protective structures we wisely build around our hearts.

If I’m completely honest, as I’ve mourned, I’ve failed a few times in keeping the safeguard strong around the centre of my being.

Discouragement has snuck in through the gaps.

Even worse, despair and bitterness have slipped between the cracks on occasion.

I don’t confess this gleefully or with pride. I know how very destructive these attitudes can be to a person’s heart.

Yet though I’ve allowed in worse than I should have, this awful time has reminded me that God can make something beautiful out of anything—even the shaken walls around our hearts.

Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (ESV).

We may be inclined to think this verse is suggesting that God moves nearer as our hearts break.

However, I find it hard to believe that our good and loving Father moves closer to us as we crumple over in suffering yet stands at a distance when the sun is gleaming, and the soft breezes of wellbeing kiss our lives.

Instead, I believe we can trust that our God and Saviour is always near to us, both through our too-short days of life’s brilliance sparking songs and smiles, and also through our long, long nights of aching and tears.

The difference may be that in the times when our hearts are crushed and broken, God’s nearness becomes more visible to us. The cracks and holes that the pain drills into our hearts’ chamber walls become windows to the Lord’s constant presence and comfort.

When suffering riddles our hearts with gashes and gaps, it can be easy for discouragement and even despair to creep inside.

Yet at certain moments and in different ways I am slowly finding that my time of sorrow can be a window-maker to a truth I can quickly become numb to—that Jesus is still close. As this truth pours over my aching heart, I am filled with gratitude to realize that it brings with it the gifts of new hope and fresh healing.



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 Vladimír Elexa from Pixabay

The Shape of a Heart ~ Valerie Ronald

There is a woman who walks beaches and forest trails in search of heart-shaped rocks. Not large rocks, just ones the right size to tuck in her plant pots or heap in a clay bowl on her table. Some are smoothed by the sea and sand, some chipped off a craggy cliff, but they all have the familiar shape of two rounded wings and a downward-pointing tip.

The woman who collects them has a passionate heart, a fiercely loyal and loving heart. It is also a fragile heart, wounded early in childhood then mended by the love of Jesus, yet still bearing scars that go deep. These scars resonate with the scars of other hearts, giving her the ability to connect with those who are hurting on a level most cannot. Because she lives and speaks from her heart, it is vulnerable and sometimes wounded. If not for the love of Jesus holding her heart in His nail-pierced hands, it could easily be broken beyond repair.

Perhaps she collects heart-shaped rocks because she has encountered so many human ones in various shapes, sizes and conditions. They may be a reminder of her own heart which has gone through multiple transitions, yet remains undivided. Like the psalmist, she often prays to the keeper of her heart, “Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere Your name.” (Ps. 86:11 NRSV)

That is the secret˗˗maintaining an undivided heart, not allowing it to be diverted from loving and obeying God. There are so many distractions and temptations that can splinter a heart, weakening its devotion to the One who made it. He tells us in His Word, “above all else, watch over your heart; diligently guard it because from a sincere and pure heart come the good and noble things of life.” (Prov. 4:23 The Voice)

The apostle Paul, whose heart underwent rigorous refining at the hand of God, spoke from his own experience in writing to the Thessalonian believers about keeping their hearts undivided.

~ He wrote of not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. (1 Thess. 2:4 NIV)

~ His desire was for God to strengthen their hearts so that they would be blameless and holy in the presence of their God and Father. (1 Thess. 3:13)

~ His prayer was that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who gave eternal encouragement and good hope, would encourage their hearts. (2 Thess. 2:16)

~ He prayed confidently that the Lord would direct their hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. (2 Thess. 3:17)

The woman who collects heart-shaped rocks is learning Paul’s secret of how to keep her heart undivided. She puts it in the keeping of God. He is the One who tests, strengthens, encourages and directs her heart. Each time she picks up a heart-shaped rock, brushes off the dirt and warms it in her palm, she remembers Who keeps her heart whole and she commits it again to God.


Dedicated to my firstborn child, collector of heart-shaped rocks and soother of many broken ones. She's a singer/songwriter, so here's a link to an at-home recording you might enjoy.

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.

What Does My Heart Say? by Alan Anderson

 

“Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)

 
“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” John 16:22 (ESV)

Our Writing Prompt

Our writing prompt for this month reminds me, “The Bible speaks of the heart as the core of one’s being, composed of our mind, emotion, and will. How do you keep or guard your heart? What is it saying to you these days?”

I pondered this question for a few days before I put words on the page. Once I began to write, I found my thoughts kept going in a certain way. The words that came to life in my mind are thoughts perhaps readers will also ponder.

You might have noticed the world is loud these days. Everyone has an opinion. More than this, those who have an opinion seem to have the need for everyone else to hear their opinion. So much noise, so much talking over each other…and they all think they speak the truth.

What Does My Heart Say?

Did I pray well?

In giving thought to this post for February, a few sobering questions came to mind. I would like to share these questions with you.

Dear friends, has your soul ever wept for the world around you? Has the weight of sorrow crushed your heart? There might be times where one’s sorrowful heart has cried out to heaven. Our cry is so deep that it seems God has turned His beautiful face away. Oh my, how we must guard our hearts from such despair.

As I observe the various upheavals going on today, I wonder if anyone knows the way forward. We need prayer. This writer and all who read this message all need prayer to guard our hearts.

We must pray for each other.

We must pray for the world.

In all the noise, confusion, and unguarded heart moments so pervasive today, my tendency is to retreat, to be quiet, to not state my opinion. Believe me, I have my faults, but I also must guard my heart as God’s Word dictates.

As a writer who is also a Christian living in this time of everyone does right in his or her own eyes, I must pause. Pause and listen to what my heart asks of me…did I pray well for the words I send into the world? This is a question I would like to hear the Lord answer some day. Did the tears and hope of my humble words make a difference to anyone amid the noise?

What Does My Heart Say?

My heart says to send words into the world as agents of peace. This simple statement begs a question from me as one called to write.

Did I serve well?

Dear friends, as writers who are Christians, we can offer peace to the world. A peace that passes all understanding, even our own. We must take this in a serious manner. This is how we can serve our call from the Lord to write well. We offer words of peace, love, and harmony, to soften the hearts of people amid calamitous thundering voices.

A Concluding Word

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” Psalm 139:23 (ESV)

This is what my heart says: Did I pray well? Did I serve well?

 

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

What Does Your Heart Say? by Lorilee Guenter

Across from me in the coffee shop sat a lady. Her sweater read, "I wear my heart on my sleeve." On the sleeve a list of names represents people important to her. Without talking to her, I don't know who they are. I only know that these are people who mean a lot to her. She loves them.

I wonder what others see when they look at me. I don't proclaim my affection on my clothes. Do my actions as I sit across from family or friends show they are important to me? My words are a clanging gong if they are not backed up by action. I do not want to be a clanging gong. I want to be a voice in the symphony God is directing.

As summer gave way to fall, I noticed distraction pulling my attention. Instead of leaning in to engage in conversation, I was looking beyond. I was leaning back and letting my thoughts wander. I missed out on true connection. Communication became strained as I forgot how to listen not just with my ears but with my heart. I became a clanging gong.

Noticing my responsibility in the disconnect, I lean back in. I confess that I do not like what was going on. I don't want my distraction to turn my words into discordant noise so I allow God to tune me, to bring me back to where He desires me. I pause to listen. I vowed, with God's help, to set aside distraction. I can not do this on my own. Thankfully I don't have to. The Master Conductor knows what I need so I can sing.

Jesus wore His heart on the cross. As thorns pierced His brow and blood and water ran from His side, He wrote my name. He wrote our names. They aren't written with pencil to be erased. They aren't written with thread that can be picked out. Jesus wrote our names with His life. In doing so, He offered to guard our hearts. He knows that even if we try, we are incapable of consistent vigilance without His help. He knows we need His hand in all we do.

The seasons change, my resolve to connect well is tested. I know the only way it will hold is by leaning in. Today, I choose to trust, to let Jesus hold me close and make my heart sing as part of His masterpiece. Tomorrow, I pray I make the same choice.

Lorilee Guenter is a writer and artist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She enjoys exploring God's creation. Her hobbies and interests are varied which leads to an eclectic set of books she is reading.

On Love and Bullying - Gloria Guest

I was in kindergarten when I learned what Valentine’s Day and bullying were, on the same day.

The room was abuzz with excitement, as we each gave and received valentines to and from every classmate. I felt so happy each time one of the shiny, bright valentines was given to me. We each had a special bag to store them in and I couldn’t wait to take mine home to show my mom and sisters.

But then Janet, a girl beside me, started one by one, taking my valentines and adding them to hers. I was too intimidated to say no. By the time she was finished my heart was feeling as depleted as the little pile she had left me with. Valentines, I decided, was not so much fun after all, and I had just been introduced to my first bully.

Thinking back, I can’t help but wonder at how my child’s mind tried to comprehend two such juxtaposed experiences; that of friendship and love being combined with bullying and selfishness. It can be hard enough for adults to put them together, even as life experience has taught us they do sometimes come at once. If we are truthful we will admit that it is often the ones we love the most that we also hurt the most. How to understand this?

In James 3:10, James writes, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” How many times have I done this; especially to those closest to me?

This can be applied to our writing also. How often have we written that defensive or angry text and then hit send? Or written an article with a harsh edge we try to ignore? We can think we are hiding a hardened heart but it’s revealed in our tone.

“If I speak (or write) in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” I Cor 13:1. This makes me consider further, how ‘clanging’ I might be sounding to my readers. Or worse, to God.

Just as it was too much for me as a five year old to consider the presence of love and friendship hand in hand with the presence of bullying and selfishness, so it’s hard to wrap my head around the presence of goodness and caring in my words, existing alongside my unresolved issues and self-serving motives possibly lurking behind them.

Christ is our only hope. Paul exclaimed, after detailing how he often wants to do what is good but then does not do it; “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Rom 7:24-25.

Both of those little girls in that kindergarten room that day, needed the help of Jesus; one to understand that she didn’t need to grasp for more love because God already loved her fully and the other to know that when someone hurts her, God's perfect love still exists and He wants to wrap his arms around her to comfort her.

Happy belated Valentine's to all of my Inscribe writer friends. May you too learn to not grasp for more love from those around you and to be comforted by God's love instead, as you endeavor to write from a heart filled with love.

Gloria Guest endeavors to write with a heart of love from the Saskatchewan prairies; which have included many newspaper articles and columns as a past reporter. She is published in two anthologies and is currently working on writing a devotional with the desire to provide hope to those who have gone through life's trials.

Take Out the Trash by Carol Harrison

 

 

Taking out the trash is a never-ending type of job. If I leave it for too many days, it starts to permeate the air with a less than pleasant aroma. I can’t take it out once and say, “There that’s all done for good.”

But what about the trash in my life and in my heart? I often struggle with negative thoughts pushing their way in and cloaking my heart with a dark covering. It blocks creativity and colours the world around me with pessimism. Yet in Proverbs 4:23(ESV) I read, “Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flows the springs of life.”

I decided to look more closely at the words like keep and vigilance in this verse. Some translations use the word guard your heart and keep alert. I added those in to the study as well. This allows me more clarity about the meaning and how to accomplish God’s directive.

Merriam Webster defines guard as, “Protect from danger especially by watchful attention. In Biblereference.com it talks about keep, used in place of guard, not in terms of maintaining ownership but referring to maintenance, care, and support.

Vigilance is keeping watch for possible dangers or difficulties and being alertly watchful. So how can I be alert, watchful, and guard my heart and why should I?

In Luke 6:45 Jesus is teaching and says, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” I believe this is also true of the words we write. They also come from those well springs of life in the heart, that center of my thoughts, emotions, and will. Temptation is real, pulling us away from what is best for our hearts. God knows all about my willful self and waits for me to come to Him for help in guarding against the negativity and lies of the enemy.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Renewing my mind can only be truly accomplished with God’s wonderful and gracious help. For me it reminds me I need to take out the trash in my life and heart too. What am I watching, listening to, reading?

If I spend too much time on news stories it keeps me up to date with current affairs but it also plunges me into the darkness of depression. Too often it makes me forget that God is still in control and nothing is a surprise to Him. When the negativity takes over, the ideas for writing disappear and I want to escape into more mindless activities.

In Bible Study.com it states, “A God controlled thought life will

           - Govern your speech (Prov. 4: 24)

           - Guard your sight (vs 25)

           - Guide your steps (vs 27)

2 Corinthians 10: 5, “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” God can and does change our thoughts to good and positive when we allow Him to help us. So I need to seek God daily and take out the trash with His help by checking what I am watching, reading, and listening to. This allows me to hear God’s directions about words to say and write. In this way I can be alert and guard my heart.

 

Carol Harrison lives in Saskatoon, SK. She enjoys reading, sharing stories, and family time but realizes how easy it is to let herself be involved in many mindless activities which she needs to guard against.

A Dentist, the Heart, and Spring Cleaning by Sharon Heagy

 

photo courtesy of Bible.com

When I was a youngster, I didn’t mind going to the dentist. In those pre-cavity days it was an adventure. In my memory my dentist, Dr. Schadek, was a kind and gentle man. His office was in a formidable building with wide stairs and cement bannisters. The whole building was covered in Tyndall Stone, as many buildings in Manitoba and Saskatchewan still are, including the Legislative Buildings of both provinces. It is the only Canadian stone on the worldwide list of global heritage stone resources. It is also a wonderful source of amusement to kids of all ages as one can often find fossils embedded in the surface of the cut stones. Though quite a daunting structure in my mind, Doc Schadek’s office was in a one-story building.

The best thing about visiting the Doc in those days was the treasure chest. If you were well behaved, you were allowed to pick a ‘trinket’ out of the treasure chest. I had no doubt that this was actual treasure as the Dr lived in a castle! His house had a turret and a dormer window! My imagination ran wild.

I saved my trinkets in a safe place and treasured them. Until I didn’t. I grew up and, for some unknown reason, I stopped going to the dentist for several years. Perhaps he retired and we didn’t get another one. It’s a mystery. I cannot tell you what happened to my trinket collection. They must have been tossed as other things took their place in my heart.

Those were the days when I saved and “stored up for myself treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (MT 6:19 NIV) “Where my treasure was, there my heart was also.” (MT 6:21 NIV)

In time, lots of time, God gained my attention as He transformed my heart of stone into a heart of clay. It’s difficult now to remember a time without Him. He changed the desire of my heart from “treasures on earth” (vs 19) to “treasures in heaven.” (vs 20)

His word is life giving nectar to my body, soul and spirit. The guidance of His Spirit whisks me on winds to places I never dreamed of going. My friendship with King Jesus is a treasure to my heart which will never, ever get tossed like trinkets. He blesses me with words to write, not for my own sake but for His purposes. Yet all the above will wither and vanish away if I don’t guard my heart against the treasures of the flesh, of the world.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV) Not just a little bit of vigilance, but with all vigilance. It won’t just happen, we need to make a deliberate choice, or continual choices, to keep the “springs of life” flowing.

Quite some time ago, I read an article that was placed below a beautiful painting of flowered lungs. The written words spoke of scholars and rabbis who believe the letters “YHWH” represent breathing sounds. YH inhaling and WH exhaling. Some say that a baby’s first breath speaks the name of God. Before writing this post, I listened to the sound of a heartbeat. As I sat with my eyes closed, I replaced the ‘lub dub’ sound of the heart with YH and WH. Listening carefully I could hear the whooshing sound of life sustaining blood flowing in the background. The springs of life.

As we sit to write, may we consider how, where and why our words come together. Who is the source, the Head of the river of our inspiration. Are we flowing with the springs of life or do we need a spring cleaning? Though I pray before I write, and will continue to do so, I think I will start praying like the psalmist in Psalm 139 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV) Let Your river flow through me, Lord. Through us. Through InScribe. Amen.

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Sharon Heagy writes from Rockglen, Saskatchewan, where she lives with her husband, three cats and one very large dog, all of whom bring sunshine into her life. She writes to inspire and give hope, with a chuckle or two along the way.