E is for Endeavor to Achieve Excellence by Carol Harrison

 

If I put in the effort and work hard or endeavor as I work on my writing, don’t I want to aim for perfection? Perfection, the ideal in our minds, where we make no mistakes, have amazing writing, and have it loved by everyone at all times, is a lofty goal whose standard remains out of reach. Missing the mark often leads to discouragement, disappointment, and with us being disillusioned. These are accompanied by the fear of failure.

The negative inner voice whispers, “But the negative voice in my head often whispers, “But if you can’t have perfect writing and be the best of the best, maybe settling for good enough will work.”  Then the whispers grow into a loud chatter, “That piece of writing isn’t good enough to even show people, let alone submit it anywhere. After all, you’re not good enough at anything.”

Why should I settle for the mediocrity of just getting by, just being good enough. Somehow this also makes the negative voices chatter about failure. They make it seem like anything I write must be substandard. I’m left with feeling like I’m trying to run a marathon carrying heavy weights of negativity with me every step of the way. What I’d love is to have wings to soar above mediocrity.

Striving for perfection and settling for good enough lead to a trap called comparison that nips creativity and courage in the bud and pulls us into a self-critical negative attitude. I’ve been guilty of that too many times. I compare myself to authors I admire and think they must have found the secret to success and perfection in their writing journey that I’ll never accomplish. Yet when I’m honest, I know I’ve forgotten that every writer is on a journey and I don’t necessarily see all the hills and valleys they’ve encountered or even know where along the journey they are at this moment.

I have a choice. My attitude needs adjusting as I endeavor to achieve excellence in my writing. Colin Powell said, “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception; it is a prevailing attitude.”  

Excellence means doing the very best I can with the ability, training, and experience I have at this time. It also means remaining teachable so I can continue to learn new skills, improve ones I already know, and listen to critiques of those further along the journey than I am.

Some questions I think need to be asked to ascertain if something has achieved excellence for us include:

-         Has it improved from previous pieces?

-        Have I been willing to allow someone further along in the writing journey to read and honestly critique my work?

-        Have I taken the critiques of others into consideration and revised the writing accordingly?

-        Have I been impatient to finish and it falls short of the standard I should be at for the training, skills and abilities I currently have?

-        Is it the best I can make it right now?

The recipe for being successful in my endeavor for excellence involves attitude. Add in heaping quantities of endurance and effort. Liberally mix in enthusiasm for the craft of writing, for learning opportunities and mentoring. Be sure to find someone to add encouragement to the mixture. Leave out excuses and try to escape from the hard work mechanisms. Those negative attitudes take away from the richness of excellence.

In the books of Timothy, Paul is instructing Timothy on many facets of being a pastor, a church leader, and a follower of Jesus. In the Message, 2 Timothy 2: 15 says, “Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple.”

In Colossians 3: 17 (ESV) says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Paul repeats this attitude we should have in Colossians 3:23 (ESV) “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

Everything means my attitude, my life, and my writing too, I need to ask myself one more question. “Have I tried my best as I endeavored to achieve excellence?” To answer yes means I have put in the effort, energy, and enthusiasm to glorify God by not settling for less than I know how to do at this moment in time.

 

Carol Harrison, from Saskatoon, SK, knows she needs to encourage and be encouraged as she continues to endeavor to achieve excellence. She is grateful for each writer she has met and learned a lot from.

 

 

 

 

  

A Cage Cracked Open by Pamela Mytroen

When I envision a crack, I think of the Zoo Keeper’s wife, Antonina Zabinski, who with her husband Jan, poured her life’s work into their zoo in Warsaw, Poland. During the Nazi occupation, Lutz Heck, the top-ranking zoologist and an officer for Hitler, visited their Zoo in a façade of goodwill, and took rare animals in an attempt to re-create extinct breeds to build up enough for Nazi hunting parties. He then hosted a New Year’s Eve shooting party at their zoo. With deep sadness Antonina and Jan buried their beloved animals. That evening at sunset two hawks and an eagle circled above their garden. Their cage had been cracked open by bullets and they had flown free. However, they didn’t want to leave the only home they knew and the ones they trusted. They flew down and landed on Antonina’s porch, where she fed them.  

Sometimes a crack can open a cage and set a prisoner free, but after being confined for so long, prisoners don’t know how to navigate freedom, and they have to learn to trust all over again. 

I wonder if that’s what’s happening to us during Covid-19? For so long we have lived with certain patterns to our day, and with confident expectations. Maybe our freedom was defined by being able to meet with friends and family, schoolmates and co-workers whenever we wanted. Or perhaps our comforts consisted of travelling, whether a short trip to a Provincial campground or as far away as another country. We have defined freedom by luxury within gilded bars. Even Christians, though we sincerely trusted in the Lord and found joy and peace in Him, have been shaken. Our carefully constructed cage of comforts has cracked wide open. We weren’t expecting it. We were enjoying our short little flights inside our cage. We trusted the Lord because He brought everything to our doorstep and provided for us. Then suddenly a whole new world opened up. Would we fly and leave the cramped confines of little faith? 

Freedom has taken on a new definition. No longer does it mean leaving footprints at every retail location or laughing together over a meal with friends. No, now our freedom is internal instead of external. 

After the Apostle Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, he gives us this timely insight: “Against such things there is no law.” Right now there are laws against getting too close, against using playgrounds, and going to school. Against hugging and working elbow-to-elbow. Against using cash. And watch out if you cough or sneeze in public! We feel strangled, but the Spirit of the Living God is not caged-in, but rather indwells us. There is no law against love – we can and have found creative ways to love each other. A knock on our door revealed a care package from our Youth Pastor and his family – taco chips with homemade fruit salsa, and an encouraging note. People are calling or Zooming, Face timing or Skyping their loved ones more now than ever. 

There is no law against joy. In fact, Paul commands us to rejoice and to count it all joy when we encounter trials of diverse kinds (James 1:2). I think losing a job, and being separated from loved ones counts as a diverse kind of trial, don’t you? We are instructed to be joyful because trials will increase our endurance. To be joyful takes concentration some days. It doesn’t come pouring into my heart at all moments. I have to intentionally search for it. But joy takes the wheel when I focus on the big picture; when I look down the road a ways I see a stronger me. That makes me joyful, to think that I will be more like Jesus, and more ready to stand in His presence someday. I’m enduring this small cross and rejoicing, because of the joy waiting around the corner. “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross,” (Hebrews 12:2b). 

There is no law against peace. I can go to my Father in Heaven at any moment and cast my care upon Him (1Pe 5:7). He offers to share the yoke of stress with me and in exchange gives me peace. I don’t have to wait in line outside on a cold windy day for His peace. I don’t have to wear a mask to approach Him. I don’t have to fear being arrested and fined for walking boldly into His throne room. I fly in, without an appointment, skid to a stop and fall down at His feet. I can even cough, sneeze, and rub my eyes and He won’t report me. The only requirement is that I come in the name of Jesus His Son, the One who gave His life for me – Jesus  – the One who gave up His freedom and be bound so that we could be free. 

Will I fly? I still hesitate. I still want my cage the way it was. My nest was comfy. Everything was predictable. My simple normal life has been cracked open. My routines have been stripped away. I don’t know what the future holds. But I would be crazy not to fly. I’ve been invited to ascend like an eagle into lapis lazuli skies of joy, dive into deep pools of peace, and glide with grace and love. 

Someday I will need strong wings. I will need endurance to keep going when dark clouds obscure Heaven’s shore. I want a wingspan that stretches wide with love, joy, and peace. I’d better step off my perch and start practicing.        

By Pamela Mytroen

   

Celebration Time by Susan Barclay

One of the questions in this month's writing prompt asks, "How can you celebrate your [writing] progress and how God has led/is leading you?" This begged another question, namely "What does the verb celebrate actually mean?" 

celebrate [ sel-uh-breyt ]

verb (used without object), cel·e·brat·ed, cel·e·brat·ing

to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities

to perform a religious ceremony, especially Mass or the Lord's Supper

In the case of  one's writing, the occasion to celebrate might be the completion of an oeuvre, the receipt of an offer to publish, a writing award or contest win, being hired for a freelance job, or achieving some other accomplishment. The definition of success will look different for each writer. For some it might be as simple (or challenging!) as maintaining a writing streak of 500 words a day for 21 or 40 days. 

How do we celebrate such things? With a party, a break for self-care, a glass of champagne? If it's going to be a fete, there's much to consider: guests, venue, food, table arrangements, decorations and activities, to name several.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, at least when it comes to thinking about a book launch or other big shindig. So far there are no major book deals, the unfinished novel is still unfinished, and though I've entered several contests this year, I haven't won any (or even placed second or third). My successes have been relatively small, and that's okay. I'm beyond thrilled to have had a column in FellowScript and I enjoy writing posts here most months. While I may not have won or placed in any contests, I have been writing, so that's a plus. I also made the decision to work with a writing mentor this fall, and hopefully that means I'll finally finish the novel I've been working on for far too long. Oohrah!

For the most part the journey God's been leading me on this last year-and-a-half hasn't been about writing - at least not on the surface. It's been about trusting Him even when the going gets tough, even when things don't make sense, even when the chickens counted on didn't hatch in the way expected. Can I still celebrate?

I've probably shared this verse before, but it never gets stale: 

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. ~James 1:2-4, NLT

"Consider it an opportunity for great joy." Doesn't that sound like a celebration to you?

God is developing my endurance, perfecting and making me complete. And that's a story that'll be worth writing when the time is right.

I feel a party coming on.

_________________________
You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

My Takeaways from the 2013 ICWF Fall Conference - Ruth L. Snyder

This weekend I had the privilege of attending the InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship Fall Conference in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. I especially appreciated our keynote speaker, Murray Pura.

"Don't let anything be greater than the fact that you are a child of God!" (Advice given to Murray when he signed his first book contract.)

In his opening session, Murray gave us two personal examples of why it's important to persevere as a writer.

Mizzly Fitch
-This was Murray's first novel
-He sent queries out and received 3 rejection letters
-He wanted to quit sending queries, but his wife wouldn't let him
-The manuscript was accepted for publication, but Murray didn't like the cover
-The publisher was sold
-After waiting, he was told the new company would not be republishing the book
-After many years, Regent College offered to republish the book
-When they sent the cover art to Murray, he was startled to see they chose his favourite painting as the cover picture
-The book is still in print today

Zo
-Murray's second novel, based on two of his aunts
-Submitted manuscript
-Publisher rejected the book because the writing was "too good"
-Agent gave manuscript to 4 large publishers who all rejected it
-Another publisher liked the manuscript, but two experts had a problem with the Christian content
-Became a finalist in the Paraclete Contest
-Publisher offered to publish, but declined after 2 weeks
-20 years later, the book was finally published! and was shortlisted for a $25,000 prize
-The sequel was published two years later and won The Word Guild Award for best historical novel

Sunrise near Wetaskiwin on Saturday, September 29, 2013

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the weekend:

"You have to go for 'the long bomb'."

"God embodies everything he wants to teach us in story."

 "Treat your stories with respect and honour - you don't know where your stories will end up."

 "Take any decent opportunity that comes your way."

"Say, 'Yes I can' and do it 'afraid'."

 "Remember the cloud the size of a fist, which became a storm and filled the land with water."

"Remember that whenever you write a story, you're always writing for Christ."

Which Way Leads Home? by Pam Mytroen

An ice-covered fist, five rocky peaks, stood between Sir Ernest Shackleton and rescue. Warmth, food and hope awaited him and his two men on the other side of the mountains. They decided to try the first pass which appeared “deceptively easy”, said F.A. Worsley. However, when they reached the summit and peered over, they stepped back. The pass fell away in cliffs and crevasse-littered glaciers. The second and third passes proved just as deadly.

They put all their hope onto the fourth and final pass, but it too disappointed. Below them lay more shadowed crevasses waiting to swallow them whole. The men sat on its razor-backed ridge and dangled their legs into the darkening canyon.

Commander Shackleton withdrew for a moment to think. His 1916 South Pole expedition had failed. He had lost his ship ‘Endurance’ to ice. He and his crew of 28 had survived on ice-floes for six months until they took refuge on Elephant Island. The rest of his men waited there in an overturned lifeboat while Shackleton and his small crew crossed the stormiest sea in the world in another small life-boat. They reached Georgia Island which had never been crossed. If they had endured all of this, they could not turn back now. If they died, he reasoned, they would die trying to save their crew.

He faced his men and said, “We’ll slide.”

Worsley thought, “Slide down what was practically a precipice, in the darkness, to meet what? A rock in our path would mean certain disaster. Still it was the only way; to go back was useless, a death warrant; to stay on the ridge longer meant certain death by freezing.”

They sat down and locked together as one man. “Then Shackleton kicked off. We seemed to shoot into space. For a moment my hair stood on end. Then quite suddenly I felt a glow and knew that I was grinning. I was actually enjoying it,” said Worsely. In less than three minutes they safely reached the bottom of a three-thousand foot cliff.

Looking back, these men recognized that the slide was not a good choice. It was the only way down. It was trust.

That night Worsely recorded this in his journal: “There was no doubt that Providence had been with us. There was indeed one curious thing about our crossing of South Georgia...which I have never been able to explain...I had the sub-conscious feeling that there were four of us instead of three...” His ship-mates recorded the same mystery.

These experienced explorers realized that without stepping down into the darkness and trusting, they never would have made it safely home.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6).

Have you climbed long and hard only to find disappointment at the summit? There is a Pathway Home. His name is Jesus. He is the bridge across every crevasse.

Take that first step of faith into the dark canyon, lean into Jesus, and you will find rescue.

Pam Mytroen

All quotes other than scripture are taken from the following source:

F.A. Worsley, ENDURANCE, W.W. Norton and Co. 1931, pp 150, 155, and 156