Be a Fountain by Sandi Somers

 

I live in one of Calgary’s newer communities that have constructed wetlands--stormwater ponds that collect and hold excess rainwater and snow melt--waters polluted with garbage, pet waste, lawn chemicals, winter salt, and gravel. Live organisms help purify the water and the fountain aerates the water, providing oxygen. These ponds protect the community from flooding when excess water is drained into the larger city systems. 

Often during the spring and summer months, I walk over to the wetlands in my neighbourhood. Along the pathways, my attention focuses on different birds in the trees and reeds along the water, and waterbirds as they dip and dive with their young. 

I especially enjoy the fountain, its beauty the centrepiece of aesthetics and inspiration.  I often sit at the bench or stop on the bridge to listen to the whoosh of its gentle spray. Or I collect my thoughts and write notes or first drafts of articles that the waterfall and bird life inspire. 

~ ~ ~

Many authors have inspired me with their wisdom. Like the fountain, these quotes have enhanced my own creativity. As you read them, let them refresh and aerate your spirits.   

“Be faithful to your calling…this requires no grand leap off a cliff—just do the next thing.” Luci Shaw 

“Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.” Rainer Maria Rilke 

“(T)he first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.”  Louis L'Amour 

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” William Wordsworth 

On First drafts: “Seventy percent of a first draft is garbage and 30 percent is gold, but you have to write 100 percent to get that 30.” Laurell K. Hamilton 

“The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead. And if the second sentence doesn’t induce him to continue to the third sentence, it’s equally dead.” William Zinsser 

First person: "The more honestly you put yourself into the story, the more the story will concern others as well.” Rainer Werner Fassbinder 

Face your fears. “Nothing in life is to be feared—it is only to be understood.” Madame Curie. Do it scared, because, “The anointing you received from Him remains in you” (1 John 2:27).          

 Make failure your friend. “Fear of failure is the saddest reason on earth not to do what you were meant to do.” J.K. Rowling. 

“Follow Me.” Jesus (Matthew 4:19). 

“Feed my sheep.” Jesus (John 21:17). 

“Be filled with the Spirit”, Paul wrote in Ephesians (5:18). As we make Jesus the centrepiece of our lives, He promises that we will become like a fountain. Out of our lives will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). As we’re filled with the Spirit, He will infuse us with unlimited life-giving power and refreshment that will flow through us to our readers and beyond.

 

Invitations to the Unexpected by Sandi Somers

As you look back over your writing year, be kind and gracious to yourself.

~Susan Flory~

This month as our blog writers reflected on their year nearly completed, they wrote on their verse and/or word of the year. Most spoke with gratitude on God’s faithfulness, goodness, and God-inspired challenges, both in expected and unexpected ways. 

My word of the year was “Invitation”—an invitation to walk in the path God prepared for me. The accompanying Scripture the Lord gave me was, “Come, follow Me” (Matthew 4:19). 

The year had hardly begun when my brother Cyril fell and broke his hip. Living alone, he invited me to be his companion as he recovered. This was a new experience for me, filled with good interactions with both Cyril and our brother Lorne who with his son and daughter assumed all the farming responsibilities. 

The first weeks were delightfully filled with neighbours and friends dropping in-- visitors who couldn’t visit him due to Covid while in the hospital. Friends from the church brought home-cooked meals for us. The time also gave me a chance to be out in “God’s country”, enjoying the wide-open spaces, watching the many swans in migration, and mingling with friends at the country church. 

When I returned home, it was nearing spring and time to catch up with yard work and planting flowers and vegetables. During all this time, I didn't write too much, but God assured me that He would give me time a little while later.   

Just as I was gathering thoughts together for writing, I came down with the most wicked flu; it felt much like Covid, though I tested negative. It was difficult to write in those first few weeks as my head felt scrambled. I did, however, read and organize a few thoughts.  

By August I was almost completely recovered and I noticed a distinct change in the way the Lord was speaking to me. Through working on our three IWO blog themes of this summer (distractions, writing habits, and being stalled in writing), the Lord invited me to reorder both my writing and my private world, a process I knew would take time, a process that is still ongoing. 

Fall Conference came like a refreshing rain after not seeing our community of writers since before Covid. Inspirational chats and speakers filled me to the brim. Just a few days later, God prompted me to finish one of the major projects I had hidden in my computer folders. I decided on one which I began ten years ago, “Divine Touches”—devotionals on how God is working in our lives through miracles and other means. God also prompted me to ask others to be part of a prayer team—to keep me accountable and to work toward completion. As of this writing, I’m nearing the finish line of 75 devotionals, some nearly polished and others needing more revision. Again, God prompted me that before I begin the next phases, I’m to spend time in prayer for His wisdom and direction.

While preparing this blog post, I'm reminded of how Nehemiah acknowledged God with such courtesy: “The gracious hand of God was on me” (Nehemiah 2:18).  Everything in my year came because the Lord's gracious hands invited me into new pathways. His good hand is also giving me the promise for next year, the promise God gave to the Israelites in the desert:

  Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way

and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

(Exodus 23:20 ESV)

As we move into this season of Advent with its busy-ness and with the world still in the midst of the chaos, the pandemic, and uncertainty, I have a prayer for you. Accept God’s invitation to sit quietly in His presence, allowing the Spirit to reveal Himself to you with the marvel and wonder of the Messiah’s coming, both first and second. 

 

 

What Are God’s Invitations to You for 2022? By Sandi Somers

Image by Pinterest

Often we begin a new year by designing goals, ideas, and perhaps resolutions. In our blog posts this January, we’re focusing instead on what the Lord is inviting us to do.

 The more I thought about this topic, the more I realized how much the Lord initiates our faith-life, and how He is constantly calling us to, “Come, follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).  While following Jesus begins with an invitation to a personal relationship with Him, I also realized that God invites us to continue growing in our trust and love for Him (“Come, follow Me” is the Scripture the Lord gave me for this year.)

 Business Meetings with God

An important invitation came earlier this year to dialogue more deeply with the Lord about my writing. The Psalmist wrote, “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘LORD, I am coming’” (Psalm 27:8 NLT).

I began to practice Shelley Hitz's “Business Meetings with God”. She recommends that once a week we schedule a chunk of time to meet with God. While she focuses mainly on marketing, I’ve found her strategies to be beneficial for each stage of writing. I’m also integrating other life issues—family and household concerns, for example—to make these meetings more holistic. (My apologies--the link didn't work).

 The key is to hear God’s voice. This requires intentionally spending time in quietness with Him through two-way journalling (listening prayer), asking God for clarity, strategies, and confirmation. As we journal, we listen for His whispers of direction.

 Before this time, I had occasionally journalled questions and God answered with specific ideas. But now I scheduled regular meetings on Thursday or Friday. I chose my sunny upstairs spare room where the late afternoon sunlight streams in—especially important in our short winter days.

 During the week, I collect questions and items to discuss—an agenda of sorts. My journal entries begin with praise and thankfulness. Then after rereading my previous week’s meeting, I begin with questions: “How do I best…?” “How would you like me to approach…?” “How can I best glorify you…?” If God doesn’t seem to answer right then, He’ll sometimes bring ideas later as I write or become busy with other tasks.

 As 2022 dawns... 

One outcome of these business meetings is that God is inviting me to answer this question: “What would I attempt if I were sure the Lord is infusing me with wisdom, love, courage, and strength?” Here are some of my answers:

 ·        To maintain momentum in drafting and revising devotionals, working towards completion and into publishing. God has reminded me that to be a co-creator with Him in a new way, I’m to keep faithful in writing, and He will open doors at the right time.

 ·        To be more daring: at the same time as I revise my devotionals, I’m exploring other avenues for writing and submitting (including to FellowScript)

 ·        To experiment with fitting writing into cracks of time—afternoons or evenings—when I have other life responsibilities. (Often writing takes up my quality energy in the mornings, leaving other errands or tasks untended.)

 Intentionality matters. He's inviting me to be hopeful, believing, and engaged in writing that will have an eternal impact and will bring honour to Him.

 And now over to you…

 How and in what way is God inviting you to share your days and year with Him, particularly in writing, but also in your daily responsibilities and spiritual development?

 My prayer for us all: Thank You, Lord, for inviting us into what You have already planned, prepared and arranged in advance for us in 2022 and beyond. May we respond with “Yes,” to You.