A WRITER'S MORNING PRAYER - by Joylene M. Bailey

 

Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of you, let my first impulse be to worship you, let my first word be your Name,

let my first action be to kneel before you in prayer.

(John Baillie)

Father, I give back into Your hands all that You have given me:

My gifts and talents. 

I rededicate them to Your service, they are Yours to use as You want, Father. They are Yours, Christ Jesus. All these are Yours, Holy Spirit. 

May they bring You glory.

My passion.  

Use my passion for words to keep me searching out the right words for the right moment, that they may be like apples of gold in settings of silver. Let them be faithful and arrive true at their destination. 

My purpose.  

O Lord, speak through my words today. Thank You for making use of me to fulfill Your mighty purpose for the world and for my neighbour. Let me be a channel of Your love and compassion to those within reach of my words. Fold Your purpose for my writing into Your ultimate purpose, that my words might bring You glory.

My perseverance. 

Help me to persevere when the writing is hard, when the trials and urgencies of the day keep me from the page. And when I have to be away from the writing, may the thoughts and ideas keep percolating so that when I return, Your voice is the ink flowing onto the page.

Keep me mindful that writing is a gift and a privilege. May I never take it for granted or make it an idol.

You alone are worthy.

O God my Creator, accompany me into this day with Your blessing, and may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

Amen

~~~~~

Joy writes from Edmonton where she lives with The Cowboy and very-soon-to-be-married Babe. She is appreciating the prayers of John Baillie, which can be found in the classic, A Diary of Private Prayer. 

Find more of Joy's writing at Scraps of Joy.

Photo by Tom Henell on Unsplash

Their Words Are Poetry by Alan Anderson

 

A caveat: I trust no one will misinterpret this post to be a shameful self-serving one.

 

Please allow me to summarize “passion and purpose,” as a writer in a few humble sentences. The terms passion and purpose mean to live. To live means a way to express oneself. To express oneself shows a passion to write. A passion to write is a measure of God’s call on one’s life. This measure of God’s call is a vital part of life. This vital part spurs one on to completion. This completion is a mark of one’s passion and purpose.

  

A vital part of my life as a writer is the grief of grandparents who mourn the death of their grandchildren. These days they are a focus of my writing. The February 2021 post introduced this focus as a book I am writing called, “Plant Them a Garden: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry.” This project has challenges, but I will persevere.

 

People often misunderstand the role of poetry in life. When people ask what genre of writing I am involved in, I tell them my current genre is poetry. Most often I see their eyes glaze over. They may reply with noncommittal comments like, “Oh, really? That’s nice.” These responses no longer discourage me.

 

From what I understand, poetry is not marketable. Does it have to be? Poets do not make a living from their poetry. Must we make a living from writing poetry? Even other writers warn me there is no money in poetry. There may be no hope of earning a living, for instance, but I write poetry from a passion. Anything else is but a bonus.

My primary focus of poetry right now is for a particular audience prone to allow other voices than their own to be heard. Grief poetry is not something people seem to be drawn to, yet those I write for say they need a voice. This need for a voice also implies the need for those who will listen to their voice.

My current primary project focuses on grandparents who grieve the death of their grandchildren. They often suffer their grief in silence. This is not a fact in life people flock to know about. This is also not a reason to put one’s passion aside.

 

Many grieving grandparents convince themselves to “be strong” for their families in times of grief. I hear this from almost every grieving grandparent I communicate with. Few people listen to their grief. My approach is to listen to their stories, then write poems to capture their grief and hope. Most grieving grandparents keep their grief hidden. They are our forgotten mourners. They do not speak a lot about their grief. They use few words when they do. Their words are poetry.

 

My passion is to write for those who need a listening heart. This includes the grief of grandparents as they live life without their grandchildren. In all humbleness a hope is, “Plant Them a Garden: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry,” will be a voice for those who mourn in silence.

 

Note: A photo included in this post shows the garden I planted in memory of my five grandbabies in heaven.

 

 

Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017 and Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018. Alan has also written articles for FellowScript Magazine. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca. Alan is the Provincial Rep. Liaison and BC Rep for InScribe.

The Three-Legged Writing Stool - Tracy Krauss

                                  PASSION - PURPOSE - PERSEVERANCE 

I love a good alliteration, don't you? These three P's are like a three-legged stool. Now, sit down and write!

Passion

I think most writers love to write, or they wouldn't be doing it. There has to be something that motivates us beyond fame and fortune, cause let's face it--those two are unreliable! Ever since I was a child I've needed an outlet for the stories in my head. Until my young adulthood, that outlet was art, but once I started writing as a young mom, I never looked back. I LOVE to write. There is no other way to say it. So, even if I feel ill-equipped, get stuck or just tired of a story, or suffer from "imposter syndrome" (as many authors do) I will never stop writing. 

Purpose

In my experience, this leg of the stool develops over time. At first, my purpose was simply for my own gratification. My passion was my purpose. But when I started submitting my work for publication, I soon realized I needed to examine my motivation. Who was I writing for? Was I simply trying to entertain or was there a deeper message in my fiction? Even after answering these questions, one size doesn't fit all, especially when one writes in multiple genres as I do. 

I learned a technique from Nancy Rue at an InScribe conference which I still implement today. I try to distill each individual piece of writing into one word--one main theme. What is the essence of this novel/play/devotional book? I've come up with GRACE, REDEMPTION, MERCY, FRIENDSHIP, and others, depending on the piece. Sometimes it is just to entertain, and that's okay. But knowing my purpose has helped me stay focused on what's important, in both the writing stages and the marketing stages.

Perseverance

I think this last leg is one that needs special attention once one steps into the 'publishing' arena. I really appreciated Bob Jones' post this month about tenacity, and I think I have a bit of that same gene, or I would have given up a long time ago. 

I wasn't prepared, at first, for the fact that my first novel--my baby--wasn't as good as I thought it was! I wasn't prepared for rejection after rejection even after I had revised and edited. Then, once I'd "made it" with my first book deal, I wasn't prepared for the hard work and effort that goes into marketing. And after that, I wasn't prepared for negative reviews or criticism from other Christians because my book wasn't as squeaky clean as they wanted it to be. 

Trust me, I've had ample opportunities to just give up, already! 

Then I realized I need this leg of my writing stool. My passion for writing isn't going away and I believe in the purposes I've identified for each piece, so perseverance is the only logical choice since I can't teeter on two legs for long. 

These three go together. Without one, you will eventually fall (or fail) as a writer, but when you're sitting squarely on your three-legged writing stool, there is a sense of security no matter the outcome of any individual piece. 

___________________________________________

After thirty-some years of writing, Tracy Krauss continues relentlessly on, writing in a variety of genres from devotional books to romantic suspense novels to stage-plays. She is also currently serving as president of Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship. Visit her website for all the low-down: "fiction o the edge without crossing the line" https://tracykrauss.com

What's My Purpose and Passion? by Carol Harrison

 The question about what my purpose and passion happens to be, can be a loaded question that makes me want to shut down and not bother answering - or at least it has on many occasions. Have I known it for a long time or recently discovered it? Has it changed over time or just grown in depth? 

Recently, I heard someone say that to discover, rediscover, or develop your present day passion and purpose, you need to revisit your younger self and see what captured your interest, made you want to spend endless hours in its pursuit, and enjoy the journey. As a teen, reading, studying, research, and writing school reports, essays, and stories captured my attention to the exclusion of many other pursuits. Some might say I exhibited many nerd-like qualities. Yet my main purpose continued to be finishing school and becoming a teacher. How would this passion for academic type pursuits serve me in the "real-world" of everyday life? 

I observed female role models in my life. All of them demonstrated their love for God and family through serving others. They managed households, could grow much in a small garden plot, sewed with ease, quilted, cooked delicious meals, and baked from scratch. Domestic activities in which they excelled and found their passion - or so it seemed to me- helped them serve others with compassion. How did study, reading, and writing fit into a purpose that would help others? I didn't know and felt it must mean I needed to discover another purpose for my life and pray my passions and interests changed. 

If someone asked me this question of purpose and passion in my twenties, thirties, and even into my forties, I would shake my head because I still struggled to figure out that answer. Or I might have thrown out the answer about raising my children, teaching Sunday School, or helping in our business. Yet throughout these decades of uncertainty and busyness, deep down the passion for more creative endeavors round its way into my life through crafts or jotting down ideas but never really pursuing anything. 

As a young girl, I understood that each one is uniquely created by God and we all, as believers, have to share the good news of the gospel. Later, I learned how God gives gifts and abilities for us to use to build others up and bring glory to God. Somewhere along the way I lost sight of this truth as it related to me. 

It took years of floundering, trying various activities, being busy with everyday aspects of life before I discovered the gifts God intended me to use didn't have to look like anyone else's gifts. I didn't have to be my mother or grandmothers, or aunts with their domestic abilities. I needed to be willing for God to use what he had given me, then pursue them, practice them, and persevere in the journey even when I didn't always understand the direction or the reasons. It is more than okay to be who God made me to be. So what is my passion and purpose? 

I am a storyteller. It means being willing to tell the story of what God has and is doing in whatever format that takes - written or oral. It also means participating in the journey with God and taking the next step when I can't see the one beyond that. 

God brought several scripture passages to mind, multiple times until they embedded deep into my heart and mind. 

Psalm 78:1-4, "O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old- what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done."

Psalm 105:1-5, "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgements he pronounced."

God used those years of fear, of uncertainty, the busyness of raising a family, and working in our own businesses at times, to teach me many things. He showed me through a variety of experiences that he is still the same God as the God of the Bible. He led people into my life who spoke into my heart with compassion, with affirmations, and sometimes with a kick in the seat of the pants as I needed to be nudged from a comfort zone I was never intended to remain in.

Those passions for creativity, study, and research, as well as the desire to teach or help others never changed. It simply developed as I came to terms with the directions God might lead me and how they might not look the same as I imagined or what others may have expected. That is okay. 

Some days are difficult to keep going. The path ahead remains in the shadows and I long to give up, hide out, and forget about sharing stories and God's love with others. Yet persistence or perseverance means I need to keep going one step at a time, allowing God to guide and direct. I don't have to understand all the complexities but rather be available and obedient. 

As I worked through all those thoughts on purpose and passion and how it showed up in my life, I wrote this mission statement a few years ago that sums it up. "As a speaker, published author and storyteller, Carol Harrison is passionate about mentoring people of all ages and abilities to help them find their voice and reach their fullest potential, helping them find a glimmer of hope in every circumstance of life."

In doing this, I can say with the psalmist in Psalm 71:1-4, "But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O Go, till I declare you power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."  

Carol Harrison keeps plodding on the journey one step at a time as she tells stories for her family and others. She hangs out for hours at a time in front of her computer from her home in Saskatoon, longing that others will be encouraged, entertained, or educated. Most of all that God will have all the glory.

A Writer's Best Friend by Bob Jones

Reputations are funny things. What do people know you for? The world’s best baked beans and bacon? Crafts? Creativity? Inspiring writing? Most people know me for one thing.

 

It’s not hard to imagine how that reputation came about. Eighteen years ago, our church was the subject of conversation from coast to coast and for all the wrong reasons. We set off in an unpopular direction, fraught with failure. It was painful at times. But we made it through a six-year quest to a remarkable new beginning. Invitations to tell my story came from across Canada. Seems as though the two things church leaders have in common are pain and a need for hope. “Tell me it’s going to be OK.”

 

PASSION

Requests come my way to write for magazines or speak to groups and there is usually one subject requested. But that’s OK. It’s nice to be asked. Not surprisingly, while crafting this post, an invitation came to speak at a Christian camp this summer. The organizers are looking for someone to speak on the topic “How Not to Give Up.” Some people have a reputation for passion or perseverance; mine is a passion for perseverance.  

Stamina is my forte. An International Marathon medal reminds me that I am a finisher. So is my wife. Give us a task, point us in the right direction and we'll make it to the finish line. Our maxim is, "It's always too soon to quit."

 

WHAT'S YOUR GENIUS?

This week, our staff took Patrick Lencioni’s, Working Genius assessment. Lencioni says everyone has two of six working geniuses. The six are summarized in an acrostic - WIDGET. The “T” stands for Tenacity. Yes, you guessed my working genius.

Tenacity gets me through writing books. Do you ever get sick of your books as you write them? Multiple times in the writing process,  the finish line disappears from sight. Grit gets me there. By the first edit all my head wants is to be done. Will puts me in front of the keypad. Finish.

Writing is not all inspiration. In fact, if you wait for inspiration, you’ll do a lot of waiting and little writing. Writing is a long devotion in the same direction. Writing is more perspiration than inspiration. Writers have to do the work. And do it most everyday. 

My granddaughter and I collaborated on a book two summers ago. Quinn was seven years old. She provided the story and illustrations. I edited. Last summer we added a bit more. This is summer number three and she is losing interest. I hear myself say,"We always finish what we start." By September, the story will have an ending. All it takes is one rainy afternoon.

GRIT

Angela Duckworth is spot on in her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Talent isn't the only indicator of success. Tenacity ranks right up at the top. Consistent and persistent effort, following through on your commitments, and dedicated practice are every writer's best friend. 

An interest in writing will get you to the start line. Tenacity will get you to the finish line.

Tenacity is one of the characteristics that can tip the scales for you. Cultivating tenacity will help you add one more chapter, write just 500 more words, or pitch just one more magazine before your work is done. Growing and developing tenacity is an active undertaking. But the return value is worth it.

Write on!

My running partner and wife, Jocelyn.

I write to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose.

Please follow my writing at REVwords.com

I would love to hear from you.

 

Passion, Business or Both? by Tandy Balson

I believe the words God has placed in my heart are his gift to me.  When I write them down to share with others they become my gift of obedience back to him.  For me this is the fulfillment of a passion he’s given me.  The intention was not for it to become a business.

The questions I struggle with are, “Can my passion also be a business?” and if so, “How do I turn this into a business that is honouring to him?”

To figure this out, I turned to the “experts” online.  Before long my inbox was cluttered with course offerings and information on how to create catchy headlines, increase my tribe and make stacks of money.  Is this really what I need to do?

My focus has always been to share messages of hope and encouragement that would point readers to God. So much of the expert help I received was about self promotion.  Do I have to promote me in order to promote him?  

Currently I am a member of a “Women in Business” group and a “Christian Women Entrepreneurs” group.  When I attend meetings or join online discussions I feel like a fraud.  It doesn’t seem like I’m in business and I’m far from an entrepreneur.  

As a writer, where do I fit in?  To be perfectly honest, I still haven’t figured that out.  I’m afraid I’ll lose my passion for writing if it becomes a business.  For now it’s an either/or situation.  Maybe it’s possible to have both.  I’m not sure how to do this but am open to suggestions.

Thankful to Write Poetically by Connie Inglis

To be honest, I have not yet had many experiences in my writing life. I still feel like a newbie in all this. It was only just over a year ago when I actually said these words: "I am a poet." I am becoming more and more comfortable with that and get so exhilarated when I write poetry. And I am so thankful God has opened that creative side of me and that I always find Him there.
That being said, I have realized just in the last couple of months that I am not a fiction novelist and I don't think I ever will be one. This revelation surprised me--at first I didn't want to even acknowledge it. You see, ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of writing a novel and have always carried a few plot ideas in my head. But I am taking an Advanced Fiction course right now and am already struggling with my first assignment: to write the first chapter of a fiction novel. I've started but none of it comes easy. Last week I heard my inner voice say, "I'd much rather be writing a poem." Where did THAT come from? And what do I do with it? So, I started pondering what that was all about.

At first, I was bummed. Did my dream of being a novelist just take a major fall out the window? I was somewhat confused...but then God affirmed that voice through a different window. I've been reading Sage Cohen's book, The Productive Writer. She is the voice of an author who wondered about her writing as a poet and so I listened. Early in the book she talks about finding your platform, that she had never considered that "poetry was platform worthy. Poetry was poetry, and I loved it and I read it and I wrote it -- but what was I going to say to the world about it?" A light came on when I realized that this was me and that this was God showing up with the right book from the right author at the right time to give me the right perspective. After that, I read the book through fresh eyes--through the eyes of a poet.

I cannot explain how emotional this epiphany was for me--my soul was soaring and free, liberated to follow its true passion. I am not sure what's going to happen with my writing course, (I wish the university offered upper-level poetry courses but they don't) but I'm not fretting. God will help me with it I know, because He has proven to be faithful. So I trust.

And today, of all days, I am thankful: Thankful for a family that supports me in my writing; Thankful for InScribe and my writers' group that are always so encouraging; Thankful for God's guidance and direction in the past and in the future; Thankful for a country where I can write and share freely through the written word.

God reminds me daily that He is and will be with me as I pursue this passion. Every time I am inspired to write a poem, I know this to be true. Just a few mornings ago, an unusually warm fall morning, I was sitting outside on my deck with my morning coffee and heard a chickadee singing beautifully in my plum tree. I couldn't see it. It was hiding. But I could hear it and could feel the joy of its song. And then an old nursery rhyme came to mind:

"I'm hiding, I'm hiding
And no one knows where;
For all they can see is my
Toes and my hair..."

And then I thought about hiding and that I too was hiding, but not in the same sense as that bird. I am hiding in Jesus. So, I changed the words and even put it to a tune but for now, I'll just share the poem.

I'm Hiding, I'm Hiding

I'm hiding, I'm hiding and I'll tell you where,
In the sweet arms of Jesus, you'll find me there;
Come seek and hide with me, under His care,
I'm hiding, I'm hiding, I'll tell you where.

I'm hiding, I'm hiding, under His care,
With storms all around me, Jesus is there;
He holds me gently, He hears my prayer,
I'm hiding, I'm hiding, under His care.

I'm hiding, I'm hiding, come hide with me there,
For Jesus He loves you, He'll hear your prayer,
In trials and troubles, Your burden He'll bear,
We'll be hiding, sweet hiding, under His care.

THE PLEASURE IS ALL MINE by Bryan Norford

What does it feel like to experience God’s pleasure? There are times, as Ramona suggests, when writing flows easily. Perhaps that is feeling His pleasure. But when writing is hard, is that because He is displeased? More likely, difficult writing is probably fielding the displeasure of the evil one. Meaningful dialog comes from the pain of writing as well as its pleasure.

To be honest, I am low on the emotional scale, so feelings rarely come into the categories that drive my writing. But if passion is included in the feelings cluster, perhaps that provides Him pleasure as it drives my need to write. For me, the passion I feel is born of the correspondence of my experience with the truth: the “yes, that’s so right” moment.

Our hearts can be deceitfully wicked, and our feelings often unreliable. The Mormon “burning bosom” that’s supposed to confirm truth can be misleading. Never-the-less, as we listen to Him we mimic the experience of the two on the road to Emmaus: "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

It’s that experience that excites me as I read Scripture. Recently, I read—it seemed for the first time—Isaiah 59:21: "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the Lord.

In context, “them” are those of Israel who have repented of their sin. That includes us Gentiles, for all who belong to Christ are Abraham’s seed, Galatians 3:29. For one whose primary burden is the legacy I leave for my ever extending family, this doubles my desire and drive to write the truth.

The whole of life—living daily with Him—should evoke the pleasure of His company. But especially writing that expresses or confirms the way Scripture predicts both personal and public life drives my passion. This desire to honour Him, I must believe, brings Him pleasure. My response, as the saying goes: “The pleasure is all mine.”

THE BREATHINGS OF HIS HEART by Bryan Norford

The idea of breathing reminded me of the basic use of breath in the Bible. Remarkably, one original word in both Old and New Testaments is translated breath, wind, or spirit. The Hebrew ruach and the Greek, pneuma, both translate to these three words, the specific meaning depending on context.

However, difficulty in finding the intended meaning in each case is highlighted in both testaments. In both Ezekiel 37—the Valley of Dry Bones—and John 3—Jesus’ discourse on spiritual birth, the overlap of meaning comes through pun style.

Ezekiel 37, uses the word ruach eight times in the first fourteen verses, both for breath and Spirit. Even a cursory reading shows that the translator could have used Spirit for breath in most locations, that is, the breath of God in this instance could equally be His Spirit.

By way of contrast, Genesis 2:7, uses a different Hebrew word, mappah, for breath. This gives the sense God forced breath into the nostrils of the first man providing basic existence, a breathing life all humans share. But in other Scriptures, the same word also means forcing breath out, or loss of life, showing the original existence is temporary.

Like the Ezekiel passage, John 3 invites us to share in a life-giving breath that is permanent. Verses 6–8 translate wind and Spirit from the same root, pneuma. Verse 8 signifies human reasoning can neither understand nor obtain this new life. It is a gift of the Spirit of God.

This revelation colours dramatically what I understand should be the breathings of my heart. Whatever passion our natural life may inspire, it is temporary, but breathing in the Spirit of God as we write will provide the seeds of immortal life as we breathe it out.

As we hear Him, from the Word, or His Spirit’s still small voice, the breathing our hearts will be the breathing of His heart within us. We will find no greater resource for our words to penetrate this life and the next.