Seasons of Purpose by Bob Jones

The prompt for August is: Write about a season you are currently experiencing or have experienced. How did it affect your writing life?

Depending on where you live, the seasons in Canada will be shorter or longer, harsh or gentle or unique to the area’s character. In Edmonton we have two seasons: winter and construction. I imagined that was a westerner’s sense of humour until our family of four moved to Edmonton thirty-five years ago. That’s how I now describe our seasons. In eighteen months from now, Alberta will be the place I have lived more than half my life. I feel like an Albertan. Growing up in Ontario, I never paid my province of birth any mind. I was Canadian. Still am. Forever Canadian.

Politics and Hockey 

Alberta is an interesting place to live and write about. It feels like we are either under construction by the latest government misplay, or we are in winter in June, cheering on McDavid and the Oilers and feeling sorry for the Flames. I would write about politics, or politicians but everyone takes their politics very seriously in Alberta, almost as seriously as they take their hockey.

Edmonton bleeds copper and blue or orange. And there was a lot of blood the last two years in the Stanley Cup finals. 

Ukraine

At this time in my writing life, all things Ukraine are in season. 

 

It’s embarrassing to admit that I thought the war with Russia started on February 24, 2022. Sadly, this was the beginning of my education in Ukrainian history. The Russian invasion of Crimea and the eastern regions of the country in 2014 was the start of the war. How was I oblivious to that for eight years? I know Ukrainians. I pastored Ukrainians. I was invited to go to Ukraine on missions trips numerous times. None of that clicked with me. I must have been focused on Alberta politics and hockey. 

 

Now, three humanitarian trips to Ukraine in 18 months doesn’t feel enough.

Jocelyn came with me on a seven-week trip in June and July. The trip coincided with Russia’s change of tactics. June set the record for drone attacks and July exceeded it. There is no safe place in Ukraine. 

 

People were impressed that Jocelyn was eager to deliver food further towards Russia than any Canadian woman since 2022. And she did it with a smile. Our friends assured us that just being with people in the war was 90% of the benefit of us going. “People send their prayers and promises to come after the war but having someone leave a peaceful country in the summer and come to us is a priceless gift. Thank you.” The pleasure and privilege were all ours. It hardly seems enough.

Purposeful Writing 

I recently sat with a political science professor from one of our Canadian Universities. He’s a bit younger than me. His heritage is Czech where two generations of his family suffered as anti-communists. He resonates with what Ukraine is going through. We talked about how, at our ages, using our skill and experience to draw attention to the injustices against Ukraine is highly purposeful. Ukrainians are engaged in the largest and most deadly war in Europe in 80 years. 

 

There has never been a more needed moment in my lifetime for advocacy than now. I am Canadian. Canadians stand up and fight together for the freedom of others.

 

I am in a season of writing about children, churches, the trauma of war, Canadian generosity, and faith in Ukraine.

Thank you for reading. There is more at REVwords.com

A Time to Speak by Steph Beth Nickel

Politics. Racial tension. Religion.

You likely have strong feelings about one, if not all, of these issues. 

But before jumping into the fray, it’s important to remember what the Lord says in His Word.

In Ecclesiastes 3:7, it says there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (ESV).

Now, does that mean we shouldn’t care about these and other important issues? Does it mean we should bury our head in the sand? Does it mean we should go about our day-to-day as if nothing life-changing is happening? Of course not.

It does mean, however, that it’s important to prayerfully research the topic and ask the Lord how He wants us to get involved. The key to making long-term change is to respond, not react.

Before We Become Involved

Prayer – As believers, we should never underestimate the impact prayer can have. It has the potential to change us, those closest to us—and the world.

Research – While social media does play an important role in 21st century life, it can also ignite the fire, fan the flames, and burn our sanity to the ground. (Okay, so I may have taken the analogy a little too far, but you get the idea.) It’s important to learn from reliable, trusted sources—and not just those that support our point of view. Too much contradictory information can confuse us, but only listening to those who agree with us isn’t the answer either.

Discover – There are many ways to get involved in “hot button” topics. The more we research these issues, the more likely it is we will discover one or two that deeply resonate with us.

Prioritize – Each of us can only keep so many plates spinning at any given time. We must honestly examine our life and see what responsibilities and downtime activities we have to back away from or quit altogether if we’re going to devote a significant amount of time to a new focus.

Trust – When we ask the Lord for wisdom, He promises to give it. We can trust that He will guide our steps.

How to Become Involved

More Prayer – We ought to seek the Lord every step of the way.

There are various levels of commitment required, depending on how involved we want to become … 

Comment on posts we agree with and those we don’t. This may require a minimal amount of time—or it could draw us into lengthy, emotional debates. We may even lose friends in the process. It’s important to proceed with caution.

Link to resources we believe would be helpful for our social media friends and followers to investigate. If the discussion gets heated, we have the opportunity to diffuse the situation—or ban certain commenters. Not all those who respond have to agree with us or like the resources we’ve directed them to, but it is important that they be respectful of those whose views are different than theirs. 

Write blog posts, articles, and books. The more strongly we feel about a topic, the more important we feel it is, the more likely we are to write or speak about it. We must weigh our current priorities, our long-term goals, and what we believe God is calling us to. Obviously, if we decide to write a book on the topic, it will take far longer than if we write a blog post or an article.

What topics are especially important to you? 

How are you getting involved?

Doing it Afraid - Ruth L. Snyder

Has God ever called you to do something that seemed way beyond your capabilities? How did you respond - fear or faith? Or maybe both? At the recent Inscribe Christian Writer's Fellowship conference in Wetaskiwin, author Grace Fox challenged fellow writers to "Do it Afraid".

A few years ago I was encouraged to put my name forward for the position of school board trustee. I felt God prompting me, but I argued. My kids are young; they need me at home. Besides, what do I know about being a trustee? For several weeks I argued. Then, like Gideon, I put out my first fleece. OK, I'll ask my husband about it. If he supports the idea, maybe. When Kendall and I discussed it, he told me he would fully support me if I decided to put my name forward. Still I hesitated. Still I made excuses. Then came the second fleece - I'll ask some people I trust. If they all support me, I'll do it. My friends ALL encouraged me to go for it. Not one voiced any doubt. Finding no excuses left, I filled out the nomination papers and handed them in. I became one of four candidates for the position. Two of the candidates had experience in politics and were well known in the community. I was definitely "doing it afraid"! The vote was held, and I was elected. I continued "doing it afraid", leaving the safety and security of my position as stay-at-home Mom and wading into the politics of education.

A month after I was elected to the school board, we received a phone call. "Hi, this is Brenda. I'm phoning to let you know that the boys you adopted have a baby sister who is just a week old. The department is wondering if you would consider adopting her." We were told the baby had heart problems. We were also informed that we could become foster parents and have her join our family within a few weeks. Although we had four children, our youngest was seven. Because our children are all adopted, we had never cared for an infant before, let alone one with heart problems. As my husband and I walked into the hospital, I clutched his hand and shot quick prayers heavenward. We were taught how to care for her, given heart failure signs to watch for, and handed emergency contact numbers. Another opportunity to "do it afraid".

The next spring, I decided to enter The Word Guild's God Uses Ink Novice Contest. After I wrote my submission, I shared it with family and friends and asked for constructive criticism. It was the first time I had ever shared my writing with anyone other than immediate family or writing instructors. Many people told me they thought my piece was great. A few brave souls gave me suggestions to improve my writing. Many re-writes later, I submitted Gifts from a Loving God. Several weeks later, I was thrilled to find out I won first place in my age category. The prize was a free Write!Canada conference registration. My husband told me I had to attend. In June 2009, I said goodbye to my husband and children and flew to Ontario. At the conference I had the opportunity to learn different options for book publishing, interact with professional authors, network with publishers and editors, and pray about next steps in my writing. One of the suggestions was to start working on my author "platform", using Twitter.

 Fast forward to today. I am still enjoying learning and serving my community as a trustee for Northern Lights School Division No. 69. Our family now consists of seven - our youngest daughter's adoption was finalized in 2009. I continue to tweet (@wwjdr). I have discovered Twitter is a wonderful way to network, find information, and have immediate contact and feedback with others. Through a Twitter friend, I received an invitation to be part of a panel at the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta conference. The other members of the panel are the Minister of Education for Alberta and the Alberta Teachers' Association President. My gut response was, "Why me? Who am I?" But, now I am seeing it as another opportunity to "do it afraid".

How about you? What are you choosing to "do it afraid"?

Ruth L. Snyder

Check out Ruth's blog on education matters at www.trusteesnyder.blogspot.com.
Follow Ruth on Twitter @wwjdr