Giving Thanks for Faith, Family, Friends by Sharon Espeseth

In our front entry, over the door, we have a wooden sign that says, "Faith, Family and Friend." I liked this when I got it at a gift exchange, because it is emblematic of what is important in life and in our household. And I display it with appreciation.

Faith

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." (Psalm 126:3 NIV) From creation to salvation to watching over us to his unfailing love and patience . . . the realm of what God has done and is doing for us is endless. I cannot contain my faith in the brevity of a blog, but "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth (and my writing and my living), I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." (Psalm 89:1 NIV)

I am thankful for the faith I learned from my elders and accepted as my own. I am thankful for God's Word that teaches how to serve the living God and how to live as Christ taught us. God's Word-- written by prophets, teachers, kings, and  apostles called from ordinary walks of life--informs my day-to-day life and my writing. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

Many good books have been written and many excellent resources are available, but today I am giving thanks for the Holy Bible, the foundation of our faith.

Family

Like most of you, our family got together this past weekend and celebrated our thankfulness for each other and for the many other blessings in our lives. To me, our family is an earthly symbol of God's caring for us. How would shy Hank and quiet Sharon have managed to find each other in this noisy world, had it not been for the the Good Lord's leading, guidance, and wisdom? Yes, I was wise to marry Hank--not that I am perfect nor that he is perfect, but we are perfect for each other. And 42 years later, here we still are looking after and loving one another.

We wanted a family and God saw that we would have a family. Our first child, a baby boy, arrived 5 1/2 months after we submitted our adoption application. The second child, a baby girl, arrived 13 months later. The third child, another girl arrived on Valentine's Day the following year. Within 37 months, we had three children and life was in full gear.


God is great.
God is good.
But let us not thank him
just for the food.


Our family continues to grow by sons-in-law and grandchildren. We now are a family of 13 and we have much to be thankful for. When Hank and I were young, strong and full of energy, we didn't see the road ahead. As we have aged, health problems and waning energy can hold us captive. When we need help, however, the kids come. The kids are a source of help and support: a resource of sorts, but much more!

Our Original Family of Five

I always have been, and still am, close to the members of my birth family. Although some of our family have left this earthly realm, I am thankful for their loving influence on my life. I am thankful for my sisters and their families, who are also an important part of our lives.

None of us is perfect, but God has a way of working with broken vessels. He takes us where and as we are and leads us, if we are willing, to the place he knows is best for us.


Friends

We who have good friends are blessed. We can get busy in our lives and forget to show our appreciation for their friendships. A friend is a resource who can bring a well-spring of joy and blessing to our lives, and hopefully we can bring blessing to their lives as well.

Writing this blog seems an appropriate time to say thanks to the friends I have gained through my writing years. I think of the Women Word Weavers in our hometown. Some of our founding members, including me, are still around for the meetings, for keeping in touch, exchanging ideas, and encouraging one another. How thankful I am for their faithfulness and loyalty.

InScribe Christian Writer's Fellowship has been another boon to my continued growth and confidence in myself as a writer. I am thankful for the group as a whole, for our dedicated executive and volunteer workers, for Connie Inglis and Jack Popjes as spiritual advisors, and for the members of the prayer group, who offer prayer support for our members when it is needed.

As Paul said to the Philippians,

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel . . ." (Philippians 1:3-5a NIV)

Spurred and Spurring by Sharon Espeseth

" . . . Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another . . ." (Hebrews 10:24 NIV)

Spurring and being spurred on, that is the connection I have with Women Word Weavers, which is our Barrhead writing group, and InScribe Christian Writer's Fellowship, which I have been a member of for several years. Both of these groups inspire me, teach me, encourage me, and try to keep me honest and accountable about my writing. Thankful for my writing colleagues, I try to give back in kind to my fellow writers in each of these groups.

I have previously written about my InScribe and WWW mentors/friends in my September 10, 2015
blog on Inscribe, "There's No Ship Like Mentorship" and also in my November blog, "Growing with InScribe Then and Now". I will try not to repeat myself.

In both groups, I find our friendships deepen with time, but often on meeting a new writing colleague there is an instant connection. We are a diverse, but like-minded group. We trust one another with our writing and with our personal struggles. We pray for one another and encourage one another in our writing and in our lives.

Since Women Word Weavers was formed before we became a Satellite group of InScribe, we do not require members to adhere to our faith, but we are free and open to write, share, and discuss Christian matters. Most of my writing, for example is faith-oriented or at least expresses my Christian worldview.

For either group, I get excited when our next meeting, workshop, or conference approaches. We regulars, in either group, don't like missing meetings or conferences. "Kindred spirits", we enjoy each other's company and savour the inspiration freely shared. Glynis Belec in her blog on the theme of writing partnerships mentions that her group sometimes becomes a therapy session when one of the members is experiencing struggles. " . . . (We've) got each other's writerly backs," Glynis says. Can anyone identify with that?

At our WWW's meeting on Feb. 8th, I asked the group to share their comments on what our Barrhead group does. Susan said, "The last meeting made me go home and get this long-time idea down on paper." She then shared this writing, a ready-for-critique and soon-to-be-submitted article on the topic that had been on her mind for ages. Susan plans to submit this piece to a denominational publication. Yahoo!

Other members talked about great writing prompts, stretching our writing, extending our boundaries, trying new genres, and getting used to reading our writings to others. We take turns chairing meetings with each chair doing her best effort to spur us on to fresh, open writing.

Women Word Weavers

We  also take turns bringing snacks, not to outdo one another, but to buoy ourselves to higher levels of writing. True! Our discussion momentarily turned to olives, bologna as a gift from Dorene who couldn't be at the meeting, chocolate, home-made bread, and apple crisp with whipped cream. Tears, hugs, and laughter also came to mind. As members, we help one another believe in our writing and aid one another to see writing dreams come to fruition.

We talked about our much-loved member, Mabel, who is presently in hospital dealing with cancer. We are missing this gentle, soft-spoken woman for her wisdom and serenity.

On our way to visit Mabel recently, Glenice and I had grabbed a grocery-store bunch of tulips and a card. When we removed the tulips from the cellophane sleeve and put them in a short vase the nurse provided, we were aghast to see the tulips flop horizontally. We laughed at the sight, but we brought them to our friend as something for her to care for. Mabel shared our laughter and said the tulips inspired her to write a poem.

I passed on Steph Beth Nickel's "12 Benefits of Belonging to a Writers' Group" to our satellite group members. After Marianne, a Word Weaver who spends much of the year in Switzerland, read Stephanie's blog, she replied, "A good writing group matters, because it sucks to write alone!!!"

Marianne has tried unsuccessfully to start a writing group over there, but it seemed writers there aren't as open about their writing. On her trips back to Alberta, she tries to fit a WWW meeting into her schedule.

We are blessed to have our writing group(s). May we continue to spur one another on to love, good works, and good writing. "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:20a ESV)

There's No Ship Like Mentorship

"Oh, hi!" my sister Joan says cheerily when she recognizes my voice on the phone. "How are you doing?" she asks.

I respond that all is well with us. I ask how she's doing. "Great!" she says. Joan lives in a seniors' residence/care facility in Edmonton. Mornings seem best for conversation.

"So what are you writing these days?" Joan asks. I share the topic I've just struggled with. She empathizes. Concerned that she might dwell on this sensitive issue, I try to change the subject. No way! She wants to know more. I remind her briefly of the history related to my theme and what I've been trying to write.

Joan and her family at the Passion Play--2013

For years, Joan has been my #1 Mentor, my go-to person when I am stuck on an article, need feedback, or a retreat from daily life.  "We can't fix this, Joan. We'll have to leave it to God," I remind her.

Joan, 16 months my senior, started school with Mrs. Johnson in Norquay, Saskatchewan. Loving school as she did, Joan and I played school at home. Joan gave me the gift of reading, which was fortuitous, because I didn't get a Mrs. Johnson.

I started first grade in a one-room school in homestead country. Mrs. Stein, our teacher, distributed Dick and Jane readers and workbooks to the younger students. Then she left us to figure things out on our own while she taught the older students.

At the end of my Grade-Three year, we moved to Edmonton. There Joan and I attended a school that had an actual library. There I discovered authors like Lucy Maude Montgomery and Gene Stratton-Porter, two of my mother's favourites. Of course, I read other literary greats like Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames Nurse! Together Joan and I would memorize our Bible verses for Bible camp. This memorizing project has also been a gift.

I was on my way to becoming an avid reader and a lover of language. In high school, I took English and an extra English Lit course where Miss Lyness got me going on the classics. Brought up on the KJV Bible, I could read Shakespeare with ease. I also took French and Latin. Although I didn't think of myself as I writer, I enjoyed writing assignments, particularly for Miss Lyness, who was an encourager.

Bible School and university meant more reading and writing. My essays improved. At U of A, I tutored a friend in essay writing. I learned to edit my own work. Joan, out in the work-a-day world, still listened to my thoughts on essay topics and sometimes proofread my work.

During my teaching career, I became steeped in children's literature. I enjoyed sharing my repertoire

Children's book by Fellow InScriber

of stories and good books with my students. My younger sisters say I encouraged them to read good books. Later, I loved sharing my love of story and language with my students. For a while, I tried my hand at writing children's stories and poems. I wrote in my journal and taught my students and our own children to do so as well. Now, it's the grandchildren. I love to read to them. Bella is the greatest bookworm among them, so far.

 Over the years, I've had many writing buddies/mentors, teachers, and, of course, my proof-reading and generally patient husband. My sisters--Joan, Shirley, and Wendy--support me in my writing too.

Hank, the Norwegian

A few Women Word Weavers

In the mid-eighties, a small group of like-minded women in Barrhead started a writing group. The Women Word Weavers are still going strong and I am thankful for the mentorship we can offer one another. The friends I have made through InScribe, the ListServe, and the InScribe Writers Online have also been mentors and encouragers. Thank you.

A book that found me at the exact right time with the exact
spiritual lessons I needed.

Looking back, I believe God has knit the love of writing and creativity into my DNA. He has led me through the background I need to write. His Spirit has guided me in the selection of some of my reading.

Have you ever had a book find you? I literally ran into the book at the left at a Blessings store. It was exactly the reading I needed at that time.


Does God smile when I get something out and published? Although some readers have shared their appreciation for a particular piece I wrote, I don't always know who of my readers has been touched or affected in a positive way by my writing. Still I cast my bread upon the waters. I leave the rest to God.