What Does Your Heart Say? by Lorilee Guenter

Across from me in the coffee shop sat a lady. Her sweater read, "I wear my heart on my sleeve." On the sleeve a list of names represents people important to her. Without talking to her, I don't know who they are. I only know that these are people who mean a lot to her. She loves them.

I wonder what others see when they look at me. I don't proclaim my affection on my clothes. Do my actions as I sit across from family or friends show they are important to me? My words are a clanging gong if they are not backed up by action. I do not want to be a clanging gong. I want to be a voice in the symphony God is directing.

As summer gave way to fall, I noticed distraction pulling my attention. Instead of leaning in to engage in conversation, I was looking beyond. I was leaning back and letting my thoughts wander. I missed out on true connection. Communication became strained as I forgot how to listen not just with my ears but with my heart. I became a clanging gong.

Noticing my responsibility in the disconnect, I lean back in. I confess that I do not like what was going on. I don't want my distraction to turn my words into discordant noise so I allow God to tune me, to bring me back to where He desires me. I pause to listen. I vowed, with God's help, to set aside distraction. I can not do this on my own. Thankfully I don't have to. The Master Conductor knows what I need so I can sing.

Jesus wore His heart on the cross. As thorns pierced His brow and blood and water ran from His side, He wrote my name. He wrote our names. They aren't written with pencil to be erased. They aren't written with thread that can be picked out. Jesus wrote our names with His life. In doing so, He offered to guard our hearts. He knows that even if we try, we are incapable of consistent vigilance without His help. He knows we need His hand in all we do.

The seasons change, my resolve to connect well is tested. I know the only way it will hold is by leaning in. Today, I choose to trust, to let Jesus hold me close and make my heart sing as part of His masterpiece. Tomorrow, I pray I make the same choice.

Lorilee Guenter is a writer and artist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She enjoys exploring God's creation. Her hobbies and interests are varied which leads to an eclectic set of books she is reading.

C is For Cookie by Lorilee Guenter

 I grew up watching Sesame Street with Cookie Monster devouring any cookie he saw. As a reader, I devour good writing (and not so good writing). As a writer, I want my writing to be as enticing to the readers as those cookies.

A good cookie needs the right number of ingredients, in the right proportions, mixed according to directions. Some are baked. Some are left to cool. Likewise, all good writing follows a recipe that includes word images, grammar and spelling. Different genres need different ingredients just as different cookies do. I would not be happy with a mystery that didn't solve the crime by the end of the story. I would not be happy with a chocolate cookie that lacked cocoa.

Every writer, no matter what genre, needs community. While the act of writing is solitary, the craft of writing is not. Through workshops and classes we learn to hone our craft. Critique groups and editors help us polish the work. They help us determine if one spice, one element overpowers the others. Family, friends, or a group of other writers can help us take a break to regain perspective. They encourage us to keep going when we want to stop. In addition, they might be willing to listen as you talk through the roadblocks in front of you.

Every writer needs that spark of an idea they can build upon. We each find inspiration in different places and different ways. There is one commonality, attention. When I rush through life, or let distractions pull at my attention, I miss opportunities. I also miss details that could add interest to my words. Distraction busies my mind so I neglect to pause and consider what I am seeing, hearing or learning. It tells me "I don't have time," or "my words don't matter anyway."

I have a bad habit of trying to taste the cookies before they cool enough to touch. This results in a burnt tongue and difficulty tasting the blend of flavours. In editing, it can be useful to let the writing cool so that when you re-read it you can taste the flavour of the words. Then you will be better able to notice what blends well and what is out of place. A small group of first readers can offer feedback on the results just like taste testers do with cookies.

A good baker knows the right time to take the cookies out of the oven. Too little time and they are raw in the middle, too long and they are burnt. Neither is optimal. Too little editing and other work on a manuscript, whether short or long, can leave the reader wishing for more polish. Too much editing can take a piece that sparkles and turn it into a flat specimen, burnt around the edges. Most writers struggle with under cooked stories instead of overcooked ones. Some writers have been know to take a match to old, unappealing work so no one tastes the stale words.

As Christian writers we have one powerful ingredient in our writing: prayer. Through prayer and contemplation, the Holy Spirit takes our offerings and multiplies them. The power in our words, whether we write in the secular market or Christian market, comes from the Word. When our writing is baked with prayer, we can be confident it will find the right audience. It gives us the courage to share our words.

A dessert table with plates of cookies and sweets is enticing and full of choices. As a community of writers, our offerings should also be enticing and full of choice so there is something for everyone. 

At the end of the day, when we set aside our writing, we can reward ourselves with a good story and a cookie.