Balance - by Tracy Krauss

Balance. 

Whether I'm referring to my writing life - or any other aspect of life, for that matter - balance is the key to maintaining productivity, sanity, and joy. 

We've all heard catchphrases like "self-care" and keeping a "work-life balance". These are essential. We all need downtime. Of course, there are seasons when one has to burn the midnight oil, like when a deadline is looming or a book launch is approaching. But if you let crisis mode become habitual, you'll pay - creatively and even physically. 

I can tell when my life is tipping too much in one direction. I get easily agitated - spinning, as my husband would say. During these times I am less productive (even though I am spending more time on projects) because my mental capacity is diminished. On the other hand, I've found that too much inactivity can have a similar effect. I can't stay in "holiday" mode forever. Soon I start feeling lethargic. Drained. I have no energy or motivation. I need the challenge of a new project. It's one of the reasons I value NaNoWriMo so much. It keeps me fresh. However, I could never sustain that level of writing intensity all year long. 

I've also noticed the necessity of maintaining a balance between writing and all the other things an author is supposed to do. Emails, newsletters, social media, blog posts, podcasts, website maintenance, cross-promotion... The list is almost endless. Some of these tasks I categorize as "marketing" while others are more business-related, BUT everything has its place. Today's author must be aware of the many moving parts and not get sucked into spending too much time on one thing to the detriment of others. (Social media is often the culprit.) 

Like a complex machine, we must strike a balance between marketing, promotion, and business activities (all must be in balance with one another) and the actual writing side of things. But let me break this down even further. Technically, writing this blog post is still writing, but it serves a dual purpose in that it is also a marketing platform of sorts since I'm creating content that I can share online. You can see where the waters begin to get muddy and one really has to think about time allocation...

But I digress. Getting back to the writing side of the equation, I also like to differentiate between writing NEW material and polishing OLD material. I need to balance my writing time between rewriting and editing previously written work for publication and writing new material. I know writers who get so buried in their own perfectionism that they never write anything new. Yes, we want to present our best work to the world, but at some point, we have to release it. Enough is enough. 

I spend a lot of my time editing and rewriting longer work (novels), but the need to keep writing something new is one reason why I continue to write for this blog and for FellowScript magazine. (And InScribe's professional blog, and my own blog... LOL!) Rewriting is fun! It is necessary! It is important! But we must balance our editing and polishing with writing new material to keep our minds and writing voices fresh. 

All of these writing-related activities must then fit into the greater balance of life. There is work, family, church, household chores, devotional life... You get it. It's why balance is so important. 

Tracy Krauss writes (and all those other things!) from her home in Tumbler Ridge, BC. Visit her website at: https://tracykrauss.com

Mugwumps on Tightropes by Marnie Pohlmann

The spotlight rises along a pole that towers above even the highest row of seating. The circle of light stops to single out a lean, muscular man in shapely tights who stands on a small platform at the top.

  

He picks up a long pole and strikes the pose of a ballet dancer standing on tiptoe with his other foot raised, toes pointing to another platform some distance away. As the audience holds a collective breath he lowers his foot to step off his perch. He then lifts his secure foot away from the safety of the platform, standing for a moment in what appears to be air.  There is no net beneath him. We let out a deep sigh of relief when we notice a translucent wire connecting the platforms on either side of the center ring.

The performer feels the thin wire with his toes, carefully placing one foot in front of another. His eyes look ahead to the far platform. Standing on one foot he sways, the wire shaking. The crowd gasps.  The pole he holds appears to unbalance him and we wonder why he carries such an unwieldy tool. Wouldn't stretching his arms wide provide a less awkward stabilizer?

The tightrope walker reaches the middle of the wire and pauses. Suddenly, he twists around to face the way he came and takes a few steps back toward his starting platform. Then he pauses again and turns once more to continue the path he began.

Again, he spins to change direction, seemingly undecided which direction to walk toward. He walks back across the wire, which dips low in the center. Finally, he spins once more and goes forward, quickly now, almost running, in the direction of the far platform. He climbs from the middle of the wire to safety.

Setting the pole on the platform walls, he turns and lifts an arm in triumph. The crowd erupts with cheers.

The Christian life can seem like a tightrope. We start out confident, leaving our past behind and stepping out in faith onto the narrow road God has laid before us. One step at a time, we choose to live radically for God.

Then, difficulties come. Children, work, illness, finances, and a myriad of other struggles begin to interrupt our life. We lose our balance. Without habits that bring stability, like personal time with God and prayer, we begin to lean left, then right, almost falling and confused as to which way to turn.

Moses warned the children of Israel about this very circumstance.

"So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left." (Deuteronomy 5:32 NIV)

At times like this, we are in danger of not only falling but of becoming a mugwump rather than a strong, confident disciple of Christ. A mugwump is the type of Christian who has their face on one side of the fence, and their "wump" on the other side. They cannot decide which side to commit to so swing back and forth like the tightrope walker, not knowing which direction to go.

After all, some of the Christian life is attractive but so is some of the life we used to live. Sometimes it is simply easier to live on one side, and other times it is easier to live on the other side, so we go back and forth.  Making changes in our daily life choices, our relationships, and our own character to become more Christ-like is not easy!  Scripture tells us,

"Don't go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you--they are totally useless!" (1 Samuel 12:21 NLT)

The tightrope walker shows us that when we put one foot in front of another, we can go forward. Yes, the way is narrow, and sometimes we find ourselves in a valley with a slope to climb. If we look at our feet, we become afraid or confused and lose our balance. However, like the tightrope walker, we must keep our gaze on our goal and then we are able to see our eternal destination rather than the dangers surrounding us.

Scripture, like the circus performer's long pole, gives the balance. When we struggle to maintain balance in life we need to become unbalanced - completely dedicated to God by holding tightly to His Word. To onlookers, this may not appear to be an effective method when it is really what helps keep our position stable. When life tips this way and that, maintaining our relationship with God, concentrating on the character of Christ, and listening to the prompts of the Holy Spirit, will grow us strong enough to fly along our earthly journey like an eagle soars.

Will you, as Joshua did, make the choice to point both your face and your feet toward God?

"But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served? Or will it be the gods of the people in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15 NLT)

Choose to live radically for God – a step at a time. As you make your way, a great audience of witnesses and angels are cheering.

God,

As I make my choice to follow you, strengthen me to not look to the right or the left. Protect me from the temptation to serve old ways. Your way is narrow like a tightrope yet I trust you to make my feet secure. Guide me safely to You. Your spotlight may not show the thin wire clearly along the way yet I will still take one step at a time, and as I allow you to guide my steps the path will become clearer as it says in Psalm 119:105, "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Amen.

*Photos courtesy of Amy Jasper with her family, having fun as they balance in high places.

Marnie is quite unbalanced these days, feeling like she is slipping off the tightrope of life. However, as she keeps her face and feet toward God, He continues to guide her steps.  Read at Phosphorescent how God's presence in her life helps in the scary times.

Wonky Ankles - Joylene M. Bailey

Photo: Pixabay

I wish I had appreciated my ankles while I had them.

But who ever thinks about ankles? They connect one’s feet to one's legs and do myriads of jobs we never even think about as we walk, climb stairs, and dodge obstacles. Until… they don’t work right anymore.

Balance is becoming an issue for me.

Literally.

Physically.

Practically.

These days I tend to fix my eyes on the path just ahead of me to make sure I place my feet on level ground. Uneven ground is not my friend. It sends me into painful wobbles. And so I keep my head down, and focus on the ground at my feet.

I was walking this way the other day on my short jaunt to the mailbox. Eyes down, focused on keeping my balance. 

When I returned to my driveway, I caught something red out of the corner of my eye, and I glanced up to see my large crimson geraniums smiling at me from their planters by the fence. The plum and jasmine coloured petunias waved in cascades by the front door. A flutter of chortling sparrows partied in my giant elm tree. I breathed deeply and tipped my head back to take in the limitless blue sky.

What a lovely day!

All these things I miss every time my focus is on keeping my balance.

Finding balance in life and in writing is important. It is a good thing. It is a necessary thing, for best work and best health. But I must take care lest I get so consumed with achieving perfect balance that I forget to look up, to notice, to appreciate, and to enjoy the wide wonderful world around me, and my place in it.

But of course, the real message of this post is … appreciate your ankles, they’re the only ones you’ve got.  ;)

Joylene writes from Edmonton where she lives with her Cowboy and her wonky ankles. Find her blog at Scraps of Joy.

Life and Writing: Striking the Right Balance by Nina Faye Morey

Finding time in our busy lives to fit in our writing is a challenge. However, I’ve discovered that “finding” is the wrong word. “Making” time is actually more “fitting.” How can I “balance life on and off the page?” This puzzle led me to read about time management and building good work habits. Knowing this conundrum faces most writers, my life and writing became predictably intertwined. The result was my “Mastering Good Writing Habits” workshop to share the knowledge and strategies I’d gained with other writers at the 2016 InScribe Fall Conference.

Time to Write

Our dream of becoming a writer is often suppressed by other demands on our time. Those close to us might not understand our need to write. They may discourage, or even disparage, the devotion we display towards our “gift.” But if we see our writing as a gift from God, we feel a responsibility to use it to His glory. Regardless of whether we’re writing in obedience to God’s call or simply dedicating our writing to Him, we must trust the Lord to give us everything we need to fulfill our writing ministry:

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you,

that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,

may have an abundance for every good work.

—2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJV)

But in the end, the only one who can make you a successful writer is you! It’s up to you to make that happen. You can continue to just dream about it and talk about it, or you can act on it. In order to do that, you’ll need to develop good work habits and learn how to be well organized and manage your time effectively and efficiently. In her bestseller, The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp said, “Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Mastering good work habits helps free up your mind to think more creatively because you’ll have established a regular writing routine. The words will flow onto the page with less effort because you’ll feel more energized, engaged, and focused on the writing process. There’s no longer any need to waste time and energy on psyching yourself up, making decisions, or struggling with self-control. There’s nothing to distract you from the task at hand, and you’ll finish your day with a real sense of accomplishment.

The bestselling Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami, has won numerous awards for his novels and short stories. He said this about the importance of developing a daily writing routine in a Summer 2004 interview with John Wray in the Paris Review:

When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours…. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.

Schedule Time to Write

One of the best ways to fire up your time management skills is to identify your goals. You’re dreaming about writing that 100,000 word Christian suspense novel? If you aim for just 275 words a day, you’ll finish it in one year. You have 168 hours every week. Allowing forty hours for work and fifty-six for sleep leaves you seventy-two hours—plenty of time―right? Right! (Was that you being cynical?) In order to manage those left-over hours better, you’ll need to analyze how you’re spending them now. Then make your writing a top priority—schedule time for it and avoid distractions. Learn to say “no” without giving a reason or feeling guilty. Only have a few minutes today? Keep a notebook handy, and jot down a couple of ideas or observations. Taking just these few simple steps will start you on the right path to fulfilling your dream!

Photos: Nina Faye Morey

Quote Credits:

http://www.azquotes.com/author/8629-Fran_Lebowitz

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/james-baldwin

https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2/haruki-murakami-the-art-of-fiction-no-182-haruki-murakami

Twyla Tharp: The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, Simon and Schuster, 2006.

The Secret to Balance - Tracy Krauss

WARNING: This post may turn into a sermon! 

"If I only had more time!" How many of us have said that? I know I have. Lack of time seems to be the number one barrier to reaching one's writing goals - or so most people say. What if I said you could actually increase the amount of time you have for writing - or at least make it much more effective? Read on...

We're talking about 'balance' - specifically, finding balance between our writing life and the 'rest' of life in today's time driven world. A few months ago, I would have said things like, "Set SMART goals." "Make a schedule." "Just get your butt in the chair and do it!" I've always been 'big' on all of the above, and I've managed to be quite productive despite a busy life of ministry, working, and raising a family. I've always maintained that if something is important enough, you'll find a way to fit it in, no matter how hectic your life.

While all of those bits of advice are still valid, I've discovered that none of them is actually the real secret to 'finding more time'.

God has launched me on a different trajectory these past few months. For those that don't know, I had an unexpected heart attack in May and subsequent open heart surgery. For the first while I couldn't do much but pray and listen to scripture and worship music on my phone. I had been longing for more time to work on my writing projects, but now that I HAD the time, I simply didn't have the energy.

As I began to recover, God gave me a new thirst for His Word. As I got stronger I could have jumped all over that list of writing goals I had on my bulletin board, but instead, God prompted me to keep on soaking in His Word with the promise that He would help me finish them in His time.

IN HIS TIME. 

I believe God has shown me the 'secret' to living a balanced life. Actually, it's no secret at all. It boils down to one thing: Honour God with the BEST of your time and He will honour you by multiplying what's left. 

It is the same principle we see in regard to tithing. It doesn't make sense to give one tenth of your income away, especially if things are tight. I've heard people say, "I can't afford to tithe right now." The truth is, people can't afford NOT to tithe! When we follow God's principles, He supernaturally gives us increase. It's just one of the ways that the laws of the spiritual realm operate.

The same is true of our time. This is where my post might turn into a sermon, so hang on to your seats and and keep reading if you dare!

How much quality time do we really spend with God? REALLY? Five minutes each morning? Ten minutes? Half an hour? If we applied the tithing principle to our time, we should conceivably spend two hours and forty minutes per day studying, praying and worshipping. I suppose one could factor in the times praying in the shower, listening to worship music while doing other chores, or going to mid-week Bible studies, but I suspect we'd still come up short.

Unfortunately, many Christians feed themselves with, "A chapter a day keeps the devil away." Some are on an even leaner diet of, "A verse a day," or substitute the solid food of God's Word with one of those little devotional books. (I'm not knocking the devotional books, but if that's all you're getting, it amounts to a starvation diet.)

Our rebuttal might be, "But I go to church every Sunday." This brings me to another point, even more serious, I believe, than how much time we spend in daily time with God: Very few Christians keep the Sabbath.

Please don't be offended! (And I'm not talking about keeping a certain day of the week - I will leave that up to individual interpretation.) Instead, we each need to examine our own habits. (I'm examining mine as I write!) God commanded us to keep the Sabbath. Not only is it one of the ten commandments, but it is His first ordinance right at creation. He 'rested' on the seventh day, not because He was tired, but as an example to us. It's that important! Taking an entire day for rest and reflection is a gift for our benefit, not an imposition. It says in Genesis that He 'blessed and sanctified' the Sabbath day.

This is hard for us to hear in our modern 'pressed for time' world. I don't have time to take an entire day off - every week, no less! It seems there's always some chores to be done on a Sunday afternoon; things to prepare for the next week... on and on and on... even down to the 'work' of writing. And so I continue to scramble about trying to 'fit' everything in and hopefully squeeze some time in for writing along the way.

Except... God has promised to BLESS us if we are obedient. I'm beginning to see that God truly can redeem the time if we honour Him FIRST. If I spend quality time with Him each day as well as an entire day once a week, I actually get more accomplished - and with less stress!  Go figure! It doesn't make sense logically, but God's spiritual laws work. Just like tithing doesn't make sense to our natural mind, neither does keeping the Sabbath or spending more personal devotional time make sense in our super-charged-gerbil-on-a-wheel world.

Sermon over. Now for the challenge. 

1. For the rest of this month, spend double the time you normally spend in prayer and Bible study each day. If you spend five minutes, make it ten. If you spend half an hour, make it one hour.

2. Purpose to set aside one entire day as a Sabbath each week for the rest of this month. If Sunday works for you, great. If you want to try the Jewish custom of Friday at 6pm until Saturday at 6pm, that's cool too. You don't have to read your Bible and pray the whole time, although doing that is good, but God made the Sabbath for our enjoyment. Prepare a special meal and eat together as a family or invite friends over. Play games, go for a hike, do something fun with people you love. Fellowship. Socialize. Just don't do any WORK.

3. Keep track of how much more productive you are with the rest of your time. Write it in a journal or just in your head, but I can almost guarantee that you will get more done with the time you have left. Of course, Satan will try to thwart your success, but ignore him and you will be fine!

4. (Optional) Report on your success! I would love to hear about your experiences if you choose to take up this challenge. Comment here, or email me privately: tracy.krauss@gmail.com

In today's fast paced world I think one of our biggest struggles is lack of time. The enemy has tried to rob us of time with God by making us 'too busy'. Take back your right to time with God and you will be surprised at how 'balanced' the rest of your life will become.

Tracy Krauss writes - and rests - from her home in northern BC. Visit her website: tracykrauss.com   
-fiction on the edge without crossing the line- 

The Penny, The Pause, The Purpose by Marnie Pohlmann

The Penny

I like to reconcile my bank accounts. To the penny. Every month. I also like to keep lists. A list of deadlines. A list of articles I have submitted for publication. A list of what was accepted for publication. A list of published pieces.

I realize this talent for counting, checking, and balancing may be unusual for a creative soul, but I believe I am a better writer because I enjoy reports and math almost as much as words.
Balancing to the penny causes me to pay attention to detail, which helps in editing. Lists keep me on track toward a goal. Math itself provides the rhythm and flow of my words. Like music, poetry is based on the counting cadence of smooth transitions. Prose, too, needs tempo to move a story forward.

The base notes of putting words on paper are developing a rhythm in my life. Perhaps it holds a little reggae, or country, or even a soulful tune, which gathers volume as I hum along. While I count the cost of writing, I also list the rewards. Rewards like networking with other writer-souls, and communing with God in special writing times.

I am a writer. I don’t know at what point I need to say writing is my business. My financial balance sheet still shows I spend more on ink, conferences, and contests than I generate as income with my words. But I am making progress.

God has been training me for a long time – perhaps I am a slow learner, or perhaps it has all been for such a time as this. Over the years I have learned to run a home business, do my own taxes, speak in public, and now I am learning to share my writing. Through it all, I write. Because after all, there is no business of writing if there is no writing.

The Pause

Much like in writing, my penchant for math is helpful in my spiritual walk.

Today is the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We remember how the body of Christ is enclosed in the tomb. The cross is empty. Yet the stone has not yet rolled away. So we pause. Today is the day of waiting.

For such a time as this, Jesus had counted the cost, and his life balanced the need for a perfect sacrifice so we could be set free of the consequences of sin. Today, in the waiting and the contemplation, I can count the cost of my belief. I can check the sin in my life to keep short accounts. I can balance my doing and my worship to become Christ-like in my walk.  I pause. Selah.

Christ died so I could be fully reconciled to God. To the penny. Always and forever.

The Purpose

“I’m Evelyn the Goat Lady,” she introduced herself when we came to pastor the small town church she attended. She wore a jaunty fedora-type hat and a big smile. She was a tough old bird, who had lived an adventurous life.

Evelyn showed us pictures of a beautiful younger self in a bathing suit, on a champion jumper horse, and by a bush plane. She had been striking, like a young Katherine Hepburn. In later years, she had unofficially taken in foster kids, teaching them to trust God for their needs. She was an independent, strong-willed, pioneering woman.

When we met her, she was raising goats, living off the land, and dying of cancer.  As we visited her at the farm, we found she was also writing a book, and was working with Trafford Publishing to have it printed. It was important to her to leave a message about how much God loved us, so she wrote a fiction tale, “A Glimpse Into Heaven: creation to the cross from Heaven’s point of view”. I had the privilege of reading her first draft, and perhaps buying the first print-on-demand copy after her death. I checked, and it can be found on Amazon.ca or the Trafford Publishing site.

Why do I tell you of Evelyn Yocum? Because even though she knew her time was limited, she wrote and published a book. Her goal was not to make money or build a business, but to share a message. Evelyn’s life and death reminds me the message is more important than the business. She inspires me to do the math, to remember my purpose.

The penny, the pause, the purpose – do the math.


Photos - teddy bear coins & cross - CCO Licence courtesy of Pixabay.com

Marnie blogs at Phosphorescent