Do You Have Commitment Issues? by Nina Faye Morey

Do you struggle with unfinished writing projects? A survey by a popular writing blog revealed that 72% of writers answered “yes” to this question http://thewritepractice.com/finish-projects/. I can certainly count myself among them. Several unfinished Works in Progress (WIP) patiently wait in my computer files for me to return to them and revive our once loyal and loving relationship.

I start out with the best of intentions when our relationship is fresh and uncomplicated. I make a solemn promise to stick with my current WIP through thick and thin. In spite of my strong commitment, it doesn’t take long before things go wrong. The WIP begins to display its faults and no longer looks as attractive to me as it did when we were first courting. Once our relationship starts to fall apart, I begin to have doubts about whether this WIP is the right one for me.

Before I know it, our relationship has slid further downhill as my WIP grows stubborn and irritating. I find myself becoming more negative and critical towards it with each passing day. Soon I’m easily tempted to stray whenever other appealing ideas whisper seductively in my ear. It becomes increasingly difficult for me to resist the urge to throw myself into these promising new relationships. After all, if I tie myself down to this WIP, I’ll be passing up the chance to take advantage of all these other wonderful opportunities.

However, by now I’ve started to feel rather guilty about breaking up with my current WIP. Perhaps I should shoulder some of the blame. So what do I need to do to avoid this temptation to stray and stay faithful to my current WIP? Well, perhaps I need an attitude adjustment. Maybe it’s my behaviour that needs to change if we are to be successful in sustaining our relationship. So I decided to do some research to discover what was at the root of my commitment problem and develop some strategies to deal with it.

My research helped me recognize that my tendency to flirt with seductive new ideas was the result rather than the cause of my commitment phobia. Two particularly persistent troublemakers were those evil twins, procrastination and perfectionism. Together they conspired to keep me from remaining faithful to my current WIP. Their bullying behaviour was disruptive and dispiriting. It distracted me from my WIP and deterred me from achieving my goals. Fortunately, two of my oldest and dearest friends, patience and persistence, showed up to rescue me from their clutches and set me back on the “write” path.

In addition, I discovered it would take a lot of dedication, determination, and discipline on my part to maintain and nurture my relationship with my current WIP. However, there’s no need for me to struggle with all of these commitment issues on my own. Fortunately, I know that I can pray to God and ask Him for help and direction. If I listen for His voice and trust in Him, He will guide me along the “write” path so I can fulfill my commitment to the WIP He originally chose for me.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left,

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,

“This is the way; walk in it.”

~Isaiah 30:21(NIV)

So now when those tempting new ideas come calling, I politely take note of them. However, I keep my promise to stay faithful and ensure that my heart and calendar remain open to fulfill my commitment to my current WIP.

Writing The Real Thing by Bryan Norford

How do I put this kindly?

There is superficiality in Christian circles that dismays me. I doubt it’s deliberate, just a time squeeze for many, and more subtly, a surreptitious accommodation to secular values that seem to be more reasonable, kinder and even more logical, than the old values espoused by Christianity.

A plethora of books and articles reveal a rising self interest in what I term “Christian self-help” writing. Not that this is wrong in itself, but at some point it develops the image of a Christianity that is primarily there to provide a life free of adversity.

A cursory overview of the past shows that this is not so in practice; persecution and martyrdom of Christians is a major feature of Christian history. On the other hand, cultures that have embraced Christianity have frequently prospered. Western civilization is an obvious example.

So here is the dilemma. Where do we draw the line between the biblical demand for self-denial and the healing of personal human difficulties that the Bible also offers? Perhaps better: what is the starting point of serious Christian commitment that can resolve it?

I like to adapt a popular call of President Kennedy to the American nation. “Ask not what God can do for you, but what you can do for God.” If there is one thing that characterises the Christian call, it is Christ’s empowering so “you will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The prayer Jesus taught us reflects what should be our first desire: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10). If we sincerely pray this, it becomes our first mandate—whatever the cost.

Christianity is a paradox, well illustrated by Christ: “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). If there is comfort from Christ, it is an outcome of commitment to Him. We may not avoid the dark valleys but we pass though them with Him.

Thus, my writing must follow that claim. It’s too easy to bring comfort from Christ and avoid the commitment to Him that is the precursor. I desire to invite my readers into a life that has direction and purpose in Christ, and there are no short cuts.

A Legacy of Faith - Susan Barclay

My grandparents weren't perfect people, but they got the main thing right, and in so doing left a legacy of faith that continues to impact the lives of their children and grandchildren today.

I am thankful.

I am thankful for their example of what it looks like to actively seek a deepening relationship with Christ through daily prayer and reading God's Word. I am thankful for their great love for me and for their constant presence in my life, important investments that my earthly father was unable or unwilling to make.

Does their legacy live on in me? Ah, that is the question. I know I have a long way to go in gaining the crucial disciplines of regular prayer and Bible study. I can argue that I have a busy life as a wife, mother, employee, volunteer, and (aspiring) writer. But don't we all have time for the things that really matter to us? If Christ matters most to me - and I say that He does - won't I make time for Him? I'm not sure He buys the "I go to church, I give to the Lord's work, I write on Christian subjects" line. I know I don't.

I am thankful that He is patient with me. I am a work in progress and He knows it. Today, if you struggle as I do to be a disciplined follower of Christ, will you join me in turning over a new leaf? Let us commit to reading God's Word and praying on a daily basis. Even if when we start it's a mere ten minutes, I believe God will bless us and encourage us to spend more time with Him. Suddenly we will "find" time we didn't know we had!

As Steve Green sings in Faithful, may those who come behind us find "the footsteps that we leave, inspire them to believe." There can be no greater legacy.

Little by Little, Every Day - Susan Barclay

If you attended church a few decades ago, you probably remember the little chorus on which my title is based:

 Little by little, every day
Little by little, in every way
My Jesus is changing me

Well, if our writing habits follow this model, little by little, through Christ, we can change our world one word at a time.

"Let my teaching fall like rain, and my words descend like dew..." (Deuteronomy 32:2). Dew falls every morning, doesn't it? And dew is part of the hydrologic cycle that sees every molecule of water cleaned and purified so that life on planet earth continues. Dew drops are delicate, gentle beads that refresh the earth daily.

With all of the demands that life places on us, it can be challenging to write on a daily basis. But this is what is needed if our words are to "descend like dew." One author, whose name I've forgotten refers to it as "bum glue" - you must apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair. A crude, "un-dew-like" way of putting it perhaps, but effective. If you want to succeed in the call that God has placed on your heart, you must make the commitment to apply yourself daily to the task He's placed before you.

There are many writers who've made it a habit to write every day, whether their target is a certain number of hours, pages, or words. Graham Greene apparently wrote 500 words a day and then considered his work done; Frederick Forsyth is said to have written 2,000 and Anthony Trollope 3,000. We know the volume of work these men put out over the course of their careers, and the mark they left on the literary scene. Should those of us who belong to Christ do less? Not for the sake of our own fame, but for His, let us work diligently as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23).

Little by little, every day, let our words descend like dew, and may God use our words to change and heal others - and ourselves - for the glory of His kingdom.

Commitment and Providence by Marcia Lee Laycock

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elemental truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.All sorts of things occur to help that would never have otherwise occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance which no man or woman would have dreamed could have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.Boldness has genius, power, and magic to it.Begin it now." Goethe

Let’s play what if. What if Abram didn’t pull up the tent pegs and set off from Ur. What if Noah didn’t pick up the hammer? What if Moses didn’t pick up the staff? What if Gideon didn’t climb out of the winepress and break down the altar to Baal? What if Joshua didn’t march around Jericho? What if Ruth didn’t go with Naomi? What if David didn’t take the provisions to his brothers on the front lines? What if Solomon didn’t build the temple? What if Shaphan the secretary didn’t read the book of the Law to Josiah? What if Josiah didn’t tear his robes? What if Esther stayed home? What if Daniel didn’t pay attention to his dreams? What if Matthew didn’t walk away from the tax collectors booth? What if Peter didn’t put down his nets?

What if you don’t take up your pen?