True Confessions from an Addled [Squirrel] Brain

by Glynis M. Belec


I don't think I have any trouble stepping out of my comfort zone with regard to my writing. My problem is trying to focus on any particular genre. I love writing - period. I have a brain that jumps all over the place most days and if the mood strikes me, then I write about it.

I will admit that for a split second, when someone asks me what I write, my brain goes into panic mode. I've been writing for [gasp] almost 28 years now. Still there are days when I don't really know what kind of a writer I am. Because I have had three children's books published I start out thinking I am a children's writer. Then I write short stories Hot Apple Cider and Chicken Soup for the Soul style. Then I remember my devotional writing and my newspaper column, then I think about the novel I have on the go and the magazine articles I write. Writing Sunday school material is fun. Creating dramatic works feeds my inner drama queen tendencies. Now I have started up a little publishing company that requires I write copy and that opens up a whole new part of the writing process for me.

So for me to step out and write something different - that's not much of a challenge. My challenge lies in sticking to one thing.

Lest my writers buddies think I am complaining and confused, I'm not, really - well most days. I like that I write all over the place. However, it's not such a good thing when it comes to branding and marketing and setting up social media - that likes to define who we are. When I have to write a bio I have to be careful not to prattle on.

I must say that over the years, because I have written in many different genres, I have actually found a voice that I like and a style to which people respond to best. I wrote a column for over eleven years in our local newspaper - a fun, folksy, inspirational, humorous content column. It's where I started and now, so many years later it's where I still love to be with my writing. I am no profound theologian, nor am I particularly a brainiac [don't tell my students I told you that] so for me to try to write academic works makes me yawn. I admire people who research and would be the first to encourage them in their craft, but my heart is in writing the everyday.

I've talked to God about this aplenty. I believe He knows my attention span and my squirrel tendencies to shift from thought to thought so has given me the passion to write short.

Git' her done, is my motto most days. Already, within the past 15 minutes of this writing, I have texted my son, flipped to another blog to check that it is up to date and then looked at my to-do list. I also checked my email and flipped to Facebook for a quick peek.

Now, as I write this post, I wonder why I am doing so. I am thinking that I am already straying away from our lovely Moderator's instructions to help people write outside of the box. My insecurities whisper that no one is going to get anything out of me being a rebel.

Then I feel a little God-whisper telling me that it's okay to confess that I am who I am. And I also have a little niggle that tells me that I am not alone in my 'style.' I'm thinking that there might be another squirrel or two out there who just might find comfort knowing they are not alone.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.  PSALM 139:14

   

Singletasking —Lynda Schultz

Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time and season for everything (3:1). So what’s wrong with my life? Why is it so difficult to find time for all the writing projects that sit half-done on my computer, that swirl around in my brain, and that are written down in notebooks in my very own handwriting and turning yellow with age? Why does there not seem to be a time or a season for my writing?

Duh! God didn’t say I had to do them all at once, did He? My problem is that I want to multitask when it is possible that He wants me to singletask. Singletask is not in the dictionary, but perhaps it should be. Perhaps, like so many of my generation have already done, I should add my two cents to the changing language of the twenty-first century and invent a new word.

If there really is a time and season for everything (and since God doesn’t lie, it must be true) then my daily planner needs to be seriously adjusted. Perhaps my sphere of influence needs to be collapsed instead of expanded so that I can concentrate on doing well the one thing that God has designed to fit into this time and this season.

Do I really need to be writing for four blogs, maintaining a website, writing a book, editing a magazine, writing periodic newsletters and writing up my research and study notes for the Bible studies I teach as though I were planning on publishing my own version of Matthew Henry’s Commentary or rival D. A. Carson in the production of theological tomes (as if I could)?

I think it’s time to singletask, or maybe doubletask my writing. In the end it might be a whole lot more productive than multitasking but never quite getting finished, or finishing poorly because of the other tasks that stole the time it would have taken to finish well.

What do you think?

Horse Sense 101 - Lynda Schultz

If you watch horse racing you may have observed that some of the horses wear blinkers or blinders. These leather screens are attached to the horse's bridle to prevent the animal from seeing sideways or behind. The idea is to keep a horse that is easily distracted from seeing what is going on around him and to prevent him from losing his primary focus—full steam straight ahead to the finish line.

"I will walk in my house with a blameless heart," writes David in Psalm 101 (NIV). We nod our heads knowingly; David was no saint at home. Remember Bathsheba? Then again, if I point a finger at someone else, there are always several pointing right back at me. What I do I do in the privacy of my own home that would disgrace me were it revealed in public, and bring shame on the name of the Lord?

Reading the psalm got me thinking about what I fill my idle spaces with when I am at home. David writes: "I will set before my eyes no vile thing" (verse 3). What do I read? What do I watch on television? What kinds of DVDs do I entertain myself with? What sites do I visit on the Internet?

The songwriter then determines not to "hang" with anyone in his home who is faithless, perverse, a slanderer, proud, deceitful, or a liar. He wants to keep company with those who are faithful and to be mentored by those who are what he wants to become—blameless. Clearly we can't disassociate ourselves from everyone who doesn't conform to Biblical standards. How would we witness to them or be of influence in their lives if we had nothing to do with those who most need to discover new life through faith in Christ Jesus? I think the psalmist is talking about those who are his closest friends. Who is within my intimate circle of relationships? They should be those who pull me up spiritually, not those who tempt me toward that downward spiral away from the Lord.

Just as blinders keep horses focused so that they can win the race, we need to consciously choose to keep our private spaces as free from evil as possible, and "hang" with those who build us up spiritually so that we can keep focused on being, in private and in public, the witnesses to truth to which God has called us.

finding focus - Dorothy Bentley

Focusing was impossible for me. I wanted to try everything. I blog and write a family friendly column, but novel writing has always been my dream.

Do you think I could choose one genre? I flopped around trying several for the last seven years. I didn’t know what to focus on. Coming up with ideas on my own wasn’t working so well. I had written a juvenile novel, and wrote about a third of a thriller. I also plotted, researched and began writing biblical fiction. But I couldn’t seem to settle.

focus on God

I felt I needed to stop writing for a while, and seek God, so I began re-reading Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby. I was at a point of frustration where I thought, “If putting God first means no more writing, that’s okay.”

It didn’t take long, and a true story I heard a while ago, came to mind. I wondered if God was telling me to pursue it. I kept praying over a couple of months, and staying close to God, and the story grew. I finally envisioned how the story could be wrapped up in fiction, so I began the new novel.

opposition

Whenever anyone steps out to obey and serve God, especially in a public way, there will be opposition. Looking back I realize my struggles grew in intensity since my column writing and blog grew. The first evidence is confusion; not being able to focus on one project at a time. Also, temptation came knocking at my door in many different forms.

Your family, your marriage, any area of vulnerability will come under scrutiny and attack when you step out to serve God. This is not an occasion to fear, but to draw closer to God. Recognize that being a vessel for God requires refining, and God wants to purge any sin and strengthen any areas of weakness in our lives.

help

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7, all NKJV)

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Be holy, for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16b)

support

I began writing my new novel at the start of April, and with God’s grace, the first draft is a little more than half finished. I have a long way to go and I know I cannot do it alone.

When we say yes to God and are available to serve and help others, sometimes it’s lonely. We feel we have to present a perfect front to our watching public. That is not true. If you lack support, find a prayer group, and ask fellow InScribers for prayer for your struggles.

I have been asking more people for prayer support, and I am, in return, praying for others. Don’t be afraid to share your needs. Our service of writing cannot be effective without support.

Today I ask for your prayer support, and I in turn commit to pray for you. Together we can inscribe truth into needy hearts.

Have you faced opposition?