Christ + Mass = Christmas by Nina Faye Morey

I remember how amazed I was when I was making cards and my teacher told me how to spell Christmas. Until I was eight years old, I had no idea that the first five letters spelled the title of the King of Kings. ~ Bruce Atchison

While Bruce had no idea as a youngster that the “Christ” in Christmas referred to the King of Kings, I was a young adult before I realized that the “mas” referred to the word, “Mass.” Having grown up in a family that was nominally Protestant, I wasn’t familiar with either the word “Mass” or “Eucharist” until I married into a devout Roman Catholic family.

I still remember how stunned I felt when I heard my husband explaining to our little ones what the word “Christmas” meant. It was one of those “slap the forehead” moments for me. I had never given any thought to the meaning of the “mas” part of the word. Now that it had been pointed out, it seemed so obvious it referred to “Christ’s Mass.” Of course, I knew that it was a commemoration of Christ’s birth, but my family’s holiday celebrations focused more on the secular aspects. I decided to look up the meaning of some of the other words associated with this celebration. I discovered that “Nativity” was derived from the Latin word, nātīvitās, meaning “birth.” Another familiar seasonal word, “Noel,” from the Old French word, noël, is also derived from this Latin word.

As a youngster, I never attended any Christmas religious services with my family. However, I do recall attending regular church services a couple of times with my dad. I fondly remember enjoying stories and colouring pictures in Sunday School on those occasions. In my early teens, I sometimes attended a church service while visiting a devout aunt. A classmate invited me to summer Bible camp one year and, occasionally, to some of her church’s youth activities. But Christmas mainly consisted of Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas presents, Christmas stories, and, of course, Christmas dinner with family when I was young.

After I was married, Christmas came to mean so much more. A major part of the celebrations was attending Midnight Mass with my husband and his family. Then my mother-in-law would have all the family members present over to her house for a late-night snack. To her, a “snack” was no meager amount of food, even at this late hour. I enjoyed this whole Christmas Eve tradition immensely. It carried on for many years, despite the increase in her family’s size through marriage and grandchildren, until she no longer felt able to continue. I cherish those memories and still miss her contribution to our Christmas celebrations.

As a young mom, I wanted to provide a different Christmas experience for my children. Sure, we had the usual festivities associated with Christmas: Christmas baking, decorating the Christmas tree, wrapping Christmas presents, watching Christmas movies, and reading children’s stories like “The Night before Christmas.” But a miniature Nativity scene was added to our holiday decorations, and I enjoyed reading them the biblical story of Jesus’s birth. And, of course, we always attended Christmas Mass—just not the midnight one until they were old enough.

Having discovered both the “Christ” and the “Mass” in Christmas, I now enjoy the full meaning, spirit, and blessings of the season. All those precious Christmas gifts and colourful Christmas lights pale in comparison to the One who is the true gift and light of Christmas:

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows.

~ James 1:17 (NIV)

Merry Christmas, everyone! May you experience the peace and joy of Christ in your hearts and souls this Christmas.

Photo Credit: © 2017 Nina Faye Morey

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.

My Mother's Gift - Tandy Balson

My mother was very excited as she presented me with a copy of Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. She told me that this was one of her favorite books when she was a girl.

Soon I was lost in the story of Elnora, an impoverished girl living near the Limberlost Swamp. Her life moved from the pages of a book into my imagination, where I pictured the scenes and her struggles.

I had read Trixie Beldon and Nancy Drew mysteries, but they were just entertaining stories.  Elnora’s life became very real to me.  It was the first time I was ever sad when a book ended.  I didn’t want to leave her and imagined how her life would have carried on.

Thus began a life-long love of reading.  By gifting me with literature that was important to her, my mother ignited my passion for a well written story.  

Over the years I have spent countless hours immersed in good books. The world around me fades away as I enter into the stories.  To this day, I feel one of the best ways to spend a day is curled up with a book.

This love of reading has been passed along to my daughter and my grandchildren.  I wonder if my mother realized the legacy she was handing down when she gave me that book.

I inherited her collection of books when she passed away.  In it are many classics, some dating back more than 100 years.  I treasure these volumes and when I look at them I send up a prayer of thanks for the mother who loved me enough to share her favourite book with me.

The Unwrapped Gift - Sulo Moorthy

Writing is surely a God-given cherishable gift, and what we make out of it is our gift to God. Whether we write to sell or write for mere pleasure, the words we put on the paper or onto the computer screen  have the vigor and longivity to last beyond our time and expectation.

Imagine a  world without writers and the thought itself would turn us, the avid readers to function like zombies. A night sky without stars, a garden void of flowers and butterflies, telephones without dial tone would equal such a world. Writers bring inspiration, enthrallment and enthusiasm that invigorate the soul to expand and explore the unknown. To realize that as a writer I play a part, however small or big that may be, in the grand orchestra of creativity, make me want to weep with joy and take my call seriously.

As writers, we are called to write first. Getting published and selling come later with effort and persistance. Sometimes, the fear of rejections, and failure in promotion prevent us from putting the pen onto the paper. Competition in the Writers' Market and elevation of some published authors to the celebrity level make unpublished and wanna-be -writers to easily give up on their dream of becoming authors.

King David, nor his son Solomon wouldn't have imagined to have their prayers, psalms or proverbs to be in print or for them to last till this century and beyond. They sought no agent nor researched any markets  to get their work published. Neither did Oswald Chamber, the author of My Utmost for His Highest spend his time on promotional tours and book signing. He lived only for a short period of 43 years, but his book has endured far beyond the author's death in 1917. With God, anything can become possible.

I've experienced both the joy of seeing my work published and the frustration of seeing my work returned in the mail in my handwritten self-addressed manila envelopes in the past. There were days I sat glaring at the computer screen with words refusing to be released from my creative brain. And then there were days I had rolled out of my bed at dawn to note down the words that were rushing down from the same side of the brain. Weeks of no writing, but all reading had occurred at times when inspiration seemed like estranged spouse living distance away. Acceptance from editors and deadlines for submissions only coaxed me to sit and write in the past. But not any more.

In the past five years, I haven't submitted my work for any publications other than the devotional column for Fellowscript until 2010. However, the written pages of my journals testify that the writer in me is still alive, even if it chooses to hibernate for days from time to time. In the recent months, I've got into the habit of amusing myself by writing out my reflection on scriptures into poems. I doubt anyone with a poetical eye would consider them as real poems. Yet, that wouldn't stop me from writing for my pleasure and God's.

It has been an year since I started a writers' group for the women at our church. The short span of my writing life makes me no expert to lead the group with admirable writing talents. Yet, with God's strength and guidance from the book, An Introduction to Christian Writing, I, as a fellow rider on the writing path, try to lend a hand to pat, motivate and to share what I've learned from my writing experiences. 

The women in the group love to write, but lack the time to write like any other busy moms working full-time outside home. Motivation to write rather than critiquing their work is all they need at this time and I try to do that in the best way I could. Their writing more than mine becomes my priority in this season of my writing life, and  when I do that, I find myself motivated to write more and write better. It's truly a double edged blessing.

It took awhile for me to admit to myself I'm a writer. Now that I'm convinced that as a writer I play a part in the vast arena of creative world, I can't quit, but keep on writing whether my work sell or not.