Seasons of Rest by Lorilee Guenter

 

Parched, like a drought stricken land, the ideas sit half formed. They wait for a gentle rain to grow and burst into bloom. This summer my yard has been parched. I've tried to keep some of it watered using an often empty rain barrel and a garden hose. It is not the same as a gentle rain for creating summer abundance. So too the landscape of my mind has felt dry. I've tried to keep pieces of creativity alive, watering them with walks in God's creation, praise music and more. It is not the same as a season of creative abundance.

I recently realised there is a pattern, a rhythm, to my creative year, just as there is a rhythm to the seasons. In nature, winter is a season of dormancy, a season of rest. The perennials rest under sheets of leaves and blankets of snow. They are not dead. They await their next season of growth. Summer is my season of creative dormancy. The abundant colour, sights and sounds of the garden pull me outside. Trails entice us to take a hike. They refresh. Like a houseplant flowering in January, there are glimpses of the season to come. 

Many times I have tried to force the season of abundant creativity to continue, just as I tried this year to overcome the drought. It does not work. Rest and renewal are necessary pieces of life. Without them we struggle and wither. But God does not leave us there. He walks with us, caring for us, as He tends to our needs as the Master Gardener, the Loving Father.

As summer gives way to fall, I notice the ideas start to sprout. The time of rest starts to give way to the time of growth. Maybe next time I won't resist the rest quite so much. Instead I will attempt to savour the January blossom as a reminder of what is to come.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Lorilee Guenter is a writer and artist who enjoys gardening and hiking. Sometimes she can be stubborn and miss the gift that is in front of her by trying to do things her own way.

Embracing the Changing Seasons of Life by Nina Faye Morey

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven.

~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ASV)

Just as nature’s seasons change, so do the seasons of our lives. We may not be willing to accept these changes, but they will happen nevertheless. They are inevitable and come and go quickly. Time passes even faster as I grow older, and the seasons of my life zoom past with head-spinning speed. But would I really want to stop the clock? If my life grew stale and stagnant despite these ever-changing seasons, would I still remain content? As far as I can see, I only have two choices. I can be the passive casualty of change or the passionate embracer of change. I know which one I will choose. How about you?

Change doesn’t have to be viewed as negative. Many changes in my life have definitely been for the better. They’ve opened me up to new adventures, new experiences, new discoveries, new ideas, new passions, new hopes, new dreams, new purposes, new people, and so many other new and positive things. I’ve discovered that I am more satisfied with the seasons of my life if I choose to actively embrace these changes rather than complaining about them, fearing them, resisting them, or outright rejecting them. I must not be afraid to step out of my comfort zone, shake-up my normal routine, and move ahead with my life.

Autumn is a glorious season when the summer leaves change colour from their fine greenery to brilliant shades of yellow, red, and orange. It’s also traditionally a time when one season of life transforms into another. As I harvest and preserve the fruits of past labours, I am also planning what seeds I will plant and nurture through my next season of growth. Embracing these changing seasons of life offers renewed opportunities to envision how to make the best use of my God-given gifts. More specifically, what does God want me to do and what do I want Him to do for me in the next phase of my writing life? I am excited to see what new challenges He has in store for me and how He will help me to meet these challenges. What does He require of me and how will I respond? I have dreamed up so many writing projects for this upcoming season that I hardly know where to begin.

The LORD says, “I will teach you the way you should go;

I will instruct you and advise you.

~ Psalm 32:8 (GNT)

As I prepare for my next season of growth, I feel God challenging me to cultivate fresh fields. One new field in which I plan to plant and nurture seeds is on a site in the realm of the internet. I haven’t settled on a name for my new domain yet, but I’ve been reading several of those how-to books and websites that promise to help me plan, design, and launch my new website into this online world. I don’t know if this new site will prove to be a fertile ground for growth, but I intend to fully embrace this challenge. I believe that if I listen to God’s voice and respond positively to this change He’s asking me to make in my writing life, my efforts will prove to be fruitful.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,

and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

~ John 15:4 (NLT)

Just as the seasonal changes in nature are inevitable, so are the changes that naturally occur as we go through the seasons of life. What new challenges in your life or writing do you feel God has in store for you this season, and how will you respond?

Opportunities and Challenges - Carol Harrison

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Life and writing are full of challenges that can overshadow everything else and make us miss opportunities God is nudging us to embrace.

As I thought about this month's prompt of the interaction between faith and writing, I must admit that other life activities and challenges kept me longing for the proverbial light bulb moment of inspiration so I could sit at the keyboard and compose words worth reading. I searched through memories, verses and photos for inspiration or maybe even a tool for procrastination. I remembered this photo which spoke to me to the tenacity of seedlings growing in less than ideal circumstances.

I have often wondered how a pansy, my favourite flower, can grow in an area covered by stones and yet one summer two pansies greeted me each morning in our small grassless backyard. Each time I looked at their bright colours I felt a smile crease my face and imagined them thumbing their noses at the adverse growing conditions.

On our recent train trip across Canada I marveled at the trees and shrubs growing out of the rocks in the Canadian Shield and clinging to the steep cliffs of the Rockies. How did they grow in such harsh conditions. How did their roots find the exact crevice in the rocks to search for nutrients and stability?

This picture, the pansies in the rocks and the trees growing where nothing should survive all remind me of possibilities beyond the challenges. They also serve as reminders of growing my faith, with God's help, by sending roots into the Word of God and spending time listening to His direction, His voice and then listening to those nudges he gives, even when I do not understand His purpose for me, my life or my writing.

I thought back to a conversation I had a few months ago. Adrienne, one of the founders of a group called Consciously Woman, interviewed me as a possible weekly contributor to their blog. She said, "I looked at your web page and its all about christian faith. This community has women with varied beliefs. Do you think you can even write something that is not preachy or is more general in nature?"

I must admit my first internal reaction to her words, not said in anger, included wanting to end the conversation and not bother about the rest of the interview. But I paused and trusted God to give me words to say. We finished the time with my agreeing to be one of her writers because I realized as we chatted that not everything I write or have had published is Bible verse quoting, devotional style, geared to one audience material. Yet no matter what I write, my faith colours what I say for it is an integral part of who I am.

My faith is a work in progress with ebbs and flows of strength. Even when I struggle with challenges and the question why pops into my mind, I beg for growth in that area of my life. My faith should not be put on like an accessory when the mood strikes. It is an integral part of who I am and should be reflected in every aspect of my life, through my attitude, my actions and my words whether written or verbal.

My writing too is a work in progress. I need to keep learning from others further along the journey, practice what I have already learned and listen to God's still small voice for directions in this area of my life. Some writing remains hidden from the eyes of all but God and myself. My journal contains reflections,  memories and yes sometimes questions about faith and life. God has directed at least one short story to be shared with people at certain times and I did not understand the reason. I had written it as part of a healing process. I obeyed and God used it to touch the life of someone else. In return my faith grew and strengthened.



Not everything I write is devotional style with Bible verses quoted and expounded upon or other Christian based faith writing. But the words I choose, the attitude portrayed within the story reflect who I am and whose I am. Faith helps me survive the challenges and opens my ears to hear the opportunities God nudges me to accept. I like how this poster sums up my life and my writing. May it inspire you as you take on the challenges and opportunities of life and writing.




As a speaker, published author and storyteller, Carol Harrison is passionate about mentoring people of all ages and abilities to help them find their voice and reach their fullest potential. She shares from her heart, telling stories from real life experiences and God’s Word to encourage people and help them find a glimmer of hope no matter what the circumstances. She believes we need to continuously grow in our walk with God and lives out her storytelling passion by speaking at women’s events and retreats, Bible Camps as well as school assemblies and church events. Carol is a wife, mother of four adult children and grandmother to twelve. She makes her home is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

The Influence of a Writers’ Conference – Stepping Stones to Growth by Joylene M. Bailey

photo credit: oatsy40 <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68089229@N06/6818869372">Stepping Stones</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a> 

The first writers’ conference I ever attended was one I helped organize, in a city that hadn’t seen a Christian writers’ conference in many years. I just wanted to be around other writers, other like-minded people.

I don’t know what I was expecting but I was really surprised to discover that the other writers there weren’t some famous high falutin’ authors. They didn’t look like Ernest Hemingway. They didn’t spout off long-winded, obtrusive commentaries.

They were ordinary people, just like me.

Nobody looked down his nose at me. Nobody whispered behind her hands, “What is she doing here?” When I said I was a writer they believed me, even when I didn’t believe it myself.

So, it was at a writers’ conference that I found the courage and the confidence to call myself a writer. Out loud.

It was at a writers’ conference that I found out that the way I write is OK.

The plenary speaker and author of many novels called himself an Intuitive Writer - someone who doesn’t know ahead of time what is going to come out of the end of his pen. He just writes whatever comes to him. He told us that partway through the writing of one of his novels, an important character decided to up and leave the story completely, and how he, the writer, was left wondering what to do. And I thought, “That’s how I write!  It must be ok.” It was a significant AHA! moment in my history.

Up to that point I had thought I was odd.

It was at a writers’ conference where I learned about and joined ICWF’s listserv, an email community of like-minded people who help and serve each other as we navigate the many facets of writing.

It was at a writers’ conference where I answered the call to write once a month for Inscribe Writers Online.

It was a writers’ conference where I entered my first writing contest, and won second place in my category.

It is at writers’ conferences that I get so inspired, so encouraged that I feel myself swelling from the inside out with confidence and absolute LOVE for putting words down on paper.

Over the years I have come to know and recognize other writers. From that day 9 years ago, when I walked into that first writers conference, to today, I find I am among friends there. I’m still not completely comfortable walking into a room full of other people, let alone writers – that’s probably the introvert in me - but it is so comforting to find friends there. People I’ve come to know over the years. Writers I admire – not just because of their writing, but also because of their character.

So have Writers’ Conferences influenced me? Absolutely! Each writing conference is another stepping stone in my growth as a writer. The impact on my confidence, my freedom to create, and on my sense of my calling has been invaluable. If you have never attended one I encourage you to take that first step, hop onto that first stepping-stone. You’ll never look back.

photo credit: Kristofer Williams <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24710541@N08/5520512354">'Stepping Stones' - Talacre Lighthouse, Talacre Beach</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)</a> 

Joylene writes from her home in Edmonton where, currently, all the furniture is piled in the middle of the rooms so that the painters have room to paint.