Fill 'er Up by Bob Jones

This month’s writing prompt asked how I fill my creative container.

That’s an interesting query.

In a recent online discussion with a group of religious leaders, the facilitator asked us to list the reasons why we do what we do. And then to share why what we do may encounter resistance.

My writing at REVwords is inspired by people and the challenges they face. They overflow my container.

These are some of the reasons and resistance that make up my writing world.

Reasons
•  Be an advocate for others.
•  Defend others who need a friend to stand with them.
•  Be a voice of those who don’t have a platform but have a story.
•  Broaden the perspectives of those willing to stretch.
•  Raise up issues to higher importance than is often attributed to them.

Resistance
•  My content offends some readers, so they break connection.
•  Deficiency of clarity in my writing leads to misunderstanding.
•  Defensive reactions to dissenting views and critique.

During that discussion, we were challenged to think about how we could get a broader hearing on divisive issues. How could I communicate what is meaningful in a way that would draw a more diverse audience and inspire less resistance and more conversation?

Exploring that kind of thinking is going to fill my creative container. I posted my first attempt at that in the post, C-9, 18, and 5:14 (Galatians). Let me know how I did.

The prompt also asked what strengthens my craft, the writing resources I use, and my go to publications, quotes, podcasts, and other resources.

Lately, I’ve been influenced by the people I follow on Substack and podcasts. Each one of them writes with creativity and passion. They’re not tentative in taking on big issues and speaking truth to power.

Bishop Mariann Budde – Reflections on Courage, Faith and the Work of Love

Brian Zhand

Bob Rae

Beth Allison Barr – Marginalia

Anne Applebaum – Open Letters

NiJay K. Gupta – Engaging Scripture

Anne Lamott – Hallelujah Anyway

Patti Miller – Isn’t That The Craziest Thing

Kristin Du Mez – Du Mez Connections

Anne Lamott shared a story a few weeks ago in her Substack. She told it for people doing important work. People like Inscribe writers.

“The writer Mark Yaconelli told me years ago of holding a retreat one weekend where a hundred people from all over the world came to hear his teachings on how to work with disenfranchised and severely depressed young people. He spoke to the gathering for a few hours about tools that he used to create community and connection with young people suffering loss and isolation. At some point, he handed out a Mexican beach blanket to each person, and asked them to lie down and rest.

A physician who worked with young AIDS patients had flown in from South Africa the week before, and she came up to him, furious. She said that she had flown 10,000 miles at enormous expense to learn his techniques and did not want to be told to take a nap like a kindergartner. Mark nodded sympathetically and asked her to do the best she could.

When the hour was over, the woman came back to him, weeping. She had fallen asleep. She said that she had not understood how exhausted she was.”

Happy Easter. He is risen so you can lay down.

Thank you for reading and commenting. I always look forward to your engagement. It’s the best part of writing.

I is for Impact by Carol Harrison

 

I is for Impact

The driver of the large old model car ran the red light and pieces of my car scattered over three lanes of traffic on impact. Even though this happened years ago and no one was injured in the accident except my car, the memory remains. The physical impact also impacted my emotions and left me reliving the moment for awhile after.

As I thought about I is for impact and its obvious memory of an accident with one vehicle slamming into another, we impact the people in our sphere of influence every day with our words, attitudes, and actions. Our impact in their lives can be positive or negative but it’s there.

The words we write, whether a short piece or novel, poetry or devotional, reach beyond our immediate circle of influence. We may never know the impact our words have on a reader. They may be intrigued to read more of our writing. What we write might instruct someone else, inform others, inspire them, or allow their imaginations to take flight and land them in another time or place.

I know reading has always left an impact on me from the time I first learned to read. I loved to escape and live vicariously through the adventures of others. I even enjoyed reading the encyclopedia set to increase my knowledge. I guess some would have called me a nerd or whatever slang term was in fashion at the time.

There have been times when life is difficult or illness keeps me from reading anything too deep. Studying is out of the question when my asthma flares up. Yet I have picked up a light Christian fiction and seen truths portrayed through the characters' lives. I’ve taken a look through their eyes at the world around and found myself having those ‘ah ha’ moments. Have you experienced that as well?

Sometimes looking at life through a character’s eyes brings new insights into our own lives. We are given a moment to apply what we learn to our own situations. As I contemplated how I is for impact, I was reminded of the responsibility we have with our words, whether spoken or written. We need to write the truth even in our made-up stories or other worlds we imagine and bring to life. Once words are out there, we can’t take them back.

At camp I’ve used the illustration of a tube of toothpaste. It’s easy and quick to squeeze out the contents but getting someone to try and stuff the paste back into the tube is an impossible task. So it is with our words. We speak them and they encourage others or knock them down. We can apologize for pain they inflict but the memory remains. Our written words remain for many to read. What they say will impact them in one way or another.

May our prayer be that of the psalmist in Psalm 19:14

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.”

 

Carol Harrison writes from Saskatoon, SK. She wants to encourage others to look for those glimmers of hope and glimpses of joy in all the circumstances of life.

 

 

Influence and Ideas by Lorilee Guenter

 

Charlotte's Web, Winnie-The-Pooh, Anne of Green Gables. Louisa may Alcott, J. R. R. Tolkien, Janette Oke. Mystery, biography, science fiction. The list of books, authors and genres I have and do read is immense. My summertime reading list grows each day. I do not read horror and I usually shy away from romance because I do not like the explicit scenes but otherwise it is probably fair game. Reading opens new words and introduces ideas. it has since I sounded out my first words. I learned words have the power to captivate, to inform and to transform. They have power to report and transport, to encourage or discourage. Words have power and why should this surprise any of us since The Word created the world and has enabled writer's to create worlds of imagination.

I did not and do not hesitate to call myself a reader. Books, essays, magazines, they surround me as my to be read pile and my have finished reading lists vie for first place in size and scope (but can the to be read pile ever be depleted?). I have and do hesitate to call myself a writer even though my to type and to edit piles grow. To be a writer requires I acknowledge that my words when put together as essays, stories and poems have the power to build up or tear down. A misplaced word can change the context and cause a reader to stumble and tumble away from The Truth or to reach and to cling to The One who informs and infuses our words when we let Him. It is a huge responsibility. Thankfully it is not ours alone. Each time I pick up a new book to read I immerse myself in the words and worlds of another writer's imagination and influences. 

If the Holy Spirit is prompting and empowering, do I not stumble along in rebellion if I refuse? Do I let fear overwhelm faith when I put down my pen and pick up distraction? I wonder how many books could have been but aren't because other writer's have done as I do and questioned the need to, and their ability to share their words. So with hesitation and interruption I continue to return to this label. I am a writer. Through my words the Holy Spirit, with The Word can teach or challenge as I encourage or entertain those who read them. As the knights in stories I've read do, I pick up mu ink filled sword to slay the dragon of fear in hopes others will follow my lead and pick up their swords (in whatever form they have been given them). 

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give you a spirit of fear (timidity), but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

After a bit of editing, I will pick up that next book on my pile to read because I am not alone and I still like to get lost in the imagination of others. I am thankful for the many authors who I have reading and am reading. Their influences are many. Their numbers (including the ones just this summer) are numerous.

I 'm Only One by Carol Harrison

 

 

I’m Only One

  I watch the news and hear of pain, see the protests, and escalating conflicts. My heart hurts. I turn off the news and long to bury my head under the covers and pretend or hope it will go away, be resolved, or at least not touch any closer to home. But I know this brokenness exists. I realize people are hurting and need others to stand with them and for them. What can I do? I am only one.

I hear about social issues close to home, people in my community who need so much. Poverty, hungry children, those with mental illness, addictions, or disabilities live here. Their needs are often ignored. They are forgotten for no one wants to understand, offer a helping hand, a listening ear. The marginalized don't seem to have a voice. This breaks my heart. What can I do? I am only one.

Abuse happens even in homes we least likely expect it to. Pornography permeates places we never think it might. Women disappear. Human trafficking doesn’t just happen somewhere else. Fear and shame hover near. Anger and outrage erupts as abuse, disappearances, or extreme anguish and pain surface for others to see. Then my heart aches. What can I do? I am only one.

Racism rears its ugly head over and over; not just in other places but close to home. People need to be seen for who they are – wonderfully made by God, even though many don’t acknowledge that. The need for equality, fairness, and acceptance surround me. My heart cries. What can I do? I am only one.

Countless numbers need to hear the good news of the gospel; the news that God loves them and Jesus took their place on the cross. Some are waiting to hear for the first time. Some are waiting to see this good news shared through actions and attitudes, not words only. They’ve been hurt by too many in the name of Christianity, by those who do not live with the attitudes and actions God desires. Do I share my faith in tangible ways? Do I share it through my words, my actions, my attitudes? My heart sorrows for when I don’t. What can I do?

Too often I allow defeat to render me ineffective for I am only one against so many problems, trials, and injustices. Sometimes I still long to hide away and hope someone else sounds the alarm, walks alongside to help, or rallies others to make a difference. But that is not what God commands in Scripture. I am not only one. I am part of the body of Christ. I am part of humanity.

What can I do? There are many things for each one of us, including me, to do. First I must remain faithful to God's Word. Then I must allow God to help me live His truth everyday even when I don’t understand how to help others in this broken world around me.

Matthew 6: 14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to every one in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

What can I do? I am only one. One little light in a dark and hurting world. Matthew 10: 42 says “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” A cup of water is one little thing. Actively listening to someone’s story and accepting them for who they are and where they are is one little thing. Giving funds or provisions to someone who desperately needs them is one little thing. I can do one small thing at a time, which will touch the life of one person, who in turn can touch someone else. A chain of small things can change the world.

My heart hurts for all the pain and suffering. It breaks for all those misunderstood, unloved, or abused. But what has God placed in my heart to write about, talk about, and take action on when opportunity knocks? Several things pull harder on my heart strings or at least more often. One is inclusion for those with disabilities. What does it really mean to include those who move and learn differently? I am only one but I can speak to this and write about it for I have lived it for years as an advocate for my daughter. What I write about is born from my desire to educate others and encourage them to know the person, see the ability within the disability, and how we all are created by God to be our unique selves.

There are times my heart is heavy, my emotions tear-filled, and darkness threatens to overtake me. Depression has been an issue in my life. As God brought people to walk alongside, counsel, and encourage me, so now my heart pulls me to help and encourage others.

Maybe I hang back because I don’t like conflict. Most hot button issues fan conflict, increase the pain, and make me want to hide instead of being God's light and help to others. My heart still hurts and my conscience pricks when I abdicate doing and not just reading God's commands in the Bible. What can I do? I am only one.

I can live life, with God’s help, as described in Colossians 3: 12–15. It also reminds me I am not alone but part of a group, the body of believers.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you many have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  

What can I do? I am only one, but I serve the God for whom nothing is impossible. I will be faithful to what he asks me to speak or write. I will walk with someone who is hurting instead of hiding under the covers. I am only one but God can use me in ways I can’t imagine, to make a difference for someone else.  Yes, I am only one but Jesus is THE ONLY ONE.

 

 

 Carol Harrison shares her stories of hope and God's faithfulness from her home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her desire is to walk humbly through whatever doors God opens to encourage others in their own journey's and tell them the stories of Jesus.

She Loves You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! by Glynis M. Belec

It’s funny how it happened. When I was a wee lass living in Scotland, the Beatles had just hit
the top of the pops and were taking the country by storm. I had Beatle tea-towels, Beatle wallpaper in my room, Beatle cups, Beatle records and whatever else sported the shiny faces of the Fab Four!

Shortly after that, I started taking a liking to writing songs and poetry – but especially songs. I fancied myself penning the next She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah for those Liverpudlian boys. My sister and I wrote what we thought would be chart topping hits, but they never made it outside our council house door.  Well maybe for a party piece or two for lovely relatives who were able to grin and bear it.

                But I never stopped trying. I scribbled poetry in my jotters and occasionally imagined what it would be like to be a writer. Then somewhere along the line, I forgot. But I still read. I lapped up books like Little Women, Little Men, What Katy Did Next, Beautiful Joe, all the Diana comics I could get my hands on and then every year I would get a Diana Annual for Christmas.

                In school I got good marks in classes that had to do with the languages, be it Latin, English, French. I began to fall in love with the formation of words and I desired to express myself on the written page. I dabbled throughout my teen years and got involved in drama – a wonderful way to share words aloud – although not my creations. However, I felt a definite leaning towards creativity.

When I came to Drayton, where I live now, I remember picking up the newspaper and reading an ad for a 12 week freelance writing course. I’d recently won a county wide writing contest that I had entered on a whim (actually I don’t think it was a whim now that I have discovered how God works!) But I started to fancy myself as a writer once again.

                It was an amazing learning experience. Over those 12 weeks, I realized how much I had to learn and how much I overused Beatle - and Simon & Garfunkle (gag) clichés, particularly in one piece I submitted for critique. One of the requirements for that piece, was to pen something about our spouse. I recall, with much chagrin now, the flavour of what I wrote. I remember talking about my husband being akin to a ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and how I had to learn to ‘Let It Be’ and ‘All We Needed Was Love!’ Oh my, Jean Neiderer (the lovely teacher who I am still trying desperately to locate so I can thank her – and apologize) must have laughed her editor head off. It must have been a Hard Day’s Night for her when she red marked that piece.

                But I’ve grown up a little now. I have not arrived in my writing life by any means. I never will because, like marriage and my Christian faith – there is always something to learn and room to grow. Instead, now I have a different motivation for writing. 

     When I began a beautiful relationship with the Lord in the fall of 1986 something happened. God opened up doors and my passion focused on writing for Him. I think I started to realize that we are not only given gifts, but we have a responsibility to use them wisely and for His glory. 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

      I can think of so many people and so many reasons for me to create a personal writing memorial, but the One who has the greatest influence on me and to whom I owe the most gratitude, is the One who sacrificed it all. And for sure, I know He loves me (Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!)