New Beginnings by Colleen van Nieuwkerk

My New Year has almost always begun with my birthday in August, instead of in January.

I love new beginnings, the fall season and fall colors. You would notice that if you ever came to my house for coffee. I also always loved school and still love to learn. One of my life values is to be a life-long learner.

New beginnings that start in the fall season are often stirred up for me when spring arrives. I will be winding down the previous year and suddenly my mind and heart will turn towards fall and what is next. I served as a Director of Children’s Ministries in our church for fourteen years and this thought process was necessary every year. It has continued into retirement.

One of the aspects of a new focus was that I would listen for one word or phrase that God would put repeatedly before me and eventually I would choose that word for my next year. This year, my one word is “Capacity”, and my personal definition of that word is, “God-given ability to live beyond my natural potential.” My current health situation seems to affect energy and output, and that can be a hindrance to sitting at my desk.

I have now been walking in life as a widow for almost six years. Life turned inside out and upside down for me when my husband died unexpectedly. We had a strong marriage for forty-six years and I have deeply missed him. However, there have been new mercies every morning, and as the grief has become softer, God has graciously begun to restore my vision and my capacity for “laughing at the future” (Proverbs 31:26). This summer as I reviewed my previous year and set my plans, God willing, for this next year, I have asked for more capacity to complete some assignments.

Last October I was blessed to be offered a book contract from hope*books. I am writing a memoir, “An Unfolding Life” and have just completed six out of nine chapters. This offer took me completely by surprise and, although there have been some hard processes of working through good memories, I have enjoyed the writing.

My ministry within our church and online is currently continuing to write a curriculum for women that began ten years ago. It has expanded year by year and right now I am writing the current module as a pilot class and will teach it to a group of ten women.

Blogging is a goal I have had for several years, but I have not made much progress towards working the writing into my everyday schedule. My goal is that it would complement this course I have written and reach more women.

I have enjoyed writing a couple of guest blog posts here recently, and I also just submitted one devotional for a Year of Hope Devotional Book to be published in December.

I never planned to be a writer. I always loved English and Literature classes and am an avid reader. Wonder often overwhelms me as I see how God has unfolded this opportunity and set it before me as his assignment for this time. Thank you for reading and for the encouragement found in all your writing. We are blessed to experience God’s new mercies every morning as we follow his leading.

Habakkuk 3:19 (AMPC), “The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places (of trouble, suffering, or responsibility)!”

Colleen van Nieuwkerk is GG to three sons plus 3; twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandsons. Colleen writes curriculum for women as well as teaches and is currently writing the story in book form of how this all came about. She lives in northern Alberta and can be found online @colleenvannieuwkerk.com

So Many Beginnings by Steph Beth Nickel

Photo Credit: Steph Beth Nickel

When considering today's topic, the verses that immediately came to mind were Lamentations 3:22-23, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (ESV).


Aren't you glad these verses are true? But how do they apply to new beginnings?

We all need His mercy each and every day. It enables us to begin projects . . . and begin them again as needed.

Perhaps you're like me and want to begin one or more of the following endeavours (or begin them again):

Prepare Manuscripts to Self-Publish

I have countless ideas for books I would like to indie publish: from picture books to devotionals, from YA spec fiction to women's fiction.

This month I intend to make significant headway with my devotional on the Gospel of John and my YA spec fiction manuscripts, working on each 2-3 times per week.

Move It, Move It

I have been walking more with my hubby, but I want to add resistance training to my schedule.

I really do enjoy exercising once I get started, but it's the starting that I find a challenge.

Eat More Healthfully

I enjoy eating healthy foods. I simply have to keep more fruits and veggies in the house and look up new recipes so I don't fall into the same old-same old "rut" when it comes to meal planning.

Decluttering / Prepare for Our Move

Again, it's a matter of doing a little almost every day. By doing so, it will also make space for the home renos we want to do before putting the house on the market.

This month, we plan to hold a yard sale and get rid of several items. And those that don't sell will be carted off to a local thrift store.

Prepare for My Homegoing

For some of us, this may sound morbid, something we want to avoid. But considering all the email and social media accounts and all the recurring online subscriptions I have, it's important that I make sure those I leave behind have ready access.

Thankfully, the decluttering will address the issue of my "stuff."

***

These are only five of the things I want to begin again this season. In order to succeed, I must do more than add them to my daily To-Do list. I must break them down into small, achievable tasks and keep moving forward.

And when I fail to achieve all I want to?

I must, once again, depend on God's daily mercies and begin yet again.

I'd love to know what you're beginning or beginning again this month. Feel free to leave a comment below or email me at stephbethnickel@gmail.com

Steph Beth Nickel is the former Editor of FellowScript and the current InScribe Contest Coordinator. Steph is an editor and author and plans to relocate to Saskatchewan from Ontario to be close to family in 2026. (Headshot Photo Credit: Jaime Mellor Photography)

No more ordinary By Vickie Stam

At the time it just seemed like an ordinary thing to do - you reach a stage in your life that everyone refers to as retirement. We had no idea what that would look like. Only a few days into this phase my husband, Tony, became instinctively aware that being a farmer was in-fact his life. "If this is retirement, it sucks!" He said.

The memory of that moment is still vivid. The look on his face was shrouded with doubt. Should I have retired? We felt a relief when the last of our pigs went off to market and yet an unexpected moment of grief had closed in on him. 

We washed and cleaned the barn. It was spic and span!We looked around with pride at all that we had accomplished and we felt free. But the very next day we realized that our lives were anything but ordinary. The routine we were comfortable with was gone. No more early morning. No more set times. No more would Tony have to listen to me singing, "It's Just Another Manic Monday." 

Monday mornings started at 4:00 am. Hogs needed to be loaded on a transport for market. The chance that everyone of them would willingly board the truck was  wishful thinking. The times that we struggled, we remained calm. We worked well together. 

Retiring unveiled a number of new directions in our lives with many forks in the road. More than we imagined. We moved a few times trying to find our desired location, searching for a place that would bring us closer to our church and volunteer commitments. We even experienced one of our closest friends abruptly remark, "can't you people ever get settled?" At first his words stung. But we knew that we didn't have to settle. God gave us many opportunities along the way. He opened doors for mission work and other volunteer opportunities. We don't have to stay in one spot. 

We have the ability to travel, a longing to help people and we enjoy working together. We have no regrets about the decisions we have made over the past six years. There's a great big world out there! We don't always know what we'll do today, tomorrow or even next year. Our ordinary routine no longer exists. 

Tony and I find joy in the things that our friends might not. That's what makes people different or even - extraordinary. Who knows we might even move again. We're always open to possibilities, challenges and new beginnings. 

The Benefits of Falling Off the Tree - Ramona Heikel

I am in my first dry spell in my twenty-year writing practice.  I have little ideas here and there, but I miss the joy of being driven by a large concept and message significant enough to fill a book manuscript. 

On my good days I am okay with this, because I can usually trust God to manage my writing life. But other times can be a challenge, such as when I foolishly swing by the Writing Section in a library or bookstore--and I read about how I can make my (future?) characters more colorful or believable,  successfully market my (non-existent) non-fiction book, or do school visits for my (unpublished) children's picture book. 

Then I feel like a little child standing behind a six-foot high chain-link fence, watching the big kids having all the fun.

So what's a writer to do?

Believe.

Have faith. Wait patiently. Be open. Pray. Expect. Be grateful for the "rest".

Perhaps that's oversimplifying it, I don't know. But to help me believe, and draw encouragement, I study nature. I tend to look at nature and see God.  My mind translates nature's ways into how God works, and how life works.

So I ask myself, "What actually happens during the shedding of leaves? It seems like such a sad, dreary time, so why does a good God set up an annual season of bleak, bare, bony trees? Isn't God all about life, evidenced in beauty and greenery?"

Here is what my research turned up, along with my rather abstract metaphorical responses. (I hope you will humor me!)

When the cool, dry weather comes along, and the food production of the leaves slows down, the tree intentionally cuts off the leaves in order for the tree and branches to survive. So in a way, if my creative leaves fall off the tree, that can be a benefit to the branches and trees. And who are the branches and trees? I'm not sure, but "I am the vine (tree?), you are the branches" comes to mind.

The tree reabsorbs the nutrients from the leaves before they fall, and stores them in the roots. That is a positive concept: creativity is not wasted during dry times, it is stored for the future.

Shedding its leaves may help trees pollinate in the spring, and many trees flower while they are still leafless. Pollinating and flowering make me think of bearing fruit. Perhaps, because of some transformation during this dry period, my future articles and stories will spread more widely and bear more fruit.

Losing leaves may help reduce damage to the tree by insects. When I think of insects I think of pests, annoyances and antagonism. Maybe in some mysterious way my fallow writing times can give me the strength to resist pesky doubts and discouragement.

Leaves on the ground put mineral salts and nutrients back into the soil, and the acids of decaying leaves dissolve rocks into the soil (replenishing it with sulphur, phosphorus, potash, iron, silica). This is provision for future blossoms of creative thought: nourishing the soul and spirit while it is at rest, thereby creating a deep well to draw from, rather than a shallow stream.

Wildlife species live in, or rely on, the layer of fallen leaves. These leaves, then, provide a benefit for the natural community. Could our restful times somehow benefit our fellow writers, or the collective body of writing? Of course.

I am fascinated and comforted by nature and its messages. I hope these facts and conjectures will provide an encouraging perspective--and a starting place for your own ponderings--during an autumn or winter in your own writing experience.

Ramona Heikel

Happilywriting.com

Leaves photos by Unsplash, public domain, https://pixabay.com/en/leaves-tree-ground-autumn-fall-984463/ 

If you're interested, I found information about the science behind falling leaves at these links (the NPR link is quite entertaining!) :

https://www.highlightskids.com/science-questions/how-and-why-do-leaves-fall-trees

http://earthsky.org/earth/why-do-trees-shed-their-leaves

http://www.instantanswer.org/why-do-trees-lose-their-leaves_955.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114288700

http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/why-do-leaves-shed-in-fall/

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/A_Year_in_the_Wonderland_of_Trees_/whyarede_b.html