A Season of Preparation by Nina Faye Morey

Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

~Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

In the dead of winter, snow blankets the landscape from horizon to horizon. There is no evidence of any flora budding, growing, or maturing in this vast winter wasteland. The prairie appears to lie silent and dormant. However, don’t be fooled. Winter is actually a season of preparation, when trees, grass, and various plants get ready to spring up anew once the strong sunshine, warm weather, and bubbling streams return. Plant life needs to hibernate beneath its warm winter blanket in order to gather strength to withstand the storms that will inevitably arrive with the new seasons of growth and harvest.

The coming of the New Year, which in our part of the world comes in the dead of winter, is also typically a time of preparation and renewal when people set new goals for the upcoming year. Hopefully, this time of preparation will help us grow stronger so we can withstand any upcoming storms and handle whatever future God has in store for us.

My Personal & Faith Life: Preparations & Prayers

As the New Year begins, I find myself living in a state of uncertainty and apprehension. There are ominous signs on the horizon of an impending storm that could wash away familiar roads, leaving me to tread a solitary path through the wilderness. I pray this storm passes me by, leaving my familiar landscape unscathed. Despite my fears, I am comforted by the knowledge that God holds my future in His hands. Therefore, I will prepare for whatever may come my way by continuing to pray and to place my trust in Him. I will take reassurance from His promise to be with me, strengthen me, and take me by the hand and bear me up in times of trouble.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~ Isaiah 41:10

My Writing & Editing Life: Preparations & Plans

I’ve planned a few changes and set some new goals for my writing and editing life this year. As some of you already know, I will be stepping down as editor-in-chief of FellowScript following the publication of the May issue. However, I am preparing to take on a new challenge, serving as the managing editor for InScribe’s 2021 anthology, Easter: Stories & More. I am excited to be taking on this new role, and I look forward to working with our InScribe family of talented writers and editors and to helping the InScribe Press Committee put together another inspiring anthology.

I am also preparing to devote more time to my own writing. I hope to finish revising the draft of my romance novel and to publish a collection of my published work (along with a few unpublished pieces). While I’ve loved serving as FellowScript’s editor-in-chief and feel fortunate to have done so, my work on these books has dwindled to a mere trickle. Hopefully, I’ll be more successful at juggling my new editorial commitments with my own writing goals this year.

Also, in addition to posting monthly on this blog, my plan for the upcoming year is to publish a weekly post on my own blog, Writer Ink Well. However, I confess I’ve already missed that target. I especially enjoy interviewing fellow writers for my blog, and I plan to also offer opportunities to guest post. If you’re willing to be interviewed or you’d like to write a guest post for my blog, please feel free to contact me.

Those are the preparations and plans I’ve made for this year. What preparations have you made and what have you planned for 2020?

Nina Faye Morey is a Canadian writer, editor, blogger, and speaker. She’s had fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art published in a variety of journals. She’s also contributed to two InScribe anthologies: 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers (2015) and Christmas: Stories and More (2017). Nina’s served as columns editor for InScribe’s FellowScript magazine and is currently the editor-in-chief. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, travelling, and spending time with family.

With Glowing Heart ... by Glynis M Belec

"Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds." 

Isaiah 55:8 (NB)

Last week was indeed  a true Canada Day 2017. Not at all like I had planned, but a fabulous one, nonetheless. 

A month ago, I had my agenda tidily filled in and my plans were in place. I had been asked to help organize, or at least participate in a local Art in the Park event for Canada Day. I thought that would be fun and I could perhaps help some of our local writers promote their work too, so I jumped in. The plan was also for me to have a book table decorated to the nines with my newest publishing hurrah - a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul Spirit of Canada. Perfect timing for my new Canadian title. I was excited and hoped to sell a lot of books.

Shortly after I had said 'sure thing,' though, I found out my daughter was going to be moving that very day. So I had to break it to the organizers that I was backing out. I felt bad but it was a case of priorities and I had to help. 

However, my plan was to pop by and enjoy Art in the Park later in the day, and help out if I got back in time. So all seemed well, all things considered. 

Then, wouldn't you know it, things switched again. Plans fell through for my daughter. I felt badly but then I thought perhaps I could recommit to helping out on Canada Day. I didn't jump in head first this time. I merely mentioned I might be able to come to help out on the day, in case things turned around for my daughter. The gal who had contacted me was so kind and told me to come if I was able. She would save a spot. So I planned again. 

But I shouldn't have bothered. 

It's not that things turned around for my daughter. 

It was my Dad this time. He had a bit of a turn - well a succession of turns and the short story is he ended up being put on a heart monitor. So there went any plans of my own. This was just prior to Canada Day. And I knew that I couldn't leave Dad for any extended time so it looked like I had to cancel everything. I did. 

As we did our devotions that morning, I remarked to Happy Hubby, who was also heading out to do some catch up on some work of his own, how differently the day turned out to what I had planned. 

"That's sometimes how God works," he said, kissing me farewell and leaving me contemplating. 

It was a good thing I stayed home, too. Dad ended up having a dizzy spell and his heart was racing just as I was helping him up. Right away I had to get him to lie in bed for a while and follow the doctor's instructions. Eventually things settled down and all was quiet in paradise. 

Later, once Dad seemed okay and I had given him breakfast and got a few things done in the kitchen, I went to the back patio door and stood quietly for a minute looking at my garden and the impending black clouds that loomed near. I was feeling a little frustrated and thinking about how my plans didn't work at all. I didn't get to help my daughter move. I didn't help with Art in the Park. I didn't get to set up my table and sell all those books that I had planned on selling. I didn't get to partake in typical Canada Day celebrations. And it looked like rain. 

Then I heard it. At first I thought I was imagining it. 

It started out soft and low. A solitary sound of a trumpet playing O Canada - and it drifted across our subdivision to my back porch. I opened the screen door and stepped outside, still in my pjs.  My heart stood to attention. My body followed suit as O Canada got progressively louder. Three times the distant trumpeter played it. For three minutes I stayed still. Smiling. Listening. Appreciating. 

I thanked God for sending me that special gift Canada Day morning. It seemed to focus me. Reminding me about my glowing heart and how God keeps our land glorious and free! 

The rest of my day was not at all as I had originally planned. I did the laundry. I wrote a little bit. I cleaned our bedroom, and sorted through things I had kept putting off. I cleaned the pantry. Wrote some more. Ran an online Oh Canada Trivia Challenge. Made some muffins. Smiled a lot. Counted Blessings. 

Not a day that I had planned. But it was such a peaceful, fulfilling, relaxing kind of day that I had not experienced in a long time. I kept thinking about the trumpeter. And O Canada. And the way God's plans are not our plans. Gratitude. 

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

                                     Glynis

Let's Go for Plan B by Steph Beth Nickel

I love lists.

When the New Year rolls around, it’s just another excuse to create a list. Resolutions, goals, aspirations … call them what you will, but I love them.

However, I go into each year cognizant that it’s highly unlikely that I’ll achieve even a small fraction of those original goals. I’ve come to realize my Plan A is not the same as God’s.

So let’s go for Plan B, as in B for better … best even.

How does this apply to my writing?

Well, when the HopeStreamRadio podcast first joined the plethora of others soaring through cyberspace, I had the privilege of being one of the first producers. However, I had a lot to learn. (I still do, but things are progressing.)

That first series of devotionals, If You Love Me … let’s just say it wasn’t particularly memorable.

This year I have the privilege of re-recording this series from the gospel of John. As I prepare to do so, I am refining each five-minute script.

One of my goals for 2017 is to publish at least two ebooks. With some modifications, this collection may be the first in my Nurture & Inspire series.

Ideally, I would love to have published four or more ebooks by the end of the year, but that’s not going to happen. For one thing, this is a new learning curve for me.

For another, God is leading me down some unforeseen paths and teaching me the lessons He knows I need to learn.

We can react in a number of different ways when our plans don’t go as we’d hoped.

We refuse to ask what His plans are.
It is my goal to commit each day, each task, to the Lord, but too often I don’t do so. If I know better and don’t do it, I can’t expect those who don’t express any desire to find God’s path for them to do better. Even so, it’s never a good thing to leave the Lord out of the planning stage.

We balk and try to continue on the path we’ve laid out for ourselves.
When we pray, we don’t always like what God shows us. We shake our head and think, “I couldn’t have understood Him correctly. He can’t possibly expect me to go down that path.” However, we must remember that God is in the business of making us holy, not necessarily happy. “His ways are not our ways,” as it says in Isaiah 55:8.

We plop down in the proverbial middle of the road and refuse to budge.
When I look back over the years, I realize I’ve often felt sorry for myself, sulked, and/or voiced my discontent—often loudly. I’ve dug in my heels and failed to consider where the Lord was leading and the lessons He was teaching. Thankfully, He is patient—longsuffering as it says in the KJV.

We walk the path God’s lays out—grudgingly. 

I can’t remember how many times I quoted Philippians 2:14 to my children when they were growing up. We are to “do everything without grumbling or complaining” (NIV).

Yet, how often do we figuratively roll our eyes and think, “Fine! I’ll do what I’m supposed to do. But I won’t like it”?

This thought may never actually cross our mind, but we may not have discovered the joy of actively pursuing God’s plan for our life.

We embrace the lessons He’s teaching us and wonder what adventure lies around the corner.

I would love to say this is always my first response, but lying is bad.

The apparent detours in life are often the best place to grow and mature—and to find fodder for our writing.

Plus, we can count on God’s timing.

It’s the right time for me to re-record the If You Love Me series. And maybe, just maybe, it may be the time for me to send my first collection of devotionals out into the world in a different format.

How about you? Do you know the next step on God’s path? Are you willing to take it? Are you trusting Him to work it out for your good no matter how far from your Plan A it is?

One Of Those Years by Marnie Pohlmann

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. 
(Proverbs 16:9 NLT)

Have you ever had a time when nothing goes as planned?

Checking my writing goals for this year shows 2016 is one of those years for me.

I did not set specific goals this year, as I explained in my Missing Pieces post last January, but I did still make a list of writing items I hoped to accomplish.

•     Continue contributing to this Inscribe Writers Online blog once each month.
•   Set up my own blog and post once each week.
•    Go through my old diaries and journals to glean anything that could be helpful to others.
•    Write my Circus book.
•    Complete a Christian Literature Survey course.
•    Participate in writing contests.
•    Attend Inscribe’s Fall Conference.

So how am I doing?

Epic fail!

I have made small progress on some items, but overall, life has interrupted my writing.

For months I have been struggling with a tsunami of situations that bring mental, emotional, physical and spiritual waves of distress. There is seemingly endless upheaval within my family’s life.

I am not alone. Others, too, have had a year of stretching their faith – health, housing, finances, friendships. The very joys that make up life are also the trials of fire each of us must walk through.

Am I stressed by it all? Of course! Yet there is also peace in the midst of this chaos, and even laughter.

I have not succeeded at my writing goals, but I am still able to write words, and even better - I am living the Word!

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 4:2-5 NLT)

I am learning to trust that God has the details under control. He is present in the midst of our storms.  I am learning to hold my plans loosely so God can direct my path.

I don’t know how the story of 2016 will end, but I know "The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights" (Habakkuk 3:19 NLT)

Goals or Wishes? by Tandy Balson

I must admit this month’s topic made me a little uncomfortable.  Setting goals has never been one of my strengths.

Several years ago I set a goal to post twice a week on my blog. This has now become a commitment that I refuse to break so longer consider it a goal.  The same holds true for my monthly Inscribe blog post.

The only yearly goal I ever set and kept was to read the Bible from cover to cover in a year.  For that I followed a plan that someone else had drawn up.  By sticking to the plan, I had no trouble accomplishing my goal.

This was something I hadn’t thought about until I tried to figure out what I could contribute to the topic this month.  If I make and stick to a plan, my goals will have a better chance of being achieved. It makes perfect sense but I’ve never spent the time or effort required to do so.

Now I know why my dreams and wishes are not being realized. They need to be turned into realistic goals. Next I need to figure out the steps required to move forward. 

To inspire me I looked for quotes on goals.  I’m going to share some of my favourites.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal.  A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan.  A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” Greg S. Reid

“The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting and achieving goals.” Og Mandino

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” Tony Robbins

“Big dreams are just big goals with step by step action.  Anything is possible given enough time, passion, persistence and dedication.” Brooke Griffin.

It is always a challenge to start something new.  Goal setting is new for me but if I want to reap the benefits I need to set goals and plan the steps to achieve them.  I think I’ll start small.  Each success will encourage me to set a bigger goal.  My first step will be to pray about the plan God has for me.

Quotes to Motivate Me - Tandy Balson

I read a quote from Jack Canfield that sums up my writing goals for this year.  He said, “Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.”

Failure is a scary prospect for me.  I need to remind myself that everything that has the risk of failure also carries the possibility of success.

That being said, my goal for this year is to write and submit articles for publication.  I haven’t been able to say that out loud.  Does putting it in print count?  My first step is to believe in myself.  Here’s another quote that speaks to this point. “Self confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have; how can anyone see how awesome you are if you can’t see it yourself?” – Unknown

To expand my sphere of influence I’d like to have more publishing credits.  This won’t happen unless I write something of quality and submit it to the proper publications.  Finding the right fit for my words can be a daunting task.  Am I up to it?  This quote should help me, “When you say “It’s hard”, it actually means “I’m not strong enough to fight for it”. Stop saying it’s hard. Think positive!” – Unknown

In order to be a better writer I need to attend conferences and workshops.  There are online trainings that I’ve started but never completed.  I told myself working on them took time away from writing.  Looking back, maybe I didn’t believe in myself enough to keep going. This quote should help motivate me to move forward, “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” Vince Lombardi

As motivating as these quotes may be, I know a better place to look for the strength and confidence I need. That is why I rely on the promise found in 2 Corinthians 12:9;   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 

I believe that God has called me to write. In order to do this I’m relying on his promise found in Psalm 32:8; The Lord says, “I will instruct you.  I will teach you the way that you should go.  I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.”  

No matter where my writing journey may take me this year, I trust that God’s plan is better than any I may have.  I have decided not to limit him with my expectations.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3