W is for Weary by Carol Harrison

 

W is for Weary

Of all the wonderful words that begin with the letter ‘w’, why choose one like weary that can be a bit discouraging? I believe, if we are honest with ourselves, we all have times of weariness. We get weary at the end of a long and busy day or when we are not feeling well. A good night’s rest helps alleviate this and helps us feel refreshed.

If you’re like me, there are times I grow weary of more revisions in my writing, one more edit, or figuring out what is the best way to market the writing or published books we have sitting on our shelves. A little help from a good editor, a fellow writer, and someone who can help with marketing strategies can help give us respite from this weariness.

Yet there are times when emotional turmoil invades our lives and it feels like there is one too many tough things thrown at us that leave us weary in spirit. A dose of hope can combat this weariness.

Charles Stanley said, “We can be tired, weary, and emotionally distraught, but after spending time with God we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power, and strength.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

God tells us in Jeremiah 21:25, “For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Maybe weary is the word that kept coming back to my mind no matter how I tried to find a different word beginning with w because it seems to be the season I am in at the moment. Yet as I searched for scriptures and quotes and the word, God brought to mind the promises of rest for my weary soul.

Charles Spurgeon reminds us, “In the same way the sun never grows weary of shining, nor a stream of flowing, it is God’s nature to keep His promises. Therefore go immediately to His throne and say, “Do as you promised.”

These verses and promises that God never changes and always keeps His promises encouraged me in my weariness. May they encourage you as well as we wait on God’s timing and rest in His promises.

  

Carol Harrison lives in Saskatoon, SK, and has been writing for the last fourteen plus years. Some days the blank screen mocks these days and she knows it is a season of waiting.

Come and Rest In God's Promises by Carol Harrison

 

Come and Rest in God’s Promises

As I reread my January blog post, these ending sentences needed to begin this month’s post. This year, the God of all compassion invites me to come and find rest in His promises. He longs to encourage me while I continue to be a good steward of the gifts He has given.

What has that looked like during this year? What have I done to be a good steward of His gifts? Have I taken God at His invitation to come and rest in His promises? These questions needed to be reflected on and an answer obtained in order to write this post. I mulled them over and over before formulating a response because too often the negative voice of the enemy interrupted, poking a finger at the lapse of trusting God fully or with questions like, “Did you really do all you could?”

The months of this year have lapsed into history. There isn’t a do over button to push and change the scenarios to what I wished had happened with my writing or the marketing to go with it. One thing I have realized over the course of these last few months is that the writing is only part of good stewardship. The marketing – letting people know my writing exists is another part of being a good steward.

Do I like promoting myself and my writing? Not really. It is so much easier to tell people about my friends’ writing. Yet at the Inscribe conference, Grace Fox mentioned that we need to think about feeding God’s sheep and not building our platform. This changed my mindset about the entire subject of marketing my own work. If I don’t get the word out, how will the words I’ve written feed and encourage others?

This brings me to the resting in God’s promises aspect of what I’ve been invited to this year and all the time. Trusting God to provide like He’s promised to do. Trusting He is with me no matter what tough stuff exists in my life. He always keeps His promises and one of them is to never change and provide all we need through Jesus.

This year has been one filled with less writing but more editing pieces already written. It’s involved being at a number of craft/trade shows with my books and talking to many people about writing, my own books, and looking at the possibility of author readings or other activities to get the books in front of more people. I’ve had to trust God for the words to say, the courage to say, “I’ve written these books. What can I tell you about them?”

Circumstances haven’t changed much in the last year. Medical appointments fill the calendar more often that I would want. Writing gets pushed aside when no energy remains for creative endeavours. I question what needs to happen in this season of life just like I did back in January. But resting in God’s promises has given me a better perspective. I need to just live one day at a time and sometimes one hour or minute at a time, ready to pursue whatever God puts on my plate to do at that moment.

God encouraged me through a variety of ways. Sometimes the encouragement is like the trickle of a tiny creek and at others times pours lavishly over me but it never disappears. It comes in the form of a positive comment, a sharing of ideas, a good workshop to learn new things, a hug from a friend, or being given an award. There have been fellow believers who have laughed with me and prayed for me. Over and over, in so many ways, I’ve been reminded of the unchanging promises of God. I just need to rest in them and trust God’s got this.  

 

 

As a speaker and published author, 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, with 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 and in her writing.

Dealing with Distraction by Lorilee Guenter

 

Games. Travel. Media. Reading. Even housework. 

My days are filled with distraction. Sometimes, the distractions distract me from one another, leaving a trail of unfinished projects and tasks. 

During some seasons, I deal with them well. My focus may wander but my routines, the rhythms of my  days, help me minimize them. In other seasons, the routines crumble and the rhythms change. It is these days and these times when it becomes difficult and even feels impossible to determine which things are important.

Some of the distractions are important and even necessary. These are opportunities for rest and refreshment. They are opportunities to connect with and to help people around me. The days offer experiences that add to the image well and become part of future creative projects from art to poetry and even essay or fiction. The days add character and build relationship.

It took years of frustration to embrace the change of opportunity and focus for each season. Even now I still struggle. I recognize quicker that the distractions are part of a season of rest and renewal. However, I can be a slow learner and, when I expect my routine will remain the same winter, spring, summer, and fall, I set myself up for frustration -- a frustration caused by stubbornness and pride. God gave us seasons as an example in nature. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us there is a season to plant and a season to harvest. There is a season for everything, including rest. I can not plant a garden in January nor can I harvest in March. Why then should I be surprised that in January the images and ideas bubble up and bloom while in July the images and ideas are planted as I hike, garden and explore the abundance of creation alive around me? Just as my houseplants may bloom in January, some writing happens in July. The balance between the two is reflected in the season.

Summer is one of my seasons of distraction - necessary and renewing distraction. This year spring was also a season of distraction, but not the same time of refreshment. It was a time of frustration and excuse. It began with mandated rest and recovery that opened the way for mental spinning as I tried to catch up on everything at once and did nothing at all. Except, as I look back, it wasn't nothing. Mixed in amongst the time wasters were lessons for now and in the future. As I reflect, I notice once again how God uses every circumstance for His glory, even the ones that come from us giving in to the easy way instead of following His nudges and promptings. He redeems our mistakes, our failures, and our lost time. We miss out on the best He had originally planned for us since we gave that up, however temporarily, for our own way.

As I write this, I am sitting surrounded by plants and soft music. It is the perfect space to reflect. Or is it? Outside this terrace the sounds of the city continue. The glass walls that surround this oasis do not block out the horns, the rumbles of large vehicle, or the general hum of distraction. I did not expect to be here. I have a choice to use this as a gift God provided in an unexpected way or to embrace the distraction provided by the bustle of so many people living and working in close proximity. Even that distraction is one of God's gifts. Tomorrow, I will venture out and embrace the images, people, and opportunities God has orchestrated. My writing and my life are improved when I remember to look for God's hand at work. It is only then that I can discern which distractions are time wasters, and which are gifts from God that He is waiting for me to recognize. 

Lorilee Guenter is a Saskatoon based writer and artist who is learning to embrace those descriptors. She has learned that if you keep your eyes open you will find nuggets of inspiration everywhere. They are God's gift to fuel her creativity.

Invited to Rest & Be Encouraged by Carol Harrison

 

This prompt, about sharing how God invites me to share my days and year with Him, excited me when I first read it. I usually take time at the end of a year to reflect back on how God has worked in my life in various areas and then ponder where He is leading me for the upcoming year. Sometimes there is a word or a verse to claim and yet as 2021 ended with its challenges and triumphs, I found myself in a desert place which continued into the new year.

To be honest I’m feeling tired, discouraged, and struggling with focusing on the next day or week let alone figuring out where God is leading for an entire year. Deep down I realize feelings can be fickle. But even knowing that doesn’t stop them from puffing themselves up to the utmost importance and pushing facts to the side. They bring with them lies which make me feel like an imposter, a fraud, and a failure at times.

2022 has begun and I need to focus on the facts. God never changes. He is the same today as He was in the past and will continue to be in the future. His promises are sure and trustworthy. He doesn’t lie. This changes my thinking towards reflecting on the past year and looking ahead. I wait to hear the invitation God offers for right now in my life and writing.

The word God gave me last year turned out to be a phrase, connect with compassion. He also challenged me to be a good steward of the gifts He bestowed on me and write. Despite the tough times, the challenges, and changes in plans, words flowed and pieces of my writing and books were published. Most importantly, God used them to touch people.

Despite the productivity and encouragement I received, I felt like I had landed on a merry-go-round spinning out of control. Connecting became more difficult. I didn’t like the lack of compassion I saw in the world around me. My focus swirled with the wild ride and I lost sight of the promise of God that He never leaves me or forsakes me. My focus turned inward instead of to the One in control of all things, including me. I needed to get off that merry-go-round and refocus.

As I contemplate what God’s invitation for this coming year should look like, I long to shut out the cacophony of busyness and let go of the distractions. God invites me to come to the well of His unfailing love and mercy. I have a picture in my mind me by a tiny stream, a trickle really, longing to plunge into the depths of life-giving water. I follow one step at a time until the trickle grows bigger and leads to an unending supply – God’s supply - of refreshing water. I don’t have to remain in the desert. He invites me to come and find rest in Him.

In Isaiah 49:8-13 I read about the Lord's plan for the restoration of Israel. Several verses jumped out at me during this time when the darkness of discouragement, the busyness of life, and the lies of Satan threaten to swallow me and I know God has other plans than for me to dwell in the desert. 

Isaiah 49: 10 “They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. “

And in verse 13 I read, “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”

Last year's phrase was connect with compassion and this year the God of all compassion invites me to come and find rest in His promises. He longs to encourage me while I continue to be a good steward of the gifts He has given. 

 

Carol Harrison writes from the heart about real-life and promises from God's Word. She longs to share the glimpses of joy and glimmers of hope with others along the journey. You can find her through her em