My Recycled Life by Lorrie Orr

 

Inspired by Brenda J. Wood’s post on this blog in June 2024, R is for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, share your thoughts on making the most of your written work. How do you recycle writing projects? Rather than reinvent, rethink.

 

It’s Tuesday morning. At the foot of every driveway is a collection of blue boxes – one for paper, one for plastics, and one for glass. I will soon hear the intermittent roar of the city truck coming up the street, stopping at every driveway to throw the blue box contents into their respective bins. (Here’s a short and interesting look at what happens after pick up.) The plastic detritus will be turned into more bottles, fabrics, plastic garden pots. Paper is made into new paper products.

Just as the physical garbage of life can be recycled (and I haven’t even mentioned composting), so can life experiences and writing. God takes often-messy life experiences and transforms them into good and beautiful things that reflect his love and light. Then we, in turn, can share about them in our writing. One example is an article written for Today’s Christian Woman about the walks that my husband and I take together. Writing about a bad mood while walking led to Staying in Step: How walking with your spouse can keep you connected. Perhaps I could now take the bones of that article (published in 2008), revise, and submit it to another publication. Or I could write the scene about being grouchy into a novel or short story.

I love the words of Isaiah where he speaks of God turning ashes into beauty, mourning into gladness, and despair into praise. What wonderful word pictures of the transformative power of God’s love for his children. I used to worry about what people were looking at when my eyes would meet those of a stranger on the ferry, in a restaurant, or while walking. Was my makeup messy? Was I wearing mismatched earrings? I’ve learned less to care about what they think about me and now pray that they would see the light of Christ shining through my face. 

On my windowsill as I write this post, a cheerful sunflower smiles at me. It's standing in a recycled glass bottle that refracts the light. Soon the sunflower itself will be tossed in the compost bin to rot and create dirt in which to grow more sunflowers next summer. The bottle will be used again and again. God is the ultimate recycler – turning darkness into light, despair into hope, and chaos into creativity.  

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island where autumn is slowly creeping

into the landscape. She is looking forward to publishing her first book, a memoir

of her experiences living in Ecuador, South America. Her slice of life blog can be found at at Fabric Paper Thread, and excerpts from her memoir at Substack.

Renewing a Writer's Mind ~ Valerie Ronald

 

A month after moving to a smaller house, I am still trying to bring order out of chaos. On the days when I seem to be loosing the battle, I escape to the backyard, a small plot of ground revealing unexpected beauty. I am refreshed by the sound of the breeze running its fingers through a windbreak of trees between our yard and a farm field. I sometimes glimpse a red squirrel or a wild rabbit in the undergrowth, or hear the flute-like whistle of a meadowlark. Above the treetops the skyscape unfurls like an ever-changing scroll, parading white cloud castles across its blue expanse. Lately, looming thunderheads crowd in, a prelude to resounding thunderclaps and torrential rain. As quickly as it comes, the storm moves on, leaving a renewed landscape with its freshly washed face lifted to the sun breaking through ragged remnants of clouds.

Observing the renewal of my backyard vista after a storm, I am reminded of God’s desire to see us transformed by the renewing of our minds. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2 NIV)   

God wants us to think as He thinks, as revealed in His Word. We can’t achieve this on our own, but only by the power of His Holy Spirit indwelling us. The transformation occurs from the inside out, as we are “cleansed by the washing with water through the Word.” (Eph. 5:26) This supernatural renewal allows us to experience the direct guidance of God in our lives, including our writing life.  

So how is the mind of a Christian writer renewed? What practices and disciplines help keep us fresh and focused on what God wants to accomplish in and through our words? Our mind gives us the ability to weigh possibilities, make decisions, analyze emotions, and determine our affections. Our will has a major part in determining which direction we choose to take in these important areas, however, the influence of the Holy Spirit cannot be underestimated. The more our lives are surrendered to the authority of God, the more of Him can shine through our writing.  

Allow God’s Word to inform your writing  

The Bible reveals God’s mind, character, purposes and plans. Consistent reading and study of His Word cleanses and conforms our thinking, resulting in increasingly pure thoughts and holy living. What we put into our mind will come out in our writing.

Preface each writing project with prayer

Prayer is essential if we are to follow the writing path God desires for us. Constant conversations with Him can result in new inspiration, themes, direction, and much more. Let Him speak to you during these sacred communications, giving you opportunity to tap into His boundless creativity.

Refresh your mind in nature   

Our minds and bodies are refreshed and renewed when we spend time in God’s beautiful creation. Going outside gives us a break, often bringing a new perspective when we return to writing. Finding inspiration in the natural world helps focus our mind on God.

  Reflect on what is good  

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8) As this verse alludes to, we can choose what we think about. Be discerning in where you put your thoughts. The world holds many enticing things to draw our minds away from God. Practicing discipline in your thought life will help you realize that God’s way is best, because there you find joy.

Just as our writing life is constantly changing, so our minds are in a state of renewal and transformation by the Spirit of God. We are on the way˗˗neither all we ought to be but also not what we once were. As I watch the sky transformed day by day from my backyard, it encourages me to trust in God’s good, pleasing and perfect will as He renews my mind daily. 

 

Valerie Ronald writes from an old roll top desk in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, with her tortoiseshell cat for a muse. A graduate of Langara College School of Journalism, she writes devotionals, fiction and inspirational prose. Her purpose in writing is to encourage others to grow in their spiritual walk.

A Shelter in the Time of Storm by Pamela Mytroen

 A Shelter in the Time of Storm 

My phone vibrated in my pocket and whoop, whooped. "Tornado Watch. Funnel Clouds are in the area and could develop into tornadoes. Stay alert and take cover as danger escalates." I swivelled my shopping cart back to the entry of the store and parked it. Bursting out into the open area of the mall I searched for my husband. Where would we go? Where could we take cover? We were in a mall in Branson, Missouri and there was no basement. I paced back and forth in the corridor looking for him, going over my options. We could go down into the theatre, I reasoned, since it was a few steps below ground level, but still not far enough below ground to be protected from a tornado.

Finally I spotted my husband in a store across the way and I zoomed over to him. He chatted with a salesman. They had their backs to a huge window. Wind whipped the trees into arches that touched the ground, but they seemed oblivious to it all. I tugged on my husband's coat sleeve and mentioned the tornado warning that had blared through my phone. The salesman chuckled. "Oh we don't pay much attention to those warnings. They are non-stop at this time of year."

I looked at the trees bending beneath the fury of the wind, and then I glanced across to the store I had just stormed out of. People chatted, picked up merchandise, set it down, and strolled around like they were enjoying a walk in the park, even though their phones were also spewing warnings like popping corn in a theatre.

"But where would we go if there was a tornado?" I ventured, always the cautious one.

"Well, we would just crouch down, I suppose," he said in his slow drawl. He returned to his sales pitch.

I relaxed a little, seeing everybody go about their business like they were at the fair. But the next day we learned of several tornadoes, one that had left fatalities in its wake and of another one close by that had devastated a city.

It's true that when you live in Tornado Ally, you don't heed the warnings until it's too late. They are too common, too everyday to stop and take notice. On one hand people do not pay attention to warnings of imminent danger, and on the other hand, I seem to create imaginary situations to worry about as I think about my family, my job, and my health.  My pendulum swings to the worry extreme while other's pendulums swing to the careless and carefree side. While some people die of a tornado by not heeding the dire warnings, I might die of high blood pressure by worrying about situations that are barely a fist-sized cloud in the sky.  


The stress from my job and family situations had been building like black angry clouds, and swirling into tornadoes of anxiety. After much prayer, the Lord showed me that I was trying to meet everyone's expectations, which was impossible. He showed me that I needed a new mind-set. He whispered that it was okay to fail, to do my best and to stop striving. While I still tend to shoulder people's troubles, I'm learning to push my computer chair away from the desk, and take a break from the never-ending lesson planning. I'm learning to stop thinking about what could happen to my job with a new manager coming on board; I am learning to let go of the sky-high expectations my students place on me; I'm learning to fail and accept that I can't be perfect and I can't please everyone. I'm learning to stop worrying about my family, and their health, and be thankful instead. Switching one set of thoughts for another takes  self-discipline. I am amazed at the freedom and the space in my mind that was once taken up by stress and anxiety.

My daughter texted me as I was writing my blog and said that her two-year old dropped a can of Pepsi on his bare foot. She thinks his toe might be broken. Off she goes with her children into town on unplowed gravel roads while the snow is coming down. I could worry but I'm letting it go. I can't take on the burden. Instead, I find myself saying, "Thank you Lord for my daughter being a good mother. Thank you for doctors being available and for the wisdom they have. Thank you for watching over them."

As much as it takes concentration and hard work as I pour myself into my jobs and ministries, I find it takes far more focus and strength to shut down my OCD brain, to back away, take a break, call my friends, take time for coffee, and to intentionally focus on beautiful and praise-worthy things.

So today, in the midst of storms because there is always a storm brewing somewhere, I choose to be thankful. To be balanced. To hunker down and "take cover" when need be  - whether my grandson's toe is throbbing or my job is in jeopardy - and then to continue on my way, with His peace and joy. He is my shelter in the time of storm.


"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind," Romans 12:2b.

Pamela Mytroen

   

In the Footsteps of Paul by Karma Pratt

This Lenten season God has been guiding me in an in-depth study of 2 Timothy. As with all things, God opens the doors of opportunity, and we have to make the choice to walk through. The first door He opened was the opportunity to attend IF: Gathering via a livestream event. IF exists "to equip women with gospel-centered resources, events, and community so they may learn more about who God is and disciple other women right where they are." The two day event was transformational, and opened my eyes and heart to the study of the gospel. It gave me a taste of what was to come. 

The second door he opened was a ladies' Bible Study at my local church. Entrusted, a study by Beth Moore, is focused on 2 Timothy as well. God was lining things up and giving me all the signals I needed to wake up and pay attention! I dove into Entrusted excited for the journey ahead. 

Initially I thought perhaps God wanted to show me how to grow in discipleship like Timothy but, He showed me His intention was to have me follow the apostle Paul, Timothy's teacher, mentor, and trusted friend. As God revealed Himself in the pages of my Bible and the margin notes of my Bible Study, I kept wondering, "Why Paul?" The answers to that question were humbling and awe inspiring. 

Why Paul? 

Before he became known for his dedication to the gospel of Christ, Paul (or Saul, as he was originally known) was a devoted follower and practitioner of Jewish law. A Pharisee by training and ancestry, Saul was educated, privileged, dedicated to his religious roots, and even more dedicated to the persecution of the early Church. His zealousness for the Law made him oblivious to the truth of Jesus Christ initially. Saul was dead set against anyone who dared speak of Jesus. His entry into Biblical narrative is dark indeed, as we find him approving of the stoning death of Stephen (see Acts 7:58 - 8:3) and "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1-2). 

Saul and I have more in common than I realized. Educated, privileged, experienced in a certain way of walking in the world, blinded by our constructs of humanity. Jesus continues to open my eyes much the same way he opened Saul's: Do you see it yet? The life you are missing out on in lieu of the facsimile you've constructed? Stop living by your rules and learn to live by mine.

It gives me great hope that someone with a heart as dark as Saul's could be saved, redeemed, and become a forerunner for Christ. Saul's conversion breathes hope into my life: heart, mind, body and soul. There is a song by Brandon Heath that says, "give me Your eyes so I can see / everything that I've been missing / give me Your love for humanity." 

I imagine these words were similar to Saul's prayer after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. After hearing Jesus' voice and seeing the light from heaven, Saul - now blind - went into a period of prayer and fasting (Acts 9:9). While I can only speculate, I imagine Saul was asking God for wisdom and clarity about what he had just experienced. Perhaps he was praying for healing? While we may never know the exact nature of his prayers during that time, we can see the effects that encounter had on his life. He was changed completely.

The Gift of a Clear Conscience 

When Paul writes to his beloved Timothy he says, "I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day" (2 Timothy 1:3). Paul understood that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was not just a sin offering, but also a guilt offering. Beth Moore states it beautifully: "Until we let Christ's work on the cross not only save our souls but cleanse our consciences, our own self-destructive tendencies will unwittingly team with the devil to bully us with bouts of mental torment... A guilty conscience... sets you up for self-sabotage." This resonated with me. 

How long have I been hanging on to guilt when Jesus has already paid the price for me? How often have I prayed for grace, but not accepted it when it was freely offered? How many times have I built up the walls of my own prison, instead of becoming a prisoner for the gospel like Paul? 

What's Your Motivation? 

As I continue to study Paul's words, steps and impact on the world, I am drawn to this question: "What's my motivation?" 

I am learning that love is the catalyst that moves us from operating on our own strength to living in Christ and finding strength in God. Good deeds mean nothing without surrender to God's love. Even the best of intentions can go awry if we don't look to God first for guidance, wisdom and discernment. Paul's intention to squash all believers was far from pure. We can see from his own God-breathed words, though, that grace changed Paul. No longer an enemy of the Church, he became one of its greatest advocates, led by God and his own desire to do God's will. Nothing else mattered. 

Grace changed Paul, transforming his life and changing his trajectory. He willingly became an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. He knew Christ personally. This is the greatest joy any of us can ever experience. 

God's inexhaustible grace holds me when I am exhausted, lost, and can't figure out which way to turn. When I am mired in my own selfish thoughts, grace unfolds around me, covering me like a warm blanket. 

Jesus continues to speak through this Lenten season. He breathes life into the Word, and continues to reveal Himself in new ways. He shows up in the small details and the big picture. Knowing Jesus has become my motivation, the only motivation that matters. 

***

Karma writes from the golden house in Northeastern BC. You can connect with her online at redraincoatcreations.com

Spring Miracles by Marnie Pohlmann

A tiny seed breaks open, reaching tentatively yet tenaciously through soil and around rocks. Pushing, stretching, seeking sunshine and warmth.  Once it was small, insignificant, buried by the weight of life, but in spring, it grows – transformed.

A small butterfly flits about, seemingly uncertain of her flight path or where to land – or perhaps dancing a winged ballet, celebrating new life.  Once she was crawling and plain, then hiding in the dark, but now she is beautiful – transformed.

A little black tadpole struggles to survive in a stagnant pool, just one of many, but he sprouts legs and learns to leap into new adventures, perhaps to be kissed – transformed.

Reflecting on how writers can keep our writing fresh makes me think of frogs and other miracles of spring.  Not just in our writing do we need to seek freshness, but also in life.  When concerns weigh us down until we are buried in circumstance like a seed beneath the dirt; when restraints in health, finances, or time bind us in darkness like a caterpillar in its pupa; or when fear of danger lurking all about keeps us drowning in sorrow, like a tadpole in a stagnant pool - in those times, God gives us strength to struggle through the heaviness, the darkness, and the mud, by His power bringing transformation.

When we are feeling stale or need a new viewpoint in life, we can use our God-given natural gifts of creativity to make changes that will refresh. The surest way to change from stagnation to new life is to stretch toward God, allowing His Spirit to free us and lead us to new heights.  Bury yourself in God’s Word.  Cocoon yourself in prayer.  Grow new legs as He teaches you and transforms you.  It may be a struggle, but fresh words can blossom, giving flight to new ideas and leading us into new adventures. I believe growth in God always leads to freshness in writing.

Other practical writing ways we can creatively change include breaking out of our norm to stretch our gifts beyond circumstances that weigh us down.  Write for someone else - tell a child’s imaginative story, especially if it makes no logical sense.  Help a senior write a letter.  Provide a press release for a non-profit organization’s fundraising event.

Or we can leave our regular audience, not changing our message, but changing with whom we share our message as we flit about.  Write a children’s version of your non-fiction essay, or a blog for single professionals rather than your usual followers.

We can even leap into a new style or genre.  Write a poem, even if just an acrostic to celebrate a new baby’s name.  Write a devotional based on a scene from your fiction novel.

We don’t have to be good at what we try; we just need to be willing to experiment with creative change, to rediscover the joy of playing with words. Our writers’ groups or contests may be safe places to share the results, or we can keep them private. It is the effort that is sure to bring new growth that will revitalize our writing, and our life.

No matter the genre of our writing lives, we need to be growing.  While here on earth, we are to become more Christ-like, and together become the beautiful Bride of Christ.

So be like a seed, or a caterpillar, or a tadpole.  Struggle through the dry, dark, dangerous times and be transformed by God’s miracle in you.

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech … being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:12, 18b NKJ)


Photos – a few frogs from my collection - someday I will share the story of how I came to collect frogs – it’s all about transformation :)