Income or Outcome? by Glynis M. Belec

Today I scribbled down some more notes in my big green idea ledger. I love my old fashioned scribbler - it's a warm and wonderful story place where I go to get refuelled if I run out of ideas.

I know it's kind of dopey in this day and age to use such a relic to store ideas. I should get with it technologically speaking and create an idea file for such thoughts. But there is just something wonderfully stimulating when I crack open the pages of my 'old faithful' looking for inspiration. Maybe a little nostalgic; perhaps a little comforting; definitely the place to go for this gal.

Some of the ideas in this book are from decades ago, but it's quite amazing and fascinating to me when fresh ideas from my old notes surface. And they really do. When I page through the old book I often feel articles or story lines percolate and sometimes an entire editorial bubbles to the surface and then it is all I can do to get the words typed into my trusty laptop.

Many of the entries in my ledger are lists. Some are random words or clever thoughts I had or ideas I heard from sermons, speakers, children's conversations.

The title for this piece held a particular fascination for me today as I leafed through my ledger. Income or Outcome? I started to consider what the dickens I was talking about when I wrote down those two random words.

Then I got to thinking. My writing. Do I do it for the income or do I do it for the outcome? Not sure where I heard or read this saying, but really those few words hold a lot of wisdom. Yes, sure I would love to say I write and earn a great income from arranging and rearranging the 26 letters of the alphabet on a page. But sad to say t'ain't so! I do earn some income from writing and I love that because I get to contribute to the household finances. More important to me, however, is the outcome of my writing.

Nothing stirs my heart more than to hear that a child is taking one of my books to bed with him or that she couldn't put my book down because she just had to find out what happened next. Or if someone said they see Jesus in my words. Or I encouraged them to keep on keeping on in the faith.

When I wrote my column in the local newspaper, my greatest reward was not the $2 a column inch I received each week. Rather it was the words of a reader saying, "I loved your column this week. I sure can relate!" Or if someone told me they clipped one of my columns and it is now on their fridge! Sweet joy.

When the outcome of something I have written gives someone joy or comfort or peace or intrigue, or draws them to a closer walk with the Lord, then I am content.

God has given me a passion to write. I love it when he connects the dots from fresh ideas inspired by jottings in my ledger and then transfers them to words on the page.

Income is nice, but when the outcome glorifies God then I feel rich beyond measure!

Writers rejoice when they can reach their audience with the right words at the right time.

A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

— Proverbs 15:23

Fresh as the New Driven Snow by Steph Beth Nickel

Oh, no . . . wait! That was yesterday. Thankfully, the temperature was high enough to get rid of the snow that fell, an early April Fool’s joke. The trees did look beautiful with the clean white stuff clinging to their branches, but like most people, I am glad to see the signs of spring.

Autumn has been my favourite season as long as I can remember. I love the sights, the sounds, and the smells. It wasn’t until my hubby started keeping me posted on the development of the buds on the trees that I even really noticed spring. And now the crocuses, the tulips, the robins, and yes, the buds touch my heart with their promise of new life.

And with spring comes Camp NaNoWriMo. Many of you may be familiar with the original version of NaNoWriMo that runs in the fall. Thousands of writers sign up with the aim of writing the first draft of a novel, at least the first 50,000 words, in a single month.

While I have never signed up in the fall, I have “attended” camp a couple of times and am doing so again this month. The nice thing is that we can set our own word count goal and our own projects plural. (In fact, this post is counting toward my goal. Hooray!) My personal goal is to write at least 30,000 words this month. That shouldn’t be a problem with my eclectic interests and endeavours.

And that’s how I keep my writing fresh: I write several short pieces on a wide variety of topics.

Let me take a moment to say kudos to all of you who invest the time and energy to draft, write, and rewrite (numerous times) full-length books. I am somewhat in awe of you. While I did coauthor Deb Willows’ memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, it was more about getting to know her and her family and relaying stories from her life that she wanted to share with readers. I’m all about relationships, so this didn’t seem quite the same as holing up for months on end to write—and rewrite—a single book.

I have what I call the Butterfly Syndrome. I love to flit from one thing to the next to the next. This is why I overcommit at times. So many different things catch my attention. Some of you may be able to relate to sayings like “Oo . . . pretty” and “Squirrel!”

Unless ideas are bouncing around in my head like a pinball, I feel lethargic. I have to focus my endeavours—or nothing gets finished—but I can’t rein in my thoughts completely or it’s like someone has turned off the tap and left my lazy, listless self sitting in my chair—or on the couch in front of the TV—for hours on end.

So when I was asked to guest post on my fellow writers’ blogs and when Ron Hughes of HopeStreamRadio approached me about being a contributor, I was over the moon. Coming up with new content regularly means my ideas and my writing must stay fresh.

When writing devotionals for HSR, I dig into God’s Word. I’ve found, once again, how amazing it is to find new insights in passages I’ve read dozens—maybe hundreds—of times before. It truly is the Living Word.

And when I’m writing blog posts, I often follow the advice of a visiting missionary who spoke at our church years ago. When asked to speak, he considered what the Lord had been teaching him at the time. He most often used that as the springboard for his message. When I approach a new post, I look to what has been going on in my life. I often find the inspiration I need to get started from my day-to-day life and go from there.

Keep a lookout. Fresh ideas and inspiration are all around, just like the signs of spring.

Find The Joy

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“Then you will find your joy in the Lord and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land.” (Is 58:14)

It’s always wise, when reading scripture, to search out the meaning behind the words, and to discover the context of the passage. This is a verse from Isaiah, one of the great prophets who was chosen by God to tell His people what they were doing wrong and encourage them to repent. Isaiah does tell them, in very blunt words at times, that they are not doing what God wants them to do. He calls them to turn back to their God. It wasn’t a message the people wanted to hear.

But then comes verse 58:14. Now you could take this verse to simply mean that the people will be blessed and prosperous in the land where they live. But it means more than that. You see, the “heights” Isaiah is talking about are the “high places” – the places where they went to worship idols. The Hebrew people had allowed the religions of pagan nations to dilute and pollute their faith in God. They said they wanted to worship Yaweh but they were hooked. They couldn’t stay away from those “high places.” The pagan practices had become part of the very fabric of their lives. Tearing them down would have seemed impossible.

It would be like us going totally against our culture today – turning off our TVs, throwing away our cell phones, rejecting the constant barrage of entertainment that is in direct conflict with what we believe as Christians. It would mean ridding ourselves of and totally rejecting those things in our lives that take the place only God should hold.

Not easy. Perhaps you’ve noticed. Idols are not easy things to rid ourselves of. Usually it’s because they give us something we crave – some satisfaction, perhaps some special feeling of accomplishment.

It wasn’t easy for those Hebrews to give up their “high places.” But Isaiah promised them that God would help them do it. He would make the ordinary into the extraordinary. He would give them the strength and courage and yes joy that would allow them to follow God wholeheartedly, without reservation. He promised them victory in every way.

And that is a promise we can claim as well.

Listen to what the prophet Habbakuk says – “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:19). That’s a beautiful picture isn’t it? Of an agile deer leaping and bounding wherever he wants to go. It’s a picture of true freedom and that’s what God offer us.

So, are there high places in your life? God will supply what is needed. And then, oh, and then, ‘you will find your joy!’

****

Marcia Lee Laycock

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has three devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Her most recent release is the first book in a fantasy series, The Ambassadors

Visit Marcia’s Website

Sign up to receive her emailed devotional column, The Spur
 

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here.

Celebrate This Day is a devotional for special occasions. 

Keeping Fresh, Keeping Green by Sandi Somers

Prompt:In spring, the world turns fresh and green. How do you keep yourself and your writing fresh as you produce new articles, books or songs without burn-out or repeating the same ideas?

A New Way of Gardening

When I moved to my current house near the edge of Calgary, I had visions of beautiful flower beds with crocuses and tulips, with petunias lining my driveway, and with perennials filling the back yard.

It was not to be.

Gradually as new houses were built up around me, coyotes moved away, and as a result, rabbits increased. And to my dismay, most of my favourite flowers made delectable rabbit dinner. They also loved my lettuce, even carrot, onion and beet tops. As the rabbits got bolder, they hopped up on my porch and nibbled at my potted plants.

How could I keep my flowerbeds and garden fresh and green?

I asked for advice from gardening experts, got a list of rabbit-proof plants, and experimented with new flowers. However, the rabbits hadn’t read that list and ate some of my new “rabbit-proof” plants anyway.

At first it was discouraging, but as I developed a new system, I discovered pink geraniums and white alyssum made an attractive display. I put my petunias in tall pots. 

Like redoing my gardening, my writing sometimes needs to be revamped. Just recently I looked at several articles in progress and knew God has deeper answers to questions of faith than I had planned.

How to develop those thoughts that would encourage my readers? I began listening more carefully to my pastor’s sermons, discovering new seeds of meaning that related to my writing. Discussing matters of life and faith with friends has broadened my perspective. Finding new and challenging artist’s dates breathes in new life to me.

But mostly I meditate more deeply in Scripture, asking God for wisdom and new insight.

And I know the Holy Spirit will infuse my writing with a freshness it didn’t have before.

Now over to you. How do you keep your writing fresh and green?