Writing Down the Stirrings of Our Heart -- Ramona Heikel

I believe some of the most profound changes in readers happen while reading personal writing.  

I am always open to learning and inspiration, and want to know and understand others’ feelings, thoughts and motivations, so I gravitate toward personal essays and similar fiction.  Many personal pieces are positive and give us a warm feeling.  Others are full of difficult experiences, and when we read them it’s as if we were partaking in their grief, anger or misery.  Actually, I am willing to do that, as long as they are not sensationalistic, intended to startle or shock, and as long as there is a benefit.  My favorite authors of personal writings use introspection, contemplation, and analysis in order to help readers gain some new insight or encouragement.

All this about reading personal writings is just to say that I want to keep these in mind when I am the writer.  It is important to me to have a strong worthwhile purpose and message that will result in a revelation or inspiration for the reader.

It is also important to me to be upbeat.  Although I spill almost everything out in my journals, even in that private place I prefer to be positive and not dwell overly much on things that are hurtful or upsetting.  I guess it’s because I plan to re-read them, and I know what I’m talking about, even if I don’t give all the gory details.  Or I think that someone else might end up reading them, and don’t want anyone to misunderstand them. 

Similarly, I want all my “public” writing to uplift and encourage, and don’t usually have a problem being transparent and honest about my own foibles, mistakes, failures, confusion, revelations, relationships, hopes, dreams, and limitations.  But I don’t want a reader to feel upset or depressed.  So in my writing, I find myself hesitant to share the negative—the sad, tough, painful—things in my heart. 

However, God may have other ideas.  I recently wrote a draft of a short story in which I had the main female character struggling with something I’d struggled with years ago.  I was surprised to find the character narrating my story, something that I hadn’t thought of for a long time, and that I’d never really talked about with anyone before.  But there it was, right there all over the page where someone could read it.  I felt uncomfortable and exposed, and considered erasing it.  But then I decided just to go with the flow and write it all out.  

That was a new experience, and now it feels like it’s “out there”, even though at this point I would feel embarrassed and ashamed for people to read it.  And maybe that’s as far as it was supposed to go—in my mind and on my notebook, for me to ponder and pray about.  One day I may decide it should be available to the public in some form, but for now, I’m just feeling excited to realize that my quick prayer for God to guide my writing was clearly answered in a significant way.

William Wordsworth encouraged his wife to “fill your paper with the breathings of your heart”.  It takes courage and skill to do that, and not everyone tends to be aware of the stirrings inside, or to have the ability to write words to describe those stirrings.  But we writers do!  So we need to breathe out the words in our hearts.  I believe this is one of the most important ways that heavenly love and wisdom are communicated on this earth.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lecates/307250887/

Ramona Heikel

Happilywriting.com

Sugar and Spice Heart Writing by Glynis M. Belec

     A long time ago an editor offered me a sage piece of advice.

  "If you write from the heart, you will touch other hearts."

     I thought it rather brilliant and have never forgotten those words given to me in all sincerity.

     When I first started writing I heard so much about making sure I find my voice. Learning my style, my approach, my purpose. Of course I floundered a little wondering why God gave me a passion to write. Why couldn't He have given me a less complicated gift? But I carried on. I read. I put words on paper. I entered contests. I sought out assignments. Sometimes I messed up.

     "Don't try to impart a lesson so obviously," was one response to a story I submitted to a children's magazine.

     "Keep your words real and believable," was another appreciated comment.

     "Find out your true voice and stick to it. Don't copy any one else's style. Write naturally. Write honestly." More advice.

     So when I was invited to write my weekly Sugar and Spice column in

the local newspaper, I was ready. The responses to my writing inspired me when I let my heart flow. When I didn't force my words. When I asked God to give me something to say.

     The best compliments were when readers would say, "Oh, I so know what you are talking about. That happened to me."

     or

"I relate so much to your words. Thanks for saying that."

     or

" That was hilarious. It's like I was there."

     I stuck to that column for many years and so what if I never got a raise from the original $2 a column inch agreement! I loved writing my stories for my local audience. But seasons passed and the time came to move on. Eleven years later, in 1997 I wrote my final column. God was opening up some other wonderful doors and windows for me in the writing world and I knew I had to trust and obey.

     Even to this day, though, when I ponder how to approach and write something, I think about my Sugar and Spice column. Sugar and Spice Heart Writing comes the easiest to me. I thank God for the eleven year tutorial. What can I say? Slow learner!

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. 

Use them well to serve one another.  1 Peter 4:10 

Write from the Heart by Steph Beth Nickel

Years ago, a visiting missionary explained how he decided what to speak about when he was called upon to give a message. He said he simply looked to what God was teaching him in his own life and shared it with his audience. He figured if he needed to learn a particular lesson, others likely did as well.

I have never forgotten those words. When I’m looking for inspiration as to what I should write, I examine my own life and what God has been teaching me. This is reflected in my prayer journal, my blog posts, and my devotionals for HopeStreamRadio.

I ask myself, “What’s going on in my life? My mind? My heart?”

And most importantly, I ask, “What is God teaching me in the midst of it all?”

The Scriptures are the Living Word. I’m always amazed when I read a familiar passage and either something jumps off the page that I’ve never noticed before or the Lord drives home a truth I haven’t thought about in ages. The Bible always has something to say to our situation all these years after it was originally penned.

When I’m reveling in my discoveries and soaring high, the words spill out onto the paper—or the computer screen. My heart truly overflows and I can’t wait to share new discoveries with my readers.

But, like everyone else, there are times I plummet to the Earth. The world news is devastating. And sometimes, the news much closer to home knocks me for a loop. Just how can I write when I feel like curling up in a ball and pulling the covers over my head?

And then . . . I sit down at my computer and let the word comes. Just the other day, I was not in a good head space, but I decided to write a different kind of entry in my prayer journal than I’d ever written before. And the more I wrote, the more the ideas tumbled out, one after the other.

Here’s just a snippet of that entry:

So today . . .

I will love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

I will love others as I do myself and tend to their needs.

I will be anxious for nothing.

By prayer and petition with thanksgiving, I will make my requests to God.

I will trust Him with my whole heart.

I will not lean on my own understanding.

I will acknowledge Him in all my ways, trusting that He will make my path straight.

I will cast my care on Him, knowing He cares for me.

I will look more to the needs of others than my own needs.

I will repent of sin, turn and go in the opposite direction.

I will not serve money; the Lord God will be my Master.

I will do what I do as unto Him.

I will keep my eyes on the Author and Finisher of my faith.

I will make Him known.

Second Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Because this is true, I knew I could make the above declarations and rest in His power to follow through.

No matter how old we get, as Christians, there is always so much more to learn. And over the years I’ve learned that God’s ways are truly not my ways. He sees the Big Picture and I only catch the tiniest glimpse. The deeper truth sinks into my very being, the more I realize God is 100 percent trustworthy. Although I don’t know what good can come from certain situations, I have faith that nothing is too hard for Him.

I believe 1 John 4:8, which says, “God is love” (ESV).

I also believe Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (ESV).

So, no matter how I’m feeling, I can pour out my heart, examine what God is saying to me, and discover what He would have me share with others.

Write with the Breathings of Our Hearts by Sandi Somers

William Wordsworth once instructed writers to “fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But putting our feelings and “breathings” onto paper in a way that will inspire others is not as easy as it sounds.

Prompt: What have you learned about writing very personal thoughts and feelings? What advice would you give other writers about putting their “breathings of their hearts” onto paper?

Breathe in, Breathe Out

“Breathings of the heart” brings to mind the cycle of breathing in, breathing out.

Each morning I breathe in the word of God, and the Holy Spirit breathes life and healing into my messy and mysterious life.

Peace when I’m perplexed

          Clarity when I’m confused

                   Faith when I’m fearful

Then when I sit down to journal or write an article, I can breathe out His thoughts.

          Thoughts inspired by the Holy Spirit

                   Thoughts woven into a work of art

                             Thoughts to communicate God’s message

 Ponder the breathings of your own heart, and meditate on the following thoughts:

·        Stay close to God through time in the Word, time reflecting, time praying.

·        Give Him as much as you know of yourself.

·        Ask God to transform your present circumstances. He is faithful to answer you.

·        Discover how God wants to translate the themes in your life into words.

·        When you feel scared, vulnerable and exposed about putting your words on paper, trust God for the best way to tell your story.

And as you trust God, He will “translate (your words) into words of love, words that heal and transform, words that change lives, words that have eternal significance” (Marcia Laycock, speaking at our Southern Alberta WordShop, April 25).