Me? A Writer?

Last week I had a rather interesting conversation with a friend. A conversation that brought new thoughts to mind and questions that needed to be answered. Here's a tid bit of our talk:

Friend: So what do you guys do around here when you're not playing games.

Me: Well I work everyday and lately I've been studying to get my coding certification. Other than that I like to take walks, play the piano, and write."

Friend: You write?

Me: Yeah, I use to have a Christian magazine for teens. Now I have a blog that I write articles for.

Friend: So you're a writer?

Me: I guess, though not a very good one.

Just for the record, that was the first time anyone had called me a writer. The fact that I've been writing since I was 12 years old didn't seen sufficient enough for me to own such a title of that carried by people like L. M. Montgomery or Elizabeth George.

Oddly enough, it was kind of scary being called that. Being a writer requires a great deal of responsibility and diligence that I'm not sure I want to dedicate to the art of literature. Being a writer means that you not only know how to write words on a piece of paper, but that you are also good with words, and big words too! (I can barely spell the small ones!) Writers have to know how to weave words together to make a simple thing sound beautiful. In my opinion, a writer is someone who has talent in the area of putting words to paper.

Those things don't seem to describe me as well as I wish. I generally write my thoughts down quite frankly without all the frill. Like my hand writing, it can probably be more accurately called "scirbbling".

But then again, I suppose the real definition of a writer (no matter how boring it may sound) is simply: a person who writes. And in the light of that definition I suppose I am a writer. . . but I'd much rather be called a scribbler! :)

But putting all nonsense aside I will admit, this conversation also got me thinking about why I write. I've always used my writing ability to express my thoughts regarding the Christian life, but it goes farther than that. Am I writing to be a good Christian writer remembered by many? Am I writing to become famous in the Christian realm? Am I writing simply for the pleasure of it? Or am I writing for the glory of God?

The answer I should give is obvious - "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31 - but saying that truthfully is another matter. It is easy to get my focus off track and forget the root of it all. Thankfully, God sends along little things like this conversation right when I need them to remind me to evaluate not just what I am doing but why I'm doing it.

Something Good

Lately my life has not been as wonderful as I wish it were. I don't really know if it would be true to say that so many things are going wrong in my life because it very well could be that I am just experiencing a very big bout of "negativism". I do tend to see the bad things more then the good at times. It is so much easier to blame all my faults on the trial at hand then to suck it up and be strong like the Bible teaches. (Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Timothy 2:3. That's not an easy verse to swallow!)

But today I am counting my blessings! Someone from our church came over for dinner which was followed by several ours of playing games. We played Taboo, Uno, Pit, Clue . . . pretty much everything on our shelf! What made the afternoon so fun was the laughter we shared, the jokes we told, the teasing we threw back and forth, and the common bond of God's love in our life. It's not very often that we come across people who have the same interests as we do much less the same senserity of serving God. It was so nice to be able to enjoy several hours with another Christian who understands why we live the way we do.

In the midst of all that the devil is throwing my way God gave me something good. Even if a dozen other things in my life seem to be going wrong, I am going to be thankful for the good thing that God has given me today. And if I live day by day - looking for those small blessings - life will be much easier.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:" Psalms 103:2

The Way Life Is

~written September 5, 2009

Today while I was sewing a pair of culottes (which just happened to be a very aggravating pattern) I stole away for a few minutes to read some articles online and see what everyone in the blog world was up to. I looked at pictures and read about one girl who was making a beautiful apron for her friend; another woman was busy keeping house for her handsome farmer and watching after a rambunctious little girl while another young woman, donned in an quaint prairie dress, visited friends on an old farm. Others portrayed a life full of baking, gardening, shopping at the thrift stores in their spare time and sipping on spice tea while they read a good book. Their lives all seemed so perfect. So full of feminine beauty and old fashioned elegance!

After looking at just a glimpse of these seemingly wonderful ladies lives, I all of a sudden felt boring in my flowered cotton shirt, faded blue jean skirt, and pony tail. As I got back to my sewing I felt as if my life was missing something. I didn’t know if I should make another dress from era’s gone by, bake a loaf of delicious homemade banana bread, sit down with a cup of Russian tea and read that book that I’ve kept putting aside, or get back on my quilt that I started a year ago. Somehow I just felt like I needed to do something to make my life more interesting . . . or enjoyable. But instead my day was spent fretting over a pair of culottes that I had put off making until the last minute. Sitting at a sewing machine and ripping out seam after seam is not exactly what I call a romantic day in the country.

No, my life is not anywhere near perfect. I work a full time job Monday through Friday, I might watch an episode of The Waltons for enjoyment in the evenings, my room isn’t always clean, I usually don’t get around to my to do list until the last minute, and I often find myself stressing over things that I won’t even remember in a month’s time. The fact of the matter is: sometimes life is stressful. Sometimes life isn’t that perfect picture of ease and beauty. Sometimes we will lose the time and even the desire to do those extra little things that make our lives seem special. That’s life. How do we get through each day? Only with God's help.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

Home Sweet Home

There is absolutely no place like home! After camping in the beautiful smokey mountains for 4 days I have never been so happy to drive on flat land, sit on my bed, take a shower in my bathroom, play the piano, and pet our adorable little dog, Rover. Home has never looked so good! The mountains is a great place to go for a vacation, but I was born a "flat lander" and I remain a "flat lander"!

Delightful Dilligence

"He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand:

but the hand of the diligent maketh rich."

Proverbs 10:4

For the first time in a while I am seeing the

true joy one can get out of being diligent.

It is so nice to stay busy and be

able to see the work I have done and all that

I have accomplished. Diligence

really is delightful!

"For Satan finds some mischief still

for idle hands to do." ~ Issac Watts