Impossible Gifts

I just started a book by Cecil Murphey, Unleash the Writer Within.    He poses the question “why do you write?” Then leads the charge by explaining why he writes. One of his reasons is: it is a gift. Not like a present to spend on myself. But something that enriches other lives. Knowing you […]

Responding to Special Circumstances

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:6 (NIV) I don’t know how many times, on vacation or during the holidays I have decided to indulge in the food treats – because after all, it’s a special occasion. But then, even […]

Are You Untethered?

We have an insatiable appetite for the new and improved. A company no longer makes its money on one tried and true product. If they don’t have a new product, flavor or packaging they fall behind the pack. We demand more as consumers, they provide more. The same is true at Christmas. New decorations. New […]

Have You Stopped Trying Yet?

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 Do. There is no try.  Jesus instructed. Apostles directed. Live this way. Walk that way. Do it God’s way. Do stand. Do gird your loins with truth. Do wear the breastplate of righteousness. Do walk according […]

Stuck

I would venture to say that everyone, at some point, whether it’s in writing or life, comes to the place when you can’t seem to move on. You don’t know what to do, to say, to write. Sometimes you’re just plain tired. Or overloaded and overwhelmed. Or you just wake up empty one day. Sometimes […]

Understanding

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.    I Cor. 1:3-4 (NIV)  Understanding is the […]

Don’t Be a Troll

Do everything without complaining or arguing. Philippians 2:14 (NIV) In my childhood, a troll was simply the monster under the bridge. Today on the internet, it’s the entity that wonders from site to site looking for something to complain about and tear down all for the sake of disrupting the forum’s purpose. Trolling is in […]

Life and Research.

You’re writing fiction, but in order for it to be realistic, to keep your audience reading the whole story, you have to do your research. It’s a good idea to do your research in real life, too. Relationships are shattered when assumptions are made because the truth wasn’t sought out. A friend of mine almost […]

Planned Spontaneity

It was a Friday and I had spent more hours at my desk than I realized. Tired and done for the week, I asked my kids if they wanted to waste some time with me. My son was quick to point out that THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE calls it “sharpening the saw”. Or purposefully […]