Obedient & Disciplined

This morning I decided I'm going to make some changes in how I handle my day. These past few days have been very difficult for me in all areas of my life including my life as a writer. Life has gotten so busy, I have been pushing off or rushing my time with His Word. So today was the first day of getting up a little earlier than the children in order to have some "me time". Time for writing projects, writing assignments and time with Jesus. I opened up the Bible and decided to add a chapter from Proverbs and Psalms on top of my regular reading. In Proverbs 1-2 and Psalms 1, they speak of listening to God and obeying His instructions. Just what I needed to read....listening and obeying. A revelation, that's why I've had such a difficult time. I haven't been listening and obeying Him.
Well taking that into my writing, I know I have to be more disciplined in setting aside time to write and focus on what I need to do as a writer. I am listening Lord, thanks for the reminder!

Praying in Our Own Way

So everytime we sit down for a meal, our family gives praise and thanks for the food that is provided for us. My daughter, who is now 23 months old, now acknowledges prayer time by either pausing before she eats while someone leads the prayer or closing her hands together and bowing her head. This morning we had our prayer before breakfast. This time I decided to watch her as we prayed. As we all concluded with an "Amen"....she responded "Mermaid" (Amen in her talk) and proceeded to eat.

LOVED it!!!!

Writing from Our Past

I'm now on Assignment 3. This lesson focuses on detailed writing; showing instead of telling. We are to describe a place we remember from our childhood past. I had to think about a place...all I could think of is our "clubhouse" we built on the slope of the canyon we lived on. We didn't have anything special just a few little toys and hand carved steps to get in and out of our clubhouse which comprised of tree trunks and branches as walls and the treetops as our roof. Nothing special, but boy did we have a view. It overlooked the canyon below and the hills of houses in the background. Anyone passing by would've never known it was a clubhouse, but we did. We used our imagination. We were constantly "protecting" our ground. We assigned a watch guard and everything.

Thinking back made me reminisce on the good ol' care-free days of childhood. I need to remind myself of that when I think of my relationship with God. Think like a child. Jesus even refers to that in the NT. He tells us to approach learning about God like a child, open and taking things for what it is....I tend to over analyze a lot. Sometimes I need to take myself back into the past and embrace things with open arms and an open heart.

Writing from the Heart

I co-lead a group of junior high girls from our church every week. Last night was our last night of our study. The topic was on friendship; shallow or authentic. The girls had some interesting things to say. One of the girls had brought her notebook of poems that night. She had started a poem on her best friends, and finished it as we were having our discussion. She happily shared her poem with the group. It's amazing how the Lord can get into our hearts and into our hands. She wrote the most beautiful poem about her friends and how they helped her find the Lord. It was like taking a peak at her heart and seeing what was inside.

A Second Wind

I received a lot of materials from the ICL yesterday. And on the cover I read about setting an established writing work schedule. Something I have not yet gotten to. So it made me think I really do need to take my writing seriously and as a "job". So last night I sat on my bed organizing all my work. As I was doing that, I realized how much lighter I felt. I was ready to write again. So I stayed up catching up on some reading and reflecting on my manscripts. Okay, I'm ready to be serious. I am ready to be a writer. The funny thing is, my hubby gave me a really cool planner for Mother's Day...I guess I need to set some time to do some serious writing, seriously.

Words are so Powerful

I received a card from my brother for Mother's Day. I was amazed by the words I read from this card. Let me give you a little background on our relationship. We're total opposites. I say black, he says white kinda thing. Basically, if we weren't siblings, we wouldn't be hanging out. I know it's sad. But that's what makes this card so special to me. He wrote about how much he appreciated me as a sister and a parent to my kids. I was a great example for him in raising his own kids. Can I tell you how shocked and happy and emotional I was when I read this? I don't really share my feelings with my family especially when it comes to using words. This made my day. I texted him and wrote "Love you". Never done that before, but it felt good.

Priorities

As I sit here and think about what I could blog about, many topics come racing in my head. But the one thing that pops out is my time with my kids. With the hectic schedule, and the many things I involve myself in, I am constantly reflecting on how this is affecting my kids? Am I spending enough "quality" time with them? I know our Father has place my role to be a mom. Third to being His servant and being a loving wife...but when it comes to working....it's being a good mom. As Mother's Day comes along, I am reminded of not the gifts I should receive, but if I've been the kind of mom deserving of these gifts. I pray to our heavenly Father for contiued guidance and stength to be the mother our Lord has created me to be.

Happy Mother's Day!!