Tag: balance

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Help! My Life’s a Tilt-a-Whirl and I Wanna Get Off!

I watched the pink and orange eventide rise behind the bare-limbed trees lining our backyard.

The day was gone again.

Lost in a shuffle of orthodontist and doctor appointments, car pooling, awkward schedule changes due to the weather (again), blog posts and interview questions due yesterday, and a hopelessly floundering manuscript, life felt like a tilt-a-whirl and I wanted to get off.

How in the world could I keep the pace my life was going? How could I meet everyone’s expectations? How could I make sure I was being a mother and a wife first?

Through Me, I heard Abba whisper.

I’d recently forced myself to become diligent about reading the Bible again, after “forgetting” to make it a daily habit despite the five Bible applications on my smart phone and the three hard copies in a dust-covered stack on my bedside table.

No wonder I felt lost.

No wonder I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore.

I can’t.

Be still, He whispered again. Anything is possible through Me.

I can’t.

But God can.

IMG_0785Obviously He’s not going to write the blog posts for me. He’s not going to drive my kids to the orthodontist. He’s not going to bathe the five nonagenarians at the hospital for me during my nursing shifts.

But His power, through my heart staying centered on Him, can be made perfect.

And I can rest, knowing everything in His will to be done, will be done.

Eventually.

Writers or not, we all have times we feel lost and overwhelmed, insufficient and incapable. But if we keep our eyes on Him, He will renew our hearts. He will accomplish infinitely more than we can ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:20).

And best of all, we can rest in His peace.

 “Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ … have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”

Colossians 3:15-17 (TMV)

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The Writing Life: A Super Balancing Act

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m a tad imbalanced. My family might use the word ‘super stressed’, my husband, at times, ‘super crazy’. It’s okay, because I know they love me, and it’s true, I do have a tendency to take things on…in excess. I used to attribute it to the expectation that modern women have superhuman abilities to scale relationships, home, health, career, and all their future hopes and dreams in a single bound, but that’s a cop out. The world has figured out we’re mere mortals, and I’m fairly certain I’ve got my priorities and goals straight most of the time. I’ve come to realize it’s more about me wanting to feel in control. I want to manage all my needs and wants with those superhuman powers. I want to do it all, and I want it done now (or, better yet, yesterday).

Image courtesy of Jeroen van Oostrom/freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of Jeroen van Oostrom/freedigitalphotos.net

I think a lot of writers may secretly be like this. They’ll try to crank out the first draft of a novel with the speed of a silver bullet. They’ll read a seven-book series in as many days. They’ll manage their day job like a star reporter at the Daily Planet, and still make time for their secret (writing) identity. They’ll devote themselves to the needs of their family, friends, and home with the efficiency of an evil genius plotting the destruction of Metropolis (but with better intent, I hope). They’ll pretty much do anything they put their mind to, as long as they focus on it maniacally. As in…like a maniac.

Hey, at least we give it our all, right?

Image courtesy of Elwood W. McKay III/freedigitalphotos.net
Image courtesy of Elwood W. McKay III/freedigitalphotos.net

I’ll keep telling myself that. Meanwhile, failure to achieve balance among the important things in life can become our own personal kryptonite.

Are those of us plagued with this plight destined to live lives of extremes, or will we ever find a nicely balanced, happily-ever-after?

As I think about this, Colossians 3:23-24 comes to mind: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” 

I wonder, if I stop and remind myself why I’m doing something, will it help me be more selective? If I’d focus on doing some of the same things, but for the right reasons…not for my own vanity or because I feel pressured into it, not because I fear stopping will keep me from ever starting again, not because I’m told it’s what successful people do, and not because it’s supposed to define who I am, would I be more present in the moment? Would there be more joy in the work I undertake? Would I be a happier person overall?

Just maybe it will help me keep the bigger, digitally formatted, wide-screen, blockbuster motion picture in mind. And that, to me, is more powerful than a locomotive.

What about you? How do you stay balanced when you start to feel overwhelmed by the commitment you make as a writer?

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Honoring the Writer’s Call

Remember the Call

As ambassadors of the written word, we’re called to awaken people to truth. Rubbing words together, we set the world on fire!

Above publishers and agents, God’s our number one boss. With pure, submitted hearts, we make it our mission to please him first.

Am I on the right track, Father? What do you want me to share today? These are the questions we ask.

We try not to judge and compare ourselves with other writers because we know God equips each of his instruments for different specific tasks.

When fearful, overwhelmed, and wondering why we chose this career/ministry path in the first place, we remember… God never calls us where his grace won’t sustain us.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Gal. 6:9

Persevere in the Call

When tempted to distraction by potentially good things like social media, movies, and chats, we’re privileged to consult our boss: “Please show me what to do and give me the strength to carry it through.”

When tempted to discouragement by trials, we understand they’re God’s method of making us stronger, more Christ-like, and more effective in our writing.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Rom. 8:28

Because we clearly know we have been called to write, we persevere when people judge us, and we remind ourselves it only matters what God thinks, and the Lord sees every heart. 1 Chron. 28:9

We persevere when our paychecks are sparse because we know God will supply all our needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

We persevere when the road is rough and slow and we can’t see ahead because we know who leads us each step of the way. (Ps. 37:23)

Balance the Call

Balance starts with rest, and rest starts with prayer. Jesus walked a tight deadline, but rose before dawn to commune with his Father. He snuck away from the crowds to reconnect. Do we sneak away from our characters to bless the Word of words?

Jesus waited on His Father for wisdom and wants us to do the same; but it takes trust.  (James 1:5-6)  When it comes to trusting in the Lord with all our hearts, we often get it backwards, and lean on our own understanding first. Then, when things go awry, we cry “Help me!” and ask him to direct our path. He will, but we must first acknowledge him.  Prov. 3:5-7

Jesus only spent three years in ministry; however, his thirty preparation years were just as important because they defined and nurtured the Father/Son relationship, enabling him, in the right time, to turn the world upside down by submitting to His Father’s peculiar but brilliant plan of reaching the Jews first, then the Gentiles.

God writes a different plan for each one of us. He calls some of us to blog first, others to write books first, and still others to do both at the same time – in balance.

Whether we’re writing, speaking, networking or spending time with the family, God isn’t just interested in what he’s doing through us; He’s interested in what he’s doing in us.  He wants us to joyfully trust him so we can honor him with our calling.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jer. 29:11

Please talk to us about remembering, persevering, and balancing God’s call to write. We’d love to hear your stories, lessons, insights, and experiences.

And what is God reminding you about today?

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