“To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the enormous value of a minute.” ~ Robert Updegraff

While I know many who write full-time, others do well to squeeze a few paragraphs in between dirty diapers, laundry, and carpool duties. Many, exhausted from a regular day job, trade TV for their computers at night, hoping to drain a few more drops of creativity before the clock strikes 12. All of us are given the same 24 hours - how do we find time to write?

See what others say about the matter of time:

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” ~ Charles Bixton

“Whether you feel inspired to create, or dry and uninspired, you must make time to practice your art.” ~ Janice Elsheimer

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” ~ Carl Sandburg

“Our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities.” ~ Charles Hummel

How much of our time goes to unnecessary things? Is there anything we could sacrifice in order to write more? Please share your tips, thoughts, and advice. More on this topic soon.

Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality. ~ Beatrix Potter

“It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.”~ Virginia Wolfe

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” ~ Scott Adams

“When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to “arise from the dead” and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get going.” ~ Oswald Chambers

“Multi-tasking is dead. It never worked and it never will. Intelligent people love to sing its praises because it gives them permission to avoid the much more challenging alternative: focusing on one thing.”
~ Timothy Ferriss

Do you agree with this quote? Why or why not?

If it’s true, I’ve now been given permission to relax and do the next thing. Our society expects us to go full-throttle and multi-task, but working like that causes the weirdest attention deficit in me. Either that, or schizophrenia (my apologies to the institute of mental health and all its members). Oh, to settle down with a glass of my peach iced tea and write my thoughts out - that’s the way I roll. Not always possible, I know. Distractions pull at us all. But when I devote full attention to the task of writing, I do a much better job.

That’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it.

“Creativity is not necessarily a special calling or gift from God to the few, it is a natural expression of the fact that we are created in the image of God, who is the Creator. It is His thumbprint on our souls, a part of His signature.” ~ Michael Card

At Christians in the Arts, Leanne Benfield Martin recently interviewed Michael Card who has garnered praise for over 4 millions albums and 19 number one hits:

Michael Card - Part I - The Imagination

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” ~ Camille Pissaro

“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. The rest Christ offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend. It will take some courage at first, but the needed grace will come as we learn that we are sharing this new and easy yoke with the strong Son of God Himself.” ~ A.W. Tozer

Vanessa tried to hide the symptoms: forgetfulness, apathy, irritability, inability to make decisions, negative thinking. “Yep,” she thought, “I’m losing it.”

Best friend, Jill, decided to pull an intervention. She noticed right away how her friend’s pleasant disposition had dissolved into frequent tears. Vanessa had withdrawn from the very people she loved and was now sleeping 10-11 hours a day. But as they talked, cried, and laughed together, these two writing buddies came up with a plan to beat Vanessa’s “burn-out.”

…because Vanessa had lost all the margin in her days. The cumulative effects of living frenetically had wiped her out.

So, she’s pruning her excesses, cutting back on commitments, and learning to respond to God’s call for her life, personally, instead of heeding the call of everyone else. In a frenzied world of strife and overdrive, it’s good to pull away from the fray.

We live in fierce times of competition and ego-driven personalities. The world teaches us to fight and claw our way to the top. But in protest of it all, we need to exercise our parking gear. Yes, ironically, we have to go against the flow in order to retain our sanity, health, and productivity.

Jill has some good advice for all of us: “Don’t idolize productivity. Let God enable you for the right tasks once you learn to rest in Him first.”

Bottom line: Are we resting spiritually, emotionally, AND physically?

“We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it.” ~ Gordon MacDonald

“A healing narrative reveals the insights we’ve achieved from our painful experiences.” ~ Louise DeSalvo

Writing is most therapeutic when we need to unravel something painful. The mere act of writing through our grief, in a journal anyway, can help us heal.

Other than journaling, I prefer to let my thoughts and feelings incubate. Fresh wounds and losses are often too intense to share right away. For my writing to be useful, I need time to process events and allow for God’s healing and perspective.

How about you? Do you need to write something that’s emotionally painful? How will you go about it?

“I want to write, but more than that I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried in my heart.”
~ Anne Frank

As a child, there was something about the reflective character of Jo March in Little Women that stirred me. After consuming other volumes by Louisa May Alcott, I felt the time to put pen to paper would come. But this passion was kept under wraps. I never told a soul, yet continued to read profusely.

As a young person, the need to support myself led to nursing school. I give that credit to Florence Nightingale and the birth of my son at the tender age of 18. One glimpse inside that hospital and my heart was hooked; the nurse in me emerged. Writing wasn’t a viable option for some time, but that never stopped me from reading and journaling.

Later, with a growing family, writing wasn’t put on hold; it just wasn’t published. A voracious reader, I grew immensely through the travels and travails of others. Books were old friends and a constant joy, helping me sort through difficult times, preparing my heart for the future. Reading, as much as I’ve enjoyed it, was never so much an escape as it was a hunger and a salve. As it turns out, reading has also been excellent writing preparation.

Fifteen years ago, with a soon-empty nest, Mama flew the coop and ventured into broader grasslands: publication. That inner tug gave way to a world of writing I’d never in all my life imagined.

And the journey continues…thanks be to God!

“A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness.” ~ Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937)

“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?” ~ George Orwell (1903 - 1950)

“I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English - it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.” ~ Mark Twain

“The proud man and the covetous man never have rest, but the meek man and the poor in spirit live in great abundance of rest and peace.” ~ Thomas a’ Kempis

Yesterday we looked at life’s little leeches, things that zap our vitality over time.

To cope, we need emotional energy. Maybe a couple days of unresolved conflict, poor sleep, and internet saturation won’t cause us to collapse, but living like this continually, will .

Do we realize our own stress limits? Have we allowed “down” time to recover, or have we loaded our schedules so full of activity, we have no time for an inner life?

When my life feels overloaded, I have to pray. Lord, show me what’s wrong. Sometimes I’m not even sure - the stuff of life accumulates so fast.

As I thought about a more balanced life, these ideas hit me:

* Simplicity is my friend. Declutter house & heart.
* Find a quiet place to relax and do nothing. No guilt allowed.
* Take time for a media “fast”: TV, internet, radio.
* Learn to be content with what I have.
* Learn to let bothersome things go - don’t ruminate.
* Develop a healthy network of nurturing, supportive friends.
* Don’t deprive myself of good counsel when needed.
* Release those who have hurt me to God.
* Find ways to bless the people who cross my path.
* Remember that laughter is therapeutic.
* Let answering machine catch calls when I need a break.
* Learn to say no.
* Leave all outcomes with God.
* Allow time to pray before commitments.
* Develop a grateful heart & look for beauty.
* Trace the hand of God in my days with thanksgiving.
* Treat people better than they deserve.
* Keep a prayer journal - it can be short & simple.
* Listen to peaceful, uplifting music.
* Get a yearly physical & routine blood work.
* Invest in my health by eating better.
* Find fun ways to move & exercise, alone or with friends.
* Don’t hoard love - give it away.
* Confess anger, jealousy, and envy to God.
* Don’t hold back genuine compliments.
* Confide in a trusted friend.
* Be clay in God’s hands.
* Find someone to hug.
* Let go of expectations.
* Read God’s Word, not out of duty, but to receive from Him.
* Cry on a friend’s shoulder. Healing comes through relationship.
* Ask God for wisdom about hurtful relationships. Are they healthy?
* Mend fences - be willing to reconcile.
* Plan regular personal retreats.
* Be willing to receive help from others.
* Give up trying to control people, life, & events.
* Solitude is good. Constant noise is not.
* Jot down things to remember so I won’t fret later.
* Make time for a leisurely bath.
* Live within my means.
* Leave breathing room for the unexpected.
* Fall in love with my crockpot.
* s-l-o-w down - don’t overschedule.
* Use technology - don’t let it use me.
* Don’t isolate from friends & family when depressed.
* Get plenty sunlight.
* Plan outings and enjoy the anticipation.
* Be willing to say when I’m wrong.
* Busyness is not necessarily virtuous.
* Am I cooperating with God or resisting Him?
* Relational living begins with Christ.
* My most vital source for living is Him.
* I will spend time with eternity in mind.
* I will cast all my cares on Him.

What areas are leeching your reserves lately? What helps? Feel free to share.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1