“I can do every through Him who gives me strength.” ~ Philippians 4:13

Are you a writer? What fear holds you back from completing that article, essay, or book? Are you hung up on past failures? Given up the vision? Feeling inadequate? Too many obstacles?

You’re not alone.

But if we see these struggles as part of the faith-building process, we needn’t cave to fear. To live our calling as scribes and writers begins with absolute trust in the One who calls us. God enables us to do what we never thought imaginable. All of us deal with fear at some point, but God is greater than all our fears combined.

“At the beginning of every act of faith, there is often a seed of fear. For great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation.” ~ Max Lucado

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” ~ Henry Ford

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.” ~ Helen Keller

“By definition, a God-sized calling exceeds our human capabilities. It not only requires more than we can humanly do but also defies our desire to control, define, curtail, and delineate.” ~ Kevin Brennfleck

Step out in faith with me! The risk might be enormous, but God is able.

“It is God the Creator who made limits, and it is the same God who placed them within us for our protection. We exceed them at our own peril.” ~ from Margin, author Richard A. Swenson, MD

This is my favorite time of year. But if I’m not careful, the holidays can devour me. All the extra activities, obligations, parties, and time pressures quickly snowball into stress and exhaustion.

So let me ask you, how do you manage your writing schedule throughout these busy times?

* Do you feel guilty for pulling back?

* Are you selective about the commitments you make?

* Are you like my practical-minded friend who simply sleeps less so she can pack a little more punch in her days?

Take away my sleep, and I’m just punchy!

Margin is crucial, especially now. It allows time for recharging our batteries. It allows for flexibility and the unexpected. Unfortunately, most people disregard their own health just to “get everything done.” How best can we enjoy this beautiful season without blowing our time budget or our sanity? How important is it to reserve time for quiet reflection and prayer?

We’re not inexhaustible! Hopefully, we’ll realize our limitations and prepare accordingly. Maybe less is more.

Suggestions, tips, advice? I’m all ears.

Announcement from Carnival of Christian Writers:

“What are you thankful for as a writer, editor, agent? How have writing and books impacted your life? How have you been blessed in your writing journey? Shout out your blessings!

A Harvest of Blessings is our theme for the November Carnival of Christian Writers! Please send in a link to your blog post along with a one sentence blurb about it by Sunday (23rd). The carnival will be held at Writer Interrupted on Monday, November 24th.”

Submission guidelines are HERE

“Trust God where you cannot trace him. Do not try to penetrate the cloud he brings over you, rather look to the bow that is on it. The mystery is God’s, the promise is yours.” ~ John MacDuff

“We can walk without fear, full of hope and courage and strength to do his will, waiting for the endless good which he is always giving as fast as he can get us able to take it in.” ~ George MacDonald

“The eternal God is your Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” ~ Deuteronomy 33:27

From John Gardner, author of The Art of Fiction:

“But only the great writer will survive - the writer who fully understands his trade and is willing to take time and the necessary risks - assuming, of course that the writer is profoundly honest and, at least in his writing, sane.

Sanity in a writer is merely this: However stupid he may be in his private life, he never cheats in writing. He never forgets that his audience is, at least ideally, as noble, generous, and tolerant as he is himself (or more so), and never forgets that he is writing about people, so that to turn characters to cartoons, to treat his characters as innately inferior to himself, to forget their reasons for being as they are, to treat them as brutes, is bad art.

Sanity in a writer also involves taste . . . to write with taste, in the highest sense, is to write with the assumption that one out of a hundred people who read one’s work may be dying, or have some loved
one dying; to write so that no one commits suicide, no one despairs. . . “

Hope you have a great writing week! I’m nearly recovered from bronchitis and ready to resume my writing routine. Some spiritual food for thought as we start the week:

“Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God, we do not see ourselves - blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One.” ~ A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God

Are we tinkering too much with self or focused on Him?