Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A Worthy Resolution

Check back here every Wednesday for a few thoughts on the craft. Here are today's:

Wednesday's Writing on Writing...

Scraping together enough time for the basics of life is tough. Finding uninterrupted blocks to write can be even harder. But having a daily spiritual discipline may be the most difficult task of all.

I tend to be a perfectionist. An ideal at the top of 2010 New Year’s resolutions list would be to spend time in prayer and Bible study before 6 A.M. But I’ve tried that before. It works for two days (okay, one) and then, exhausted, I sleep in on day three.

Daily time in the Bible remains one of my goals, but I’ve given up on those early morning ideals. I’ve found a better way. I realize that to be a Word person, I have to be a person of the Word. No matter where I am in the world, at home or away, I’m going to go to bed and sleep somewhere, sometime, every day.

That’s when I open my Bible and dig in. It becomes a sacred time. There are dangers and drawbacks, of course. Many would recommend starting your day this way, but I’ve proven to be a failure at that. I do have to fight fatigue getting in the way of what I’m trying to accomplish.

If I ever must miss a day, I just pick up where I left off. No guilt, no recriminations. I just get back to it as soon as possible.

When I’m studying Scripture in preparation for writing a book, I try to open myself to what God wants to tell me. Ephesians 4:11-12 talks about how some of us are called to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, or teachers. What do they all have in common? They’re writers. Apostles and evangelists wrote much of the New Testament. Prophets wrote a good chunk of the Old.

We all know how important writing is to pastors and teachers. But that’s our calling, too. It’s part of our job to equip people for ministry, to edify the body of Christ.

To write with passion and beauty, we need our power sources: the Bible and the Spirit of God. But are we connected? As John 15:5 says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (NKJV).

Maybe that’s the problem. We’re trying to create without communing with the Creator, trying to bear fruit without being rooted in Him. In 2010 I want to stay connected to my power Source.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow--thanks, Jerry. I really needed to read this today.

cristina said...

"We’re trying to create without communing with the Creator, trying to bear fruit without being rooted in Him. In 2010 I want to stay connected to my power Source."

Key thought...I will be incorporating it as I plan for 2010. Thanks!

Karen said...

I've already put together my 2010 writing goals, but realize after reading your post I've left off the most important piece. God's Word needs to be at the top of my goal list - without it, what I write is not truly through Him. Thanks for the reminder. I'll be updating my goal list.

Lisa Hartell said...

Thanks, Jerry, for writing this today! It's powerful! If we're abiding, it's evident in our writing. A.W. Tozer said something like this: "if it doesn't come from the overflow of the spirit, it's not worth writing." I have decided I want no less for myself, as well! I don't want to write, because I'm a writer, I want to write, because He's prompted me to say something! God Bless us with increased fruitfulness for the Kingdom this year!