2014 has been the benchmark time for me. I have thought long and hard about my one word - Surrender. I have also thought about my goals. I chose seven major goals which I will work toward with mini minor goals. I've gone over the first two, time with God and weight/fitness, but my most vulnerable is writing.
For as long as I can remember, I have written. As a small child I drew pictures to tell stories and said them out loud as I drew. Once I grasped words I wrote the story with the pictures. When I was not in the paying attention mood in class (sorry but true), I would write stories to keep entertain myself. When I would spend time at my grandparents home, I would grab my grandma's bike and ride around the neighborhood and imagine great adventures that I would create in my mind. I was a bit of a Walter Mitty (one of my favorite movies growing up from the Family Film Festival starring Danny Kaye not to mention one of my favorite short stories in college). If the outside world was doing nothing for me, and it often did nothing for me, I would create my own.
But at some point, my faith in myself, my belief in what I could do dwindled. As much as I wanted to write and continue to keep these stories alive. I felt I could not. I was sure I simply was not bright enough to be a writer. You see, as much as I enjoyed writing and story telling, every time I mentioned wanting to be a writer, my family would mention that I needed to have a "real job" or at the very least a back up plan. The trouble with back up plans is they often push the real desire, dream and perhaps even God inspired gift into the background until it becomes merely a blur.
I put the dream on a shelf.
I would take the dream off the shelf every now and then. I'd brush it off. Sigh and fantasize for the only moments I would allow, and then slip it back to where it belonged. Far away from my reality.
Last year, I began to really think about dreaming again. I was asked that question that so many of us are often asked, "If money were no object, what would you do right now." I heard a little voice in my head whisper one word...
Just as quickly. I dismissed the idea. But not completely. This year I will write. I will focus and I will do my best to reignite that craft and that joy of my heart.
To start I will simply just write. I will set my time, set my space, and set my focus back on that part of my life that I love. For me. For God.
I don't expect any of this to be easy, but I just did the hard part. I admitted it. Next is to put it all into action and begin.
Goal number one in writing is:
Write daily for an hour for the next 30 days.
Stay connected to the COMPEL website (I joined in November and have really loved it so far, but life kind of got in the way. I am recommitting).
I would also one day like to go to the She Speaks conference with Proverbs 31 Ministries. Financially this is way out there in goals, but I am saving my pennies and I have decided if it doesn't happen this year, it will happen next year. I am patient, and I have a BIG GOD.
Do you have a desire in your heart that you put on the back burner? Are you dusting off any old beloved activities? I'd love to hear about them.
I've seen a lot on tv shows so far about picking one word for the year. I haven't done that yet, but I like your goals & word.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. :)
Thank you for stopping by Susan. I am still very new to the whole one word thing for the year, but it worked so well last year, I figure I might as well keep going. Have a beautiful day!
DeleteLove this because writing is something I have done since I was a small child too. It wasn't until later that I really started to see it as a gift from God, and one that I owed to myself and Him to nuture. Just like you, I pushed it to the back burner for almost fifteen years. After completing five 100 + page stories from the age of 10 to 14 I just quit writing. For the last fifteen years aside writing in a journal a dozen or so times a year and maybe a poem every now and then I put it aside as a dream that wasn't a reality worth persuing. At some point last year, when I was in a really low depressed state, I started writing again. I feel that writing helps put me closer to God as well. It was a gift He gave me so there must be something He wants me to do with it. It actually started with doing my blog, then I started sending articles and short nonfiction stories off to be published. Now this spring I will see one of my stories published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and will hopefully be self publishing my own book, in which I hope to donate 15% of all sales to different children's charties, as that's another one of my lifetime goals I've never felt I'd be able to reach because I never seem to have enough money to part with much, but publishing this book isn't about money so it seems right that I should use it to help reach another goal that I feel God would want me to do. Hope we can both find our way back to the writing child inside of us in 2014! If you need a writing partner to share ideas, proofread, or even direction if you're looking to publish please shoot me an email ( glennbabies@gmail.com) . I would love to help a fellow writer in any way I can. Wishing you and yours the best in 2014.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Angela! Thank you for stopping by. Your message was so encouraging, and I couldn't be happier for you about Chicken Soup for the Soul. That is very exciting news. I am so glad to see that God is working with you and your writing (your blog is fabulous by the way). I would love to connect and encourage one another. It is amazing seeing what God has done with your gift. You are quite courageous.
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