{Days 5&6} On Being Circumloquaciously Wordy

It was 1996 and my husband and I had decided to go to Canada's Wonderland. We had just recently been married and were feeling young and free. In hindsight, this feeling was true: we were certainly young and we were mostly free of the responsibilities that were yet to come with jobs and mortgages and marriage and children. In all honesty, our motivation for going to Wonderland this particular day was to see a singer/songwriter friend of mine who was performing there. I had not seen her in years; the last time I saw her she was the girlfriend of my Youth Pastor and we both lived in British Columbia. Now we were both married, and she still lived in British Columbia but I lived in Ontario. I had much respect for her when I was a teenager, and so my desire to see her live in concert was driving this trip to Wonderland.

I honestly do not remember much of the rides, the food, the weather, how our day went, the specific events of the day. What I do remember is one phrase that she said in her concert. She was recounting her hard work on a paper she wrote in university and how she struggled to get all her words down into something that made sense, resulting in a final paper that she knew was too long. The comment her professor left her went something like this, among some other words (and I quote this very loosely, for it was many years ago):

"You are circumloquaciously wordy..."

I think this stuck with me because I had no idea what that meant. I am smart enough to use my knowledge of words to be able to infer what her professor was saying to her, but I did not know what that big word actually meant. Clearly though, the professor was making a point about my friend's words by choosing a rare, rather obscure word to describe her writing. What this word actually means is this: "referring to someone who is using excessive language to evade a question, to obscure the truth, or to change the subject." (urbandictionary.com) Given that my friend is now an accomplished writer of songs, articles, books and many other words, I think this word was chosen for impact and not for it's true meaning. My friend has learned the art of using words to talk directly to the point, not evade it or obscure it. Her love for words has inspired many to wrestle with the questions of faith and spirituality, and it has led her to write songs of poignant truth.

But the point remains...choosing the right words is important. Especially as writers who desire to breathe life into thoughts and ideas that sit deep in our souls, that percolate there with anticipation, waiting for the right word to express the joy of celebration or the anguish of pain or the confusion of being somewhere in the middle. This is the art of good writing. The act of sitting with big ideas and specific thoughts, waiting patiently for words to flow, wrestling with countless words and the word count, taking the smattering of scattered notes and drawing them together to create something beautiful.

That's just it. Writing is creating beauty - a series of individual words, written in such an order to create something beautiful, inspirational, encouraging, gracious, motivating, and true. Think on these things. Write about these things, for it will be these things that point us to Heaven and give us hope and strength.

Whether you struggle with too many words or not enough words, with scattered notes or organized thoughts, you are in the business of creating something beautiful. A masterpiece that reflects the beauty of God, the author and perfecter of our faith and our craft.

Seize the day, seize whatever you can
'Cause life slips away just like hourglass sand
Seize the day, pray for grace from God's hand
Then nothing will stand in your way
Seize the day

("Seize The Day" from I Can Hear You, Carolyn Arends, 1995)

{Days 3&4} Flow & Idea

I had a lot to do tonight, but none of it included rescuing an injured turtle, making cookies, or wearing a Carolina Hurricanes jersey.

And yet all of those things happened, disrupting my plans for the night.

Sometimes things don't do quite as we plan. At then end of my work day, a friend sent me a text and asked me if my son would like to go out tonight with her kids. He sure would! (Even though I didn't ask him first). Then my mind went to making plans for my quiet night, at home, by myself. There was so much I could do.

But rescuing a turtle, making cookies and wearing a Carolina Hurricanes jersey was not on my radar. At all.

Sometimes our flow and our ideas are interrupted. We plan for one thing, expect one thing, anticipate one thing and yet something different happens. A phone call, a friend, a child, an animal, a need - there are a thousand things that could possibly come to interrupt our plans. And these interruptions  can be frustrating if we don't allow ourselves to view them as God's interruptions into our lives. Interruptions mess with the flow of our lives, our thoughts, our plans - our writing. Sometimes I think I interrupt the flow of my own thoughts because I don't really know what my thoughts are! I welcome random interruptions - maybe even look for them - because then I don't have to face the work or responsibility that awaits me. Except when they are God's interruptions. Then we need to take a step back and wonder what God is up to. 

What if we began to view the interruptions in our lives as surprises from God? What if, instead of being frustrated by them, we welcomed them as a surprise gift? An opportunity to show love, to share a piece of what we have, to offer some of who we are to someone else. 

Tonight I found an injured turtle on my road, and as a result I met a neighbour, as well as the man who delivers the newspaper. We scooped up the turtle and placed it on the side of the neighbours pond. Then I called the SPCA, and they came and rescued the injured turtle. Life saved. 

     

                                              

Tonight I made cookies because Mitch has decided to have friends over after school tomorrow. I am a big believer in having food for boys in my house. If you want your kids' friends to want to be at your house, then feed them. Always feed them. And cookies are always a hit. Friends made.

                                        

Tonight I am wearing a Carolina Hurricanes jersey because Eric wanted Mitch to wear it in solidarity for his newly adopted team's run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Mitch however, is not home. Therefore, in support and solidarity with my son, I wear his jersey and cheer for the Canes. Nobody in the GTA likes the Bruins anyways. Family saved. 

      

The next time your grand plans, your flow, your ideas are interrupted and your agenda seems skewed, stop and wonder what God is up to. Look for the surprises that God has in store for you in the midst of these apparent interruptions. 

If you are anything like me, these surprises will come in random things like injured turtles, making cookies, and wearing a hockey jersey.

{Day 2} Mantra

Honestly, I had to look up the definition of "mantra" to see exactly what this was about. It is "a statement or slogan repeated frequently" according to the every helpful dictionary.com.

I wasn't sure how I was going to tackle this word. Did I have a mantra? Have I ever had a mantra? I let that question sit with me all day, let it ruminate in my soul to see where it landed. I decided that whatever my mantra might be had to reflect my belief, my faith, my heart, and ultimately my life. I chose this verse, which beautifully sums up what I believe my mantra would be, if indeed I had one.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Phil 4:8

Think about such things. Write about such things. This verse does not just mean the good and the beautiful and the perfect, but it also speaks to how the things in our life can be true but hard, they can be right but confusing, pure but tainted, lovely but messy. The good and the bad, the beautiful and the broken - they all offer a moment of gratitude even if not in that exact moment. All of life can point us back to Jesus if we let it, and this is what I want my life mantra to reflect...Jesus.

These are the things I want to write about. Life itself motivates my writing. It's not just about the events, but rather the story that those events begin to write. Stories of mercy and grace and hope. Stories that inspire and encourage, that may challenge and touch the deep places of our souls. Stories that are real. Stories that are meaningful. Stories that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. Stories that are written by a God who loves us and holds us close even when we feel far away.

Think about these things. Write about these things.

Photo credit: YouVersion

{Day 1} Start

Just start.

Starting can be the hardest part of any new choice, new opportunity, new beginning. For me, this new start is kind of like a restart. This journey into the world of writing and words and wonder...it's scary, it's overwhelming, it's exciting. I looked back to realize I posted my first blog post in 2010. Sigh...

I quite "accidentally" stumbled upon hope*Writers Instagram post which placed a challenge before inspiring writers. It is a 12 Day challenge to write using the writing prompt posted. I'm not sure why I thought this would be a good idea. I don't think I actually thought the whole thing through very well. But I wrote my post and put it out there for all to see. And it was all I could do to not take it down. I wanted to hit the delete button and pretend it didn't happen. I wanted to hide, and I certainly hoped that people wouldn't actually read it.

Why did I do this? Why is this out there for people to read and follow along? Can't I do this privately? Can't I just journey these days without everyone knowing, seeing, reading? 

But if I'm writing, doesn't that mean someone will be reading? So it has to be out there. I have to put it out there. Fine.

Fear: Everyone will know when I fail. 
Lie: The world doesn't need my words, doesn't need what I have to say. 
Insecurity: I have nothing new to say that someone else hasn't already said.
Sad reality: I don't even know how to format a pretty Instagram post. #truth

I've been reading "The Next Right Thing" by Emily P. Freeman. In Chapter 4 of her book she recounts a story of her husband approaching burnout in his ministry, and how they were given a chance to rethink, revision and redo their vocation choices. She shared how in the end, they chose something different from what was. This is the most recent in a number of similar stories that I have read about ministry families facing a pivotal decision based on circumstance, family or personal health crisis. Each time the person chose something different from what was. They embarked on a new path, a new journey, a new ministry, and to some degree, a new life.

So when my pastor husband was faced with his own personal health crisis that sent us into copious amounts of hospital visits and doctors consultations and tests and surgeries, with complications that landed him in the ICU where he faced Jesus and chose "Life" whatever that might look like, we were ultimately faced with a decision as a family: what does life look like now?

The story is much longer than that, but my wonder to myself is about the choices we made at that time. Now as I read this book, and embark on this renewed inner passion of mine that seems more like a hobby that I've shelved because of where life has taken us, I do so within the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical framework of our decisions that followed this crisis. I know that I can't remake those decisions. As much as I might like a do-over, that is not an option. But what is an option is to work out what is happening right now in my heart and soul.

For now, I am just trying to do the next right thing. You are welcome to follow along on this 12 day journey with me, as I willingly become a beginner at this new thing, as I follow this arrow that God has laid in front of me.

Thank you Emily P Freeman for the motivation to jump back in, and thank you hope*Writers for the inspiration to do so.