Sometimes it’s easy to say yes to God. We can do it almost without thinking. But what happens when God asks us to do something that terrifies us? That we know we can’t do? Guest Lynn Austin is here to share the times God has done exactly that! About Lynn Austin Lynn Austin has sold more than two million books worldwide. She has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. When she isn’t writing, Lynn can be found riding her bicycle or playing with her four grandchildren. She and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Hello, listeners. We’re glad you’re here with us. We’re continuing our interview with guest Lynn Austin, and we’re going to jump right in.   Lynn: I’m very surprised by the success that God did grant once it all took off. Very surprised by the movie. That was amazing. And meeting Shirley Jones.   Erin: How did that come about? The movie? Lynn: I was with Bethany House, and Hallmark had done another one of Bethany House’s books. They went to Bethany House and said, “Do you have any other books that you think might work for a Hallmark movie?”   I guess they gave them several, and they chose my book Hidden Places. Then the publishing company offered to fly me out there. That was when the Johnsons were there. Gary and Carol Johnson. We flew out for a day to watch the filming, and it was just surreal. Absolutely surreal. This book that’s only in your head, right? And here’s your characters. I mean, you see your characters running around talking. It was just unbelievable. That was a very pleasant surprise.   Erin: I bet you could never have imagined any of this when you got that garbage bag. You know, this was the payoff. All of that hard work, all of that sowing and sowing and sowing you did, and you didn’t reap for years. Then, just an amazing and abundant harvest, so to speak. I love how God does that.   Lynn: Even after that, God wasn’t really done with surprises. People think that if you write a book, you should be able to be a speaker. In my little hometown, different churches started asking me to come and speak at Coffee Break Bible Study. And I very humbly said, “No. I am not a speaker.”   My friend came to me and said, “Lynn, you’re a writer. You can write a speech.”   I said, “I could probably write a speech, but why don’t you give the speech?” Karen: That’s right.   Lynn: I’m very much an introvert. I’m very happy to be in my little office with my characters. I don’t need to get up in front of people. I hated speech class, every class I ever had. But this friend of mine just kept poking me. She said, “How do you know you’re not saying no to God?” Karen: Good question.   Lynn: Thank you very much.   Karen: Put your face in this, right? Lynn: Yeah. So she promised to pray for me. She had a real prayer ministry. So I started doing all these little coffee break Bible studies all around. Of course they talk to each other, and so you go to one and then the next one wants you. Pretty soon, the International Coffee Break organization asked me to come and speak at their convention. I said, “No, I don’t think so.” Again, my friend said, ” You better pray about this because this might be something God wants you to do.” She promised to come with me to this convention, and I said, “You better.” The day of the speech in the afternoon, they called me to do a sound check. I went in this auditorium, and there’s like a thousand chairs out there. They were empty, but I’m up on the platform, looking out at these empty thousand seats. I could not get a word out of my mouth. Nothing came out. Just this fear took over and just swallowed me up. I heard this voice booming, “Lynn!” And I thought, “Oh God, take me to heaven!”   But it was the sound guy. He said, “You have to say something.”   Erin: For a sound check you must make sound.   Karen: That’s right.   Lynn: My dear sweet friend comes running out with her Bible that she carries in her purse, and she opens it up to Psalms and she says, “Just read.” I’m reading in this shaky voice, “The Lord is my shepherd…”   We finished the sound check and she sweeps me off back to our room and down on our knees. ” You’ve got to pray. You’ve got to pray!”   Nothing happened. Finally it got to the point where I’m just a wreck, and I don’t know how this is ever going to happen.   Then we’re backstage when the event is starting and they wanted to pray with me, the organizers. The only thing I could pray was, “Help. God, you have to help me do this. I cannot do this by myself.”   All of a sudden, this shofar started sounding. Now, my husband’s a trumpet player, so I know the symbolism of the shofar, but it was so commanding and it was so beautiful that they stopped praying midstream. The symbolism of the shofar, it comes from when Abraham’s about to sacrifice Isaac and this ram is caught by its horns. They make the shofars out of them. For the Jewish people, it’s a symbol of how God will provide salvation, and I needed salvation at that point.   As this just went on and on and on, it was like the voice of God. He couldn’t have picked anything that was more perfect to speak to my heart that he would provide. That if he called me to do this, to speak, he was going to do it.   All of a sudden this calm went over me, and I walked out on that stage, and I gave the speech that I had written, and it was like walking on water. Erin: Wow.   Lynn: Truly. I knew I could never do this myself. But you say yes to God, and then you just keep saying yes.   I was so glad that I said yes to that. I still can’t say I love speaking, or that I’m looking for opportunities, but whenever one comes along, I say yes to it. God has taken me to so many places and so many things, and every time holds me up on the waves. Every time I can walk out and speak and not be afraid and not have that terrible fear. He always holds me up.   On one of the most recent ones, I went on a book tour to Germany. They took me to the part of Germany that had been behind the iron curtain. I was talking at a church and they were sharing with me how, before the iron curtain fell, how persecuted they were. Their children were persecuted just because the parents were Christian. They weren’t allowed to go to the good schools. They weren’t allowed a higher education.   Yet here’s this church filled with vibrant, happy people. I mean, it was packed. Again, I’m the speaker, right? I’m getting up, and I think, “What a privilege that God would allow me to do this.” Karen: Right?   Lynn: So I always say, “Keep saying yes. Even when everything in you says this isn’t gonna happen, he can use you when you yield yourself to him and when you follow what he has for you.” Karen: And when you stop focusing on your weaknesses, when you stop focusing on what you can’t do, and start focusing instead on what God can do. When I first started speaking, my very first Writers Conference that I spoke to when I worked at Tyndale was the Florida Christian Writers Conference when it was in Titusville. I had been up in front of people since I was in my young teens singing with my dad. I always threw up before I sang because I was so scared. Sure enough, before I spoke at this conference, I had to make a mad dash for the bathroom and throw up and then I could come out and do what I needed to do. But just like you, knees shaking, trembling, “…and when…you want…to be published…”   But each time when I said yes, and the more that I did it, just like you, it became a part of who I am. God takes those things that we think we can’t do, and he supplies to the point where it becomes a part of the fabric of who we are.   Lynn: Exactly.   Karen: You may not love speaking, but God has made that one thread in the tapestry of who you are so that he can utilize you to speak to others. I remember I talked to my dad once and I said, ” What if I forget the words? I’m so scared when I sing with you. What if I forget the words? Or what if I get choked up and cry?”   That was my greatest fear because the hymns and the songs that we used to sing strike to the core of me. “What if I forget the words and I start to cry?” He said, “Karen, if that happens, then God decided they didn’t need to hear you sing. They needed to see your tears.” Erin: You know what I love about this though, Lynn, is that you said yes to something that was just terrifying to you, and that you did not feel realistically that you could do. But saying yes was the only way to see the miracle. That was the only way to see that miracle happen.   When we don’t say yes to that opportunity because we’re afraid, oh my gosh, we miss seeing God do something amazing. I love that your friend made you, too. Sometimes we have such a struggle doing that on our own, and yet someone comes alongside us and intercedes for us and helps us and prays. Even the way God supplied the shofar, that’s just God up and down. Lynn: Exactly, exactly. It was so perfect.   Karen: I attended a silent retreat one year, if you can imagine that, me at a silent retreat. It was led by Robert Benson, who is just a terrific man. He had us make these life maps where we mapped out the crucial times in our lives and things that happened. It was fascinating to me because as I did that, and then as I went back and looked at it, I saw even more with hindsight than I did when it happened, God’s presence, God’s provision, God saying yes, God saying no.   I think we forget those things. I think it’s great that you have such good memories about what God has done for you because that testimony and that history for you helps you each time you’re afraid to step out and say yes, because he’s proven himself over and over and over again.   Lynn: Amen, that’s true.   Erin: We’re coming to the end of our time here. Do you have maybe any final words of wisdom you want to share? Or anything we haven’t covered yet that you want to leave for our listeners?   Lynn: I would say If you’re a writer, dare to ask God for a sign that you’re called, because that changes everything. If you know you’re called, like God gave me this miracle with my mentor, then you can’t squander it. You can’t dilly dally around. You know, there are days you don’t feel like writing, but how can you say no to God’s calling? Unless you’re sure of that in your heart, you know, you could find a lot of better things to do. Maybe you’re just called to write one book. Maybe you’re just called to write one article, or just to tell your story in some way. Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe it’s not like a whole career in writing, but we have to learn to trust God. Ask him, “Is this something you really want me to do?” Or is this just like, “Hey, I think I’ll write a book”? How many people do you know that say that?   Karen: Every single person I’ve sat next to on a plane!   Lynn: “I have a book inside me!”   Karen: Yeah, everybody does.   Lynn: Right. But it’s God’s idea… I meet people at writers conferences and they’re there year after year after year, and they never actually get around to finishing it or submitting it for publication. They’re just playing at it.   If you ask, God will tell you, “Yes, you’re called to write.” Or, “No.” I think it’s very important to know that because then when those hard times come, the garbage bags and all that stuff, you could go back to that calling. You could say, “You’ve called me to write and I’m going to trust you in this calling.” Because there’s going to be challenges. There’s going to be doubts that we have and everything else, and that’s what really keeps you on track. If God does confirm the calling, then that’s the discipline to stay in the chair and to keep working and to not give up. Print out another copy of that manuscript and send it in a stronger box this time. I’m glad we don’t have to do that anymore, by the way! Erin: Yeah, I love what you’re saying because it’s important, especially when you have to keep on with: pursue, pursue, pursue. I don’t think you’re saying that, hey, we can’t write just because we’re creative. I mean, we can. We can write just because we’re creative, and we can write journals, and we can write whether God has told us to or not. We’re creative people.   But there’s a difference between pursuing, pursuing, pursuing because he’s called us to. And I think that’s an important distinction. I love that you’ve brought that up, that we know, if we have that call, that’s something that you keep walking through the fire for.   Lynn: It works at the end, too. Like I’ve been writing forty years or something like that now, and a lot of books. When all these changes were taking place in the publishing industry and there were changes within my publishing, I got very discouraged. I thought, “All right, maybe it’s time. Maybe God’s asking me to retire?”   I thought of other good things I could do. So again, I asked God to show me. Don’t you wish when you would ask God for an answer, he’d send you an email or a letter or something? You don’t often get that, but in this case, I really did. I got a letter in the mail and the return address was prison. When I opened it up and read this letter, it was a young woman in prison. At the top of the page, she had a quote from one of my books. In this book, somebody was going to commit suicide. She went on in this letter, saying what a dark place she was in in prison and that somehow or other at the prison she had read my book and God changed her life, and she realized she wasn’t going to commit suicide after all because of my book. She said, “Thank you so much for changing my life. I hope I can influence someone else someday.” I cry every time I read that letter, but you know, I thought, “If I wrote that book, if I had my whole career for that one person, is it worth it? Absolutely.” He will answer your prayers, and obviously I did not retire. I figured I’m going to keep writing. He sent me this letter that this book has this influence in a reader’s life. God was very gracious to show me that, to show me the result of all the hard work just in one life. Karen: Well, Lynn, this has been wonderful. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and talk with us. I got chills when you’re talking about the shofar blowing and how God used that for you. I encourage all of you who are listening, keep your eyes open to God’s confirmation. Keep your heart open to God’s confirmation and whatever it is that you feel he’s wanting you to do, say yes. It’s just that simple and just that difficult. Say yes.   Erin: Amen.   Lynn: Amen. What happens when God asks us to do something that terrifies us? @LynnNAustin is here to share the times God has done exactly that! #amwriting #ChristianWriterClick To Tweet Long Way Home by Lynn Austin  WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What is the hardest thing God has asked you to do? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! Thanks so much to our July sponsor of the month, Tammy Partlow! She’s a speaker at women’s retreats, and her debut novel Blood Beneath the Pines, a suspense set in the deep South, is now available. She’s hard at work on the next book in the series! Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 194 – When God’s Surprises Are Hard with Guest Lynn Austin, Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Sometimes it’s easy to say yes to God. We can do it almost without thinking. But what happens when God asks us to do something that terrifies us? That we know we can’t do? Guest Lynn Austin is here to share the times God has done exactly that! About Lynn Austin Lynn Austin has sold more than two million books worldwide. She has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. When she isn’t writing, Lynn can be found riding her bicycle or playing with her four grandchildren. She and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Thanks to our sponsors on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Hello, listeners. We’re glad you’re here with us. We’re continuing our interview with guest Lynn Austin, and we’re going to jump right in.  Lynn: I’m very surprised by the success that God did grant once it all took off. Very surprised by the movie. That was amazing. And meeting Shirley Jones.  Erin: How did that come about? The movie? Lynn: I was with Bethany House, and Hallmark had done another one of Bethany House’s books. They went to Bethany House and said, “Do you have any other books that you think might work for a Hallmark movie?”  I guess they gave them several, and they chose my book Hidden Places. Then the publishing company offered to fly me out there. That was when the Johnsons were there. Gary and Carol Johnson. We flew out for a day to watch the filming, and it was just surreal. Absolutely surreal. This book that’s only in your head, right? And here’s your characters. I mean, you see your characters running around talking. It was just unbelievable. That was a very pleasant surprise.  Erin: I bet you could never have imagined any of this when you got that garbage bag. You know, this was the payoff. All of that hard work, all of that sowing and sowing and sowing you did, and you didn’t reap for years. Then, just an amazing and abundant harvest, so to speak. I love how God does that.  Lynn: Even after that, God wasn’t really done with surprises. People think that if you write a book, you should be able to be a speaker. In my little hometown, different churches started asking me to come and speak at Coffee Break Bible Study. And I very humbly said, “No. I am not a speaker.”  My friend came to me and said, “Lynn, you’re a writer. You can write a speech.”  I said, “I could probably write a speech, but why don’t you give the speech?” Karen: That’s right.  Lynn: I’m very much an introvert. I’m very happy to be in my little office with my characters. I don’t need to get up in front of people. I hated speech class, every class I ever had. But this friend of mine just kept poking me. She said, “How do you know you’re not saying no to God?” Karen: Good question.  Lynn: Thank you very much.  Karen: Put your face in this, right? Lynn: Yeah. So she promised to pray for me. She had a real prayer ministry. So I started doing all these little coffee break Bible studies all around. Of course they talk to each other, and so you go to one and then the next one wants you. Pretty soon, the International Coffee Break organization asked me to come and speak at their convention. I said, “No, I don’t think so.” Again, my friend said, ” You better pray about this because this might be something God wants you to do.” She promised to come with me to this convention, and I said, “You better.” The day of the speech in the afternoon, they called me to do a sound check. I went in this auditorium, and there’s like a thousand chairs out there. They were empty, but I’m up on the platform, looking out at these empty thousand seats. I could not get a word out of my mouth. Nothing came out. Just this fear took over and just swallowed me up. I heard this voice booming, “Lynn!” And I thought, “Oh God, take me to heaven!”  But it was the sound guy. He said, “You have to say something.”  Erin: For a sound check you must make sound.  Karen: That’s right.  Lynn: My dear sweet friend comes running out with her Bible that she carries in her purse, and she opens it up to Psalms and she says, “Just read.” I’m reading in this shaky voice, “The Lord is my shepherd…”  We finished the sound check and she sweeps me off back to our room and down on our knees. ” You’ve got to pray. You’ve got to pray!”  Nothing happened. Finally it got to the point where I’m just a wreck, and I don’t know how this is ever going to happen.  Then we’re backstage when the event is starting and they wanted to pray with me, the organizers. The only thing I could pray was, “Help. God, you have to help me do this. I cannot do this by myself.”  All of a sudden, this shofar started sounding. Now, my husband’s a trumpet player, so I know the symbolism of the shofar, but it was so commanding and it was so beautiful that they stopped praying midstream. The symbolism of the shofar, it comes from when Abraham’s about to sacrifice Isaac and this ram is caught by its horns. They make the shofars out of them. For the Jewish people, it’s a symbol of how God will provide salvation, and I needed salvation at that point.  As this just went on and on and on, it was like the voice of God. He couldn’t have picked anything that was more perfect to speak to my heart that he would provide. That if he called me to do this, to speak, he was going to do it.  All of a sudden this calm went over me, and I walked out on that stage, and I gave the speech that I had written, and it was like walking on water. Erin: Wow.  Lynn: Truly. I knew I could never do this myself. But you say yes to God, and then you just keep saying yes.  I was so glad that I said yes to that. I still can’t say I love speaking, or that I’m looking for opportunities, but whenever one comes along, I say yes to it. God has taken me to so many places and so many things, and every time holds me up on the waves. Every time I can walk out and speak and not be afraid and not have that terrible fear. He always holds me up.  On one of the most recent ones, I went on a book tour to Germany. They took me to the part of Germany that had been behind the iron curtain. I was talking at a church and they were sharing with me how, before the iron curtain fell, how persecuted they were. Their children were persecuted just because the parents were Christian. They weren’t allowed to go to the good schools. They weren’t allowed a higher education.  Yet here’s this church filled with vibrant, happy people. I mean, it was packed. Again, I’m the speaker, right? I’m getting up, and I think, “What a privilege that God would allow me to do this.” Karen: Right?  Lynn: So I always say, “Keep saying yes. Even when everything in you says this isn’t gonna happen, he can use you when you yield yourself to him and when you follow what he has for you.” Karen: And when you stop focusing on your weaknesses, when you stop focusing on what you can’t do, and start focusing instead on what God can do. When I first started speaking, my very first Writers Conference that I spoke to when I worked at Tyndale was the Florida Christian Writers Conference when it was in Titusville. I had been up in front of people since I was in my young teens singing with my dad. I always threw up before I sang because I was so scared. Sure enough, before I spoke at this conference, I had to make a mad dash for the bathroom and throw up and then I could come out and do what I needed to do. But just like you, knees shaking, trembling, “…and when…you want…to be published…”  But each time when I said yes, and the more that I did it, just like you, it became a part of who I am. God takes those things that we think we can’t do, and he supplies to the point where it becomes a part of the fabric of who we are.  Lynn: Exactly.  Karen: You may not love speaking, but God has made that one thread in the tapestry of who you are so that he can utilize you to speak to others. I remember I talked to my dad once and I said, ” What if I forget the words? I’m so scared when I sing with you. What if I forget the words? Or what if I get choked up and cry?”  That was my greatest fear because the hymns and the songs that we used to sing strike to the core of me. “What if I forget the words and I start to cry?” He said, “Karen, if that happens, then God decided they didn’t need to hear you sing. They needed to see your tears.” Erin: You know what I love about this though, Lynn, is that you said yes to something that was just terrifying to you, and that you did not feel realistically that you could do. But saying yes was the only way to see the miracle. That was the only way to see that miracle happen.  When we don’t say yes to that opportunity because we’re afraid, oh my gosh, we miss seeing God do something amazing. I love that your friend made you, too. Sometimes we have such a struggle doing that on our own, and yet someone comes alongside us and intercedes for us and helps us and prays. Even the way God supplied the shofar, that’s just God up and down. Lynn: Exactly, exactly. It was so perfect.  Karen: I attended a silent retreat one year, if you can imagine that, me at a silent retreat. It was led by Robert Benson, who is just a terrific man. He had us make these life maps where we mapped out the crucial times in our lives and things that happened. It was fascinating to me because as I did that, and then as I went back and looked at it, I saw even more with hindsight than I did when it happened, God’s presence, God’s provision, God saying yes, God saying no.  I think we forget those things. I think it’s great that you have such good memories about what God has done for you because that testimony and that history for you helps you each time you’re afraid to step out and say yes, because he’s proven himself over and over and over again.  Lynn: Amen, that’s true.  Erin: We’re coming to the end of our time here. Do you have maybe any final words of wisdom you want to share? Or anything we haven’t covered yet that you want to leave for our listeners?  Lynn: I would say If you’re a writer, dare to ask God for a sign that you’re called, because that changes everything. If you know you’re called, like God gave me this miracle with my mentor, then you can’t squander it. You can’t dilly dally around. You know, there are days you don’t feel like writing, but how can you say no to God’s calling? Unless you’re sure of that in your heart, you know, you could find a lot of better things to do. Maybe you’re just called to write one book. Maybe you’re just called to write one article, or just to tell your story in some way. Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe it’s not like a whole career in writing, but we have to learn to trust God. Ask him, “Is this something you really want me to do?” Or is this just like, “Hey, I think I’ll write a book”? How many people do you know that say that?  Karen: Every single person I’ve sat next to on a plane!   Lynn: “I have a book inside me!”  Karen: Yeah, everybody does.  Lynn: Right. But it’s God’s idea… I meet people at writers conferences and they’re there year after year after year, and they never actually get around to finishing it or submitting it for publication. They’re just playing at it.  If you ask, God will tell you, “Yes, you’re called to write.” Or, “No.” I think it’s very important to know that because then when those hard times come, the garbage bags and all that stuff, you could go back to that calling. You could say, “You’ve called me to write and I’m going to trust you in this calling.” Because there’s going to be challenges. There’s going to be doubts that we have and everything else, and that’s what really keeps you on track. If God does confirm the calling, then that’s the discipline to stay in the chair and to keep working and to not give up. Print out another copy of that manuscript and send it in a stronger box this time. I’m glad we don’t have to do that anymore, by the way! Erin: Yeah, I love what you’re saying because it’s important, especially when you have to keep on with: pursue, pursue, pursue. I don’t think you’re saying that, hey, we can’t write just because we’re creative. I mean, we can. We can write just because we’re creative, and we can write journals, and we can write whether God has told us to or not. We’re creative people.  But there’s a difference between pursuing, pursuing, pursuing because he’s called us to. And I think that’s an important distinction. I love that you’ve brought that up, that we know, if we have that call, that’s something that you keep walking through the fire for.  Lynn: It works at the end, too. Like I’ve been writing forty years or something like that now, and a lot of books. When all these changes were taking place in the publishing industry and there were changes within my publishing, I got very discouraged. I thought, “All right, maybe it’s time. Maybe God’s asking me to retire?”  I thought of other good things I could do. So again, I asked God to show me. Don’t you wish when you would ask God for an answer, he’d send you an email or a letter or something? You don’t often get that, but in this case, I really did. I got a letter in the mail and the return address was prison. When I opened it up and read this letter, it was a young woman in prison. At the top of the page, she had a quote from one of my books. In this book, somebody was going to commit suicide. She went on in this letter, saying what a dark place she was in in prison and that somehow or other at the prison she had read my book and God changed her life, and she realized she wasn’t going to commit suicide after all because of my book. She said, “Thank you so much for changing my life. I hope I can influence someone else someday.” I cry every time I read that letter, but you know, I thought, “If I wrote that book, if I had my whole career for that one person, is it worth it? Absolutely.” He will answer your prayers, and obviously I did not retire. I figured I’m going to keep writing. He sent me this letter that this book has this influence in a reader’s life. God was very gracious to show me that, to show me the result of all the hard work just in one life. Karen: Well, Lynn, this has been wonderful. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and talk with us. I got chills when you’re talking about the shofar blowing and how God used that for you. I encourage all of you who are listening, keep your eyes open to God’s confirmation. Keep your heart open to God’s confirmation and whatever it is that you feel he’s wanting you to do, say yes. It’s just that simple and just that difficult. Say yes.  Erin: Amen.  Lynn: Amen. What happens when God asks us to do something that terrifies us? @LynnNAustin is here to share the times God has done exactly that! #amwriting #ChristianWriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D5141&amp;text=What%20happens%20when%20God%20asks%20us%20to%20do%20something%20that%20terrifies%20us%3F%20%40LynnNAustin%20is%20here%20to%20share%20the%20times%20God%20has%20done%20exactly%20that%21%20%23amwriting%20%23ChristianWriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <a href="https://amzn.to/3NFd2kn" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Long Way Home by Lynn Austin</a> <a href="https://amzn.to/3NFd2kn" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> What is the hardest thing God has asked you to do? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! Thanks so much to our July sponsor of the month, <a href="https://tammypartlow.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Tammy Partlow</a>! She’s a speaker at women’s retreats, and her debut novel <a href="https://amzn.to/3OAH47Y" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Blood Beneath the Pines</a>, a suspense set in the deep South, is now available. She’s hard at work on the next book in the series! Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/194-gods-surprises-lynn-austin-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">194 – When God’s Surprises Are Hard with Guest Lynn Austin, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

194 – When God’s Surprises Are Hard with Guest Lynn Austin, Part 2

We believers talk a lot about God surprising us in wonderful ways. When God does exceedingly, abundantly beyond what we imagine. But some of God’s surprises are hard. Even devastating. Guest Lynn Austin shares how God’s hard surprises have been some of the best surprises in her writing journey. About Lynn Austin Lynn Austin has sold more than two million books worldwide. She has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. When she isn’t writing, Lynn can be found riding her bicycle or playing with her four grandchildren. She and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Welcome, listeners. We are so delighted that you have joined us here in the deep, and there’s extra excitement today because we have a guest whom Karen will introduce. Karen: Our lovely guest is Lynn Austin. She’s a prolific writer, and she’s award-winning in her writing and as a speaker. She’s published twenty-three novels. You get that guys? Twenty-three novels and one nonfiction book. Her novel All She Ever Wanted was chosen as one of the five inspirational top picks of 2005.   Her novel Hidden Places was made into a movie for Hallmark Channel starring actress Shirley Jones. I just think that’s so cool that she got to meet Shirley Jones! And Shirley was nominated for a 2006 Emmy Award for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.   Recently, Erin heard Lynn speak at the Florida Christian Writers Conference and was struck by what she had to share. We asked her to join us here and share her experiences and wisdom with you. Welcome, Lynn. Lynn: Thank you. So glad to be here.   Erin: We are delighted to have you here to talk with us. We’ll start with our first and “always” question. What does the deep mean to you? Lynn: I think for me it means writing from my own wounds, my own doubts, like all the spiritual struggles I had, to not just gloss over them, but to use them in my work. And to not be afraid to ask the hard questions, confront the hard questions in my writing, like unanswered prayer. I mean, theologians battle over these. For example, why does God sometimes not answer prayer?   I don’t have the answers to that. But I have to be able to have my characters express those questions and their doubts. My most recent book, Long Way Home, tackled the Holocaust of all things for goodness sakes. How do you have answers that?   Karen: God gives you easy topics to write about.   Lynn: Yeah! But I think to go deep, you can’t be afraid to do that. You can’t be afraid to do that and to touch on your own experiences in doing it. I went through a period of unanswered prayer for probably about seven years, praying for a child and not having one. To tap into how I felt that, and to be honest about it. How I felt my arguments with God, because those are the times you grow. So I think for an author to go deep is to handle that tough stuff.   Karen: Erin and I were talking about that just before the podcast. Sometimes writers are afraid to tap into those deep places because they want to share a message, but they’re not willing to go into where their own wound is.   Lynn: Right.   Karen: As a result, the writing can be on the surface. While things are happening to the characters, things aren’t happening within the characters, and that doesn’t communicate anything to anyone. It’s just words on the page if we’re not tapping into that deep part of who we are. I have been doing gardening at this new house that we have in Washington, and there’s one rose that they had planted here that’s a type of rose that I absolutely abhor. I do not like this kind of rose.   Erin: You hear that? There’s a flower Karen doesn’t like!   Karen: I decided this thing had to die. I dug and I dug and I dug and I got down to the ball that all the shoots were coming off of. I dug out one root and then there was another root twice as big. Then there was another root that went straight into the ground. My husband brought out a Sawzall for me, you know, one of those automatic saws. I cut apart the part of the root ball where the shoots were coming up, and I was exhausted. It took days.   I know that there are still roots and there are still sections of that stinking rose down there. We need to go that deep. We need to cut that deep into what we’re doing, get to the core and the heart of who we are in order to have our books touch and change people. Lynn: Right. Sometimes I think we’re afraid to do that deep digging in our own life, so we gloss over it. But, we have to resolve these deep issues in our own life, and I think it does deepen your writing.   Erin: I love how you put it: confront and confront with honesty. I think sometimes we feel like we can’t ask that question because, you know, maybe God’s going to disappoint us. Or maybe we can’t ask it in the book because we have to somehow defend God and not let him look bad, you know? As if God can’t take care of himself. Karen: And not let us look bad. I mean, putting it on the page, people are going to think that we’ve struggled with that, so, you know, “I’m not gonna put that down there because then they’ll know that dark place inside of me that I haven’t told anyone about.” Lynn: Exactly. Erin: Very true. Well, one of the things that I loved when I was passing through at the Florida Christian Writers Conference, I heard you say something to your class about surprises on your writing journey. I was just like, “Aw, she has cool surprises. I know she does.” So I’d love to hear you share your experiences. What kind of surprises did God have in store for you on your writing journey?   Lynn: I was surprised right from the very beginning that I was called to be a writer. Because when I went to college, I was a psychology major. It never occurred to me. I was not one of these kids that has been writing ever since they’re little and make little journals.   I had a conversation with Beverly Lewis, and she said she always knew she wanted to write, and I’m like, “Eh.” I didn’t always know that. But I finally got to the place where I was so disappointed with so many books. I wanted a book with hope. I sat down one day when my babies were napping and I thought, “I’m just gonna try to see what happens when I write.” And I loved it! I figured out that God had wired me to write, because when I was a kid I was always off in my imagination. So that was the first surprise: Hey, maybe he’s calling me to do this. But then there was a long period where I struggled with it. It was a secret. I didn’t want to tell anybody that I was writing, because of course then they ask you a week later, “Hey, have you gotten your book published yet?” Karen: Right, right.   Lynn: You know, no clue at all. So, I didn’t tell anybody. My husband knew, but I would just sort of sit in the dark and write and was enjoying it more and more. I felt God say at one point, “If you really believe I’m calling you to write, you have to take a risk and call yourself a writer.” That was very hard for me because I wasn’t entirely sure. So I kind of stepped out and said, “All right. I am going to take this risk and I’m going to call myself a writer.” I was writing in my home. The kids were playing around me. I had my typewriter, that’s how old I am. My husband’s a musician. He was giving music lessons, and kids were filing in and out. This young man came in waiting for his turn and saw me working and he said, “Whatcha doing?” Well now, you know, I didn’t want to tell some sixteen-year-old kid I’m this wannabe writer, but I said to myself, “No, I’m gonna take a chance here.”   I said to him, “I’m writing a book. I’m a writer.” He didn’t laugh. He said, “That’s really cool. My mom’s a writer. You should meet her sometime.” I said, “You mom’s a writer? What kinds of things does she write?” He got a little bit shy and he said, “Well, we’re Christians, and my mom writes devotional books for a company in Chicago called Moody Press.” I was completely blown away. The next week when he came for his lessons, and his mom came with him. She turned out to be this kind of person who loved to mentor other writers. She had been doing it for a while.   Now I lived in Canada in a city of about 700,000 people and God brought probably one of the very few published Christian writers right to my door when I took this step of faith. I often wonder, “Would I be a writer? Would I have the success I’ve experienced if I hadn’t taken that step?”   But you know, I think it’s important and what I try to tell other writers is, confirm your call. Ask God to confirm it. Because there were many times in the years afterwards when I wanted to quit, but I remembered that. When I took that tiny little step of faith, he confirmed that call in such a surprising way. A trumpet student’s mother of all things!   Erin: But such a God thing, though. That is absolutely such a God thing. Those are the kinds of things we have to hang on to. Like, that’s an Ebenezer, you know? You have to write that down and remember those stones that he gave us, those promises that he fulfilled. Lynn: Right.   Erin: Because everything builds off of that. Our faith, we have to keep going back. We have to preach that to ourselves. Because there’s going to be dark roads. Long paths.   Lynn: There were a lot of those. I think what it showed me, too, is that it’s not just a matter of writing books and getting published, but that it is a spiritual journey that I’m on and that, you know, that if God could do this miracle, I mean, you gotta admit that was miracle, right? When I was starting off, she took me under her wing and mentored me and taught me everything I needed to know. Took me to writers conferences. She had a writers’ critique group. Everything I needed just right there at my doorstep. It showed me this is a spiritual journey, and that he is going to teach me along the way and coach me, and that’s what it turned out to be. It was a matter of learning to trust along the way. Karen: He’s amazing in the way that when he asks us to do something for him, he then equips us. We like to think that it’s all on us and our reaction is, like Moses, “Here am my Lord. Send Aaron! I’m not a man of clear speech. I can’t do this, but send my brother. He’s really good.” Yet God supplies every single thing we need along the way. If we just will be willing to step out one step at a time and move forward on that step. And like you said, would you have been a writer if you hadn’t taken that chance? Well, hard to tell, but God will continually pull us to do the thing that we need to do to accomplish what he has for us. Not because he needs us, but because he wants to bless us, which he has done for you in your writing. Lynn: Yeah. Starting off I didn’t know anything. I barely knew how to write. I was reading Writer’s Digest Magazine and trying to figure out writing. And here’s somebody who not only knows writing, but the whole publishing process and everything. Just anything I needed to learn about the whole thing.   Karen: Just amazing. God is good.   Erin: Right! I’m guessing that’s not the last surprise he had in store for you, though.   Lynn: No. It was a matter of learning to trust. Because it started off with such a bang and such blessings, there were a few surprises along the way of learning to trust his timing.   It had been my prayer early on that family had to come first. I didn’t want this big writing career and send my children off to nursery school so that I could write. My family came first.   I reached a point where I had a manuscript finished. This was the days before agents, and I’m sending it off and getting it back, and sending it off and getting it back. Finally a publishing company down in the United States said, “We’re interested. Send the whole manuscript.”   Which I did, and the waiting period was about a year. Waiting, waiting, and waiting, and hearing, “Okay, it’s got another committee it has to go through,” and all that.   Finally it was in the last stages of the publishing process and it was like, “You should be hearing any day.”   So I’m not leaving the house. Back in those days, the phones were hooked onto the wall, so you didn’t wanna go too far. So I’m waiting for God to open the whole world of publishing up to me. The doorbell rang. It was the mail carrier. He had a big black plastic garbage bag with my name and address taped onto it. My first thought was, “Somebody’s sending me garbage? I guess I don’t have enough of my own?” I opened it up and inside was my manuscript, and the box that I had mailed it in, which had burst open somewhere in a post office along the way. They very kindly shoveled all these pages of my manuscript into this bag. I’m looking through them, and some had tire tracks on them and footprints on them, just this whole mess, and this disintegrated box. In the bottom of the box was a letter and it said, “We’re sorry, but we’ve decided not to publish your book.”   Karen: Oh my.   Erin: That’s painful.   Lynn: It was very painful. I knew God had the power in his little finger to get a yes, and I’d be off and running. I guess I was surprised by that. I mean, it could have been rejected, but to come in a garbage bag? You know, what are you gonna think?   Karen: The symbolism there. It’s just a little too hard to ignore.   Lynn: It was not lost on me, believe me. I’m asking for answers, “Lord, why, why, why?” Within a week or two of this devastation, I was still very depressed. We were leaving on a family vacation. We were going from Canada down through the US and my husband wanted to stop at every national park along the way.   Erin: Oh, fun! Lynn: I’m viewing all these great wonders of nature, and just looking up at them and still going, “Why, God, why? Why?”   I wasn’t feeling any answers. When I got home from this vacation, I was putting all the pictures in the photo album. Remember when we used to do that? Real photo albums? I’m looking at all these pictures side by side, the giant redwoods, and the Tetons, and the Rocky Mountains. I realized God had been shouting at me all that time that he makes all things beautiful in his time, and that this just wasn’t the time yet.   Now what, how many years later? Forty years later I can say that, yes, I would’ve had to sacrifice family life and a lot of other things if that book had been published at that time. But at that moment, I didn’t know.   To see all those God-given things and at that point, did I have the faith? Did I have the trust? I’m sorry to say I didn’t, because I realized that even if I started the process all over again and printed out another manuscript and started sending it off, it could be a year. So without praying about it, without thinking about it, I was in a little tantrum, I took a teaching job. By then my youngest kid was in school, so I went and took a teaching job. That was the worst teaching job. Worst job I’ve ever had. There was so much stress. Three different times I was in the doctor’s office with three different ailments, and every time they said, “Are you under a lot of stress?” I happened upon the book of Jonah, and I thought, “You know, I think I’m headed in the wrong direction. I think I’m in the belly of the whale with this job.” I was surprised yet happy that he would go so far to redirect me if I would listen. And I listened. This wasn’t right, and when the contract was up the end of the year, I said, “All right, I’m gonna give this my all again. Go full bore.” It’s learning to trust that even the bad things, the garbage bags he sends, are for a reason and to keep going.   Erin: It’s so interesting because we always think surprises are good. But sometimes surprises are hard.   Lynn: Very hard.   Erin: And we’re just not as prepared for them. I think that’s probably one of the biggest surprises even that I had as a new writer. It’s hard. Oh!   Lynn: It’s very hard.   Erin: If I’m supposed to do this, it should be easy. Surprise. It’s not. It’s hard.   Karen: The other thing that we forget is that those hard surprises, those surprises we don’t really want, those are God’s answer. We could be saying, “God, why didn’t you answer my prayer?” And God’s like, “I did. I just didn’t answer it the way you want it.” Lynn: Right, and if you give two conflicting prayers: you want a family life that isn’t gonna change and you want a successful career, you have to leave it up to him to figure out which one.   Karen: I think that’s why my husband and I both have glommed onto the prayer request that says, “I know nothing but Christ and him crucified. The rest is all God’s. God can handle all the other details. I know nothing but Christ and him crucified. That’s what I’m holding on to. Lord, your will be done. I may not like it. I may not understand it, but your will be done here.” Erin: I love that because you’re praying like two different things. You’re wanting two different things and it’s like, how are we not gonna be disappointed? It’s kind of a no win situation.   Lynn: Right.   Karen: No, but there is a win. The win is that you, you submit.   Erin: Yes.   Karen: You surrender, and you accept that as his answer and then look forward to what he has for you next.   Lynn: Right.   Karen: So you don’t end up in a teaching job that sends you on Prozac. Lynn: I’m telling you, you ever end up in the belly of the whale, it’s not a pretty place to be. You turn around and get spit out. I guess that I was learning, too, that I had this image in my mind of what my writing career would look like. At the time we had Janette Oak and we had Bodie Taney and you see the trajectory of their career, and I had to get to the point where I asked, “Do I want that this image, this idol, really, or am I gonna accept what his will is for my career?”   Karen: Right.   Lynn: So I was over forty before my first book got published. But that was his answer.   Karen: Wow. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had chills and been inspired. It’s just been a terrific time. It’s been so good, we’re going to do it again in part two, in our next podcast. Be sure to come and join us.  Why does God send us surprises that seem far more hard than good? Guest @LynnNAustin shares how her hardest surprises were the best of all. #amwriting #ChristianwriterClick To Tweet Long Way Home by Lynn Austin  WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Has God sent you any hard surprises on your writing journey? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! Thanks so much to our July sponsor of the month, Tammy Partlow! She’s a speaker at women’s retreats, and her debut novel Blood Beneath the Pines, a suspense set in the deep South, is now available. She’s hard at work on the next book in the series! Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 193 When God’s Surprises Are Hard with Guest Lynn Austin, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

193 When God’s Surprises Are Hard with Guest Lynn Austin, Part 1

Becca Wierwille

192 – Why Story Matters with Guest Becca Wierwille

Voice. Clarity. Dialogue. Character development. Hook. All of these, and so much more, are important for a strong book. But they’re not the most important. Not for a book written from a Christian worldview. So what is the most important element? Hope! Listen in to find out why your job as a writer is critical in this world. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! As writers, you’ve probably learned that there are many important elements in a good manuscript. Things like plot, character, conflict, a great hook, voice, authenticity, anecdotes, dialogue, arc, and so much more. But for a manuscript written from a Christian worldview, which element is the most important one? Is there one most important element? Yes. There is, but it’s none of those mentioned. If you’re writing from a Christian perspective, the most important thing you have to bring to the world is hope. Why? Hope is the foundation of everything we believe as Christians, and everything we have to offer to the world. What is hope? What even is hope? How do we define it?  Poet Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.”  That feels good. It evokes a positive sensation. When readers finish a manuscript written from a Christian worldview, there should be a positive sensation. Even in the midst of something sorrowful. But this definition is non-specific. We can’t try to foster something non-specific in a manuscript, right? Other than a positive sensation.   Psychiatrist Neel Burton in an article in Psychology today defines hope like this: “…Hope is a desire for something combined with an anticipation of it happening. It is, in other words, the anticipation of something desired.”  If someone desires something, that implies that they don’t have everything they want right now, or that everything isn’t exactly perfect. That’s the world we live in.  Counseling Psychologist Kim Bailey said in an interview with Erin that hope, on a more personal-improvement level, is the belief that, “I can gain ground this side of heaven.”  And we need to gain ground, don’t we? We don’t want to live our lives stuck in the same place. But perhaps one of simplest ways for us as writers to think about hope is how a sociologist put it—a sociologist who happens to be Erin’s husband.   Hope is: “How the future can be better than today.”  Sociologist Alan Young  That evokes that positive sensation, but it’s a bit more specific in how. This is the kind of hope We’re talking about—how the future can be better than today.  Hope portrayed in fiction How many of you listeners write fiction? What kind of fiction are readers interested in? The kind where the characters all have a great life with no pain, trials, or struggles? No. Happy people in Happy Land is not interesting. Or real. Readers want to see characters struggle. And toil. And fight against all odds…and overcome! Why? Readers experience that with the characters, the struggle the danger, the disasters, and then the victory. Readers live it vicariously. What does it become inside that reader? Hope. The future can be better than today. Hope portrayed in nonfiction How many of you listeners write nonfiction? You’re not writing memoirs that end in a place of despair and discouragement. That’s a therapeutic journal, and that’s good to do, but it’s not something you want to publish. You write the book for readers when you find the key to overcoming the discouragement, when you’ve gained wisdom to share. And you’re not writing prescriptive books that are like, “Yeah, I know the place you find yourself in stinks. Sorry, I don’t know how to fix that.” That’s not prescriptive. Those are not the type of books hurting people are looking for. You’re not writing how-to articles to keep people in ignorance. You’re not writing poetry to make people feel awful inside and never point the way out of that? No, even if we start by saying hard things, we want people to think and grow and change, and move toward some positive outcome.  We want readers to expand their minds and look at possibilities and be inspired that the future can be better than today. As Christians, hope infuses us. In Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible, The Message, he wrote this in the introduction to 1 &amp; 2 Thessalonians: “The Christian faith has always been characterized by a strong and focused sense of future, with belief in the second coming of Jesus as the most distinctive feature…The practical effect of this belief is to charge each moment of the present with hope.”  This is who we are and what we do. We’re Christian writers and we have an unswerving belief that the future will be better than today. We portray this message over and over and over again in our novels, our memoirs, our how-to articles, our devotionals. We want people to grow and learn and move forward. The big picture of hope If a book is going to reflect a Christian worldview, it has to reflect the hope of God’s overall plan of redemption for humanity and all creation. Look at the big picture to see how hope is the underlying foundation. In the beginning, God created the universe and everything in it according to his perfectly ordered design. Everyone was in a right relationship with God and each other.  Then we sinned and broke everything. God told Adam, “…Cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” Genesis 3:17 In God’s perfect time, Christ comes and changes everything. His life on this earth, his death on the cross, and his resurrection create reconciliation for us. This is where we live, reconciled, yet not having obtained the future perfection waiting for us in heaven. For now, we’re still here dealing with the consequences of the fall. But we know God’s redemption plan is moving toward its ultimate fulfillment of the new heavens and new earth, where original perfection is restored. That’s the hope. But we’re not there yet. We’re dealing with painful toil. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Why? We persevere because of our hope. It’s not because we’re amazing and mighty people, but because we’re weak and dependent on the God who is Lord of all. We persevere because God’s commitment to US is unwavering. He’s lifting us. He’s sustaining us. He’s giving us the life and breath to carry on. He sees the grand design, the big picture. And he sees each individual component—every person, every tear, every heart break, every crushing wound. And God does not waver in his commitment to us. He will not fail to sustain us. That is our hope. And this is the message he gives us for the world: “The future can be better than today.” Because we have a God who will make it so, who IS making it so. With every word we write, we forge hope, because hope is at the core of everything we believe. A world without hope Do you know what happens when someone has no hope? Pastor and author Ray Johnston puts it like this. He writes:  “When people lose hope, they lose their ability to dream for the future. Despair replaces joy. Fear replaces faith. Anxiety replaces prayer. Insecurity replaces confidence. Tomorrow’s dreams are replaced by nightmares. It’s a lousy way to live.” How many people are living like that right now? Psychiatrist Neel Burton writes “…hopelessness is both a cause and a symptom of depression, and, within the context of depression, a strong predictor of suicide.” Do you see what an important role you have? You’re hope-bringers. You’re truth-tellers. Why is this truth, this hope that we as Christians have important? Because false hope is rampant in this world. Scientology, Buddhism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Islam, just to name a few. The Bible tells us these are false hopes that lead to hell. Then just watch TV for ten minutes. You’ll find “hope” for sale. Beer. Toothpaste. Perfume. Pretty cars. Deodorant. Dating apps. Diamonds. They all promise a lifestyle of satisfied desires. Remember that hope can be the anticipation of something desired? But that’s ultimately false hope. It’s empty. Why? Because none of those things can deliver what God has designed for him and him alone to be, to deliver, and to satisfy. Psalm 65:5 tells us that God is “the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” God. Not shiny trinkets. We’re not saying toothpaste and deodorant is bad, by the way. Please continue to use it. But that’s not going to take away the pain of a lost child, or heal the deep wound of rape or betrayal or abuse. It won’t help anyone break the spiral of addiction or debt. It’s not going to inspire anyone to take a stand against human trafficking, oppression, or injustice, or any of the other great evils in this world. Take your pick, there are plenty to choose from. False hope is rampant, so we as Christian writers cannot keep silent. You guys, through your authentic words on the page, through your stories, Bible studies, articles, biographies, essays, poems, songs, and more—all those things that God puts in you are part of God’s master plan for you, for the body of Christ, AND for the whole world. You have a purpose and a job. You’re heralds of hope. True hope. You don’t have to have some character in your novel spelling out the four spiritual laws. You don’t have to have them preach. You don’t have to somehow turn your homeschooling article into a Bible study. But you do have to understand what your bottom-line perspective is. Think of it as the overarching theme of your collective body of work. I love how author and editor Susan Bell defines theme. She says, “It’s an idea written in invisible ink on the back of your text.” Hope is what’s written on our lives as Christians. Hope is what’s written across the pages of our manuscripts. Hope is what you’re getting up at 5AM to write, or staying up late after the kids are in bed, or what you’re dictating during your coffee break, or on your exercise bike, or what you’re wrestling with on your commute. And we do mean wrestling. We all know—or will find out soon enough—that this is not an easy job. It’s hard. Learning the craft is hard. Facing rejection is hard. Being vulnerable on the page is hard. Dealing with disappointments and detours on your writing journey is hard. Sometimes it’s so hard we’re in danger of losing hope ourselves. That’s when we go back to God and his unwavering commitment to us. To equip us for his purposes. To sustain us and carry us. Remember the parallel storylines of redemption amidst the fall. We have hope. But we’ve got to preach the message to ourselves first and foremost. Then do not fear to walk through deep valleys with God. Don’t run when things get hard. Don’t try to hide, because your struggles refine you. They prepare you. They give you purpose and understanding. God does all that through your trials. You can acknowledge struggles and give them voice. You write about pain. You expose lies and write truth. Your insights help you both HAVE hope and SHOW hope through the characters in your novels overcoming. Through your how-to articles. Through your personal experience stories. Whatever you write. But also through whatever you say. Whatever you do. Whoever you are. Please understand that it doesn’t matter whether you’re writing for thousands or just for you and God. In your work, God works in you, and it is good. Your labor is never in vain. Your writing turns you into a person who radiates hope. True hope for a world bombarded with false hope. A world that needs you doing what you’ve been gifted to do, being what you’ve been gifted to be.  Hope bringers. Truth tellers. Heralds. We’ve probably all seen, heard, or read this verse before, but look at it again in the light of knowing that you are a hope bringer. God says to you: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 Share that hope with your readers. Live that hope with everyone you know. The future can—and will—be better than today. The most important element in your writing isn’t what you think it is. #amwriting #christianwriterClick To Tweet WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Does being a hope bringer inspire hope in you? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! Thanks so much to our June sponsor of the month, Wendy L. Macdonald. She’s a writer, poet, podcaster, photographer, and nature lover, and she’s offering a free gift we can all use: 10 Good Habits to Help You Become a Great Listener! Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 191 – Christian Writers As Hope Bringers appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Voice. Clarity. Dialogue. Character development. Hook. All of these, and so much more, are important for a strong book. But they’re not the most important. Not for a book written from a Christian worldview. So what is the most important element? Hope! Listen in to find out why your job as a writer is critical in this world. But first, thank you to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! As writers, you’ve probably learned that there are many important elements in a good manuscript. Things like plot, character, conflict, a great hook, voice, authenticity, anecdotes, dialogue, arc, and so much more. But for a manuscript written from a Christian worldview, which element is the most important one? Is there one most important element? Yes. There is, but it’s none of those mentioned. If you’re writing from a Christian perspective, the most important thing you have to bring to the world is hope. Why? Hope is the foundation of everything we believe as Christians, and everything we have to offer to the world. <h5>What is hope?</h5> What even is hope? How do we define it? <ul> <li>Poet Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.”</li> </ul> That feels good. It evokes a positive sensation. When readers finish a manuscript written from a Christian worldview, there should be a positive sensation. Even in the midst of something sorrowful. But this definition is non-specific. We can’t try to foster something non-specific in a manuscript, right? Other than a positive sensation.  <ul> <li>Psychiatrist Neel Burton in an<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201411/what-hope" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> article in Psychology today</a> defines hope like this: “…Hope is a desire for something combined with an anticipation of it happening. It is, in other words, the anticipation of something desired.”</li> </ul> If someone desires something, that implies that they don’t have everything they want right now, or that everything isn’t exactly perfect. That’s the world we live in. <ul> <li>Counseling Psychologist Kim Bailey said in an interview with Erin that hope, on a more personal-improvement level, is the belief that, “I can gain ground this side of heaven.”</li> </ul> And we need to gain ground, don’t we? We don’t want to live our lives stuck in the same place. But perhaps one of simplest ways for us as writers to think about hope is how a sociologist put it—a sociologist who happens to be Erin’s husband. <ul> <li>Hope is: “How the future can be better than today.”  Sociologist Alan Young</li> </ul> That evokes that positive sensation, but it’s a bit more specific in how. This is the kind of hope We’re talking about—how the future can be better than today. <h5>Hope portrayed in fiction</h5> How many of you listeners write fiction? What kind of fiction are readers interested in? The kind where the characters all have a great life with no pain, trials, or struggles? No. Happy people in Happy Land is not interesting. Or real. Readers want to see characters struggle. And toil. And fight against all odds…and overcome! Why? Readers experience that with the characters, the struggle the danger, the disasters, and then the victory. Readers live it vicariously. What does it become inside that reader? Hope. The future can be better than today. <h5>Hope portrayed in nonfiction</h5> How many of you listeners write nonfiction? You’re not writing memoirs that end in a place of despair and discouragement. That’s a therapeutic journal, and that’s good to do, but it’s not something you want to publish. You write the book for readers when you find the key to overcoming the discouragement, when you’ve gained wisdom to share. And you’re not writing prescriptive books that are like, “Yeah, I know the place you find yourself in stinks. Sorry, I don’t know how to fix that.” That’s not prescriptive. Those are not the type of books hurting people are looking for. You’re not writing how-to articles to keep people in ignorance. You’re not writing poetry to make people feel awful inside and never point the way out of that? No, even if we start by saying hard things, we want people to think and grow and change, and move toward some positive outcome.  We want readers to expand their minds and look at possibilities and be inspired that the future can be better than today. As Christians, hope infuses us. In Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible, The Message, he wrote this in the introduction to 1 &amp; 2 Thessalonians: “The Christian faith has always been characterized by a strong and focused sense of future, with belief in the second coming of Jesus as the most distinctive feature…The practical effect of this belief is to charge each moment of the present with hope.”  This is who we are and what we do. We’re Christian writers and we have an unswerving belief that the future will be better than today. We portray this message over and over and over again in our novels, our memoirs, our how-to articles, our devotionals. We want people to grow and learn and move forward. <h5>The big picture of hope</h5> If a book is going to reflect a Christian worldview, it has to reflect the hope of God’s overall plan of redemption for humanity and all creation. Look at the big picture to see how hope is the underlying foundation. In the beginning, God created the universe and everything in it according to his perfectly ordered design. Everyone was in a right relationship with God and each other. Then we sinned and broke everything. God told Adam, “…Cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.” Genesis 3:17 In God’s perfect time, Christ comes and changes everything. His life on this earth, his death on the cross, and his resurrection create reconciliation for us. This is where we live, reconciled, yet not having obtained the future perfection waiting for us in heaven. For now, we’re still here dealing with the consequences of the fall. But we know God’s redemption plan is moving toward its ultimate fulfillment of the new heavens and new earth, where original perfection is restored. That’s the hope. But we’re not there yet. We’re dealing with painful toil. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Why? We persevere because of our hope. It’s not because we’re amazing and mighty people, but because we’re weak and dependent on the God who is Lord of all. We persevere because God’s commitment to US is unwavering. He’s lifting us. He’s sustaining us. He’s giving us the life and breath to carry on. He sees the grand design, the big picture. And he sees each individual component—every person, every tear, every heart break, every crushing wound. And God does not waver in his commitment to us. He will not fail to sustain us. That is our hope. And this is the message he gives us for the world: “The future can be better than today.” Because we have a God who will make it so, who IS making it so. With every word we write, we forge hope, because hope is at the core of everything we believe. <h5>A world without hope</h5> Do you know what happens when someone has no hope? Pastor and author <a href="http://hopequotient.com/blog/category/hope/page/2/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Ray Johnston</a> puts it like this. He writes: “When people lose hope, they lose their ability to dream for the future. Despair replaces joy. Fear replaces faith. Anxiety replaces prayer. Insecurity replaces confidence. Tomorrow’s dreams are replaced by nightmares. It’s a lousy way to live.” How many people are living like that right now? Psychiatrist Neel Burton<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201411/what-hope" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> writes</a> “…hopelessness is both a cause and a symptom of depression, and, within the context of depression, a strong predictor of suicide.” Do you see what an important role you have? You’re hope-bringers. You’re truth-tellers. Why is this truth, this hope that we as Christians have important? Because false hope is rampant in this world. Scientology, Buddhism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Islam, just to name a few. The Bible tells us these are false hopes that lead to hell. Then just watch TV for ten minutes. You’ll find “hope” for sale. Beer. Toothpaste. Perfume. Pretty cars. Deodorant. Dating apps. Diamonds. They all promise a lifestyle of satisfied desires. Remember that hope can be the anticipation of something desired? But that’s ultimately false hope. It’s empty. Why? Because none of those things can deliver what God has designed for him and him alone to be, to deliver, and to satisfy. Psalm 65:5 tells us that God is “the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” God. Not shiny trinkets. We’re not saying toothpaste and deodorant is bad, by the way. Please continue to use it. But that’s not going to take away the pain of a lost child, or heal the deep wound of rape or betrayal or abuse. It won’t help anyone break the spiral of addiction or debt. It’s not going to inspire anyone to take a stand against human trafficking, oppression, or injustice, or any of the other great evils in this world. Take your pick, there are plenty to choose from. False hope is rampant, so we as Christian writers cannot keep silent. You guys, through your authentic words on the page, through your stories, Bible studies, articles, biographies, essays, poems, songs, and more—all those things that God puts in you are part of God’s master plan for you, for the body of Christ, AND for the whole world. You have a purpose and a job. You’re heralds of hope. True hope. You don’t have to have some character in your novel spelling out the four spiritual laws. You don’t have to have them preach. You don’t have to somehow turn your homeschooling article into a Bible study. But you do have to understand what your bottom-line perspective is. Think of it as the overarching theme of your collective body of work. I love how author and editor Susan Bell defines theme. She says, “It’s an idea written in invisible ink on the back of your text.” Hope is what’s written on our lives as Christians. Hope is what’s written across the pages of our manuscripts. Hope is what you’re getting up at 5AM to write, or staying up late after the kids are in bed, or what you’re dictating during your coffee break, or on your exercise bike, or what you’re wrestling with on your commute. And we do mean wrestling. We all know—or will find out soon enough—that this is not an easy job. It’s hard. Learning the craft is hard. Facing rejection is hard. Being vulnerable on the page is hard. Dealing with disappointments and detours on your writing journey is hard. Sometimes it’s so hard we’re in danger of losing hope ourselves. That’s when we go back to God and his unwavering commitment to us. To equip us for his purposes. To sustain us and carry us. Remember the parallel storylines of redemption amidst the fall. We have hope. But we’ve got to preach the message to ourselves first and foremost. Then do not fear to walk through deep valleys with God. Don’t run when things get hard. Don’t try to hide, because your struggles refine you. They prepare you. They give you purpose and understanding. God does all that through your trials. You can acknowledge struggles and give them voice. You write about pain. You expose lies and write truth. Your insights help you both HAVE hope and SHOW hope through the characters in your novels overcoming. Through your how-to articles. Through your personal experience stories. Whatever you write. But also through whatever you say. Whatever you do. Whoever you are. Please understand that it doesn’t matter whether you’re writing for thousands or just for you and God. In your work, God works in you, and it is good. Your labor is never in vain. Your writing turns you into a person who radiates hope. True hope for a world bombarded with false hope. A world that needs you doing what you’ve been gifted to do, being what you’ve been gifted to be. Hope bringers. Truth tellers. Heralds. We’ve probably all seen, heard, or read this verse before, but look at it again in the light of knowing that you are a hope bringer. God says to you: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 Share that hope with your readers. Live that hope with everyone you know. The future can—and will—be better than today. The most important element in your writing isn’t what you think it is. #amwriting #christianwriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D5089&amp;text=The%20most%20important%20element%20in%20your%20writing%20isn%E2%80%99t%20what%20you%20think%20it%20is.%20%23amwriting%20%23christianwriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> Does being a hope bringer inspire hope in you? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! Thanks so much to our June sponsor of the month,<a href="http://www.wendylmacdonald.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> Wendy L. Macdonald</a>. She’s a writer, poet, podcaster, photographer, and nature lover, and she’s offering a free gift we can all use:<a href="https://mailchi.mp/193cec827b45/10-good-habits-to-help-you-become-a-great-listener-giveaway" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> 10 Good Habits to Help You Become a Great Listener</a>! Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/191-christian-writers-as-hope-bringers/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">191 – Christian Writers As Hope Bringers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

191 – Christian Writers As Hope Bringers

As we discussed in part one of the Writer’s Psalm, emotions are a natural, God-given part of life. But they also can lead us astray if we’re not careful. Especially when things on our writing journey don’t go the way we’d hoped or planned. So what do you do when you feel God has abandoned you? Come explore the rest of Psalm 42 to find out. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! In episode 189, part one on Psalm 42, which we’ve dubbed the writer’s psalm, we ended with the truth that emotions have a way of ebbing and flowing. How often have you felt down one day, thinking it’s time to hang up your keyboard, and the next you wonder why on earth you were so despondent? No, it doesn’t mean you’re bipolar. It simply means you’re experiencing the normal emotional ebb and flow of being a writer. And just when we think we’ve dealt with those emotions, something else happens. As it did with David.   “My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!” Psalm 42:4 There’s another of Satan’s tactics: encouraging us to focus on the rearview mirror. If you’ve been in publishing for a while, and especially if you experienced some success—success that seems far too long ago—the enemy loves to come whisper in your ear about how it used to be:  “Remember how things were when you first started? How exciting it all was. How the newness of writing and being published had you waking to each day with anticipation? Even joy? How you felt so fulfilled? Well…all that’s gone now. So what was the point? You’ve wasted time and money that should have been used better…”  This tactic is so very effective, isn’t it? Especially with the changes happening in publishing over the last several years. It often seems so much harder now. And many of us have lost contracts, or can’t seem to find someone who wants to give us a new contract. Or maybe we decide to go indie, but that, we discover, has its own big pile of difficulties. Why can’t it be like it was? Oh, friends, remember how we’ve warned you against comparing yourself to others? Well, comparing where you are now to where you used to be, letting that comparison stir up a sense of defeat and discouragement, longing for what was doesn’t help with what is. Not. Ever.  If you’re tempted to do that, go instead with the next several verses of Psalm 42 and say with David:  “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” Psalm 42:5  Acknowledging who God is in the here and now is a powerful weapon against Satan’s lies. So please, every day, every time you feel the enemy tickling your ears and spirit, ask yourself one question. Because the answer will send the enemy and his forces scrambling away:  Who is God to me? Is he Elohim, the One and only true God? The Master Creator? No one is more trustworthy. No one else is Sovereign. There is no other God but him.  Is he Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd? The One who watches over me, guarding me from all enemies? The one who fights to save me from predators like Satan? Whose staff will always guide and protect me? Is he Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord my provider? The One who meets all my needs, no matter what they are? The One who has never let his own go hungry or be lost? The One who provided us with a way to escape sin and death? Is he Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord my healer? God told Moses right out, “I am the Lord who heals you.” He will heal you on every front in his time, in his way. He will heal you of being downcast. Just keep your eyes and heart on him.  Is he Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord my Banner? He is the Visible God who is seen in our lives. He is the sign to all, especially Satan, that we belong to him. As our banner, God lets everyone know HE is with us, our protection and shield, and they will try to do us harm at their own spiritual and eternal peril. Remember Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon formed against you shall succeed.” Is he Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, the Lord my sanctifier? He makes me holy. I don’t do that. I can’t do that. But Jehovah-M’Kaddesh has already done it! He has given us his Holy Spirit for that very reason. How do you disperse being downcast? Come before him and ask for more holiness. Ask for the strength to see past what seems to be until your vision matches his for what is, and what will be in him! Is he Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord my peace? Strong’s Concordance tells us that shalom means completeness, soundness, welfare. When the Lord is our peace, we are complete. We are sound in him, not to be shaken. Our welfare is in HIS hands. What better place could it be? Is he Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord Who Is Righteous? It’s frightening for many to even think of being attacked by Satan and his followers. But friends, there is no reason for fear! Not when we’re covered in the Lord’s holy righteousness. Not when Jehovah-Tsidkenu holds us in his righteous hands and his holiness is an impenetrable barrier between us and the ruler of this world. A ruler who is already defeated by God’s righteousness.  Is he Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord who is there? Oh, how I love this one! My Lord is here. With me. Whether I feel it or not, whether my emotions recognize it or not, The God of the Universe is with me! He is near to you even now. He is ever present. You are never alone, friends. Never.  Let’s pick up with Psalm 42 again, finishing verse 6: “Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.” Psalm 42:6 Here is such good news! Being downcast is temporary! When David says, “Now I am deeply discouraged,” he doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say, “but I will remember you!”  Being downcast is a feeling, an emotion. And feelings or emotions change. They may last for a few hours or days, or even for a season. It’s only a matter of time until it passes.  Keep in mind that emotions, even unwanted ones like being downcast, have significance and purpose. Otherwise why would God have given them to us? Having an underlying sense of sadness, of being downcast, can be a trigger for you to realize that something’s not quite right. It helps to explore the root of those emotions. When we understand what we’re feeling and why, we can take steps to feel better.  For example, a few weeks ago I was moping around the house. Don, my hubby, asked me what was wrong. I looked at him and said, “I’m depressed.”  Now, I wasn’t talking about true depression. What I meant was I was feeling down. Like something just wasn’t quite right. We talked about it and I realized we’ve had far too many gray, rainy days lately.  Don and I have always turned off the lights if we’re not in a room. Why pay for electricity that isn’t needed? But I realized I was missing sunshine and light! So we agreed that when the days are gray, we’ll keep more lights on and pull the window blinds up to let in as much light as possible. Within a few days, I was back to being cheerful, laughing at the antics of the birds and squirrels in my yard, and savoring God’s goodness.  Not all causes of being downcast are easy to discern. But ask God to open your eyes to why you’re feeling as you are. Sometimes, you can make changes to lift the gloom. Other times, you need to wait on God to release you from these emotions. Whatever the case, it is temporary! Sometimes it lasts for days. Sometimes it lasts for a season. But, it will pass.  Don and I recently visited Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. On the ferry ride to the island, I was struck by the varying currents, swirls, and white caps on the surface of the waters of the Puget Sound. I couldn’t help but wonder what was beneath the waters that caused these different actions, some within feet of each other. Was there some obstacle down there? Or was it caused by some fish or whales or orcas? Or could it just be a difference in water temperature?  But here’s what I loved: Whatever the underlying cause, the ferry just kept gliding along the surface, not the least bit bothered by the various whirlpools, white caps, or whatever. That vessel was built to ride the surface and keep moving forward.  Just remember times of being downcast are often based on how things seem to be. Or even worse, wondering what’s happening until you grow afraid that maybe…just maybe…God has left you on your own. But the reality is that while we may not know where God is leading us, or why, what we do know, without a doubt, is that he IS leading us. And these downcast feelings will pass in the light of his truth.  David starts to understand that with the next verses… “I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.” Psalm 42:7-8 In this moment, David’s soul isn’t downcast! It’s focused on God, on praising and worshiping Him. When you struggle, take hold of two of the most powerful tools in your arsenal: praise and worship.  We’ve talked about praise and worship in other podcasts, but let’s review a few things here: God is the only One worthy of true praise. And the praise we give God isn’t like praising someone for doing a good job. It’s not based on what we think of God. It’s based on WHO God is.  Webster’s defines praise as a number of things—commending excellence, expressing approval, honoring others—but the praise due to God is different. In fact, that praise gets this definition from Webster’s: “The act of glorifying …God.”  Here are a few of the definitions of glorify: to make glorious : surround with glory : secure honor, praise, or admiration for  to exalt to a state of glory   to throw a resplendent light upon : make splendid with light.  Resplendent. I love that word. It means lustrous. Shining with brilliant light. Imagine entering a darkened room, then someone turns on a number of large, sparkling chandeliers. I’ve seen that, and the glorious beauty of it is almost a shock. It takes your breath away, and then fills you with delight.  Now think: How much more resplendent is God? How much more glorious? How much more worthy than any thing or any one of our praise and worship? When you find yourself slipping into being downcast, jump instead into praise and worship just like these verses say: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians1:3-4 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Hebrews 13:15 NIV Then there’s this blockbuster in Isaiah 25:  “LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago… You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners (and critical readers and reviewers and naysayers!) as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.” Isaiah 25:1,4-5 Do you hear that? “The song of the ruthless.” We like to think the enemy’s voice will be easily recognized because it’s full of evil, but remember, Satan is the deceiver. He will seem to sing to you, to woo you with a refrain of all you deserve but aren’t getting. The ruthless one will sing condemnation with the voice of an angel and the words of trickery. Don’t be fooled! Isaiah 25 goes on: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’” Isaiah 25:6-9 Remember that old saying, “God said and I believe it!” God has said you are precious to him. Believe it! God has said he will never leave you or forsake you. Believe it! God has said he loves us so much he sent his beloved Son to die for us, to restore us to himself. Believe it. Friends, if God has said you are a writer, then God has spoken. Believe it!! But David’s downcast state isn’t over yet, because right on the heels of Psalm 42:7-8 comes verses 9-10: “’O God my rock,’ I cry, ‘why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?’ Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” See? Same old tactics. Mockery. Unrealized expectations. Taunting. How often have you heard people say things like: “If God is real, why is the world in such a mess?” “Why are so many people starving and suffering?” “Where is this God of yours when nations attack nations, slaughtering innocents.” “If God is so great and so loving, why did the person I love die an agonizing death?”  “If God cares about me, why do I have cancer?” Let’s face it, there are a lot of reasons to doubt God exists. Lots of reasons for people to mock us and our faith. Lots of reasons to doubt God and us.  The enemy takes advantage of the most punishing reasons to derail us from doing whatever task God has given us. Good night! Satan doesn’t want us doing God’s work! He doesn’t want us ignoring him and just trusting God.  Satan is so determined to get us downcast that he uses those around us, even those who know us best, to mock and taunt and undermine us in doing the work God has given us. Because when we fall prey to all that, when we become downcast, we can’t see what God’s doing.  Or maybe it’s more that we aren’t looking for what God is doing. All the hard, negative things are so much more obvious. But God? So often he works in the background. Even in silence. Which seems so counter-intuitive to us. With all his power, all his glory, why isn’t everyone aware of what he’s doing? Remember when Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God? How did God speak to him? In a still small voice. You see, that’s the thing with true power. It doesn’t have to blare its existence. It just is. God’s power is there, and it’s working for the good of all his children. For you.  As we come to the end of Psalm 42, it seems David has learned that as soon as he heads back into being downcast, here comes the solution: truth! “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! My Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11  Say those words out loud! My Savior and my God.  Our hope is in him. Our joy and fulfillment and peace and wonder…everything we need and could ever want is all in HIM.  Psalm 146 is the the perfect response, to that truth:  “Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people (publishers, editors, reviewers, sales teams, marketers, producers…none of them deserve your confidence. ONLY God does); there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly…The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God…throughout the generations. Praise the Lord!” Feeling down? Let the Writer’s Psalm lift your spirits! #amwriting #christianwriterClick To Tweet WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! In what ways does David’s psalm inspire you as a writer? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! A huge thank you to our May sponsor of the month, Priscilla Sharrow! She’s working on her memoir called Bonked! Life, Love, and Laughter with Traumatic Brain Injury, which will release with Redemption Press. Learn more about Priscilla at her website priscillasharrow.com and follow her blog for the TBI/PTSD community. Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download.   The post 190 – The Writer’s Psalm, Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

As we discussed in <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/189-the-writers-psalm-part-1/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">part one of the Writer’s Psalm</a>, emotions are a natural, God-given part of life. But they also can lead us astray if we’re not careful. Especially when things on our writing journey don’t go the way we’d hoped or planned. So what do you do when you feel God has abandoned you? Come explore the rest of Psalm 42 to find out. But first, thank you to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! In <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/189-the-writers-psalm-part-1/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">episode 189</a>, part one on Psalm 42, which we’ve dubbed the writer’s psalm, we ended with the truth that emotions have a way of ebbing and flowing. How often have you felt down one day, thinking it’s time to hang up your keyboard, and the next you wonder why on earth you were so despondent? No, it doesn’t mean you’re bipolar. It simply means you’re experiencing the normal emotional ebb and flow of being a writer. And just when we think we’ve dealt with those emotions, something else happens. As it did with David.   “My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!” Psalm 42:4 There’s another of Satan’s tactics: encouraging us to focus on the rearview mirror. If you’ve been in publishing for a while, and especially if you experienced some success—success that seems far too long ago—the enemy loves to come whisper in your ear about how it used to be:  “Remember how things were when you first started? How exciting it all was. How the newness of writing and being published had you waking to each day with anticipation? Even joy? How you felt so fulfilled? Well…all that’s gone now. So what was the point? You’ve wasted time and money that should have been used better…” This tactic is so very effective, isn’t it? Especially with the changes happening in publishing over the last several years. It often seems so much harder now. And many of us have lost contracts, or can’t seem to find someone who wants to give us a new contract. Or maybe we decide to go indie, but that, we discover, has its own big pile of difficulties. Why can’t it be like it was? Oh, friends, remember how we’ve warned you against comparing yourself to others? Well, comparing where you are now to where you used to be, letting that comparison stir up a sense of defeat and discouragement, longing for what was doesn’t help with what is. Not. Ever.  If you’re tempted to do that, go instead with the next several verses of Psalm 42 and say with David:  “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” Psalm 42:5  Acknowledging who God is in the here and now is a powerful weapon against Satan’s lies. So please, every day, every time you feel the enemy tickling your ears and spirit, ask yourself one question. Because the answer will send the enemy and his forces scrambling away:  Who is God to me? Is he Elohim, the One and only true God? The Master Creator? No one is more trustworthy. No one else is Sovereign. There is no other God but him.  Is he Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd? The One who watches over me, guarding me from all enemies? The one who fights to save me from predators like Satan? Whose staff will always guide and protect me? Is he Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord my provider? The One who meets all my needs, no matter what they are? The One who has never let his own go hungry or be lost? The One who provided us with a way to escape sin and death? Is he Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord my healer? God told Moses right out, “I am the Lord who heals you.” He will heal you on every front in his time, in his way. He will heal you of being downcast. Just keep your eyes and heart on him.  Is he Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord my Banner? He is the Visible God who is seen in our lives. He is the sign to all, especially Satan, that we belong to him. As our banner, God lets everyone know HE is with us, our protection and shield, and they will try to do us harm at their own spiritual and eternal peril. Remember Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon formed against you shall succeed.” Is he Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, the Lord my sanctifier? He makes me holy. I don’t do that. I can’t do that. But Jehovah-M’Kaddesh has already done it! He has given us his Holy Spirit for that very reason. How do you disperse being downcast? Come before him and ask for more holiness. Ask for the strength to see past what seems to be until your vision matches his for what is, and what will be in him! Is he Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord my peace? Strong’s Concordance tells us that shalom means completeness, soundness, welfare. When the Lord is our peace, we are complete. We are sound in him, not to be shaken. Our welfare is in HIS hands. What better place could it be? Is he Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord Who Is Righteous? It’s frightening for many to even think of being attacked by Satan and his followers. But friends, there is no reason for fear! Not when we’re covered in the Lord’s holy righteousness. Not when Jehovah-Tsidkenu holds us in his righteous hands and his holiness is an impenetrable barrier between us and the ruler of this world. A ruler who is already defeated by God’s righteousness.  Is he Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord who is there? Oh, how I love this one! My Lord is here. With me. Whether I feel it or not, whether my emotions recognize it or not, The God of the Universe is with me! He is near to you even now. He is ever present. You are never alone, friends. Never.  Let’s pick up with Psalm 42 again, finishing verse 6: “Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.” Psalm 42:6 Here is such good news! Being downcast is temporary! When David says, “Now I am deeply discouraged,” he doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say, “but I will remember you!” Being downcast is a feeling, an emotion. And feelings or emotions change. They may last for a few hours or days, or even for a season. It’s only a matter of time until it passes.  Keep in mind that emotions, even unwanted ones like being downcast, have significance and purpose. Otherwise why would God have given them to us? Having an underlying sense of sadness, of being downcast, can be a trigger for you to realize that something’s not quite right. It helps to explore the root of those emotions. When we understand what we’re feeling and why, we can take steps to feel better.  For example, a few weeks ago I was moping around the house. Don, my hubby, asked me what was wrong. I looked at him and said, “I’m depressed.” Now, I wasn’t talking about true depression. What I meant was I was feeling down. Like something just wasn’t quite right. We talked about it and I realized we’ve had far too many gray, rainy days lately. Don and I have always turned off the lights if we’re not in a room. Why pay for electricity that isn’t needed? But I realized I was missing sunshine and light! So we agreed that when the days are gray, we’ll keep more lights on and pull the window blinds up to let in as much light as possible. Within a few days, I was back to being cheerful, laughing at the antics of the birds and squirrels in my yard, and savoring God’s goodness.  Not all causes of being downcast are easy to discern. But ask God to open your eyes to why you’re feeling as you are. Sometimes, you can make changes to lift the gloom. Other times, you need to wait on God to release you from these emotions. Whatever the case, it is temporary! Sometimes it lasts for days. Sometimes it lasts for a season. But, it will pass.  Don and I recently visited Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. On the ferry ride to the island, I was struck by the varying currents, swirls, and white caps on the surface of the waters of the Puget Sound. I couldn’t help but wonder what was beneath the waters that caused these different actions, some within feet of each other. Was there some obstacle down there? Or was it caused by some fish or whales or orcas? Or could it just be a difference in water temperature? But here’s what I loved: Whatever the underlying cause, the ferry just kept gliding along the surface, not the least bit bothered by the various whirlpools, white caps, or whatever. That vessel was built to ride the surface and keep moving forward.  Just remember times of being downcast are often based on how things seem to be. Or even worse, wondering what’s happening until you grow afraid that maybe…just maybe…God has left you on your own. But the reality is that while we may not know where God is leading us, or why, what we do know, without a doubt, is that he IS leading us. And these downcast feelings will pass in the light of his truth.  David starts to understand that with the next verses… “I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.” Psalm 42:7-8 In this moment, David’s soul isn’t downcast! It’s focused on God, on praising and worshiping Him. When you struggle, take hold of two of the most powerful tools in your arsenal: praise and worship.  We’ve talked about praise and worship in other podcasts, but let’s review a few things here: God is the only One worthy of true praise. And the praise we give God isn’t like praising someone for doing a good job. It’s not based on what we think of God. It’s based on WHO God is.  Webster’s defines praise as a number of things—commending excellence, expressing approval, honoring others—but the praise due to God is different. In fact, that praise gets this definition from Webster’s: “The act of glorifying …God.”  Here are a few of the definitions of glorify: to make glorious : surround with glory : secure honor, praise, or admiration for  to exalt to a state of glory   to throw a resplendent light upon : make splendid with light.  Resplendent. I love that word. It means lustrous. Shining with brilliant light. Imagine entering a darkened room, then someone turns on a number of large, sparkling chandeliers. I’ve seen that, and the glorious beauty of it is almost a shock. It takes your breath away, and then fills you with delight.  Now think: How much more resplendent is God? How much more glorious? How much more worthy than any thing or any one of our praise and worship? When you find yourself slipping into being downcast, jump instead into praise and worship just like these verses say: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians1:3-4 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Hebrews 13:15 NIV Then there’s this blockbuster in Isaiah 25:  “LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago… You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners (and critical readers and reviewers and naysayers!) as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.” Isaiah 25:1,4-5 Do you hear that? “The song of the ruthless.” We like to think the enemy’s voice will be easily recognized because it’s full of evil, but remember, Satan is the deceiver. He will seem to sing to you, to woo you with a refrain of all you deserve but aren’t getting. The ruthless one will sing condemnation with the voice of an angel and the words of trickery. Don’t be fooled! Isaiah 25 goes on: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’” Isaiah 25:6-9 Remember that old saying, “God said and I believe it!” God has said you are precious to him. Believe it! God has said he will never leave you or forsake you. Believe it! God has said he loves us so much he sent his beloved Son to die for us, to restore us to himself. Believe it. Friends, if God has said you are a writer, then God has spoken. Believe it!! But David’s downcast state isn’t over yet, because right on the heels of Psalm 42:7-8 comes verses 9-10: “’O God my rock,’ I cry, ‘why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?’ Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” See? Same old tactics. Mockery. Unrealized expectations. Taunting. How often have you heard people say things like: “If God is real, why is the world in such a mess?” “Why are so many people starving and suffering?” “Where is this God of yours when nations attack nations, slaughtering innocents.” “If God is so great and so loving, why did the person I love die an agonizing death?”  “If God cares about me, why do I have cancer?” Let’s face it, there are a lot of reasons to doubt God exists. Lots of reasons for people to mock us and our faith. Lots of reasons to doubt God and us.  The enemy takes advantage of the most punishing reasons to derail us from doing whatever task God has given us. Good night! Satan doesn’t want us doing God’s work! He doesn’t want us ignoring him and just trusting God.  Satan is so determined to get us downcast that he uses those around us, even those who know us best, to mock and taunt and undermine us in doing the work God has given us. Because when we fall prey to all that, when we become downcast, we can’t see what God’s doing.  Or maybe it’s more that we aren’t looking for what God is doing. All the hard, negative things are so much more obvious. But God? So often he works in the background. Even in silence. Which seems so counter-intuitive to us. With all his power, all his glory, why isn’t everyone aware of what he’s doing? Remember when Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God? How did God speak to him? In a still small voice. You see, that’s the thing with true power. It doesn’t have to blare its existence. It just is. God’s power is there, and it’s working for the good of all his children. For you.  As we come to the end of Psalm 42, it seems David has learned that as soon as he heads back into being downcast, here comes the solution: truth! “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! My Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11  Say those words out loud! My Savior and my God. Our hope is in him. Our joy and fulfillment and peace and wonder…everything we need and could ever want is all in HIM.  Psalm 146 is the the perfect response, to that truth:  “Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people (publishers, editors, reviewers, sales teams, marketers, producers…none of them deserve your confidence. ONLY God does); there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly…The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God…throughout the generations. Praise the Lord!” Feeling down? Let the Writer’s Psalm lift your spirits! #amwriting #christianwriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D5065&amp;text=Feeling%20down%3F%20Let%20the%20Writer%E2%80%99s%20Psalm%20lift%20your%20spirits%21%20%23amwriting%20%23christianwriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> In what ways does David’s psalm inspire you as a writer? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! A huge thank you to our May sponsor of the month, <a href="https://priscillasharrow.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Priscilla Sharrow</a>! She’s working on her memoir called Bonked! Life, Love, and Laughter with Traumatic Brain Injury, which will release with Redemption Press. Learn more about Priscilla at her website <a href="https://priscillasharrow.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">priscillasharrow.com</a> and follow her blog for the TBI/PTSD community. Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/190-writers-psalm-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">190 – The Writer’s Psalm, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

190 – The Writer’s Psalm, Part 2

Emotions are a normal part of being human. What’s more, they are God given. As writers, we certainly have our share of emotional highs and lows. But what do we do when our feelings drag us waaay down? When our careers seem stalled or over, when our efforts seem wasted, and we find ourselves spiraling deeper into darkness? Well! Have we got a psalm for you! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! As creatives, writers tend to feel things deeply. Good things, troublesome things, hard things…we can become immersed in the emotions fueled by what’s happening around us. When our careers are going well, we’re on top of the world. When they’re not, well, it’s easy to get down. We even start to doubt whether we’re supposed to be writing at all.  Of course, those emotions change when something good happens, but what if that good thing doesn’t happen? If it seems we’re stuck in a place where nothing, to our way of thinking, is going right. Too often the enemy sneaks in at that point to whisper lies to our writer’s heart:  This is going nowhere.  No matter what you do, your books will never be bestsellers.  You’re wasting time and money.  On and on the lies go, feeding our emotions until we spiral deeper and deeper. Friends, that is NOT the deep God wants for you!  Is it okay for Christians to feel down? You may be reading this and thinking something along the lines of, “But, we’re believers! We shouldn’t ever be down!” I hate to break it to you, but being believers doesn’t mean we’re not human. Nor does it mean we’re perfect. Far from it. Believing in Christ doesn’t keep us from feeling. Nor should it! God made us in His image, and those feelings He gave us are a reflection of His feelings.   Of course we’ll feel down at times! For so many reasons: Loss, loved ones who don’t know God, disappointment in our careers, expectations that don’t materialize… There is no shortage of difficulties in this life.   A writer friend of Karen’s was SO excited that her debut novel was coming out with a major Christian publisher. She’d done everything right, and everyone at the publishing house, from folks in editorial to marketing to sales, were just as excited as she was. Her release day dawned, and she was on the computer doing all the things she’d been told to do… Then the world went upside down. Two planes came out of nowhere and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. And just like that, no one cared that her book was releasing. No one cared about anything but the attack on America. Her much anticipated book faded into the background, and eventually went out of print with very few sales.  Is it wrong that this happened to her? No, it was simply life. Life in a broken, sin-soaked world where hatred runs rampant. But you can understand how a writer in this situation would be downcast.  Of course, that’s an extreme example of broken expectations. But we share it to say that sadness, sorrow, even just feeling blue are all a part of the human experience. And we, as writers, tend to feel those things to our core.  In her online article, “7 Ways Christians Can Beat the Blues,” Lisa Appello points out that some of the biblical giants of faith struggled with those emotional downward spirals. She writes:  “The Bible calls this being downcast, and it’s an emotion that even some of the stoutest of faith dealt with. David often felt downcast and it’s reflected in many of the Psalms he penned. Elijah, following an incredible mountain-top experience of God’s power, hit bottom as he hid from his oppressor. Jeremiah, discouraged by isolation and constant opposition, felt so down that he cursed the day he was born.” Now that’s as downcast as you can get! A Crosswalk.com article by Debbie McDaniel points out that even Jesus knew what it was to be downcast. She writes, “Isaiah prophesied that Christ would be ‘a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.'” What does it mean to be downcast? How do we define being down or downcast? Webster’s helps us gain a fuller understanding by defining it as being “low in spirit.” I don’t know about you, but that definition sparked a lot of thoughts for me. So we’ll come back to that in a minute.  First, let’s also consider a few of the synonyms Webster’s gives for downcast: “dispirited, dejected, disconsolate, woebegone.” In addition, Webster’s explains that all of the words, including downcast, suggest a lack of “cheer, confidence, and hope, perhaps accompanied by shame or chagrin.” Wow! Webster’s is always helpful, but in this instance, it’s perfect. Because this definition, and these synonyms, help us understand why our emotions get caught up in a downward spiral. What’s more, they give us insight into dealing with this emotional spiral.  It’s About the Spirit Remember Webster’s definition: “low in spirits”? And the synonym “dispirited”? When I read that, I sat back and thought, “Whoa. That can be the cause and the cure!” For believers, it’s being low in the Holy Spirit. Or as though the Holy Spirit has been displaced by whatever is fueling our sadness.  You’re Not Alone Charles Spurgeon went in and out of feeling depressed. He once wrote, “Fits of depression come over most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous and the joyous not always happy.” And, of course, there’s David. Now there was a creative. A singer, musician, writer, and poet. His heart was tender toward God. And yet that same heart that made him a “man after God’s own heart” led him to feel down when things were hard. Or, as we said earlier, downcast. This, friends, is where Psalm 42 comes in. PSALM 42 When you heard in the introduction that this particular psalm was dubbed “The Writers’ Psalm,” I bet you wondered who did the dubbing. True confession time: Karen did. I happened to read this psalm right after our podcast with Lori Ann Wood (episodes 187 and 188). We’d been talking about writers’ struggles, and I was amazed at the way Psalm 42 acknowledged the struggles and then, as only God-inspired writing can do, gave us the solution to the struggle.  When you’re downcast or dispirited, when you’re low in the Holy Spirit, do what we’re going to do now: explore and follow David’s lead in Psalm 42.   “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” Psalm 42:1-2  At first glance, it might seem that David is praising God or acknowledging his need for God. But when read in the context of the whole Psalm, you can see that this beginning is one of desperation. As though David is at the end of himself and has nowhere else to go. He’s crying out to God. “I need you, Lord, as much as I need water.”  We can survive for as long as twenty-one days without food. We can live even longer without things like shelter. But water? Three days max. After three days without water, you’re done.  David knew he was in a bad place, and he cried out to God. When your heart and mood seem to be sinking, or if you realize you’re full-on downcast, call out like David did. Tell God how you long for him, how you thirst for Him and His spirit. Seek Him and Him alone. Not sales numbers, not Amazon rankings. Focus only on Him and His holy spirit.  I confess I almost laughed when I read verse 2: “Where can I go and stand before Him?”   David KNOWS where to stand before God: wherever he is. So I think this gives us a glimpse into just how lost he felt, how he feared he would no longer have God’s blessing and presence.  If you struggle with these kinds of feelings, counter them with God’s truth, especially this truth expressed all throughout both the New and Old Testament: God will never leave you nor forsake you.  “…be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'” Hebrews 13:5-6 When you start feeling down, seek God. Right where you are.  David goes even deeper into his woes in verse 3: “Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” One of the enemy’s most effective tools against us is mockery. And questioning God: If, indeed, He gave you the task to write, then why aren’t your books on the bestseller list?  Why isn’t your name a household word?  Where are the movies made from your God-given stories? The good news is that this tactic of Satan’s is hardly new, as you see from the psalm. The moment mockery comes, go on the counter offensive. Attack the enemy with prayer and Scripture. Praise God. Sing to Him. Acknowledge His presence and power and close your ears and spirit to the enemy’s old and tired strategy.  These solutions we’ve explored so far can lift your spirt from being downcast into the healing and encouragement of God’s truth and light. They are there, ready and waiting for you to use them, to stop the enemy cold. But our psalm doesn’t end here. Emotions have a way ebbing and flowing, and just when we think we’ve dealt with them, something else happens. As it did with David… We’ll talk about that in the next episode, so stay tuned! As writers, we certainly have our share of emotional highs and lows. But what do we do when our feelings drag us waaay down? Well! Have we got a psalm for you! #amwriting #christianwriterClick To Tweet WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What do you do when you feel downcast? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! A huge thank you to our May sponsor of the month, Priscilla Sharrow! She’s working on her memoir called Bonked! Life, Love, and Laughter with Traumatic Brain Injury, which will release with Redemption Press. Learn more about Priscilla at her website priscillasharrow.com and follow her blog for the TBI/PTSD community. Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 189 – The Writer’s Psalm, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Emotions are a normal part of being human. What’s more, they are God given. As writers, we certainly have our share of emotional highs and lows. But what do we do when our feelings drag us waaay down? When our careers seem stalled or over, when our efforts seem wasted, and we find ourselves spiraling deeper into darkness? Well! Have we got a psalm for you! But first, thank you to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! As creatives, writers tend to feel things deeply. Good things, troublesome things, hard things…we can become immersed in the emotions fueled by what’s happening around us. When our careers are going well, we’re on top of the world. When they’re not, well, it’s easy to get down. We even start to doubt whether we’re supposed to be writing at all. Of course, those emotions change when something good happens, but what if that good thing doesn’t happen? If it seems we’re stuck in a place where nothing, to our way of thinking, is going right. Too often the enemy sneaks in at that point to whisper lies to our writer’s heart:  This is going nowhere.  No matter what you do, your books will never be bestsellers.  You’re wasting time and money.  On and on the lies go, feeding our emotions until we spiral deeper and deeper. Friends, that is NOT the deep God wants for you!  <h5>Is it okay for Christians to feel down?</h5> You may be reading this and thinking something along the lines of, “But, we’re believers! We shouldn’t ever be down!” I hate to break it to you, but being believers doesn’t mean we’re not human. Nor does it mean we’re perfect. Far from it. Believing in Christ doesn’t keep us from feeling. Nor should it! God made us in His image, and those feelings He gave us are a reflection of His feelings.   Of course we’ll feel down at times! For so many reasons: Loss, loved ones who don’t know God, disappointment in our careers, expectations that don’t materialize… There is no shortage of difficulties in this life.   A writer friend of Karen’s was SO excited that her debut novel was coming out with a major Christian publisher. She’d done everything right, and everyone at the publishing house, from folks in editorial to marketing to sales, were just as excited as she was. Her release day dawned, and she was on the computer doing all the things she’d been told to do… Then the world went upside down. Two planes came out of nowhere and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. And just like that, no one cared that her book was releasing. No one cared about anything but the attack on America. Her much anticipated book faded into the background, and eventually went out of print with very few sales.  Is it wrong that this happened to her? No, it was simply life. Life in a broken, sin-soaked world where hatred runs rampant. But you can understand how a writer in this situation would be downcast.  Of course, that’s an extreme example of broken expectations. But we share it to say that sadness, sorrow, even just feeling blue are all a part of the human experience. And we, as writers, tend to feel those things to our core.  In her online article, “<a href="https://lisaappelo.com/7-ways-christians-can-beat-the-blues/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">7 Ways Christians Can Beat the Blues</a>,” Lisa Appello points out that some of the biblical giants of faith struggled with those emotional downward spirals. She writes: “The Bible calls this being downcast, and it’s an emotion that even some of the stoutest of faith dealt with. David often felt downcast and it’s reflected in many of the Psalms he penned. Elijah, following an incredible mountain-top experience of God’s power, hit bottom as he hid from his oppressor. Jeremiah, discouraged by isolation and constant opposition, felt so down that he cursed the day he was born.” Now that’s as downcast as you can get! A <a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/7-bible-figures-who-struggled-with-depression.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Crosswalk.com</a> article by Debbie McDaniel points out that even Jesus knew what it was to be downcast. She writes, “Isaiah prophesied that Christ would be ‘a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.'” <h5>What does it mean to be downcast?</h5> How do we define being down or downcast? Webster’s helps us gain a fuller understanding by defining it as being “low in spirit.” I don’t know about you, but that definition sparked a lot of thoughts for me. So we’ll come back to that in a minute.  First, let’s also consider a few of the synonyms Webster’s gives for downcast: “dispirited, dejected, disconsolate, woebegone.” In addition, Webster’s explains that all of the words, including downcast, suggest a lack of “cheer, confidence, and hope, perhaps accompanied by shame or chagrin.” Wow! Webster’s is always helpful, but in this instance, it’s perfect. Because this definition, and these synonyms, help us understand why our emotions get caught up in a downward spiral. What’s more, they give us insight into dealing with this emotional spiral.  It’s About the Spirit Remember Webster’s definition: “low in spirits”? And the synonym “dispirited”? When I read that, I sat back and thought, “Whoa. That can be the cause and the cure!” For believers, it’s being low in the Holy Spirit. Or as though the Holy Spirit has been displaced by whatever is fueling our sadness.  You’re Not Alone Charles Spurgeon went in and out of feeling depressed. He once wrote, “Fits of depression come over most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous and the joyous not always happy.” And, of course, there’s David. Now there was a creative. A singer, musician, writer, and poet. His heart was tender toward God. And yet that same heart that made him a “man after God’s own heart” led him to feel down when things were hard. Or, as we said earlier, downcast. This, friends, is where Psalm 42 comes in. <h5>PSALM 42</h5> When you heard in the introduction that this particular psalm was dubbed “The Writers’ Psalm,” I bet you wondered who did the dubbing. True confession time: Karen did. I happened to read this psalm right after our podcast with Lori Ann Wood (episodes <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/187-detours-writing-lori-ann-wood-1/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">187</a> and <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/detours-lori-ann-wood-2/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">188</a>). We’d been talking about writers’ struggles, and I was amazed at the way Psalm 42 acknowledged the struggles and then, as only God-inspired writing can do, gave us the solution to the struggle. When you’re downcast or dispirited, when you’re low in the Holy Spirit, do what we’re going to do now: explore and follow David’s lead in Psalm 42.   “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” Psalm 42:1-2  At first glance, it might seem that David is praising God or acknowledging his need for God. But when read in the context of the whole Psalm, you can see that this beginning is one of desperation. As though David is at the end of himself and has nowhere else to go. He’s crying out to God. “I need you, Lord, as much as I need water.” We can survive for as long as twenty-one days without food. We can live even longer without things like shelter. But water? Three days max. After three days without water, you’re done.  David knew he was in a bad place, and he cried out to God. When your heart and mood seem to be sinking, or if you realize you’re full-on downcast, call out like David did. Tell God how you long for him, how you thirst for Him and His spirit. Seek Him and Him alone. Not sales numbers, not Amazon rankings. Focus only on Him and His holy spirit.  I confess I almost laughed when I read verse 2: “Where can I go and stand before Him?”  David KNOWS where to stand before God: wherever he is. So I think this gives us a glimpse into just how lost he felt, how he feared he would no longer have God’s blessing and presence.  If you struggle with these kinds of feelings, counter them with God’s truth, especially this truth expressed all throughout both the New and Old Testament: God will never leave you nor forsake you.  “…be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'” Hebrews 13:5-6 When you start feeling down, seek God. Right where you are.  David goes even deeper into his woes in verse 3: “Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, ‘Where is this God of yours?’” One of the enemy’s most effective tools against us is mockery. And questioning God: If, indeed, He gave you the task to write, then why aren’t your books on the bestseller list? Why isn’t your name a household word? Where are the movies made from your God-given stories? The good news is that this tactic of Satan’s is hardly new, as you see from the psalm. The moment mockery comes, go on the counter offensive. Attack the enemy with prayer and Scripture. Praise God. Sing to Him. Acknowledge His presence and power and close your ears and spirit to the enemy’s old and tired strategy.  These solutions we’ve explored so far can lift your spirt from being downcast into the healing and encouragement of God’s truth and light. They are there, ready and waiting for you to use them, to stop the enemy cold. But our psalm doesn’t end here. Emotions have a way ebbing and flowing, and just when we think we’ve dealt with them, something else happens. As it did with David… We’ll talk about that in the next episode, so stay tuned! As writers, we certainly have our share of emotional highs and lows. But what do we do when our feelings drag us waaay down? Well! Have we got a psalm for you! #amwriting #christianwriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D5047&amp;text=As%20writers%2C%20we%20certainly%20have%20our%20share%20of%20emotional%20highs%20and%20lows.%20But%20what%20do%20we%20do%20when%20our%20feelings%20drag%20us%20waaay%20down%3F%20Well%21%20Have%20we%20got%20a%20psalm%20for%20you%21%20%23amwriting%20%23christianwriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> What do you do when you feel downcast? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! A huge thank you to our May sponsor of the month, <a href="https://priscillasharrow.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Priscilla Sharrow</a>! She’s working on her memoir called Bonked! Life, Love, and Laughter with Traumatic Brain Injury, which will release with Redemption Press. Learn more about Priscilla at her website <a href="https://priscillasharrow.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">priscillasharrow.com</a> and follow her blog for the TBI/PTSD community. Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/189-the-writers-psalm-part-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">189 – The Writer’s Psalm, Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

189 – The Writer’s Psalm, Part 1

Lori Ann Wood

What do you do when your planned-out writing journey suddenly goes off the rails? Guest Lori Ann Wood faced this very situation. Through her God-ordained detour, she discovered three key questions that will help you in your own detours.  About Lori Ann Wood Lori Ann Wood lives in an empty nest in beautiful Bentonville, Arkansas, with her husband, the love of her life whom she found in 9th grade. She currently serves as WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas and American Heart Association Ambassador. Lori Ann was awarded the Frederick Buecher Narrative Essay Award, and her work has been published in numerous print and online venues. Having discovered a serious heart condition almost too late, Lori Ann writers to encourage others to ask their difficult faith questions along the detour of life. Lori Ann’s first book, Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted, released with CrossRiver Media in February 2023. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Welcome, listeners, into the deep with us. We’re excited to have you, and we have a guest. We’re continuing our interview with Lori Ann Wood, and we’re talking about life’s unexpected detours and the deep questions that we have for God. We’re going to jump right in! Lori: I think these are the questions that, maybe, they nag at everybody all the time. But when you get put on a detour, when you get shoved off on this road you don’t want to be on that’s kind of rough and out of the way, and you didn’t like it, and you didn’t choose it, that’s when those questions demand to be paid attention to.   Erin: Yeah.   Lori: That’s how my questions came about, and the questions were all derived from those temptations that Jesus faced in the desert. Erin: Right. I like your first question. It’s a question of worry, you call it. “Is this life all there is?”   How do you think that worked in your life? How did you answer that for yourself and how did that apply to your writing journey?   Lori: I think if I were to look at all the questions as a whole, what’s true for all of them is that at some point I realized I didn’t necessarily want to know what the answer was. But I wanted permission to ask the question.   I felt like I was at a point in my faith where I was almost embarrassed to be asking some really basic questions like that, but I needed permission to ask them. You know, I think about Job in the Bible. I don’t know that he necessarily wanted the answers, but he needed to ask the questions. That’s what I’m trying to pull up in the book.   It’s just going deep and asking the questions, because when you’re asking the questions, you’re still communing with God. You’re still conversing with him. I think that was always meant to be the idea.   For that first group of questions that you were talking about, that question of worry, “Is this life all there is?”, I looked at issues like loss, uncertainty, fear, and regret.   Because we could get to a place when we’re on this detour where we don’t know, should I be just focused on my physical self? Should I be focused on, in writing terms, building my platform? Should that consume all of my day? Should I just be looking at the temporal part of whatever it is we’re doing?   I explored that from different ways, but in terms of writing, I had to really look at the value that I was putting out there in terms of what was valuable in this life and what would be valuable to people on the other side. So that question of worry, of “Is this life all there is?”, I had to struggle with it and really come back and answer it over and over again.   Erin: That makes sense. I love the second question, too. The question of doubt. “Is God always good?” I think that’s an easy one for writers to struggle with in terms of, you know, when bad things happen. I can imagine you sitting there dealing with heart failure wondering, “Is God really always good?”   Lori: Yeah. This one I think is just really one of the top questions. I think if you Googled the top questions of faith, this is probably going to be at the top of every list. Is God always good?   You know, I was following God. He had been walking lockstep with me. I thought we were on the same page, and now I find myself on this detour and I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know if God’s left the scene. I don’t know if he has all of a sudden gone deaf to my prayers, or if I’m doing something wrong.   We start to question if our current pain or our current position somehow indicates God’s level of care for us. Because it doesn’t feel like love sometimes. Just as human beings we’re like, “Wait, this doesn’t quite feel right.” So we struggle with the question: Is God always good? In the book, I looked at things like protection and resilience and vulnerability and idols, and wondering how that plays into our faith and how we move that forward.   In terms of writing, one of the things I was doing early on, and I didn’t realize it at the time, because in my heart failure journey, my heart function was really low, and then sixteen months in my heart jumped up to almost normal.   Erin: Wow.   Lori: It surprised everybody almost as much as the initial diagnosis. But it wasn’t permanent. What happens when you’re in heart failure is you’re on this downward line graph. When you’re on that downward graph, you can have some spikes up, but the general direction is still down. I was experiencing one of those spikes, but I thought that spike up was the end of my story. I thought, “Okay. Beginning. End. I get it.” Then about three years ago, my heart function dropped quite a bit, and I was in active heart failure again. I, at that point, wanted to honestly protect God a little bit. I wasn’t sure what to write because I had been writing about answered prayer and healing. Then I thought, “Wow, how do I do this now? How do I reconcile what’s going on with my writing because I don’t know how this is gonna end.” That was a hard one. In that question of doubt, as a writer, I had to really look at how do I move forward. That’s when these questions really came into focus for me. Because the only way to move forward is to be honest and say, “I don’t know how it’s gonna end.” I also had to know at some point that God is always going to be good, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how much our life matches what we had imagined our life would look like.   Karen: I think that that’s an important aspect of this, what you’re talking about with what we imagined life would be. I never imagined that at sixty-five I’d be pretty much incapacitated by diabetes, that I’d be incapacitated by interstitial lung disease, which is ultimately what will kill me. It never occurred to me in those early years and in my faith with God that these things were where my journey would take me. But the cool thing is when you stop and balance your expectations with God’s character. We miss God’s character when we’re so focused on our expectations.   I’m not saying don’t ask the question. I’m not saying, you know, don’t struggle with the question. I understand.   Personally, I didn’t struggle with it because I had come to a place long before where whether I live, I am the Lord’s, or whether I die, I am the Lord’s. Whether I live, therefore, or die, I am the Lord’s. There was such a confidence in that. But I’m a very simplistic believer. I take God at his word in a simplistic way.   People who struggle and come in and need to know the theology and all those kinds of things, I admire that. But I don’t want that. I like being able to just say, “Okay, Lord, I received that and I’m walking in that.” I’m in prayer all the time. Conversing with him all the time, which doesn’t mean I’m any better than anybody else. That’s just my path. There have been times when I’ve struggled in my marriage. I couldn’t figure out why I married the man I did when there were so many issues, so many problems. Why we never had kids. There were struggles.   But in the midst of all that, God led me, and he will lead each of us to look then and say, “Okay, here are my expectations of what my life was gonna be.”   Don and I were in counseling for twenty years, and about halfway through we decided our mantra was, “God is in control. I don’t like it. I don’t want to be on this path. But he’s in control, and I trust that.” The other thing that we always used to say is, “This is not the cruise I signed on for.”   I fully expected to have children and grandchildren and all those things. That didn’t happen because of Don’s childhood, and the abuse he suffered. But I don’t think that that was God not being good or kind.   I had a really honest, blunt friend who told me one day when I was talking with him and bemoaning the fact that I’d lost so much by marrying Don. He looked at me and he said, “What if you marrying Don isn’t about you? What if it’s about Don? What if God has given you this wounded, devastated heart to present whole to him as best you can by loving him?” My initial godly response was, “So, not even my pain is about me? Really?”   Lori: Oh, that’s so true. I can relate to what you said because my husband, faith has always come really easy for him. He’s a complete truster. When I was first in the hospital, he’s a runner, and he finally went for his run after I’d been in the hospital for a week.   He came back in and he said, “Felt so good. I finally talked to God again, and I’ve realized that even if you don’t get better, everything’s gonna be okay.”   I didn’t take it very well.   Karen: He’s a really empathetic, sensitive sort, isn’t he?   Lori: But he was there. I got there eventually, but he was usually way ahead of me. My dad, who passed away in 2020 from lung cancer, and I are similar. We both come to faith by this questioning. By questioning, we may not get the answer, but we are grabbing out for God’s hand and pulling him in. All the time.   Erin: Right.   Lori: I think people do that in different ways, but that’s the beauty of it. We don’t have to be the same.   Erin: Karen, you touched a little bit on what’s going on with Lori Ann’s third question here. The question of control: Is God’s plan enough?   I especially love this for writers because we have our own expectations of what our writing is going to do for the world and accomplish. So, you know, is God’s plan enough? What if his plan is not the same as ours? How did you deal with that question or come about that? Lori: That question of control is hard, and maybe it’s harder for people like me that question all the time. Because I like to know what’s ahead. I like to know what the plan is. And this writing thing, it’s not for planners, is it?   Karen: Yeah, if you go into it thinking you will have any control whatsoever, you are deceived. Lori: Right? My book is launching this week and the most helpless thing is wanting people to review the book and just sitting there and watching. Are they gonna review it? Will they ever review it? Because there’s not one thing you can do about it. You can’t buy it. You can’t do it yourself.   I had to really struggle with how to even present the book because I wanted it to be not really about my medical events. Those are woven into it, but I wanted it to be for other people who were on a detour who needed to ask the question. That was something that at some point in my life, and I think it was at a writer’s conference when I got some feedback and realized, “I don’t think I can just write a straight memoir. I don’t think that’s going to resonate. It’s not going to get out enough to people and do what God wants it to do in that form.” I had to kind of go back to the drawing board and that’s when those sticky notes started moving around.   Karen: You know, it’s really great because you can take each of these questions and you can do big picture about life. But then as writers, we can take them and utilize each one of them for our writing. Is this all there is in my writing? Question of worry. What if my book doesn’t sell the way I want it to? What if I don’t reach many people? What if, what if, what if? The question of doubt: Is God always good to me as a writer? If I’m not getting contracts, then God’s not being good. Again, you’re contrasting your expectations with his character. Then the question of control: Is God’s plan for my writing enough? What if only one, and we’ve said this before, what if only one person reads it and that person’s life has changed? Is that good enough for you if that’s God’s intent for you as a writer?   Erin: Right. I think that last question about God’s plan being enough, that speaks to people who may be having regrets about this, that, or the other thing. I have a friend who’s struggling with their career. They’ve been in their career for over twenty years and they feel disillusioned. Even bitter, even upset, even filled with regret of wasting their life. I just want to say, “But what if that was God’s plan? Is God’s plan enough?” It’s a very difficult thing to dig our way out of when we have those types of regret. But that’s where we go back to, well, was it the detour? Was it the plan? What was happening there?   Lori: Yes, and I think we sort of get our mind twisted around because we’re so driven now by numbers. How many followers do I have? How many people are on my email list?   That seems like that’s where our worth is. But you know, we can know from just getting one email, or one response, or one comment from somebody who was really struggling with something. Those little glimpses where you’re like, “If that’s all I ever get, that’s gonna be enough.” We see that from time to time and get these little flickers. But it’s so easy to just get caught in, you know, how many reviews am I getting? How many copies am I going to sell? How many people are on my email list? I’ve learned, and it was a hard lesson, but I’ve learned that my plan has never been anywhere close to as good as God’s plan. Erin: Well, that’s fair.   Karen: It is fair. And it’s necessary because, I mean, we did a whole podcast on understanding that success is measured by obedience. Not by numbers, not by sales numbers, not by reviews, not by any of that. Our success as children of God who’ve been given the task to write is measured by our obedience. Have I been obedient? That’s the only thing that we have any control over, whether or not we’re being obedient to that task. God has everything else in hand.   All these questions that you’ve been asking and what you’ve shared with us, it’s all so important for each of us to take the time and to take the courage, because it does take courage to ask those hard questions, to dig deeper into ourselves. If you are feeling, as you listen to this podcast, if you’re struggling with a sense of disillusionment, with a thought like something that you have on your website, Lori Ann, which I really like: “Why trust a God who disappoints?” Then you have to go back when you’re facing that question and ask yourself, “But did God disappoint? Or were your expectations other than what God wanted you to do?” It always comes back to, when we start to doubt God, we’ve got to make those hard studies and come to a point where we recognize that God is God, and we are His creation. You have to keep that in mind because he is using each one of us to save others. What more can we want than that? Asking these questions and digging deep into: Is that all there is? Is God always good? Is God’s plan enough? Friends out there, I encourage you. Dig into those. Check out Lori Ann’s book, check out her story, and then consider your own journey. Your life journey, your writing journey, and consider who gave you the task that you have. Who is he? Is God who he says he is? For me that answer is quite clearly, he absolutely is. And he will do what he will do. So ask yourself, what is my answer to that?   Erin: Amen.  Guest @lori_ann_wood has discovered three key questions that will help you when your writing journey and life seem to go off the rails. #amwriting #ChristianWriterClick To Tweet BOOK MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted by Lori Ann Wood  WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What difficult questions do you have for God? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! We have openings for our Patreon Sponsor of the Month. Along with our sincere gratitude, we also announce our sponsors’ books, services, and website on the podcast. Sponsors also get a banner and link in the show notes of both monthly episodes and right here in this space as well! Find more information at Patreon.com/writefromthedeep Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 188 – Detours on Your Writing Journey with Guest Lori Ann Wood, Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

What do you do when your planned-out writing journey suddenly goes off the rails? Guest Lori Ann Wood faced this very situation. Through her God-ordained detour, she discovered three key questions that will help you in your own detours. About Lori Ann Wood Lori Ann Wood lives in an empty nest in beautiful Bentonville, Arkansas, with her husband, the love of her life whom she found in 9th grade. She currently serves as WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas and American Heart Association Ambassador. Lori Ann was awarded the Frederick Buecher Narrative Essay Award, and her work has been published in numerous print and online venues. Having discovered a serious heart condition almost too late, Lori Ann writers to encourage others to ask their difficult faith questions along the detour of life. Lori Ann’s first book, <a href="https://amzn.to/3zt7sek" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted</a>, released with CrossRiver Media in February 2023. Thanks to our sponsors on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Erin: Welcome, listeners, into the deep with us. We’re excited to have you, and we have a guest. We’re continuing our interview with Lori Ann Wood, and we’re talking about life’s unexpected detours and the deep questions that we have for God. We’re going to jump right in! Lori: I think these are the questions that, maybe, they nag at everybody all the time. But when you get put on a detour, when you get shoved off on this road you don’t want to be on that’s kind of rough and out of the way, and you didn’t like it, and you didn’t choose it, that’s when those questions demand to be paid attention to.  Erin: Yeah.  Lori: That’s how my questions came about, and the questions were all derived from those temptations that Jesus faced in the desert. Erin: Right. I like your first question. It’s a question of worry, you call it. “Is this life all there is?”  How do you think that worked in your life? How did you answer that for yourself and how did that apply to your writing journey?  Lori: I think if I were to look at all the questions as a whole, what’s true for all of them is that at some point I realized I didn’t necessarily want to know what the answer was. But I wanted permission to ask the question.  I felt like I was at a point in my faith where I was almost embarrassed to be asking some really basic questions like that, but I needed permission to ask them. You know, I think about Job in the Bible. I don’t know that he necessarily wanted the answers, but he needed to ask the questions. That’s what I’m trying to pull up in the book.  It’s just going deep and asking the questions, because when you’re asking the questions, you’re still communing with God. You’re still conversing with him. I think that was always meant to be the idea.  For that first group of questions that you were talking about, that question of worry, “Is this life all there is?”, I looked at issues like loss, uncertainty, fear, and regret.  Because we could get to a place when we’re on this detour where we don’t know, should I be just focused on my physical self? Should I be focused on, in writing terms, building my platform? Should that consume all of my day? Should I just be looking at the temporal part of whatever it is we’re doing?  I explored that from different ways, but in terms of writing, I had to really look at the value that I was putting out there in terms of what was valuable in this life and what would be valuable to people on the other side. So that question of worry, of “Is this life all there is?”, I had to struggle with it and really come back and answer it over and over again.  Erin: That makes sense. I love the second question, too. The question of doubt. “Is God always good?” I think that’s an easy one for writers to struggle with in terms of, you know, when bad things happen. I can imagine you sitting there dealing with heart failure wondering, “Is God really always good?”  Lori: Yeah. This one I think is just really one of the top questions. I think if you Googled the top questions of faith, this is probably going to be at the top of every list. Is God always good?  You know, I was following God. He had been walking lockstep with me. I thought we were on the same page, and now I find myself on this detour and I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know if God’s left the scene. I don’t know if he has all of a sudden gone deaf to my prayers, or if I’m doing something wrong.  We start to question if our current pain or our current position somehow indicates God’s level of care for us. Because it doesn’t feel like love sometimes. Just as human beings we’re like, “Wait, this doesn’t quite feel right.” So we struggle with the question: Is God always good? In the book, I looked at things like protection and resilience and vulnerability and idols, and wondering how that plays into our faith and how we move that forward.  In terms of writing, one of the things I was doing early on, and I didn’t realize it at the time, because in my heart failure journey, my heart function was really low, and then sixteen months in my heart jumped up to almost normal.  Erin: Wow.  Lori: It surprised everybody almost as much as the initial diagnosis. But it wasn’t permanent. What happens when you’re in heart failure is you’re on this downward line graph. When you’re on that downward graph, you can have some spikes up, but the general direction is still down. I was experiencing one of those spikes, but I thought that spike up was the end of my story. I thought, “Okay. Beginning. End. I get it.” Then about three years ago, my heart function dropped quite a bit, and I was in active heart failure again. I, at that point, wanted to honestly protect God a little bit. I wasn’t sure what to write because I had been writing about answered prayer and healing. Then I thought, “Wow, how do I do this now? How do I reconcile what’s going on with my writing because I don’t know how this is gonna end.” That was a hard one. In that question of doubt, as a writer, I had to really look at how do I move forward. That’s when these questions really came into focus for me. Because the only way to move forward is to be honest and say, “I don’t know how it’s gonna end.” I also had to know at some point that God is always going to be good, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how much our life matches what we had imagined our life would look like.  Karen: I think that that’s an important aspect of this, what you’re talking about with what we imagined life would be. I never imagined that at sixty-five I’d be pretty much incapacitated by diabetes, that I’d be incapacitated by interstitial lung disease, which is ultimately what will kill me. It never occurred to me in those early years and in my faith with God that these things were where my journey would take me. But the cool thing is when you stop and balance your expectations with God’s character. We miss God’s character when we’re so focused on our expectations.  I’m not saying don’t ask the question. I’m not saying, you know, don’t struggle with the question. I understand.  Personally, I didn’t struggle with it because I had come to a place long before where whether I live, I am the Lord’s, or whether I die, I am the Lord’s. Whether I live, therefore, or die, I am the Lord’s. There was such a confidence in that. But I’m a very simplistic believer. I take God at his word in a simplistic way.  People who struggle and come in and need to know the theology and all those kinds of things, I admire that. But I don’t want that. I like being able to just say, “Okay, Lord, I received that and I’m walking in that.” I’m in prayer all the time. Conversing with him all the time, which doesn’t mean I’m any better than anybody else. That’s just my path. There have been times when I’ve struggled in my marriage. I couldn’t figure out why I married the man I did when there were so many issues, so many problems. Why we never had kids. There were struggles.  But in the midst of all that, God led me, and he will lead each of us to look then and say, “Okay, here are my expectations of what my life was gonna be.”  Don and I were in counseling for twenty years, and about halfway through we decided our mantra was, “God is in control. I don’t like it. I don’t want to be on this path. But he’s in control, and I trust that.” The other thing that we always used to say is, “This is not the cruise I signed on for.”  I fully expected to have children and grandchildren and all those things. That didn’t happen because of Don’s childhood, and the abuse he suffered. But I don’t think that that was God not being good or kind.  I had a really honest, blunt friend who told me one day when I was talking with him and bemoaning the fact that I’d lost so much by marrying Don. He looked at me and he said, “What if you marrying Don isn’t about you? What if it’s about Don? What if God has given you this wounded, devastated heart to present whole to him as best you can by loving him?” My initial godly response was, “So, not even my pain is about me? Really?”  Lori: Oh, that’s so true. I can relate to what you said because my husband, faith has always come really easy for him. He’s a complete truster. When I was first in the hospital, he’s a runner, and he finally went for his run after I’d been in the hospital for a week.  He came back in and he said, “Felt so good. I finally talked to God again, and I’ve realized that even if you don’t get better, everything’s gonna be okay.”  I didn’t take it very well.  Karen: He’s a really empathetic, sensitive sort, isn’t he?  Lori: But he was there. I got there eventually, but he was usually way ahead of me. My dad, who passed away in 2020 from lung cancer, and I are similar. We both come to faith by this questioning. By questioning, we may not get the answer, but we are grabbing out for God’s hand and pulling him in. All the time.  Erin: Right.  Lori: I think people do that in different ways, but that’s the beauty of it. We don’t have to be the same.  Erin: Karen, you touched a little bit on what’s going on with Lori Ann’s third question here. The question of control: Is God’s plan enough?  I especially love this for writers because we have our own expectations of what our writing is going to do for the world and accomplish. So, you know, is God’s plan enough? What if his plan is not the same as ours? How did you deal with that question or come about that? Lori: That question of control is hard, and maybe it’s harder for people like me that question all the time. Because I like to know what’s ahead. I like to know what the plan is. And this writing thing, it’s not for planners, is it?  Karen: Yeah, if you go into it thinking you will have any control whatsoever, you are deceived. Lori: Right? My book is launching this week and the most helpless thing is wanting people to review the book and just sitting there and watching. Are they gonna review it? Will they ever review it? Because there’s not one thing you can do about it. You can’t buy it. You can’t do it yourself.  I had to really struggle with how to even present the book because I wanted it to be not really about my medical events. Those are woven into it, but I wanted it to be for other people who were on a detour who needed to ask the question. That was something that at some point in my life, and I think it was at a writer’s conference when I got some feedback and realized, “I don’t think I can just write a straight memoir. I don’t think that’s going to resonate. It’s not going to get out enough to people and do what God wants it to do in that form.” I had to kind of go back to the drawing board and that’s when those sticky notes started moving around.  Karen: You know, it’s really great because you can take each of these questions and you can do big picture about life. But then as writers, we can take them and utilize each one of them for our writing. Is this all there is in my writing? Question of worry. What if my book doesn’t sell the way I want it to? What if I don’t reach many people? What if, what if, what if? The question of doubt: Is God always good to me as a writer? If I’m not getting contracts, then God’s not being good. Again, you’re contrasting your expectations with his character. Then the question of control: Is God’s plan for my writing enough? What if only one, and we’ve said this before, what if only one person reads it and that person’s life has changed? Is that good enough for you if that’s God’s intent for you as a writer?  Erin: Right. I think that last question about God’s plan being enough, that speaks to people who may be having regrets about this, that, or the other thing. I have a friend who’s struggling with their career. They’ve been in their career for over twenty years and they feel disillusioned. Even bitter, even upset, even filled with regret of wasting their life. I just want to say, “But what if that was God’s plan? Is God’s plan enough?” It’s a very difficult thing to dig our way out of when we have those types of regret. But that’s where we go back to, well, was it the detour? Was it the plan? What was happening there?  Lori: Yes, and I think we sort of get our mind twisted around because we’re so driven now by numbers. How many followers do I have? How many people are on my email list?  That seems like that’s where our worth is. But you know, we can know from just getting one email, or one response, or one comment from somebody who was really struggling with something. Those little glimpses where you’re like, “If that’s all I ever get, that’s gonna be enough.” We see that from time to time and get these little flickers. But it’s so easy to just get caught in, you know, how many reviews am I getting? How many copies am I going to sell? How many people are on my email list? I’ve learned, and it was a hard lesson, but I’ve learned that my plan has never been anywhere close to as good as God’s plan. Erin: Well, that’s fair.  Karen: It is fair. And it’s necessary because, I mean, we did a whole podcast on understanding that success is measured by obedience. Not by numbers, not by sales numbers, not by reviews, not by any of that. Our success as children of God who’ve been given the task to write is measured by our obedience. Have I been obedient? That’s the only thing that we have any control over, whether or not we’re being obedient to that task. God has everything else in hand.  All these questions that you’ve been asking and what you’ve shared with us, it’s all so important for each of us to take the time and to take the courage, because it does take courage to ask those hard questions, to dig deeper into ourselves. If you are feeling, as you listen to this podcast, if you’re struggling with a sense of disillusionment, with a thought like something that you have on your website, Lori Ann, which I really like: “Why trust a God who disappoints?” Then you have to go back when you’re facing that question and ask yourself, “But did God disappoint? Or were your expectations other than what God wanted you to do?” It always comes back to, when we start to doubt God, we’ve got to make those hard studies and come to a point where we recognize that God is God, and we are His creation. You have to keep that in mind because he is using each one of us to save others. What more can we want than that? Asking these questions and digging deep into: Is that all there is? Is God always good? Is God’s plan enough? Friends out there, I encourage you. Dig into those. Check out Lori Ann’s book, check out her story, and then consider your own journey. Your life journey, your writing journey, and consider who gave you the task that you have. Who is he? Is God who he says he is? For me that answer is quite clearly, he absolutely is. And he will do what he will do. So ask yourself, what is my answer to that?  Erin: Amen.  Guest @lori_ann_wood has discovered three key questions that will help you when your writing journey and life seem to go off the rails. #amwriting #ChristianWriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D5033&amp;text=Guest%20%40lori_ann_wood%20has%20discovered%20three%20key%20questions%20that%20will%20help%20you%20when%20your%20writing%20journey%20and%20life%20seem%20to%20go%20off%20the%20rails.%20%23amwriting%20%23ChristianWriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <h5>BOOK MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST</h5> <a href="https://amzn.to/3ZBEqDK" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted by Lori Ann Wood</a> <a href="https://amzn.to/3ZBEqDK" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> What difficult questions do you have for God? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! We have openings for our Patreon Sponsor of the Month. Along with our sincere gratitude, we also announce our sponsors’ books, services, and website on the podcast. Sponsors also get a banner and link in the show notes of both monthly episodes and right here in this space as well! Find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=9327100&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2Fwrite-from-the-deep-podcast%2F&amp;utm_medium=widget" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon.com/writefromthedeep</a> Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/detours-lori-ann-wood-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">188 – Detours on Your Writing Journey with Guest Lori Ann Wood, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

188 – Detours on Your Writing Journey with Guest Lori Ann Wood, Part 2

It’s so hard when the journey we think we’re on in our writing takes a detour. We worry and wonder what God is doing. IF God is doing anything. Guest Lori Ann Wood shares the shocking—and life-threatening—detour in her own life and writing journey, and how God’s miraculous hand was at work for his amazing purpose. About Lori Ann Wood Lori Ann Wood lives in an empty nest in beautiful Bentonville, Arkansas, with her husband, the love of her life whom she found in 9th grade. She currently serves as WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas and American Heart Association Ambassador. Lori Ann was awarded the Frederick Buecher Narrative Essay Award, and her work has been published in numerous print and online venues. Having discovered a serious heart condition almost too late, Lori Ann writers to encourage others to ask their difficult faith questions along the detour of life. Lori Ann’s first book, Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted, released with CrossRiver Media in February 2023. Thanks to our sponsors on Patreon, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Karen: Hello, friends. Welcome into the deep today. We’re so excited to have a guest, who Erin will introduce. We’re going to talk about the reality of detours, whether they’re health or otherwise in our writing journey, and how they often turn out to be exactly God’s intended road for us.   Erin: I’m excited to introduce Lori Ann Wood. She currently serves as founding leader of the Parenting Education Ministry at the Church of Christ in Bentonville. She also serves as WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas and American Heart Association Ambassador. Y’all, I bet we’ll be talking about some of the reasons why!   Lori Ann was awarded the Frederick Buechner Narrative Essay Award, and her work has been published in numerous print and online venues, including Heart Insight Magazine, the Christian Century Magazine, Just Between Us Magazine, the Joyful Life Magazine, Pepperdine University Press, and so much more. Having discovered a serious heart condition almost too late, Lori Ann writes to encourage others to ask their difficult faith questions along the detours of life. Lori Ann’s first book, Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted just released, so that’s exciting. Lori Ann, we’re glad to have you here today. Welcome.   Lori: Oh, thank you. It’s so great to be here.   Erin: Let’s just jump in. What, Lori Ann, does the deep mean to you?   Lori: The deep to me is mostly when I personally am taking my faith to the point where I’m going deep enough. Because I think we get to a certain point in our faith sometimes, and we stop because we don’t want to go any deeper, because we don’t know what the answers might be or where we might end up. To me, the deep is not being afraid to go in there and ask those questions and dig and dig and dig. That’s where I’m coming from when we’re talking about the deep.   Erin: I love it, and I know from what I’ve learned about you that you have certainly faced deep places of trial and struggle. I’d love for you to start off by sharing that. For you as a person, what’s been going on?   Lori: I got a very, well, I felt like it was an out-of-the-blue diagnosis about seven years ago. I thought I had the flu, or maybe I thought it could be pneumonia. I hadn’t had pneumonia. I was just a little draggy. My kids were coming in for the holidays, and I was still functioning and doing all these things, but I wasn’t myself. I knew I didn’t have the energy that I should, but because it was a holiday week, it was Thanksgiving week, I didn’t go to the doctor. I went to convenient care a couple of times, but I didn’t go see my family doctor until the Friday after Thanksgiving. He immediately looked at me, listened to my heart with a stethoscope like they always do, and took me to the x-ray lab and said, “If we’re lucky it’s pneumonia.” Erin: That’s a little scary.   Karen: There’s something you don’t wanna hear.   Lori: Right? But I’m thinking that’s the worst case, and what he found on that x-ray was that my heart was very enlarged. The Cleveland Clinic cardiologist later told me it was the largest heart she’d ever seen.   Karen: Oh my word! Lori: I was immediately admitted to cardiac ICU. My heart was functioning at 6%. I had no idea. It was to me just unbelievable. I had no family history. I had no risk factors. I had great cholesterol and low blood pressure. I had actually done an evaluation for a life insurance policy about a month before that, and they said, “Your numbers are so good. You have less than 3% chance of ever developing heart disease.” Erin: Wow.   Lori: Then I found myself in the hospital, and they diagnosed me with end stage heart failure. I had no idea, no clue. Didn’t know what it was. I started on this journey, really in my health, but more importantly in my faith, and I’ve been on that journey for about seven years.   Erin: Were you a writer at the time or did writing come about because of this?   Lori: I think I’m like a lot of people. I felt like I had a book lurking around in the back of my head somewhere, but I still had kids at home and I was teaching college at the time and just was not writing. I had ideas. You know, I’d maybe write a book about how to plan children’s birthday parties or how to take a vacation on the cheap, something like that. But I never wrote.   Once I got this diagnosis and I couldn’t stand up and speak for two hours at a time, I had to make a lot of adjustments in my lifestyle. I found that I could sit at my computer and I could type all day long. So this book started, and really the whole writing journey started, because I wouldn’t have taken the time to do it in a safer, healthier life.   Erin: I love how ironic that is. It’s like, “Now everything is gone. Everything’s been ruined, so I’m gonna write.” You know, it’s like, “Now that my health is terrible, hey, let’s write.”   Lori: Exactly. I didn’t want to even start writing anything down, but my husband told me when I was in ICU, ” We should be writing down what’s going on.” I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t want to relive it. I just wanted to get back to my normal life. I wanted this to be kind of a blip on the radar and then get back to the normal planned route. I was in denial, but I did eventually start writing things down.   Karen: We’ve had a couple of previous podcasts talking about focus and how to maintain focus as writers and the things that take away from focus. But in this case, God brought about this focusing of what it was that you were to do because you couldn’t do any of those other things. Like you said, if you’d had a healthier lifestyle and were still teaching, and with the kids and everything, you couldn’t do that. You couldn’t write. But to discover that this is what you could do now, from that stepped-back perspective, I see that as God’s saying, “This is your task, and this is how I’m going to make sure that you do the task that I have for you.” Lori: Yes. It’s one of the things I think back on. In one of my heart failure groups, and I think anonymous wrote this like so many other wise things that come out of anonymous, but it said, “Not all storms come to destroy your life. Some storms come to clear your path.” I really felt like this storm cleared my path. I mean, another way to look at it is a lot of doors closed at that time. By eliminating options for me, I was able to focus down the hallway to the door that was open and bypass all those closed doors.   Erin: I can see, though, that there would have been a great deal of reluctance because all of a sudden you are faced with this life-threatening situation and, you know, who wants to go there? That’s really scary.   I mean, as you say, you wanted it to be a blip, but now you have to dive into it. You have to embrace it, and that’s scary. How did you find courage to do that?   Lori: I’m wrestling with the word courage because what I did at first, a friend of mine dropped by a little notebook in my ICU room. I maybe had been there a couple days at that point, and it was just one of those little spiral notebooks. I think she meant for me to write down doctor’s notes or medications or instructions for the kids or something like that.   What it ended up being is in the middle of the night when I would wake up, I would just write down complaints almost to God. Some angsty statements like, “I don’t get this. I don’t understand. Where are you? Why are you not showing up?” I just started writing that down. That was one little element that was happening. The other thing that started happening at that time is, because I had this health situation, I started a blog because it was just easier to keep people up on my health news that way. Erin: Yeah.   Lori: Eventually stuff from that little notebook seeped into the blog, and that started resonating with people. Not people who were necessarily on a health detour, but for people that were on a relationship detour, or a career detour, or whatever kind of detour they happen to be on. They’re like, “Hmm, I don’t know anything about heart failure, but these issues seem a lot like what I’m wrestling with.” That’s when I knew. That’s when I sort of dug in and thought, “Okay. I think I know what I need to be sharing now.” That was where the courage came from, if you can call it that.   Erin: Yeah. I think what happened was it built very slowly. It started with just frustration. It started with just this little tiny step of writing something down in that notebook. Then you took that next step. It was like God kind of just nudged your step. Small baby steps, and it did bloom into something that seemed courageous because pretty soon you’re exploring what’s going on. You’re exploring the deeper questions that God is calling you to explore, and ask, and find solutions for. Let’s talk about that. In your writing journey, you were working on this book. It turned out to be the book that we talked about, the Divine Detour book, and you came up with some questions that every life must answer. I love that. Talk a little bit about what those questions are and what they meant and how they apply to writers. Lori: When I started looking at everything I had been writing, at some point I put every title and every idea on a sticky note and started to move them around and figure out how I was going to make sense of all this stuff that was just sort of bubbling out of my experience at the time.   Everything inside me wanted it to be chronological. I wanted it to have a beginning and an end. I even had my sections figured out. I was going to have my diagnosis and my device, because I have an internal device. The alliteration was there and I was liking that. It felt right.   Then three years ago I experienced kind of a downturn in my health, and I had this sort of feeling like, “I don’t know the end of this story.” I thought before I could write from beginning to end, but I don’t know the end of this story. That made me pause for a while. Then when I looked at those little sticky notes again, I happened to be studying about Jesus’s 40 days in the desert and the three temptations. It struck me that those temptations were really just internal questions that we asked ourselves. Those questions looked a lot like three buckets that my little sticky notes were trying to go into. I felt like I was onto something, so I started exploring these questions and putting them out to people who were reading my blog, and other people who had supported my writing along the way.   They said, “I’ve asked those same three questions!” Karen: After listening to everything that Lori Ann has been through, I bet you guys are just on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what those questions are. Well, you’ll hear all about them in the next episode, so stay tuned and we’ll visit with Lori Ann again! Guest @lori_ann_wood shares what happens when your life or writing is hijacked, and you find yourself on a detour you never wanted! #amwriting #christianwriterClick To Tweet Books Mentioned on the podcast Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted by Lori Ann Wood  WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Have you ever found yourself on an unwanted detour? What helped you cope? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! We have openings for our Patreon Sponsor of the Month. Along with our sincere gratitude, we also announce our sponsors’ books, services, and website on the podcast. Sponsors also get a banner and link in the show notes of both monthly episodes and right here in this space as well! Find more information at Patreon.com/writefromthedeep Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 187 – Detours on Your Writing Journey with Guest Lori Ann Wood, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

It’s so hard when the journey we think we’re on in our writing takes a detour. We worry and wonder what God is doing. IF God is doing anything. Guest Lori Ann Wood shares the shocking—and life-threatening—detour in her own life and writing journey, and how God’s miraculous hand was at work for his amazing purpose. About Lori Ann Wood Lori Ann Wood lives in an empty nest in beautiful Bentonville, Arkansas, with her husband, the love of her life whom she found in 9th grade. She currently serves as WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas and American Heart Association Ambassador. Lori Ann was awarded the Frederick Buecher Narrative Essay Award, and her work has been published in numerous print and online venues. Having discovered a serious heart condition almost too late, Lori Ann writers to encourage others to ask their difficult faith questions along the detour of life. Lori Ann’s first book, <a href="https://amzn.to/3zt7sek" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted</a>, released with CrossRiver Media in February 2023. Thanks to our sponsors on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>, we’re able to offer an edited transcript of the podcast! Karen: Hello, friends. Welcome into the deep today. We’re so excited to have a guest, who Erin will introduce. We’re going to talk about the reality of detours, whether they’re health or otherwise in our writing journey, and how they often turn out to be exactly God’s intended road for us.  Erin: I’m excited to introduce Lori Ann Wood. She currently serves as founding leader of the Parenting Education Ministry at the Church of Christ in Bentonville. She also serves as WomenHeart Champion Community Educator for Arkansas and American Heart Association Ambassador. Y’all, I bet we’ll be talking about some of the reasons why!   Lori Ann was awarded the Frederick Buechner Narrative Essay Award, and her work has been published in numerous print and online venues, including Heart Insight Magazine, the Christian Century Magazine, Just Between Us Magazine, the Joyful Life Magazine, Pepperdine University Press, and so much more. Having discovered a serious heart condition almost too late, Lori Ann writes to encourage others to ask their difficult faith questions along the detours of life. Lori Ann’s first book, <a href="https://amzn.to/3zt7sek" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted</a> just released, so that’s exciting. Lori Ann, we’re glad to have you here today. Welcome.  Lori: Oh, thank you. It’s so great to be here.  Erin: Let’s just jump in. What, Lori Ann, does the deep mean to you?  Lori: The deep to me is mostly when I personally am taking my faith to the point where I’m going deep enough. Because I think we get to a certain point in our faith sometimes, and we stop because we don’t want to go any deeper, because we don’t know what the answers might be or where we might end up. To me, the deep is not being afraid to go in there and ask those questions and dig and dig and dig. That’s where I’m coming from when we’re talking about the deep.  Erin: I love it, and I know from what I’ve learned about you that you have certainly faced deep places of trial and struggle. I’d love for you to start off by sharing that. For you as a person, what’s been going on?  Lori: I got a very, well, I felt like it was an out-of-the-blue diagnosis about seven years ago. I thought I had the flu, or maybe I thought it could be pneumonia. I hadn’t had pneumonia. I was just a little draggy. My kids were coming in for the holidays, and I was still functioning and doing all these things, but I wasn’t myself. I knew I didn’t have the energy that I should, but because it was a holiday week, it was Thanksgiving week, I didn’t go to the doctor. I went to convenient care a couple of times, but I didn’t go see my family doctor until the Friday after Thanksgiving. He immediately looked at me, listened to my heart with a stethoscope like they always do, and took me to the x-ray lab and said, “If we’re lucky it’s pneumonia.” Erin: That’s a little scary.  Karen: There’s something you don’t wanna hear.  Lori: Right? But I’m thinking that’s the worst case, and what he found on that x-ray was that my heart was very enlarged. The Cleveland Clinic cardiologist later told me it was the largest heart she’d ever seen.  Karen: Oh my word! Lori: I was immediately admitted to cardiac ICU. My heart was functioning at 6%. I had no idea. It was to me just unbelievable. I had no family history. I had no risk factors. I had great cholesterol and low blood pressure. I had actually done an evaluation for a life insurance policy about a month before that, and they said, “Your numbers are so good. You have less than 3% chance of ever developing heart disease.” Erin: Wow.  Lori: Then I found myself in the hospital, and they diagnosed me with end stage heart failure. I had no idea, no clue. Didn’t know what it was. I started on this journey, really in my health, but more importantly in my faith, and I’ve been on that journey for about seven years.  Erin: Were you a writer at the time or did writing come about because of this?  Lori: I think I’m like a lot of people. I felt like I had a book lurking around in the back of my head somewhere, but I still had kids at home and I was teaching college at the time and just was not writing. I had ideas. You know, I’d maybe write a book about how to plan children’s birthday parties or how to take a vacation on the cheap, something like that. But I never wrote.  Once I got this diagnosis and I couldn’t stand up and speak for two hours at a time, I had to make a lot of adjustments in my lifestyle. I found that I could sit at my computer and I could type all day long. So this book started, and really the whole writing journey started, because I wouldn’t have taken the time to do it in a safer, healthier life.  Erin: I love how ironic that is. It’s like, “Now everything is gone. Everything’s been ruined, so I’m gonna write.” You know, it’s like, “Now that my health is terrible, hey, let’s write.”  Lori: Exactly. I didn’t want to even start writing anything down, but my husband told me when I was in ICU, ” We should be writing down what’s going on.” I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t want to relive it. I just wanted to get back to my normal life. I wanted this to be kind of a blip on the radar and then get back to the normal planned route. I was in denial, but I did eventually start writing things down.  Karen: We’ve had a couple of previous podcasts talking about focus and how to maintain focus as writers and the things that take away from focus. But in this case, God brought about this focusing of what it was that you were to do because you couldn’t do any of those other things. Like you said, if you’d had a healthier lifestyle and were still teaching, and with the kids and everything, you couldn’t do that. You couldn’t write. But to discover that this is what you could do now, from that stepped-back perspective, I see that as God’s saying, “This is your task, and this is how I’m going to make sure that you do the task that I have for you.” Lori: Yes. It’s one of the things I think back on. In one of my heart failure groups, and I think anonymous wrote this like so many other wise things that come out of anonymous, but it said, “Not all storms come to destroy your life. Some storms come to clear your path.” I really felt like this storm cleared my path. I mean, another way to look at it is a lot of doors closed at that time. By eliminating options for me, I was able to focus down the hallway to the door that was open and bypass all those closed doors.  Erin: I can see, though, that there would have been a great deal of reluctance because all of a sudden you are faced with this life-threatening situation and, you know, who wants to go there? That’s really scary.  I mean, as you say, you wanted it to be a blip, but now you have to dive into it. You have to embrace it, and that’s scary. How did you find courage to do that?  Lori: I’m wrestling with the word courage because what I did at first, a friend of mine dropped by a little notebook in my ICU room. I maybe had been there a couple days at that point, and it was just one of those little spiral notebooks. I think she meant for me to write down doctor’s notes or medications or instructions for the kids or something like that.  What it ended up being is in the middle of the night when I would wake up, I would just write down complaints almost to God. Some angsty statements like, “I don’t get this. I don’t understand. Where are you? Why are you not showing up?” I just started writing that down. That was one little element that was happening. The other thing that started happening at that time is, because I had this health situation, I started a blog because it was just easier to keep people up on my health news that way. Erin: Yeah.  Lori: Eventually stuff from that little notebook seeped into the blog, and that started resonating with people. Not people who were necessarily on a health detour, but for people that were on a relationship detour, or a career detour, or whatever kind of detour they happen to be on. They’re like, “Hmm, I don’t know anything about heart failure, but these issues seem a lot like what I’m wrestling with.” That’s when I knew. That’s when I sort of dug in and thought, “Okay. I think I know what I need to be sharing now.” That was where the courage came from, if you can call it that.  Erin: Yeah. I think what happened was it built very slowly. It started with just frustration. It started with just this little tiny step of writing something down in that notebook. Then you took that next step. It was like God kind of just nudged your step. Small baby steps, and it did bloom into something that seemed courageous because pretty soon you’re exploring what’s going on. You’re exploring the deeper questions that God is calling you to explore, and ask, and find solutions for. Let’s talk about that. In your writing journey, you were working on this book. It turned out to be the book that we talked about, the <a href="https://amzn.to/3ZBEqDK" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Divine Detour</a> book, and you came up with some questions that every life must answer. I love that. Talk a little bit about what those questions are and what they meant and how they apply to writers. Lori: When I started looking at everything I had been writing, at some point I put every title and every idea on a sticky note and started to move them around and figure out how I was going to make sense of all this stuff that was just sort of bubbling out of my experience at the time.  Everything inside me wanted it to be chronological. I wanted it to have a beginning and an end. I even had my sections figured out. I was going to have my diagnosis and my device, because I have an internal device. The alliteration was there and I was liking that. It felt right.  Then three years ago I experienced kind of a downturn in my health, and I had this sort of feeling like, “I don’t know the end of this story.” I thought before I could write from beginning to end, but I don’t know the end of this story. That made me pause for a while. Then when I looked at those little sticky notes again, I happened to be studying about Jesus’s 40 days in the desert and the three temptations. It struck me that those temptations were really just internal questions that we asked ourselves. Those questions looked a lot like three buckets that my little sticky notes were trying to go into. I felt like I was onto something, so I started exploring these questions and putting them out to people who were reading my blog, and other people who had supported my writing along the way.  They said, “I’ve asked those same three questions!” Karen: After listening to everything that Lori Ann has been through, I bet you guys are just on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what those questions are. Well, you’ll hear all about them in the next episode, so stay tuned and we’ll visit with Lori Ann again! Guest @lori_ann_wood shares what happens when your life or writing is hijacked, and you find yourself on a detour you never wanted! #amwriting #christianwriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D5015&amp;text=Guest%20%40lori_ann_wood%20shares%20what%20happens%20when%20your%20life%20or%20writing%20is%20hijacked%2C%20and%20you%20find%20yourself%20on%20a%20detour%20you%20never%20wanted%21%20%23amwriting%20%23christianwriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <h5>Books Mentioned on the podcast</h5> <a href="https://amzn.to/3ZBEqDK" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Divine Detour: The Path You’d Never Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted by Lori Ann Wood</a> <a href="https://amzn.to/3ZBEqDK" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> Have you ever found yourself on an unwanted detour? What helped you cope? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! We have openings for our Patreon Sponsor of the Month. Along with our sincere gratitude, we also announce our sponsors’ books, services, and website on the podcast. Sponsors also get a banner and link in the show notes of both monthly episodes and right here in this space as well! Find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=9327100&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2Fwrite-from-the-deep-podcast%2F&amp;utm_medium=widget" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon.com/writefromthedeep</a> Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/187-detours-writing-lori-ann-wood-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">187 – Detours on Your Writing Journey with Guest Lori Ann Wood, Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

187 – Detours on Your Writing Journey with Guest Lori Ann Wood, Part 1

Many writers are sabotaging their ability to focus without even knowing it. They continue in one certain habit—a habit that almost everyone has—that derails and obstructs their ability to focus. What habit is that? Allowing distractions to steal your focus and direct it away from where you want it! What can we do to steel ourselves against the habit of being distracted? Join us to find out! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! In our previous episodes in this focus series, we talked about focus on a life scale, a career scale, and on a day-to-day scale. Today we want to get all the way down to the moment-by-moment scale.  Some of us, and we’re including ourselves here, have every intention of being focused in our thoughts and activities, but our brains don’t always cooperate. Our minds skitter from thing to thing to thing to thing. Erin and Karen have had more than one meeting where one of us is talking and the other is like, “Oh look! A butterfly!” That’s not a picture of great focus. We recognize the challenges. We live them.  It’s not just us. We as a society seem to be getting more and more distractible—the internet and phone apps daily encourage it with their constant flashing of ads and notifications. We have trouble keeping our attention on what we truly want to focus on.  That becomes a question of attention span. There was an article in Newsweek about this. The article defined attention span as “the amount of time we can stay focused on something.”  It goes on to make the case that technology is making us accustomed to distraction, to the point where distraction becomes a habit. Because it’s a habit that is continually reinforced, it becomes a very strong habit. Then, once we’ve developed a habit of distraction, our attention span decreases, and that leads to impatience. A short attention span combined with impatience leads us to feeling like anything that requires time and thought is unpleasant. So we tend to want to do quick easy tasks rather than dive into those bigger tasks which we think will be more difficult, because we assume they’ll be unpleasant.  But that’s not necessarily reality. That’s our “habit” speaking. Many times completing a difficult task creates the opposite feeling. It might be a hard task, but we feel a great sense of accomplishment when we finish, and that feels great, not unpleasant.  But habits are strong, so it’s no wonder we’re struggling with having short attention spans. And we’ll likely continue to struggle. The Newsweek article goes on to say, “Society now supports this downward spiral. Expectations of constant availability and the pressure to participate in social media and a variety of other communication channels keep us tethered to our devices.” What can we do to change things? We’ve done some research and found some ideas to help increase our attention span and encourage moment-by-moment focus.  Recognize the bAD habit The first thing the Newsweek article suggests is to “recognize that distraction is a bad habit.” In other words, it’s not a good thing. It’s something we should work to change.  Stop Multitasking The next thing we can do is to stop multitasking. We talked about this at length in the last episode on focus, so you can check that out for more of the research. But the bottom line is that our brains are not designed to multitask. They’re designed to do one cognitive task at a time. What we’re really doing when we think we’re multitasking is switching back and forth between cognitive tasks and that is scientifically proven to be inefficient and slower. Practice Mindfulness Another idea to help increase our  attention spa, is to practice mindfulness. An article on the George Washington University website defined mindfulness as “basic, intentional focus on the present moment.”  The article goes on to say, “[Mindfulness] can be a powerful tool in training your mind to settle on the immediate tasks at hand.”  You can practice mindfulness by doing something like taking a walk while keeping your phone and other technology distractions out of sight and sound, and focus on your senses. Use your powers of observation and pay attention to what you can see, hear, touch, smell. Focus on only that. Another way to practice mindfulness might be to pay attention to only whatever small task you’re doing at that moment. For example, maybe you’re making your bed. Don’t let your mind skitter around or think about the next task. Focus only on those blankets you’re putting in order. Tucking the sheet in or whatever. Practice being in the now. You can use little chores—doing the dishes, folding laundry, whatever—as an opportunity to practice and hone your ability to focus.  Active LIstening Another idea the Newsweek article mentions to help increase attention span is to practice active listening.  This is surely something we all need anyway, whether we think we have focus issues or not. When you’re having a conversation with someone, stop whatever else you’re doing, or whatever you’re tempted to do, and focus solely on listening. Put down your phone, close your laptop, turn off the TV or your music or whatever. Focus on what other people are saying, on where they’re coming from, rather than on what you want to say next or on what that ding on your phone just meant.  Be curious about other people and their point of view. Listen to learn. Don’t interrupt. This is much harder than it sounds. Another idea related to listening is to choose one thing to listen to, maybe a selection of music or a podcast. Listen without your tv on, without scrolling on your phone or tablet. The idea is to ONLY listen. A lot of us like to do other tasks while we listen to a podcast or something. We’re not saying there’s anything wrong with that. We’re only saying that you can also use that podcast or musical selection as a chance to increase your attention span. Meditation Another practice that can increase attention span is meditation. The Newsweek article quoted Dr Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. She said that meditation “taps right into the skill needed to increase attention span.” She goes on to say that the reason why meditation can help is that it “requires you to quiet your mind and focus on what is happening in the moment.” Basically you’re training your focus. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center say that “meditation can change the structure and function of the brain through relaxation, which can improve memory and attention span, in addition to offering other health benefits.” Even people new to the practice of meditation can see a benefit, so you don’t have to be some seasoned veteran at it or anything. There are many different ways to practice mediation. A few are: Mindfulness Meditation We talked about mindfulness meditation earlier when we suggested taking a walk and paying attention to your sensory input. But mindfulness meditation can also be just sitting and focusing on breathing, or focusing on your thoughts, paying attention to them as they go through your mind. Scripture Meditation Scripture meditation is a concentrative type of meditation. There are lots of ways to meditate on Scripture, but one way is that you might read a verse through a few times to get the flow, and then slow down and focus on it word by word, contemplating the meaning of each word and the implications of each word, then taking time to listen to what God may be saying to you through all that. Movement Meditation Movement meditation is another type of meditation. It might be through something like walking or gardening or practicing yoga. It typically involves doing slow repetitive movements, focusing on your body, your breathing, and staying connected to the present moment to help you relax your mind and body. Exercise Another activity that can improve your attention span is getting some exercise! The University of New Hampshire mentioned a study on their website that linked participating in a physical activity with longer attention spans. Pomodoro Technique Another way to help foster focus is to use the pomodoro technique throughout your workday. This article gives a full description of this, but basically in the pomodoro technique, you alternate between sprints of focused work and short breaks.  For example, you set your timer for twenty minutes, then you work solidly for that time, then you get a five minute break. Or you could start with a fifteen minute work session, or thirty minutes, or whatever works for you. The goal is to encourage yourself to focus by knowing you have that break coming as a reward. The breaks serve as both reward and rest after the fatigue of focusing.  One of the nice things about the pomodoro technique is that it helps you break the habit of multitasking. Which again, increases attention span. Sleep Another way to grow your attention span is to be sure you’re getting the sleep you need. Lack of sleep can hinder your ability to focus. Erin suffers from chronic insomnia and can testify that this is true! But even if you do get enough sleep at night, you still want to be sure you also take breaks throughout your day and your week. You need rest. You can’t focus 24/7 so don’t try. You need off time. Rest is actually necessary for productivity.  Fasting from technology We also encourage you to consider an occasional fast from screens: phones, computers, TV, whatever. You could try doing this one day a week, or maybe it’s an hour every day, or whatever. It’s an opportunity to unplug from the constant noise and distraction. To let your brain have a break from incessant flashing and pinging and the decision-making that every notification forces you to make. Take a break from constant input. Monitor mind wandering Another way you can foster better moment by moment focus is to Monitor Your Mind Wandering. An article on entrepreneur.com said: “We spend nearly fifty percent of our waking time thinking about something other than what we’re supposed to be doing, according to one Harvard study. We are on autopilot, and our mind is wandering, in part to avoid the effort of focusing on something. The key to heightened productivity is to notice when your mind is distracted and bring your attention back on task.” The article goes on to say: “This means paying attention to your thoughts and recognizing when your mind starts drifting. This allows you to manage what you focus on and redirect your thoughts when you slip up. Instead of allowing yourself to keep meandering over to social media to check out your newsfeed, you actively put the brakes on this distraction.” This is an area we all can be praying about: that God would help us pay attention to our mind wandering. Not all mind wandering is bad—in fact, sometimes it’s necessary and good. It helps with creativity, for one thing. As writers, we need that.  However, mind wandering can cross the line to being problematic if it derails our ability to focus. It can also become sinful if our mind wandering becomes fantasizing. Protecting our minds is something God cares deeply about, and we can trust him to answer earnest prayer and help us. Create a Distraction Free Environment The next idea to help encourage focus is to create a distraction free environment in your workspace. How do you do that?    Avoid clutter. A Psychology Today article says clutter can distract us, bombard our mind with too much stimuli, inhibit our creativity, cause anxiety, cause guilt, and make it difficult to relax. Make sure whatever you need to do your work is readily available—research materials, notes, supplies, or whatever. Then make sure what you don’t need is put away. Don’t have your workspace in your tv room if that will distract you. If there isn’t a good distraction free space in your home, consider going elsewhere for your writing time, such as a coffee shop or whatever. Create a distraction free computer screen (if you work on a computer). Don’t let your email or social media apps ding at you. Take advantage of full screen apps that immerse you in just that app and nothing else.  Eliminate interruptions other from people. Close your door, work when the kids are sleeping or not home. Use noise canceling headphones.   Create a Ritual Another idea to encourage better focus is to create a ritual that helps your mind settle, a ritual that signals your brain that it’s time to focus. Creating a routine will help set your body and mind’s expectation of what comes next. It’s like creating a habit. Your ritual might be just one minute or it might be much longer. It needs to be tailored to what works for you.  As you’re thinking about creating a ritual, some things to consider including are: prayer, deep breathing, meditating on a Scripture verse, sitting in a favorite chair, Bible reading, doing a short set of exercises, drinking a cup of coffee, playing a worship song or some other specific type of music, taking a walk. Experiment to find what works best for you. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. Repetition and consistency is the key. Do the same ritual every time. Seek professional help One last thing we want to mention. There are situations where a short attention span can be caused by physical and psychological conditions. For example, the article in Newsweek listed: ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, depression, learning disabilities, and head injuries as a few of the things that can affect our ability to focus. Medication, therapy, and other treatments may be appropriate for people who deal with those types of conditions. If that might be you, it’s definitely worth having a conversation with your doctor about.  The habit that controls our day Giving in to the habit of distraction ruins our ability to focus. In Scripture, God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Start there. Start with a habit of focusing on God. Start with prayer, even though it’s hard not to let our minds wander. But there’s no better way to establish a longer attention span and gain focus that will help us in every aspect of our lives. Many writers sabotage their ability to focus without even knowing it. We’ll show you how and why! You CAN achieve better moment-by-moment focus! #amwriting #christianwriterClick To Tweet WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What distractions tempt you most and what helps you fight them? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! A big thank you to our March sponsor of the month, Tammy Partlow! She’s a speaker at women’s retreats, and her debut novel Blood Beneath the Pines, a suspense set in the deep South, is now available. She’s hard at work on the second book of the series! Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 186 – Get Focused! Part 4 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Many writers are sabotaging their ability to focus without even knowing it. They continue in one certain habit—a habit that almost everyone has—that derails and obstructs their ability to focus. What habit is that? Allowing distractions to steal your focus and direct it away from where you want it! What can we do to steel ourselves against the habit of being distracted? Join us to find out! But first, thank you to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! In our previous episodes in this focus series, we talked about focus on a <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/177-get-focused-part-1/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">life scale</a>, a <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/178-get-focused-2/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">career scale</a>, and on a <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/185-get-focused-3/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">day-to-day scale</a>. Today we want to get all the way down to the moment-by-moment scale.  Some of us, and we’re including ourselves here, have every intention of being focused in our thoughts and activities, but our brains don’t always cooperate. Our minds skitter from thing to thing to thing to thing. Erin and Karen have had more than one meeting where one of us is talking and the other is like, “Oh look! A butterfly!” That’s not a picture of great focus. We recognize the challenges. We live them.  It’s not just us. We as a society seem to be getting more and more distractible—the internet and phone apps daily encourage it with their constant flashing of ads and notifications. We have trouble keeping our attention on what we truly want to focus on.  That becomes a question of attention span. There was an <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/increase-attention-span-causes-distractions-improvement-1691406" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">article in Newsweek</a> about this. The article defined attention span as “the amount of time we can stay focused on something.”  It goes on to make the case that technology is making us accustomed to distraction, to the point where distraction becomes a habit. Because it’s a habit that is continually reinforced, it becomes a very strong habit. Then, once we’ve developed a habit of distraction, our attention span decreases, and that leads to impatience. A short attention span combined with impatience leads us to feeling like anything that requires time and thought is unpleasant. So we tend to want to do quick easy tasks rather than dive into those bigger tasks which we think will be more difficult, because we assume they’ll be unpleasant.  But that’s not necessarily reality. That’s our “habit” speaking. Many times completing a difficult task creates the opposite feeling. It might be a hard task, but we feel a great sense of accomplishment when we finish, and that feels great, not unpleasant.  But habits are strong, so it’s no wonder we’re struggling with having short attention spans. And we’ll likely continue to struggle. The Newsweek article goes on to say, “Society now supports this downward spiral. Expectations of constant availability and the pressure to participate in social media and a variety of other communication channels keep us tethered to our devices.” What can we do to change things? We’ve done some research and found some ideas to help increase our attention span and encourage moment-by-moment focus.  <h5>Recognize the bAD habit</h5> The first thing the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/increase-attention-span-causes-distractions-improvement-1691406" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Newsweek article</a> suggests is to “recognize that distraction is a bad habit.” In other words, it’s not a good thing. It’s something we should work to change.  <h5>Stop Multitasking</h5> The next thing we can do is to stop multitasking. We talked about this at length in the <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/185-get-focused-3/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">last episode on focus</a>, so you can check that out for more of the research. But the bottom line is that our brains are not designed to multitask. They’re designed to do one cognitive task at a time. What we’re really doing when we think we’re multitasking is switching back and forth between cognitive tasks and that is scientifically proven to be inefficient and slower. <h5>Practice Mindfulness</h5> Another idea to help increase our  attention spa, is to practice mindfulness. An article on the <a href="https://healthcaremba.gwu.edu/blog/how-to-increase-attention-span/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">George Washington University website</a> defined mindfulness as “basic, intentional focus on the present moment.”  The article goes on to say, “[Mindfulness] can be a powerful tool in training your mind to settle on the immediate tasks at hand.”  You can practice mindfulness by doing something like taking a walk while keeping your phone and other technology distractions out of sight and sound, and focus on your senses. Use your powers of observation and pay attention to what you can see, hear, touch, smell. Focus on only that. Another way to practice mindfulness might be to pay attention to only whatever small task you’re doing at that moment. For example, maybe you’re making your bed. Don’t let your mind skitter around or think about the next task. Focus only on those blankets you’re putting in order. Tucking the sheet in or whatever. Practice being in the now. You can use little chores—doing the dishes, folding laundry, whatever—as an opportunity to practice and hone your ability to focus.  <h5>Active LIstening</h5> Another idea the Newsweek article mentions to help increase attention span is to practice active listening.  This is surely something we all need anyway, whether we think we have focus issues or not. When you’re having a conversation with someone, stop whatever else you’re doing, or whatever you’re tempted to do, and focus solely on listening. Put down your phone, close your laptop, turn off the TV or your music or whatever. Focus on what other people are saying, on where they’re coming from, rather than on what you want to say next or on what that ding on your phone just meant. Be curious about other people and their point of view. Listen to learn. Don’t interrupt. This is much harder than it sounds. Another idea related to listening is to choose one thing to listen to, maybe a selection of music or a podcast. Listen without your tv on, without scrolling on your phone or tablet. The idea is to ONLY listen. A lot of us like to do other tasks while we listen to a podcast or something. We’re not saying there’s anything wrong with that. We’re only saying that you can also use that podcast or musical selection as a chance to increase your attention span. <h5>Meditation</h5> Another practice that can increase attention span is meditation. The <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/increase-attention-span-causes-distractions-improvement-1691406" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Newsweek article</a> quoted Dr Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. She said that meditation “taps right into the skill needed to increase attention span.” She goes on to say that the reason why meditation can help is that it “requires you to quiet your mind and focus on what is happening in the moment.” Basically you’re training your focus. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center say that “meditation can change the structure and function of the brain through relaxation, which can improve memory and attention span, in addition to offering other health benefits.” Even people new to the practice of meditation can see a benefit, so you don’t have to be some seasoned veteran at it or anything. There are many different ways to practice mediation. A few are: Mindfulness Meditation We talked about mindfulness meditation earlier when we suggested taking a walk and paying attention to your sensory input. But mindfulness meditation can also be just sitting and focusing on breathing, or focusing on your thoughts, paying attention to them as they go through your mind. Scripture Meditation Scripture meditation is a concentrative type of meditation. There are lots of ways to meditate on Scripture, but one way is that you might read a verse through a few times to get the flow, and then slow down and focus on it word by word, contemplating the meaning of each word and the implications of each word, then taking time to listen to what God may be saying to you through all that. Movement Meditation Movement meditation is another type of meditation. It might be through something like walking or gardening or practicing yoga. It typically involves doing slow repetitive movements, focusing on your body, your breathing, and staying connected to the present moment to help you relax your mind and body. <h5>Exercise</h5> Another activity that can improve your attention span is getting some exercise! The <a href="https://www.unh.edu/healthyunh/blog/2013/07/recent-study-ties-physical-activity-longer-attention-span#:~:text=Better%20cognitive%20abilities%20such%20as,activity%20and%20longer%20attention%20spans" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">University of New Hampshire mentioned a study on their website</a> that linked participating in a physical activity with longer attention spans. <h5>Pomodoro Technique</h5> Another way to help foster focus is to use the pomodoro technique throughout your workday. This <a href="https://lifehacker.com/productivity-101-a-primer-to-the-pomodoro-technique-1598992730" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">article gives a full description</a> of this, but basically in the pomodoro technique, you alternate between sprints of focused work and short breaks.  For example, you set your timer for twenty minutes, then you work solidly for that time, then you get a five minute break. Or you could start with a fifteen minute work session, or thirty minutes, or whatever works for you. The goal is to encourage yourself to focus by knowing you have that break coming as a reward. The breaks serve as both reward and rest after the fatigue of focusing. One of the nice things about the pomodoro technique is that it helps you break the habit of multitasking. Which again, increases attention span. <h5>Sleep</h5> Another way to grow your attention span is to be sure you’re getting the sleep you need. Lack of sleep can hinder your ability to focus. Erin suffers from chronic insomnia and can testify that this is true! But even if you do get enough sleep at night, you still want to be sure you also take breaks throughout your day and your week. You need rest. You can’t focus 24/7 so don’t try. You need off time. Rest is actually necessary for productivity.  <h5>Fasting from technology</h5> We also encourage you to consider an occasional fast from screens: phones, computers, TV, whatever. You could try doing this one day a week, or maybe it’s an hour every day, or whatever. It’s an opportunity to unplug from the constant noise and distraction. To let your brain have a break from incessant flashing and pinging and the decision-making that every notification forces you to make. Take a break from constant input. <h5>Monitor mind wandering</h5> Another way you can foster better moment by moment focus is to Monitor Your Mind Wandering. An <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/7-proven-strategies-for-overcoming-distractions/324560" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">article on entrepreneur.com</a> said: “We spend nearly fifty percent of our waking time thinking about something other than what we’re supposed to be doing, according to one <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Harvard study</a>. We are on autopilot, and our mind is wandering, in part to avoid the effort of focusing on something. The key to heightened productivity is to notice when your mind is distracted and bring your attention back on task.” The article goes on to say: “This means paying attention to your thoughts and recognizing when your mind starts drifting. This allows you to manage what you focus on and redirect your thoughts when you slip up. Instead of allowing yourself to keep meandering over to social media to check out your newsfeed, you actively put the brakes on this distraction.” This is an area we all can be praying about: that God would help us pay attention to our mind wandering. Not all mind wandering is bad—in fact, sometimes it’s necessary and good. It helps with creativity, for one thing. As writers, we need that.  However, mind wandering can cross the line to being problematic if it derails our ability to focus. It can also become sinful if our mind wandering becomes fantasizing. Protecting our minds is something God cares deeply about, and we can trust him to answer earnest prayer and help us. <h5>Create a Distraction Free Environment</h5> The next idea to help encourage focus is to create a distraction free environment in your workspace. How do you do that?   <ol> <li>Avoid clutter. A <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/high-octane-women/201203/why-mess-causes-stress-8-reasons-8-remedies" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Psychology Today article</a> says clutter can distract us, bombard our mind with too much stimuli, inhibit our creativity, cause anxiety, cause guilt, and make it difficult to relax.</li> <li>Make sure whatever you need to do your work is readily available—research materials, notes, supplies, or whatever. Then make sure what you don’t need is put away.</li> <li>Don’t have your workspace in your tv room if that will distract you. If there isn’t a good distraction free space in your home, consider going elsewhere for your writing time, such as a coffee shop or whatever.</li> <li>Create a distraction free computer screen (if you work on a computer). Don’t let your email or social media apps ding at you. Take advantage of full screen apps that immerse you in just that app and nothing else. </li> <li>Eliminate interruptions other from people. Close your door, work when the kids are sleeping or not home. Use noise canceling headphones. </li> </ol> <h5>Create a Ritual</h5> Another idea to encourage better focus is to create a ritual that helps your mind settle, a ritual that signals your brain that it’s time to focus. Creating a routine will help set your body and mind’s expectation of what comes next. It’s like creating a habit. Your ritual might be just one minute or it might be much longer. It needs to be tailored to what works for you.  As you’re thinking about creating a ritual, some things to consider including are: prayer, deep breathing, meditating on a Scripture verse, sitting in a favorite chair, Bible reading, doing a short set of exercises, drinking a cup of coffee, playing a worship song or some other specific type of music, taking a walk. Experiment to find what works best for you. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. Repetition and consistency is the key. Do the same ritual every time. <h5>Seek professional help</h5> One last thing we want to mention. There are situations where a short attention span can be caused by physical and psychological conditions. For example, the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/increase-attention-span-causes-distractions-improvement-1691406" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">article in Newsweek</a> listed: ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, depression, learning disabilities, and head injuries as a few of the things that can affect our ability to focus. Medication, therapy, and other treatments may be appropriate for people who deal with those types of conditions. If that might be you, it’s definitely worth having a conversation with your doctor about.  <h5>The habit that controls our day</h5> Giving in to the habit of distraction ruins our ability to focus. In Scripture, God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Start there. Start with a habit of focusing on God. Start with prayer, even though it’s hard not to let our minds wander. But there’s no better way to establish a longer attention span and gain focus that will help us in every aspect of our lives. Many writers sabotage their ability to focus without even knowing it. We’ll show you how and why! You CAN achieve better moment-by-moment focus! #amwriting #christianwriter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writefromthedeep.com%2F%3Fp%3D4996&amp;text=Many%20writers%20sabotage%20their%20ability%20to%20focus%20without%20even%20knowing%20it.%20We%E2%80%99ll%20show%20you%20how%20and%20why%21%20You%20CAN%20achieve%20better%20moment-by-moment%20focus%21%20%23amwriting%20%23christianwriter&amp;via=erintyoung&amp;related=erintyoung" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click To Tweet</a> <h5>WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!</h5> What distractions tempt you most and what helps you fight them? <h5>THANK YOU!</h5> Thanks to all our patrons on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/writefromthedeep" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>! You help make this podcast possible! A big thank you to our March sponsor of the month, <a href="https://tammypartlow.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Tammy Partlow</a>! She’s a speaker at women’s retreats, and her debut novel <a href="https://amzn.to/3OAH47Y" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Blood Beneath the Pines</a>, a suspense set in the deep South, is now available. She’s hard at work on the second book of the series! Many thanks also to the folks at <a href="https://www.podcastps.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast P.S.</a> for their fabulous sound editing! <h5>STAY CONNECTED</h5> Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? <a href="https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k1l6r8" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to join our newsletter </a>and get an exclusive audio download. The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/186-get-focused-4/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">186 – Get Focused! Part 4</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

186 – Get Focused! Part 4

One of the biggest challenges writers face is a blizzard of busyness and distraction, which can keep us from accomplishing what we need to do in the course of the day. We need tools to help us focus on what’s most important. In our previous podcasts on focus, we’ve explored ways to focus on the big picture. Now it’s time to tackle the day-to-day! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! One of the biggest challenges we face in this world of busyness, technology, and relentless stimulation is maintaining focus on what truly matters to us. In the two previous episodes in this series on focus (episode 177 and 178) we discussed some ways to focus your life and career around your values and to prune your activities and commitments accordingly. Today we want to discuss focus on a smaller scale. A daily, and even a moment-by-moment scale. When push comes to shove, we still need to be able to focus on our tasks today or they won’t get done. And we want those tasks to be the right tasks to keep us on track with our career and life focus. Since we’ve talked so much about how creating focus is, in essence, making a decision about what we will and won’t spend time on, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that focus on a smaller scale also requires a decision. On a daily basis, we have to choose what to say yes to and what to say no to. How do we do that? How do we prioritize the best activity for each day? Remember the goal isn’t just to get stuff done, it’s to get the right stuff done. First, and most important, this is a question that needs to be bathed in prayer. Not only can you be praying about this, but when we interviewed Shadia Hrichi in episodes 181 &amp; 182, we talked about how to build a prayer team. A simple yet critical thing that you can be asking a prayer team to pray for is a sensitivity to God’s leading as you order your tasks for each day, as you consider what needs to happen each day. There’s also some practical business wisdom we can use. The Lee Ivy Method James Clear, the author of the book Atomic Habits, which we’ve discussed in the past, wrote an interesting article that helps address the question of prioritizing tasks. His article is about the Lee Ivy method for achieving peak productivity—which is not just getting things done, but getting the right things done. The steps of the Lee Ivy method, as he lists them in his article, are: 1. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow.  Do not write down more than six tasks. You could just as easily choose five or four, or whatever number works best for you. There’s nothing magical about six items. You don’t want to have so many things on the list that it’s stressful and unrealistic, or so few things on the list that you finish everything and waste productive time because you don’t know what to do next.  If you have too few items, another danger is that the tasks expand to take up the time allotted. You end up taking far longer than necessary on any given task. Also realize that this method is about daily goals. So if, for example, you’re in the middle of writing or editing your manuscript, obviously that can’t be done in one day. The solution is to break that big project down into daily goals. A daily goal could be to write 1000 words, or maybe a time goal works better for you. So the task might be to write for one hour. 2. Prioritize those six items (or the number that works for you) in order of their true importance. How do you do that? Prayer can help you discern the order. Another idea that can help you determine order of importance is a question we discussed in part 2 of our focus series. It’s from a book by Gary Keller called The One Thing. Ask yourself, “What is the one thing I can do, that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”  Or, it might be easier to phrase it: “What’s the best thing I can do to make everything else easier or unnecessary.”  What comes out of this question might surprise you. For example, I suffer from fibromyalgia, which is now affecting my ribs. My hubby and I have a golden retriever who sheds a lot, creating a need for vacuuming, lest we be kicking up dog hair with every step we take. Vacuuming needs to happen for life to be functional.  However, vacuuming inflames my ribs, which affects my ability to write and edit. That makes my work harder. I ask myself, “What’s the one thing I can do to make my work less painful and therefore easier?”  The answer turns out to be that I need to find a vacuuming solution such that vacuuming will be easier or unnecessary. I think we can all agree that the dog stays, so that’s not a solution. Having my hubby vacuum has been a short term solution, but he doesn’t always have the time, and frankly he’s not great at it.  The next idea? Get a robot vacuum like a Roomba or whatever. Putting off this task of finding a robot vacuum, or making this task less important, ultimately makes all my work harder. Prioritizing this task makes my work going forward easier and more efficient.  3. When you start work tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task.  You work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task. Now if this first task happens to be a three hour project, we’re not saying you can’t take a bathroom break, or stand up and stretch, or get a second cup of coffee, or take a ten-minute break to play with your dog, or whatever to freshen your mind. Those things are good and often necessary.  What we are saying is that if this is what you’ve identified as the most important task of the day, stick with it. The temptation will be to skip to another project when this one gets difficult or tiring or boring. Instead, that’s the time for a short little break.  As soon as we give in to the temptation to switch tasks, we’re in danger of not finishing the most important thing on our agenda for the day, because we don’t know what will come up that will end our work day. It could be a health issue that rears its ugly head, or an emergency with your family, or even some type of fantastic opportunity you don’t want to miss out on. So, finish that first and most important task of the day before moving on to the second task on the list. 4. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion.  At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day. 5. Repeat this process every working day. Sounds simple, right? But few people actually do this, let alone adhere to it strictly or do it consistently. But this method has proven highly effective for several reasons, which James Clear also discusses in his article. Why Is the Lee Ivy Method Affective? First, it’s not complicated: Do what’s most important first.  Sometimes we overcomplicate our lives and our decisions, when we often just need to pray about it and move on. We need to trust that God is guiding us. When life happens, when our day gets messed up, an emergency happens, or whatever, we can’t beat ourselves up. We can simply deal with those situations as best we can and then get back to the tasks we listed. Second, the Lee Ivy method forces us to make difficult decisions and commit to them.  Remember what we’ve been saying over and over: focus is about making decisions. Waffling back and forth wastes time—time we could spend getting important tasks done.  Third, we can start our day with no friction over having to decide what to do. We already know what we need to do, so there’s no reason not to plunge in. That said, getting started on anything requires that we overcome inertia: the tendency to do nothing. If we’re naturally a slow starter, or not a morning person, or whatever, overcoming inertia can be more of a challenge. Knowing what the plan is can help push us forward into motion. It’s also nice that we don’t have to be thinking or worrying the night before about what we need to get done the next day. It’s already written down, there’s already a plan. That frees our minds for relaxation. Fourth, the Lee Ivy method forbids multitasking.  While our modern culture may idolize this ability to multitask, the truth is that busyness—doing many things—is not the same as doing the right thing well. Furthermore, our brains aren’t physically wired to multitask. Here’s a great quote from an article on Psychology Today’s website:  “The research shows that people can attend to only one cognitive task at a time. You can only be thinking about one thing at a time. You can only be conducting one mental activity at a time.” Because we can’t actually multitask, what we’re really doing is switching between tasks rather than performing them simultaneously. Sadly, we don’t even do that well. Worse, research has also shown that we think we do it better than we do. We aren’t capable of realizing just how inefficient we are. So if you’re out there thinking, “That can’t be true. I’m great at multitasking,” well, you’ve just proven the point of that research result.  Bottom line? Our. Brains. Can’t. Do. It. God did not make us that way. Why is switching back and forth between tasks a problem? There’s a mental cost to it. Research shows that it creates a reduction of accuracy and speed. While we may think we’re doing so well at “multitasking” or switching back and forth, really we’re going more slowly than we would if we focus on one thing at a time, and we’re making more mistakes.  We didn’t even mention the time loss involved in diving back into each task after a switch, nor the brain energy all this eats up. Bottom line, don’t do it. Drawbacks to the Lee Ivy Method We’ve listed several reasons why the Lee Ivy method is often successful, but it does have at least one possible drawback: If the key to the method is to do the most important task first everyday, what happens if writing is your most important task, but your creative brain doesn’t wake up until noon? That would mean you’re trying to do your most important task in the morning, at a time that’s least suitable for that task, which doesn’t exactly set you up for quality focus.  Now, some people can, over time, train their creativity to happen whenever they need it to. That’s great. But if that’s not you, then the solution is to adjust the Lee Ivy system, or any other system that you want to use, to suit who you are. Maybe you need to coordinate your most important tasks with your highest level of mental or creative energy instead. The goal is still to figure out how to structure your day in a way that allows you to successfully accomplish your most important tasks each day. Accomplishing those tasks means your day has been focused on what matters most to you. Complete or Kill One other thing we want to say about the Lee Ivy method, or any other strategy that utilizes a task list, is that if a task keeps showing up as number five or six on your list of important tasks for the day, and you never get to it— it just keeps showing up on the next day’s tasks and never seems to move higher than five or six on that list either, it may be a sign that it shouldn’t be on the list at all. A “complete or kill” mentality might be helpful for you.  If it truly needs to be completed, make yourself get it done.  It might be hanging around on the list because you’re simply procrastinating. Maybe it’s a difficult or tedious task. We all have tasks like that, and we need a “just do it” mentality. It can be helpful to plan a nice reward for ourselves when we do get it done.  Or maybe the problem with trying to get that pesky task done is that it’s overwhelming because it’s too big. We can help ourselves by breaking it down into smaller tasks that we can then put on our list in order of importance. Or maybe how to do that task needs to be researched first, so we should put that on our list. If none of those things apply, it’s possible that this task simply doesn’t need to get done at all, and we just haven’t recognized it or haven’t admitted it or haven’t wanted to let it go. If we want to achieve focus in our days, we need to make those tough choices. Face the fact that we’re not going to complete it, and kill it instead. Just delete it. Or perhaps we can put it on a “not now” list so we’ll stop being distracted by it today.  Goal Setting to the Now Another tactic we can use to help us create focus on a daily, and even moment-by-moment basis is something Gary Keller talks about in his book The One Thing. Gary Keller describes a process he calls Goal Setting to the Now. I loved this idea because it’s another way to connect our large scale goals with small scale focus. To put this in practice, you ask yourself: What is the big goal I want to achieve? Gary Keller phrases the question as, “What’s the one thing I want to do someday.” We’re modifying it because when I hear, “What do I want to do someday?” I always think, “I want to take a cruise to Alaska and see whales.” But that doesn’t mean my whole life or career is focused on that. Everyone needs to feel free to phrase the question in whatever way works for them.  This big goal, or this “someday thing,” can be an overall career goal such as, “I want to be able to quit my day job and be a full time writer.” Or it can be a goal you want to achieve this year or whatever. If it’s a lifetime goal, then go to this question next: What’s the ONE thing I can do in the next five years to be on track to achieve that lifetime goal? Once you have that answer, then you ask: What’s the ONE thing I can do this year to be on track to achieve that five-year goal, so that I’m on track to achieve my big lifetime goal? That answer gives you a one year goal. Then you ask: What’s the ONE thing I can do this month to be on track to meet my one-year goal, to be on track to achieve that five-year goal, so that I’m on track to achieve my big lifetime goal? Then you move on to the next question:  What’s the ONE thing I can do this week to be on track to meet my goal for the month, so that I can meet my goal for the year…and so on.  Then once you know your weekly goal, ask:  What’s the ONE thing I can do today to be on track to meet my weekly goal, so that I can be on track to meet my monthly goal, so that I can meet my goal for the year…and so on. Lastly, and hopefully you’ve been hanging in there with us on this, when you know your daily goal, you would ask: What’s the ONE thing I can do right now to be on track to meet my daily goal, so that I can be on track to meet my weekly goal, so that I can be on track to meet my monthly goal, so that I can be on track to meet my one-year goal, so that I can be on track to meet my five-year goal, so that I can be on track to meet my lifetime goal? That’s a lot to go through, but for some of us, the power of connecting what we’re doing right now, in this moment, to what we want in our lifetime is a powerful motivator, as well as a source of clarification for what matters to us. This can help us justify why we’re making the choice we are, and it can create focus on a daily scale as well as a moment-by-moment scale. One more thing we want to clarify. While Gary Keller’s system of questioning can work brilliantly for many folks, that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. Some people may feel overwhelmed just trying to get through it all. That’s okay! If it’s overwhelming or too complicated for you, don’t use it. We’re all made in God’s image, but we’re all unique as well. Find the system that works for you. Erin loves Gary Keller’s system, and the Lee Ivy method, and her Omnifocus to-do list program. She has lots of obligations and tasks to manage, and using those tools prayerfully works for her. Karen prefers a very different and simple system. She prays at the beginning of each day, “Okay, God, what do you want me to do today?” That’s how she prioritizes. She takes it to him and simply does what he impresses on her to do that day, trusting that God is guiding her. It’s a no frills method that works for her. There are many different systems and many different types of people, but there’s only one God. He knows us inside and out, and he knows exactly what we need in order to accomplish the tasks he’s given us in the timeframe he wants us to accomplish them. Trust him, honor him, and be obedient. That’s success! BOOKS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST The One Thing by Gary Keller  Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear  WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! What helps you decide what to focus on each day? THANK YOU! Thanks to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! A big thank you to our March sponsor of the month, Tammy Partlow! She’s a speaker at women’s retreats, and her debut novel Blood Beneath the Pines, a suspense set in the deep South, is now available. She’s hard at work on the second book of the series! Many thanks also to the folks at Podcast P.S. for their fabulous sound editing! STAY CONNECTED Want the latest news from Karen and Erin? Click here to join our newsletter and get an exclusive audio download. The post 185 – Get Focused! Part 3 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

185 – Get Focused! Part 3

Encouragement, refreshment, and truth from writers, for writers.

Heather Iseminger

Every writer struggles, but not all writers struggle with the same things. Does anyone share our particular struggle, or are we just odd? Even weak? Guest Heather Iseminger, a chaplain at writers’ conferences, is here to share her insights on writers’ struggles and how to find help and understanding in the midst of them. About … The post 184 – Cures for Common Writers’ Struggles with Guest Heather Iseminger appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Every writer struggles, but not all writers struggle with the same things. Does anyone share our particular struggle, or are we just odd? Even weak? Guest Heather Iseminger, a chaplain at writers’ conferences, is here to share her insights on writers’ struggles and how to find help and understanding in the midst of them. About … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/184-writers-struggles-heather-iseminger/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">184 – Cures for Common Writers’ Struggles with Guest Heather Iseminger</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

184 – Cures for Common Writers’ Struggles with Guest Heather Iseminger

Tina Yeager

How often have you sat down to write, stared at your page, and realized you have…nothing. No ideas, no words. Could it be the dreaded writer’s block? Don’t let it stop you in your writer’s tracks! Guest Tina Yeager is here to help you blast that block to smithereens! About Tina Yeager Award-winning author, speaker, … The post 183 – Got Writer’s Block? Guest Tina Yeager Is Here to Help! appeared first on Write from the Deep.

How often have you sat down to write, stared at your page, and realized you have…nothing. No ideas, no words. Could it be the dreaded writer’s block? Don’t let it stop you in your writer’s tracks! Guest Tina Yeager is here to help you blast that block to smithereens! About Tina Yeager Award-winning author, speaker, … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/183-writers-block-tina-yeager/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">183 – Got Writer’s Block? Guest Tina Yeager Is Here to Help!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

183 – Got Writer’s Block? Guest Tina Yeager Is Here to Help!

Shadia Hrichi

Everyone knows that writing is a solitary endeavor. We sit at our computers, lost in our heads and imaginations, trusting God to guide our fingers on the keyboard. And with God at our side, we can do anything. But sometimes we need a little in-person help. And guest Shadia Hrichi is here to show how … The post 182 – Plugging into the Power of Prayer Teams with Guest Shadia Hrichi, Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Everyone knows that writing is a solitary endeavor. We sit at our computers, lost in our heads and imaginations, trusting God to guide our fingers on the keyboard. And with God at our side, we can do anything. But sometimes we need a little in-person help. And guest Shadia Hrichi is here to show how … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/182-prayer-teams-shadia-hrichi-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">182 – Plugging into the Power of Prayer Teams with Guest Shadia Hrichi, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

182 – Plugging into the Power of Prayer Teams with Guest Shadia Hrichi, Part 2

There are partners out there that you, as a writer who is serving God, MUST have. They’re prayer partners! Guest Shadia Hrichi shares her experiences and guidance for putting together your own power team of prayers to help ensure you stay on the path God has for you. About Shadia Hrichi Shadia Hrichi is a … The post 181 – Plugging into the Power of Prayer Teams with Guest Shadia Hrichi, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

There are partners out there that you, as a writer who is serving God, MUST have. They’re prayer partners! Guest Shadia Hrichi shares her experiences and guidance for putting together your own power team of prayers to help ensure you stay on the path God has for you. About Shadia Hrichi Shadia Hrichi is a … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/181-prayer-teams-shadia-hrichi-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">181 – Plugging into the Power of Prayer Teams with Guest Shadia Hrichi, Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

181 – Plugging into the Power of Prayer Teams with Guest Shadia Hrichi, Part 1

One of the best ways to develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with God is to go on the journey he invites us on—the path of questioning. Guest Eva Marie Everson shares how by exploring—and answering—the profound questions God has for us will change our lives and writing. About Eva Marie Everson Eva Marie … The post 180 – God’s Questions for You! with Guest Eva Marie Everson, Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

One of the best ways to develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with God is to go on the journey he invites us on—the path of questioning. Guest Eva Marie Everson shares how by exploring—and answering—the profound questions God has for us will change our lives and writing. About Eva Marie Everson Eva Marie … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/180-gods-questions-eva-marie-everson-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">180 – God’s Questions for You! with Guest Eva Marie Everson, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

180 – God’s Questions for You! with Guest Eva Marie Everson, Part 2

We often talk about the questions we have for God, but do you realize God has questions for you? Questions that will rock your faith and world. Questions that will draw you into a more intimate relationship with the God of the universe. Join us and Guest Eva Marie Everson, who discovered this amazing journey … The post 179 – God’s Questions for You! with Guest Eva Marie Everson, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

We often talk about the questions we have for God, but do you realize God has questions for you? Questions that will rock your faith and world. Questions that will draw you into a more intimate relationship with the God of the universe. Join us and Guest Eva Marie Everson, who discovered this amazing journey … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/179-gods-questions-for-you-with-guest-eva-marie-everson-part-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">179 – God’s Questions for You! with Guest Eva Marie Everson, Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

179 – God’s Questions for You! with Guest Eva Marie Everson, Part 1

Focus is something we do on a number of levels. From the overall picture to the daily minutiae of life and our writing journeys, we are constantly deciding what to focus on. How do you know what is most important in your writing career and what is just a distraction or poor use of your … The post 178 – Get Focused! Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Focus is something we do on a number of levels. From the overall picture to the daily minutiae of life and our writing journeys, we are constantly deciding what to focus on. How do you know what is most important in your writing career and what is just a distraction or poor use of your … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/178-get-focused-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">178 – Get Focused! Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

178 – Get Focused! Part 2

Do you struggle to focus on your writing? You’re not alone. But you can regain the focus you need in your writing and your life. Come learn how! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! With the busyness our culture and our lives bring us each day, … The post 177 – Get Focused! Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Do you struggle to focus on your writing? You’re not alone. But you can regain the focus you need in your writing and your life. Come learn how! But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this podcast possible! With the busyness our culture and our lives bring us each day, … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/177-get-focused-part-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">177 – Get Focused! Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

177 – Get Focused! Part 1

Here’s the bad news: you cannot overcome your sin. Especially persistent sin. But there’s good news! Not easy news, mind you, but good: Being brutally honest with yourself and with God is the first step to spiritual freedom. Guest Christy Bass Adams shares how this key opened the door to a life and ministry far … The post 176 – Sin and Brutal Honesty with Guest Christy Bass Adams, Part 2 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Here’s the bad news: you cannot overcome your sin. Especially persistent sin. But there’s good news! Not easy news, mind you, but good: Being brutally honest with yourself and with God is the first step to spiritual freedom. Guest Christy Bass Adams shares how this key opened the door to a life and ministry far … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/176-sin-honesty-christy-bass-adams-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">176 – Sin and Brutal Honesty with Guest Christy Bass Adams, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

176 – Sin and Brutal Honesty with Guest Christy Bass Adams, Part 2

We all do it. We convince ourselves that that sin—the one that no one knows about—isn’t hurting anyone. Isn’t a big deal. Doesn’t matter. But we also know that’s a lie. Because hidden sin isn’t hidden from God. Join guest Christy Bass Adams as she shares what happens when we stop hiding and give God … The post 175 – Sin and Brutal Honesty with Guest Christy Bass Adams, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

We all do it. We convince ourselves that that sin—the one that no one knows about—isn’t hurting anyone. Isn’t a big deal. Doesn’t matter. But we also know that’s a lie. Because hidden sin isn’t hidden from God. Join guest Christy Bass Adams as she shares what happens when we stop hiding and give God … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/175-sin-honesty-christy-bass-adams-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">175 – Sin and Brutal Honesty with Guest Christy Bass Adams, Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

175 – Sin and Brutal Honesty with Guest Christy Bass Adams, Part 1

Your March 9 podcast with Tamera Alexander had me in tears (as I raked the yard!). Having just lost my husband (9 years of cancer) and my mother (5 years of dementia) I so identified with all you were saying. Thank you for your encouragement and wisdom. Many blessings from a fellow writer.  
Linda J. White

Thank you!

This is one podcast I never miss. I’ve come to really love Karen and Erin, and I so appreciate the encouragement they bring to my life.

Encouragement and Refreshment for Writers

Write from the Deep

Laura McClellan

It’s 2020! Now is the time to ask yourself what you want this year to look like? What do you want to accomplish––and why? Guest Laura McClellan, a productivity pro, joins us to talk about that. But here’s the beauty of what Laura does: she doesn’t focus on “getting things done,” but on being productive … The post 109 – Make Your Life Matter with Guest Laura McClellan appeared first on Write from the Deep.

It’s 2020! Now is the time to ask yourself what you want this year to look like? What do you want to accomplish––and why? Guest Laura McClellan, a productivity pro, joins us to talk about that. But here’s the beauty of what Laura does: she doesn’t focus on “getting things done,” but on being productive … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/make-your-life-matter-laura-mcclellan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">109 – Make Your Life Matter with Guest Laura McClellan</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

109 – Make Your Life Matter with Guest Laura McClellan

Lynn H. Blackburn

If there’s anything most writers share, it’s fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of what people think. Fear of not being good enough. And on and on it goes, until we end up almost paralyzed. Our guest, Lynn H. Blackburn, has wrestled with fear as well––and she’s here to share what God has … The post 105 – Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back! With Guest Lynn H. Blackburn appeared first on Write from the Deep.

If there’s anything most writers share, it’s fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of what people think. Fear of not being good enough. And on and on it goes, until we end up almost paralyzed. Our guest, Lynn H. Blackburn, has wrestled with fear as well––and she’s here to share what God has … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/fear-lynn-h-blackburn/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">105 – Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back! With Guest Lynn H. Blackburn</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

105 – Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back! With Guest Lynn H. Blackburn

Did you realize there are seasons to a writer’s life? From the beginnings of spring to the seeming death of winter we all experience these seasons as we seek to honor God in our writing. Unlike nature’s seasons, though, each season of the writing life can last a short time, or a long time. And … The post 101 – Make the Most of Your Writing Season appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Did you realize there are seasons to a writer’s life? From the beginnings of spring to the seeming death of winter we all experience these seasons as we seek to honor God in our writing. Unlike nature’s seasons, though, each season of the writing life can last a short time, or a long time. And … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/writing-season/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">101 – Make the Most of Your Writing Season</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

101 – Make the Most of Your Writing Season

Ever spent time praying and doing everything you know to do so that you can hear God speak to your heart? You listen and listen and…silence? Join us as we dig into the obstacles to hearing from God––and how to overcome them. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this … The post 110 – Hearing God, Part 1 appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Ever spent time praying and doing everything you know to do so that you can hear God speak to your heart? You listen and listen and…silence? Join us as we dig into the obstacles to hearing from God––and how to overcome them. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make this … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/hearing-god-part-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">110 – Hearing God, Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

110 – Hearing God, Part 1

You don’t hear much about discernment these days, but there are few things more important to your writing journey. And, in today’s belligerent world, to your life. So what is discernment and how do you develop it? Come listen in to find out. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make … The post 106 – Discernment: Why Writers HAVE to Have It appeared first on Write from the Deep.

You don’t hear much about discernment these days, but there are few things more important to your writing journey. And, in today’s belligerent world, to your life. So what is discernment and how do you develop it? Come listen in to find out. But first, thank you to all our patrons on Patreon! You help make … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/discernment-why-writers-have-to-have-it/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">106 – Discernment: Why Writers HAVE to Have It</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

106 – Discernment: Why Writers HAVE to Have It

The Write from the Deep Podcast wants to thank you! We’ve reached a milestone, and you’re a big part of that. It’s our 100th podcast! To celebrate, we’ve asked proven authors from across the states to share with our listeners their very best advice for the writing life. But first, a reminder that our newest … The post 100 – Best Advice for Writers from Writers appeared first on Write from the Deep.

The Write from the Deep Podcast wants to thank you! We’ve reached a milestone, and you’re a big part of that. It’s our 100th podcast! To celebrate, we’ve asked proven authors from across the states to share with our listeners their very best advice for the writing life. But first, a reminder that our newest … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/best-advice-for-writers/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">100 – Best Advice for Writers from Writers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

100 – Best Advice for Writers from Writers

Elizabeth Ludwig

Does it sometimes seem like the hits just keep coming? Like all your hopes and dreams are going by the wayside, and you’re left with disappointment and discouragement? Guest Elizabeth Ludwig shares how God has used her challenges to change and refine her––and prepare her to share stories that are hard and painful. Because those … The post 107 – Sharing the Hardest Stories with Guest Elizabeth Ludwig appeared first on Write from the Deep.

Does it sometimes seem like the hits just keep coming? Like all your hopes and dreams are going by the wayside, and you’re left with disappointment and discouragement? Guest Elizabeth Ludwig shares how God has used her challenges to change and refine her––and prepare her to share stories that are hard and painful. Because those … The post <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com/hardest-stories-guest-elizabeth-ludwig/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">107 – Sharing the Hardest Stories with Guest Elizabeth Ludwig</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.writefromthedeep.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Write from the Deep</a>.

107 – Sharing the Hardest Stories with Guest Elizabeth Ludwig

The best podcast episodes of anyone with an interesting story. With famous guests like Obama, LeBron James, Drake, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, to anyone who has a unique and interesting story to tell. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes: Personal Stories & Great Interviews

The best podcasts about ourselves as well as the world through the lense of Science. Specific topics include things about our brain, emotions to biology, physics and more!