Nessa-Ciryatan
04-07-2005, 08:22 AM
This article about Writing Devotions is written by Karen Hancock, author of Arena and the Legends of the Guardian King. Leave the Results with God / Sanctify your Writing Time (http://www.kmhancock.com/Karen%20Hancock's%20Writing%20Devotions.htm). I was just reading through it and found it so pertinent - especially the part about sanctifying our writing time - that I thought others might like to read it. Enjoy. :)
~Nessa-C
Leave the Results With God
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your soul/heart/mind/strength . . . but leave the results with God! You do whatever He has called you to do, and leave the results with Him. Just make sure your heart and your motivation are pure. God knows what He’s doing.
This not only has application for the final results of the writing project – publication and public reception -- but it also applies to interim results. At the start of writing, and often throughout the process, the book, the writing, the story, the idea -- all will at times seem lame to you. Dead and uninspired. You will not want to go forward with it, convinced it is a corpse. But that is not so. If He has called you to write this book (and you believe He has), then you must go forward with it, trusting Him to make it all come out right, even if it doesn’t appear it’s going to while you’re working. Trust Him and enjoy the process. Trust that in the end, it’s going to give you pleasure and satisfaction. As much from the book itself, as from the process of seeing it unfold. Trust that it will fulfill the purpose He has for it, and that in the end He will be glorified. Trust that He knows what He's doing.
_________________________________________
Sanctify Your Writing Time
Sanctification: to set yourself apart for God in time. To be devoted to Him.
The time during the teaching of the word is one such period of time. You are setting yourself apart from the world, the things of the world and your own desires to concentrate solely upon Him. That is what true worship is: concentration. This is not a time to be concerned with any problem or difficulty that you're having in your life. You give your undivided attention to Him.
Another sanctified time would be that devoted to your service to God. The time you use your talent, your abilities, your energy or spiritual gift to glorify Him. For me this is primarily writing time. When I am writing, it is a specialized service to God, and a time that should be regarded as sacred.
It is not a time to contemplate my difficulties and troubles, just as the time during Bible study is not. It is a time to concentrate solely upon the task He's given me to do. I must set aside my concerns, the foibles of life, etc., while I focus. I am setting myself apart for the designated period of time.
I must not allow myself to be distracted by thoughts, worries, concerns, etc. ("Oh! I haven't mopped! The closets need to be cleaned!") This is also not a time to indulge in whims, ("I think I'll organize my scrapbook!"), tangents ("I've always wanted to learn to write an essay."), amusements ("I wonder if I've gotten any email?"), daydreams ("Maybe I'll win a Christy some day."), etc. It is a SACRED time. And I must give it a high priority. Perhaps not the full four hours a day every day, but whatever amount is available for me to use that must be adhered to – no matter what.
~Nessa-C
Leave the Results With God
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your soul/heart/mind/strength . . . but leave the results with God! You do whatever He has called you to do, and leave the results with Him. Just make sure your heart and your motivation are pure. God knows what He’s doing.
This not only has application for the final results of the writing project – publication and public reception -- but it also applies to interim results. At the start of writing, and often throughout the process, the book, the writing, the story, the idea -- all will at times seem lame to you. Dead and uninspired. You will not want to go forward with it, convinced it is a corpse. But that is not so. If He has called you to write this book (and you believe He has), then you must go forward with it, trusting Him to make it all come out right, even if it doesn’t appear it’s going to while you’re working. Trust Him and enjoy the process. Trust that in the end, it’s going to give you pleasure and satisfaction. As much from the book itself, as from the process of seeing it unfold. Trust that it will fulfill the purpose He has for it, and that in the end He will be glorified. Trust that He knows what He's doing.
_________________________________________
Sanctify Your Writing Time
Sanctification: to set yourself apart for God in time. To be devoted to Him.
The time during the teaching of the word is one such period of time. You are setting yourself apart from the world, the things of the world and your own desires to concentrate solely upon Him. That is what true worship is: concentration. This is not a time to be concerned with any problem or difficulty that you're having in your life. You give your undivided attention to Him.
Another sanctified time would be that devoted to your service to God. The time you use your talent, your abilities, your energy or spiritual gift to glorify Him. For me this is primarily writing time. When I am writing, it is a specialized service to God, and a time that should be regarded as sacred.
It is not a time to contemplate my difficulties and troubles, just as the time during Bible study is not. It is a time to concentrate solely upon the task He's given me to do. I must set aside my concerns, the foibles of life, etc., while I focus. I am setting myself apart for the designated period of time.
I must not allow myself to be distracted by thoughts, worries, concerns, etc. ("Oh! I haven't mopped! The closets need to be cleaned!") This is also not a time to indulge in whims, ("I think I'll organize my scrapbook!"), tangents ("I've always wanted to learn to write an essay."), amusements ("I wonder if I've gotten any email?"), daydreams ("Maybe I'll win a Christy some day."), etc. It is a SACRED time. And I must give it a high priority. Perhaps not the full four hours a day every day, but whatever amount is available for me to use that must be adhered to – no matter what.