I saw a quote by Henry David Thoreau last week on
Facebook. It was a sentence from Walden that read,
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”[1]
That’s what I’m trying to do this year, build
foundations for my castle in the air.
Many of my writer friends
have a word for the year. I actually have two words, “fear not.” Did you know
there are at least 63 instances of that phrase in the Bible (KJV)? And in
almost every reference, it's used as an encouragement when someone was about
to see God in action. (That’s exciting in some ways, but in others it gives me
even more reason to be afraid. Ack!)
Resources for Change
I’ve made some changes to
my daily routine. In addition to my daily Bible reading, I’m also reading some
new blogs and books on the craft of writing and leadership. Money is a little
tight this year due a major surgery and some hospital stays last year, but I
found some resources that are very helpful (and most are free).
- Michael Hyatt – Intentional Leadership. In addition to great articles for writers and ministry leaders, he offers a free book called, Creating Your Personal Life Plan, which offers some great advice on how to setting priorities and meeting goals.
- Goins, Writer: On Writing, Ideas and Making a Difference. Jeff Goins has great ideas and advice for writers, bloggers and those in ministry positions. His last couple of posts has been on living a goal-less life. (He emphasizes actually making changes to your life rather than setting goals.) You can download his book, The Writer’s Manifesto, after joining his weekly newsletter list and getting his great posts delivered right to your email box.
- I’m also reading Your 100 Day Prayer by John I. Snyder. It’s a great devotional written to guide the reader through a 100-day period of prayer during a crisis. It offers practical tips, supporting Scripture and guided prayer ideas. (I got it free through BookSneeze - an arm of Thomas Nelson that offers books in exchange for honest reviews by bloggers. My review of this book will be very positive.)
- I’m also doing a personal Verse of the Day and a Thought of the Day. Each day I pray for God to lead me to a verse, quote or thought to help me keep my mind on Him and my writing. They may come from the resources above, my daily Bible reading or even from social media like Facebook or Twitter. I note these on my calendar because you’d be surprised how much comfort I get when I review these.
- Last of all, I count You as my resource – a very important one. Knowing that I’m responsible for offering quality content to a group of writers keeps me on my toes and makes me accountable. Thank you for reading our blog and thank you so much for your prayers and support.
A Biblical Promise
As I continue on my
writing journey, I know there will be more obstacles ahead. I know there will
be struggles as I try to finish my novel on time. But I also know that the Lord
has told me to, “Fear not.” I have to hold onto the promise that:
“Because of the Lord's great love we are not
consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is
your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23, (NIV)
I'd love to know: do you have a word of the year? What are you doing
this year to help meet your resolutions? - Angie
[1] Henry David Thoreau. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2012.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid105332.html, accessed
January 7, 2012.
