Work is Not a Four Letter Word

Well, okay, actually it IS a four-letter word. But not the bad kind of word.

But sometimes we look at it like it is. We had a work day at our church last Saturday, and since we have a small church there was an even smaller group of people there to do the work. The 80-20 rule applies to churches too -- 80 percent of the people skip off on work day and leave the other 20 percent to do the actual work.

There was lots to do, and by early afternoon, we were all getting tired and just a little bit cranky with each other. We were there to do a good job, to do God's work, and still -- we kind of lost sight of the goal -- God's work.

And then in through the door came a ray of sunshine, in the form of a young Chinese girl. Lucy Lu is a missionary from China who was in the area doing some witnessing, saw the church, and came to see if anyone was around.

We were charmed by her open and honest love of Jesus, her frequent declarations of how much He has done in her life, and her fervent desire to witness to her people in China. She has spent the last ten months in America, traveling around, witnessing, learning, studying. And now she is excited to go home and do the work she believes the Lord has called her to. She told us she is surprised by how many Americans do not want to hear about Jesus. She told us she is encouraged because so many of her countrymen do.

Our exhaustion disappeared in an instant as we were reminded of how God is working through the lives of many believers all around the world. Our crankiness melted in the shine of her love for God, and I was reminded of Moses having to cover his face with a veil after he spent time with God.

She came to America to learn to witness and minister, and she witnessed and ministered to us instead.

Our writing is a lot like this young Chinese girl's decision to share Jesus. It takes dedication, it takes time. To be a good writer, we must be willing to learn, take direction, be corrected, rejected, and criticized. To write well, we must spend long, unrewarded hours in the pursuit of the calling God has placed on our lives.

We must be willing to work.

And sometimes, in the middle of the work, the grind, the sweat and the tears, we too will find a ray of sunshine that completely dispels everything that went before, so that all that remains is the brilliance of the Lord in our lives, in our books, in our words.

And that's what makes the work worth it. And that's what gives the work its value.

Just Do It!

I have recently been struggling with a physical ailment many writers have endured. As a result, I was wearing a wrist brace, and using hot and cold packs on my right hand (I am right handed). For anyone who has ever hurt their hand, even the simplest tasks become monumental. Cooking, cleaning, even getting dressed or going potty become nightmares.

And still I stood on faith in God's healing ability and desire, and instead of naming this infirmity, I called it Healed. When ever someone tried to give it a different name, I refused to accept it, and said, "You call it what you want, I'm calling it Healed."

This went on for several weeks. And then just this past week, the Lord said to me, "If you are calling it Healed, act like it's healed."

Off came the brace, no more packs, and -- why should I have expected anything different? -- it has been getting better. I am using my hand, there is minimal pain, and God took me down a completely different path of faith.

So, what does this have to do with writing?

Last night, the Lord spoke to me again, this time about my writing. He told me to act like I'm a writer.

Maybe that sounds like a no-brainer, but really, admit it, we have all fallen into the trap of calling ourselves something we aren't doing. The thing is, a writer writes.

And I haven't been doing much writing lately.

I have thought about writing.
I have written about writing.
I have critiqued others' work.
I have submitted my work for critique.
I have printed off returned critiques.
I have made some revisions based on those critiques.
I have brainstormed with others on their projects.
I have researched conferences -- oh, I love conferences and I love research!
I have read books on writing -- I love to read.
I even sent out a query to an agent.

But I have not written ten new words on my latest project in about two weeks.

So today I committed to another writing friend to have at least 2000 words written by Monday on my project. And I will report on my progress on Monday to that friend.

I encourage you to think about your calling as a writer. I know God has called me to write. I know He has plans for my books. I know He has put me in a group of like-minded writers for support and encouragement. And that encouragement sometimes includes a kick in the butt to get going again.

Today, let's commit to do what we are, to act out the part of what we are, to respond to God's calling in our lives -- TODAY I WRITE!

How about you????