What, How & Why

When Sarah Freeman (a fellow writer I met at Writers Bloc) asked me to be a part of this writing tour I immediately said yes. Deadlines help me motivate, and I enjoy self-evaluation. Writing is a pressure valve for me. I may journal daily or there may be months between entries. (If there are long breaks in a journal I probably have two going or have found another writing outlet.)

This blog is a release valve for my passion to see people fulfill their created purpose. My desire is to light a fire in others by showing them or reminding them that they have intrinsic value because they are created by God. God is good and wants to do good for you and through you. Seeing God how He truly is and understanding how He sees us gives us a different measuring stick for ourselves than the one popular culture would have us use. Friends, family, co-workers, strangers - all have a measuring stick they would be happy to give us.

Our value is not determined by our dress size or our yearly salary, by the length of our eyelashes, the shape of our face, the label on our clothing or the car in our driveway. It's not determined by how many people did or did not like my status update on facebook. Value is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for an item, and heaven went bankrupt to get us back. God will overwhelm you with His love if you let Him.

I think that effectively covers why I write.

How do I write? Like Sarah, I have an internal editor I must ignore in order to get anything written. Honing each sentence into the most sleek and powerful version of itself as I am writing is a recipe for getting nothing accomplished. I let my thoughts flow until they're all out or until I have to stop writing for whatever reason. Once my thoughts are captured, I sit with a printed draft and a red pen and start slashing the overgrowth. A business writing instructor I had years ago told me to think of words as currency and realize you only have so much to spend. If you spend all your currency on weak verbs, filler phrases, and side thoughts you will lose your audience before you can get your message to them.

What am I working on? Most of my recent writing has been business writing - procedures, memos, emails, reports. My love of words makes this an enjoyable part of what I do. Over the summer I will blog more, thanks to the slower pace of academic summers. I've also started working on a series of essays that will eventually become a book. I was struggling with that project for a while, because I couldn't see how to attack the mountain. I recently received the idea of doing essays. Brilliant!

The question What am I working on? makes me think of Morgan Jacoby. She is always asking me, "How's the writing going?" Her expectant tone of voice helps me stay motivated to make time to write. I met Morgan through church & martial arts and discovered that she is a prolific writer and story teller! I'm looking forward to finding out more about what goes on behind the scenes with her writing when she posts for this tour next Saturday, June 14.

Don't Underestimate Yourself

made in His image

created for a purpose

unique and well loved

God has unique purpose for every person on the planet. Too many of us tend to underestimate our value to the kingdom and see ourselves as "just" (merely or only).

• I'm just a kid. (I still hear that one in my head, even though the calendar tells me otherwise.)
• My illustrations are just sketches.
• I just write little poems.
• I'm just not ready or fully-prepared.

Thoughts like that put your destiny around the corner, waiting to be fulfilled until you're finally perfect. I know I'm not the only one who deals with similar thoughts.  In a friend's recent blog post she began by saying, "I don't really have much to write about except...I'm starting Bible College this week." Really?? Sounds like a  topic rich enough to mine at least a couple nuggets. A new season of life...an expansion of influence from and to others. Sometimes we can see things in others they overlook in themselves. 

My heavenly Papa continues to remind me to see myself as He sees me, and I'm sharing that encouragement with you. You are not "just...merely...only". 

• You are very useful.
• You are very effective.
• You are very courageous.
• You are very special and unique.
• You are very well-loved by your heavenly Papa.

Wrap yourself in His love, sit down with Him in a quiet place and listen to Him tell you how much He loves and values you. Open one of His letters to you and write down the parts that stand out to you. Re-read them until you begin to see yourself that way.

Well-loved: 1 John 4:15-16, Philippians 1:6,9

There is a river

Whose streams make glad God's city -

His holy dwelling.

-Psalm 46:4

Korah - destroyed in the desert because he rebelled against God by complaining and challenging the leadership of Moses and Aaron. "Who do you think YOU are?? The whole congregation is holy. We've all seen God. You're no better than us, Moses and Aaron!" (my paraphrase of Num 16:3)

God did not take this lightly. Korah and his company were swallowed alive into sheol!

However, a note of hope. In Numbers 26 it says the sons of Korah did not die that day. In fact, they became prophetic psalmists! This is encouraging. God isn't holding a grudge against you because of who your parents were or where you came from. He has good things for you to accomplish. Stay focused on Him and your relationship with Him. Don't let the enemy try to tell you, "You'll never be free from this issue. It's a generational curse. You're just destined to fail in this area." That is a lie of the enemy to keep you from fulfilling the good works God has already planned for you to do.

The sons (or descendants) of Korah wrote Psalm 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87 & 88. Psalm 45 prophesies about Christ and is quoted in Hebrews 1. Psalm 48 is quoted by Jesus in one of His teaching sermons in Matthew 5:35.

Some beautiful praise from the sons of Korah:

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my sould pants for You, O God. -Psalm 42:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore I will not fear, thought the earth should change and thought the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.Be still and know that I am God...Psalm 46:1-2, 10

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalm 84:10
　

Press on to lay hold

of God's upward call for you

for which Christ seized you.

-Philippians 3:12-14

God lifted a weight from me today. I felt pressure to be profound. I come home exhausted from the day, sit in front of my laptop, and try to figure out how to inspire an emotion in someone else that I'm not currently feeling. That doesn't work.

Today God used a song to remind me, "Della, you didn't inspire yourself. You can't inspire others. Share what inspires you. I'm the One stirring your blood when a song moves you or a Scripture lights us inside you. I'll stir others too."

Ahhh, weight removed.

Not long after that I started sharing one of my favorite scriptures with a couple of young ladies. Some scriptures you read over and over and then one day – a light comes on. Philippians 3:12 says:
King James English makes everything sound very polite. This verse is full of force. "I follow after..." means I pursue or press on fervently. The same Greek word is translated “persecute” in other parts of Scripture. Paul isn't talking about a casual following. He's talking about hot pursuit -like a hunter or a detective, determined to find what I'm after.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (KJV)

When a police detective finally apprehends the person they're after, they don't say, "We're not really that interested in you, but it's our job so I guess you better come with us if you don't have anything else to do." No way. When they apprehend their person, they do it with purpose! “You are coming with us - RIGHT NOW!"

That's how forcefully Christ grabbed you! You're not a Christian by accident. You didn't choose Him, He chose you. He sees things in you that you haven't seen in yourself. He seized you and said, "You are coming with me - RIGHT NOW! I have things for you to do. There are people who don't know Me and no one else can reach them like you can. YOU ARE THE ONE I WANT!"

Jesus is passionate about you. He needs you to be the most amazing you at the hospital, at the school, at the market, at the gas station. You don't realize how uniquely gifted you are, but He does. Don't trivialize your gift by saying, "Oh, that little thing? Everyone can do that." That's not humility, that's blindness. God made you to change your world. It doesn't matter how small or how large that world seems to you. He's the one who does the heavy lifting. You just have to love people and let the Holy Spirit work.

Embrace your uniqueness and fire up! Jesus seized you for a reason. Find that reason. Press on to seize that purpose for which you have been seized! John 15:16