Category: writing

Seek and You Shall Find – The Negative Trap

You know, for a writer and a blogger, I’m not doing a very good job posting on my blog these days. I know that happens from time to time, but I truly enjoy blogging, so I’m a little bummed out about my lack of consistency.

Okay, the world is full of distractions, but as the saying goes “Writers write.” We have to learn to fight through the distractions and keep on doing our job.

For me, I’m trying to figure out why it’s been so difficult recently. And yes, the world is crazy right now, and there’s a feeling of isolation due to Covid. Last year, however, was more than just Covid and the pandemic that none of us saw coming. It was the anger of this nation, with the presidential election dividing America nearly in half. It was the protests and riots, and general unrest that had many of us shaking our heads wondering what was happening to the United States. Then, if you throw in any type of personal crisis, health issue, job loss, and more, well, how much more can we take?

The new year was going to bring new hope, and there are sparks of hope, but overall, things remain the same.

So, for me, trying to have any glimmer of creativity has been tough. I’ve determined that a lot of my block has been negativity. The world is angry. I feel like we’ve lost our kindness and compassion for one another. There’s so much negativity going around that it’s blocking out the positive. Comments on social media posts are vindictive and nasty. You can’t even agree to disagree. If you don’t believe like someone else does, they can call you all kinds of names, and are so filled with hate, it’s almost frightening. What happened to politeness and plain old common courtesy?

Personally, I don’t mind disagreeing with others. I like hearing their viewpoint on issues. By listening to all sides, I learn new things. I can think about things from a different perspective. Even if I still disagree with them, I like knowing their point of view. This goes back to agreeing to disagree. I try to be an open, positive person in my day-to-day life, but right now, the negativity is sucking the energy and creativity right out of me. I’m weighed down with hopelessness. How do you combat that?

There’s only one way: Look for the good. If you’re in such a mindset of anger, then you’ll only see offense everywhere you turn. If you look for kindness, you’ll see positivity more and more. It’s too easy to fall into the negative trap.

My faith helps me a lot. And lately the Bible verse in 1 Thessalonians that says “Pray without ceasing” has been put into action like never before. Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV) says, “Then you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

That’s what I need to keep in mind: What am I seeking? Am I so consumed with negativity that it’s the only thing I see? Or am I looking for good things? Anger breeds anger, but on the flipside, kindness breeds kindness.

We need to ask ourselves what are we looking for? I know what I’m seeking – how about you?

Are you a Pinball Wizard?

@RebeccaYauger

I don’t know if this is true for you, but it seems in the past week or so, I feel like a ball in a pinball machine, just being bounced around from side to side, and up and down.

Like most of us, I started the new year with goals, dreams, and aspirations of what I want to accomplish. It’s going okay — not great, as evidenced from my blog last week about my frustration.

This week, I started again with a fresh attitude. And almost immediately there were numerous things that cried out for my attention and had me floundering. Like I mentioned last time, I felt like I had too many tabs open on my computer, or more accurately, too many tabs open in my brain! I was quickly pulled in so many different directions that I wasn’t doing any of things that I needed to do.

I was like a pinball in the machine, rebounding off the obstacles around me. I’d rather be a pinball wizard. In the Pete Townshend song, the pinball wizard is the one who mastered the game. All I want to do is master my to-do list.

This leads me to a question. Why do we always feel like we have to do everything at once? Most of us know that when we get scattered, nothing gets done well, or done correctly, therefore we’re not accomplishing anything and we’re making more mistakes.

How do we rectify this?

It should be simple:

*Do one thing at a time
*Slow down to do that one thing very well
*Move on to the next thing – and do that one very well.

But time can work against me. Until I tackle everything I want to right now, I may have to spend extra hours in the evening or get up earlier in the morning to get a jump start on things. It will be  worth it to find that quiet time where I can concentrate before the rest of the day intrudes.

This is not a new concept, but it is one that bears remembering. It’s okay to re-group and begin again. (I wrote about something similar for my writer’s group, if you’re interested).

So, in order to start again, here are some suggestions:

  1. PRAY OVER YOUR DAY FIRST! Remember the words of James 1:5 (NIV) “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Am I going to be instantly smarter by asking for wisdom? No. But in making time for prayer every day, I hope to stay within God’s will and on the path He has for me.
  2. Make a List. If you don’t have a to-do list, then make one. Whether it’s on your phone, computer, or handwritten, it helps to have a list to stay organized. Find a system that works for you.
  3. Do one thing at a time. Maybe attempt the biggest job first, so the heaviest weight is off of your shoulders.
  4. Get up earlier (or stay up later) and do some things in peace and quiet before the rest of the house wakes up, or while the rest of the house is asleep.

These are all fairly simple to do for those times when we’re being bounced around. Let’s try to be the pinball wizard, instead of the pin ball itself.

Hang in there, friends, and we’ll get through this.

 

Do You Have Four Minutes?

Right now seems to be a season of flux for me. It looks like some changes are coming. For one, I’m taking a break right now from working on any novels. I am still writing daily using a writing prompt, and I hope to work on this blog a little more. But I will need to make some decisions about what direction I want to go with my career soon.

As a Christian, I want to follow God’s path for my life. I want to  use the gifts He’s given me for His good, not mine. Most of the time, I feel like I just need to get out of the way and quit overthinking everything.  There are some very simple mantras that stick in my head, like “Do the Work.” Or “Take Action.” Both of those are great and exactly what I need to do. But when you’re lost on which direction to go, it’s easy to just stop. And that doesn’t feel right either.

Sometimes, though, it’s okay to stop. Take a break. Just breathe for a moment. And that’s where the title of this blog comes in: Do you have four minutes?

Recently at church, one of our teaching pastors, Ryan Leak (@ryanleak), talked about our prayer life. In this fast-paced world, we’re not always stopping to pray, and most certainly aren’t taking time out for quiet time with the Lord. We all know the passage in Psalm 46 that says “Be Still and know that I am God.” Yet most of us aren’t still. So, Ryan suggested an experiment. For four minutes, you sit still. Set a timer (because yes, it feels strange at first). But quiet yourself. You can start out praying, but God knows our hearts. He hears from us enough, but do we take time to hear from Him? So be still, for four minutes. And absorb the silence.

Now, you may not hear the booming voice of God. You may not hear anything. The answers may not come, but for four minutes, you focus on God. You quiet your heart. Maybe you find peace.

As I’m struggling in this season where I’m purposely taking a break, I’m going to try to be still for four minutes a day. Will I find the answers I need? Will my path suddenly appear before me? I don’t know. But I do know that for four minutes a day, I will revel in the quiet. I will settle my racing thoughts. I will have a peaceful moment. Maybe the answers will come, maybe they won’t. But I do know they certainly won’t come unless I stop long enough to listen. I’m setting aside four minutes a day to listen.

What about you? Do you have four minutes?

Lost Motivation? It’s Okay to Start Again

I’m privileged to blog for Novel Academy. My most recent post is about beginning again if you’ve lost motivation from your goals that you set a few weeks ago. Read more here.

I’m at the stage where I need to heed my own advice and begin again, as I’ve gotten a bit off-track already. To be fair, I’ve had a new grandchild arrive this month, so that’s a worthy distraction.

Worthy or not, I have a job to do if I’m ever going to fulfill my own dreams and goals.

What about you? How do you  stay on track? I’d love to hear your thoughts.