What does a writer do?

August 13, 2015
Thursday

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go,

for to you I entrust my life."

 ~Psalm 143:8

Gooood Morning! It was so beautiful outside this morning. We are getting a reprieve from the triple digit temperatures ~ only in the 90's today. It may be my imagination but there seems to be a faint scent in the morning air hinting that Fall is just around the corner. It won't be long and I will be hearing the sound of children and school buses!

The Internet connection got cut about 200 yards from the house a couple days ago. It took the repairman a long while yesterday to patch things up but I am up and running again. I am sure I am not alone in my dependency on my computer and phone. I tried blogging long hand but got too impatient. I admire those writers who used to clack away on a manual typewriter.

What does a writer do? That's a silly question. They write! That's not the end of the story though. Before a writer writes there is that spark of an idea, an emotion, a story to tell. I started out wanting to leave a legacy of my journey in life for my family. That was 2010.

Now, I put my hands on the keyboard and pray that God would use me in some way to reach those that read my blogs. Sometimes, my hands sit on the keyboard for what seems like an eternity and other times, they take off at warp speed. Writing is a passion and I usually have several snipits of blogs going at once.

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

~Ernest Hemingway

Did you ever keep a diary? I got one of those diaries with a lock and key when I was in the 7th grade. There were only a few lines to record each day and mine were filled with secret code of the newest fella that made my heart go thumpity thump. How silly now but oh so important to a full of life teen. Come to think of it, there were a lot of things that were important then that make me chuckle now.

That diary keeping and my note writing to classmates were my first stabs of writing. I wish I had them now ... I wrote and received some of the most beautiful innocent ramblings of a time when everything was fresh and exciting ~ a time lost in the dust of years gone by.

I have journaled for years and, I am sad to say, that somehow the boxes with my journals got lost in my last couple moves. My saving grace is that I have started publishing a blog book every year so I do have my ramblings that have covered a lot of territory.

"I can shake off everything as I write;

my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn."

~Anne Frank

The condition of my soul affects my writing. When I was able to get rid of all the poison inside of me, I realized how good most people are. From the beginning of time, we were never meant to be Lone Rangers. Adam had his Eve, the Lone Ranger had his sidekick Tonto, Ricky had his Lucy, and Romeo his Juliet. We were not meant to travel this world alone although some try. (Sigh) Like the song, People, that Barbra Streisand made famous, we are people needing people!

To write means opening my mind and being a detective. I spend so many hours researching following clues that lead to other clues. There are some authors who have written books fabricating lies that become fact to those that read them. I don't want that to be me. The Lord God says in Matthew 7:15-18 NIV:

"Watch out for false prophets. They will come to you in sheep's clothing,

but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."

It is my hope that my Readers will examine their own hearts (as I do mine) and look at the fruits of their lives. We must not become sheep to the wicked man or woman pretending to be our friend and ally. I chose to develop a strong mind and not be blindsided. I have chosen to follow Christ Jesus and I scour the pages of the Bible to learn, grow, and become more like Him. I pray that others would be inspired to start writing if only a sentence a day. In my darkest days, my words were those of pain, hurt, and shame. Now, my words speak of light,  joy in the moment, and life everlasting.

Miss Dottie

PS

"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story."

~Frank Herbert

Today, the story stops with a prayer as do all my days. The list in my prayer journal grows long ... deaths, accidents, terminal illnesses, adultery, my country... I cover them with tears pleading for good to come forth from the ashes of life. I celebrate the miracles and praise You for hearing not only my prayers but the prayers of my fellow prayer warriors. As a writer, I pray that my words would edify, lift up, and encourage others to dare to open their minds and see what You would have us see. Let there be NO mistake in identifying the wolves in sheep's clothing that prowl ready to swallow up innocent bystanders. Give us a hunger for learning what You would have us learn for You are I AM!! Amen

Until next time...