the wonder of words

Spring tends to stir my creativity, bringing it to full bloom in camaraderie with the bursting leaves and blossoms. Always there are new hopes and possibilities, new projects to consider, new perspectives to freshen daily tasks that have grown worn and stale. Today, I am reflecting again on some persistent questions that have been swirling in my heart: Who am I as a writer? What unique message do I have to share? Who is the audience I can best serve? 

The answers I’m finding to these questions have surprised and excited me. I see writing as worship, revelation, ministry. It is my gift, given freely by the Lord, which I steward best by offering it back to Him as a sacrifice of praise. It is the language through which I most fluently communicate with the Spirit, coming to know more of life, God, and myself as I practice it faithfully. And it is the means I have been given to encourage and disciple others, sharing truth, experience, hope, and blessing through the written word.

So, while *woven of wonder* has fallen largely silent over the past few months, it is not ready to be dissolved — as I briefly considered in some darker moments. Quite the opposite, in fact! Just as creation’s blooming things lie dormant during the wintertime, resting and gathering strength to emerge again in the spring, so this sweet little blog of mine has been sitting patiently, waiting for the Light to bring it forth anew.

You can expect to see some changes here as we move forward, a shift in focus that aims at more clearly communicating my message, and better serving my reader (you!). I will continue to use this space as a creative outlet to share my own written reflections. But I am also hoping to create a safe place for fellow writers to find encouragement, inspiration, and a consistent voice spurring you on to use yours.

I may not have any books on the market, (yet!), a well-recognized platform, or the expertise to assist you with the technical aspects of writing. But here is what I do have to offer:

• a writer’s heart
• a mentoring mindset
• 20+ years of varied writing experience, both public and private
• a desire to champion fellow writers as they learn to use the unique voice God has given them

To give you a taste of what I have in mind, I have sifted back through my archives and brushed the dust off the following post. If you are a writer — or a creative of any kind — and you have ever struggled with the value or significance of what you have been called to do, these words are for you. My hope is that you will be encouraged and strengthened as you read. May the Spirit use these words to stir a new determination to speak LIFE into the world … in the unique way that only you can!

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There is something rather intoxicating about finding what you were made and meant for. The discovery can come in a delirious, heady rush that both uplifts and flattens, leaving you gasping for breath. It is at once so profound yet so natural, you wonder why it’s not something you’ve always known. And yet perhaps, in that wonder-full, secret way … you have always known it.

Writing is this something for me. Can you relate? There are moments when writing seems almost as natural — and as necessary — as breathing. Always it comes more easily than speaking the same thoughts aloud. But it’s not all sweetness and light. Stalking the backside of that giddy delirium is a shadowed fear that aims to crush our soaring spirits. Lest we think we have a gift, let alone a calling, to communicate LIFE through the written word, this adversary quickly steals in to relieve us of that notion.

So you like to write? It’s a harmless pastime, a delightful little hobby. But let’s not get carried away. Don’t think that what you can do is anything special. After all, every literate fool can write. Just look at the internet! And even if you could do it particularly well, of what significance is that? Words are empty. They don’t mean anything, change anything, accomplish anything worthwhile. Besides, who will read them, anyway? Your doting mother. A few loyal friends, who already think the way you think, believe what you believe. If this is the grand contribution you have to make to the world, by all means, go ahead. But honestly, you are wasting your time.

Or, if that’s not effective, there’s always this version:

I’m telling you, it’s too late! There are far too many writers out there as it is. And here you are, just getting started. Your voice is not the kind that can be distinguished from the clamoring of voices already published. Wait — don’t get distracted by that word “published.” You have no original thought, no new angle, nothing that hasn’t already been written ad nauseam. And the things that are significant to you? No one cares about that kind of thing today. You’ll be writing for yourself. And what’s a writer without an audience? You should stop, really; it’s not worth it.

Oh, there are plenty more, tuned to slightly different channels, but all with the same message: You can’t write. You shouldn’t write. Stop.

How long have we been listening to this poisonous chorus playing in the background? Perhaps the Spirit inside each of us has risen up to muzzle it at various points, allowing brief stretches of freedom …

Hmmm. It seems there’s a valuable revelation in this … There is more at stake here than we know, more coming against us than we have realized. And in being unaware of the strength of the battle, we have not come into it fully equipped.

Have I lost you? Or is it those familiar clamoring voices muttering at us in agitation: You’re making a bigger deal out of this than it is. Who do you think you are, anyway?

Well, let’s answer them. We are the blood-bought daughters of the King of the universe, and we will not be kept down by further attempts to silence us. It isn’t only laziness or busyness or distraction that keeps us from writing, but a concentrated effort on the part of a very real enemy who does not want our voices to be heard. And why not? Because we have something to say that will expose him for the fraud he is. Something that will further the Kingdom cause of his nemesis, Jesus. The spell has been broken, the restraints cast off. Now watch, beloved writer-hearts, and be prepared for the flood of light and living water that is about to come streaming through our words!