You Fail Only If . . .

"You fail only if you stop writing."

~Ray Bradbury

    What a nice, little neat quote. :) So short and true.
    You don't fail when you write an "awful" chapter. You don't fail when your story (or poem) lacks the oomph factor you were going for. You don't fail when the story you thought would take up at least 80,000 words only adds up to 50,000. You don't fail when all people say about your story is "it's okay." None of these things indicate that you're a failure as a writer.
    No. You only fail as a writer when you stop writing. "Awful" chapters are rewritten and made better. Stories without oomph can be like a foundation on which you can focus on adding oomph. Works that are shorter than anticipated can be added to, with a better idea of the characters and the plotline. But if you stop writing, nothing good can come from it. You can't improve when you no longer have anything to improve on.
    But as long as you're writing, you're not failing.
    It's good to hear, isn't it?

Free Will

 

"Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having."

~C. S. Lewis

    Think with me for a moment. Because of free will, people have the choice to choose between submitting to God, living by His rules, and having a relationship with Him, or doing their own thing, making their own mistakes, and causing their own pain. Most people choose their own way, blatantly disobeying God's rules, hurting others and themselves. Because of free will, Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden and caused the curse. Because of free will, mankind sins all the time. Because of free will, pain, suffering, sadness, and fear all exist.
    Why did God allow free will? Why didn't He just make us like robots, obeying Him all the time and reaping good results?
    Because when there's no choice, there's no love. If we were like robots, we'd be robots. Nothing we do would be an effort, something we can get excited about accomplishing, because we couldn't have been able to do anything else. There wouldn't really be joy--not the joy we'd have a reason for.
    God didn't want that. He wants to give us free will, a choice, freedom. Freedom to choose Him or reject Him. Make the right choice or the wrong one. It makes things way more difficult . . . but it's really wonderful. It's worth having a choice.

Mark 4:40

"But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'"

Mark 4:40

    When Jesus said this, He and His disciples were in a boat in the middle of a sea. Minutes before, the sea was thrashing, waves of water splashing into the boat, filling it. The disciples, many of them being experienced fishermen, had been terrified and sure that they were going to die. What was Christ doing at this point?
    Sleeping. Which is understandable considering that He spent long days healing people and early mornings praying.
    The disciples had shaken Him awake, asking, "Master, don't You care that we're dying?" At that, He just stood up, said, "Peace! Be still!" and that quickly, everything went silent and peaceful again. It was at this point that Jesus turned to His disciples and asked the questions above.
    Most people know all about this Bible story, but I wonder how many really apply it to life. Life has storms, serious ones, and yet instead of trusting in Jesus to handle the situation, they ask, "Lord, I'm dying! Don't You care about me?"
   The answer is yes, of course He does! He sometimes allows the storms, though, to teach us, to make us stronger, and to have us trust Him. When the storms hit, we can  trust that Jesus will keep us safe. It's a promise.

Making Us Good

"The Christian does not think that God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."

~C.S. Lewis

    Have you ever thought of God as a perfect Being who deserves our respect and will be insulted if we sin? I have. A lot of people do--they think that God'll be displeased with them if they sin. It's not an enjoyable way to think.
    And really, it's not true. God loves us even as we mess up, and He won't despise us for being imperfect. He doesn't like it when we sin because He knows that it's hurting us. He hates sin, but He doesn't expect us to be perfect--not in our own strength.
    The Lord will give us strength, though, to be better, to be good. He will help us. Isn't that wonderful?

Wanna Change The World?

 

"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write."

~Martin Luther

    Would you want to change the world?
    Think about it for a moment--the prospect of changing the world. Making a difference so that something is not the same. That you did something that affected someone. Would you want to do that?
    Because that is what writers do. Well, maybe not every writer changes the entire world, but writers do change somebody's world--including fiction writers. Stories can make a difference in people's worlds, their lives. Stories can show people a real world they never knew existed, teach them truths in a way they can understand . . . God speaks to people through stories.
    Have you ever been changed by a book you read? Which one? :)

Proverbs 12:11

"He who works his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows vain things is devoid of understanding."

Proverbs 12:11

 

    I really like working. The feeling of accomplishment is a wonderful one, an awesome feeling. But even the most devout person can burn out when nothing seems to be coming to fruition. That's why I love this verse. It encourages everyone to keep working hard and obtain the promised rewards. Don't you agree? :)

Always Loved

 

 

    Valentine's Day. It's been called a lot of things. The Day Of Love, Singles Awareness Day, and my personal favorite (as a friend of mine called it:) The Day Before Chocolate Goes On Sale.
    By many, Valentine's Day has been loved, hated, or just not cared about. The majority of the haters and not-care-ers tend to be people who don't have a Valentine. People who don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend to be with. The haters would call Valentine's Day an overrated holiday that reminds them that they have no one to love.
    But  that's not right at all. Valentine's Day isn't only about loving and being loved by boyfriends/girlfriends. It's a day that signifies love--selfless, beautiful love. And everyone has somebody who loves them that way. Parents, friends, siblings (no, I'm not kidding), teachers (seriously, I'm not kidding), and most importantly: God.
    No one has to be alone on Valentine's Day. You can spend February 14th throwing a singles party, hanging out with your family, and spending some time with the Lord, who is love.
    You are always loved. Dearly loved. :) Please never forget that.
    Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Imperfect

"We please Him most not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that He understands everything--and still loves us."

~A. W. Tozer

    I love this fact about the Lord so much. The fact that He doesn't want us straining to make ourselves "good". How He loves us even with our imperfections.
    Is anyone out there a perfectionist? I am, and sometimes little imperfections make me frustrated. I want them to change and if they don't change, I want them gone.
    Thank goodness God's not like that. He knows we're not perfect--we are far, far from it. We will never be perfect--not as long as we're on earth. But yet, God loves us. He's not short tempered. He's patient with us and accepts us even with all our flaws, imperfections, cracks, quirks, and mistakes.
    That kind of love is amazing, isn't it? It's so wonderful . . .

The Great What If

What If . . .

 

 

    Ah. The great What If. The big question, perhaps the most favorite question of most if not all writers.

    What if?

    What If opens up a world of possibilities, gives birth to wonderful ideas. The two words What If have been used by a plethora of writers to create awesome stories.

    What if there was a boy who could shrink at will? What if there was a guy who could hear animals' thoughts? What if . . . there was a guy named Whatif?

    It's such a fun question to ask, isn't it? :) What if . . .?

Little Squeaks

    A couple days ago, I asked a relative to fix my swivel chair--it squeaks, you see, and little things like that drive me nuts. But no matter what happened, there was at least a tiny noise when I sat down in the chair. It irked me immensely, and no matter what change was made, it was never perfect. Finally, my kinsman plainly and candidly said, "you're gonna have to get used to little squeaks."

Initial Reaction ^

    At first, I was irritated by that remark. Easy for him to say I should just ignore them--he wasn't bothered by that kind of stuff. But the more I thought about it, I realized that he was right.
    In life, there are gonna be little things that miff us. Little squeaks that make life one less than "perfect". Some think that without those little squeaks, those annoying quirks, life would be perfect. But really, life on this earth is never going to be perfect. Ever. We'll have to get used to the little squeaks, the imperfections of life, if we're going to move forward.
    It may seem impossible to ignore that stuff, but God will give us the strength to do it. He is our strength.

Pslam 37:8

 

"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret--it only causes harm."

Psalm 37:8

    True. So very, very true.
    But unfortunately, also very easy to forget.
    When we get fretful or angry, obviously things aren't fun. Everything gets so tense and frustrating and frightening and it's never worth it in the end.
    That's why God tells us not to get angry or afraid. Not because He wants us to be careless robots, but because  our getting scared or angry does nothing but harm. God will take care of the situation. We don't have to be afraid or upset.
    So let's forsake wrath and fearfulness and trust in the Lord. :)

Monkey Bars

"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."

~C.S. Lewis

   There you are, dangling from one of the monkey bars, both hands gripping the metal tightly. The knuckles on your hands are tightening, turning white, and your arms feel like they're going to rip open. They're so strained from holding yourself up. You want to let go, but you can't because it's a long fall down. You want to go back, but you can't. The only option left is to go forward, to grab at the next bar and go all the way to the other side. But what if when you let go of the bar, you fall?
    Going through a trial is like that. You can't go back the way you came and you're afraid to fall. The fear of failing is common in the option of pressing on.
    But in reality, moving on is the best thing to do. There might be a risk in trying, but God is there and He won't let you fall. He'll give you the strength to move on--and He will be that strength.
    Isn't that cool? :)

Don't Tell Me, Show Me

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."

Anton Chekhov

    I really like this quote because I agree with it so much! :)
    When reading or writing a story, I majorly prefer showing over telling. To just say, "her eyes were blue" isn't nearly as descriptive as, "her eyes were like the ocean's waters." In my opinion, showing something with an action gives a much clearer picture than just saying it happened.
    What do you think? :)

Psalm 145:19

"He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him. He will also hear their cry and save them."

Psalm 145:19

    What a relief. :) To know that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, that is. That He wants to give us good things that we'll love.
    Too often in the back of my mind, I get this idea that God always does good--but that it'll be uncomfortable or painful for me, that doing what's right doesn't bring joy. I get the idea that if I go God's way, I won't be happy.
    But that's not right! True, doing the right thing is not always easy, and sometimes we do go through difficulties--but it's always worth it, and God does give us joy. A lot of joy. God is the very creator of fun and happiness! He gave us desires so He could fulfill them.
    I'm so glad God is like this. Aren't you? :)