Activity

What I read: Fawkes by Nadine Brandes, which I’m really excited about because I’ve been wanting to read it for forever. I loved the concept and the characters so much and it is absolutely one of my favorite books now. If you haven’t read it, go read it now! And if you have…rave about it with me. 😛

What I wrote: Nothing substantial. Mostly tried to sort out why I’m struggling so much with writing these days and still trying to figure out how to find a story I can really connect to. I’m seriously considering going back to my fantasy series, despite doubting that I’m ready to tackle it. But it seems to have stolen my heart and won’t share it with any other story. 😛 I don’t know yet, we’ll see. I did do some work on one of the other worlds I’m building, and drew flags for each of the five countries.

What I learned: Hmm…

• How to speak present progressive and convey emotions and weather conditions in Spanish.
• How to get a group of over a dozen teenagers from one end of a gym to the other without any parts of their bodies touching the floor—using a rug, two scooters, two ropes, two rubber mats, a baseball bat, and a pool noodle.
• How to spot and avoid POV telling.
• That a field guide for trees is an amazing place to find last names for fantasy characters.
• That in doubting my abilities as a writer and doubting that I will ever write something that will impact someone is doubting that God called me to the right thing or that He can use me, despite my flaws. In short, doubting myself is doubting God.

@taylorclogston Agh, I’m sorry you’re feeling that way. It is frustrating to have to push through every day feeling like we’re not doing anything meaningful. And especially if we have a Kingdom mindset, sometimes I think we can feel guilty when none of our work seems to be for God (or when the work we consciously do for God isn’t making much progress). But in truth, living for God is more than pursuing a career or serving in a way that we believe has Kingdom value. It means living as we are called, and that means facing whatever is put in front of us with courage because God is always with us, and with a selfless love for Him and others while striving to become more like Him. And ultimately, when it seems like this life has nothing for us, we have to remember that as Christians, we’re not living for this life. We always have our eternal home to look forward to, and in light of that, we can have joy and celebrate what God has done for us. That’s not always easy, for sure, but we have a gracious God. Keep your eyes on Him and pray for Him to use you. Wait on Him. Your life is not meaningless. Praying for you!

Do you ever journal about how you’re feeling? I’ve been journaling fairly consistently for a little over a year now, and it has helped me a lot. On one level, it helps me just get everything out and kind of unload without holding back like I would if I were talking to a real person. But on another level, I’ve been able to look back at older entries and analyze my thinking, and I’ve learned a lot about myself and my emotions in the process. I know journaling is not for everyone, but I’d encourage you to try it if you haven’t.