Being Vulnerable

Susan Reichert

Through the years I have used journals to write my thoughts, words, and ideas. I have written scriptures that meant something special to me and prayers to help me. Perhaps you do to. I have kept these journals through the years.

Writers seem to always have ideas, thoughts and words follow them around.

I especially like to write things down, not just to remember good things that happen, but also write things that were not pleasant. In all honesty, we learn a great deal more from things that were not pleasant or things we were concerned about.

When reading my Bible, many times a scripture would pop up and I would write it down. More times than not, the scripture would speak to what I was experiencing.

Through different times in my life, I would use the scriptures and write the prayers that would speak to my heart while going through different situations.

I have about three boxes of these journals. When I retired as Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine, I felt the Lord leading me to share some of these prayers with others.

To be honest, it took some convincing for me to let others read my prayers.

I pulled out my journals, and prayerfully considered the ones to share. I sent these to several of my friends and from their responses, I knew it was time to publish some of the prayers, hoping they would benefit others. 

My book, God’s Prayer Power was born!

My dilemma was how many prayers? There are many. But I felt fifty-two was the right number. This way each prayer, scripture, and exercise would be something people could use to delve deeper into their prayer life.

The exercise in the book is the one I used to find out what God was saying to me through the scriptures which led me to be able to write the prayers.

It has been my experience, when writing devotions or prayers that you can tell when God is supplying the words.

There have been some great devotional books written through the years, and when you read them, they touch your heart, and many of them give you comfort––or perhaps wisdom to see the answers you seek.

Some of those devotions are Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God is Holding You Close by Lysa Terkeurst; Worry Less, Pray More by Donna K. Maltese; Grace Overcomes Today by Sharilynn Hunt; Growing in Hope by Sandra Mansfield Wright; and of course Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, to name a few. There are hundreds of others and thank God more will be written.

Co-Founder and Co-Publisher of Southern Writers Magazine. Retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magaizne. President of Southern Author Serivces which includes Suite T and The Gallery of Stars, and Collierville Christian Writers Group.

Author of  God's Prayer Power and Storms in Life.

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Accepting Writing Ideas

by Candyce Carden-Deal

Writers make connections between unrelated things all the time. If we stay at it long enough, writing weaves its way into everything we do. It becomes a natural process. And if we stay open to these connections they can often affect our writing life.  Here’s an example. During yoga class last week, my brain leaped to writing although I was doing a decent job of focusing on deep-breathing.

We were in Easy Pose. In Easy Pose the legs are crossed with hands resting on the knees, palms turned upward. The open palms symbolize a posture of acceptance, or openness to accepting whatever comes our way. It's a great way to begin or end a yoga practice.

As I sat in Easy Pose ignoring the pain in my groin, I thought about the many writing and marketing ideas that flit through my brain on any given day. And how many I reject because they don’t come at convenient times. I usually continue to the next errand or the next email and hope that I’ll recall the idea when needed. And if I don’t, well, it probably wasn’t such a hot idea anyway. But what if, I asked myself, my half-formed unaccepted idea became someone else’s article sale because they acted on it? I peered at my open hands and wondered if I could apply this same symbolism of acceptance to the harvesting of writing ideas.

I could hardly wait to get off the floor. Once at home, and using Easy Pose as a springboard, I placed an opened blank journal on my kitchen counter with colored pens nearby. It’s in a location I pass many times during the day when I'm home. After just a little while, that opened blank page started calling to me like a magnet, saying, “Fill me.” And so I do. No matter how small or hare-brained the thought seems, I capture it in my waiting journal. What’s more, as I've grown in the habit of jotting down those ideas, I'm finding that harvesting ideas begets even more ideas.

I like my journal with its unlined pages. A sketchpad might be my next option. Both seem to scream for colored markers – another plus for this artist-wanna-be. But a legal pad would work just as well. So would a composition book. If you keep it small enough so it’s easily portable, you can always have it with you. And have it open.

I begin each workday by reading through my idea journal and transferring anything that I intend to work on to my daily plan sheet. My open book is a combination of both writing and marketing ideas. Some of the ideas don’t fit into plans right away, of course.  In this case, I tear the page out and throw it in a bin or file folder so it’s there ready for harvesting, sooner or later. It may never come to full fruition, but I feel good that I at least accepted it and gave it due diligence. 

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A former educator and administrator, Candyce Carden-Deal is now pursuing the writing life full-time, which she blogs about at http://return2writing.com.