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Freewrite (Livin’ off Art)


I don’t have a plot for this, but decided to share it anyway.

“So what’re ya thinking?”
John scribbled until there was some shading in his circle and finally turned to me, looking tired as usual. “Well, Megan,” he said simply, “ain’t nothing to do now but wait till the hunger pangs are gone. We ain’t got no food. Why do you think I draw all day? Livin’ off art is an art. I highly suggest you try it.”
He sighed and turned back to his pencil box. I didn’t like seeing his young eyes so weary and tired. No wonder John fell over the other day–however badly I had it, he’d had it a lot worse for longer. And I immediately regretted having been so rude to him all this time. And I immediately wished we had time to be friends so I could apologize for it.
And he was also red in the face. I realized what a huge blow this was to his pride, letting anyone see him so vulnerable in his natural habitat where usually he came to be all alone.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
“Sorry for what? Nothing’s your fault,” he replied, squinting at the number on a well-worn pencil before working on borders.
“Sorry I never deigned to ask how you were doing.” Or how your mother was.
John swallowed hard. I saw what must be flashing in his eyes–a tired woman, not in her thirties, rotting to death because there was nothing for them. And where had I been all along? Letting my parents make John shine their shoes with his already blackened hands.
“I hate when people apologize,” John mumbled at last, not looking up from his sketch. “It never fixes anything and it’s just another load to think about.”
I shook my head. “That’s not true. Apologies set people free, especially when they are accepted.”
He put his pencil down, still not looking me in the eye. “Apology accepted, then. Will you learn to draw or not?” I realized how important this was to him–if I was going to intrude on his natural habitat anyway, he may as well do something with the company.
“Yeah.” I saw no point in refusing. “Yeah, sure.”
John met my gaze, his eyes dark and sleepy. “Thanks for comin’, Megan. I haven’t had a conversation this long in weeks.”
He was hurting, and he needed to take care of someone again. If learning to draw was the way for this to happen, then I had no second thought to bother with. Besides, drawing would be fun.
I smiled. “Where do we start?”

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The Duties of a Friend


A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” can truly say to every group of Christian friends “You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.”
–C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

If the quote from C.S. Lewis is true, then friends are not the family we choose for ourselves–rather, they are the family Christ chooses for us. No one we come across is ever an accident, or even really a choice. We can choose to be friends with them or not, but they are put in our paths by Someone who knows what their presence will mean in our lives.

Friendship is a great treasure, with duties to keep it shiny and beautiful. Everyone makes mistakes, but once the Lord has made you friends with another person, you are in charge of the seed of trust they’ve given you. Now you have the choice to kill it or nurture it. Will you take care of your friend, or betray them? Protect them, or hurt their feelings? It can be difficult but worth it.

Any investment you make for love and affection is going to be worth it. We aren’t meant to be alone, and there are different kinds of love (read The Four Loves for more on that.) What I am talking about here, though, is the love found in friendship–not romantic, not familial. The kind of love that makes it possible to sit together on a weekend and watch television while chewing on popcorn, and just have fun. The kind where you have something in common that binds you.

What, then, are the duties of a friend? A friend understands and forgives. A friend keeps the other’s spirits high, because they know how to do it, and friends help keep one another out of temptation. Friends pray together and are perfectly comfortable with silence as they sit around playing cards or what-have-you. Friends don’t demand anything, but give all they’ve got.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Col 3:12-14

Keep this in mind as you live your life, and meet new people. Some might wind up acquaintances; you may never speak again to others. But there are a handful you’ll find aren’t that different from you–or maybe they are. Those are the best friendships, where two people have so much they disagree on, but still spend time together.

Don’t walk away from someone because they are different from you. God might have a great friendship in your future because of your differences. Also, friendships can change–they can become colder or warmer. Just make sure you know that friendship is a living thing.

If you keep that in mind, you’re ready to have a friend. All the struggle will be worthwhile when you’re growing old, with memories in your heart like photographs. Be a friend–the struggle is worthwhile!

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Adventures


“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it is very difficult to find anyone.”
—J. R. R. Tolkien

People are scared of having adventures.

This is true, even for the people whose hearts want to explore. Something’s holding them back–the what if? questions, fear that we will return changed–if at all.

We forget that change helps us grow. If we never changed, we’d be dead…and if we’re going to change anyway, why not become brave and go looking for that dragon?

Because if we sit and wait for something to not happen, the dragon finds us unprepared. In that situation, we really don’t know how to fight it, and it’s more likely to defeat us. We’ll be killed, not just changed, if we sit and pretend there’s no dragon sniffing us out.

It’s far better to be alert for the One who knows the way to the mountain. He’s the One who defeats all evil–the One who’s saved you before and will do it again.

Books are wonderful, they are vivid, but–the real world is not bound within the pages of your books–it’s out there.

Outside that window.
Down the curvy road.
At the coffee shop.
In church. At work.
At airports–the stories you hear in airplanes–and new soil when you land in a place where the air smells different.

Don’t be afraid to explore!

Haven’t got the money for an airplane ticket? Well, there are other ways to have adventures–other things that will change you. All adventures have one thing in common: They change you. Some changes are, of course, more notable than others. What to do when faced with a long adventure and a short one? You should always seek out the one that’ll change you more. That’ll mean you’ve learned more.

Be alert. Be prepared.

What if Jesus came to your door and asked if you’d take up your cross (adventure) and follow Him? Would you refuse–and if so, why? Because you’re scared to change? Any change He’d lead to would be for your own good. It’ll chisel you into a better person, a hero in someone’s tale! Never be afraid to follow Jesus on an adventure!

Also, it’d do you good to seek out such an adventure yourself. Be eager and ask Him, “Lord, how may I help in the journey You’ve planned?” I read a quote once about how if you desire with all your heart to seek The Lord, you will meet on the road, because He is also looking for you! It’s never too late or too early to have an adventure; when the time comes, it’ll appear in search of you–or you will find the courage to go out looking for it.

You can, and ought to be eager for an adventure. Because in the end, He will sweep you into one. And you will never be the same.

That’s a good thing.

(Originally published on Ignitum Today)

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Away Down in Wonderland


Not my illustration!

Away down in Wonderland,
Head in a cloud,
My heart can but ask me
What this is about…
For all of my wildest dreams
Dance all around.
I look and I laugh at the
Sight and the sound.

Away down in Wonderland,
Joy is now true…
For ever and ever here
Dancing with you.
And all of the real world,
Its sky grim in hue
Will not satisfy me like
Rain here can do.

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A Chalkboard Room?


One of the best ideas I’ve ever seen:

(Source)

I fell in love with this idea, as soon as I saw the photo on Pinterest.

Imagine a chalkboard room, like this.

Maybe an art room or a schoolroom. You could doodle pictures everywhere and decorate it totally yourself. It would be personalized and creative and colorful. You would never get Writer’s Block again. Write poetry and song lyrics on the walls…put a stool by the wall and sit there with your guitar, writing down notes.

This blogger has a chalkboard wall in their kitchen, and it. looks. awesome. but I will go all out, and make it a room. Never forget phone numbers again–just scribble it down!–and put reminders right where you’ll see them!

I just had to blog about all the ideas I got. What could I do with a chalkboard wall?

  • Pass the time doodling and see my ideas on the wall of the room.
  • It’s perfect for kids to entertain themselves. Seriously. This looks so fun for a kids’ room.
  • Write directions.
  • Keep track of book reading progress.
  • Little notes to people if you have to dash out early.

The possibilities are endless and so fun. I’m so doing this someday. Glad I found the picture!

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Talking To Self


“You’re supposed to have a series post edited every Saturday!” says me.

So I spend a lot of time editing Christian posts for the weekend. They’re mostly from my own personal reflections, edited into something everyone can relate to. Even if some Saturdays I don’t have a post ready–you can’t exactly force this stuff, which is something my brain can’t understand–I will have them out often. I figured this is the kind of stuff more people need to hear. I am not meant to keep them to myself.

As for writing, the writing has been slow this summer. I don’t know why. I just don’t spend as much time sitting around plotting, so when I finally get to write, it sounds forced. For the self publishing project, I’m probably going to do the Van Gogh story alone. It wasn’t forced, and I’d rather have one good story out than five forced ones. I’ve been proofreading it, cutting a lot out, and thinking about what I’ll do for a cover.

This came in the mail today, so I am currently reading it:

20130613-185734.jpg
The warm weather makes me not want to sit around with books, though. I want to go outside and sketch leaves. But what I need to do is research about publishing, and I still have a prologue to write, and I have a short story to edit.

That is my writing life right now. It’s promising but also stubborn. I hope soon the writing picks up!

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A Writer Thinks on Words


Words are powerful–they can bring life or death. We Christians must choose our words carefully. Even in casual conversation, we can’t simply speak: We must be vessels of God’s love. Our words might help a person decide to live or die.

Someone might rely on your words for confidence, bravery, or hope. If we don’t use our words to give hope, how are we doing any good?

We cannot use words lightly or pretend that a cuss word is just a word. We cannot describe things carelessly, we cannot use insults to take away someone’s dignity. Words are precious, a gift we were given to shape the world with; they cannot be thrown around.

So what should we do with our words?

The Bible explains:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8, RSV

We must focus on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, praiseworthy.

It’s hard, because there is little left in popular art that meets the criteria. You have to really dig to find a novel that won’t burn your eyes out. So what do we as writers do?

There is an old cliché going around about writing what you’d like to read. We should seek out what is good and honorable in this world, devoting all our attention to writing what is good for the soul. What is honorable and true in life will also make a good story, if handled correctly. Even if you’re writing something that at first sight isn’t noble or honorable, throw in plot elements that will make for a good twist. Make your writing deep and worth the read, because nothing is black and white–everything is gray.

It’s easier relating to main characters who are gray in nature, not black and white. They are in pursuit of what is gracious and excellent, but will meet temptation on the way. Just like you and your readers, the character isn’t perfect.

A perfect character makes the story unrealistic. What can a reader learn from a character that never learns anything? You can create so much from gray, infinitely more than from black or white. But don’t just keep your story gray–use the endless possibilities to give life, not kill.

Words are powerful, bringing life or death to a person who stumbles onto them. We should be aware of the power suddenly placed in our hands by having a person’s attention. The short time a person will read your story or hear your words is enough. It’ll change them for the better, or send them spiraling downward.

How will you use this power? Because ignoring it isn’t an option, either. Use your words to give life, not take it…enough things nowadays take life as it is.