What Are You Thankful For?

Late in November, we celebrate Thanksgiving. This holiday reminds us of the difficult times the pilgrims went through the first few years after they came to America. As the pilgrims went through hard times, each of us faces our own hard times at one point in life or another. This season especially, I think of the people and things in my life I have to be thankful for.

This year, I’m thankful for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), among other things. This is the first year I’ve participated in NaNo, and frankly, I wasn’t expecting much. I didn’t know what to expect, really. All I knew was the goal was to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. So, each day I wrote, typing words into my computer. Sometimes they didn’t seem to flow very well. Other times they gushed out like a raging waterfall.

My word counts added up quicker than I thought they would. Every day of the first week, I beat the previous day’s word count. On the first Saturday, NaNo’s writing marathon, I managed to eke out just over 8,000 words. Imagine my surprise when I tallied that one up! The next week didn’t progress quite that well, but I did still manage to log pretty good word counts, compared to my normal ones.

The third week was slow for me, due to circumstances outside my control. But I still found some time to write each day. By forcing myself to sit in front of my computer every day in November, I reached the goal of 50,000 words by November 25^th.

Yes, I’m a NaNoWriMo winner.

I’m grateful for the experience, for it showed me just how much I can accomplish when I get my schedule figured out. When I sit with only my computer as entertainment, and with the Lord as my Guide, the words are sure to pile up and create the bones of a story I can work with.

Thank you to my family who supported my attempt at the National Novel Writing Month. They allowed me the undisturbed time I needed to write. Each day they were eager to hear the word count I’d reached. Their encouragement meant the world to me and helped me reach the count on the difficult days that seemed to drag on and on and on. Without their support, I wouldn’t have reached my goal and felt this awesome sense of accomplishment.

How has your family and/or friends supported your dreams? What people and/or things do you have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season?

Rain or Shine?

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freedigitalphotos.net

I live in North Texas, where it seems we are constantly in a drought, rain shortage, or being asked to conserve water. (As if some families—like mine—don’t do that already.) We carefully watch the weather forecast, hoping for even the slightest blip of cloud cover on the radar. When the chance of scattered showers finally pops up on the 7-day forecast, we hold our breath . . . and then sigh as we remember it typically skips our part of the county.

  

Then, one day it happens. The clouds gather overhead and the heavens open. Droplets of water splatter the ground and every brave person who dashes outside to check the mailbox. (Very important when expecting influencer copies of books!) If the downpour lasts longer than 30 minutes (okay, more like 15), the grumblings start.

“I wish it wasn’t raining.”

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“I hate being stuck inside!”

“Too bad the sun’s not out. The gray sky is so depressing.”

“Okay, so we needed the rain. But did we need THIS MUCH of it?”

Stop. Right. There.

We complain when it’s dry. We gripe when it’s wet. We want rain. We don’t want rain. (The story’s the same for snow, by the way.)

When do we pause to say, “Thank You, God, for THIS DAY”? When do we appreciate the weather He gives us?

Seasons of writing are similar to weather patterns. When the ideas are flowing and words litter the computer screen, we long for an agent to ask for a complete copy of our manuscripts. When we secure representation, we want a contract with a huge publishing house. When we grasp our first published novel in hand, we wish our next book would be released in seven different languages.

Stop. Right. There.

Don’t jump ahead in your writing journey. You might miss an important something God wants to show you. Or you may overlook an AH-HA! moment when He inspires a brilliant scene you may have otherwise overlooked. Worst of all, you might lose the golden opportunity to cherish our Lord’s presence and activity in your life.

Courtesy of Sujin Jetkasettakorn
and freedigitalphotos.net

Stop. Right. There.

Take a moment (or two!) to praise God for where you’re at on your writing journey.

And dance in the rain. (Or whatever type of weather you might be experiencing.)