Day 31 – The End! The past thirty-on days have sped by. I am of course late in the day with this post. How do you wrap up a thirty-one day series? It should be profound, right? For me, I decided that review was in order since from the beginning I have looked at this as somewhat of a self-discovery journey. It is only fitting, then, that I should see what I discovered. So, I went back and read all my posts to see if there were any nuggets that jumped out at me. I decided to list an excerpt from each post that I felt highlighted the main message for that day.
1. I do have a jumbled ball of yarn rolling around in my head waiting to be untangled…
2. Since we’re going to be unraveling … I thought procrastination was a good place to start. After all, that’s kind of why we’re on a 31 Day trip.
3. The truth is that depression rears its ugly head and…. is really the root of the procrastination. This journey…is all about…living even though my heart feels trampled; trusting, even when my soul feels crushed… weaving beautiful words from truth.
4. “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” Deut.32:2. My words descend; I want them to be dew worthy.
5. Whatever genre you write, it has to be authentically yours – your voice, coming from your experiences and grounded in your truth.
6-7. No matter how unacceptable the truth is to me I have to trod the path I’ve been given…Today that is my truth. God can weave the words much more beautifully than I can.
8. As writers we need time to reflect in order to process all that we’ve seen and heard…time to organize our words so they are ready to be used…time to sift through the phrases and rearrange them just so.
9. The words always have a mission. As the keeper of the words it is our obligation to send them forth prepared and ready to engage.
10. Sometimes life is interrupted by the mundane. Sometimes even in the mundane we can find inspiration. “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31
11. The tip today for writers, or anyone else who is listening: Live life and make memories. You can write about them later….
12-15. I learned something about myself. 1.) I really have control issues. 2.) I find it really hard to let go of things. 3.) I allow things that aren’t in my control to derail me. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
16. No matter how beautifully the words are arranged if I haven’t addressed the condition I haven’t moved the reader.
17. Sometimes you find yourself in a place wondering what your purpose is. In those times looking back at the journey of how you got there can be helpful.
18. When I see beautiful art or photographs, it can inspire words…the opposite is also true…As I read I can see the scenes in my mind’s eye…the words and images are linked together. I have always wished that I could paint beautiful scenes, but then I remind myself that when the written word stirs my soul, that too is art.
19. The good writing is harder to let go of because it is the writing that tears your soul apart. When you are willing to face the hard stuff and put your good writing out there it won’t matter to you if it’s read by one or one million all that will matter is that you wrote the good.
20-21. I am currently in a relationship with at least 13-15 books and am considering a couple more…Reading feeds the mind and the soul, and it inspires me…Writers should be reading. Always.
22. We need to be careful that the beautiful writing is a vehicle for the message, not a mask to hide the truth.
23. It was more important today to encourage you to pray than it was to write about writing.
24. I love lists as you may have guessed from this post.
25. I dare you to write for five, even if you think you have nothing to say.
26-28. Doing this 31 Day challenge has been challenging, but also rewarding. One of the rewards is in discovering new blogs to read.
29. He can be our strength, our very present help in trouble. He can give us freedom from fear. Will you join me in prayer and in learning to cast all our cares on him? “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
30. …sadly there are many times spiritually when I stay in the dark. I know I need the light, but I stay in the shadows ignoring the truth…Thankfully, I have a loving savior who doesn’t give up on me. He tenderly woos me back to the light… I stand in his embrace, cross light flooding my soul, and wonder that I was ever afraid of the light.
31. See all of the above
So did the ball of yarn untangle? Not completely, but it is a work in progress. If I had to narrow the journey down to the main message it is simply this. Truth. It all hinges on truth. Thanks for taking this journey with me. And stay tuned. There will be more. But not every day.
Discovering Truth in Grace,
Sadie
PS – I also learned by doing this list that a lot of words can be removed and the message is still there, only better. So I guess I learned that little nugget of truth too. Edit. Edit. Edit.
PSS – I also learned that it’s ok not to have pictures with every post, which is why this one doesn’t have any. I know people like pictures and I try to oblige, but the words should be able to speak for themselves some of the time.
Teresa L Hardymon 