June 29, 2008 by Kelly.

Taking the next step can be hard. Whether it’s a child learning to walk or an adult getting married or anything else… it’s hard! I know why: it’s scary. Usually the next step deals with the unknown, or uncertainties. That child doesn’t know if his wobbly legs will support him, or if he’ll come crashing down on his bottom. As adults, we don’t know what the future holds. We know what we’d like the future to hold, but we understand that sometimes things don’t go as we plan. Just like that child, we know we must keep moving forward, or we won’t get what we want.

Writers are no exception. We must keep moving forward in our writing to get what we want. I want to glorify God. I feel He has given me this talent with words and He expects me to use it to bring Him glory. Yet fear keeps me in my secure little world. I have written extensively for the Internet, and there’s nothing wrong with that; however, I cannot help but feel the need to be published in a print publication.

Is it my own selfish desire? I don’t think so. I’m not even sure where He desires that I submit. I’m trusting Him to let me know when I find it. It could be my own church bulletin, or it could be a book, or it could be a national publication or a regional publication. Wherever it is, I wish to be ready when God says, “That’s the place!”

Getting ready–taking that next step–is the hard part. I must reach out to publishers and editors I do not know personally, people I’ve never met, and offer them my work. I must carve time out of my busy schedule to write and not let it interfere with my first ministry of being a wife and mom.

How do others do it? How do people take that next step? With lots of encouragement! I have a group of cheerleaders who keep me going: family, friends, and other writers. Because of them, I can take that next step with a little less fear. I have an inkling of what lies ahead, and I feel ready to move forward–as long as I take just one step at a time.

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June 18, 2008 by Kelly.

That was the title of the email, along with the telltale “Fw” in the subject line. Another one of those… an email-go-round… a tear-jerk story, a warning, a chuckle-producer… I didn’t know which this would be, but I guessed the first. I was almost right.

The email was an excerpt from a book titled Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. The author states, “your ‘frog’ should be the most difficult item on your things to do list, the one where you’re most likely to procrastinate; because, if you eat that first, it’ll give you energy and momentum for the rest of the day.”

I must admit, most mornings my “frog” is my Bible and my quiet time with God. Sometimes I won’t understand what He’s saying to me through my Bible, other times I hear Him loud and clear and don’t want to listen. (Most days I do– I’m just like you.) It’s so much easier to just start my day and leave my Bible sit on the table.

But, yeah… it stares at me, and calls to me… I know I need to pick up my Bible; but I don’t want to be convicted to change anything about myself, so I avoid my quiet time. Then my day(s) start to go bad, and I know I MUST crawl back to God and apologize for neglecting Him.

He always takes me back–no questions asked–because He loves me. The quiet niggling in the back of my mind tells me that I’ll ignore Him again someday soon–and then the niggling laughs…

Lord, draw me closer to You every day!

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