Wednesday, April 27, 2011

How could this have happened?

Welcome to new followers here and on Facebook:
Cynthia, Carol, Rhonda, Joyful, and Vicky!

Have you enjoyed working on your rough drafts this week? I hope so! I also hope you found last week’s definition of memoir helpful.

When we set out to learn something new, real-life examples always help, right? With that in mind, this week I’ll share a sample vignette (story/chapter) with you.

Below are excerpts from a vignette about three years my family and I worked in South America.

Be sure to read my comments below the story.




Rural Colombia, South America
February, 1978


I trudged up the steep hill, dusty red. It was only 7:45 in the morning and already sweat ran down my forehead and back. I looked forward to reaching level ground at the top and turning left toward my office, but first, I would stop at the post office.


Every day I delighted in peeking into our cubbyhole and finding mail from loved ones in the U.S. That had always been the best part of my day. But today, like so many days recently, my stomach knotted at the thought of what I might find in our mail slot. Would today be the day? Would we get our financial statement from two months ago and learn the bad news?


I rounded the corner at the top of the hill and stepped into the cool shade of the post office. I reached into our cubbyhole. Yes, this was the day. My throat went dry as I unfolded our financial statement.


Two months earlier, my husband, Dave, had fallen mysteriously ill. There we were, at the end of the road in the middle of nowhere.… We had no doctor, but we had a nurse. Alarmed at Dave’s symptoms, she insisted he had to go to the capital city, Bogotá, for prompt medical treatment.…


In Bogotá, doctors puzzled over Dave’s symptoms. He had a series of medical exams.… The doctors eventually sent him back home to us, but not before he had run up a bill of $400. That was a huge amount back in the 1970s, and it was $400 more than we had.…


We were not paid employees.… Nobody was. Instead, we depended on donations from people back home which they sent to our California headquarters and earmarked for our family. Sometimes people sent money every month, but others sent donations only occasionally so we never knew our financial status.


That was further complicated because it took two months to receive our financial statements from California and find out how much money we had.…


And that’s why my stomach knotted on the way to work, wondering, “Is this the day we’ll get our financial statement and learn we have no money left for food and rent?”


Now that dreaded day had come. I stood in the post office, financial statement in hand. My eyes skimmed down the alphabetical list of donors. To my surprise, among the B’s was a name I’d never seen on our list before: Bill and Marion Best.… My eyes ran across the page to see the amount they’d sent. It was $400, the exact amount of Dave’s medical bills.


“Wait a minute,” I said to myself. “Those bills were incurred two months ago.” I checked the date the Bests’ money had arrived in California. It had arrived just days before Dave’s illness. How could they have known?


I fought tears. How could this have happened?


God tells us, “… Before they call, I will answer….” (Isaiah 65:24). Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Yes, even before Dave got sick, even before we knew we’d have a need, God worked in the Bests’ hearts to meet our need.


So why had my stomach knotted over our medical bills? Because I doubted God’s desire to help. Looking back over my life, I see a pattern: too many times I have doubted God’s willingness to help me. I’m ashamed of that attitude. It must hurt God for me to doubt Him. Come to think of it, my attitude must deeply offend Him. Imagine! Suspecting God of being untrustworthy!


Since that day in 1978, with God’s help I am trusting Him more and more. Nevertheless, I am a slow learner and still skeptical too often, so the cry of my heart must be, “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). And when I do, He patiently keeps showing me that He is trustworthy. Oh, yes, He is trustworthy.
From Come and Listen, Let Me Tell You What God Has Done, Copyright © 2009 Linda K. Thomas


Let’s recall memoir’s definition.


A memoir involves pondering, examining, unraveling, musing, and reflecting. In our writing process, we examine what God was doing as we see it in retrospect.


Spiritual memoir involves looking for the deeper lessons God had for us in the event. Discovering them usually comes later, in looking back. Remember this list from last week?


Looking back, what did you learn about yourself?

What patterns in your faith did you discover that you hadn’t noticed before?

What did you learn about God?

How did the experience change your life? What new person did you become?

How did the experience strengthen your faith for future challenges?


After that day in 1978, years passed before I recognize a pattern. I wrote in my story:


“Looking back over my life, I see a pattern: too many times I have doubted God’s willingness to help me. I’m ashamed of that attitude. It must hurt God for me to doubt Him. Come to think of it, my attitude must deeply offend Him. Imagine! Suspecting God of being untrustworthy!”



And what new person did I become? How did the experience strengthen my faith for the future? I wrote:


“… With God’s help I am trusting Him more and more. Nevertheless, I am a slow learner and still skeptical too often, so the cry of my heart must be, “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). And when I do, He patiently keeps showing me that He is trustworthy.”


Friends, this week’s lesson has been extra long but I hope it helps you grasp what memoir is. Even more important, I pray that as you write, you’ll grow in understanding God’s involvement in your life and the rich blessings and deeper lessons He has for you.


Keep writing!



Related posts: Inspiration and Celebration
http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/04/inspiration-and-celebration.html

What is a memoir?
http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-is-memoir.html




Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What is a memoir?

Welcome to new followers:
Laura, Vicky, Aporosa, Esther, Marg, Melissa, Rachel, Foma Hope,
Katinga, Karen, and Daneille,
and on Facebook: Jen, Rosemarie, Denny, Sue, Melissa, and Matt!
Be sure to invite your friends!

When people sign up for my memoir classes, I often hear, “A memoir class! Terrific! I love journaling!”

Yes, sometimes people confuse writing a memoir with journaling, or with writing autobiography, so let’s distinguish between them.

Your journal is private, but you write a memoir for others to read.

An autobiography documents your entire life, starting with your birth, but memoir focuses on a segment of your life—a specific theme or time period—which you explore in depth.

In other words, a person can write a memoir based on a theme: coaching high school tennis, for example, or working as a bush pilot in Alaska. My memoir, Grandma's Letters from Africa, covers a time period, my first four years in Africa.

Spiritual Memoirs 101’s theme is Deuteronomy 4:9, Always remember the things you’ve seen God do for you, and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren!

Pondering, examining, unraveling, musing, and reflecting are necessary ingredients in memoirs. In the writing process, you will examine what God was doing as you see it now, in retrospect. You’ll look for deeper lessons God had for you in the events of your life.

Looking back, what did you learn about yourself?

What patterns in your faith did you discover that you hadn’t noticed before?

What did you learn about God?

Do you now have a better understanding of God’s purpose for your life?

How did the experience change your life? What new person did you become?

How did the experience strengthen your faith for future challenges?

In summary, your stories will capture how you remember God’s activities in your life and what you discovered about both God and yourself.

A memoir can be a few pages or book-length. I suggest you start by writing a collection of vignettes or short chapters.

In coming weeks, we’ll examine memoir from a number of perspectives, but for now, here’s …

This week’s assignment:

  • Start small: choose two or three occasions in which God acted on behalf of you or your family. For example, think back to turning points, answered prayer, decisions, or the happiest day of your life. For now, avoid traumatic or complicated stories; you’ll learn the craft of memoir more easily if you start with straightforward events.

  • Do you need a story idea? Look through your Bible or a devotional for words you underlined and notes you jotted in the margin. Such notations can help you remember a significant situation in your life.

  • While you write, ask yourself the above questions. Answers might not surface quickly but when they do, include them in your stories.

  • Write rough drafts, three to five pages for each story. Include pertinent Bible verses. (You’ll revise your rough drafts a lot—everyone does—so don’t worry about perfecting them yet.) These will be chapters in your finished memoir. You can write stand-alone pieces or a series of related stories.

  • Enjoy your writing!

Be sure to come back next week. I’m eager to tell you more about this grand undertaking—your memoir!

Your stories will help shape the spiritual lives of your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and anyone else who reads them (your “spiritual children”).

Your memoir could be the finest gift you’ll ever give, so pray for God’s help!


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Inspiration and Celebration

Spiritual Memoirs 101 is about inspiration and celebration, with a focus on Deuteronomy 4:9, “Always remember the things you’ve seen God do for you, and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren!”

Inspiration is one of my favorite words. I pray that within this blog, you’ll find inspiration.

What words come to mind when you think of inspiration? 

I think of infusing with enthusiasm, encouragement, passion, gusto, and eagerness.

Inspire: to cheer, persuade, set in motion, buoy up, guide, fire up, and energize.

Week by week, you and I will examine the art and craft of memoir and, as we do, my heart’s desire is that you’ll receive inspiration to write and write and write and write.

Celebration is another of my favorite words. It conjures up images of joy, glee, jubilation, and delight.

Celebrate: to cheer, applaud, shout approval, give a standing ovation, praise, honor, and pay tribute.

I pray that within and beyond this blog, you’ll participate in a celebration—ultimately a celebration of God in all His goodness, faithfulness, holiness, and splendor.

May God help us remember all we’ve seen Him do for us, and with us—and even in spite of us.

May He give us a longing to write those stories for our children, grandchildren, and “spiritual” children as well—precious people God has brought into our lives whether we share DNA or not.

Your stories are part of God’s stories, and God’s stories are part of your stories.
People need to hear those stories. Believe it!
Get ready to write!

This week’s assignment: Start a list of things you’ve seen God do for you and add to it throughout the week.

Next week we’ll answer the question, “What is a memoir?” and you can get started in earnest.

I’m so excited you have this opportunity to write your stories. You might not realize it yet, but penning your memoir could change your life!