“Your struggle to share your struggle"

Ya just gotta love Mick Silva and his ministry to writers. This quote of his is one of my favorites.

Yes, often you and I must struggle to share our struggles, but what a glorious result is possible! You and I can offer light to those in dark places. What a joy!

If you’ve ever been stuck in a dark place, I suspect you’ve never forgotten those who shared light with you. You've never forgotten how they changed your world.

Now it’s time to pass that on to others.

I’ll keep this post brief because I’m enjoying a visit from my son and granddaughter, but before I sign off, below you’ll find a couple of verses to bless and inspire you to keep on struggling to share your struggles. Remember, you and your memoir are light!

For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth). . . . (Ephesians 5:8-9, NIV)

But you are a chosen people . . . God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

Remember: 

Writing your memoir is not a hobby, it’s a ministry.

Tuesday Tidbit: Where do you find the guts to climb over or break through or dig under?

Reading time: 55 seconds

Following up on Thursday’s post, Even if I must drag myself on bleeding hands and knees to get there, yesterday David Ramos, Author, spoke to exactly where I find myself:

"The three ingredients for a miracle:

Start where you are

Be thankful for what you have

Give everything you’ve got.

So often we think we’ve hit a dead-end

When in reality, the wall isn’t telling us to turn around.

It’s seeing if we have the guts to climb over

Or break through

Or dig under.

Miracles don’t happen when there are other, safe, more practical options on the table.

They show up for those who have nothing left

The ones who show up in obedience

Raised their arms in courage

And spoke out in faith.

You are not stuck.

When you can’t seem to find a way out

That’s when you need to start paying attention to how God is finding His way in."

And dear Chuck Swindoll—yesterday he, too, encouraged me. He writes:

“If you want to . . . replace excuses with fresh determination and procrastination with tough-minded perseverance, you need discipline. Winners know that disciplined persistence must be a major part of their training. That’s the only way victory becomes an attainable reality rather than a distant dream.”

You and I can do this!

Let's remember God's encouragement:

Don't panic. I am with you.

There's no need to fear for I am your God.

I'll give you strength.

I'll help you.

I'll hold you steady,

keep a firm grip on you.

Isaiah 41:10, The Message

With God’s help—

and with each other’s prayers and practical help—

we can publish our memoirs!

We will publish our memoirs!

Tuesday Tidbit: Holding your published memoir in your hands

Picture this: You’re holding your published memoir in your hands for the first time. Just imagine!

What emotions will race through your being?

What will the cover look like?

How will the pages smell?

Imagine opening the cover of your memoir.

Turning the pages.

Reading the words—your words.

How fantastic will that be?!

If you persevere, 

if you never give up, 

if you stick with it, 

your dream can come true:

You can publish your memoir.

And when you do, be sure to tell all of us here at SM 101.

That me, holding Grandma's Letters from Africa.

What do you know of failure and valor and brick walls?

.

It is not the critic who counts;

not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,

or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man

who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred

by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;

who errs, and comes short again and again,

because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;

but who does actually strive to do the deeds;

who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions;

who spends himself in a worthy cause;

who at the best knows in the end the triumph

of high achievement,

and who at the worst, if he fails,

at least fails while daring greatly,

so that

his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls

who know neither victory nor defeat.

(President Theodore Roosevelt)

“Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something bad enough. They are there to keep out other people.”  (Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture)

Read those two passages again, noting which phrases resonate with you.

What people come to mind when you read these statements? What did those individuals teach you?

What experiences surface from your own past: What do you know of failure and valor and brick walls? What lessons did you learn in the midst of them? What did you learn about God and yourself?

Which Bible passages do these stories illustrate?

What stories can you write—about your own experience or someone else’s—that will pass on wisdom and tenacity and faith to your memoir’s readers?