nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Our writing teacher Jim frequently tells us that. That is what writing is to me… venturing out into the unknown, chasing a dream regardless of the fears inside my heart. For this class we are required to turn in 8-12 pages of writing for a book every 3 weeks. Tonight I turned in my first submission.

Let’s go back to yesterday. Yesterday I was a mess. My mind was telling me to drop the class. Seems extreme, but of course that was my thought process. That way I wouldn’t have to face the 27 students telling me my work was no good and that I have no hope of being a writer. That the words I poured my heart into had no power to make this world a better place. So naturally I cried and debated in my mind what to do.

I sent my submission to the printing company last night. When I went to pick it up today there was a note on it that read, “Your story is going to touch a lot of hearts. Can’t wait to read the rest.”  Again, tears. A little encouragement to help me conjure up to the bravery to turn it in.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for years now. But, it is so scary that I’ve always held back. I haven’t stuck with it. There is so much discipline involved with it, way more than I would have expected. But, at the beginning of the year I made a commitment to myself to write. It wasn’t for anyone else,  it was for me. When I write I find God. It’s how I worship Him. I find healing. I find peace in a way I’ve never experienced otherwise. It’s my way of processing life. I can’t live without it. 

I think we all have unique gifts and talents that are ours to explore. It will be our way of getting through the hardships and really treasuring the joy along the way. Some people find it in music, sports, whatever. For me it’s writing. We won’t start out perfect which is terrible news for a perfectionist like me. 

I will be critiqued by my whole class in 2 weeks. I have this terrible two week waiting period. I have to let go. My submission is out there. There is no going back.

It would have been so much easier to have not opened myself up to the rejection. It would have been safe and comfortable. I would avoid the potential hurt. We don’t usually choose to pursue change. 

If I did that I would have robbed myself of the chance to grow.  I would have been a lesser version of who I know God has made me to be. It doesn’t mean the other students won’t say my writing is crap. It doesn’t mean that I won’t experience rejection. It means I have a choice to let the opinions of others hold me back from creating a life I want to live or letting God’s love be enough. If everyone hates it I can find my validation in my relationship with the Lord. That is the only thing that gave me the strength as I prayerfully handed in my work ignoring my stomach ache from the nerves & the voice that was saying don't turn it in. 

We judge ourselves so much by the rejection of others. Yet, JK Rowling was rejected 12 times before Harry Potter was picked up by a publishing agency. (I am only on book 3 and havn’t seen the movies- no spoilers please!!) Imagine if she was discouraged by the first rejection, or the second… or the 7^th… Imagine if she gave up. No, she believed in herself. You have to. Your worth doesn’t come from other people thinking you are good enough.

We can’t let rejection stop us. We have to use it as a chance to make us grow into more of the people we really want to be, the people we are called to be. 

Stephen King had many rejection letters as well. He only has like what 50 best sellers? That is not the point. It's not the success I admire, but their courage to ignore the world telling them they should give up. They kept writing.

I am making a commitment to keep writing. No matter what I am told by the other students. Even if the critiques say I am terrible I will stay with it. I will learn. I will grow. I may have to start out really poorly and work really really hard to get better.

Don’t give up on yourself. Don’t sell yourself short of the life God has in store for you because of that nagging little voice that says you are not good enough. That voice is a lie. You are good enough simply because God’s love is all we need for our validation. No good opinions or bad ones changes anything about who we are. It will always be scary, but it is so much better than being comfortable.

I have two weeks of waiting. I can live with anxiety or let go and work on my writing each day.  

What do you really want to do with your life? Is fear holding you back in any way? Life is too short for that crap. 

Nothing ventured, Nothing gained.

Religon & Politics

Dear Christians,

Some days I am embarrassed to be a Christian. Please hear me out. Not because of Jesus, but because of those who say they are His people. It is easy to point out others flaws and that is not the point of what I am writing.

In light of all the recent news about going to war with Syria, we are going to be seeing a lot of people spouting off their views on facebook. That is fine, I guess? 

Anyways, I write this as someone who follows Jesus as well. My views may not be as popular in the church. That is fine. We don’t need the same political views to follow the same Lord. There are more important things to me than your political party.

I am asking you as a Christian to not post any HATEFUL remarks about people who vote different than you. God does not vote one way or another. Secretly, I believe Jesus votes as I do. I know that is crazy. (I'm joking, calm down) I know we are all humans and cannot help our crazy thoughts. But, you can help spreading the hate. If you are a Christian, please do not put out hateful messages. That is the opposite of what our Lord stands for. 

He calls us to die to ourselves and love our neighbor. Love is the most important thing, not who we vote for. I believing having your own opinion is VERY important. Yet, I think respecting others opinion is even more important. Someone is not an idiot for thinking differently than you.

I don’t know if anyone will read this or care. I just have to say something. We are living representations of Jesus Christ. No wonder people are so turned off by the church. Our reputation is bad. Let's listen to our God and STOP judging and START loving. Let's show our love in our actions. That is how this world is going to change. We are human and fall short, but if we choose to love above all else I believe people will be able to see the Lord in us no matter how broken we are.

Your words are very powerful. You are bringing love or hate into this world. Be careful about what you are choosing to say. I hope you know I am not judging you. I mess up all the time. I am just afraid of people being pushed away from Jesus so I feel like I had to write something.

Thank you!

Let these quotes challenge you:

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” - Brennan Manning

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." -Voltaire

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr. 

To my friends who are not Christians,

Please forgive us for constantly falling short of our call. We let our way get in the way of what God truly wants. We are not supposed to be known as hateful people. We are supposed to be the most accepting people in the world. Don’t let our shortcomings block you off from Christ. No Christian is ever perfect, only God. You are loved by God no matter what!!!