Friday, January 26, 2007

The did it and so can I!

Last year there was a very interesting program about paying off your mortgage in two years and there was the promise that the people involved in the program would be followed up to see how far they had gone with their charge. I watched one of the follow-up programs yesterday and was quite impressed with what I saw. The couple, considering that they had joined in late, were right on target to achieve their dream and despite the blips and discouragement along the way, I would say they made it which was quietly very moving. I was trying to think how they must have felt about not having any debt on their house (a big thing over here) and how they felt about achieving such a big and very difficult goal. Something more than elation, perhaps.

I have been struck several times in recent months about the similar reactions and emotions we all face and go through as human beings. Disappointment, fear, the feeling of being let down, joy, happiness, excitement and the like and with the negative emotions I am learning that I am not the only one who goes through them. It is only a few who persevere beyond feelings to march on, even wounded, towards achieving their goals. Men seem to do better in that respect and I am learning to put my feelings to one side and think how I will feel if I achieved something I consider to be great.

I read a letter to a beginning writer by Phyllis Whitney, an author whose books I read some years back in Ghana and it was just that kind of advice I have been doing my best to give to myself. It is important to take a shot at whoever you want to do even if you know you will not have good results. Trying to attain perfection before you start is a sure way never to start anything and she says that it is better to have mud that you can mould than not to have anything at all. That is a very nice way to look at it.

Funny that in the book of Ezekiel God asks him whether the dry bones he sees can live and he says only God knows. Yes, only God can tell what will succeed or no,t but if you do not have anything to start with, then you have nothing at all to show for it.
Baby steps, small steps will lead you where you want to go to.
With that in mind, I will not be discouraged about my walking regime that has not gone according to my dreams and plans. I have started with it and if I continue will have something to show for it…. In a few months time.
Play with some mud; it is the base material for the beautiful artifact, Nana.

Everyone can once they put their hearts and minds to it.
Hmmm.

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Monday, January 22, 2007

Jesus my Saviour

The biggest thing in my life and I know will be was when I became a believer in 1988 after sixth form and the way it happened was another miracle.

My faith has been the most important thing to me since then and sometimes my heart is so full of gratitude for knowing Jesus as my Saviour, especially when I am feeling a bit low or discouraged about some thing or the other. I ask myself what I would do if I didn’t know that God hears my cry and my prayers. It is a blessing to be known by the Lord and experience the peace He gives us through the Holy Spirit and His word. It is the reason why I love to read through the psalms and get comforted by the words those psalmists of old wrote. They capture the whole human gamut of emotions and for me, they are such a comfort.

I am watching a Fred Hammond DVD and just seeing the talent on display to glorify God amazes me, humbles me and inspires me to do better with what I have been given and I am hoping to reach that point where I do get going without having to be “inspired” ever so often. Gratitude for the Lord’s grace and mercy would make me want to write and thank Him and glorify Him with what He has give me. I want to go beyond writing only when I am feeling like it. That is not good enough. God is so merciful to me.

What love, what joy, what peace, what grace, what mercy is available for those who run to Him and abide in Him.
Oh glorious God, I thank you.

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Thursday, January 18, 2007

Stir yourself up, Nana

I haven’t written in a while though the intent has been there. I have come to appreciate in these past few days that health and productivity are so linked to each other. I have not been able to shake off the lethargy completely and it is affecting my imagination and productivity; naturally.
I have to shake myself up and stir myself up so that I can move. Being tired makes me focus on the negative instead of the positive and just when I should be walking tall on the back of getting a letter printed, there is this slump. I am wiser now and will do my best never to let exercise slip away from my lifestyle.
I am stirring myself up and shaking off the weight.

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Friday, January 12, 2007

Dick Francis

It is not a pleasant thing to be uninspired as a writer. It feels quite frustrating because you do want to write but your mind is blank. I am by no means the first writer to experience this phenomenon. I have read about it several times from other quarters and much as I am doing my best to write when I don’t feel like it, it is hard doing sometimes.
Today (the 11th) I have felt like that and after taking a nap and waking up with still nothing beeping in my mind, I picked up the new Dick Francis book to read and I am yet to finish the first chapter but he has me in smiles already and I feel inspired to jot down what is happening. There is nothing like a master at his game. I am so glad he is back again writing and even if it is still about houses and races, I say bring it on, Mr Francis. You have a lifelong fan in me not just for your tales but your paucity of writing.
I love this writer.
I have to note that when I need inspiring, I have to head for a Dick Francis novel to do the trick.Tight,pacy, gritty writing; just the kind of medicine that I need.

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