Author and Inspired Writer

…and failing!

Yes gentle readers, while it may be true the good Lord designed human beings to be multi-taskers, it would appear when it came to me, he smiled that omniscient smile of his and said, “There’s a uni-tasker if ever I saw one!”

I’ve been trying to juggle preaching and writing, and after a couple of weeks, I had to put aside The Magdalene Poems – for now.  I apologized to Lady M and received her blessing.  As the one commissioned to proclaim Christ’s resurrection to her brother apostles, I found she has keen insight and sympathy for the plight of women preachers.  Ideas and phrases still pop into my head, and I write them down as soon as I can, but right now I must focus on preaching.

And I’m finding it absolutely delightful!  I’m experiencing very little in the way of nerves, and such affirmation from my little congregation that I look forward to Sunday mornings.  As I walk up from the back of the sanctuary, they wave at me, take my hand, tell me they can’t wait to hear what I’ve got planned for that day’s sermon – it’s like riding the crest of a wave of affection all the way to the pulpit!  So energizing, and if I might use a hackneyed word, “empowering.”

It will be pleasant to return to the manuscript in a couple of weeks, but for now – “help me to take one day (and one thing!) at a time, sweet Jesus!”

Going to school mostly.  And learning all about writing.

A while back, I mentioned that I’d won a book in a contest Vanessa Shields was running on her website.  It was called “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg.  I just finished it a couple days ago, and it was wonderful!  Reading that book changed my process – the way a writer creates – and I didn’t think that was possible!  But I am writing differently now, less self-consciously, and that is just so exciting!  I highly recommend this book to any writer, especially if they feel blocked or maybe just a little flat.

A couple weeks later, I won another book from www.vanessashields.com, this one entitled “Becoming A Writer,” by Dorothea Brande, a book described by Julia Cameron (“The Artist’s Way”)  as the best book on writing she’s ever found – high praise indeed.  Can’t wait to get into that one!  And speaking of Julia Cameron, I finally read “The Artist’s Way,” re-released to celebrate its twentieth anniversary.  It was so affirming, I felt like dear Julia was at my elbow saying, “Now, there’s nothing to worry about.  You’re doing fine.  Just relax and take good care of yourself!”  What every writer needs to hear!

And then last week, my winning ways continued when I garnered “Magnified World,” a (first) novel by Grace O’Connell.  I won this from www.bookclubbuddy.com in their weekly giveaway.  It’s free to register and a book is given away every week, so check it out.  “Magnified World” is not a book about writing, but a novel, but since it came to me free of charge, I know it has something important to say to me right now.

So you see why I feel like I’ve been taking a course in creative writing this summer?  The authors of these books, my teachers, are (or were) the best in the business, and I’m just soaking up all their wisdom and encouragement!

And besides all that, my books and tuition are free!

Oh it’s sooo nice to be back!

A lot can happen in 6 weeks and it’s going to take some time to get caught up, but first things first:  I am preaching every Sunday in July at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 129 Simcoe St. in Amherstburg.  The sanctuary is air conditioned, the people are friendly, and the preaching inspired…or so I thought until one of our members fainted my first Sunday in the pulpit and an ambulance had to be called.  Another member, who happens to be an EMT, did an assessment on our dear brother while waiting for the ambulance, and in the course of his interview, I heard him ask this little gem – “Do you think it was Penny-Anne’s sermon that made you sick?”  Ahem!  Harumph!  (Our brother has completely recovered, by the way.  Turns out it was a case of dehydration, not poor preaching!)

Anyhoo, y’all invited!

Well, actually, David Tan, my webmaster who has the patience of a saint, knows very well the trouble I’ve seen, as he’s seen it too.  Here’s what happened – the company that hosts my website changed servers, and after that happened, I could not access my website to make posts.  For the last six weeks or so, David has been painstakingly going through file after file to see what went wrong and finally found one small plug-in folder that had been corrupted.  He said, “It’s amazing how one small file can create so much havoc!”  Amen to that!

I have a few things to get caught up on, and then I’ll be back to posting regularly.  And there’s so much to tell!

PS. Thanks David!