By Jenny Erlingsson
When you look at it on the surface, focusing on a writing project during this time seems like the last thing you want to do. Or should do. But I think now is always a good time to write, especially if you feel called to do so. Here is what I mean when I say called. Writing is one of the best ways you express yourself. And when you do write, you feel more like yourself and your words resonate with others. You have the ability to put into words what others are having a hard time expressing. When you release all of this, you feel God’s pleasure on it.
Here are some other ways writing matters.
1. Writing is Worship: Those around me long enough already know that I truly believe writing is a fingerprint of worship. I’ve been scribbling since I was a child, but this aspect came into fierce clarity after giving birth to my 3rd child. Postpartum was weighing heavy on me along with other issues. I hadn’t written in so long but I decided to get the words out again and put intentional effort towards my book project. Honestly, I felt like heaven started to open over me during that time. I realized that writing was one of the ways God had given me to connect with Him and I needed to cultivate that.
2. Writing is Therapy: Listen. That same book that came out of that post-partum moment moved beyond personal worship to words that really ministered to other people. But I had no clue that one month after its release, I would need what I wrote to encourage my own self. The enemy was using the circumstances around that time to deny what I had just declared with the book. But that book reminded me of my place as a daughter of God. You have no idea how God will speak through you the words you need for you. Also, with Milk & Honey Books, I’m seeing projects come through that speak to hard, dark, difficult moments in our lives. These women had the courage to pour out the words they felt called to and in the process are seeing God bring healing to them and others.
3. Writing is Creative Expression: When words are knit together in poetic, thought-provoking, inspiring ways, there is nothing like it! The beauty of the written word is something we often take for granted. It takes people like you and I to have the courage to write words of substance. Words that paint pictures, entertain, bring change. These are the words that form the deepen, strengthen, inspire, bring life, release hope, stir joy and laughter. As we write, our words weave into every expressing, bringing color to canvases, forming lumps of clay into worthy vessels, creating melodies that play in the background of our reader’s lives.
4. Writing is Legacy: When you read books by others that have long passed from this earth or even the words of the Bible itself, you realize that words have the ability to outlast us. This makes them more significant and important than we realize. Part of the reason I wrote my first book was so that my kids would know my heart. I wanted them to have something to point to (in addition to my heavily marked Bible) that lets them know what their Mommy is all about. The words we speak in agreement with God send ripples into eternity. They point to the legacy of our belief which leads to God, giving Him all the glory.
5. Writing is Processing: This component comes in two parts for me. First, writing gives you the ability to get the words out of you and really inspect at them. Maybe you can’t figure out your own thoughts until you see them laid out physically on paper. Or on the white page of your word processor. Getting all of it out in this way helps you brainstorm, process and work through what’s stirring in you. Second, and most important, I am a firm believer that God speaks specifically and prophetically through what we write. Remember how I said writing is therapy? When we write from a Christ-centered place, we are placing our words in the wind of the Holy Spirit. I have experienced the Lord speaking to me through my own thoughts as I wrote. Questions burning in my heart found their answers in my journals and poems and prose. The faithfulness to lift the pen, positions us to capture God’s faithfulness. What you are waiting for may be found on the other side of your obedience.
Do you find yourself in one of the reasons above or is there another “why” that hits you the most? There are many more benefits of writing but you won’t discover that for yourself if you don’t start or continue.
But maybe you have been bogged down by your schedule or burdened by so much that you haven’t had the ability to write like you need to. So I’m here to help you stir that up a bit. Starting November 1st, we will be jumping back into a writing challenge. This is for those who need to refresh their writing rhythm, the motivation to continue working on a project or maybe just the encouragement to put pen to paper (or fingers to computer keyboard).
Each day of the month of November, there will be a focus, prompt, and video or resource. Don’t worry, this won’t be a month of pressure. You are invited to go at your own pace with gentle encouragement and practical tools to help you release content for the blog, song, curriculum, lesson, journal, book, etc you are working on.
This challenge is special because you will also have the opportunity to write towards and submit to The Milk & Honey Women Devotional Journal Vol. 2 releasing 2022. Many of our Facebook group members are featured in Volume. 1. Submissions will also be considered for the Milk & Honey Women Blog and monthly digital magazine if they aren’t a fit for the book.
For more info and to receive one week of the workbook for free, click the link below to sign up and get your 7 day workbook sample if you haven’t gotten it before. The full workbook is available for purchase but definitely not necessary to take part and benefit from the group. This group is for those who especially feel led to write encouraging, Christ-Centered content, etc. We are unashamedly built on a Biblical worldview. The goal is that out of the overflow of who you are as a follower of Christ, you will release words that shine light in dark places.
