The reminder goes off on your phone. You glance at it, but don’t give it a second thought because you’re in the middle of something else. 

A few hours later, you go to check a text message that just came through and you see that reminder again. You haven’t done it, but you check the box anyway because you know you need to, it just isn’t the time.

It’s the end of the day and as you’re thinking through what tomorrow will look like, you realize that you never did the thing that your reminder told you to do. You start beating yourself up because you didn’t actually check that off of the list for your day. You’ve disappointed yourself, but more importantly, you feel you’ve disappointed God.

That reminder read “Writing time.”

In times of transition, we often want to do things differently from one phase to the next. When we graduate high school, we seek to be treated like an adult, so we take on more responsibility like attending college or moving out of our parent’s house. When we change jobs, we want to bring our best to the next position, so we do everything in our power to be our best self. When a relationship ends, we make every effort to take the best parts with us and learn from the difficult ones.

For me, this came down to a welcome mat.

Until one day (or maybe progressively over time) God makes it clear - writing is a calling and He wants you to DO something with it. Well now you are married with kids and schedules and meal planning and pick ups and drop offs and playdates and date night and homework help and laundry and how in the WORLD will you find time to write too?

Except that God’s given you a message. A specific message that only you can share because He uniquely created you and your story. And you can’t shake that feeling that He’s asking you to do this. But you have no idea where to start.

We all know the importance of goal-setting. We are taught from a young age whether it’s in school, on a sports team, or playing an instrument, that goals give us purpose and focus.

And if you’re reading this, you probably have the big goal - to write a book.

It’s a great aspiration to have! But it’s not actually a goal. It’s a dream. And it will stay a dream if you don’t set smaller goals to help you accomplish it.

Oftentimes the “where” of writing is just as important as the “what.” What do I mean by that? Your writing spot is just as important as the words that you write.

Your space can either help or hinder your creativity. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for this either, but there are some tips and tricks that can help you.

The first thing you have to do is know yourself. Sounds simple, but it may not be. As yourself these questions:

Organizing your writing is a key component to bringing clarity to your work. If it doesn’t make sense to the reader, then they won’t keep reading. But how do you do that?

Starting with organizing it first is usually the best way to keep it consistent throughout. (If you’ve already written and it’s disorganized, don’t worry! I’ll go over that in a bit.)

How many times have your expectations shifted your mood, your interactions with people, or even your responses to the world around you?

It happens to me more frequently than I’d like to admit. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a firstborn, or your quintessential Type A personality, whatever the reason, disappointment due to expectations is something that I struggle with.

“Everything will be okay” – the words I heard from God at a time when things felt so uncertain. It was a season where I was feeling all the things at once: excitement, joy, fear, inadequacy, unprepared. Those words brought comfort and peace to my chaotic thought life. But I soon realized that my definition of “okay” and God’s definition were not the same. As I laid in bed in the ER, tubes coming out of me, and an ultrasound with no heartbeat, it felt the furthest from okay.

This week I helped in two of my sons classes for their Halloween parties. I’ve always loved being in my kids’ classes, seeing how they interact with their peers, and helping their teachers in any way I can. My mom set a great example of that when I was a child and I wanted to continue that for my children.

Ever come across a child in the grocery store who is outgoing and willing to strike up a conversation with you? It’s happened to me many times, especially when I have my own kids with me. The conversation usually wanders from the toy they’re holding to their shirt (which is their favorite color), and eventually we get to their age. As a mom with littles (ages 5 and under), I was fairly confident in my age guessing skills.