READ LESS, LISTEN MORE
By Annie Glasel
I love to read. Since becoming a wife and a mother (in that order), reading has become a luxury and not a habit. And I confess, reading for me, unlike Bible study, is more a pass time, something to do when I want to relax or just let my mind process frivolous information for a bit. Recently, I find that the more I read, the dumber I feel. (Of course, the reading material does have a lot to do with it.)
However, I also find that of late, my best writing ideas are downloaded from God when I sit in church and LISTEN to what’s being preached. I find also that whenever the radio is broadcasting good preaching or inspiration songs, my mind is typing out little articles.
It occurs to me just today that the first 5 books of the Bible cover so much more material with so much less words than all the other 61 books combined. If my recollection serves me correctly, until Moses (the author assigned to having written those five books), these stories have been passed down through oral traditions.
I wonder if Moses got to write down these stories because he was a good listener? Surely thousands of other children of God have heard the same stories. I wonder also if Moses got to receive the 10 commandments because he was a better listener?
Writing is a discipline. But when we write for God, it is an act of obedience. It is a walk of faith. I believe that if we do more listening and less reading of what other people think, imagine or have heard from God, we will hear more clearly the messages that God has appointed for us to transmit though our gifts as writers.
I’ve written to ease my pain; I’ve written to hear my voice; I’ve written for vanity; I’ve written for sanity; I’ve written for fun; I’ve written for laughs; I’ve written for me; I’ve written for money. But until I write for God, this talent is for naught.
Annie Glasel’s FaithWriters Profile
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITER-MAKE A WEBSITE
Related posts:
3 Comments until now.
Annie,
Amen and amen!
I’ve been serious about writing for about three years. When I got serious, I began taking courses, learning everything I could, reading about writing, and joining crit groups. Every new idea that came along and looked good I learned about. If it seemed to fit my writing style, I tried it.
I also did what everyone said to do by reading blogs and following other writers to see what they were doing and how they were doing it.
I learned a lot!
The problem was that although I was also writing a lot, I wasn’t finishing anything.
In the last month or two, I’ve started unsubscribing to some of those blogs and backed off some of the writing courses, too.
I’m trying to be more selective in the human voices I pay attention to.
I’m also trying to listen more specifically to the prompts that come from God. It takes more listening, but is well worth the effort.
So thanks for your post! It was exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.
By the way, I am sometimes bombarded with ideas during church services, too.
Carrie
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! The articles I write that touch people’s heart the most are the ones I write from God’s heart.
Still, for me, I don’t read enough, and remember less.