A warm Hello to Tonya’s Readers at Nearly Missed It! My name is Rebekah and I started a website/blog called “We Live Inspired!” just a few months ago. I am so blessed to have met Tonya through a 5 minute Friday exercise that we both participate in through this cool online community! She is a kind and caring person 🙂 I am guest posting on one of Tonya’s word prompts today on the word “writing” (thank you Tonya for having me).
Let me start out by saying that writing is such a vast activity that it can mean many things to many people. Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, it is a practice that can build self-awareness and also be therapeutic (not to mention fun!). For myself, I think writing came from a love of books and parents who constantly exposed me to the written word from a very young age. If you would like to read more about my bookish beginnings check out a little something I wrote called the “Book Nook” HERE.
Since my website name is We Live Inspired! I would like to start my post today by hopefully offering some inspiration to you, the reader. I believe every one of us has something unique to offer the world. It doesn’t matter if you are a literary genius, or if you feel that you don’t have writing talent, you still have a story my friend. Whether you choose to share your words with the world, or keep them to yourself- your life itself (be it exciting or mundane) is a story.
I recently have started reading the Bible from the beginning and am currently in Exodus. God must have been speaking to me today, because after hearing the word Tonya wanted me to write about, I opened up my bible app to where I left off yesterday, Exodus 4:10, and immediately felt a message coming across that ties in with this topic. I would like to share it with you. God was speaking to Moses. He wanted to use Moses as His spokesperson for the very important task of leading His people out of Egypt. Moses did not feel worthy because he didn’t think he had the talent to perform the task at hand.
Exodus 4:10 (NLT) says: But Moses pleaded with the Lord, ” O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue tied and my words got tangled.” If you go back to Exodus 3, you will see Moses protesting some more with God, saying “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh, Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”. How many of us have felt this way before? I know I have. While writing has been a dream and a passion of mine since childhood, there are times in this new blogging venture of mine when I have thought, “Who am I Lord, that people would want to hear the words I write?” There are so many bloggers and writers in the world that it’s easy to feel lost in a crowd and ask “Who am I?”. In response to Moses God says, ” Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or don’t speak, hear or don’t hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?” Then He tells Moses to go forth with it because He will be with Moses as he speaks and will instruct him in what to say.
Speaking and writing are similar. One is done on paper or computer, and one is just verbalized, but it’s still the same thing. Knowing the right “words” to say. You may be like a Moses and think that what you have to say is not as good as the next guy, but you shouldn’t underestimate the power of your own unique words. Your words could make someone laugh, or inspire them to try something new, encourage them, make them feel less alone, help them understand themselves better, or offer them a new perspective they could have never thought of on their own. Words are a powerful thing! Maybe God will even use you to “lead his people out of Egypt” (in the metaphorical sense…meaning leading people out of oppression or bondage and freeing them with your words) by speaking through you. I know I have been touched in one of these ways many times in reading other blogs, books, etc.
Not that I am a writing expert or anything, but I do have 4 major tips that have helped shape me as a writer. Number one is read, read, read. I think that reading a wide variety of things helps us to learn new words (expanding our vocabulary) and writing styles, gather inspiration, and find our unique niche. Since I was very young I have read everything from comedic books, to fantasy fiction (like Harry Potter for example), romance novels, classic literature, philosophy, self-help books, Christian devotionals, art books, and tons of famous poetry type books (I think the poetry is what shaped me most, because I tend to write flowery or in a poetic way a lot). The wider the variety the more you learn and the easier it is to find your niche of course!
Number 2 is just as important if not more important- Never compare yourself to others (I know, easier said than done right?) It’s helpful to learn from others and tweak things to become a better writer, but you don’t want to be a carbon copy of someone else. You want to develop your own unique voice. In fact when I first created my blog, I purposely did not look at or read other blogs (minus one friend I know outside of blogging) so I would maintain a pure vision. (ok so maybe I am a bit OCD on that, but that is what works for me 🙂 )
Number 3 is to get to know yourself really well. You need quiet time of reflection to get to know yourself better, so I suggest some type of journaling. As far as keeping a journal goes, ANYONE can do that! As I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to share your words with the world to be a writer. Private writing has many advantages for you. There are even different types of journals you can keep- for example a dream journal to record the dreams you have at night, a regular everyday events journal recording your daily life, a feelings journal to help yourself work through different life things, and one of my favorites-a Gratitude Journal. All of these forms of writing can help you to get to know yourself better , provide a safe and therapeutic way to purge yourself of negative emotions that would otherwise build up (not healthy!), and maybe even spark some creativity in you! Writing can be like a form of meditation- very cathartic. Sometimes writing can even be life changing-as in the case of my particular experience in keeping a Gratitude Journal (click on those words to read about that). Bonus: Studies have even shown journal writing to be an effective tool in treating anxiety and depression!
Last but not least Number 4: Be an observer. Taking time to notice things-the beauty in nature, animals, how you interact with the world, and observing people and places around you can help. I know that observing everyday things and God are my biggest sources of inspiration!
Writing can be as simple as starting a journal for your private use, blogging or even the old fashioned art of letter writing. So you see, you don’t have to be a professional writer to reap the benefits or have fun with it. 🙂
This post ended up way different than originally intended! I started out writing more about my own journey through writing and then God inspired something totally new through that verse I read today. Maybe I wasn’t meant to talk about myself so much today, but to share something that may be of use to you, the reader. If I could leave you with the overall message I learned from today’s writing, it would be that God believes in you. He believes your voice is important!
Blessings~Rebekah
Have you ever had a “Moses” complex? What are your favorite things to write about?
Rebekah lives in Michigan where she loves spending time with her family, her fiance Matt, and all of her animal friends. She donates some of her time to help a homeless, feral cat issue in her neighborhood, knits prayer shawls for people in need, and has worked with a “going green” wellness company from home (for the past 4.5 yrs) where she educates people on getting rid of toxins and helps other women make an extra income from home. She lives to create and also sells her paintings, artwork, and hand knit creations on the side. She has recently decided to revisit her childhood dreams of becoming an author or artist one day by starting a blog called “We Live Inspired!” , where she shares her inspirational stories (including those of the cat colony), artwork, photography, & some poetry, along with tips, recipes, and other fun stuff to inspire creative living in her readers. She would love to sell giftable items using her art and also get a couple of fun books published in the future! Among other things, she enjoys having themed tea parties with friends, singing and playing her acoustic guitar (but mostly just for her own enjoyment), laughing & being goofy, and spending time in God’s creation (nature).Rebekah can be found at We Live Inspired!, Facebook and Twitter.
Frogdiva Dot Com 
Pingback: 31 Days of Journaling Prompts « Nearly Missed It
Pingback: Guest Post "On Being a Writer..." Plus Giveaway Winner Announcement! We Live Inspired! - We Live Inspired!
Rebekah –
This post turned out even more awesome than I ever imagined! Don’t you just love how you think you have one writing plan in place, then the words come out completely different than that plan…but even better? That’s one thing that I have definitely experienced several times this month when writing each day for the journaling prompts. When I made the list at the end of September, I had a tiny plan of what I would write that day but those plans changed several times before the day came. There were even some days where I looked at the next day’s prompt and was clueless as to what I wanted to say, but as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard the words were freely flowing.
I am SO guilty of having a Moses complex, as you know. I often lack confidence in what I do and fear that I’m not good enough and no one would want to pay attention to my reading or speaking. What a great reminder you have shown me that in those times (and well, in everything I do), I just need to hand it over to God to handle.
The steps that you listed to shape someone as a writer are fabulous and describe me exactly. I read every day, whether it be the book I read at night before going to bed or the blogs I read during the day.
I struggle with comparing myself to others, especially when it comes to writing styles. I look at some of the other bloggers and wonder if their voice is better than mine, and that’s why they’re more popular in the blogosphere. In this month, I have concentrated more on just being myself and let my style of writing be what makes me unique and not worry about how it compares to others.
I have learned so much about myself through this post, and it gives me the strength that I need to keep going. You’re pretty awesome for writing this! I felt like you wrote it just for me, but I know that so many others are going to benefit from it, as well.
Thank you Tonya. I am glad you thought my post turned out well 🙂 . I wanted to write something extra good since it was my first guest post. I do love it when the writing comes out different than planned and sometimes I feel it’s a God thing, because it can feel like something else takes over. It almost makes me feel like I shouldn’t take much credit for it. On the Moses complex- I had a slight Moses complex in writing this post haha. It was when I got to the part about sharing the writing tips on what helped shape my voice as a writer. I SO didn’t plan on giving any tips, and it all just came blurting out. After I read what I wrote, for a minute there I thought, “Who am I to give writing tips.” I actually wasn’t sure if you or your readers would like that part of it. However, I felt these words must have been inspired for a reason so I left it as it was.
I relate to a lot of what you say here, and while I wrote it in hopes to speak to you and your readers, it was a lesson for me as well. Really I don’t even know what to say to all of your nice thoughts on the guest post except that I am so very glad that you got something out of it because that is what writing is all about for me. Thank you for the wonderful words you shared here. It is much appreciated, and actually this whole project gave my spirit a lift during a sad week for me.
Way to go Rebekah! What a great post. I love how you tied Moses into it all. Your 4 tips are really great too. They were encouraging to read as someone who has newly ‘dived in’ to the adventures of writing. Now to go check out more of Tonya’s writing…
Lizzy, thank you for stopping by. I’m glad to see that you enjoyed Rebekah’s writing. She has greatly inspired me, as well 🙂
Pingback: 31 Days of Journaling Prompts: Potential « Nearly Missed It