My week at the Write to Publish conference was downright inspiring.
I heard encouragement from published authors, editors, and fellow writers. I got instruction in areas that were foreign to me. I made wonderful connections and renewed acquaintances.
But perhaps the most important advice came in three concise, pithy words.
No matter what you do with your time, these three words can be the key to a fulfilling summer.
1. Read.
For fun. For enjoyment. For escape. For education. For inspiration.
Reading opens up new worlds and deepens our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe. And for writers?
“A writer’s brain is like a magician’s hat. If you’re going to get anything out of it, you have to put something in it first.” (Louis L'Amour)
“He is careful of what he reads, for that is what he will write.” (Annie Dillard)
2. Pray.
Some have said that coming to prayer is like coming home.
At times, I feel homesick…and I know it’s time to come back to prayer. So often, we just stay away too long, busying ourselves with human efforts we think are so necessary. We think our labors will yield the biggest, quickest results. When we do that, we cheat God, we cheat ourselves, and we cheat those we interact with.
Prayer is our connection to what is much greater than we are.
As speaker Bob Hostetler urged us, “Pray before you write. Pray after you write.”
When we bathe our efforts in prayer, we open whatever we do up to His power.
3. Write.
At the conference, we talked about writing, we learned about it, we were inspired to do it.
Then the time comes to just do it.
You’re not a writer?
Whatever it is that you do, abandon yourself to it—throw yourself right in.
Don’t just sit on the edge and dangle your toes in.
Do it.
Three steps to a fulfilling summer that I intend to take.
Read. Pray. Write.
How about you?
I'm linking up with Laura, Michelle, and Jen today.
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6 comments:
I heard these same things and I think the advice to Pray hit me the most. Thanks for reminding me.
It was so good to be with you.
Clella
That's the kind of advice I like to hear: three short words. Read, pray, write. I can do this, right?
Glad you had an uplifting time at the conference! And thanks for sharing what you learned with us.
Thank you for sharing these three bits of advice. I am glad that you enjoyed the conference AND that you shared what you learned with those of us that could not attend :) It is appreciated! I was your neighbor at Playdates With God.
I'm so glad you were inspired and refueled at the conference, Laura Lee! And I feel like I'm doing well in two of the three you've mentioned. I struggle to make time to read books. I spend a lot of time reading blogs, so at the end of the day when I have free time to read a book, I let my need to "veg-out" just take over! ha! I did put reading a book at least an hour a day down on my summer to-do list, so maybe this is just the gentle reminder I needed to get going! Great thoughts, my friend!
Simple and perfect.
Happy summer, Laura.
Fondly,
Glenda
It sounds like a good conference, Laura. I especially appreciate the advice to read (the other two also, of course!). As the book editor at The High Calling, I don't always have the time to read the books I really want to read and sometimes this discourages me. But I have found the books I read for work to be a source of much growth. Good stuff, lady!
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