• Monday Meditations

    The Taming of the Inner Critic

    It isn’t uncommon to write because you read something that lacked, and you thought you could do better. It’s probably true that it lacked–not all writing is going to move you to silent awe. Then the idea grows, and you experience an almost ethereal thrill. The process happening is beyond you. It’s so good. Your story is the best. Of course, you plummet during re-reading or editing. “I don’t even know what I was thinking. How can I decipher this?” Your writing is the worst. The truth is, it’s neither. It’s just writing. And that is a normal process, especially when you are close to the work and bleeding on…

  • Monday Meditations

    Little Steps

    I hadn’t seen my friend in a while. She looked good. I asked if she’d lost weight.“Yes.”I asked how.“I started watching what I ate. And I ate a little less.” She was at least the third person in a handful of weeks who I’d noticed looking stronger, more confident, and fit. All of them said something similar. They made a few changes over a long period. Changes so small that no one really noticed the first six months. Typically, I would prefer a new dress size the first day I skip dessert, but that isn’t genuine change. It’s a miracle. Little Compromises Have you ever been warned that small compromises…

  • Monday Meditations

    Put Yourself Out There

    “Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.” Zechariah 3:5 Part of the creative nature of an artist or writer is the sensitivity. Unfortunately, sensitive people can bruise easily. Something bubbles within your soul and you cannot contain it. You release it from your fingertips, it flows into words. OK, now what do I do with it? There is an earnest desire to share it, to share this piece of your heart. The problem is: it would be like exposing yourself naked, for all to view. Who wants…