Where are you?—March 28, 2007

It has come into my mind that you may not be where you want to be today. Not physically but in other aspects of your life. Maybe you’re not feeling well or maybe you are struggling with finances. Perhaps your job is sucking the very heart and soul from you and not the best French-roasted coffee can bring your life to life. I am in one of these places today. I woke up at 0310 this morning remembering the troubles I would be facing today. My first reaction was panic and fear. There is a loss of control in the place where I am at today. I don’t want to be here. I knew what I needed to do and, as always, it worked. What I needed was prayer. Prayer to a Holy and Almighty God who does not turn His back on us even if it feels like He has, He has not. He is there as He is always there. Though He is here and I know He is here it is hard to grasp His hand at times. When we lose control of some area of our lives it means we have to rely on someone or something else and that takes away our choices. We have grown up believing that we have to be independent and self-sufficient. This ingrained thought process causes us to panic in a claustrophobic manner when something in our lives crop up that steals the all-precious control from our hands. We struggle for breath and seek any means necessary to help us to get that control back. When we can’t get control back we run away and try to hide. It is better to run then to be left in a state of helplessness. I believe it was Milton who wrote, “It is better to rule in hell than to serve in Heaven”. Similar thought processes here… This running away can take many forms: drug use, alcohol, or plain and simple running away. I have to admit that I have wanted to, on more than one occasion, fly to a beautiful mountain deep in the Rockies and live a simple life free from the hassles of this life. The problem is that this kind of thinking is “greener grass” thinking. When you are where you do not want to be almost any grass or no grass at all, looks inviting. It is all an illusion, however. We live in a world that has been plagued by sin since around the time of creation and because of that life has become difficult, down-right hard at times. Difficulties are as much of a part of life as breathing. It will strike all of us at one time or another. That is a guarantee. Let me stop here and bring this to a conclusion by looking at this “bad” place that you or I find ourselves in. What if the struggles you and I are facing today are for our benefit? What?! How can troubles and lose of control be beneficial? Huh?! Well, if you would take a close look at the troubles that you faced in the past and look at where you are today, what would you see? What I have seen in my life is that there has been growth, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Growth! My friend Greg pointed out to me during our visit to his home this past weekend that our friendship has grown to where it is today during times of adversity. He and his family stood by us the entire time we were battling with Grady’s cancer and hospital stay. I have to say that he was right and it applies to all areas of our lives. It is good to have times of quietness, happiness, tranquility, and pleasure but those are not the times that help us to grow. In fact, when those times abound I find that I get soft and lethargic. I am not saying I crave the hard times but I have come to realize that God brings these times into our lives to test us and to draw us closer to Him where true peace and comfort comes from. So I have come to the conclusion that even though I am, right now, in a place I do not want to be I think it is a place where God wants me now because that is where He is today. I am comforted. You can take comfort in this place as well. Turn to God, confess your need for Him and you too can fell the “peace that surpasses understanding”. Bye!

A Bit-o-Laughter-March 21, 2007

I am suspecting that by now many of you out there are wondering how my blog has become so wildly popular. It is difficult to put into words but because I want all of you out there to succeed in your blogging, I will share my secrets with you here and now.

First and foremost you need to get a place to host your blog. If you don't what you will find is your frig pasted with all your "postings" and you will not get very many hits unless, of course, you open your home to the public. Come to think of it, that might be a good way to earn some extra cash but you must realize that you'll have to take the extra step of keeping your place clean. It's all such a give and take proposition! Mind boggling, I know!

You will want to make sure you pay top dollar for a blog site, like I am doing here with Blogger.com. I would not think to pay less! It is worth it to get these missives out to you all! (I have even seen blogs that have pictures! I am serious here, folks! I am not sure how to get my photos out on the web like that. I have tried sticking my pictures from Wal-Mart into the disk drive but the only thing I get is a crunching sort of noise and a few pieces of picture flying from the drive opening, but never a one of them ends up on my blog page! I have even tried crayons, but the problem with that is the pictures you draw never really look like the photos you are trying to emulate and the pictures also hang around the screen no matter what web site you go to. And don't get me started on white out!!) If any of you know how to perform this amazing feat, PLEASE let me know! I will put YOUR name into MY blog giving you full credit for the vast hoards that flock daily to this site to see. Deal?

Another thing you need is a lot of cash. This is useful just in case your blog may not be quite as popular as you think it should be. What you do is this: Take the cash and give it people who own a computer (This is important to remember because without a computer you will need to invite them over to read your refrigerator: keep in mind the cleaning thing mentioned above!) and with cash in hand, these people will usually go out and have a look at your site. (I usually charge $5.00 and I am available.)

I would be remise not to mention the vast number of people that have come and looked at my site! I mean it's the people that really make a site so popular! In fact I would love to name each person individually who have visited my site so far but they would BOTH be embarrassed if I did that!

 

Well I have babbled enough today! I hope you all realize I have just been funning today. I do enjoy the blogging no matter how many (If any) come and read my hen scratching.

I love to read Dave Berry. There is no other author out there that makes me laugh so hard that I cry! I know what you are thinking, "I know Dave Berry, and Greg, you are no Dave Berry!" That is true or I would be called Dave and not Greg, but he inspires me to at least try to be funny once in a while and since this is my site I can do pretty much what I want with it! Good Bye for now! Have a good one!

Oh, by the way, I will be on vacation until NEXT Tuesday, March 27^th so I will not be blogging until that time.

 

Dreams of a Dreamer-March 20, 2007

One of the things that pushed me to write was the fact that I dream. Not your dreams about the future or dreams of becoming successful or even day-dreams but plain old go-to-bed and sleep dreams. Some people can’t remember their dreams or even remember if they dreamed at all but I have been given vivid dreams that, though they are dreams because there is always something that is obviously out of phase with reality, they are dreams that have something happening, just like a story. Although it has only been me that knows much of anything about my dreams and I have never discovered a good scientific method for measuring my dreams, time seems to be different in my dreams. The dream can be so deep and have so much going on that it seems like it was an epic all-night event. Other times I have the same sensation of epic-ness (I may have just coined a new word! J) but I know for a fact I looked at the clock only thirty minutes before the dream started. I have had so many types of dreams. I have had romantic dreams, swashbuckling dreams, nightmares of all sorts and dreams about work (These are actually the worst because I wake up feeling as though I have worked all night!). I have had dreams that I have enjoyed so much that I was actually depressed to wake up and realize that I had been dreaming. I have had dreams that those who believe in Jesus are just waiting for His return. Though no man knows the day of His return in my dreams we do know and are just waiting. That is very exciting! I consider that a great blessing! I have also had dreams that are sinful in nature. I had thought there was nothing I could do about those type of dreams since they were after all dreams, but at some point, I don’t remember who I heard it from or if it just came in to my heart perhaps by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, it come to me to ask God to protect my dreams from those types of imagery and He answered. I now make it a habit to ask Him to guard my dreams before I go to bed each night. That is very cool! We have a little boy, perhaps seven or eight years old, that lives down the block from us and who we have seen at many events at school because I think he has a brother who is of the age to participate with my son in these events, who I believe was born blind. I can’t say for sure because I have never talked to his parents to find out. Anyway, regardless of what his circumstance is, he made me wonder about people who are born blind and maybe even those who have become blind later in life. What do they dream about? Especially if you had been born blind and never had any ocular experiences. Well, I am signing off now and ready for another night of wonder in the land of dreams!

Writing for Life-March 19, 2007

As I look back on my life I have discovered that the times I have most enjoyed were the times I spent writing. It did not matter if I was doing a study from God’s word or if I was simply journaling, I discovered that during those times I found the most peace. Now having said that I don’t consider writing a source of peace in and of itself but I do consider it a gift from God as an outlet for my thoughts that can help me to sort through what is really on my heart. When this happens it often reveals something that I can then take to the Lord in prayer, and the Lord does give true peace. So what I am saying is that writing is a way to get my thoughts organized and help me to see what is really going on. I would consider this type of writing as ‘journaling’. It is not necessarily done for fun but to drain the excess emotion from my life. I would also encourage you to start journaling. You may find it to be a great outlet as well! I write in my journal as though I am talking to someone as this allows me to say what is on my mind and not burden someone else with all my “issues”. I know we are commanded to bear one another’s burdens and I am a full believer that we need to be obedient to that command but I also feel that I have so much to say that I have never opened up completely to anyone because I have way too much to say and I would be afraid of killing a person with all that is on my heart! Journaling is a great way to get everything off my shoulders. I took a long walk out on Indian Creek Nature trail yesterday and it was so good to get out! It seems the last couple of months I have done nothing but lay around and read, which, in and of itself is not bad but when that is all you do you tend to become a little like the sediment that settles to the bottom of a lake, thick and mud-like. Walking by myself or with a friend is something that really energizes me, especially if there are mountains around! ;-) When I take these walks I use the time to muse on any number of things but there are two things that always come to mind: 1) Prayer. I find a solitary walk in the woods is a great time to spend with God in prayer and I have had my most intimate times with the Father during these walks. I prayed for a wife on one such walk many years ago and shortly after I met Kim. JWhenever I need to make a tough decision I walk and talk with my heavenly Father on a beautiful trail somewhere because this is where I feel the closest to Him. I know this is just all in my mind but the results have been very good. Maybe it’s because I am more focused when I walk, I really don’t know, but that is what I seek when I need some good quality time with the Father. I don’t think walking itself adds any “power” to my prayers but I think it is just a better way for me to focus. The other thing I think about is, 2) Writing. I am most inspired when I walk. I have one story idea that has a lot of cultural development that came from walking on this same trail. It all started when I noticed several small “islands” in the middle of the creek that were completely green with grass. I had never seen such a thing and I thought that it looked like islands viewed from a long way up in the air. From there I found several more islands along the trail and began to develop a history as I went along. I remember one late evening I was walking along and worked up a history of one particular island. I had such vivid thoughts of it that I nearly scared myself as I walked back in the half-light of the moon-lit night. LOL! I guess that is a good thing! I have not taken it any farther than that but it is one of two story ideas that I have more completely developed. Once again, I look at my walks as a gift from God—in more than one way! Good bye for now!

March 16th Update

I am sorry I missed you yesterday, I was out sick.

In my last missive I talked about getting an update out to you on my writing process so here it comes.

I went to Barnes and Noble and took all my notes and ideas with me. I ordered a large hot chocolate and sat down to start coming up with an idea I felt I wanted to run with. What I am able to report is… that the hot chocolate was pretty good! LOL! The only thing that really came to mind was new names for some of the cultural people I have developed, which was good, because I have not been happy with a couple of the names.

I have thought that this whole writing process would be quicker though I knew it would be a long process. I first considered my time and B&N to be wasted but I did learn a couple more things and that is progress.

I am missing a good story line. I have a protagonist that I am beginning to like and an antagonist that I also like but who is woefully underdeveloped.

One thing that I am struggling with is the fact that I want my characters to be bigger than life with no person problems but this mindset is the exact opposite of what a good story should have, not to mention that real life is no bed of roses. I have too much compassion for my characters and this is a struggle to put them into nasty situations that could hurt them physically and\or emotionally. It may sound kooky but if I am going to make this work I need to get mean and nasty. I think I can do that…HEE HEE HEE ( evil laughter! LOL!)

Well, this is a short posting but I will keep you posted. The next week is going to be pretty hectic and we are getting away to visit some good friends in warm sunny Kansas so I do not know how much writing I will get done but I will let you know. Keep praying and I will work on it!

See y'all later!

Writer’s Blog-March 14, 2007

One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to give me some motivation to write what I really want to write: Fiction.

The thought was that if I set myself out here as a writer, sharing my thoughts and struggles about writing I would need to be writing. Amazing, I know. This is the brilliance of The Lazy Writer! LOL!

No, really my original thought was to take you all through my thoughts each day about how my writing was progressing and what pitfalls I was encountering, with a side of random thoughts thrown in as salt and light. So far it has just been random thoughts…

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what I want to write and I have a ton of ideas that take me to about paragraph two in any given story. I plan to have some quiet time tonight as my family will be off at church and I am going to sit down and look at all the ideas I have written down and see if I can mix-n-match to come up with something that I am happy with.

One thing that I have read from another author, I don't remember which one off the top of my head, is roughly this-- we all have about 10,000 pages of garbage that we need to get out of our system before we have something that is of worth… With that said, I have a lot to do!

I have looked back at the early days and some of the things I wrote back then and there is some potential, if not the story line itself the style and detail were pretty good if I do say so myself. There is indeed a great deal of polishing I need to do but there was a spark of potential there. If I can just touch, in some way, someone with what I write it is all worth it. If what I write helps or entertains someone in this world then I have done what I really wanted to do. If, on the other hand, what I do reaches many people and I can get some income off what I write that is gravy, good gravy but gravy none the less.

I have a long way to go with grammar and spelling but I feel I am on the right track and I am hoping this blog will be another tool to motivate me.

Thanks for listening.

Soul-Weary-March 13, 2007

It amazes me how quickly we can become accustomed to the nice weather.

It can take all winter to get used the biting cold and by that time we are sick and tired of scrapping our windshields. But given one or maybe two nice warm days and we are in paradise.

Have you ever experienced burn out? Have you ever gotten to a point where deciding whether to have instant oatmeal or Cheerios for breakfast causes stress?

I am in one of those places right now. In fact, in my whole life I have never been this crispy. It is a tough place to be, one that I like to call "soul-weary". It is a deep dark place where the tiniest of daily decisions are stressful. Things that I would normally not even think about become difficult life and death struggles to come up with an answer. Soul-Weary.

As I have been analyzing my situation I have discovered that it all comes down to a combination of things.

1. Spiritual indifference. When I start to drift from God things start to become a bit darker;
2. Diet. When I intake too much caffeine it causes me to get grumpy and it sends me into orbit to a point where I can't focus for long, too hyper. I just can't sit still for a minute. Being one who enjoys thinking (I know it sounds weird but it is true!) it is hard not being able to focus for too long;
3. Laziness. Yes, this fits in with my blog title. I get lazy. This can come in many forms such as "I just don't FEEL like it today." "I will do it tomorrow...", etc.

 

In any case it has culminated in a deep black funk.

I am not through this yet but I have turned it over to God in prayer and He has shown me that He is still with me and will not forsake me, ever, for any reason.

I have peace deep inside.

In fact, I believe God is teaching me something and, in a sense, I am excited about this whole situation and He has caused me to praise Him-as I should do in all situations anyway!

I am of the firm belief that God wants me to evaluate my current ministries and maybe step out of some or all of them. I would covet your prayers for wisdom in this situation. What this is all leading to is a reevaluation of my giftedness and God's call on my life. I have some budding ideas that I believe God is putting into my heart and mind but I am not prepared to speak about them yet.

Well, that does it for me today. I hope you all have a great day today and remember to take your burdens to the Lord because He does care for you and what is happening in your life!

This is a Test

I just setup my Word 2007 to post my blogs so this is simply a test.

Late on March 12th

Good morning y'all. No, I am not from Texas but I love the y'all's! It just seems so friendly! Some of the most friendly people I know are from the southern part of our great nation. I worked with a gentleman from El Passo this past week, he is very good at disguising his accent but once in a while a "y'all" will slip out and I love it! I had a chance to see an old friend from Georgia this weekend and it was so refreshing! She loves the Lord with her whole heart. She laughs a lot and can't get enough of telling others how much Jesus has done in her life! I found that I was embarrassed...not by what she said but because I see in her how I wish I were in my walk. I would love to have Jesus rule every area of my life and heart. I was also reminded that I am not her, I am who I am and the Lord has a different path for me to take but I still long for Him to rule in every area of my life. The term "whole hearted" or "diligence" is a theme that continues to reverbeate through my heart and mind. I am quite discouraged by my lack of diligence but I am encouraged to note that the Lord has not given up on me nor will He give up on you. If you are struggling today with anything, bring it to the Throne of God's wonderful grace! He is waiting to help you. Perhaps you are not a christian. Perhaps you are someone searching for...something. You have an emptiness in your heart that nothing seems to fill. I know what it is that created that hole. I could better say I know WHO created that hoile, it is God. He created us with a hole in our hearts that can not be filled with anything but Him. You can rail against this truth but the hole in your heart will not be healed until you look to Jesus. The peace and joy that will fill your heart will be beyond understanding and you will be amazed at what a new heart feels like. This is not to say that you will not experience pain and trouble, because you will, but you will find that God will be with you through any and every trial you go through. There is not a storm that you will pass through that God will not go with you. If you are searching look to God. He does have the answers and He is willing to pass them onto you. Good Bye for now. I hope you will take this missive to heart today. Greg

First Timer--March 9, 2007

Well hello to you all! This is the first posting to my new blog. I have never had a blog before so I am a little nervous because the whole world can see what I write! How did I come up with the title? I was encouraged to start writting a couple of years back by some close friends of mine and I took their advice. I had the seed of a story idea that grew and morphed into something a little more interesting (at least to me!) but then I ran into a little problem: professional writers will call it the "middles". I had a pretty good begining and a pretty good ending but I could not figure out how to get from one end to the other so I quit. I knew I had to sit my rear end in a chair and plug through it or it would never get done. As you can imagine I did not do it. Oh, I thought about it and I took notes and started creating cultures and characters but I never went any farther. Then life took over and time and motivation bled away in an ever widening pool sweeping my desire to write away with it. I can tell you that you can read all the books you want to, you can join every writers group in your area, and you can read tons of motivational blogs on the web, but if you don't sit down with your pen and paper or your computer you will never get a story written! I am not a professional writer, never been published but I can pass this information on to you all as an expereinced lazy writer. Until I sit and start writing again, that is exactly what I am...Thus the title. Since the begining I have a ton of ideas but nothing with any real substance. I am ready to get rolling again and I am using this blog to encourage myself and maybe spark something in one of you out there. Plus I hope to keep you up to date on my progress with writting this year. I actually have goals set for this year, but that is another story for another day.