Something From Nothing

I haven't blogged in a week, and it's not from lack of trying!

Okay, maybe it is from lack of trying, sort of. I've sat down in front of my computer many times last week, intending to write something, anything, to post. It just didn't happen. After a few minutes of typing randomness and telling you about all of the things I didn't do that day, I just end up just deleting my words and moving on to something more productive. I guess I'm in some kind of writing slump.

I usually like writing, and I love voicing my opinion. Coupled together these things make me an excellent candidate for a blog (now whether anyone chooses to read it or not is a different story!). However, I really just hating getting started. There is nothing more daunting than sitting down to write and staring at a blank computer screen. When I get an idea for a blog post, I almost always know where I want to end up, but hardly ever do I have any idea how I want to get there.

I'll even let you in a secret. Most of my blog posts start with, "today, I'm going to tell you about something or other," but since my 8th Grade English teacher told me that we not an appropriate way to start an essay, I usually go back and edit the introduction before I share it with anyone.  I just have to write something to get my fingers going. I've even been known to start by typing random memory verses at the top of the page, just so the screen doesn't look quite so desolate.

I also don't worry about transitions or punctuation when I write first drafts. I try to spell things correctly and use periods and such because I hate those red squiggly lines that scream, "LOOK YOU MADE A MISTAKE!" every time you look at the screen. Otherwise, I just let my sentences roll on and on and on and on and on...yeah, sometimes I think my whole life is a run-on!

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is sometimes we have to do things in life that are really hard and easily procrastinated, like writing blog posts that you just can't seem to get started. Or maybe it's trying to start a new diet when you hate vegetables and exercise makes you want to hide in a closet and cry. Or maybe it's trying to clean house when you've got toddlers who run around behind you dumping buckets of toys on the floor and emptying kitchen cabinets when your back is turned (oh wait! That's my husband!). Or my personal favorite, trying to make dinner when all you have in the pantry is dry beans, spinach, and moldy carrots. Yeah, it's tough to get anything accomplished when you've got nothing going for you.

So what should we do? Give up? Yep! At least sometimes, because sometimes when you find yourself spinning your wheels and getting nothing accomplished it's better to stop and change directions. I'm not saying you shouldn't ever exercise, clean house, or cook supper, but if all you have to work with is moldy carrots you should just cut your losses and go to Subway.

However, it's also important to remember that the hardest things in life are the most rewarding. When the circumstances we are faced with call for something beyond our ability, our resources, and our strength, we must remember that we have a source of Hope that is greater than anything this world has to offer. We must remember that we serve a God who created the world from nothing, and sustains it by his sovereign power.

So whatever that overwhelming task is that's been on your to-do list for weeks simply because you can't seem to get started, just remember you have God who cares about the small things. Give it heartily unto the Lord, and trust him to see you through.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men: knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:20

Our Rooster heartily playing in the kitchen cabinets.
He's getting so big!