Writing: The Perfect Cure for Writer’s Block
I know it sounds absolutely absurd but it works. Writing is the perfect cure to writer’s block. I’m saying this based on personal experience and no scientific research whatsoever. It just works and I’ll tell you how.
I believe its safe to say that since leaving high school, I’ve been prisoner to what I’d like to call a lack of inspiration and motivation when it comes to writing. You see, in Westdale I had teachers that read, critiqued, and challenged the materials I wrote. It gave me a joy and passion for writing. However since being out of school, all that is gone along with the writing itself.
Recently I decided to get back to my passion, and with high hopes of getting something published. So I got out my binder of blank paper and sat down to write. For nearly a week I couldn’t think of anything to write about, sure I jotted down names, a sentence here and there but I still couldn’t come up with an actual story. Then it hit me.
One of my English teachers once told me that the best place to begin when writing, especially when dealing with writer’s block, is to write about something you know. Even if that means writing about yourself. With this in mind I started writing down memories of my early childhood. One memory led to another and in another week and a half I collected about eleven pages worth of memories. During the process I started getting other ideas for different material.
So there you go. If you’re stuck with writer’s block, just keep writing. Write about yourself, your past, present, and even your future. Just as long as you don’t stop writing. Especially if writing is your passion, let it take you somewhere, and as my fiance likes to remind me; believe in yourself!
Good Luck!
Jesus is Coming, but today?
We’ve all seen the signs, heard the news, and seen it in the paper. But do we believe it? Many people may be scared into repentance because, what if Jesus really does come back today? But what those people don’t know is that only God knows when that will happen.
It is hard to understand why a person would convince himself that he could calculate the exact date of the Apocalypse when in-fact he has tried and failed in the past. The Watchtower society has done the same thing. Time and time again they predicted the return of the Messiah, but every time they are proven wrong and made to look like fools.
There is a scripture in the Bible that states that no man knows the day or the hour that Christ returns. In fact it states that Jesus will return like a thief in the night, its going to be unexpected and startling. I’ve never had a thief in the house, day or night, but I am convinced that they don’t send you a memo letting you know when they will be coming. You just have to be alert and ready for it.
To be honest, there is no way of knowing exactly when Jesus will come back, but we know that He will. When He does we wont have time to question it.
Christmas Traditions
I have always been fascinated by the different traditions that families have for Christmas. I’ve read and heard of many families that have traditions of going out to the tree farm and finding the perfect tree for Christmas. Other families like mine put up and artificial tree, mostly because it doesn’t make such a mess, and we can use it for years. Whatever the tradition, I am sure they bring many memories to those families.
I don’t know what traditions are taking place in your home if any at all, but I’d like to share some of mine with you.
Our Christmas tree never goes up the same time every year, but every year it looks the same; as if we’ve put everything remotely resembling Christmas on that tree. We’ve got old ornaments, new ornaments and ornaments that my siblings and I made when we were in elementary school. We’ve never done stringed pop-corn, but we have tinsel and lights. We used to have blinking lights on the tree, but now that are just plain blue. Well, not blue in the sad way, just blue.
Every year on Christmas Eve, those of us who still attend church, go to see the children’s Christmas program. I have to admit I haven’t missed a single Christmas Eve program since I came to Canada in 1997. It’s neat how not a single program has been the same but it always revolves around the same Baby Jesus. It is the meaning of Christmas after all. Although when I was in Sunday School, I was more excited about the treat bag and present that I would get after the program. Tonight I watched as my four-year old niece said her part in the program, then saw her face light up when she looked into the treat bag. It was precious.
I don’t know if you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Truth is, my family likes to wait until after the family dinner on Christmas day to open our gifts. Well, some don’t like to wait, they just do because Mom said so!
Speaking of Christmas dinner with the family, this will be the first year since 1997 that I will not be enjoying my mother’s turkey, mashed potatoes, and homemade bread. In fact, I will not be there at all. This year, I’ll be enjoying my boyfriend’s mom’s cooking in their home. Honestly, I’m not sure how to feel about that. I’m super excited because I get to enjoy Christmas dinner with my boyfriend, a young man who has won my heart over time and time again, but at the same time, I feel a sense of loss. This is the first year that I will not be there to watch my nieces and nephews dig into their presents, see their faces light up, and who is going to take pictures and put them on Facebook? 
That’s always me. Oh well, maybe they won’t miss me too much.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
Silent Night
I have to be honest, the words of Silent Night have never brought tears to my eyes until I connected the song to the Christmas Trouce of 1914. We all learned about the Christmas trouce in our History class in high school. For me, back then, it was just another fact to remember for the exam. It wasn’t until my church brought the story to life that it had a deeper meaning.
You see, every year close to Christmas, my church has a carol sing along night. This year, four men from the congregation dressed up as soilders and told the story of the Christmas Trouce. They told it as if they themselves were soilders writing home about what had happened. I have to say that the German accents were well done.
When they introduced the song Silent Night, and we began singing it, first in German, then in English, this song suddenly became my favorite carol. The words had a deeper meaning because I could picture the moment it happened. It truely was a silent and Holy night. One where for the first and only time, the birth of Jesus Christ was more important than who was on what side.
Margaret Wiebe
