Meeting this Saturday

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEW YEAR

January 4, 10 am - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

What are your writing goals for 2020? 

Please see the Focus Point below for inspiration. 

By sharing our goals at Saturday's meeting we will give & receive inspiration.

Be ready to also share writing practices, tips & disciplines that work for you, 

whether you're a novice or a seasoned writer.

Hope to see you this Saturday,

Barbara

barbarahigby.com

December's Focus Point

Let’s Talk about… Opening the Gift

This is the ultimate season of gifts—shopping and wrapping, giving and receiving, enjoying or returning. The Bible talks about gifts God has personally and specifically selected for us. Romans 12:6 says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” One of those gifts is what brings us together the first Saturday of the month—the shared gift of writing.

This spiritual gift is different from a Christmas gift—we didn’t shop for it, didn’t wrap it, and we can’t  return it. We received the gift of writing, nicely wrapped, topped with a colorful bow, which represents of a burst of inspiration.

Once we remove the bow (or, move beyond the thrilling inspiration), we find the unwrapping to be a painstaking process. Generally, we don’t get to tear open the wrapping paper and hastily pull out the gift. More often the unwrapping is a slow process—we rescue the bow, loosen the tape, fold the paper, and tentatively lift the lid.

Unwrapping is what our monthly meetings are all about—remembering that bright bow of inspiration, loosening the tape that holds us back, and removing the wrapping to discover the wonderful product inside.

Monthly, we encourage each other to have patience in the process, to be deliberate in our unwrapping, and to not lose sight of the valued gift inside. This is not a gift to be put on the shelf because it holds the promise of blessing others.

Take-home thought: Let 2020 be a year of unwrapping your gift and using it to bless others.  

Meeting (and eating) this Saturday

Let's talk about Creativity

December 7, 10 am - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

This Saturday we'll meet - and eat - as we discuss and practice our creative writing gifts.

Please bring a simple snack to share, such as veggies or fruit, 

crackers & cheese, chip & dip, or Christmas sweets.

Coffee & tea will be available.

Also bring your tablet or paper & pen for a creative writing exercise.

Guests & first-timers, you are welcome!

Warmly, 

Barbara

barbarahigby.com

November's Focus Point

Let’s Talk about Courage

Making time to write, brainstorming a book or article, and sitting at a keyboard to actually type, takes discipline—but not courage. We’re in our happy place. We’re alone, comfortably dressed, in a friendly environment, playing with words, cobbling together captivating sentences. What follows is when we need courage.

Pitching, submitting, publishing, and, above all, marketing call for courage. Merriam-Webster defines courage in this way: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Danger, fear, and difficulty sum up the challenges of today’s topic: Marketing.

In Acts 20:24, Luke wrote, “…my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Whether our work is subtly or overtly Christian, as God’s children our writing testifies to God’s grace and our call is to complete the task given us. Seeing it through to completion takes courage.

In our discussion today, we will heed the words of Hebrews 10:24 and “Consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” toward completing the task God’s given us in the area of marketing.

Take-home thought: God will give us the courage to market our writing for the benefit of our readers and His glory.