Meeting this Saturday

Meeting this Saturday

March 2, 10 am-noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

The Value of Surveys & How to Conduct Them

Presented by Shirley Blankson

How can a survey tune us in to our readers? 

How can we learn from the opinions of others? 
How can this positively affect our writing?

All writers are invited, regardless of writing experience. 

Join us this Saturday.

Barbara

barbarahigbyhope.com

February's Focus Point

Identifying Your Theme

I love themes. When my children were young they chose a theme for their birthday parties and I'd run with it—Holly Hobby, Big Bird, baseball… When I participate in planning a church event, I’m all about the theme. I blog best when I’m working with a theme.

Years ago I had a pastor whose preaching theme was grace—every sermon boiled down to grace. Coming from a reformed background, that was great! Currently, our pastor is preaching from Galatians and the recurring theme throughout the book is found in a Tim Keller quote, “You are more sinful…than you ever dared believe, but more…loved than you ever dared hope.” 

David, it is commonly believed, authored Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible. It is written as an acrostic poem using the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, with each stanza containing eight lines, and there’s a theme—all 176 verses extol the merits of the Word. 

Verse 54 inspired today’s focus point, “Your statutes are [Word is] the theme of my song during my earthly life.” (HCSB) His life theme was the Word of God—its preciousness, its power, its beauty, its comfort, its reassurance, its truth. 

What is the theme of your song "during your earthly life"?

At one of our meetings in 2018 we considered if our writing had a recurring theme and many discovered it did. Identifying that theme proved enlightening and sharpened our focus. Today I pose two questions I think are worth pondering:

• If your life was a story, what would be its unifying theme? 
• The piece you’re writing is a story, what is its unifying theme? 

Takeaway: Discover your theme, embrace it, and run with it.