SEIZE the Day!

“Pharaoh…is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.”

Jeremiah 46:17 (NIV)

Do you know anyone who talks about what they will do “someday,” but never seem to get around to it? Maybe that someone is you? Just today, I realized I hadn’t worked on a priority project in two weeks.  The tyranny of the urgent monopolizes my days. Time slips away and other things fill the void where that priority would have been.

What is holding you back? Are you afraid the editor will change your words? Are you worried about rejection? Maybe like me, you’ve shelved works that have been rejected and given up on ideas you once championed?

Would you believe me if I told you rejection is good for writers? I never thought I would be thankful for rejection, but I can see ways it toughens me. I am developing a “thick writer’s skin” that enables me to write for the Lord, instead of worrying about whether or not people like my words. I knew I was making progress, when a recent rejection helped me reevaluate the project, instead of dumping it.

The Pharaoh Jeremiah referred to must have been quite boastful. He talked big, but the Lord proclaimed his bragging as fruitless. There are times that I talk about being a writer, but don’t actually do it. Daily activities consume my energies before I realize I haven’t produced the fruit of writing. It’s convicting to confess I squandered the chance to develop thoughts and words into sentences and paragraphs that could propel others into a better place with their own lives.

Be encouraged. Your words are needed in this world. No one can form ideas quite like you. You bring a unique perspective to events in your community people need to hear. Let two of my favorite verses for writers bolster you, too. Proverbs 25:11 says our words are beautiful. And, Psalm 22:25 prods my commitment to use my writing to encourage God’s people and to challenge growth.

Today, determine to miss no more opportunities. Take a risk, and send out your words!

Exercise:

Get out your Writer’s Market and make a list of publications that line up with one of your current pieces. Write a query letter. Polish it. Edit it. Then let go of it. Press “send” and stop worrying.

When you receive a rejection letter, revise your query and send it to the next editor on your list.

No more missed opportunities!

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon. 

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at www.sallyferguson.net