Wednesday, September 1, 2010

What a Difference a Year Makes!


By Lisa Karon Richardson
This past year has seen more upheaval in my life than any other I can recall. We went from missionaries, to stateside saints, to home missionaries. I obtained a ‘secular’ job. My kids went from homeschooling to public schools. (Harder on me that it was on them!) We moved. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. I also started blogging.

To be candid I came to blogging reluctantly. It never even occurred to me that I might be a blogger until I began to pursue writing seriously and was hammered with the concept of how important a platform is to an aspiring author. According to the pundits every savvy wannabe should start a blog.
I grumbled a great deal and mumbled even more. And then God took a hand, and put together the Inkies. I know that all our posts aren’t profound and inspirational. Sometimes we’re downright silly. But I can honestly say that being a part of this blog has changed me.
Top Ten Reasons I’ve Grown to Love Blogging
1. Relationships-I cherish the Inkies. I had never even met them all in person and yet they are my sisters. We have laughed and cried and prayed together. I’ve poured out my heart when it was full of pain and anger and they lifted me up with words of love and healing.
2. Blessing of learning from my cohorts’ insight-I can’t even number the times other Inkies’ posts have ministered to me
3. Anticipation of reading what the other Inkies write-we are all so different and I’ve found that we approached every theme from unique perspectives. They are all so talented and so many times I wished I’d written that!
4. Discipline of writing to deadline-having a deadline puts writing in a whole different ballpark! It’s an important part of learning the business side of writing. No excuses. Something’s gotta go up.
5. Freedom in transparency-in all the craziness of this past year, I’ve been able to share what God was doing. There’s something liberating about not always having to pretend that life’s perfect. Even more when you find out that there are lots of others out there facing similar trials. We’re not alone.
6. Challenge of writing entertaining articles-sometimes I fear the well is dry. I have no ideas at all for my post. Deadline is looming. I can’t think of anything, much less something that someone else might want to spend time and precious eyesight in reading. Turns out, God’s faithful. He’s provided my posts when I needed them.
7. The joy of community-our followers mean more than I can say. You’re the reason we’re here. I really want to know which of our experiments you like. Which you didn’t care for so much. We want to provide you with a service. To make the inkwell an engaging, creative and joyful place for you to visit.
8. Excitement of finding a new comment-We try to be especially present on the days one of our posts goes up. Checking for new comments gets a little addictive. I may be lame, but I get a rush each time one of you takes the time to join the conversation and post a comment of your own. You all have expanded my thinking and made me look beyond myself this past year. Commenters rock!
9. Sense of pride that someone thinks my words worth reading-it takes a certain amount of self-confidence to face the inevitable rejection of writing for publication. It’s a balm to my sometimes battered, tattered courage to know that whether I’m published or not, there’s hope that something I’ve said could touch someone.
10. Opportunities-somehow this has moved way down the list in importance. Even so my involvement in Inkwell has opened doors that would not have been open to me before.
So thank you. To all of you who have come to hang around the Inkwell. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me. You have moved me with your words and changed me with your insight.
God bless you all. I look forward to all we’ll experience together in this next year!
Have you ever found joy in a chore you were sure you'd resent?
Leave a comment with your e-mail address to be entered in a drawing for a copy of Snitch by Rene Gutteridge.

29 comments:

  1. Yay, Inkies! Happy anniversary!

    Blessings,
    Patti

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  2. Happy Anniversary Inkies!

    Beautiful post, Lisa
    "The winds of change bring treasure unknown. .. embrace change"

    I have thoroughly enjoyed the blogs. Lisa I think blogging has definitely been a blessing to you. Helped keep you sane! Ha
    I am thankful of the fellowship you inkies have. As writers you have a bond. Keep on writing. I enjoy reading!
    God bless you all

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  3. And you blog so beautifully, Lisa! So glad we all get to experience your creativity and your perspective! Isn't it cool how some change that we come to reluctantly becomes such a joy in our lives? God is so good!

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  4. Granny told me to say "Right on, sister!"

    I'll be back after I've mulled over your 'deep' question, Lisa.

    I'm glad to see you raised the truth up the flag pole-it's exciting to write a blog post and have a real live person respond and comment.

    We Inkies see the number of silent visitors each day, but comments are so sweet!

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  5. Happy Anniversary!!!!!!! I have come to love this blog and getting to know all of you.

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  6. Momma R you're right! I needed something else to focus on for sure and Inkwell was a good place to spend time. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

    Anne, thanks for coming by! Sometimes I'm like the toddler refusing to taste a new food, even though I have no idea what it's like. Luckily God doesn't grow exasperated and give up trying, but keeps pushing me to try something new. "It's good for you and besides, you never know, you just might like it!"

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  7. What Lisa said about the comments is so true, even if we're lame. We get so excited when you guys comment, even if you just say "hi."

    In some ways I feel like this blog has helped save my sanity this year because it's given me a "voice" and an "audience" while I patiently wait for that illusive first publishing contract.

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  8. Deb, for sure commenters mean a lot. Seriously I keep track of how many comments there were the last time I checked the blog and if there are more when I come back, I'm always thrilled!

    Louise, I'm so very glad you've started hanging around with us at the Inkwell. You're such a sweetheart. I love hearing your take on one of our posts.

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  9. Dina, I'm with you on the sanity thing!

    I thought for a while that a blog would be about promotion and marketing. But really it's about people. Both the Inkies and the wonderful people who come and interact with us on any given day. The more we come to know one another as people, the more I've grown.

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  10. Great post, Lisa!

    The chore I always resend doing is cleaning. Pretty much cleaning anything. However once I get into doing it, I'm fine. No resentful attitude. Plus I really really like the end results of cleaning.

    So why do I resent it initially?

    Because I'd rather be doing something else? Maybe.

    Becuase I wish it hadn't gotten this messed up to begin with? Probably.

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  11. Gina, I'm the same way with cleaning! I procrastinate because there are so many more attractive things to do, like blogging and writing. Then since I've put it off too long I spend twenty minutes demanding why people can't pick up after themselves, why I'm the only one... Well you get the idea.

    Once I'm in the groove all is well. And I too love the results of cleaning. Even if it doesn't last as long as I'd like. Why can't clean 'stick' as well as dirt?

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  12. Hmm, I've been thinking about the question of the day and I'm coming up blank. Probably because I tend to approach new things with an open mind. If I resent something, it's from a long history of bad experience, as is the case with cleaning and cooking at this point in my life. Occasionally it's neutral, which is a pleasant surprise. I will say that I enjoy cooking and cleaning much more when someone else in the family helps out. I think any "resentment" is from feeling like it's unjust that everyone expects me to do a disagreeable chore just because of my sex or my role in the family.

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  13. Isn't it funny how our servant's heart balks when a task is demanded or it is just assumed that we should/will do something solely because we are female.

    I need to do a whole blog about that. Some catharsis might be good right about now...

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  14. Stepping out of my comfort zone and dodging the crazy fear monsters most always brings a happy "YES"! to my soul.

    I think you are amazing and courageous for navigating so many new things! Thanks for sharing.

    cherbleusky@yahoo.com

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  15. Okay been thinking about the question of the day and the answer is yes. I thought that there was no way I would enjoy having to cook meals for small children.However, seeing the satisfaction that was on the little kids face was worth it all.

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  16. Cheryl, there's something triumphant about going beyond what we thought we were able to do, isn't there? Thanks for stopping by the inkwell.

    Louise, right on! Appreciation from the recipient makes a lot of things worth the effort.

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  17. Great post, Lisa! What an amazing year!

    I've been mulling the "joy in a chore" question and I agree with you and Gina about the cleaning. I hate dishes, too. But one thing that surprised me once I had kids is how much I didn't mind changing diapers. Someone reminded me that it's holy work, and I felt so blessed to have a baby that I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would.

    You guys are a blessing to me!

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  18. okay - no brainer, so of course it took all day to think of it.

    most hated chore is the litter box.
    the joy comes from knowing I won't be mortified if someone stops in. I suppose it makes the cat happy too.

    And what fun - I get to have this joy on a repeating basis.

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  19. Hey, Susie! My husband was actually funny in his revulsion at changing a diaper. Partly I think it was his game face, like basketball players who get tapped and fall over in hopes that the ref will call a foul. Or maybe it was more like the kid who thinks he'll get out of dish washing duty if he breaks a few. Do a rotten enough job and maybe she'll stop asking me to take a turn.

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  20. Deb, good hated chore. I knew you'd come up with one! And I see you're embracing the silver lining. Or maybe, just maybe there was a touch of sarcasm...?

    No, never mind. Not, Deb.

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  22. Great post, Lisa. But now you've made it really hard for me to follow you tomorrow! Can I just say ditto? No? Okay, I'll come up with something more original :+}

    The chore I find joy in... doing the dishes. I never want to do them, but when I finally do, I find the act relaxing and satisfying.

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  23. My mother told me that she recalled spending time with her grandmother over dishes, and grandmum told her to 'make dishes your friends'. Remember that dishes mean you had the blessing of food and family. They used to sing hymns together over dishes. I do think there's a nice sense of accomplishment afterward but, don't tell anybody, I don't do them everyday...

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  24. This blog is a great collaboration of a vast amount of things... I often learn new tidbits that I had never previously caught or thought of, and even more often, I learn something entirely new. I enjoy reading it, especially if I am looking for inspiration or just something apart from the daily news. Thanks! bholton1[at]bellsouth[dot]net

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  26. Oooh, it's Adge. One of these days we're going to pry out Adge's secret identity...

    I'm so blessed by your comment. I know you're not kidding but... you really do like it here, huh? HURRAY!!!!!

    So, ladies. Friday. Cake. Right?

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  27. Jen and Deb, I hate doing dishes. Hate it. I blame the childhood trauma of being forced against my will to wash dishes. I often accused my parents of having children solely so they would have slaves.

    Adge! Great to see you! And thanks for that comment. I can absolutely guarantee that all the inkies will be glowing after that. It's exactly what we want to accomplish!

    Deb, I'm all for cake. Chocolate, vanilla-I'll take whatever I can get!

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  28. And the winner is....

    Theresa R. I'll get your book in the mail asap!

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