Month: August 2024

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Out of Shape!

Carol and I had been in California for several months while I was helping a church through a major change. During that time, although I did walk an average of 2 miles per day, I did very little other exercise. Arriving home, I had the satisfaction of helping a church and many folks who were associated with it, but I was not satisfied with myself.

I was physically out of shape.

What was worse, I found that I didn’t want to put out the effort to get back into my pre-trip routine. But willpower and diligence are winning the battle. I can now play a couple of games of racquetball with our 42-year-old son without suffering exhaustion.

The same kind of problem develops when we get out of our writing routine. We lose our edge, our creativity diminishes, and we may become emotionally exhausted as we attempt to get back into shape. But willpower and diligence can help us. And YES! It takes both.

If you’re trying to get back into your writing routine, start with a couple of short stories. Don’t plan on publishing them, just write for the practice. Who knows … they might turn out to be more than you imagined and could be your next books.

So be sure to …

Write Creatively.

By the way, I should tell you: Michael still beats me in racquetball, but we have a grand time! One time he hit the ball so hard that it blew out like an exploding tire!

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A Blowout!

Have you ever had a blowout? Everything seemed to be going smoothly until … oh, wait a minute. What I’m talking about is a flat tire – not an interpersonal eruption. Both can be heart-wrenching, but the tire blowout is easier to fix. Usually.

We were in the Columbus, Ohio metroplex when one of the four tires on our trailer blew out. This trailer is Carol’s and my “home-away-from-home,” and we were returning to Arkansas after one of our grandsons was married in Ohio.

There’s no need to get upset about getting a flat tire because having an emotional blowout only causes confusion and hurts relationships. But I was tired and needed a rest, so my daughters advised me to drive to the next freeway exit and into the parking lot of a Shell gas station.

After making two phone calls, they discovered that an automobile tire dealership was only a block away, and they happened to have the trailer tire we needed. Wonderful! The owner managed to squeeze us into their crowded schedule, and we were back on the road in less than three hours. I didn’t get upset, I had a good rest, and we were almost on time as we reached the Cracker Barrel restaurant where we celebrated our younger daughter’s birthday.

It’s much easier to ask for assistance in the middle of a problem than to ask to be forgiven after an emotional blowout. So, if you find yourself in what could be an emotional crisis, try to relax and ask for help. And later, you will be able to remember the situation more clearly, be able to talk about it with a clear conscience with family, and be able to write about it.

And as you write …

Write Creatively.