A real temptation while writing a blog is to make things sound worse than they really are. In an effort to be transparent and real, a writer can slip-and-slide into the uncomfortable realm of bad reality TV.  Drama keeps the readers coming back.  

On the other hand, there can be the counter-temptation to write in such a way that life looks and sounds slightly less crumpled than it actually is. Wrap up a bright story and some motivational tips in five-hundred words (or less) and everyone is rather gay.

Did you ever wonder what makes golf such a difficult sport to play? For one thing, driving a ball from the tee box straight down the center of the fairway  is no easy endeavor.

I don’t golf often, but when I do, I usually hook my balls faaaar to the left, inflicting harm on property and persons. After a few such unfortunate episodes in the early rounds, I’ll begin to receive frequent doses of helpful golf tips from those around me – why do they all duck and flinch when it’s my turn? – for which I am eternally grateful.

Eager-beaver that I am, I’ll overhaul my grip/stance/swing/mental attitude, and proceed to shank the rest of the balls waaaay right into the water or the weeds. Fore!

Ultimately, I spend all afternoon far from the sunny fairways, not because I love nature and want to traipse through field and stream, but because it’s really hard to hit that ball straight down the line!

How about when you speak – how do you tell your story? Is it all drama, all the time? Or, do you prefer to wrap your words in a smooth bow, causing folks to wonder how you have it all perfectly together?

Both are so tempting.

What do you spend time talking about – who do you talk about? What words do you choose to use, and what is your tone? What is your temptation when you write, speak, and tell your story? Can you keep your words on the fairway?

Can you keep your story out of the weeds?

Saints, God is calling us to be the light of the world.

Our words and our stories matter.  How we tell them matters.

“But we continue to speak.  Because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said ‘I believe in God, so I spoke.’ (2 Corinthians 4:14)

I believe in God, and so I speak: nothing more and nothing less.

I believe in God when I am in the weeds, woods or under water, and so I write.  I rejoice when I’m on the sunny and smooth fairways with no obstacles in sight, and so I sing!  I trust in God when I am deep in the sand, when it’s going to take a really long time to dig out.

I believe in God, and so I speak.

May your heart be fixed where true joy is found, friends.

Grace to you this day as you speak, write and rejoice – because you believe!

Kim