You haven’t written for a couple of weeks Michelle. 

I know, I know. Hmmm. I have many excuses… Lots of half finished pieces, thoughts whirring and so many ideas dancing, but to translate that into a coherent post is another matter. I write when I’m inspired, but I have to allow Inspiration time to flow and to direct my thoughts. My words.

What happened to your Friday faves?

I am inundated with some wonderful writers in my inbox. The last few weeks have been thoughtful and respectful pieces on depression, suicide in the body of Christ and our understanding of mental health in the church – highlighted by the death of Matthew Warren. We continue to pray for the Warren family.

As this is an area so close to my heart and prayers, writing about the ‘fave things’ I had enjoyed that week seemed a little shallow.

Remind Me of your passions, maybe  new blog posts will emerge from  them.

Oh where do I start.

* I help run our church Hope Centre every week. Those who visit have found a place of community, friends and free flowing coffee. I love to feed people, but more than that to see hungry people being fed. We also give away quality, donated clothes; it’s awesome to see people kitted out. Last week I gave a super expensive sleeping bag to a friend of mine who was sleeping on the street.(Thanks youth department lost and found – sorry parent whose teen lost your sleeping bag.) Yes! I’ll blog some Hope Centre stories soon.

*My passion is to see our church and community introduced to a new place of healing and freedom in Christ. Wholeness. There is no doubt that this is where our calling and vision lie. Last week, Phil and I went down to New Life church to visit the Eyes and Wings Prophetic conference. God shone light on our future with words around transformation, overcoming, creativity and presence through Charles Stock, Stacey Campbell and James Goll as they prayed and declared prophetic destiny over us. We spent today reading through and absorbing our words, then took time to pray over the city.

I have no doubt I will continue to write stories of healing and freedom and encountering God.

Any more areas of passion?

Teenagers! You do know I have worked intermittently with teens for many years and have received training and qualifications in this area? Oh yes.

So all that expertise really helps now that you have your own teens right?

(insert own nervous loud laughter here)

Wrong.

But.

I am reading the best book on parenting teens I have ever read.  I will summarize each chapter for the many parents of teens (or soon to be) who read here.  Such great nuggets of truth and lights on moments. Sound good? Look out for those posts!

‘my very own teens’

All this talk about writing, how is your writing degree?

Ironically, that would be another reason I haven’t posted my musings as often.

I am mid assignment. I am currently writing a screenplay on the life of John Harper. More to come on that as I am nowhere near complete.

Narrative, dialogue, outlines, treatments – it’s all new to me.

There are a trillion writing facts/quotes, here are a few for this week:

‘Tolstoy had thirteen kids and wrote War and Peace.’

 Someone asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or when struck by inspiration. ‘I write when inspiration strikes he replied. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.’

‘I have advice for people who want to write. I don’t care whether they’re 5 or 500. There are three things that are important: First, if you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair. And second, you need to read. You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. It’s the great writers who teach us how to write. The third thing is to write. Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour — write, write, write.’― Madeleine L’Engle

Finally, you love your camera, have you any new photos to share?

I didn’t take this shot, but it really does deserve a post of its own. Don’t you think?  It was taken of my Mom singing at her friends wedding.

It made us laugh out loud.

A lot.

Still does.

Even right now.

Hope you find something to inspiring on here over the weeks to come.

For you today I pray you know that:

Lots of love,

Michelle xoxo