Mile High Scribes Monthly Meeting

November 2, 2009
7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble - Park Meadows

Special Speaker:
Megan DiMaria

A Writer's Journey

Megan DiMaria is an author and speaker who enjoys cheering on other writers in their pursuits and encouraging women to embrace life’s demands and delights. She is an active member of several writers groups and is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands.

A New Journey, Writing Included

The sun warms my face as I listen to the soft rustle of autumn leaves and the faraway bark of a dog while I sit on my back porch. I sigh in pleasure at the musty smell of leaves and the brightness of the clear blue sky. This moment of peace and tranquility is something new for me. My world has been the scream of an electric guitar playing the same lick over and over as I stifle the urge to knock on my son’s door one more time and ask him to please find some headphones. Or the mindless entertainment of the latest reality TV show that my daughter has on. But for now, all I hear are the sounds of my Creator’s music. This is a good thing, I tell myself.

I am adjusting to a new season in my life. This isn’t something that I can try on like a new pair of pants at the store and discard if I don’t like them. This season is here to stay. I’ve passed the “raising my children” season and am on to the “empty nest” season of life. No more running after a toddler to wipe his runny nose or waking up in the middle of the night to soothe a crying child. No more cleaning out the Big Wheel that someone decided to use as a toilet since he couldn’t be bothered to stop playing and make it to the bathroom. No more listening to a teen complain about the social injustices of high school or even youth group. This is a good thing, I tell myself.

I know that many women might think that I am crazy to not embrace this new season with abandon. Isn’t it the goal of every parent to have finished this stage of the race? I never thought I would feel like I was 18 again struggling with what to do with the rest of my life. I had already answered that question and now I am faced with it once more. Is this a good thing, I wonder? Now I can act on my interests and desires like writing and speaking. Things that have been carefully stuffed in the back of the closet like clothes that don’t fit anymore but are kept because we just know that someday we’ll be able to pull them out again.

So now it is someday. I will dust off my dreams and sit on the porch to spend time reading the Word and hearing from the One who made me and knows the desires of my heart. I will take joy and pleasure in seeking Him as I start this new season that is the next step on life’s journey. And while I grieve for what once was, I look forward to experiencing all that He is setting before me. Obedience will bring fresh awareness of His long-term plan. This is a good thing, I know.

Writing As An Act of Worship

I love that time between slumber and awake when my soul is more open to HIS Voice. I especially love it when He speaks. He whispered sweet somethings to me twice this week. The first time it happened I struggled to pull out of asleep as I thought, it's another day, Lord. What should we do with it?

His immediate response was "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

My heart lightened, and I soon stood in the kitchen in my nightgown making hash browns and humming to a worship CD. Now before you think I'm spiritual, or a good mom 'cause I made breakfast, or even entertain the thought that I must be a morning person, let me clarify that both of those actions are rare. Mornings and I don't get along, and I have not praised the Lord as I wish I had over this last year of struggles. It is one of my greatest regrets.

Maybe that's why I felt so inadequate as I began preparation to speak at Mile High Scribes on Writing as an Act of Worship. It wasn't a topic I picked, and my recent whining about the writing journey didn't feel at all like worship. But the Good Lord confronts that nonsense--that "I'm not good enough to serve" mentality I slip into way too easily. I'd planned to tell you how He did this, but I just found out I'm speaking again Saturday on this topic, and well . . . if you want to know the whole story, I guess you'd better come to W!W!W! at 11:00.

So instead of giving you any more hints into the content of my presentation, I'd like to challenge you to just slow down for a minute or two. Breathe in and out. Acknowledge the One who is Author of All and Most Creative Being of Eternity.

Notice how your heart worships.

A writer, speaker, and homeschooling mother of four, Paula Moldenhauer is passionate about God’s grace and intimacy with Jesus. Paula’s writing appears in magazines, book compilations, and devotionals. Most recently she’s written curriculum for David C. Cook publishing. Her devotional website, Soul Scents, offers a free weekly devotional. (www.SoulScents.us.) Paula serves as president of HIS Writers, the north Denver chapter of ACFW, and enjoys leading a Bible study group for high school girls. A devoted Pride and Prejudice fan, Paula loves good conversation, peppermint ice cream, and walking barefoot. Her greatest desire is to be close enough to Jesus to live His fragrance.