I started this blog on April 3rd, 2012...since then I have posted 107 times, I have had thousands of page views, and have had readers in the U.S., Russia, the U.K., China, Brazil, Germany, and Indonesia. WOW!

I have 12 days until I leave for Malawi, and I must say that I am amazed at what a little effort can produce. When I decided to go on this mission trip I felt like God wanted me to make a greater commitment to being disciplined by writing daily. I already journal so I thought that starting a blog might be fun. (I am officially old now, so this was a bit traumatic for me). Setting up the blog required massive amounts of technology. But I did it, and here I am, three and a half months later and not only am I still doing it, but I actually enjoy the daily challenge of sharing the ways that God has been working in my life.

I must admit that I was shocked to see that people from other countries had stumbled upon my little "blogspot", and that they were consistently reading. I wonder what other awesome things can happen when I put out a dedicated effort?

All I really know is that what I have accomplished over a very short period of time has made some kind of an effect. Friends have told me that the things I write about have made them think differently or have inspired them. I have old friends from high school who are Jewish and yet read my blogs filled with stories about Jesus. 

Each morning I have no idea what I am going to write about. I sit down at my laptop and begin. Some days it starts with a picture, other days it begins with a scripture...but before I know it I am knee deep in a story and searching for scriptures which will accentuate it with God's wisdom and truth.

I used to love to read devotionals every morning, and now I am enjoying writing one. It is exciting to see it all come together...some days it is as if the story is writing itself, and I am reading along with the reader, expectant to find out how it will end. It has been an awesome experience of discipline and it has indeed strengthened my character.

For years I have started, and then stopped, and then started again...writing a book. I always found the process overwhelming, and even though I knew that I could do it, I had never managed to produce one (well, at least a finished one LOL). I was overwhelmed by the thought of producing two or three hundred pages of writing. But now, in less than four months, I have already accomplished what seemed impossible before. Perhaps this is part of the lesson that God wanted me to learn. And there is just no way to learn some things without doing them. I am grateful for the experience and I cannot wait to see what happens by the time that I return from Malawi.

Writing a book doesn't seem impossible to me any longer. Even though I went to N.Y.U. and studied in the Dramatic Writing Program, somewhere inside I never thought that I could actually produce something as large as a screen play or a novel...now I think that I can do whatever I put my mind to (or should I say my heart into).

The trick in changing my outlook, was in experiencing first hand, how tiny increments could quickly add up to a monumental goal...God has taught me a life changing lesson: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"  Philippians 4:13

I have believed this scripture in many areas of my life, but held a silent disbelief in this one area. God knows everything that I think in my heart, even when I don't freely admit it to Him or to myself. I didn't realize that I was believing this truth in some areas, and refusing to believe it in others.

Isn't that what we all do...we dare to trust God in some places, but we restrict His ability to work in our lives by not fully trusting Him in "ALL" places.

When Elisha prophesied God's deliverance, the king's officer said it couldn't happen. (2Kings 7:1-2) The officer's faith and hope were gone, but God's word came true anyway. Sometimes we become preoccupied with problems when we should be looking for opportunities. Instead of focusing on the negatives, we should develop an attitude of expectancy.

I know a few people that say that they are "writers"...but they never write. So if I write, even if every story isn't perfect, or each word prolific...even if I don't qualify for some lofty comparison to legendary authors whom we have all been forced to read in school...who cares, at least I am writing. And as I write, my own style and personality continue to develop.

I once prayed, "Lord, I want to reach a multitude for your kingdom". I know, a scary sounding prayer right? Wrong! It was an awesome prayer! And I meant it from the depths of my heart...and through the years God has been doing that in ways that I never could have imagined.

You might make mistakes...but are you living up to your full potential? Are you doing what you always wanted to do? Or are you a just another "writer" who doesn't write anything?