Another Year ... and I’m Older by Marcia Lee Laycock

One of the negative things about getting older is that you begin to realize there just may not be enough time for you to accomplish all the things you had planned.

That “bucket list” begins to look like a long list of impossibilities. There are so many places in the world you want to see and just not enough time, let alone resources, to allow you to get to them. That house you’ve always dreamed of right on the ocean, that sizeable nest egg tucked away, that perfect health and perfectly situated family, and oh, that breakthrough novel, well ...

Sometimes the dreams come crashing into the brick wall of reality and all we can do is sigh.

But when the future looks all too short it can also be wonderfully focused. Suddenly you don’t want to travel the world, you’d just like to make it to that one special place. The house by the sea might not be possible but a satisfying reno to the one you live in overlooking that little pond will do just nicely. The nest egg tucked away might seem small but then you realize your wants aren’t really needs after all. Your health is allowing you to live well for your age, your family will never be perfect but they are all connected and involved in your life and that novel ... well ...

There is that new tool you’ve just learned to use that will help a lot and there’s that email you just received from someone who read your latest effort. And suddenly there’s that peace that God is not just in His heaven, but right here beside you, involved in your life, teaching, guiding, drawing you close.

And suddenly the sigh turns to a smile because it is enough. No, not just enough, it is all gift, all joy, all reasons to be thankful for the time, the place, the people and purpose He has given you.

Yes, another New Year is under way. And I am older. So I’m humming a simple old chorus - “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). 

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Marcia Lee Laycock is the author of three novels and three devotional books. Find her on the web:
Website, Amazon , twitter, Pinterest and Smashwords

Words Immortal - M. Laycock

While attending a trade show recently I entered a draw at a booth advertising photos put on canvass. I won a 40% discount on a 12x18 canvass and the woman told me I could send them any photo I wanted and any wording I wanted to be put on the photo. "You can even put a poem you wrote on it if you like," she said, showing me an example. "It will be immortalized." My ears immediately perked up. I liked the sound of that.

It was a few days before I got around to picking a photo. I scanned through some of my writing to find something appropriate but couldn't settle on anything. Then I began to think about that word 'immortalized.' Wow. A big word. A big concept. Then I chuckled at myself. Yes, it appeals to my writer's ego to think that my words might last forever, but I know the concept is flawed. A printed piece of canvass may last longer than a piece of paper but it cannot be immortal. Only God's words can and do make that claim. The prophet Isaiah tells us, "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

I saw proof of that fact in Jerusalem a few years ago. I was stunned to silence while walking through The Shrine of the Book that houses the Isaiah scrolls found in the caves of Qumran near the Dead Sea. It was awe-inspiring to see those fragments of scripture penned so long ago, amazing to think that though the parchments are fragile and disintegrating, the words themselves have survived and will survive, forever.

There was another book on display that day, one that literally made me catch my breath. Encased in glass and set in a prominent place is The Aleppo Codex. This manuscript was created in about 920 A.D. and is the oldest copy of the Hebrew Bible in existence. It is also the first manuscript to be bound the way books are bound today, rather than rolled in a scroll. In essence, it is the first book.

The history of the Aleppo Codex is intriguing and speaks to the zeal of the Jews for preserving God’s word, and to God’s zeal for doing the same. Though it has been stolen, ravaged in riots, almost destroyed by fire, and lost entirely, (in fact a chunk of it is still missing), the book has survived.

There was something stirring about seeing it. I wanted to touch it, but of course the glass prevented that. But I still had a sense of profound connectedness. Here was an ancient object, words copied by a rabbi centuries ago, that is still used today to teach about God. These are the same words that are in the various copies of the scripture I have in my own home, the words I can sit and read any time I want to. These are the words God has given us to teach us about himself. As I stared at that first book, the feeling of being connected to those ancient people and to God himself was deeply moving.

The experience has given me a new awe for this thing I do called writing. No, my words will not last forever but God has given me the skill and will to write because He has purpose for my words. What an amazing thing God gave us when he inspired those men long ago to create an alphabet. What an amazing thing that God continues to call “scribes” to record and create, using the tools of writing, all to his glory.

I sent the photo away to that company to make the small canvass with words on it. But they aren't my words. I chose a passage of scripture instead.

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Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone has just been released. Visit her website - www.vinemarc.com

Setting Goals at 3:00 am - M. Laycock

Interesting that the theme for this month is setting goals for your writing. It used to be I didn't worry about setting goals - they always seemed to change or fade away due to the ups and downs of life, so I thought, why bother?

But I have come to realize that setting goals is important. The discipline motivates and keeps me on track. I spent a sleepless night last night thinking about that exact thing. (some of these chemo drugs are stimulants that keep me awake - could call it a benefit in some ways. Instead of 24 hours I get about 36!)

As I pondered the dismal part of my writing life lately - being dumped by my publisher and coming in second in a contest that would have seen that book published anyway - I decided to shake that dark cloak off and set some goals to keep moving forward. It was about 3:00 a.m. but my mind was whirling.

So here they are -
1 - Finish the final edit on A Tumbled Stone, the sequel to One Smooth Stone; format it into an ebook then get it online at Smashwords and Amazon.
2 - begin research for new project - historical non fiction set in Saskatchewan.
3 - write said book; re-write said book into a play - or maybe vice versa

And now that they're set I'm excited again. Goals can do that too. So how about yours? Have you set yours down yet?

Marcia Lee Laycock author of One Smooth Stone, (www.vinemarc.com) A Tumbled Stone, Spur of the Moment and

Abundant Rain. (www.smashwords.com/books/view/58017)