RE: ICU (Inspire, Commit, Undertake)

The holidays can make you feel like a candidate for the intensive care unit. Amidst all the parties and fun is the stress of late nights and early mornings. Mingled with the pleasures of family and friends are travel bills and rich fattening foods. So how does one recover from a month of pressure and splurging? A simple method I call RE: ICU.

It starts with rediscovering your inspiration. What led you to want to write? For me, it was a seed of knowledge planted deep inside my heart, an undeniable pull to pen something that glorified my Lord and Savior. So before I can get back into the groove of working on my wip, I need to get back in touch with the One who called me to write!

How do I do this? I’m convinced the only way is to spend time with God, both in prayer and in His word. What better way to ignite my imagination than to spend time with the Master Creator? If I’m true to Him, I can rest assured that He’ll be true to equip me for the task He’s laid before me.

Also, I must be ready to re-commit myself to the job. Anybody who has been married for more than a year knows that maintaining a strong, thriving relationship requires a daily recommitment to the purity of their marital vows. So it is with the call to write. That initial excitement that came when I sat down to write my first novel has long since faded. Now, maintaining my love for writing means recommitting myself daily to the job God has set before me, and prayerfully seeking Him for the desire, the energy, the call to write.

Lastly, be prepared to re-undertake that project you set aside before the holidays. How easy it is to allow days, weeks, even months to slide by as we busy ourselves putting away decorations. Before long, the habit we so carefully cultivated before Christmas is lost and we pluck away at our keyboards, unhappy with our effort, yet unable to shake ourselves from our apathy. What is the answer? You guessed it. . .prayer. Without it we can do nothing. With it, we find the courage to undertake the most daunting of tasks. With it, we find confidence in an ability beyond ourselves. With it, we have the strength to spend hours in quiet solitude, staring at our computers until the words and inspiration begin to flow.

Still feel like a candidate for ICU? I know I do. But this year, it’ll mean Re-Inspiring, Re-Committing, and Re-Undertaking the call God gave me to write.