Writing and Christian Creativity

I just finished my review for Scribbling in the Sand, and it brought up so many thoughts that didn't really fit into a book review.

I intended this summer to be a summer of writing, both for myself and for actual money. It was quite a failure--like I mentioned before, I don't do very well with the non-structured summer life, and I let my obsessions get quite out of control. I feel like I learned a lot, but I wish that I had already known it as well as I thought I did.

At the end of the summer, I still want to commit to writing more. In part that was why I started these blogs. Writing still terrifies me sometimes (remember this post? Yeah, I still feel like that all the time). It's such a leap of faith sometimes, if not all the time. At other times it's just plain difficult. I have so many ideas running around in my head, and it's hard to pick between them. There are so many other, easier, less productive things that I also want to be doing.

And how do I allow God to work through what I'm writing? Scribbling in the Sand brought up the idea of your art being your worship, or a form of worship. How is what I write worship? Yes, sometimes when I write--on good days--I feel such joy as I write, feel that God is sitting right by me, guiding my typing hands. Other days I feel nothing but struggle, and I wonder if I should write at all on those days. On good days I can see how my story worships God, on other days I can't. Is it enough of a worship to write in obedience? Should the story also be a form of worship? It's hard to feel as if a description of people playing cards is a form of worship. It's hard to feel as if a fight scene is a form of worship. It's hard to remember that maybe the overall plot is beautiful, even if the moments aren't always. Is that alright?

And where is my writing going? What about seminary?

I pray that God will guide me as I try to navigate this while also going to seminary. I know that He'll be right there beside me no matter what I'm struggling with. I feel Him right here even as I ask these questions.