Tag: walk

The Creativity Struggle

Posted on by Staci Mauney

But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. (Jer. 10:12)

My word for the year is “create,” but lately, finding the time or energy to create has been a struggle. I believed God gave me this word because he wanted me to create new things this year. I have two book projects along with numerous small projects to complete. I still believe I’m to create new things, but now I also believe he wants me to learn the best ways to do that and to leave behind projects that don’t help fulfill my mission of reaching people for him with the written word.

When I’m busy, when I’m stressed, my creativity dries up. A migraine or exhaustion results, and I know I have to stop and take care of myself. Rather than hurting my productivity and creativity, taking a break rejuvenates me and gives me the strength I need to finish the project at hand. How quickly I forget this when the pressure of a deadline looms! I would do well to remember it. Continue reading “The Creativity Struggle” →

A New Year = A New Start

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chron 15:7).

The new year is one of my favorite times. All the chatter about goals and productivity and self-improvement fills me up. I carve out time to evaluate my progress on the previous year’s goals, and I use that information to set new goals.

What I learned when looking at 2019 was that I had veered off track on my writing goals, and unfortunately, I didn’t meet a single one.

Even so, 2019 held some valuable lessons. I took a good, hard look at the year: what worked, what didn’t, and more importantly, why. With that information in mind, I set new goals for 2020. Continue reading “A New Year = A New Start” →

When Creativity Stops Flowing

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps 19:14)

This blog post almost didn’t happen. Writing an original blog post each week along with other fresh material can be a daunting task. Because I write in a devotional format, I don’t feel comfortable just throwing something up on my blog for the sake of meeting a deadline. I approach each entry thoughtfully and with prayer so that the Lord can use my words for his purposes.

I maintain a long list of possible blog post topics, but even though I had potential subject matter on hand, I couldn’t dredge up the words to pull it all together this week. When I prayed for guidance, I heard…silence. And then I realized that the silence, the lack of an idea, the difficulty writing a coherent blog post, was the idea for this entry. Continue reading “When Creativity Stops Flowing” →

Focus on God, Not Fear

Posted on by Staci Mauney

This blog was originally posted on September 10, 2017.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3

During the hottest part of the summer, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to walk my dog, Lilly. Even though we left early, the temperature was already in the low 80s. Oklahoma summers can be brutal. One of the parks that we go to has a really pretty fountain on one end. On this particular day, we walked over to the fountain. It’s located in slight depression, so Lilly and I walked down the steps and circled the fountain a couple of times. She jumped up on the edge of the fountain, peered into the water, and promptly jumped in, startling me. She resurfaced and started paddling for the edge, but she couldn’t reach it to get out on her own. I lifted her out of the water, and she took off running to dry off, dragging me behind her as I held onto her leash with all my strength. Continue reading “Focus on God, Not Fear” →

Forming Deeper Connections

Posted on by Staci Mauney

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” (1 John 1:7)

People are social creatures, and even the most introverted among us craves human companionship from time to time. We need to connect with each other. We need support and encouragement and love. Continue reading “Forming Deeper Connections” →