Well there ya go in a handbasket.......

So at the end of October I had gotten back my writing assignment and it pumped me up something good. I felt like a creative guru and was 10 feet tall and bullet-proof. I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month, a bit nervous but confident I could do this. Oh yeah, you KNOW I was gonna get taken out and QUICK! So here it is, 5 days into it and I have written 15oo words - 1500 - now that may seem good to you but I have to have 50,000 by the end of the month! Not to mention that the creative guru that was crowing genius not even a weak ago is comatose and glazed eyed in the corner of my brain. Hense the 1500+ words in 4 days (I have yet to write anything today, so there is hope yet!). But let's put this slump into perspective. I have also had to pack up some belongings and move myself out into the country to my mother's for a perspective job. Because while I would love to make a living writing, it just isn't happening right now and I need to help support my family and joy, joy the hog plant is hiring. So now I am 3 hours (not sure how many miles or how the crow flies) away from my family. I love my mother but she is a bitter, cranky old lady - and her yipping chihuahuas can be rather annoying. So can her obnoxious, alcoholic boyfriend. To say that the environment is not helping my creative flow is a bit of an understatement. Not to mention there is no internet there. So how am I able to post this you say? Easy, I escaped and luckily I am not totally out of the realm of civilization that the local library has wireless internet. I almost wept with joy and thanksgiving.

So I am still determined to get through this month and get this challenge done - I just now have to figure out how to get 2000 words done a day in order to have the 50,000 minimum at month's end. If I have more, yay me, but I can not have any less. And I am determined that if I have to be away from my family and go through this then I am going to at least accomplish this challenge of writing. Now don't get me wrong, I know it sounds like I am whining. And maybe I am to a degree, but I miss my family and think I am a little entitled to that. But I think God has a plan for us and this is just part of it, so in the end we are welcoming it. Maybe not as warmly or heartfelt as God would like us to, but we are still obeying and trusting that he has the gameplan mapped out and there is a touchdown and Super Bowl ring at the end of this.

Thing of it is, don't get discouraged when you feel the urge to start a project and then get problems or delays right off the bat. Could be they are tests to see if you have the staying power. Remember, Jesus had to endure more than any of us can imagine to save us from ourselves. What would have happened if one day after someone had told him he was a blasphemer one time too many and he said, "You know what? I quit, you all are on your own. You ungrateful little spoiled brats who are happy in your own filth." And then went back up to heaven and left us to our own devices. If you feel that something you are doing to TRULY God-driven and God-designed, DON'T GIVE UP. Trust me, you will be GREATLY rewarded. Look at Abraham and many others who trusted God, even when it seemed nuts, and didn't give up. In the end, all of this is going to be well worth it.