Goldfish Crackers on the Pews

Lenten Writing Prompt #9

Jesus accepting the children rather than putting them off was a radical act at the time.  How can we be radical about accepting children at church or in our society where they are marginalized?

Angels

Lenten Writing Prompt #8
Angels in the Bible were could be powerful and overwhelming, like when they guarded Eden or when they sang for Jesus' birth.  Or they could be a bit naughty (ahem.  Leading to Nephilim in Genesis). Or they could be communicators of difficult or holy news, as with Mary.  What are your thoughts about Angels for today?  Have you ever experienced one?  How do Angels fit in with your faith?

Wilderness Time

There are many wilderness times in the Bible: the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, the stormy sea of Jesus or Jonah, Noah in the Ark with his family and a ton of animals, the time when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, write about one of these or another wilderness time in the Bible and why it is significant to you and your faith.

Encountering Jesus

Pick a stage of Jesus’ life and write about Jesus at that time: baby, toddler with kingly visitors, 13 year old in the temple, anointed and commissioned in the Jordan River, teacher, table-flipper, persecuted, risen, or something in between.  Use an intimate friend's perspective - what would the encounter be like? 

Sacred Space

Lenten Writing Prompt #6 

Write about a sacred space that you go to, or that you discovered.  Use as much detail as you want to bring us into that space, and write about why it is sacred to you.

Writing About That Story Or Character You Don't Like

Lenten Writing Prompt #6
Is there a character or story in the Bible that bothers you? Why?  What kind of lesson do you think the story or character (and your feelings about it) holds for you?

Dear 21-Year-Old You...

Lenten Writing Prompt #5

Write a letter to yourself as a young adult.  What were you struggling with about faith, about life?  Was there something that you didn't realize when you were that age?  What would you tell yourself?  

Lord, We Pray

Lenten Writing Prompt #4
How has your relationship with prayer changed over time?  Think about when you were a kid, a young adult, and today, and any other benchmark stage of your life.  What is that relationship like?

Stealth-Prayers for Strangers

Lenten Writing Prompt #3
Write a prayer with a blessing for a stranger that you notice today or have noticed recently: a new parent, a homeless person, a young or old couple, a busy child, someone that cut you off in traffic, someone working at a job in a service industry, etc. Describe who you are praying for.  We can never fully know what someone's situation is, but keeping your prayer positive and open will keep it relevant. 

Renewal

Lenten Writing Prompt #2

Write about a ritual of renewal and baptismal remembrance that you have either participated in, witnessed, or invented.  If you are creating one, what would that ritual look like if you had no limits?  What is a way you can remember your baptism and that you are a child of God in a language or activity that resonates for you? 

Ashes and Dust

 Lenten Writing Prompt #1 

"From dust you were formed and to dust you shall return.” Our relationship with dust is Biblical and the dust in our lives today comes in so many forms.  Write about a kind of dust today – stardust, dust in your house, a dusty trail, an object that has dust on it.  Connect it to the dust symbolized in Ash Wednesday, reminding us that life as we know it is finite. If you receive ashes today, feel commissioned to go deep through writing, reading and praying along these next 40 days.  
God go with you.

Writing As A Lenten Discipline

Are you ready to write? 

Take some time out of your busy life to be intentional about your writing time.  When you set aside time to contemplate your spiritual self, relationship with God, how you feel about spirituality, church traditions, peace, and the story around Holy Week, you emerge from this experience with a renewed sense of spirit.  When writers talk about a muse, we, as Christians, can also see the Holy Spirit in this gift of inspiration.  In this space of creativity, we share our words and encourage others on their spiritual writing journey.  We may write along, read along, pray along or, like I have some years, had to just drop in and write when I can.   Here is some advice on how to write for 40 days.  If you have some tips to add on how to stick with writing, beat writer’s block, anything else you feel is helpful, leave it in a comment below.  Here are mine:

Have a Ritual

Buy or use a candle that you light each time you write and let it represent the light of God, inspiring your words.  It helps to have your ritual involve the senses – use an essential oil that helps you focus, special music, or a focusing prayer before you start.  Even a deep breath can help!

Know When to Ditch Your Ritual

Sometimes our rituals become so elaborate, they keep us from writing.  If a ritual is getting too complicated, just sit down and write

Use Music To Inspire You

Pandora, Songza and other online radio stations can play music based on a group or genre.  Another music resource comes from the Church of the Beloved in Edmonds.  They’ve offered a wonderful album free for anyone to listen to at http://belovedschurch.org/hope/ .The music is contemporary, contemplative, and quite beautiful. 

When Not Inspired, Try a Free-Write

Just start typing, using the prompt for focus, and don’t stop or edit your words for a full 10 minutes. See what comes out.  Natalie Goldberg says that this taps into your “Wild Mind”, the part of your subconscious, where some really awesome, untapped creativity lies.  Take your free-write and revise the part of it that you like into something you want to post.

Off-Topic is Fine

Sometimes you end up writing a piece that is off-topic from the prompt that was posted that day.  Post it anyway!  Sometimes the spirit speaks to us in mysterious ways and all inspiration is welcome

Keep it Holy, but Don’t be Shy

To be Holy, something is set aside for Godly purposes.  All of us are setting aside our time, our work, our loved ones to turn aside and witness and share God’s love through words.  However, sometimes you may be inspired to write about pain, about sadness, about scary things.  There can be love in these pieces as well, and support.  Post what you are inspired to write about, even if it is in a minor key and let us support each other with love as well.

Don’t Forget to Comment and Support Others!

Part of the fun of this project is the support that the writers give each other as well.  You can comment with support for others’ work as well as receive comments.  Keep it positive because everyone is putting their hearts on the line when they post.

Follow Us on Facebook

Find tips, articles, and updates on our Facebook page: Spirit to Spirit: A Writing Community.  The prompts will be posted in this group, as well as writing articles and encouragement.

Ready for the 2015 Lenten Writing Project? Here Are Some Technical Tips

1.) It’s helpful to write your piece in Word before posting it online, just in case you happen to encounter a malfunction.  If you do, you will still have a saved copy of your work.

2.)  If you have a long piece that goes beyond the 4,5oo character limit (which is approximately 1 page in Word), you can post your work into 2 or more comments with a ‘to be continued…’ at the bottom of the first half and ‘…continued’ at the beginning of the second half so that we know to keep reading.

3.)  Sometimes you may finish what you've written and feel it’s too vulnerable or personal to publish.  Don’t let perfectionism keep you from posting, but if you feel your words are for your eyes only, you don’t have to feel obligated to post. The point is that you got some great writing done from that day’s prompt and you finished it.

4.) You can encourage and comment on others peoples’ posts and you can even comment on the comments of others’ posts.  One element that makes this such a great project is hearing support back and giving support to others.

5.) You can go back and work on any prompt at any time.  There is no time limit on answering the prompts.  You may have a piece that takes a long time to finish or you may not feel inspired or be too busy that day.  Setting aside time to write each day is what we strive for as the discipline part of this Lenten writing challenge, but you are welcome to elect to come and write occasionally if you would like.  Participate in the way that you can and share your words!

6.) Think you don’t know enough about religion?  Afraid you’re not a “real” writer?  There are no wrong answers or criteria to what you post, except that it is honest and respectful of others.  Our comments on others’ writing are meant to be supportive and not critique.

7.) If you are interested in joining a writing community centered around spiritual writing, Holy Spirit Lutheran Church (www.hslckirkland.org) in Kirkland, WA has one!  Join us on the second Saturday of each month to read, support and get inspired.

8.)  If you encounter any technical questions or problems, fill out the contact form to email the moderator and she will resolve it as soon as possible.

Happy writing!