I've been thinking about writing lately, which, for me, is kind of like thinking about breathing. :) One of the best things I've done is make myself JUST WRITE. It doesn't matter if my spelling and grammar stink or even if the writing makes sense. I can fix that later. It's all about getting the ideas out of my head and onto my paper.

I decided last night that while thinking about what you're going to write is good, if I don't stop thinking and actually WRITE it, it won't get written at all. Deciding to open a document and let my fingers on the keyboard and imagination go wild is one of the best things that I have done in my writing journey.

What about you? What are some things you've found helpful in your writing? What is one important piece of advice that you would want to pass on to other writers?

You know mine: JUST WRITE! :)

So... there I stood, three books in the crook of my arm, and a library card wedged tightly in my other hand. It was time to pick up my holds at the library, and I waited in line so I could check them out. The books in question were The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle, and Big Fat Paycheck--a script writing book--by Colton Lawrence. But that is not important. What's important is who checked my books out.

If you know me (which I hope you do), you'll probably have noticed that I take an interest in the unusual. I notice nearly everything, even the unnecessary or mundane. So it isn't surprising that I was standing in the library on this particular day wondering which of the three librarians would check my books out for me. I seemed to notice one more than the others, and was pleasantly surprised when she called the next person up to the front. The next person, was, of course, me.

Again, if you know me (which I hope you do), you'll probably definitely have noticed that I am rather very shy. So it struck a little lot of terror into my heart when I heard a quiet voice whisper in my heart, You will share Me with her today.

"What, God? No! You know I've never led anyone to Christ! Much less some random librarian that I don't even know. I can't believe you're asking me to do this," I protested. (Honestly. That is more or less what I said.)

Okay, don't freak out. Just ask her how she is.

I can do that, I decided. I stepped up to the counter and set my books down.

"How has your day gone so far?" I asked, smiling as warmly as I could.

"Good, good," she responded genuinely, her eyes smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," I responded.

"Great. These books are due on January 20th."

God, how am I supposed to lead her to Christ when she's handing me my receipt? I questioned.

You did share Me with her, He said.

It was only when I walked out that I understood. I had shared Christ with the librarian just by noticing her, and by attempting to brighten her day. Suddenly my favorite quote took on a whole new meaning:

“Preach the gospel always – and if necessary, use words.”

We are always sharing our faith, whether we realize it or not.

Calling all Prayer Warriors!!

I've decided to do another 20 Day Prayer Challenge, like the one I did back in May. This one is very similar to the first one, but I want to do another one focusing on America.

I am a firm believer in prayer, and the impact it can make, and I especially believe in kids praying. I wrote an article about the importance of prayer a while back.

I've been wanting to do a Prayer Challenge for America for a while now. Our nation is a lot better than some other countries, but it still could use a lot of help, especially with the elections coming up. Although I do believe that no matter who is in the office, God will still be on the throne, but we still need to be praying.

Prayer is one weapon that Satan can't fight, and it has a lot of power. I hope that by doing these challenges, more and more people would realize just how much of an impact it can make.

In Philipians 4:6 it says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Here are some things you can pray for during the 20 Day period:

- That the Americans' hearts would be softened toward God
- That God's will would be done in the upcoming elections
- That God would protect us in whatever lies ahead
- That His hand would be upon our nation
- Anything else God lays upon your heart

The challenge will start in four days, on Thursday, September 11th, and continue for 20 days until the end of this month. You are welcome to share about it on your blogs, and also put the icons on your blog. I've made some new ones for the America theme. The codes are below -- just take out the spaces.



Simply leave a comment if you would like to participate! I would love it if you would join us in this stand for prayer.

Originally posted on my HSB blog, April 26, 2008 at 11:41 AM

Miss Jocelyn and I decided to host a 20 Day Prayer challenge, which we hope you'll partake in. I wrote an article awhile back on the importance of prayer, and we hope this will start a movement that does bring the Christians to their knees in prayer.



The Bible says in Matthew 17:20 that if you simply have faith has big as a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, you can move a mountain. Prayer can make an impact in everyone's life. The Bible also says that Satan has to flee at the mention of the name of Jesus, and he knows prayer is a weapon he can't fight. Unfortunately many have truly gone blind to how powerful prayer is. We really want to encourage people, especially kids, to learn the power of prayer and to pray more.



The Bible is full of verses in regards to praying to the Lord and prayer does change things. In Philippians 4:6 it says "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."



The Word says to pray, pray, pray, and that's what we want to do! We want to challenge you to take the next 20 days and pray for one country. Whether it's America or Africa or India. We also liked to encourage you to make a list of different things about that country that you're going to pray for, and also make a "Prayer Log" what you pray for each day.

The challenge will start on Thursday May 1st, which is the National Day of Prayer. From then until later this month, we hope you'll pick a country you'd like to spend the next 20 days praying for (along with specific things about that country to pray for) and post about it on May 1st. Please just leave a comment if you're going to join us in this fight against the forces of evil, or sign the Mr. Linky.

You're also welcome to take one of the 20 Days Of Prayer icon and put it on your site!

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<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://aponderingheart.com/blog/?p=425" _fcksavedurl="http://homeschoolblogger.com/Narniagirl/522738/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/prayericon1.png" _fcksavedurl=""http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/prayericon1.png"" _fcksavedurl=""http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/prayericon1.png"" _fcksavedurl=""http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/prayericon1.png"" _fcksavedurl=""http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/prayericon1.png"" _fcksavedurl="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/prayericon1.png" border="0" alt="prayer challenge" /></a></p>

Let's make the Gate of Hells shake as they did when Jesus rose again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Who's going to join us? Sign your name/link to the list!