{"id":350,"date":"2016-01-19T02:38:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T02:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldkaren.com\/?p=350"},"modified":"2016-01-19T02:38:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T02:38:00","slug":"writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/?p=350","title":{"rendered":"Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

I write because seeing the words helps me sort through my memories, feelings and concerns. I understand myself better when I take the time to translate thoughts to paper. The narrator of the book, Gilead<\/u>, says, \u201cFor me writing has always felt like praying, even when I wasn\u2019t writing prayers\u2026.\u201d 1. That sums it up for me, perhaps explaining why I keep my Bible close at hand when I\u2019m pouring the contents of my brain on to paper.<\/p>\n

But do I also lose something through the writing?<\/p>\n

Isak Dinesen\u2019s collection of short stories entitled, Winter\u2019s Tales<\/u>, includes the story of a writer who had written a book that received serious acclaim. Following his success, though, he felt superficial, fearing he had written his words only for the people who wanted his books, the publishers and readers. He feared God had forsaken him because he had, \u201c\u2026from his own free will, exchanged the things of the Lord\u2026for the words that describe them.\u201d 2.<\/p>\n

I pray I don\u2019t spend so much time trying to translate my perceptions to words that I miss the simple joy of seeing, hearing and feeling the blessings God has provided. May I be faithful to merely bask in the warmth of His mercy and grace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Marilynne Robinson. Gilead<\/u>. New York: Picador, 2004. 19.<\/li>\n
  2. Isak Dinesen. \u201cThe Young Man With the Carnation.\u201d Winter\u2019s Tales<\/u>. New York: Random House, Inc., 1942. 10.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I write because seeing the words helps me sort through my memories, feelings and concerns. I understand myself better when I take the time to translate thoughts to paper. The narrator of the book, Gilead, says, \u201cFor me writing has always felt like praying, even when I wasn\u2019t writing prayers\u2026.\u201d 1. That sums it up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions\/351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}