Building a book, a career, a ministry

September 15, 2008 | Books,Ministry Life

Our little neighborhood had only three houses when we moved in. Another house was built a couple of months ago. A new home is going up behind us.

I have discovered that I love seeing a house come up from scratch. I’m a professed lover of HGTV, watching Flip that House, First Time Buyers, and House Hunters whenever I can. Richard gets a laugh out of it. “Who knew?” he says.

We walk in the evening and I love to check out the day’s progress. Did they finish out the trim on the roof? Did they frame in the rooms? “Oh, look! They’re going to put in a whirlpool tub instead of a plain one!”

But this building business has also put a crimp on my writing life. Maybe those aren’t the right words. The truth is that I’m watching a crew of two brothers build a home from the ground up, and I’m supposed to be building books from the ground up–and the housebuilders are winning the race. The tangible progress of their hard work, their tenacity, mock me from my home office window every day.

They have a goal. They have a set number of hours that they work. They arrive at 7:30. They leave at 5ish. They have their tools, the equipment to do the job, and the materials arrive every day.

Sometimes I struggle to finish. I have the hours, but am I writing? I have the tools, but am I using them? I have the materials.

It may sound odd, but when there weren’t hammers and saws banging and buzzing outside my door, it was easier to pretend that I was working hard and writing as many words as I could.

This is not a post knocking myself down, but reminding me of the fact that I LOVE what I do and because I’m home all day I’m letting other things take away from that passion.

So, today I’m going to start building my books again–with the hours, the tools, and the material that I have at hand.

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