You write believing that the ears those words fall on; will be changed. You write to inspire. You write because it’s a part of the incredible way you were made. Don’t ever doubt that. You capture moments and feelings and observations in a way that only you can. I want you to believe that…Writing takes heart; it requires it. It requires an eye that seeks the beauty in every moment, an ear that hears a song in the silence and a hope that believes in something more, that sees something being born amongst death and dying. Without it, my soul aches.

I told that to a stunning young woman once, praying my words found a home in her heart as they lingered in my own ears, refusing to leave until I accepted the reality that I may not just be talking about her. Refusing to leave until I looked in the mirror and told myself the exact same thing.

Writing for me is the most beautiful and most terrifying thing I could do. It’s a part of me. It’s vulnerable and real. It’s as if I’m taking a part of my soul and placing it in the palm of your hands to love or leave, to accept or reject the perception I have of this world. The way I see things, the images that go through my dark brown eyes, get processed through my simplified complex brain and somehow end up on a screen, napkin or a blue-lined piece of paper are thoughts that are as unique as the one who thought them. They are a part of me.

I write choosing to believe that someone somewhere will read it. That somehow, because of the goodness of who He is, I will be used to bring His glory to this earth. I write because it’s what my Father told me to do.

(and I’m trying this new thing where I actually do what my Father says to do)

So raise your pen or raise a glass, smile, breathe, shout or giggle. Here’s to a day, a year, a life full of writing with a furious passion, a newfound beauty, an unprecedented lack of hesitation and fear. Here’s to writing because without it, our souls would ache.