Inspiration and Discipline by Mandy Baker Johnson

It's so easy to fall out of the habit of writing. A year ago, inspiration and discipline were on me and I wrote a couple of blog posts every week. It felt good.

But then my church did a 40-day fast and I chose to give up social media. At the end of that period, I struggled to write any blog posts as fear struck. Inspiration soon died with the thought: what will people think of me if I write this post? It was deadly.

I have Rethink Church and our own Amy Robinson to thank for getting me back into blogging. Rethink Church have a photo-a-day challenge (see picture) through Lent.

I took one look at it and decided to use the word prompts to write a daily blog post. If that didn't get me back into blogging, nothing would!

So far I've managed every day. For some of the word prompts, inspiration has been strong with me. For others, it has been a challenge and I've had to be disciplined to write.

I often go to bed pondering the word for the next day. Occasionally inspiration has come in the night and I creep into my study to jot down my thoughts. Mostly they make sense when I re-read them in the morning!

Bible verses, stories from my life, and using whatever images come to mind from the word prompt have all been useful in helping me write.

We are half-way through now and I will miss this challenge when it's finished. But I have re-learned a valuable lesson - just start writing and trust inspiration to follow.



Mandy Baker Johnson is a self-employed medical secretary who enjoys blogging and is working on an autobiographical book about deliverance from darkness and being healed from cerebellar ataxia and ME/chronic fatigue. She enjoys volunteering with a Christian charity working with women in the sex industry.