Five Ways to Drive Your Husband Crazy with Your Writing

When it comes to writing, my husband and I are unequally yoked. Where was the pastor during our premarital counseling on that one?

No matter what trivial or microscopically mundane life experience- I want to write about it.

Writing, on the other hand, is not something that occurs to Paul. He just isn't wired that way. You can imagine the fun we're having on my book-writing journey.

Terri Tiffany recently shared over at her blog "Five Ways to Drive Your Husband Crazy with Your Writing". She did such a great job, she inspired me to play along.

Five Ways to Drive Your Husband Crazy with Your Writing

Talk to him about authors he has never read and never even heard of before. Writers are readers. If we are not writing, we want to talk about writing. There's nothing more frustrating for him or me, then trying to discuss writing styles with someone who doesn't care. To make this even more enjoyable, attempt to discuss authors with a husband who has never read, and wouldn't read their book, even if it were the last one sitting on the dusty library shelf.

Ask him, "Which word sounds better?" every fifteen minutes. My husband is not a grammatical genius, but he is far superior than I when it comes to the English language. If I had a penny for each time I asked him, "Do I write out the number or just type it in numerically?", I would be writing this blog post from a cabana in the Bahamas.

Each time he gives a painfully honest critique, remind him he's not your target audience. Writers are extremely insecure people. Extremely. If I write something funny, or witty, I want to know it's communicated in a way the reader will get. If Paul doesn't get it, I've learned to protect my writer-anxieties with the well known writer-catchphrase, "You're not my target audience."

Become frustrated when he doesn't respect your writing time - only to find you later on Facebook. I know God is good and He loves me. But, for the life of me, I don't know why He would ask me to write a book on busyness. I have the attention span of a gnat. Which means, even with the best of focused intentions, I tumble down rabbit holes on a regular basis.

Hand over your computer each day with an I don't know what happened look on your face. If it weren't for Paul, I would still be using an IBM Electric typewriter. He is my beloved husband and computer geek-extraordinaire. It amazes me how attractive a man becomes who understands Microsoft Word.

Mothers- share this bit of wisdom with your daughters looking for a godly man. Computer literacy is a must!

My First Book Contract - Doorbell-Ditching is Not Allowed

When I was a little girl, I loved to doorbell-ditch. Quietly, I would creep up to the front door of an unsuspecting friend or neighbor's house, knock on their front door, or ring their doorbell and skedaddle. The object of the game was to get the person inside the house to open their front door and discover no one there.


To a ten-year old, this is loads of fun, to an adult not so much.


God’s Word says, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 NIV


The Lord wants us to ask Him for things. He uses the analogy of knocking on His door, and then reminds us that when we do the knocking He does the opening.

Is there something you’ve been asking the Lord for? Does it feel like you’ve been asking forever? God’s time is not our time. When He puts something on our heart, our job is to ask, seek, and knock. When what we're asking lines up with His will, in His good and perfect time, He opens the door wide for us to walk through.

For years, I’ve been knocking on His door with my prayers. Lord, I have a desire to write a book for moms. I must be crazy to even ask you for this, since I don’t  know the difference between a hanging participle and a hanging plant. If this book is not what you have purposed for me to do, please take this desire away from me. But, if writing this book is in your will for my life, please open the door of publication wide open.


Have you ever asked the Lord for something, and the minute He gave you the green light and began to open doors, you ran? I can see Him opening a door for me and if I stopped to think about how I’m not qualified, or count all the reasons I am not worthy, I want to run too.


Except, I don’t want to doorbell-ditch God.


God has a plan and a purpose for each child He creates. Until the end of time, He has a job to do and invites His beloved children along to accomplish His plans. For those of us who feel unable for the task, that's OK. It’s exactly where we need to be, because when we are weak He is strong. When we know we can't do it ourselves it's God who gets all the glory, as it should be. 

This week, nestled inside the most beautiful FedEx envelope I've ever laid my eyes on, I received my very first publishing contract from Beacon Hill Press. After going over the details with my literary agent, Rachelle Gardner, it's official. A 50,000 word manuscript is due in the hands of their publishers in five months.

My nonfiction book, The Radical Sabbatical – How To Journey From Busy to Blessing is becoming a reality.


The Lord has flung a door wide open. Like that little girl who loved to doorbell-ditch, I want to bolt right off of God's front porch.

But, Lord, I don’t know how to write a book. I’m not sure exactly where to put commas or apostrophes. I don’t have a degree in English, remember? What was I thinking knocking on your door?


What if I allowed fear to hold me back? God’s plans will succeed with our without me. He doesn’t need me for this, He allows me to take part in a small sliver of His work on earth because He loves me. And you know what? I don't want to miss out on any of it, not one misplaced comma, not one apostrophe, or hanging plant!

 *******

And, still my heart races, while the Lord confidently smiles and reaches out His hand for mine. Taking deep breaths, I attempt to settle my rising and falling chest. He softly pulls me by my hand, up against His side, tucking me safely under His arm.

I squeeze my eyes shut and feel Him begin to move me forward. Taking small steps together, I walk blindly by His side. My other arm wrapped firmly around Him, He whispers, "Lean against me. You can do this because I can do this."

Clinging to His robe, we walk through the open door together.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Heading off to my secret writing hideaway today. Going to my sweet friend's cabin in the woods. I tried uploading a cabin picture but they all looked way too Ted Kazinsky-like. It didn't do her home justice.

Then I tried to find a Thomas Kincade type picture to post, but those looked to cartoonish. **Fun Fact Sidenote: Thomas Kincade grew up only ten miles or so from me in the Placerville area in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. He met his wife Nan while on his paper route when he was thirteen.**

So, try to imagine me writing away, the words flowing like Niagara Falls...off behind those gorgeous pines!

Friends, I covet your prayers. I have to be completely honest here. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm calling my day today, "a journey of obedience".

Please pray I'm not distracted by anything.