Stir It Up!

Guest post by Lisa Buffaloe

Cooking is not my forte. A well-known fact when we lived in Chicagoland—our neighbors panicked when they heard my husband’s boss and wife were coming for dinner. I prepared my one “guest worthy” meal, and my helpful (alarmed) friends showed up on our doorstep with side dishes and Hors d’oeuvres.  (Yes, I had to check the dictionary on the spelling of that last word.)

As I write this, I have a timer set to remind me to stir the pot of beans cooking on the stove. Otherwise, we would have burnt bean brick for dinner. Fortunately, my poor husband is a man of few complaints when it comes to my lack of culinary skill.

Ah yes, my point? I’m still learning how to cook and use the bounty of cookbooks at my disposal. (I guess they do more than just sit on a shelf.) A task done with excellence takes time and practice. As with cooking, if you don’t stir up your creation, it gets stagnant, burnt, or even solidified.

Paul writes to Timothy to fan into flame and stir up the gift he’s been given. Regardless of our professions, or family situations, we are gifted and given opportunities for growth. We have to make the effort, keep stirring.

As writers, we must stir up our creativity.

• Stir it by reading books on writing
• Stir it up through prayer.
• Stir it up by reading other authors.
• Stir it up by watching a movie and recording plot, scenes, and dialogue.
• Stir it up with passionate diligence.
• Read God’s word and fan the flame.
• Practice and keep the creations flowing.
• Take time to recharge and refuel with quiet moments in God’s presence.

Stir up your gifts! A hungry world waits.

“That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you…” (2 Timothy 1:6 AMP).