Too-late Tuesday: Let's Focus on Being There

Ironically, this may not be one of my better blog posts. It should be, because I just got back on Saturday from the Cedar Falls Christian Writers Workshop.

But I'm tired.

And it's Tuesday.

Half of my brain says, "Let it go and wait for the next Focus Friday."

The other, more neurotic, half says, "But you haven't missed a week in over a year. You can't start now!"

So I write.

I want us to focus on the importance of "being there" this week. 

I've gone to this conference since 2010, so you could argue that I don't need it. I've listened to lots of speakers, read many books, subscribed to magazines, learned a ton in the last eight years.

I could save the money and just stay home and write, but I go.

Shelly Beach is just one of my many writing mentors - love her!

I attend because there's something about being there. It's exciting to meet famous authors, as well as new authors and wonder what they'll accomplish in the years ahead. It's fun to have late-night conversations with friends about writing and...other things that have absolutely nothing to do with writing.

It feeds my soul to share my love of writing with like-minded people. It spurs me on to keep writing even when I go through another year of mostly procrastinating. (One of these years....)

Here's a panel with: Wanda Sanchez, Shelly Beach, Cynthia Ruchti, Mary Potter Kenyon, Anne Philo Fleck, and Jolene Philo

It occurs to me that there are other things we're tempted to think we can go without:

Church attendance.

Family get-togethers.

Coffee or lunch with a good friend.

We've neglected them all so many times. We're busy. We're bored. They'll understand. I'll get back to it sometime.

We have to make time to really be there.

It feeds our souls to share our love of Jesus with like-minded people. It's fun to have conversations with family members and friends about our faith, our interests, and everything that's on our minds. It spurs us on to accomplish big and little projects when we meet with others who have succeeded.

When we're tired and feel like pulling away from others, that's the time we probably most need to reach out and really be there.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20 NIV)

Do you pull away from church, family, and friends when you are stressed, busy, or tired? How can focusing on God help you to really be there and enjoy all the benefits of connecting?