1. Turn off the radio.
2. Read good books and avoid most magazines.
3. Write with the ear, not the eye. Make every sentence sound good.
4. Write only about things that interest you. If you have no interests, you won’t ever be a writer.
5. Be clear.
6. Save odds and ends of writing attempts, because you may be able to use them later.
7. You need a well-trained sense of word-rhythm.
8. Know the meaning of every word you use.

via [Christian Writing Today](http://www.christianwritingtoday.com/2010/04/7-writing-tips-from-c-s-lewis/)

But I digress. I was standing in line at a sandwich shop, waiting with other wearied travelers for a regrettably spongy-tasting, overpriced turkey club. I was fascinated by the man in front of me. Sporting a close-cropped beard with classy, slightly ruffled hair and stylish Oakley sunglasses perched on his head. He wore a blue longsleeve shirt that was obviously worn but somehow didn’t look ragged. His jeans looked both comfortable and fashionable. He had an OD green nylon daypack slung over both shoulders, the kind you might find at a military surplus store, with a grey hoodie strapped to the back. He work these great looking, brown leather shoes that seemed like a mix between sneaker and light hiker. I made a mental note to look those shoes up, since I am looking for a new pair of casual shoes. The whole ensemble made him look like he was in the middle of a great adventure, traveling light, living life to the limit. He seemed to be the kind of guy who had all kinds of great stories involving high jinx with good friends in far-off locales like Argentina and central Aisa.

Sitting next to me at the gate was an older man with a goatee and a faded ballcap from some sportsman’s associations. He wore Keen river sandals and well-worn shorts with a neat looking polo. His luggage consisted of a backpack that looked experienced and decidedly non-brandname with a Pelican laptop case. I noticed that the Pelican case was quite dusty. His gear looked grizzled and used and he looked experienced and world-wise. He reminded me of this man I worked with in Henry County, GA, a well-traveled public safety commissioner who regaled us with stories of working in Iraq after the invasion in 2002. A whole country was needing rebuilt, and police forces were essential. This man got tapped by the US Ambassador to lead a team of grizzled police veterans in training the new police forces. He had a similar level of coolness, of a relaxed demeanor combined with an intense awareness.

Walking through the airport, I realized that I was making all kinds of assumptions about what other people were doing, who they were, what their stories were. I tried to fit them into my stereotypes, into the characters I was used to. A woman, struggling to meet her husband’s expectations. A man, resigned to life on the road, wondering where his real life went. A shoeshiner, somehow loving life just as it was. I wondered, what did my life look like to them? What does it look like to me?

When I think about it, I do have some pretty neat things in my story. I work as a paramedic, a job that I think is way awesome when I stop and think about it. When actually working, I absolutely love it. I do a lot of pretty cool things. I live on a 2200 acre outdoor paradise, where I canoe on a regular basis and hike all the time. I work with awesome people at a flawed ministry that I believe in, down deep, on projects that I seriously enjoy—photography and graphic arts and web design and making visions realities. So why am I so dissatisfied with my life?

I looked at the man with the military-style backpack at the sandwich shop and thought about how much I’d like to be living his life. I made up this whole story to myself about what his life must be like and wanted my life to resemble it. Some of that I can’t do anything about, like having a beard (which is actually a big no-no in my profession) or being taller. Some of it is really about lifestyle choices—I liked how minimal his luggage was, and while I have real minimalistic instincts, I can’t seem to get past my unhealthy attachment to stuff. I often try to rationalize buying new stuff to reduce the stuff I have, but rarely does this work out. Usually buying more stuff simply means that I have more stuff.

My biggest problem is not a desire to live in a better story, but my desire to author it. I’ve come to the realization that I am **already** in a story—a much bigger story than I could dream up. I [read last week](http://donmilleris.com/2010/08/26/why-the-bible-is-a-terrible-book-for-americans/) that the Bible really focuses on answering big questions, such as what is really important in life. As I’ve studied the Word these past few months, I have come away impressed that life is *way* bigger than my myopic little American dream. Life is bigger than being a wandering adventurer. Life is bigger than training police forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Life is bigger than all of these, and the challenge for us is to escape our small stories and embrace the big story of what God is doing.

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15 ESV)

“And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’”(Mark 10:23 ESV)

I never saw the connection before today. When I am rich, how do I solve my problems? I whip out my Visa, I draw from my stored up supplies, I pull cash from my wallet. If I am hungry, I have food in the fridge. If I need to go somewhere, I have a car.

But how does a child solve problems? A child doesn’t have a Visa, or stockpiled resources, or cash. A child has a father, and asks his father.

So which am I? Self-sufficient, independent, and limited to my own abilities? Or dependent on my Father’s infinite resources?

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9-13 ESV)

“Making us like Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning. God ‘predestined’ or planned for us to be like his Son (Romans 8:29). Before God even made the world, his plan for you and me was to make us like Jesus. And everything that happens to us is part of that plan.”

- Tim Chester, You Can Change (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 15.

via God’s plan from the beginning « Of First Importance.