Be a thought catcher

I surround myself with paper:

  • I carry a planner because using my phone’s calendar has never stuck with me.
  • My desk is covered in sticky notes and scrap pages and memo pads with scribbled out notes to myself.
  • I even use Evernote, which is a digital notebook.

If I don’t grab catch a thought immediately, it’s a goner.

Do you know how many times I’ve written a great blog post in my head and planned on writing it down once I got home?

Whether you’re the most organized thought catcher that ever lived or you have 10 notebooks and scrap paper falls around your feet when you walk, just write things down!

Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets…”

The Lord was giving instructions and the first words out of his mouth were, “Write this down!”

The point of writing things down is to use that information to teach and encourage others.

None of us lack ideas.

If you’ve ever sat in a meeting, you know that everyone has great ideas–and they normally all come about the time the meeting is supposed to be over.

We just don’t catch the inspiration when the Holy Spirit gives it to us.

Grab your thoughts!

Write them down!

And then go do something with them.

 

 

 

 

Confessions of a Word Collector

I am a word collector.

I collect inspiring words.

brain depositoryI write them down in my brain depository, which is really just my notebook. (Yes, I used the thesaurus to find a synonym of notebook. I am that person.)

It’s impossible to listen to smart people without writing down their words of wisdom.

I encourage you to become a word collector too. Buy a notebook or use one of the million note taking apps.

Here’s 10 of my favorite quotes from this year. If I got it from a book, I’ll give you the title.

  1. “To foreclose on our emotional life out of a fear that the costs will be too high is to walk away from the very thing that gives purpose and meaning to living.”  -Dr. Brene Brown, Daring Greatly
  2. “How can we be loved if we are always hiding?” -Donald Miller, Scary Close
  3. “Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace up shoes.” -Stephen King, On Writing
  4. “You know what it is about someone that makes them a friend? A friend doesn’t just say things; a friend does.” -Bob Goff, Love Does
  5. “Passion is often found in the crucible of work.” -Jon Acuff, Do Over
  6. “Servants can go places kings can’t.” -Jon Weece, Jesus Prom
  7. “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” -Sunni Brown, The Doodle Revolution
  8. “Grace treats us like we already are what we fear we will never become.” -Beth Moore, taken from Wednesdays in the Word on Life Today
  9. “If you stay in a rut long enough, it will become a grave.” -Christine Caine, taken from one of her many teachings on YouTube
  10. “The ministry of the heart is the sole responsibility of the individual, yet few people ever learn how to consistently influence their hearts in a deliberate way.” -Dr. James Richards, How to Stop the Pain