Bless the Lord, O my writing. May all my plots and characters praise the One who put the love of writing in my heart. The earth, O Lord, contains a multitude of books. Verily, it overflows with the written word so that they bump into each other and crowd upon the shelves. Large is the competition; Great is the challenge to be noticed. Humbled, I put fingers to keyboard to convey what lies within my soul.
When naysayers come against me, to demolish my efforts, may they stumble and fall. Though an army of writer’s block, doubts, and other evils encamp around me, my heart will not fear. Let my writing not become like a wineskin in smoke, dry and useless, but let it flourish like a palm tree and be as a cedar of Lebanon.
Though critics should rise against me, in this will I be confident: that You have blessed me with a love of forming words into people, places, and plots. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer (Ps. 45:1). I will sing praise to Your Name, O Lord most high, and offer up to You the sacrifice of joyfully writing.
Amen
http://pen-l.com/Mystery.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blanche+day+manos
Ah, perhaps a modern David might have written something similar! I am always reminded of the words of Ecclesiastics 12:11, 12 (maybe keeps us writers humble!) “The words of the wise are like oxgoads and their collected sayings are like firmly embedded nails; they have been given from one shepherd. 12 As for anything besides these, my son, be warned: To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.”
I love that, Sharon. Thank you for writing and for the reminder.