My Best Time to Write?

I was awake at two in the morning writing. Ideas and thoughts kept twirling through my head, so I finally got up and wrote, and wrote, and wrote. It was great. Here is some journaling I did on writing. I started writing at 2:55 a.m.

I have just written something that I know is good. It is good and it is right on. It feels so good. Especially after being sick for three days. It feels good to have it flow and just come. It kept twirling around and around in my head, so I finally got up and wrote it: the rough draft of my introduction to Career Women of the Bible! And it work–it just works! Yes, there will be editing, and I’m sure I’ll be adding to it, but it works. Writers don’t get these inspired highs much, or at least I don’t. May be I need to write more at 2:00 in the morning. It really is amazing. When ideas are swirling in my head after I go to bed, I can always get up, work on it, then sleep until 10:00 or 11:00 and get up and work in the afternoon. I remember writing my thesis: a lot of that happened between 10:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m. Then I had to be at work 7:30 a.m. Yes, I was a zombie during the day. My creative juices do flow in the wee hours, so may be I just need to go with it. Put in four to five hours in the afternoon and another two to three in the wee hours and see what happens.

Of course that’s going to royally screw me up on Sunday when I need to get up early for Sunday School and church. To be to Sunday School by 9:30, I have to leave home at 8:30. Why you ask? Because that’s the closest Church of the Nazarene. That’s one of the many reasons I want to plant a church in the area. Oh well, I’ll deal. There’s always Tylenol PM until I have a ministry going closer to home.

I really do like writing at this time. It’s quiet. There’s a misty, mysterious fog over the lake and the lamps have that otherworldly glow to them. Yes, this is my time. May be it’s time to accept that and go with it.

Not to mention it’s very cool to be working in bed next to my sleeping husband who is so cool with his quirky wife and my quirky hours. He woke up a few minutes ago: “You’re working?” “Oh yeah, babe the creative juices are flowing,” and I then proceeding to tell the poor man I had the introduction to my next book. Then he went back to sleep. I like glancing over and watching him sleep and feeling his foot up against mine, his hand reaching out to touch me. How’d I get so lucky? I married a man who supports me in both of my callings: writing and pastoring, and he’s fine with the weird hours I tend to keep due to insomnia. May be it’s not insomnia after all. May be I’m awake at this time because I’m supposed to be up writing and creating. For so long I’ve thought I need to keep “business” hours. But why? I am self-employed. And I should work when I am at my best. If that happens to be at two in the morning, so be it! I normally don’t get much done in the morning anyway: I might as well sleep late. I get much more done in the afternoon and late at night.

This gets me thinking about planting a ministry later on Sunday or Saturday night for people who can’t do the traditional Sunday church thing. There’s an idea. I may have to think and pray on that for awhile and see what happens. Even moving Sunday School after the service with the service starting at 11:00 a.m. would be better than Sunday School at 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. The other option would be having “Sunday” School/small groups and a worship service on Saturday. I’m definitely going to need to keep those options in mind.

I’m right where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to do, and it’s a good feeling. Even if it is 3:11 in the morning! Now that this done and my creativity is starting to wind down, I will be able to sleep. And I did some good work tonight. That’s something to sleep too.

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