Welcome 2013

I stared at this blank screen for what felt like days. The cursor blinking at me almost daring me to type something, anything. I felt mocked. I felt like I’d failed.

I felt like quitting.

As a writer, there is nothing more terrifying than a clean slate. There are endless possibilities but you’re looking for that one idea. The one idea that’s going to make it or break it. It’s scary and exhilarating all at the same time. It’s why I love it.

As I sat here, afraid to begin, I started to think, “Wow. Isn't life so much like this very situation?”

With a brand new year looming, a clean slate if you will, are you feeling like you’re afraid to start? Are you apprehensive about 2012 ending because you don’t want to screw up 2013? Are you afraid you’re going to mess up your brand new clean sheet of paper with nothing but bad ideas that will just bore people or worse disappoint them?

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to fall into that trap. I don’t want to let a little writer’s block (which incidentally has been plaguing me for about a month) scare me into thinking that I can’t come up with something great (or at least something not deplorable.) I can do this.

So can you.

I challenge you to step out into 2013 with confidence! And if confidence isn't something you think you can handle at the moment (because let’s face it, we don’t always feel it even when we know we should) then I ask you to simply start.

Just start and adjust as life comes your way. Rely on the Lord to guide you through it. I’m not sure I've ever met a person who’s gotten it right, right out of the box all by themselves. We’re human. We’re imperfect. We’re impatient. We’re messy.

And we’re in this together.

I wish you all a blessed 2013.