Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Discipline

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank
The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame, but the one who accepts reproof is honored. A desire fulfilled will be sweet to the soul… (Proverbs 13:18, 19a)
If you practice long enough, discipline leads to honor. 
The honorable Maasai know about this. They live among Africa’s largest lion population in the great Serengeti plains. This Tanzanian savannah stretches across approximately 12,000 square miles. Natural runners, the Maasai run its length and breadth, practicing the discipline it takes to survive.
Purpose drives discipline. Running is essential to their lifestyle and necessary for hunting lions. The warriors run with spear in hand, always prepared. From an early age, Maasai boys practice, knowing that one day they will be the hunters, protectors, and cattle herders of their tribe. Along the way they face many reproofs, from the batting of a lion’s paw to the sound scolding of an elder. But they keep running, dreaming of the honorable day they run to kill their first lion, and run home bearing it between them in victory.
The Maasai run with purpose.
With purpose in mind, they practice.
The practice of discipline leads to honor.
Some people are natural writers. Writing is essential to living. They live life with pen in hand, for they are wordsmiths, and wordsmiths are tasked with the hunt for words that will protect, sustain, and preserve their communities and nations. Writers hunt down opportunities, chase the predators of self-doubt and discouragement, and rally beta readers. Along the way the face many reproofs, from the red-inked critique of that editor they admired or the deafening silence of rejection. Yet they press on through the stifling heat of looming deadlines, persevere on the last leg of content editing, and ruthlessly endure the long distance between idea and printed page. Writers dream of the honorable day they complete that book and run home in victory.
To be a writer is to be tasked with an honorable purpose. With practice, we can use our pens to fell the mighty lion that roars seeking to destroy hearts and homes today. (See 1 Peter 5:8-11). 
Practice is such a grace-filled word. Lithe, lean, like the Maasai running for hours across the savannah, breath even, mind at peace. Failed yesterday? That’s okay. Practice invites you to try, try again.
Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).
Practice makes peaceful.
Lord, thank You for tasking me with an honorable purpose. Help me keep practicing. Amen.
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Don't Miss The Other Spiritual Practices for Writers! JANUARY: THE PRACTICE OF PLANNING FEBRUARY: THE PRACTICE OF TRUSTING MARCH: THE PRACTICE OF HOPING APRIL: THE PRACTICE OF WAITING May: The Practice of Discipline
Audrey Frank is an author, speaker, and storyteller. The stories she shares are brave and true. They give voice to those whose words are silenced by shame, the hard things in life that don’t make sense, and the losses that leave us wondering if we will survive. Audrey and her family have spent over twenty years living and working among different cultures and world views, and she has found that God’s story of redemption spans every geography and culture. He is the God of Instead, giving honor instead of shame, gladness instead of mourning, hope instead of despair. Although she has three different degrees in communication and intercultural studies, Audrey’s greatest credential is that she is known and loved by the One who made her.
Audrey is the author of Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World (Harvest House Publishers), an outpouring of Audrey’s heart to introduce others to the God of Instead. Shame is not unique to the developing world, the plight of the women behind veils, young girls trafficked across borders; shame is lurking in hearts everywhere. Through powerful stories from women around the world, Covered Glory illuminates the power of the Gospel to remove shame, giving honor instead. Available at favorite booksellers: BARNES & NOBLE, BOOKS A MILLION, AMAZON.