In Oswald Chamber’s devotional book, it says, “It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral and spiritual areas of life.”

I can see how one affects the other, that these three aspects of life fall like dominoes when one is out of whack. For example, I’ve been sick and haven’t exercised. Now sitting in a cube and starting at a computer all day, what I affectionately refer to as “cube-life,” is starting to wear on my body–I can feel it. That makes my body weak, but also my mind. When my mind is weaker, I’m susceptible to sin.

Chambers goes on to say about this that “anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me…But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.”

Wow.

I would also argue that physical and mental virtue is a battle we must acquire. (And then when these are out of whack, it affects our writing life. After all, who can have a stare-down contest with a blank page and win?

Does life get so hectic for you that your daily writing fix gets shoved out the door? I think that’s one of my excuses I’ve used–for a long, long time. Yes, it is true. I don’t waste much time. I love watching football, and yes, that takes up a long time. But recently, it’s an excuse I don’t want to use anymore. Romans 12:2 says, “let God transform you into a new person.”

In this case, it means setting excuses aside. If you love to write, then write. Don’t read books about how to write and then dream about one day creating your first novel. Eat your elephant one bite at a time. Get into the daily habit first, do what you don’t like (which is sitting down and being disciplined), and your passion will soon follow.

My dog died today. She was a Goldie, a beautiful, sweet, friendly dog. And a big pain in the butt. She was neurotic, afraid of clouds and chewed her way out of fence after fence after fence. Still, I loved her and she was a member of our family. When I think about death and the fraility of life, it makes me appreciate the time I do have with my family. My kids and my wife are so important to me, and I always want to take advantage of the time we have together.

Where, oh where do the ideas come from?

Like magic, I was reminded–again. (Sometimes I forget.) The day before, my 5-year-old daughter and I both woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I took her to school, and we were both in a tizzy. It was one of those mornings where you just wish you could hit the rewind button.

The next day, I decided not to repeat past mistakes. I tried to be gentle and patient. Admittedly, getting her out the door was a bit easier. Still, I tried. When I helped her out of her car seat, I smoothed her dress out.

“You look so pretty today, Sophie,” I said.

We were standing beside the car. As dirty and grimy as it was on the outside, she saw her reflection.

And then she smiled.

Even though she could barely see her own reflection because of all the dirt, she saw enough of herself to know that she thought she was pretty.

After walking with her, hand-in-hand, past the crossing guard, following the playground fence, around to her class room door, I felt a tremendous amount of love for her.

“Good-bye, Sweet. See you tonight,” I said.

“Bye, Daddy.”

How do I know my daughter loves me? It wasn’t the grin she gave to me after saying her farewells, although that made my heart melt.

I know my daughter loves me because, as she walked into her classroom, she stopped a second time and turned around, in the middle of the crowd which parted like the Red Sea.

“I love you, Daddy,” she said with a smile bigger than the first grin.

This was my first idea of the day–my daughter’s reflection on a dirty car.