You probably have a talent for writing but have not had the encouragement to put your thoughts down and be recognized.

I have never thought of myself as a writer, and a couple of others have expressed the same thought to me!

I did not thinking of “writing” when I was an older teen and was asked by the local Eastview Church of Christ to put together the church bulletin weekly and have copies available for Sunday morning services.

During the week, I would make phone calls to some members of the congregation to find out who were in need of prayers, praises, and/or whatever they might want to add to the weekly program.

The preacher had his scriptures for his sermons, the song leader knew the hymns he was preparing to lead, and I would add a story from old church bulletins in the minister’s stash. With these notes, I compiled all the information to fit on the single page of paper – front and back.

Several times, my sister’s good friend, Joy Hilliard (Bowden), who was a fast and accurate typist, would type from my notes for me. I was still at the hunt and peck stage of typing.  After the pages were formatted, I took the bulletin to the old blue ink copier to print enough brochures for everyone I thought would attend.

After high school, I attended Kilgore College and took some Bible courses.  The building provided these classes, and our recreation was provided by Church of Christ members throughout the area.  The director sent out a monthly newsletter to the area churches so they could stay informed about the activities.  The director often asked several of us to write some comments on what we had learned in the classes, also expressing our appreciation for providing us a meeting place before classes. Between other campus classes and afterwards, we had a safe hang-out facility where we could visit with other students.

I wrote several articles and still have copies of them.  Again, I never thought myself as a “writer.” I was just doing what he had asked of me.

I loved receiving letters from family and friends, which was the mode of communication prior to the internet.  My letters would be several pages long with writing on both sides of the paper and some sentences trailing up and down the sides of the paper with each letter getting smaller and smaller to fit the narrow spaces.

I wrote each letter and incident in full detail.

My sisters used to get irritated with me when I started to tell them something because I used so many adjectives. They would finally say, ‘Betty Sue…give us the Reader’s Digest condensed version of the story…get to the point! “

I guess I still am at the stage of using too many adjectives since I want the reader to see in detail exactly what I am seeing in my own mind’s eye.

I love reading and especially letters from family and friends, even if they are mostly by emails or texts these days. I appreciate each and every one of them.

Are you a “Writer”?  You probably are and just have not had the encouragement to put your thoughts down and be recognized. Maybe you should start today….as I wuz just thinking.