Writing

October 12, 2015 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Visual Story Board for Manuscript Title, Part III – Life Planning

Life Planning: What do I do now?

This phrase is very different from the other phrases or words in my manuscript title in one very distinctive way. I have had the phrase Life Planning firmly fixed in my mind for many years. I started working on the idea of Life Planning a number of years before I had my traumatic brain incidents. During my years at Indiana Wesleyan University, in working with and supervising the staff of the IWU Life Calling and Leadership Center, I developed a five step process outlining how I believed God works in the lives of Christians. I labeled this process Life Planning because it helped individuals answer the question: “Which way do I go now?” My proposed manuscript explains this process and helps individuals work through the details in their own lives.

When individuals face the question “Which way do I go now?” they are really facing a multitude of questions. It is a time of challenge trying to balance many questions at once. There are so many choices and so many opportunities in an individual’s future. It can literally have a person’s head spinning.

As individuals face this challenge, they can be overwhelmed and find themselves buried under the weight of many questions.

At this point in their lives, they may have reached a point where they really can’t dig out on their own and they definitely need help extricating themselves from this tangled mess. The first place to find help is another person who can lend a helping hand. This person can be a parent, friend, teacher, pastor, or professional counselor. I believe that a second source of help could be my book, if the person is willing to spend the necessary time working through the book.

What is my five-step program? In words from before my TBI, the LIfe Planning process begins with God reaching out to individuals and inviting them to enter into a personal relationship with Him. It continues with those individuals responding to God, and then looking inward to satisfy their own inner questions, needs and desires. It concludes with individuals reaching out to other people.The five steps may be summarized in the following manner:

CALLING is God’s summoning individuals to enjoy the benefits of His grace, and then empowering them to participate in His grand plan for the universe.
MINISTRY is God’s assignment of an individual to a particular function, office or area of service.
VOCATION can be seen as the means of fulfilling God’s assignment. It is giving voice and hands to God’s calling and one’s inner self. It is the means of fulfilling one’s inner spiritual need to follow God’s summons and assignment.
PREPARATION is the individual’s personal response as the best way to equip one’s self for one’s vocation.
ENGAGEMENT is the final step, as an individual takes action in one’s ministry and vocation to fullfill God’s plan in his or her life. It almost always involves reaching out to others.

At this point in this post I diverge from the prepared script written prior to my TBIs and rejoin the battle between verbal and visual thinking. In the above discussion, I have given a short outline of my understanding of the process of life planning. I really have not defined life planning. So I ask the question: “What is life planning?” I have already hinted that life planning is a multi-faceted process. Some of the facets include setting a goal and racing toward it, defining success and measuring it, and navigating the maze of life

It involves investigating all the opportunities available to any individual and the open doors before that individual:

It involves balancing work and life, setting the bar high and striving to vault over it, and climbing to the summit and planting one’s flag on it.

Sometimes it involves an individual search for and finding the missing piece that fits right into the open slot of a pie, or the right key to open one’s mind to what lies in front of the individual

Finding the adjective Biblical may have been the most difficult aspect of constructing the manuscript title. In my next post I will explain how I decided to use the term Biblical. I will also discuss some of the implications of using the term Biblical to describe my Life Planning process.

October 5, 2015 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Visual Story Board for Manuscript Title, Part II

In my previous post, I indicated that in this post I would attempt to explain how I decided that the next word in my manuscript title, An Explorer’s Guide to Biblical Life Planning: Student Version, should be Guide. After coming up with the word Explorer, I wanted a word which would describe the type of book that I was writing. I wanted the word to describe how an Explorer would use this book. Every author somewhere needs to answer the question, “How should this book be used?” What better place to answer this question than in the title? What visual scenes came to my mind as I contemplated this question? I will admit that the first scenes that I saw were scenes that I immediately rejected.

I did not want my book to be a cook book that provided a step-by-step recipe for living one’s life. I did not want to convey the idea that God is a puppet master pulling our strings and controlling every movement.

My book is not a book of do’s and don’ts that portrays God as a policeman that is waiting to pounce on an individual for overlooking one commandment. I don’t mean for my book to be a law book. It’s also not a book that portrays God as a vindictive judge that is ready to “throw the book” at everyone who comes before Him. Yes, God is a righteous judge who has a set of laws that He intends for us to obey. However, as David reminds us in one of his morning prayers:

⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. ⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. ¹⁰He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. ¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. ¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. ¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. (Psalm 103: 8 – 15; KJV)

If those are not the images I wanted to use for my title, what images did I want to use? They were images that portrayed assistance to the reader. I wanted my help to help the reader find his or her way through the maze of life to find the fulfillment that God intended for them. The first three visuals did exactly that. However, the words that emanated from the visuals, (compass, maze, diagram, map) didn’t convey the ideas that I wanted or needed in the book title.

Finally, I can check off this desire. With the fourth visual, I found the word that I was seeking.

The term is Guide. A guide dog doesn’t tell its user where to go. The blind person directs the dog to where he or she wants to go. It is the responsibility of the human member of the team to listen for the movement of traffic and other sounds in the environment to determine whether it is safe to proceed. A guide dog doesn’t tell the human user where to go. The human picks the intended destination. The guide dog helps the human maneuver around fixed obstacles. The human is still responsible for avoiding any moving obstacles. A travel guide book doesn’t tell the tourist what sites to visit. It highlights places and things worth visiting. The human tourist makes the final choice of where to go and what to do.

In my next post, I will explain the phrase Life Planning. I will discuss where it came from and what I mean by it.

September 28, 2015 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

VIsual Story Board for Manuscript Title, Part I

In my previous post, Writing Using Visual Thinking as a Starting Point, I indicated that I was working on a book manuscript with the working title, An Explorer’s Guide to Biblical LIfe Planning: Student Version. In this current series of posts I will take you through the story boards that I built to come up with that title. Due to the length and intricacies of these story boards it will take at least five posts to explain my thinking. In this first post I will concentrate on the first phrase in the title, An Explorer. I wanted this first phrase to indicate both the type of individual to whom the book was addressed and the approach to studying the book the reader should take.

I wanted to focus on individuals who, when standing on the edge of a precipice, are willing to look across to the other side and consider whatever crossing avenues are available, no matter how frightened they might be. I wanted to address those individuals who are courageous enough to try to cross that rickety bridge.

I wanted to address those individuals who are willing to use a number of different paths and modes of transportation to achieve their goals. They are willing to do whatever it takes to reach the summit. They aren’t afraid to change mid-stream to a different approach.

I wanted to reach individuals who are willing to search high and low for answers.

I wanted to speak to individuals who are not afraid of books, particularly the Bible. These individuals have an affinity for books and are eager to spend time studying them deeply.

I wanted to speak to individuals who have a deep curiosity about the world and are not afraid to investigate it. They spend time looking carefully at the surface details, but also are brave enough to look beneath the surface.

Digital Illustration of a Viking Ship from Graphic Stock

The individuals to whom I am writing may have a good idea of where God is leading them, but don’t know all of the details. Even with their incomplete information, they are still ready to sail off into stormy waters and unknown seas like Leif Erikson or Christopher Columbus.

More modern versions of brave adventurers of this type include New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese SherpaTenzing Norgay, who were the first to reach the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. In the intervening years, more than 2000 climbers have reached that peak. However, a number of attempted climbs have ended tragically. More than 200 climbers have died on Mt. Everest’s treacherous slopes. The current year, 2015, is the most costly in terms of human life, with more than 20 climbers perishing as a result of an avalanche in April.

One more recent event than the initial climbing of Mt. Everest that caught the imagination of the world is the moon landings of the American space program. Neil Armstrong and Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, two of the three astronauts in the Apollo 11 space craft, were the first two men to walk on the moon. Since their historical steps, there have been 10 more men to walk on the moon. There could have been two more. However, while en route to the moon, Apollo 13 had serious difficulties. It circled the moon but never landed on it. Almost everyone remembers the famous line from the movie account on this expedition: “Houston, we have a problem!” This is actually a misquote of the line spoken by Apollo 13 commander, Jim Lovell, who really said, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” Notice the past tense in the Lovell version of the line. The present tense in the movie line makes for a more dramatic moment.

As we look to the future, who can forget the opening lines from the space-based science fiction television series, Star Trek? “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” There is the word, I am searching for: explore

With all these images floating around in my head, I finally found the word that I needed to use in my title to describe the people to whom I am addressing my book. The one word that fits all of my images is EXPLORER. Hence the opening phrase, “An Explorer’s…” In my next post I will break down the images behind the next word in the title, “Guide“.

September 21, 2015 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Writing Using Visual Thinking as a Starting Point

Ever since I made the observation that I believed that my primary mode of thinking had changed from a verbal basis to a visual one, people have asked me the very appropriate question: “What do you mean by that?” In this post, I attempt to illustrate the process that I am now using to write. I will use an example from a book manuscript on which I am currently working.

The working title of my book is An Explorer’s Guide to Biblical Life Planning:Student Version. How did I come up with that title? I literally spent many hours every day over several weeks thinking about and experimenting with a number of different titles. When I wanted to convey that particular thought to you, the first things that came to my mind were pictures of a clock, a calendar, and an individual sitting at a desk thinking and writing. I felt the urgent need to get this book written and my ideas down on paper. The calendar and the clock were always hanging over my head. However, no matter how hard I tried, there were times when good ideas seemed to escape me. The thought bubble in my mind was empty.

Image from Presenter Media. Used with permissiong

The illustration above is not the exact picture I had in my mind. I am not sufficiently talented enough as an artist to sketch the picture that I see in my head and have you understand what I have sketched. In this post, I am using stock illustrations that I found on the internet. Initially, I didn’t realize it, but this type of search process is a two-way street, with one idea leading to another. As I looked for images that represented what I was seeing in my head, I found images that sparked other ideas in my mind. The two idea bubbles to the right represent that thought. The road sign and the sketch representing the transfer of information between my mind and my computer show the back and forth going on in my head, between visual and verbal thinking, and how ideas in one arena generate ideas in the other.

Image from GraphicStock. Used with permission

Why is the process of picking a title so hard? It is so difficult because the title of a book is extremely important. It must do much work. It must have arms to carry a load of conveying the theme and major ideas of the book. It must also reach out and grab a potential reader’s attention. It must have legs to walk on its own. It must go to where the reader lives. Its message must tell the story of the book in a very few words. The title must be memorable. If a reader can’t recall the title of a book, that reader won’t keep going back to the book or recommend it to other people. If a book’s title doesn’t speak to a reader, and that reader doesn’t find the title interesting and appealing, it is very unlikely the reader will pick up that book, hold on to it, read it, walk with it, live with it and, in general, spend time with it.

Readers need to spend time with this book as if it were a friend. For a friend, people will make time in their otherwise busy schedule. They spend time with a friend, walking and talking. Amos 3:3 asks “Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (KJV) The Hebrew translated agreed means to meet by appointment. Readers need to put time for this book into their regular schedule. Visually, what I want to happen is illustrated below:

I hope this gives my readers a little insight into my daily battle with writing. With God’s help, I will finish An Explorer’s Guide to Biblical Life Planning: Student Version, and mid- to late-adolescents will spend time in the book, and find insights into what God has in store for them. Don’t worry parents, I already have in mind a follow-up that I have tenatively entitled An Explorer’s Guide to Biblical Life Planning: PG Version. In that version I will hopefully provide parental guidance on how to help their children make very difficult decisions and navigate through very troubling times in their lives. That’s my daily prayer. I entreat you to join me in that prayer. If you do, you will have my back and uphold me. In my next post, I will attempt to explain what’s behind the title, An Explorer’s Guide to Biblical Life Planning. Thanks in advance for your prayers. God’s peace and blessings be with you!

Making Notes In An Organizer And Having A Coffee Break. Image from GraphicStock. Used by permission

September 3, 2015 By B. Baylis 2 Comments

The consulting and counseling practice of Higher Ed By Baylis LLC is suspending operations indefinitely

This blog posting is first a very important announcement concerning the future of my dream to run an educational consulting and counseling practice in my forced retirement. It is secondly an admission that I have failed to live up to the desires that I expressed in my July 31, 2014 post entitled, An important announcement concerning Higher Ed By Baylis LLC and By’s Musings. In that post I noted that I was temporarily suspending HEBB LLC operations and curtailing posts on By’s Musings until at least the beginning of 2015. We are now well over half way through 2015, and I am coming back and announcing the indefinite suspension of the counseling and consulting practice of Higher Ed By Baylis LLC. I am closing up this portion of my dream, in order for me to accomplish at least something from the long list of things that I have wanted to do. After much prodding from my neurologist, I have finally agreed to concentrate only on my writing. Thus for the foreseeable future, I will spend my waking time writing books and posts for By’s Musings. I know that I have enough material to keep me busy because I have accumulated ideas for more than 40 books and more than 400 posts.

However, don’t worry! I may have been a slow learner, but I have learned this lesson well. I will not overwhelm you with these treatises all at once. I will dole them out, one at a time. I do not take this step lightly. I have had so many things that I wanted to do, and things that I believed the Lord had given me to do. However, the Lord has been teaching me daily that we are basically weak, and only He is strong. We can only accomplish what he allows us and enables us to do. Many of us believe that it is better to burn out for the Lord, rather than rust out. However, I have somewhat reluctantly come to the conclusion that neither option is what the Lord intends for us.

For the past six years, I have been suffering from severe fatigue. A plaque on my desk has turned very prophetic. It reads,

“When I works, I works hard.
When I plays, I plays hard.
When I sits, I sleep.”

For 45 years as a student, faculty member or administrator in higher education I lived the first two lines of that plaque. Early every morning, I was the first one in the office, with my ever present cup of coffee. I was also usually the last one to leave the office in the late afternoons or early evenings. I almost always took work home with me. However, given that schedule, I still managed to average ten hours a week in the gym playing basketball. One of the nicknames I picked up over the years was “ Old Iron Legs,” because I could play longer than the other players, most of whom were much younger than I. The gray hair and beard in the picture taken more than a dozen years ago may have fooled new opponents for the first two minutes on the basketball court. However, after just a few quick trips up and down the court, they realized that I came to play, and it wasn’t going to be easy to take advantage of this old geezer.

For the past six years, battling severe fatigue and other medical infirmities have restricted me to the world of the last line of the plaque. Six years seem like a long time. As a result of my neurological difficulties, one of the sensory dysfunctions that I am experiencing is not being able to hear string instruments. Instead of “hearing” such instruments playing music, I feel vibrations in various places in my body, or I see images of the sinusoidal waves of the sounds produced by the string instruments. I hear voices and other types of instruments perfectly well. You may ask, “How do you know what music is playing?” If the music is familiar, my brain translates the stimulus that the auditory receptors in my ears pick up into the vibrations or visual images that I perceive. Then my brain goes into the library of my memory banks and finds the particular music piece that is being played.

Although, I don’t sing aloud very often, so that others can’t hear my off-key singing, I have found comfort in singing silently the old gospel hymn, Just a Closer Walk with Thee. With a sovereign God in control, I don’t believe in coincidence. So it was a God moment, this past week, when at the funeral service for a friend we discovered that this hymn was part of the congregational singing. The presiding pastor explained that this hymn was the closing hymn of the last church service that my deceased friend attended the morning of the day he died. His wife asked that it be included as part of his service. I close this post with the words to that hymn:

I am weak, but Thou art strong,
Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain:

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Refrain

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more,
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom’s shore, to Thy shore.

Refrain

“Road Closed” image provided by PresenterMedia. Gray beard picture provided by Indiana Wesleyan University.