26 Paychecks

by Annette

Rated: E · Message Forum · Activity · #2350256

Play along and collect a paycheck every two weeks.

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Jan 29, 2026 at 6:18am

#3784606

Re: Task 2: January 15 - 28

by AbbyAG

Task #2:

Beginning in my late teens, friends and teachers have been after me to write a book. Given my penchant for words, verbal and otherwise, both the request and the project intrigues me - so much so, that it has never been absent from my mind since then.

The question then arises, what sort of book? I had long wanted to do something autobiographical, but the details of my traumatic childhood would undoubtedly polarize some of my family members. My entrance into the Catholic Church may be controversial to some of them, but my Catholicism is extremely important to me - It's the heartbeat of everything I say and do, and no one can dispute my journey, or make me leave the Church.

As for when I started to write it, I wanted to start as soon as I joined the Church in 1995, but I quickly realized that writing a book that you want people to take seriously isn't as easy as that - Such projects take prayer, discernment, planning, research, time and effort. Before people whacked me over my head with a two by four to slow me down and help me get those steps in order, I plunged headlong into the task - Never mind that I hadn't a clue as to what I was doing. Needless to say, that made it a disaster.

After that debacle, I was severely discouraged, and simply shelved the idea. For more than thirty years, even though the project never completely left my mind, I scarcely touched it. Every time I tried to get back to it, but most of the time, no words or ideas would come. On the rare occasions that they did, nothing made sense at all; perhaps in that, God was showing me that I didn't know nearly enough about my new faith to even begin to attempt such a thing. The other thing that I sincerely believe God was teaching me is to have the courage to firmly and courageously stand in my Catholicism, regardless of what anybody says.

Well-known Scripture scholar and Catholic University of Steubenville professor, Scott Hahn often remarks that "Conversion is a daily process." I've always been eager to learn, and the Church really makes this clear. Just because you've entered the Church doesn't mean the learning stops. The same thing is told to teenagers who think that once they're Confirmed, their Catholic formation and involvement with the Church is over. I make sure I learn something about my faith every day, both in formal classes and listening to talks. I take classes through The Emmaus Academy at The Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology and The Science of Sainthood, and I listen to talks by people like Scott Hahn, John Bergsma, Matthew Leonard, Father Mike Schmitt, Father Chris Alar, Jeff Cavins, and many others.

I now have the confidence I was lacking earlier, so I'm ready to make the firm commitment to write the book, and put in the consistent hard work to finish it - That's why I entered the Daily Writing Challenge - It will give me the impetus to establish a consistent writing routine and give me a springboard for after the Challenge ends. This is very important, because the book will be far from finished when the Challenge is over.

As for what WdC or the 26 Paychecks group can do to help me see my book through to completion, constructive criticism, advice, and a cheering section are most helpful.

Abby

"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."

The Magnificat of The Virgin Mary ~