Christian Writers Downunder

Wordplay

I’ve always enjoyed playing with words. Putting different spins on them, using them in unusual ways and making people laugh as they read them. Merriam-webster.com offers the following definitions for play on words:

·       a humorous way of using a word or phrase so that more one meaning is suggested

·       a pun

Sometimes words occur to me as I’m writing but other times I sit and purposefully look for words to play with. When we added a new cat to our pet family, I shared the following illustration at church.

Two days before Christmas my son gave me a fuzzy ginger kitten with huge cattitude. I named her Fanta and hoped she would become mates with our black cat, Dizzy. Unfortunately, the first weeks were catastrophic! Dizzy decided Fanta’s arrival was a cataclysmic event and it catapulted him into a very bad space. He categorised the kitten as bad news and spent his days sulking in the neighbour’s garden. I tried to catch him when he did venture back home for food but he was too quick for me.

To put it simply, he was jealous. As humans, we have a tendency to behave in a similar way if we feel threatened. Ever made catty remarks about someone who was more skilled, more congenial or more intelligent than you? Ever catalogued a friend’s failures in your mind? This type of behaviour can catapult us into a bad space. Fortunately, the standoff came to an end, and they're great friends today!

We need to be a catalyst for change in our homes, churches, and work places. Let’s work on catching the heart of God this week and shine for Him in everything we do!

It was fun to write and because people caught on to the cat theme, they were listening carefully to see what I’d come out with next. Give it a go and see what you can come up with!

Debbie Roome was born and raised in Zimbabwe and later spent fifteen years in South Africa. In 2006 she moved to New Zealand with her husband and five children. Writing has been her passion since the age of six and she loves to write stories that touch people's lives and turn them towards God. Over the years she has won many awards and trophies for her work, including placing first in the Rose & Crown Novel Writing Competition in 2009 and 2012 and second in the Faithwriters' Page Turner Contest in 2010 and 2014. In 2015 and 2018 she placed first in the Faithwriters' Page Turner Contest. Her novel Contagious Hope was a finalist for the Australasian CALEB award in 2013. Debbie's writing has opened doors for public speaking and she is often asked to share her life story and her experiences as a writer.