I find it almost impossible to read my Bible without getting caught up in possibilities. Such unique settings! Fascinating characters! So many complex themes! Idea after idea tumbles through my mind…. A mystery novel retelling the story of Cain and Abel with a modern setting. A Bible study or devotional where you can share what you've learned. A poem similar to those in Psalms.A drama about Joseph. And on and on….
My guess is that simply by reading the Bible every day, most writers would get enough ideas to keep them busy for years.
So why not simply use the Bible for ideas all the time?
Well, the possibility is that other people have had the same idea that strikes us. Let's face it, there are only so many ways you can rewrite the "love"' passage in I Corinthians 12 into modern language. Or are there? Whether you're writing fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a play…you need to be fresh, and that means real and honest. Don't write what you think you ought to say—write what's in your heart.
Quite often, we'll get an idea from watching another person. It might be someone we know, or it might be a total stranger we happen to run across once.
Most people are passionate about something, or know a lot about something, and want to pass on their knowledge or understanding to others.
But on less specific things, stealing ideas is allowed. For example, if I read an article on how to raise great kids in a magazine, and I find that I have things to say that weren't said in the article, there's no harm in my writing another article on how to raise great kids using my perspective and my own examples. No, you can't combine three of the first author's points with two of yours. What you write has to be different, has to be uniquely yours. Other wise you're guilty of plagiarism.
I've been familiar with the song "Oh, Freedom" since i was a child. Always loved it, no doubt as much because of what a good singer can do with it musically as because of the meaning behind it.
Have you ever found yourself in a position where you could overhear things that were supposed to be private? You might have been standing in a check-out line while a mother and her young son had a long, heated argument about buying a certain kind of candy. The mother may have been embarrassed, but so were you.
Last week, I talked about how to organize your ideas. Now I want to talk about where those ideas originate.
Some of us are complicated…complex… 
Mark the blue folder Nonfiction Ideas, the red one Fiction Ideas, the Purple one Drama Ideas, the yellow one Poetry, the pink one Resources, and the grey one Business….
The absolute most important item for any writer to have organized is his or her ideas.
