tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post5254098042406927579..comments2024-02-17T17:59:25.010+10:00Comments on Christian Writers Downunder: Trust and ObeyJeanette O'Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-16607304437767622862019-04-08T14:33:38.947+10:002019-04-08T14:33:38.947+10:00Well-done Anu! Thanks for the candied way in which...Well-done Anu! Thanks for the candied way in which you write! Simple and inspiring and practical.Amalways able to derive wisdom and instruction as Iread your posts. May God continue to use you to encourage and motivate many other's to seek God's direction for their own lives and also to write, so they may reach many others with their own experiences of God and life.a Robin's lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09751878538177551881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-91451642921446102892019-03-31T17:31:05.358+10:002019-03-31T17:31:05.358+10:00Hi sweet Jo’Anne,
Thank you so much for your encou...Hi sweet Jo’Anne,<br />Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I am very glad it resonated with you. Oh Jo’Anne. I am really sorry about your hand – that would have been very hard. I hope it is mending slowly but surely? Sounds like it is a slow recovery and that must make life pretty difficult. Praying for healing. Wow – sounds like a busy year for you dear friend. Well done. I was happy to hear of the monthly devotional post for ACW. So glad you too like that passage in Proverbs. I have learnt, time and time again – that when God over-writes my plans – it is for good. So surrendering and letting Him lead is what it’s all about. What a slow learner I am! Blessings sweet friend for your writing journey in 2019. Praying your hand heals quickly and that it will be a fulfilling year for you on many levels filled with the grace and love and blessing of God.<br />Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-6536535582976530802019-03-27T19:47:09.603+10:002019-03-27T19:47:09.603+10:00Thanks for responding to my question Chrissy. Love...Thanks for responding to my question Chrissy. Love the sound of your genre and themes. And that's interesting to hear you offer prayers and God's miraculous answers too. I'm sure God will use them to touch and bless your readers and draw them closer to Him. Very exciting! Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-62969905597894613502019-03-27T15:56:45.454+10:002019-03-27T15:56:45.454+10:00Thanks for the blessing, Anusha. I am also thankfu...Thanks for the blessing, Anusha. I am also thankful to have you ask about my book. They will fit somewhere in the Romantic Suspense Genre. Transformation, good versus evil, social justice and redemption are strong themes. I include prayers and God's miraculous answers along with the drama, so that readers can see that God doesn't leave us to muddle on without the help we desperately need. )i(Chrissyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18221829388681679595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-25598055243622230112019-03-27T15:32:12.309+10:002019-03-27T15:32:12.309+10:00Hi Chrissy. So glad you liked it. Thank you very m...Hi Chrissy. So glad you liked it. Thank you very much for sharing your own journey with us. Wow! Loved your testimony. Your journey sounds a lot like mine. I paid for a Creative Writing Course when my son was born 29 years ago - but he needed me 24/7 so there was no way I could do it. It was 17 years later that God called me to write. Congratulations Chrissy on listening to His still small voice and being obedient. Four books in a series in different stages of pre-publishing? Wow! That is wonderful. He is am awesome God and yes, He does provide all the help we need. May He continue to work in your life. All the best with them all.<br /><br />May I ask what your books are about? And yes, waiting for His timing is crucial isn't it?Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-24032155222686794592019-03-27T05:30:53.005+10:002019-03-27T05:30:53.005+10:00Thanks for sharing, Anusha. I take great encourage...Thanks for sharing, Anusha. I take great encouragement from reading about the lessons you learned. You asked us to share something of our own writing challenge. Here's mine: I put my dream of being a published author on hold, 26 years ago, when my youngest son went from being a difficult baby to an almost impossible toddler. My ministry to children and families has stretched me since then. Last year, I was struggling with post-university study blues, and some issues at the school where I work part-time. I had fallen back to the summer holiday habit of planning romantic adventures that would never be written, but then autumn came, and I couldn't seem to let go. I took this to God, and he told me to sit down and start typing. With his permission, the words accumulated on the screen until I had 120,000 words. I went back to him and he told me that I had a book, and I had better do something about getting it published. A year later, and I have four books in a series in different stages of pre-publishing. He provided me with the help I needed along the way. His timing is exquisite. I am learning to wait, and to deal with each lesson as he opens my mind to receive it.Chrissyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18221829388681679595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-39857418122993721292019-03-25T19:13:47.153+10:002019-03-25T19:13:47.153+10:00Hi Pam. Lovely to hear from you. You are so right ...Hi Pam. Lovely to hear from you. You are so right in saying that there is no satisfaction like the satisfaction of hearing Him and being obedient. Wow - you are writing poetry? Good on you! I'm sure you will enjoy the journey and produce many gems along the way. Thanks for your encouragement too about my being an encourager. :) Bless you. And all the best with those poems.Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-22169956955725441042019-03-25T19:11:35.346+10:002019-03-25T19:11:35.346+10:00Hi Nola. Thanks so much for your encouraging words...Hi Nola. Thanks so much for your encouraging words. Loved hearing how God has been leading you as you work on your novel. He sure knows what He's about and I am so looking forward to reading your novel in the near future. Glad to hear you too have lots of ideas for more books. I have so many ideas at present for non fiction books that I'm trying to figure out which I should start working on. Bless you for your encouragement my friend. And yes, here's hoping I will be able to write a few novels eventually. All the best in ALL your writing. You are brilliant at them all! :) Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-39703829827358559682019-03-25T17:51:47.223+10:002019-03-25T17:51:47.223+10:00THanks Anusha. WE do have to listen hard to hear o...THanks Anusha. WE do have to listen hard to hear our Lord sometimes, but I know He has our best at heart, and we will be satified like nothing else when we are doing what He has made us for. Amazing how we get 'An Idea', but it isn't what He wants. I have had to learn that I am to write --- poetry! - never did I think I'd be doing that!<br />I did really enjoy your Dancing in the Rain book - one of the stories has stuck with me forever! <br />ANd yes, you are the great encourager!Pamela Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720146129770770985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-24577427615940022312019-03-25T17:49:09.535+10:002019-03-25T17:49:09.535+10:00Hi Anusha - Good on you for following God's le...Hi Anusha - Good on you for following God's leading. I have ideas for lots of books - fiction, nonfiction and poetry - and it's not always easy to know which one to work on. However, if we follow God's leading, it's all so much easier. Sometimes when I was writing my novel, I wondered what on earth I was doing. But I couldn't escape the fact that God had led me to that particular story, and he had guided me at various points along the way. I've got ideas for three more novels, but also nonfiction books. Your post is a great reminder to stop and pray and then work on the one next that God wants me to work on. Thanks for your encouragement. You are brilliant at nonfiction. Maybe in the future, we'll be reading your novels too :)Nola Lorrainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05484579374187759802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-78198472986603090562019-03-25T15:46:27.030+10:002019-03-25T15:46:27.030+10:00Mazzy what a wonderful testimony. Thanks for shari...Mazzy what a wonderful testimony. Thanks for sharing your journey. I too am still trying to learn enough to get that license but suspect he will continue to co-drive with me. And I’m fine with that 😍Jo Wanmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08601438922741057908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-21381324486984209882019-03-25T12:59:56.723+10:002019-03-25T12:59:56.723+10:00Awww! Thank you Nettie. You made my day. :) Do fee...Awww! Thank you Nettie. You made my day. :) Do feel that's the calling on my life, so glad God's using little me in some way. He is always faithful. xoxoAnusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-35959236000141655792019-03-25T12:57:15.513+10:002019-03-25T12:57:15.513+10:00Thanks Anu! You are The Great Encourager.Thanks Anu! You are The Great Encourager.Jeanette Grant-Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691677119939194892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-18924655464256786702019-03-25T11:14:13.377+10:002019-03-25T11:14:13.377+10:00Wow! What a beautiful analogy Mazzy. Thank you. Ho...Wow! What a beautiful analogy Mazzy. Thank you. How interesting to hear of your own journey through the wilderness. Well done on allowing the Holy Spirit to do all the driving now. We can trust Him implicitly to take us in the right direction, can’t we? <br /><br />I also love it how God uses our mistakes and detours for good. What an amazing God! How precious that none of it is not wasted but even enhances your present journey. Wow! That’s so encouraging! I love the picture you paint with your words. Thank you Mazzy. Keep racing on God’s highway and I will be waving at you from the parallel lane as our Papa guides us both. <br />Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-83367811421773692742019-03-25T11:03:53.942+10:002019-03-25T11:03:53.942+10:00Proverbs 16 1-3. Amen to it and to all you said, A...Proverbs 16 1-3. Amen to it and to all you said, Anusha. I'm quietly musing over the very long detour I took after misreading the road signs because I was looking through the 'good plan' lens, instead of the 'God plan' lens. I had moved away from creative writing and desk-top publishing, towards pastoral church ministry till I encountered what I've come to see as His roadblock. I followed a long, tortuous, loopy, miserable wilderness track on my way back to His road. As I sit here, now, (in the passenger seat content to let the Holy Spirit do the driving) I feel incredibly grateful that God, in His marvelously redemptive way, is using many of the things I saw and experienced while on my detour as incredibly positive and useful resources for the task He has actually given me to do. I look down, and realise in front of me are a set of dual controls - accelerator, break, clutch pedals - as you would find in a vehicle modified for learner drivers. He says, 'Rest your feet on the controls. Feel they way I move them. Get to understand my touch, the amount of pressure I apply here, the way I ease back gently there, the way I coordinate the stop and the go for consistent and safe progress. Soon you'll have your licence to drive this new kind of vehicle along my highway. Not only will you be able to get to the places I want you to go, you'll have confidence to drive My way.' Mazzy Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03945841786696357456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-8692201057705126982019-03-25T10:44:24.405+10:002019-03-25T10:44:24.405+10:00Thanks Jenny. You've said it very well. Yes, I...Thanks Jenny. You've said it very well. Yes, I often find it hard to discern God's voice from my own. :) But it's so good when I do work it out and then follow His voice. Trust and obey is so simple and yet often difficult. :) Bless you for your encouragement. <br />Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-16423362245947963892019-03-25T10:14:00.675+10:002019-03-25T10:14:00.675+10:00Great post, thanks Anusha. "Trust and obey...Great post, thanks Anusha. "Trust and obey' - such a simple rubric but so vital to follow God's leading. Not always easy though to hear clearly when our own wishes and wants get in the way. Jeanette O'Haganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-18372326034874349132019-03-25T09:43:27.474+10:002019-03-25T09:43:27.474+10:00Hi Nettie. Thanks so much for sharing. It encourag...Hi Nettie. Thanks so much for sharing. It encouraged me that I am not the only one. Interested to hear that you are called to write faction. You have a great way with words and I love reading your beautiful blog. All the best to you as you continue to follow His leading in your writing. I know God will continue to bless the world through your pen. And thank you for the encouragement my friend.Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-32625731640690031332019-03-25T09:41:46.034+10:002019-03-25T09:41:46.034+10:00Hi Jo. Loved your testimony of how God led you wit...Hi Jo. Loved your testimony of how God led you with El Shaddai. I can understand you being overwhelmed by putting words in God's mouth. I know Sarah Young the author of many devotionals shares as if God is speaking. She has had to endure nasty comments by those who don't seem to like that. And yet, she too has been obedient (as you) in sharing what God placed on her heart and has blessed millions including me. Love what you said about the words flowing with the Holy Spirit's leading. So true.Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-22570422990079392132019-03-25T09:38:34.619+10:002019-03-25T09:38:34.619+10:00Hi Paula. Thanks so much for your lovely comment. ...Hi Paula. Thanks so much for your lovely comment. Interesting to hear that you too had some cool non fiction ideas and similar epiphenies. And yes, as you said - if God leads us to a job He will enable us to complete the task. I often find it hard to discern between my own desires and God's, which is why I am finding that the Christian life is all about attuning my heart to the Spirit's leading. I am a slow learner, that's for sure. Praise God for His patience. :) And thanks so much for your encouragement Paula. Bless you. Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-54153724678582648372019-03-25T09:31:48.940+10:002019-03-25T09:31:48.940+10:00Great, thanks Anu. I'd love to write another n...Great, thanks Anu. I'd love to write another novel but I've started about six and I lose interest after about fifty pages. What I really feel called to write is 'faction', a true story but with my creativity adorning the story in all its details. Oh dear - all those lovely words for nothing! Practice, I guess. The first half of Mirage was 'faction'. All the best as you keep encouraging us all with your writing!Jeanette Grant-Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691677119939194892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-18516207575621221532019-03-25T08:12:30.610+10:002019-03-25T08:12:30.610+10:00Hi Anusha. So much easier to follow Holy Spirit. W...Hi Anusha. So much easier to follow Holy Spirit. When I first started to write El Shaddai as directed by God I faltered. God was speaking as a character and I became overwhelmed with putting words in God’s mouth. So I abandoned the book. <br />But there wasn’t another single creative idea in my head. I wrote a few articles and short stories but had no clue about another novel<br />At one of the writers conferences we were grouped to pray for each other. In that atmosphere I heard God say, ‘Write the book I’m in.’<br />I went home and wrote it in two months with the help of NaNoWroMo. Yes the words fly when I flow with Holy Spirit Jo Wanmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08601438922741057908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-14592787808392092712019-03-25T07:35:18.861+10:002019-03-25T07:35:18.861+10:00Hi Anusha, that's such a great message. It'...Hi Anusha, that's such a great message. It's surely true that when God gives us an idea, He also provides the grace and ease to see it through. I'm sure many of us are grateful that He's provided your gift and drive for non-fiction, as we've all benefited from it. It's a perfect reminder to remain sensitive to real promptings, and tell them apart from the desires of our own hearts. Interestingly, I've had similar epiphanies over the years about cool non-fiction, self-help style guides He never really put on my heart to write :DPaula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.com