Un-Cramming The Year With Your Gift

Celebration is a vital part of life. It is good to do so. But…… We seem to cram this in.

The season of Christmas and New Year you have just been through might feel a bit like that for you. This time of year (the beginning of 2023) we may be feeling we need to recover from holidays. At the end of last year, you may have taken time, not just to get across the line of another year, but to appreciate all the achievements of the year that was (that’s good), and then you may have experienced a barrage of celebrations. We have parties, celebrations of cultural significance, church happenings, community events, work parties, family get togethers, neighbourhood happenings, decorating, wrapping, eating, more parties, more outings, and an encouragement to be completing the year successfully and with joy and not feel exhausted starting the next one. We many it feels like a cluttered mess. For many individuals and families this time of year may also bring back memories of loss, challenge, or it may presently be a time of struggle for them. The mantra of “Joy to the world” might have been accompanied with “Stop the world, I want to get off”.

Christmas and New Year is a punctuated season full of the giving of our time, focus and energies alongside those material gifts we buy, make, wrap, post, and give each other. At the heart of the so-called “Christmas spirit” is something potentially beautiful (despite its often-commercial hype). Giving is an act of lovingkindness, of thinking about others before ourselves. It takes time and preparation and compassion. It can be a gift of authentic appreciation. True generosity means there’s no obligation in sight. Perhaps this ideal is encapsulated in the saying: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. In truth, many people might rather be getters than givers. But there is significant power for good in giving of ourselves (especially things that are less materialistic or consumer oriented, like hope, peace, patience, kindness, service, care, support). Perhaps equally as powerful is humble and appreciative receiving.  It can sometimes be humbling to accept a present, no strings attached. Maybe, that itself (willing to receive) is a gift. Humility is perhaps one of the most powerful gifts we can give to each other. Being humble enough to receive someone else’s gift given in grace and being willing to give our gifts in humility is a powerful offering. This means making time and space to embrace the story and the relationship that brought the gift to you. Giving is at the very core of our humanity and of our faith. It is a holy thing.

"3 Buys Men"

How has this ancient sacred act of giving-and-receiving been so often turned into something that has become so profane? Materialistic hype, rather than meaningful helps or even miraculous harmony.  Good things can easily morph into being dangerous and harmful when simple humility and the gift of relational mutuality is taken out of the equation. During the rush and intensity of the end of year celebratory season, it is hard not to let obligation corrupt our generous spirit. It is also difficult to mitigate giving-fatigue and compassion-fatigue as we’re bombarded with images of need, natural disasters, and new diseases, while being accosted with requests for our generosity from charities and those in need. Australians are trusting charities less, with concerns over how donations are spent and frustration with being pestered to give. When you hear too many heartbreaking stories without also hearing about solutions, progress, or change, the world’s problems feel unfixable. Donating to fix an unsolvable problem feels useless—that’s why demonstrating impact and providing messages of hope is so important. This is where our influence individually and collectively as writers is so valuable. We can help by giving thought to ‘changing the narratives’.  

 

As writers we have the opportunity to provide the gift of ‘a different narrative’ that blesses others with sustainable and engaging hope-empowerment: One about changing the world. After all, core to our faith existence is ‘good’ news. I love telling stories of how our community and others are addressing issues, the ways being attempted to fix things, the change being made, and stories about the people being helped and helping others. The truth is, how we tell a story has the ability to either give or take power away from us, our view of reality and therefore, who we become. For example, sickness can undoubtedly be devastating for many - whether it’s losing a loved one, not being able to see your friends and family, dealing with losing your job, having to shut down your business, or feeling isolated and lonely; and these often feel out of your control. However, the thing that you do have control over is the story you tell about those events - and how they impact your self-concept and future. Last year our family faced the challenge of having several close family members who received a devastating cancer prognosis. The authentic and real message was that they were sick, very sick and needing to face the struggles of hospital visits, life changes, chemo regimes, loosing hair, being weak, feeling depressed, hurting, and honestly just being devastated. But even more powerful is the equally authentic and real message that all the adjustment has meant that we have come closer together as a family as we have determined to fight through the challenges together. We have new language and a depth of communication that we have never had with each other. Our love for each other is deeper than ever.  Despite the struggles we have all found some joy in the battle and that is the narrative that we embrace. As we spent time at Christmas and new year, we held on to the glad tidings we had discovered through the trials of the year that was. Even in sometimes horrifying circumstances a story of hope can be found. We are glad that even though some things are still significantly tough we have found peace in discovering the simple joy of the love we share with each other. This has meant learning and acting on the craft of stopping the rush of circumstance to make time for discovering the changed narrative. The art of storytelling has a huge impact. Now that is something to celebrate.

Here is another thing to celebrate all year: God has given you your writing gifts to use for His glory. God has equipped you to reach people that may possibly not be reached by anyone else, and it is the giftings He has given to you that accomplishes it. Romans 12:6 says,

 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.”

Your gifts are unique to you, and just might be the unique gift someone else needs to receive. You might even think your talent is weird and unpopular, but sometimes it is those of us who feel like we have the least to give who accomplish great things for God, and simply are a blessing to others. Your gift does make a difference.

There is a song that gets played at our place many times at the end of each year (Which is a bit ironic, as it declares that its message should be lived all year round) ‘Christmas Wish’ Written by Bob Farrell and performed by Stacie Orrico. 

“It's always the same at every Christmas
When love comes alive around the world
We open our hearts
When love is in the air
It seems such a shame to me
It's a season that comes only once a year

My wish for you
If I could give any gift I wanted
A present to every boy and girl
I'd make it a miracle that came from God above
A picture of peace on Earth
Where each person is touched by the power of (His) Love

So let's make the Christmas wish together
It's like the best of dreams come true
Let's make the spirit last forever

This is my Christmas wish for you”

This year I am encouraging myself with a new year’s resolution, to give and receive deeper and more meaningfully across the entire year. I plan to un-cram my year by making time for my gift of writing to bless others. This won’t discount enjoying the season of celebratory generosity at the end of the year (material gifts, thankyou cards, lots of time with people in celebrations, and end of year reports), or at the end of a sponsorship campaign, or after some victory, it will just mean I give better throughout the year. Through the good times and the tough, the highs and lows, giving praise reports and gratitude no matter what the circumstance. So I am going to give space and time for my gift to be developed and used and become substance to share with others. I am going to make a concerted effort to review my narratives to ensure that some good can come out of them. I am going to un-cram the year with my gift.

Our gifts of kindness - of caring, of helping, of sharing the best of ourselves, of writing and creating hope-bringing narratives - are the gifts that keep giving. Imagine the power of this aspect of celebrating showing up in unexpected spaces and times like random acts of kindnesses all year round. Imagine the gift of our writing bringing life-filled, hope-inspiring messaging for people who just need light in their darkness, love in their loss, healing in their hurt, joy in their sorrow. There are simply endless ways this could happen. Let the gifts flow.

The act of mutual generosity (giving and receiving of ourselves) points to what just might be the ultimate gift the world is hoping for in 2023 …. Peace!

 

JOY TO YOUR WORLD. 

Hidden Under a Pile of Words

By Jeanette Grant-Thomson 

I write because I love it. I enjoy every sentence, even the corrections, the amended versions of my novels, the reworded versions of other people’s stories. I’ve written ever since I was about six or seven and I only stopped for a few years after becoming a Christian.

Why did I stop?

Because I was so enthusiastic about my new-found faith, I didn’t want to do what I was concerned might be wasting time. I soon discovered that the closer I grew to God, in his presence my mind would be filled with ideas for poems, stories, all sorts of things. I came to believe he considered writing one of my gifts.

Picture the scene.

I was living in a valley at Bardon. At the top of the hill lived a Christian friend of mine. He had a magnificent view. I had none at all. All I had was an old flat with a rickety verandah.

So I prayed.

Me: Lord, how come you bless that man more than you bless me?

God: He’s using his talents.

Me: Well, what do you see as my talents?

God (impressing it clearly so I had no doubt): Writing and praying.

The very next morning I was asked to write some things for my church. Sunday School books and tracts. Then Teen Challenge asked me to write their newsletter. That led to Jodie’s Story, my first actual book. Which led to my being asked to write my next two biographical stories. (This all took years, of course.)

I found writing biographies easy. There was the story, with its obvious pivot points and suspense, all ready-made. All I had to do was put it into words.

Writing novels

So from there to novels. An obvious step. But … in my novel writing, I face big challenges. Often I begin a novel with my setting. Beautiful or interesting settings intrigue me. Take my current WIP, Returning to Riverview. It’s set partly at beautiful Kenilworth Homestead on the Mary River. I lived there on and off for many years and grew to love that property. My first visit there inspired a journal full of poems. Kenilworth features in many of my blogs. I loved the images it evoked.

The old tree with its heavy load of vines – 

    Old man tree, 

    Dying, 

    With your vine-laden back hunched against the wind, 

    Bony knuckled branches clutching dry air. 

The high mud banks of the river with flood water rushing past, surging up the banks, rearranging the shape of the bank like a potter at work (well, God the Great Potter was at work) swirling and scouring, sculpting and carving.

Photo by Elvira Meridy White 

So, as I write Returning to Riverview, I’m enjoying sharing these wonderful images as my protagonists, Claire and Vivien, see them.

But oops! Where’s my story gone? That famous narrative arc is covered in images like vines over the tree. In fact you can’t find the plot for vines. Isn’t it time my protagonist – er – did something? Or something happened to her? She’s lost! Well, for the purposes of the plot, she is anyway.

So, as a lover of beautiful settings and interesting characters, I wrestle most with the very bones of the novel. Its structure or narrative arc.

So what can I do about it?

First I pray – along the lines of ‘Help, God! Give me discernment to see what is a necessary part of the setting and character-building, and what is sheer self-indulgence.’

Then I proceed to tighten it. I am much more ruthless than I once was. Unless I were to feel I could write a beautiful literary novel like Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer-winning Gilead (don’t worry, I have no such illusions), I aim for a traditional narrative arc. That means, from what I can glean from various gurus I’ve heard or read, my first pivot point should be about twenty percent of the way along. Maximum thirty percent. Ouch! And I have to finish off the novel quite soon after the climax or main pivot point. (Opinions do vary.)

My desk is cluttered with copies of my novel I’ve printed out to read.

I understand one has to ask oneself, does this (each) scene take the narrative forward at all? If the answer is ‘no’, it has to be deleted or radically shortened. After doing that, I remove some unnecessary words and try to simplify any awkward sentences.

So I’m currently doing that with Returning to Riverview. I’m happy enough with my beginning. I feel it captures the readers’ attention and leads them into the novel. Now to get the action happening soon enough to keep their attention.

Do any of you have an area of writing where you struggle? What is yours? How do you deal with it? 

Jeanette Grant-Thomson is a north-Brisbane based Christian writer and speech and drama teacher. She has been writing since her childhood and has had a variety of things published, ranging from poems to novels and biographies to film scripts (she also directed the films in her more energetic youth.) She has had five books – novels and biographies – and many shorter stories published.

Author page – www.facebook.com/jeanette.grantthomson

Bookmark Marketing by Nola Lorraine

 

Back in prehistoric times when I was at school, there were no laptops, no mobile phones, no iPads or Kindles, no World Wide Web and no online shopping. If you wanted a book, you went into a physical bookstore and bought a real book with pages. Those pages needed a bookmark and I had dozens of them. Some with encouraging scriptures, some illustrated with my favourite Peanuts characters, some with tassels, some laminated and some made of leather that were too thick to actually use as bookmarks.

Although we tend to do a lot more electronic bookmarking these days, most of us still own, buy and borrow physical books. The humble bookmark still has its place and I decided to use it as one of my marketing tools for my historical novel Scattered. Using bookmarks for marketing is nothing new, of course, but there’s a lot to think about, especially if you’re designing your own.

 

Why Do You Want to Use Bookmarks?

Given that there are dozens of merchandising options you could use to advertise your book (e.g. flyers, business cards, magnets, postcards, pens, banners), why do you think bookmarks are a good choice? I can think of a few reasons (though some of these aren’t exclusive to bookmarks).

• Booklovers love bookmarks. If you meet someone in a bookstore, a signing or a writing event, you know they already love books, so why not put your bookmark in their hands?
• Bookmarks make great gifts. It’s easy to pop them in with a present, card or letter.
• Bookmarks are great examples of ‘takeaway’ marketing. Someone might not buy your book at a particular event. But if readers take your bookmark away with them, it serves as a great reminder. Every time they turn to the page they’ve marked with your bookmark, they’re reminded of your book or brand, and you might get a sale down the line.
• They’re great conversation starters. If you’re at a book event, it’s easy to approach people and say, ‘Hi, would you like one of my bookmarks?’ If they look like a startled rabbit, you can leave it at that. If they look interested, you can tell them a bit about your book.

 

 What Type of Bookmark?

If you decide that bookmarks are a good marketing choice for you, think about what you want on your bookmark. This might seem obvious, but it takes a lot of thought. Do you want it to showcase your books or one book in particular? Are you going to include the book cover? A book blurb? Info about where to buy the book? Do you want the bookmark to advertise you as an author? If so, are you going to include all of your social media links? Do you want to advertise services you offer? If you’ve written a book for the Christian market, do you want to include a scripture? Do you see your bookmarks as part of a broader ministry or are you focusing on one aspect of your work?

With so many potential inclusions, your bookmark could get very cluttered, which may take away from the visual appeal. You could have a double-sided bookmark, but that costs more money. What do you want to achieve?

Designing and Printing

Copyright and permissions - If you’re using any images on your bookmark, such as book cover images, check that you have permission to use them. This could mean checking with your publisher or anyone who has assisted with the cover design (e.g. your graphic designer or other service provider). If you designed your own book cover, you should have already checked that you had permission to use the images. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re free to use those images on other merchandise, so check any licensing agreements.

Budget Considerations – It’s good to have a rough idea of how much you want to spend on bookmarks. Do you have the skills necessary to design your own bookmark or do you need to hire a graphic designer? Do you have dozens of upcoming book events and need hundreds of bookmarks, or do you want a small print run? The more you order, the cheaper it usually works out per bookmark, but it’s no use having a thousand bookmarks sitting at home that you can’t get rid of. How fancy do you want your bookmark to be? Double-sided printing, higher quality card and different kinds of surfaces cost more. What do you definitely need and what are you willing to compromise on for the sake of price?

Designing the Bookmark – A full discussion of this topic is beyond the scope of this blog. However, I just want to mention a couple of tools I found useful. Some graphic design sites like Canva have bookmark templates to help you design your bookmark or you can create a custom design. I use Stencil for creating most of my memes. While they don’t have a bookmark template, you can create a custom design in any format. Whichever program you use, you can generate various designs and get a feel for which one works best. You can even post your designs on social media and do a poll to see which one grabs potential readers.

Finding a Printer – This turned out to be harder than I thought. Not all printers do bookmarks and some have certain stipulations regarding the size of the print run. You also need to take note of any special formatting restrictions they have and whether they can cater to your requirements  (e.g. certain fonts and colours).

I settled on a Melbourne company called CMYK Colour Online, as I could use special fonts and colours, and they seemed to have the best balance of what I wanted for the price. It was a bit of a learning curve using their templates, but they have some really detailed instructions. When you go to order, they also have an option where you can pay a bit more to have someone check the artwork. I decided to go with that option, so that I could be 100% sure the bookmarks weren’t going to have any nasty surprises like blurred images. When ordering, there were also a lot of pricing options, so it was easy to play around with it and find something that fit my budget. The bookmarks also arrived quickly and I was very happy with the final product. (Disclaimer: Although this company worked well for me, it may not be for everyone. Before deciding on a printer, see which company is a good fit for you and always check customer reviews. If you can get a personal recommendation from someone who’s used them before, all the better.)

Time is Your Friend – I was so busy leading up to my launch, that I left it a bit late to get cracking on the bookmarks. It turned out okay, but it did cause undue stress. Allow yourself plenty of time, as all the steps I’ve mentioned above take longer than you think.

 

How I’ve Used The Bookmarks

My novel Scattered was released in October. Since then, I’ve given the bookmarks out at my book launch, a book signing, and a writing workshop. I’ve also included them with any books I’ve sold directly to readers.

When I did a recent signing at Koorong, my local Christian bookstore store, I used them as conversation starters. It was easy to walk up to someone, offer them a bookmark and tell them that my book was on special in the store that day. Sometimes I just left it at that, as I didn’t want anyone to feel pressured. However, some people asked me more about the book and ended up buying one.

The manager of my local Koorong store was happy for me to leave some bookmarks on the counter. She’s since told me that a lot of people have been picking them up and some customers have then asked if the book is available in the store.

 

The Ultimate Aim

In one sense, the aim of any type of marketing is to boost sales, but it’s not all about making money. With such competition these days, very few authors make pots of money anyway. If you have a book God has laid on your heart to share, you need to think about how to get that book into the hands of potential readers and then leave the rest to God. Bookmarks are just one of many avenues available to you.

What about you? Do you have hoards of bookmarks stashed in books all over your house? What makes a good bookmark? Have you designed your own bookmarks? Do you have any tips you can share? I’d love to hear your comments.

 

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine has a passion for faith and social justice issues, and loves weaving words that inspire others with courage and hope. She co-edited the Christian charity anthology Glimpses of Light; and has more than 150 short publications, including fiction, poetry, devotions, true stories, magazine articles and academic papers. She and her husband Tim run a freelance writing and editing business, The Write Flourish, from the home they share with their two adorable cavoodles in southeast Queensland, Australia. 

Her debut novel Scattered was released in October 2020. It is available from a number of outlets including Amazon, Koorong, and Breath of Fresh Air Press.

To find out more, please visit her author site: www.nolalorraine.com.au

She’d also love to connect with you on social media:

Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/nolalorraine

Twitter:        https://twitter.com/nolalorraine1

Pinterest:        https://www.pinterest.com.au/nolalorraine1

 

 

 

Called to be Different

by Anusha Atukorala

Thank you Lord for our Dream Home

In May 2017, I thought it would be brilliant if I could sleep for a year, waking up to find our house sold and the three of us settled comfortably in a new home. And guess what! The miracle happened—I did wake up today in my new abode. Yay! However, I must whisper in your ears that those twelve months were not spent in sweet slumber. They involved plenty of hard work and plenty of stress. Thankfully as we look back, my beloved and I agree that it was all worth it. Every bit of it—the stress, the slog, the wondering if it would all work out.

Our gracious God has now brought us to our promised land and our cup of joy has over-flowed. What an awesome God He is! Being a nature lover, I’ve been delighted to see flowers of different varieties in our new surrounds. Delicate white roses adorn our front yard. More rose bushes grow in the little garden patch outside our kitchen window. For a long while there were no signs of blooms on those shrubs. My husband watered our new garden often to make sure it would remain green and lush in spite of the hot weather.

One morning we discovered that the extra watering had woken up the sleeping rose bushes. A gorgeous yellow rose beamed at us. Every time I looked out of my kitchen window, I was enthralled. Before long we had the pleasure of basking in an abundance of yellow roses. The bush in the middle though had not yielded any flowers. Shan watered it some more.

And then it happened. One day we spotted a little bud starting out on that middle rose bush. Exciting! BUT … surprise, surprise. It wasn’t yellow. It’s petals were painted a bright joyful red, with streaks of perky yellow creating a beautiful contrast. Wow! A queen of roses it was and it bloomed for weeks on end. With boldness it declared: 

‘I’m different and I’m glad to be different’. 

It brought joy to my heart in a way no yellow rose had done.

That striking red rose pointed me to a God of wonder; a God of beauty; a God of surprises. And more. It prodded me with a call to be different. God asks you and me as Christian writers not to merge with the world—but to stand out. To be as conspicuous as that enchanting rose in a manner that will glorify our Creator. 

But what does different mean?

 I believe that most importantly it has to be the inner me that’s different as I grow in intimacy with God. I am called to a life of purity and integrity, reflecting the beauty of Jesus. We Christian writers are called to write from the depths our walk with God, leaning on the Holy Spirit to guide us. Not necessarily doing what brings in material benefits but primarily being obedient to Him. The world’s way is to squash one’s competitors. The acronym CALEB (as used in the prize offered in our annual Omega Writer’s competition) stands for something unique: “Christian Authors Lifting Each other’s Books”. Isn’t that beautiful? What a contrast to doing life  according to the world’s modus operandi! I love it.

Jesus calls us not just to entertain our readers but also to help them to reflect on the deeper issues of life. He calls us not just to thrill and enthral but also to bless and build. We Christian writers need be different by standing up for the downtrodden and the weak, by giving a voice  to those who don’t have one. We are called to be salt and light. To flavour the world with our writing. To point to the Saviour.

Some of us write only hints of the reality of God and the reality of heaven. Others of us are more explicit. Whatever we write, we can be different to the world in the way we approach our craft. By praying before we write. By saturating whatever we do with His presence. By listening to the nudge of the Holy Spirit. By giving away a free book to someone who needs it, even if it means that we don’t make as much money.

We are called to be different because what propels our writing is not self-ambition and self-interest but the love of Jesus. We are called to be evangelists even if our writing is not explicitly so. The stamp of our Creator needs to be on each book we write—a stamp that may be invisible, true—but one that bears His heart within.

We are called to be different because the reward of our hard work might not always be obvious. Instead of world’s understanding of ‘success’, it’s in the joy of being obedient to God, the thrill of finding our writing has reached a reader’s heart, the knowledge that our words have encouraged someone and given her hope, the wonder of leading a stranger to Jesus. Being different might often cost us. But oh the joy of walking close to Him and writing as he leads. After all ... we are called to be different so we can make a difference in the world. 

But then ... I am preaching the choir aren't I? Celebrating each of you today knowing you have chosen to be a red rose amidst a hundred yellow roses today. Well done fellow-writers on your faithful writing. Cheering you on and joining hands with you. Let’s continue to saturate the world with books inspired by the Holy Spirit so we will fill the earth with books stamped by the cross of Christ, and are whispers of God’s heart to His world. 

Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus. Please stop by at her website Dancing in the Rain to say G’day. 

At the launch of Dancing in the Rain - 12th May 2018

Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 little God stories that will bring you closer to your Creator. 

Her second book  Dancing in the Rain was released in March 2018  by Armour Books and launched recently on the 12th of May. It offers you hope and comfort for life’s rainy seasons. 

Available from:

Koorong Bookshop

The Book Depository

Amazon Australia

Amazon US

My website - Dancing in the Rain

Booktopia

Becoming an Elephant

I stumbled across an old email the other day—it hinted at a true story about elephants. I’ve always been fascinated by these creatures (who abounded in the land of my birth), so I eagerly read on. What an intriguing tale! Lawrence Anthony, nicknamed ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ had been an international conservationist, environmentalist, explorer and bestselling author. I quote from the narrative:

“On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died. He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons, and numerous elephants”, italics mine.

How did those ‘numerous elephants’ show that they remembered him?
How did we know that they did?
But first, what had they to remember of him?

Lawrence Anthony had been a legend. Rogue elephants who would usually have been put down, had been calmed, rescued and given refuge in a large sanctuary he established for them. Anthony was known to be exceptional in caring for traumatised elephants. When the ‘Elephant Whisperer’ died, something mysterious and profound took place. From miles away, wild elephants—dozens of them, silently began a long trek to his home, in solemn single file, taking at least 12 hours to reach. They stayed for two days, refusing to eat or drink, saying goodbye to the man who had championed their cause.

What an amazing story! And what a brilliant example of remembering. How did they even know he had died? We human beings are good at recalling the bad done to us. Do we also bring to mind often the acts of kindness we’ve received? I've been inspired by the life of King David as I've studied it recently. I was struck also by an occurrence that took place when King Saul died. Men in the small town of Jabesh Gilead came stealthily at dead of night, and took his body away with them so that his enemies would not taunt his body. These valiant men risked their lives for a dead king, because years before, King Saul had helped them. They too had remembered.

Would you like to be an elephant today? Not in size of course. Nor in looks, so you can rest easy. But would you like to be an elephant today in the act of remembering?

WHAT CAN WE, WHO CALL OURSELVES CHRISTIAN WRITERS, REMEMBER?
1. That Jesus bought us life, freedom and salvation. Praise Him.

2. The inspiring books we’ve read and how we’ve been changed through them.

3. Writers, role models and teachers in our writing sphere who have taught us, shaped our writing and grown us. Let’s appreciate them.

4. That our dreams, talents, abilities, time and even opportunities to write, all come from Him who reigns over all. We are stewards. We owe it all to our Lord.

5. That everything we’ve achieved are gifts from Him, so any praise directed at our writing and speaking efforts should be boomeranged back to our Creator.

6. The encouraging ways that God came through for us in the past, so with grateful hearts, we can entrust the future of our creativity to Him.

7. The deep joy we have in being writers called of God—how thrilling the journey. Let us never take our calling for granted.

And so today, I pause, reflect and give thanks. To God—for calling me to write for Him, for His guidance and inspiration. To you, my fellow writers who’ve taught me over the years and encouraged me stay on course. To those whose insightful books have showered God’s truth over my being. I look forward to new mountains yet to climb, because all I know of our God tells me that if He’s come through for me in the past, I can count on His faithfulness in the future.

I’d like to be an Elephant today.
Would you care to join me?

And now my Christian Writer Friends, this is for you:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 1:3-6


Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus. Please stop by at her website Dancing in the Rain to say G’day. She’d love to see you.

When Not To Listen - By Natalie McNee

My daughter was reading “The Trouble with Larry” from the Mess Detectives series to me tonight. This particular story focuses on listening to God, your parents and teachers etc and highlights that trouble occurs when you don’t listen or pay attention. I thought to myself how true that statement was for when you don’t listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit – trouble seems to flood towards you. I thought that this would be a good subject to write about but then God flipped it and showed me when I should not listen and who I should not listen to – the voice of the enemy. 

His voice loves to pop up and it likes to shout louder than any other voice, sometimes his voice is so loud that you wonder if God is even talking to you at all because you can’t hear it through the racket inside your head. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and they will not follow the voice of the stranger. He pre-warned us that His voice is not the only one we would hear. We would hear the stranger’s voice too but that we are not meant to believe what the stranger’s voice is telling us.

Unfortunately we tend to believe that strangers voice all too often and it becomes familiar to us and then we find it hard to distinguish who is actually talking to us. As writers we tend to be very critical of our work in the first place, added to our own criticism is the judgements of critique groups and publishers. We tend to take to heart any negative criticisms that we receive and believe that they must be true. The enemy loves to play on this negative feedback, he will often tell you things like, “You’re not qualified to write that” or “Are you sure God called you to be a writer because that was terrible?” or “How can you write about something of which you have no experience?” and so on. He likes to create doubts in our own minds causing us to question whether we really are good enough to be writers.

So how do you determine whose voice it is you are hearing? For me it comes down to two things; is the voice producing fear in me or is the voice filling me with love? The enemy’s voice says that I’m a terrible writer, that I won’t amount to anything and that everyone is going to ridicule me. I don’t want to be ridiculed or be labelled as a bad writer – I fear what others think of me. So clearly this is not the voice of God.

God’s voice encourages you, He guides you and even if you do not quite make it to the standard that you believe you should be aiming for God is proud of what you are doing.  I’d like to remind those that may question their validity to be a writer that God called you to this position. He gave you the gift to write. He qualified you to be a writer. Your validity doesn’t come from the last pay check you received or the last award you won, your validity comes from God who created you and gifted you to write. You are worthy because God says you are worthy. Even if no other person reads your writing, just know that because you wrote it out of a love for God and believing that God told you to write it you are qualified to be titled as a writer.

Photo by: freedigitalphotos.com
By stockimages, published on 17 November 2013
Stock Photo - image ID: 100218374

  
Natalie is a freelance copywriter and ghostwriter servicing the Christian market. She is also proudly a Child Advocate Network supporter with Compassion and volunteers for the Street Chaplains in her free time. To connect with her on various social networks please visit her website www.nataliemcnee.com

It only needs to be a small flame

We all know people who aren’t Christians who, at times when their lives are in danger or pain, or when they fear for the health of a loved one, or when they’ve reached the gutter of life, will pray to the God they’ve once heard of or once even known.

It makes me wonder… a person who doesn’t have a personal relationship with God must need more faith to pray that a born-again Christian who walks with God every day. These people pray with no assurance, just blind amazing faith.

It got me thinking that it would be amazing if every Christian writer could write one book for this market; a book that could stand alone on a bookshelf in a regular bookshop; a book that could tell a secular story that is so clever and so attractive to those without faith that it would light a very small candle at the base of the cross and lead the reader to gaze in awe at the rough texture of the wood that’s visible behind the candle then peer up into the charcoal sky to search for the outline of the body of the man who was flesh but was also the Son of God. And if our book could tweak a subconscious desire in them to open a Bible, even if the reader has to go to a library to find one, if our book can cause our reader to seek out our God, what a miracle we have been a part of!

But how to write a book that sparks this interest without preaching at the reader, whether adult or child?

Perhaps you’ve read a regular book that got you fascinated in something new: a novel about a country you’ve never been to that sparked the thought in you ‘I have to go and see that’, or a sci-fi novel that suddenly makes you want to Google how many moons Jupiter actually has.

It only needs to be a paragraph, a sentence or a word that lights the taper. But when it’s lit, and if the writing is done well, the curiosity in the person’s mind and heart won’t be quenched. They will seek God.

Here’s an example of what I’d like to achieve. JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. I know many Christians are against these stories, but I hope you’ll understand where I’m going with this. Go for a walk along the shop or library shelves near the Harry Potter books. Alongside are copycat, fantasy novels about wizards. But there are books and gimmick packs about wizardry. And this is the point – Rowling wrote a story about an orphaned boy and the story is about the unfair things that happen to him and his fight for survival, with a backdrop of wizardry… and, today, kids everywhere are curious about wizardry. They dress like Harry or one of the other characters, buy the toys and read the spell-books.

We have the power of our creator. We are made in His image and He has given each of us a gift to be used for His glory. We use this gift to edify and entertain the people of God, and, wisely like we are treading on eggshells, we can use it to reach out to the lost. Our writing can lead people to buy into our God, to read His word and to seek truth. Our readers may seek out other books by the author they just read, or they may seek a church or a Christian friend. But we have the gift to light the taper that will lead our readers to begin their search.

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