Daily Wisdom for the Christian Writer

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshual 24:15, NLT. 

Recently, President Barak Obama announced his support of marriage between same-sex couples. Although he initially did not support same-sex marriage, he recently announced the change on his position based on the following reasons:

1. Personal values – “At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

2. Friends & Family – Long a proponent of civil unions, President Obama said his views had changed in part because of prodding by friends who are gay and by conversations with his wife and daughters.

4. The Golden Rule – “The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the golden rule – you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated,” he said. “And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids, and that’s what motivates me as President.”

When I review the factors above that led to our President’s decision, I realize an important factor is missing in the equation – the Word of God. For our President would have found the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin, like any other sin, and marriage between same-sex individuals is wrong in the sight of God (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26-27). Instead he chose to bow to personal and public opinion in his decision to support same-sex marriage.

Like our President, there are many choices you will have to make as a Christian writer living in a depraved world. How will you choose when deciding between the popular opinion of the day or God’s holy word? As for me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord.

Writing for Him,

Jeaninne

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17, NIV).

Many times I hear people say they are going to write a book someday. And my immediate response is:  "Writing a book someday is a noble goal, but what are you doing today to make it happen?"

I’d like to pose the same question to you, dear writer.  If it is your desire to write a book, are you doing anything today to make it happen? Are you training to become a professional writer? Are you reading books on the writing craft? Are you writing regularly?

Those of us who are given the charge to write a book for the kingdom must demonstrate that belief by our actions today. For example, Noah, being warned of God that he would destroy the world, acted by preparing an ark to save his family.  Likewise, Abraham, when told he would be the Father of a great nation, acted by packing up his belongings to move to a foreign land. And finally Rahab, after being told her city would be destroyed by the Israelite army, acted by gathering all of her family under her roof, and hanging a scarlet cord from a window so they could be delivered.

Is it your dream someday to write and publish a book? Then make sure your daily actions demonstrate your belief in your dream, and you’ll find your someday is not very far away.

Sharing the journey,

Jeaninne

Writer to Writer:

Name at least three actions you are doing today to prepare for the publication of your first book?

Writer’s prayer:

Heavenly Father, may my daily actions as a writer demonstrate my belief in the promise you have given me to become a Christian author.

Christian writer’s prayer: Heavenly father, thank you for the “sheep” you have given me to take care of as a Christian writer. May I continue to be faithful to the daily task of writing for your kingdom.

Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land, and he told the others to try for it on planks and debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely ashore! Acts 27: 43,44, NLT.

Paul sailed to Rome to stand trial before Caesar because he was accused by the Jews of being an insurrectionist. But during his journey, he experienced several days of rough sailing. Eventually his ship sank, and he swam to shore on planks and debris.

Like Paul, maybe your journey wasn’t as smooth as you expected it to be in 2011 as you sought to write for the kingdom. You may have experienced some stormy seas while on your journey towards publication.. Your “writing ship” may have even sank as it was hit with rejection after rejection. However rough your journey was on the road to publication, be sure to thank God for bringing you safely ashore to another year of writing. Even if you came in on planks and debris.

Sharing the journey,
Jeaninne

Christian writer’s prayer: Thank you lord for bringing me safely ashore to another year of writing for your kingdom.

While listening to the radio the other day, I heard a man talking about an obstacle he encountered while driving to work. Taking his usual route, he encountered a terrible car accident. After reviewing the accident, he realized he had two options – to wait in traffic or take another way.

Christian writer, life can be like that as you seek to write and publish for the kingdom. As you “drive” the route to get to your destination of publication, sometimes obstacles arise. For example, you might encounter the obstacle of completing your manuscript but not feeling it’s good enough to submit to a publisher. Or you might encounter the obstacle of having your manuscript finished but not having the funds to self-publish. Or you might encounter the obstacle of not having enough time anymore to complete a manuscript you’ve started.

When obstacles arise on the journey of writing and publication, you have a choice like the driver of the car – to let them impede you from reaching your destination or to take another way. For example, if your manuscript was rejected by one publisher, send it to another publisher. If you don’t have the funds to self-publish, submit your manuscript to a traditional publisher. If your regular schedule is not allowing you time to finish your manuscript, schedule some personal time to get it completed.

Overcoming obstacles will always be a part of the road to publication. But when you run up against an obstacle that you can’t overcome while on your writing journey, remember there’s always another way to get to your destination.

Sharing the journey,

Jeaninne

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.   Hebrews 12:11, NLT.

There’s an old mantra in the exercise world that says,”No pain, no gain”. It means you have to be willing to endure pain during your exercise before you can see the results of your workout. If your muscles don’t hurt after you’ve exercised, you will not gain any additional muscle.

I believe this same mantra applies to us as Christian writers. We must train to become excellent writers for the kingdom. But before we can achieve our goal, we have to be willing to endure some pain. The pain of rising up early or staying up late to write. The pain of devoting time outside of our busy schedules to study our craft. The pain of criticism from others of our work and rejection from various publishers. But just like you cannot gain strong muscles if you don’t feel any pain as you physically exercise, you also can’t gain any writing muscles if you are not willing to endure the pain that comes from training to become a professional writer.

So yes, your training may be painful, Christian writer,  as you stretch your writing muscles, but after the pain comes the gain!

Sharing the journey,

Jeaninne