Tag: blogging about writing

Wishful Thinking? Or Divine Instruction?

I did something this morning that I’m sure most of you will find incredibly silly or misguided or stupid. But I did it, and now I feel like I should share it.

Scripture tells the faithful to put the Lord to the test in our finances–commit to big things in his name, and he will meet us in that commitment and provide.

My church is doing a fundraising campaign. The particulars aren’t important. But today was the pledge day for it. And as clear as day, before the preacher even started talking, I heard God telling me to write on the pledge card that I would give my first book advance to the church.

This thought had never occurred to me before. I didn’t even know it was a pledge day until I got there in the sanctuary and saw the pledge cards.

Not a dollar amount, not a certain percentage of the money I already have, but something that I’ve questioned very much recently if I will ever receive.

I really wrestled with this throughout the service. Was I trying to manipulate God into doing something that wasn’t in his will for me? Was I selfishly asking him to bless my efforts at publication but dressing it up in religious language? Was I looking for glory for myself rather than for him?

Because God looks at the heart. Was I was asking for a miracle to quell my feelings of failure and inadequacy? Was I asking God to do something I wanted badly and just tacking on that I would give the money to the church in an effort to deceive myself about my own motives? Was I evading giving anything at all by hinging my pledge on something so farfetched?

I didn’t get that question answered during service. I just obeyed by writing that on the card and dropping it in the box they asked us to put our cards in.

I caught myself thinking that I’m sure whoever read the card would have a good laugh about what I said. Maybe even tell everyone on staff.

But then I thought: What a testimony it would be if it came true! A testimony not to my work or talent, because that surely hasn’t gotten me very far at this point. But a testimony to God’s power that anything is possible if it brings glory to him.

That’s how I need to think–how can I bring glory to his name. And so that’s what I’m going to do. You read it here first.

Hi There

So here’s the scoop. This page is where I will document my foray back into fiction. The working title of the short story collection I am writing is Hurricane Baby: Stories. Here I will talk about the progress of writing it, how the story came about, and who the characters are; in short, as a reader, you get a front-row seat to the act of creating that is writing fiction. Why am I offering this kind of look into the process, pitfalls, and perils of doing the hard work of writing fiction? I’m glad you asked. 😊

I’ve had a lot of fear about starting this project. I decided the best way to get past the fear is to face it head-on and acknowledge it. I will write about fear. About the hard stuff. About being scared I’m going to invest a lot of time into a project that may not ever see the light of day. About being scared of being judged for writing what I am writing. About being scared of what folks may say.

But it occurred to me that I can ensure that the labor is not in vain by offering to share the journey with readers. Craft, perseverance, encouragement are qualities many writers say they wish they had more of. So I am going to be showing those moments with you, the reader. I hope my vulnerability in this process is encouraging to other writers, who may see themselves in my struggles. So. Join me. I can’t wait to meet you all.