Tag Archives: hope

If Ever There Was A Time For Writers . . .

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“It is the miraculous language that drags me back into its delicious kingdom again and again . . . meticulously chosen words . . . I want to enter this kingdom, with such desperation, I am willing to die for it . . . And to enter a book, to let my life course out and stream past me, is to, in a  small way, die.”

On Reading, by Cynthia Cruz, via The Rumpus, 4/29/2013 

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If ever the world groaned for hope, it is now.

If ever the world needed writers, artists, poets, and musicians, it is now.

Even a glance through centuries past testifies to the power of artists, those sage interpreters of the soul, to draw hope from the detritus of despair and unveil rainbows from the bleak abyss of injustice.

And so, if God has called you to write, He has called you to deliver His people from this present darkness.

If that sounds like a big job, it is.

If that sounds like it’s too much for your feeble pen to handle, it is.

Because only a Savior can sand down the sharp edges of pain. Only a Savior can sweep darkness away with a great exhale which leaves in its wake a symphony. Only a Savior can deliver us.

So what’s a writer to do?

First, like the brown, peeling bulbs we tuck into the earth in the fall, don’t be afraid to plant the seemingly worthless and ugly. God is smitten with the beauty we allow Him to create with the broken, insignificant and useless parts of our selves. Keep writing, even if there’s no tangible payback or reward. Be faithful with little, and He will be faithful with making much of whatever meager loaves and fishes we lay at His feet. Spring comes, dear one. Spring comes.

Second, take time to celebrate Sabbath. Renew your mind and stretch your imagination by reading a book outside your usual genre, or a book in the Bible you haven’t considered in a while. And as you do, pray God gives you eyes to see and ears to hear what He wants for His lost ones. Look for ways to infuse His whispers into your stories.

Third, if you feel stuck, dig deeper. Press into the words you pen, and let them press into you, that they may make an unmistakable imprint of redemption and hope upon the reader by the time the last page is turned.

Make people want to enter not just any kingdom, but God’s Kingdom, breaking into the world by the surrender of your pen today.

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    “I spoke to the prophets,

gave them many visions
and told parables through them.”

Hosea 12:10 (NIV)

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How can you let God lead you more in your writing life? In what ways can you more fully surrender your pen for His glory? 

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Amy writes words of hope for a hurting world. Look for her debut novel, How Sweet The Sound, coming March 1, 2014 from David C. Cook.

Marketing Love

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Striding down the endless hallway of the Mayo Clinic, I passed hurting people on all sides.  This wasn’t about being heroic; I simply wanted to make my day about more than a doctor appointment.

“Okay, Lord. Who?”  My book felt sweaty in my hand.

Copy number one went to the sweet lady in a wheelchair. “Oohhh,” she said, pursing  fuchsia lips.  “It looks wonderful.  Thank you, Dear.”

Copy number two returned to me with the cold shoulder of rejection.  I kept walking because I couldn’t shake off the possibility that God might still want to do something. Besides, I was stubborn and didn’t want to go home with the book.  When I got to the end of the hallway, I discovered I’d inadvertently funneled into a large waiting room.

“Okay, God.  What now?”

Doing a three-sixty over a sea of people, I tried to look inconspicuous.  Then, with a puff of a prayer, I picked a pleasant-looking lady.  She’d be the one.  I took a deep breath and plopped myself down with only a chair between us.

After a minute of pretending to read my own book, I cleared my throat.  It worked.  We made eye contact.

“Hi,” I began.  “This may sound strange, but I prayed God would lead me to someone I could bless with this free inspirational book, and I feel it’s you.  May I give you this?  I wrote it.”

Her eyes lit up.  “Oh, bless you,” she said, glazing with tears.  No fanfare, just a simple exchange.  I went home happy and bookless.

Two or three weeks went by and apart from a few imaginations of finding “A Friend in the Storm” in a thrift shop, I basically forgot about my give-aways.  That is, until three days ago, when I received this heart-stopping email from Sara, a friend I hadn’t talked to for months:

Dear Cheryl,

I talked to my neighbor & friend about 2 weeks ago, Krista Flint.  She had an amazing story of being touched by God’s love through a stranger.  And that stranger was YOU!  It gave me goose bumps to hear of how she had been going through so much and that you sat beside her in the waiting room and gave her your book.

She was so blessed by your words, kindness, & the power of your poems. She said that she knew that God was near, but it was so comforting to hear it from someone! So I wanted you to know that your choice to follow God’s nudge to go to the waiting room and give “someone” your book was exactly what God planned for you & Krista!! It was so exciting to hear how God did that for both of you.

Sara’s P.S. explained that Krista was a breast cancer survivor.  Later, the same day I gave her my book, she was in a major car accident.  Although her car was totaled, she somehow managed to make it through it okay.  “A Friend in the Storm” gave her peace and reminded her that God has a purpose.

“Make use of every opportunity.”  Ephesians 5:16

When we ask God to go before us and use us for His glory, He makes a way.

Until heaven, we can’t possibly grasp all the ways God uses us to reach others.  We simply rejoice in these glimpses.

Giving away books is only one of many ways we can be God’s messengers.  We can also share personal notes, Scripture cards, and post cards or business cards with thought-provoking quotes or concepts from our books.

One time, when I gave a waitress a poem card, she threw her arms around me and burst into tears.  The Lord used a simple poem to reach into her heart and start a healing conversation.  Don’t you love how the Holy Spirit works behind the scenes?

How do you share marketing love?  I’d love to hear stories of how God used you and your words.

How I Really Landed a Book Contract

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BlackberriesAs a child visiting the family homestead, I went on numerous blackberry-picking adventures with my Missouri cousins. Toting buckets, we ventured deep into woods thick with brambles while keeping an eye out for iron pyrite nuggets to load down our pockets.

We returned, hours later, to be met by Aunt Ethel and her various soaps and ointments. Despite our bites and bugs and itches, we had little to show for our efforts but purple stains on our face and hands. I still remember the taste of sun-warmed berries cramming my mouth, handful by greedy handful. I remember, too, the sting of berry juice in the long red welts I collected.

Exchanging pain for sweetness seemed a reasonable trade to me as a child. I’m more circumspect now.

My life as a writer has had its share of thorns. I’ve tried hard to make my dreams come true, which means that I’ve gathered my share of rejections. When my golden moment finally came, and I held a contract for my first nonfiction book in my hand, it seemed surreal.

The contract fell through.

Looking back with the knowledge I have now, I probably had a lucky escape from a disreputable offer. As I learned in my childhood, all that glitters may be fool’s gold.  I knew none of this then. All I understood was that I had held my dream in my hands and watched it crumble to nothing.

I gave up writing. For life. If I didn’t try, I couldn’t fail again. My scratches wouldn’t have to sting.

But I tasted no sweetness either.

Years went by and still I did not write. Had I not made time for daily devotions, I might not have returned to writing at all. I prayed to understand God’s plan for my life, and a funny little question formed in the back of my mind: I’m not supposed to be writing, now am I? I pushed the irritating thought away, but it returned. No matter how I tried to ignore the idea, it would not be stilled. To appease my conscience, I gave lip service to writing again but avoided doing so. And when several people invited me to join the same writing group, Northwest Christian Writers (NCWA), I expressed an interest but put it off.

And then, one morning while in prayer, I surrendered my fears to God.

At the first NCWA meeting I attended, I felt lost. Everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were doing while I had no plans beyond showing up at meetings. After several months, I’d identified a goal. I would finish writing the epic fantasy series I’d abandoned so many years ago. This January I signed a contract with Harbourlight Books for publication of DawnSinger and WayFarer, the first novels in my Tales of Faeraven series.

In risking the thorns again, I’ve learned to approach my desires with more caution. I no longer have writing ambitions; I have a calling to write, something altogether different. Although I’ve attained it, my first goal is no longer publication, but rather to tell my stories with truth and grace. If I succeed in this, I’ve accomplished a different and better dream, one that’s worth a few scratches.