A Step in the Write Direction
September 29,
2014
Update: We lost my 61-year-old
nephew last Wednesday after a massive stroke. Pray for his wife and two
children, brothers and sisters, and especially my 83-year-old widowed sister
who’ll be traveling from Arizona to Michigan for the funeral Thursday….Two
writer friends and I meet about once a month to chat and critique manuscripts.
This past week it seemed each of us was dealing with a different problem. Rather
than dwell on them, I suggested that we find a Scripture verse to fit each
situation and hang on to that in the days to come. Because I had had trouble
sleeping, we came up with “I will give my beloved sleep” (paraphrase: Psalm
127:2). For my friend whose grandson was struggling with asthma, we selected,
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages…healing every disease and
sickness” (Matthew 9:35). And for the third woman, whose son was facing
financial problems, we chose, “My God shall supply your every need according to
his riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19). Note that in the King James Version,
“need” is singular. As the Lord reminded me one morning when I saw this, “You
have only one need and that is to
draw close to Me. Then all your other needs will be supplied.”
Thought for the Day: When the books of a certain Scottish
doctor were examined after his death, it was found that a number of accounts
were crossed through with a note: "Forgiven--too poor to pay." But the
physician's wife later decided that these accounts must be paid in full and she
proceeded to sue for money. When the case came to court the judge asked but one
question. Is this your husband's handwriting? When she replied that it was he
responded: "There is no court in the land that can obtain a debt once the word
forgiven has been written."
Song for the Day:
Jesus paid it all;
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson
stain;
He washed it white as
snow.
“Jesus Paid It All,” Elvina M.
Hall
Laugh for the
Day:
"They tell me your son in college is quite an
author. Does he write for money?"
"Yes, in every letter."
Writer’s Tips (from unpublished
Writer’s Devotional)
ABC’s of Christian Writing
If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability
which God giveth: that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:11).
A
– Accept your call to write. “I’d write if I had the time,”
I’ve often heard would-be writers say. However, I’ve never heard a minister say,
“I’d prepare my sermon if I had the time.” Your minister does not find
time to prepare his sermon; he makes the time. He does so in response
to his call to preach.
Treat
your writing as a calling and make the time. You may have to cut something else
out of your schedule, but as someone once asked, “What are you now doing that
someone else can do, so you can do what God has called you to do?”
B
– Believe that God will help you succeed. There are five steps to
becoming a successful Christian writer:
1.
Be a Christian first, a writer second. Sally Stuart, editor of the Christian
Writers’ Market Guide, says you can’t write from an empty cup. Keep your
relationship with Christ uppermost.
2.
Improve your skills. Read writers’ books and magazines. Send for sample copies
and guidelines and study them. Attend writers’ seminars. Meet with editors. Join
a writers’ club. Take a writing course.
3.
Write something every day, even if it’s just a letter to a friend.
4.
Submit your manuscripts, and if they are returned, resubmit them
immediately.
5.
Don’t give up.
C
– Christ. He is the theme of our writing. It’s true that we write
because we are called. And we write for the monetary reimbursement which is
necessary to cover our expenses. But our main reason for writing should be to
spread the good news that Jesus saves!
When
our granddaughter was young, she enjoyed watching a particular video at our
house with “Jesus Loves Me” and other songs on it. One day she wanted to watch
it, but we were watching a baseball game.
“Pease,”
she begged.
“We’re
watching TV now,” I told her.
With
pleading eyes she said again, “Pease, Grandma, I want to see Jesus.”
That’s
what the world is asking of us as Christian writers. We shouldn’t worry about
being clever, we shouldn’t get caught up in comparing ourselves with other
writers, how many manuscripts we’ve sold
and the checks we’ve received. Before we go to our computers, we should go to
our knees. The world is begging us, “Please, we want to see Jesus.”
Have a good week spreading
the
gospel through
the printed page.
Donna Clark
Goodrich
dgood648@aol.com
www.thewritersfriend.net
http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com
·
A Step in the
Write Direction—the Complete How-to Guide for Christian
Writers
·
The Freedom of
Letting Go
·
Healing in
God’s Time
·
The Little Book
of Big Laughs
·
Preparing Your
Heart for Christmas (31 Advent Devotions)
·
Michigan
and Ohio Cookbooks
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